An Unusual Saturday....

....Unusual for me as I rarely - if ever - get to do any birding on Saturday, but walking around in a circle in our living room proved the only remedy - short of being 'taken away by people in white coats' - was to get out there and do it for a couple of hours.

Chaffinch Isidro Ortiz

I decided to do some nothing too serious legwork around the Aldcliffe area and looked in on Freeman's Pools to note 2 Goldeneye and a 'few' Gadwall hauled out on the island. As I approached a maze field - now harvested - I noticed some movement which turned out to be in excess of a highly mobile 150 Chaffinch with which at least one Brambling had joined, c.50 Fieldfare were in a nearby tree, and 2 Little Grebe were on the wildfowlers pool. As I walked up Aldcliffe Hall Lane I saw a Great-spotted Woodpecker flying between trees. This really hadn't been a very serious afternoons birding for me, more a breath of fresh air....if there is a such a thing with the pollutions of the 21st century.  

Snow Bunting Geoff Gradwell

I made yet another compromise again yesterday with KT, when I was asked if I would I like a ride to look around Freeport at Fleetwood. I immediately said yes at the same time two birds at Rossall Point came to mind and....off we went. The walk around the shops at Freeport was a bit of a drag, but I said absolutely nothing to KT in that regard smiling constantly, and we left. By 3.15pm after a little searching along the beach at Rossall Point we had 2 Snow Bunting in our sights which made up nicely for the previous couple of hours ordeal....though I did get a few Christmas bargains out of it.

And finally....

Waxwing Gary Jones 

Probably my last show of a Waxwing photograph - its getting a little out of hand - this one worthy of highlighting if only because the birds are well presented the picture in a tree without berries for a change, and yellow leaves, a brilliant study of the Waxwings in a slightly different environment.

Thanks to Isidro/Geoff/Gary for these brilliant pictures.