That's All Folks.

Well folks after a visit to the doctors today complainin' of bloggers block, I've been told by the doctor that the only way I can be cured is to stop writin' complete crap on the internet! Failure to do so could lead to me eventually developin' huge sores on me arse as a result of spendin' hours on a stool for just a few lines of tosh. So that's it folks, I shall blog no more.

Well that's not exactly true I shall be keepin' me hand in as the unofficial bird recorder for the "Kingdom Of Cheesedale" at http://birdincheadle.blogspot.com/

See you at Utch when I nail the biggie next year.

That's all folks.

Utch 5/12/10 0845-1115.

Despite a slight thaw yesterday there's still around six inch's of the white stuff covering the ground at Utch with all four lagoons now completely frozen. So with no open water at all, today's visit was a bit of a dead duck! A single Dunlin roosting among the Lappies on the ice and a rather weak lookin' Barn Owl seen three times around half ten were the only birds of note.

In the end as you can see I spent more time snappin' away with the old Mugimakki than birdin'!

But all was not lost on the birdin' front pour moi and Mad Malc. A tour of the local berry bushs around home this afternoon paid off when we got in on this winters Waxie action with eight of the pink punksters feeding on Cotoneaster berries!!!

For a couple of dodgy piccies of said punks check out my latest "serious" blogtastic offering at http://birdincheadle.blogspot.com

That's all folks.

Waxies a mile from Utch.............

After checkin' virtually every bearing bush in Cheadle and around Utch this weekend for Waxwings it was no surprise at all when I had a text from RP this afternoon while I was ploddin' around a frozen Utch to say he'd found 35 of the little beauties on the other side of Uttoxeter, along Kingfisher Way and only a mile from UTCH!! Yet another scalp for the lad to pin to his self found belt, top man! A swift trot back to the car had me lathered up like the proverbial sweating pig! You can't have to many layers on this weather, it was minus 14 this mornin' around home.

As usual the waxies had flown by the time I got there but after we decided to split up I eventually picked them up as they flew high over Chaffinch Drive. A text to RP informin' him I'd relocated them was replied to with the news that they were back where they were originally, by the car!!! Back at the car I eventually managed to unleash the old Muggimakki and if I say so myself I've probably got the worst picture ever published of a flock of Waxwings.

The likes of messers Young, Cromack and Seal will be havin' sleepless night if they see this little offerin'.



Hopefully by next weekend they'll be at Utch.



That's all folks.

Utch 27/11/10 1200-1350.

After around two inches of snow overnight I felt quite positive as I headed off to Utch with thoughts of perhaps a decent goose or even a Waxwing feeding on the glut of berries that can be found on the embankment bordering Utch. How wrong can you be? The best I could muster was a single flyover Snipe!

Me "old" mucker RP was on site and had seen nothing to get the pulse goin' so after a speculative check of the distant goose flock we decided to knock it on the head and hope for better things tomorrow.

That's all folks.

A little bit of luck........

A stroll around Utch with Mad Malc' this mornin' produced very little apart from a couple of Redshanks that dropped onto Cottonmill Fm pool and a Chiffchaff feeding in a nettle bed near the River Tean. Definitely a bog standard Chiff' though because I heard it call.

A stroll along the bridle path at Croxden this afternoon with our Ellie and the hounds produced the goods though! As we were walking along I heard what sounded like Whooper Swans in the distance and before long we had 18 of 'em flying low over our heads and heading in the direction of Utch!!! Despite my best efforts I couldn't impress Ellie who was more interested in just running around with the dogs.

That's all folks.

Utch 0830-1130 20/11/10.

I finally picked up a Yellowhammer this mornin' as it flew over the River Tean callin'. Until last winter Y'ammers were pretty easy to see at Utch but the severe weather we endured seems to have almost wiped them out locally. One that got away though was a flyover Rock/Water Pipit which flew over callin' as I 'scoped the main lagoon. I'm not to bothered about that one though seein' as me and RP had both species side by side at Utch in the spring!

Wigeon 49, Teal 31, Goosander 11, Pochard 6, Tufty 32, Goldeneye 1, Golden Plover 2, Snipe 2, Peregrine 1, Raven 2, Fieldfare/ Redwing a huge mixed flock of at least 500 birds, Yellowhammer 1, Rock/Water Pipit 1 flew north @ 0905.

That's all folks.

The Stork Has Landed!

