Breakfast in America.

But first Harrisend, but even before that, the tree....

Oak Tree. Pete Woodruff.

I had to take a shot today of this beautiful large English Oak on farmland I'm not about to name, but the reason being not only for the beauty of this tree but the disgusting piles of rubble surrounding it. I just don't think this kind of inconsiderate attitude to our outstanding countryside should go unchecked. One day perhaps someone in authority will come across this sort of abuse and bring the culprit to account....now for some birding.

On Harrisend for three hours this morning with both eyes 'peeled' I found 7 Stonechats being two adult males and five juveniles making the sum total of breeding birds here this summer to two pairs. Well this is upland birding and not really at the heart of it all at that, so other notes were not exactly riveting stuff but I did record, 22 Meadow Pipits, 4 Willow Warblers one of which gave me excellent views with grubs in its bill, 7 Mistle Thrush, a Song Thrush, 8 Blackbirds including a juvenile, singles of Wren and Reed Bunting, and a juvenile Robin, at least 40 Wood Pigeons were unusual here coming up of  the moor in ones and twos all the time I was here. I saw just one Small Heath and maybe 6 Meadow Brown in the three hours on Harrisend.

At Conder Green where by now the weather was threatening to turn nasty but didn't until I'd found 2 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, at least 15 Common Sandpiper, and a Little Ringed Plover.

I moved on to Glasson Dock where - whilst deciding my next move - I enjoyed a half hour of a recording I made too many years ago to mention....Supertramp 'Paris' a live recording and my personal all time best ever vinyl and more to the point the best ever album of all time by anyone....Breakfast in America, etc, etc, etc, and all this whilst watching eight masters of the air the Swift over the canal basin hawking for insects. The next move was a drive home in the now steady rain.

So there you have it, I started with a beautiful Oak Tree, ended with Supertramp, and some birding in between....isn't life great!