The recent discovery of Stock Dove and Kestrel on my local patch got me wandering about what else I’d potentially missed by keeping to regular routes and routines. As a result I’ve spent the last couple of weeks poking into every nook and cranny I can find to make sure Read more…
Yesterday produced an unexpected but most welcome surprise in the shape of a Hoopoe at Middleton on Gower. First reported on Saturday during torrential rain I originally gave it a miss as Hoopoe is easily my biggest bogey bird and I didn’t fancy another wet, fruitless search (see this entry Read more…
After our exertions on Bleaklow the day before, a nice gentle walk around the upper reservoirs of the Derwent valley seemed like an ideal choice for Saturday. Well that was the plan anyway until I decided that an eleven mile circuit of both the Derwent and Howden was exactly what Read more…
In a startling turn of events this weekend consisted predominantly of rain, followed by drizzle, followed by more rain. Indeed I may have foregone any venture in an outdoors direction if not for a rather timely tweet from Rob Jones. His 140 characters told of a Glaucous Gull tucking into Read more…
One bird I really wanted to see in 2013 was a Long-tailed Duck. They’ve always held a certain fascination for me but despite trying on numerous occasions I had never quite managed to connect with one. You can probably imagine my excitement therefore when I realised on Friday that the Read more…
In the words of everyone’s favourite Austrian, I’m back. From where I hear you ask? Norfolk I answer, hoping to bring this slightly awkward opening exchange to a swift conclusion. Ah you say in clear disregard to my previous statement, see any Waxwings? I think we may be about to Read more…
Last night I made a terrible error of judgement and decided to watch another dire, tournament ending performance from England in Euro 2012 with the full knowledge that a Gull-billed Tern was showing just a couple of miles away. If the Italians had managed to put us out of our Read more…
It’s been a great weekend here in South Wales with blue skies and temperatures so warm that on occasion t-shirts were more than adequate. Saturday started at dawn with the short drive to Porth Clais in Pembrokeshire where we were hoping to catch up with a very showy Isabelline Shrike. Read more…
Readers of my last post will probably have realised that quite a lot of our time in Norfolk was spent on the RSPB’s fantastic reserve at Titchwell. It wasn’t just the birds that kept drawing us back but rather the whole atmosphere of the place. I have never known anywhere Read more…
We spent last week about as far east as it’s possible to get from our home in South Wales without leaving the UK. Our destination was the north Norfolk coast, somewhere I used to holiday regularly as a child but a place I haven’t been to for at least fifteen Read more…