Day two of our Norfolk break saw us rising at dawn once more though the clear skies of yesterday were sadly just a memory. Drawing back the curtains revealed instead thick cloud, light mist and persistent drizzle but none of that was going to stop us from attempting to build Read more…
Last Friday afternoon saw us driving east for nearly seven hours, much of it through torrential rain. What, you may ask, could have brought on such madness? I could blame an early mid-life crisis or work related stress but no, what drew us inextricably across almost the entire width of Read more…
This past week has seen us enjoying a well-earned break down in Cornwall exploring locations around Lands End and Lizard Point. From our first ever self-found Glaucous Gull to Turnstones close enough to touch the birding certainly exceeded all expectations and that’s not forgetting of course the miles of stunning Read more…
The long staying Ross’s Gull at Aberavon finally proved an irresistible pull yesterday afternoon resulting in our appearance at the Afan just after three. In blustery conditions the bulk of activity seemed to be concentrated around the river mouth itself with a selection of thirty or forty gulls in flight Read more…
It may have been a quiet few weeks on the blog but let me assure you that away from the interwebs things have been anything but. I’ve just returned from another fantastic fortnight on the Isle of Mull where the wildlife encounters once again managed to better anything I could Read more…
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…