The Road To Nowhere....

....Talking Heads and a great track, but it was me on the road to nowhere today I'm afraid.

                            Look at me when I talk to you.                That's better. 

Well there's always room for a little humour isn't there....There was good numbers of these creatures on the uplands I visited today but in the six hours I spent in three areas I found not a single Stonechat, so thanks to the return of the ice-age recently were looking at first records for in excess of ten years since the upturn in the status of this species of no wintering Stonechats in several moorland locations I've been to recently most of which are always reported on here. But at least I added to the bigger picture of the current status of the birds of the area being that records of no birds are of the same importance as records of sightings to achieve a more accurate result.

I last visited Harrisend on 25 January but not easily convinced I decide to go again today but drew a blank on the Stonechats and recorded just 4 Red Grouse, a solitary Wren, a Snipe, and 22 Greylag >NE, surprisingly I also found the flightless Carrion Crow of 26 January again so perhaps one or two dead sheep around.

On Hawthornthwaite where I found six Stonechats two months ago on 10 December....deserted. I saw 2 Raven, 2 Red Grouse, a Snipe, Kestrel, 3 Buzzard soaring together, and 7 Lapwing went over flying purposefully west. I spent two hours on the east side of Hawthornthwaite Fell and saw just two birds in the form of Red Grouse....almost like birding without purpose. 

  

This image even makes the Starling look a smart bird. Taken at Steveston Wharf, BC, Canada with thanks to Paul Baker.