A Birthday Missed!

I missed the birthday of Birds2blog last Thursday, 4 years ago on 15 November 2008.

This is just the opportunity to congratulate myself on the determination to keep the blog afloat,  and to thank everyone who visits Birds2blog to encourage me to do so.  It's  hard to believe  I've published almost 1,000 post and had over 78,628 visitors as I write over these 4 years. This is  all very rewarding and I'll be trying to keep it up and running a little longer, but....who knows! 

When I decided to give blogging a go in 2008 I had just had an excellent run with the birds since the beginning of September, and which ends on 14 November 2008 with 19 Waxwings seen at Levens Village in Cumbria, for the sake of interest I have copied the records below.      

The four species  marked * were  all self  found and  are exciting  rewards, all of which added to my ever growing passion for the birds.

Black-necked Grebe on Conder Pool 1 Sept * 
Honey Buzzard over Birk Bank 19 Sept * 
Brent Goose on Pilling Marsh 6 Oct
Med Gulls three seen Cockers Dyke 9 Oct
Common Scoter on Conder Pool 27 Oct
Ross's Goose Cockers Dyke 28 Oct *
Scaup on Conder Pool 28 Oct
Whooper Swans an amazing 300+ in the Nateby area on Black Lane 28 Oct 
Hooded Crow over Birk Bank 29 Oct *
Pink-footed Geese an astounding c.30,000 on Pilling Marsh 12 Nov
Short-eared Owls three on Bradshaw Lane Head 12 Nov
Common Sandpiper still on Conder Pool 12 Nov
Waxwings 19 at Levens Village 14 Nov 


And the pics representing three of the birds in the list above....

Short-eared Owl Geoff Gradwell

By  coincidence  the Short-eared Owls  are once  again  currently  'performing'  in  the Rawcliffe  area as they were in the same month of November 2008 when  I saw  three of them  just as GG has recently not many miles away from mine on Bradshaw Lane. Thanks for this GG....brilliant bird, brilliant photograph. 

Hooded Crow © Photo by Szabolcs Kókay

The Hooded Crow was a great reward as I came down off Clougha on 29 October 2008 during one of my monthly 5 hour foot slogs looking for Stonechats.

Mediterranean Gull. Pete Woodruff.

This adult Mediterranean Gull frequented off Broadway at Morecambe where I took this photograph on 3 February 2010.                                  

And finally, to note....

In my post of last Thursday 15 November when I visited Cockersands I had noted a 'few' Skylark there and suggested a number were probably still in this area in stubble fields. I was  right, but it turned out to be a bit of an understatement, in excess of 100 were reported there on Sunday. Also worthy of note....In excess of 200 Little Egret at Burton Mere Wetlands yesterday, also a Whinchat seen here.