Lost phone

Apologies for a non-birding post…
Bloody hell – ten or so years of having a mobile and never once losing it, and now it’s finally happened. And like a complete numpty, I of course don’t have a written list of everyone’s names and numbers, so they’re lost with the SIM card.
So… anyone that knows me, please [...]

Frank

Am not sure whether or not this blog title makes any sense at all unless you’re from the West Country too… but hopefully it will – it’s a topical birding reference, and following the rip-roaring success that was the Pheasant rodeo advert, it’s a gratuitous opportunity to revisit another commercial I enjoyed immensely.
Enough suspense building and [...]

Crying fowl

It was a day of two halves – and I only considered it anything less than perfect about an hour ago. Up until then – just peachy.
You’ll recognise the seeds of the woe when I begin by saying that I woke up this morning to find my mobile had died in the night, so naturally [...]

You are my haw

Devoted most of the day to hot vegetable action – planted yet more tatties, 60 assorted brassicas, and chicken-proofed the side of the new yard that’s most vulnerable to hen-infiltration. Went down the isle after lunch to get some stuff from the shop, half-heartedly birding along the way – not a lot to be seen, [...]

House listing

Worked from home today, but with a deadline to meet I couldn’t even spare myself half an hour at lunchtime to see what was occuring outside. Eventually got out mid evening to find JA already in the plantation, so headed home to start planting potatoes. Gave up as it was getting dark with over 150 [...]

Queens

Dropped into JLI’s for an enjoyable and beer-fuelled rundown on the day’s birding events this evening. It sounded like I didn’t miss much…
Apart from a Wryneck he found early on, it seemed that much the same birds as seen in the past 48 hours were being recycled around the isle, so having to go to [...]

Any minute now…

… it’s all going to start happening. Surely. A noticeable increase in warblers yesterday evening and this morning, indicating either new arrivals or birds coming out of the woodwork now that the wind is easing off a little.
Moved the ponies yesterday evening, a considerable logistical undertaking as they’re pretty feral and so need to be chaperoned [...]

Dipping and tripping

When I start a post saying I’m absolutely buggered, it’s usually an accurate barometer of how good the day was. It implies an awful lot of effort’s gone into the day, which me being the generally slothful and lazy slacker I am, must mean the weather was looking good and I’ve made the most of [...]

Sexy beast

 

A good day, but not as good as we’d anticipated it might be. JLI and I spent the morning scouring the island and becoming increasingly despondent – there were migrants, but not the deluge we’d been hoping for. A smattering of species around the isle – Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts, a few Willow Warblers, [...]

Lesser Scaup joy (and more besides)

After being teased all day by JLI’s texts of migrant goodies at home, there was only one thing I could possibly do after work. Hurry home and catch up on what I was missing? Obviously not. I had a score to settle with the Loch of Benston Lesser Scaup.
The wretched thing was still on the [...]