The Aftermath.

Not much time for blogging today but recommend you read The Aftermath. after which you can contemplate the care and attention given to the birds by these people following one of the worlds most devastating and ongoing disasters.

On a lighter note....

Thought you might like to meet Terry the Twitcher, or at least an absolute dead likeness of him. I met Terry at one of the very few 'twitches' I ever attended on a rare occasion when the bug bit me. I can't begin tell you what an obnoxious little turd this guy really was and I honestly couldn't connect him with birds/birding at all, sadly he wasn't on his own in this regard. Talking of 'twitches' the Rufous Turtle Dove is still performing in the garden at Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire with all the rules and regulations attached to the viewing procedure....Mmmmm!! 

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!

Running Late!

I was 'railroaded' into attending a family birthday party last night....managed to keep my 'pop' intake to an absolute minimum and kept my mouth firmly shut all evening on the politics of the day. But enough of this rubbish, my post is a day late.

Ruff. John Bateman.

With JB/BT yesterday we first paid a visit to Conder Green where the 10m tide was quickly submerging the entire area, but we noted 4 Little Grebe in the channel and Conder Pool holding just 4 Wigeon, 16 Black-headed Gull - they're brown-headed actually - and 19 Common Gull.

Away from here we pulled in off the A588 at Sand Villa where I counted at least seventy 'swans' - more distant than they had been when I called here on Tuesday - and found 19 Bewick's Swan's here again and at least 51 Whooper Swans. At Knott End c.70 Twite were very mobile off the esplanade. At Cockers Dyke c.45 Grey Plover and 650 Dunlin were of note. Off Backsands Lane 2 Ruff  - thanks for the picture John - appeared to be the two seen by me on Tuesday when one was here and the other off Fluke Hall Lane. On Pilling Marsh, more distant 'swans' were 15 Whooper Swans and a minimum of 4,000 Knot were spectacularly swirling around. 

Little Owl. David Cookson

On Gulf Lane 2 Little Owl seen today presumably a pair looking to the breeding season, also at least 4,500 Pink-footed Geese seen in fields here. Thanks for the pic DC.

Linnet. Ian Tallon. 

A brief look in at Cockesands gave c.70 Linnet at the set-aside, and on Jeremy Lane 3 Whooper Swans included the staying immature here. Thanks for the pic IT.

And finally....

Nuthatch. Brian Rafferty 

I was tempted yet again to show BR's excellent photographs of the Nuthatch including the brilliant one about to catch the airborne seed....Great stuff BR and thanks a bundle.

Some notes.    

The Slaty-backed Gull is still putting in appearances here and there and is/was at Pitsea Landfill Site in Essex. The Rufous Turtle Dove of the form orientalis is still at Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire....collecting the cash at £5 per person for a five minute gaze at the bird!

And I hear the planned Badger cull has been put on hold on the basis that fewer TB cases in cattle have been found in a recent study of the problem. As you were Mr and Mrs Badger....getting to live another day!

Now I'm off to make arrangements for a Siberian Rubythroat to visit my garden for a couple of weeks at £10 a time through the kitchen window!!

T for two!

The titles get worse.

I had just two hours to give to my birding today - isn't life exciting at times - and managed to give CG and GD as good a going over as possible in the time allotted. But to add a little colour and interest to the blog I first have to post a pic....

Pintail. Brian Rafferty

And I'm fortunate to have access to many excellent ones like this female Pintail showing some brilliant plumage detail.

Well the visit to Conder Green got off to a sluggish start when I had to sit out a heavy shower on my arrival with thoughts of 'Oh no not again' going through my head, but it cleared and the first bird found was last Thursdays male Stonechat, soon followed by the Common Sandpiper which - if you'd really like to see this bird - you'll need to look around for it as it gets about some, my last three visits have found it in the channel as you approach the right hand bend by the Caravan Park. The Conder channels were again void of any waders and in fact the circuit was void of anything of note. Conder Pool held 3 Goldeneye and 12 Wigeon to note. From here I saw c.250 Pink-footed Geese in the air over Jeremy Lane.  

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock I first checked the small group of 'swans' which turned out to hold 2 Bewick's Swans, a Spotted Redshank was soon found and the other 'estimated' wader counts went.... 5,000 Lapwings which I saw on Tuesday 8 February, 650 Redshank, 350 Golden Plover, 265 Dunlin, 245 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Little Grebe, and 3 Goosander.

And another pic....

Shoveler. Brian Rafferty

The drake Shoveler also shows some excellent plumage detail and I'm grateful once again to BR for allowing the photographs on Birds2blog.

MEGA NEWS.

A Rufous Turtle Dove (form orientalis) has been found today at Chipping Norton - it's been here before - in Oxfordshire. The bird is apparently in the garden at an address I don't think I'm entitled to publish here, but the instructions are not to park at the address but in the town centre and walk to it, you're allowed 5 minutes for viewing at this location at the cost of £5 per person and a queuing system is in operation, and if you go to see the bird on Wednesday and Thursday you'll be out of luck as there will be no access....Mmmmm!