I thought summat was amiss when I pedalled past our Alexs house at six o'clock this mornin' and all the lights were on. Al' had gone into labour and our Lee had rushed her off to the NSRI just before I went past. Good job too because the little man was only minutes away from hatchin'! It's a good job they didn't wait any longer he was born at 0715. If you ask moi he must have bloody fell out!!!

A beautiful fair haired and blue eyed baby boy weighing in at just over 8lb. No name yet but I'll call him Tiger or Champ' anyway. All I need to do now is convince his dad that he'd be better off growin' up a Leeds fan.

Back to the darts now folks.

Nobbys Got A Whopper!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey up folks I had a bit of a shock first thing this mornin' when I picked up our Nobby! First thing he said as we got out of the motor at Blake Hall to begin the Webs count was "feast ya mince pies on this mother ###### owd duck"! To my complete surprise he unleashed a huge new weapon and let me tell ya folks it's a proper whopper!!!! After seventeen years loyal service he's retired his trusty old Kowa and replaced it with a huge piece of optical artillery from Opticron. A very impressive piece of kit but I can't help thinkin' it could get mistaken for a rocket launcher and he could end up like moi many moons ago, sprawled across a panda car after the locals mistook me for a gunman!!!

Blake Hall, Hales Hall, Croxden and Dimmings Dale produced just a single Kingfisher.

Brookleys Lake came good though with nearly eight hundred birds, with at least 86 Mandarins roostin', swimmin' and even displayin'! Far to cold for thoughts of rumpy pumpy pour moi even with the heatin' on full whack!!! Despite their plastic tag it's a superb sight to see these stunnin' little ducks as they sit twenty to a branch high above the water in the overhangin' Oaks.

Between Brookers and Rocester we spotted a field full of free range xmas dinners and to reinforce their reputation of bein' a bit thick this chap had managed to get through the fence but was doin' his very best to get back over to his soon to be stuffed mates.

Over at the JCB Lakes an incredible 54 Goosander were makin' the most of the recently restocked South Lake alongside 7 Cormorants. With over £20.000 pounds worth of fish gone in recently they must have got through a good few quids worth just while we were there. Not only have my employers been restockin' the fish but they've also been addin' to the wildfowl collection. A collection that includes Hawiian Geese, Spotbills, Cape Shelduck, Bar-headed Geese,Fulvous Whistlin' Ducks, White-cheeked Pintail, Red-breasted Geese, Swan Geese, Snow Geese, Hooded Merganser, American Wigeon,Baikal Teal, Muscovies, Black Swans which had 3 newly hatched cygnets and worst of all two incredibly tame Common Eiders!!! The male bird was tryin' to join in a game of footy at one point!

After finishin' the Webs we decided to finish the day off at the recently re-flooded Utch to see if we could beat RP's new record count of 64 Goosander which beat the previous record of 61 which we set last February. When we got to the main lagoon we found young Fair Isle thumbin' through a BnQ brochure while he took a breather from his Webs count. He loves his DIY does our Steven just like moi. After a bit of a natter we split up and me, Norbert and The Whopper headed off to look for Fast Eddies Little Owl. Half way round we bumped into Teanfords Scilly Spotter RP who decided to join us in our search for the owl. Almost as soon as we had turned round we picked up a couple of Whoppers as they headed north over the quarry, a quick call to Fair Isle with news of the Whoppers almost finished him off when he failed to pick them up. This is something like the sixth or seventh record of Whooper Swan for the quarry in the last two and a half years and shows that these birds must be using the valley regularly as they move around the country.

Whooper Swan 2, Wigeon 31, Teal 59, Gadwall 2, Goosander 59, Mallard 330, Little Egret 1, Green Sand' 1, Kingfisher 1, Raven 4.

Despite our best efforts we couldn't beat 64 Goosander as they came into roost and so with old Norbert strokin' his huge weapon lovingly we decided to call it a day and head for the warmth of the motor.

Still no sign of that bloody stork!!!

That's all foks.

Missin' link appears at waxie twitch

After a less than inspirin' visit to Utch this mornin' I felt the need for a good bird so when the pager revealed that there were still at least five Waxwings along Barnfields Road in Leek I decided to nip up for a quick shufty and a bit of a social.

As I pulled up I spotted old RP among the aviarazzi with his trusty Swaro/coolpix combo aimed at a rather battered lookin' Mountain Ash which was almost completely devoid of berries but which he assured me was being used because he had the piccies to prove it!!!! Top man. Sure enough the Waxwings were right above our heads in the top of an Ash tree and before long they dropped down to give crackin' views from about 25 feet away! True to form Id left the old Muggimakki slr 500 at home so it's google images again pour moi.

