A Diversion Too Far.

To be honest I really think this 'gap filler' between my birding is taking things a little too far, but at least its clean and funny....well I thought so.

An elderly man was stopped by the police at 2.00am, they asked him where he was going.

The man replied....I'm on my way to a lecture about the effects of alcohol abuse, smoking, and staying out late.

The officer said....And who will be giving the lecture at this time of night.

The man replied....My wife.

But these stunning threesome are a diversion back to birds....

Crested Tit Ana Minguez  

Unless you live in Scotland its necessary to travel up there to see this delightful bird which is to be found in the ancient Caledonian pine forests and Scots pine plantations. The Crested Tit of the family Paridae, was first recorded in Britain in 1648. 

Firecrest Marc Heath

Another little beauty is the Firecrest, a species I only ever had a glimpse of several years ago at Marton Mere in Blackpool when two birds were suspected and subsequently proved correct. I look forward to having views half as good as these in this image. As opposed to the Crested Tit this species has never bred in Scotland and the first record from here wasn't until one found on the Isle of May in 1959.

Black Redstart Noushka Dufort

A brilliant image of a brilliant bird the Black Redstart. I was never more pleased than the days I found two of these birds over the years, one at Fluke Hall, the other at Cockersands where I convinced myself you've just got to keep on plugging away at an area to reap the rewards.

Thanks alphabetically to, Ana/Marc/Noushka for three brilliant photographs of three brilliant birds....'clik the pik' to be really impressed.   

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!

Just to repeat myself !!

I've lately been going to pass the comment - but never have done - that there is always the risk of posting a subject on a blog which has already been covered in an earlier post and this is exactly what happened on Wednesday when I wrote up a few notes about the Curlew Sandpiper -  brought about by my finding five at Cockersands on Monday afternoon - only to find a few minutes after I published the post, that I had done the same on Friday 9 September 2011 on Birds2blog also titled 'The Curlew Sandpiper'. 

However, having read through the previous post I see there are a few points I made then which I haven't repeated in Wednesdays post where I mentioned one or two points not noted in September. Nevertheless, apologies for this 'there I've said it again' error....I hope you found something interesting about it.

Gadwall Dave Appleton 

Yesterday a drake Gadwall was on Conder Pool and I made the claim it was a 'possible' first record for the pool. However, a birder has put the record straight by pointing out this is not the case, and has passed on some dates he saw this species here dating back to 2008 when he saw a bird on 5 October, followed by another 30 October 2011, one 13 February, two 20 March 2011, and 9 September 2012. So I was a little out on my 'possible' yesterday which proves once again I'm not quite as clever as I make out to be, though some credibility was salvaged by my use of the word 'possible'. 

Motto....Keep the records accurate, and don't pretend to be something you're not!

Anyway, all this is a perfect excuse to post four more excellent photographs....

 Sanderling. Peter Guy.

Like this excellent shot of the Sanderling over the breakers at Rossall Point. To test your counting skills - having looked at the picture - you could make an estimate of how many birds are in it, then count them to see how good you are. I counted them four times and twice came up with 48.    

Bearded Tit Phillip Tomkinson  

And this one of the Bearded Tits at Leighton Moss. October is the perfect time to see these brilliant birds at Leighton Moss which come to the grit trays put out for their benefit.

Crested Tit Noushka Dufort  

The Crested Tit is a bird mainly confined to the ancient Caledonian Pine forests in Scotland, and this is by far the best image I have seen of the species to date.

Sardinian Warbler Antonio Puigg

And the Sardinian Warbler which breeds from the Canaries through Morocco and around the Mediterranean, it is a resident and partial migrant mainly into North Africa and the Sahara. The first British record of Sardinian Warbler was of a male on Lunday, Devon in May 1955.

Thanks to PG/PT/ND/AP for the excellent photographs they are much appreciated.

And what about the latest MEGA....

An Eastern Kingbird found on Inishmore Island, County Galway, Ireland, and a first record for the Western Palearctic. 

Another bit of depression....

....but don't fret there are some brilliant pics too, in any case I'm going to keep 'the depression' brief and void of too much waffle.

I'm determined to have the benefit of a blog to pump out the news now and again about the kind of problems our wildlife look set to endure for evermore....perhaps you'd like to take a look at THIS 

If you visit the vast upland areas of Bowland as I often do you can't fail to come across traps, cages, and people with guns to 'control' just about anything that can possibly be labelled a 'pest', not least of all if its a raptor or a corvid, but also if its a Fox, Stoat, Weasel and more, I even came across a trap recently which I discovered was to catch a Grey Squirrel. OK....so what's the problem with a Grey Squirrel in Bowland, it's as if you name it and its a problem and a pest if it comes into contact with the Red Grouse and the Pheasant the 'Darling birds of Bowland', and certainly is if it's 'suspected' of having them on the menu....but a Grey Squirrel!

Well I said I'd keep it brief and you will have noted the joke about this 'person' in Scotland who was fined £450 for being responsible for the unnecessary death of the Buzzard which was his intention in the first place....wasn't it, well he did'nt release the bird - a protected wild creature - from a cage, in any case his employer will probably earn that much by the day - and more - and he'll pay the fine anyway....this is called justice, in this case for the Buzzard.

On a lighter note, and to celebrate the Spain 4 Italy 0 Euro 2012 result, heres another 3 from Spain to make it 7-0 which is what the score would have been had either of these teams played England.

Great-spotted Cuckoo Ana Minguez

If you're living in the UK like me you'll need to be lucky to get this one in your book of ticks. The Great-spotted Cuckoo, this one is a juvenile. The first record of GSC in Britain was in 1870 in Northhumberland, though one was found in Ireland 28 years earlier in 1842 at  Omey Island, Galway. 

Penduline Tit Isidro Ortiz

And another the Penduline Tit, you'll need some luck to see one of these in the UK though certainly possible as an accidental here, the first record of which was only claimed  46 years ago in 1966 at Spurn, East Yorkshire. 

Crested Tit Antonio Puigg

The Crested Tit, is largely confined to the ancient Caledonian Pine Forests and Scots Pine Plantations. Thanks to AM/IO/AP for these excellent images.