Then from the corner of my eye I spotted a lycra clad pensioner cycling towards us and despite his spec's steamin' up I recognised him as none other than Teans very own "World Waffling Champion" John "rabbit,rabbit" Carter who'd pedalled all the way from Cheadle on his mobility bike. If you've never had the pleasure of Johns company you won't be aware of his ability to never draw breath as he talks at you for what can seem like hours on end. After doin' a few stretch's to stop himself goin' stiffer John took up my offer of using my bins for a quick look and then complained that they needed cleaning!! Cheeky old git.

What followed next seems to happen to me on a rather too regular basis and I can't really do it justice but here's what happened. My mong magnet must have been workin' overtime because a Transit van full of scrap pulled up and what must surely be the missing link leaned out of the passengers window and for some reason started gurgling and gruntin' in my direction. Perhaps he's got a mongy mate that's my double? Anyway after exchangin' grunts and gurgles with me to the amusement of the crowd the link and his mate headed back into Leek before his carer realised he was out.

Not an exact likeness but very, very close. If you visit Barnfield keep 'em peeled owd duck.

That's all folks.

Utch 6/11/10 0950-1250.

Hey up folks the best thing about todays visit to Utch was the weather. A crackin' autumn mornin' but sadly nothin' of note on the bird front. "Wagner" the local White-fronted Goose was back among the 'lags on the north shore but since he/she turned up in July it's goose has been well and truly cooked as far as being considered wild goes. If it had turned up in the last couple of weeks the word "plastic" would never have even crossed my mind and we'd be celebratin' another addition to the ever expanding Utch list.

Green Sand' 1, Snipe 20, Dunlin 1, Curlew 4, White-fronted Goose (feral?), Goosander 1, Wigeon 3, Teal 8, Mipit c30.

If you've read this before you'll know I'm a big dog lover and nothin' winds me up more than the anti-dog brigade. That was one of the reasons I stopped visiting Blithers more often but today one numpty really naffed me off when he let his mut run amok along the edge of the main lagoon. What a nobhead!!!! And if you don't believe me just look at this piccie of said mut running right in front of me!!!

I think this is one mut that could do with a spot of sit and stay owd duck!

While we're on about dogs this might give you a bit of chuckle! Late this afternoon I lobbed our hounds into the boot and set off up to Croxden to take 'em for a stroll. As I was drivin' along I thought they were a bit quiet and when I pulled up I realised why, I'd only gone and left the parcel shelf in hadn't I!!!! So the poor sods had been ridin' along in total darkness and probably wonderin' what the hell was goin' on?

That's all folks.

Hurry up lad.....

Hey up folks if you see one of these things carryin' a good lookin' young lad give it a shove for me will you. My little grandson should have been here by now and the fact that he hasn't turned up yet means I won't be goin' for the the Yankie Bittern in Cornwall this weekend. Still some things are a bit more important than birds and birdin' eh?

That's all folks.

Not again!!!!!!!

Hey up folks you'll never guess who I bumped into at Utch on Friday, none other than "Fast" Eddie Fox finder of both The Shrike and Dipper! Despite it being to say the least a bit damp old Edward still had his trusty trainers on but with his socks tucked in to keep the damp out!!!! While Eddie was gripping me off about the shrike he also slipped in the fact that he'd had a LITTLE OWL in the same area as the shrike!!! Bloody hell talk about rubbin' it in! Little Owl is still an Utch Mega and a definite blocker. In fact if it's true that Buzzards are scoffin' Little Owls on sight it could turn out to be the first and last record!

Yesterday was a complete blank on the birdin' front with a spot of the dreaded DIY early on with the help of Jans old man "Our Graham". How any one can enjoy DIY is beyond me I absolutely detest it and can not for the life of me understand how anyone can waste their precious spare time trawlin' around the likes of Wickes! I'd rather have me cream crackers removed with a hot blunt knife! As if that wasn't enough I then ended up goin' xmas shoppin' with our jan followed by an evening of ####### X Factor! Thankfully there was enough amber nectar on hand to dull both my senses and the pain of this #####.

Two visits to Utch today produced one or two bits and bobs but nothin' new for the Utch yearlist. One surprise this evening was several flocks of Starlings goin' overhead some of which ended up roosting in the tiny strips of phraggy that run along the edge of the quarry works.

0745-1020

Dipper 1, Golden Plover 61, Green Sand' 1, Snipe 4, Dunlin 2, Teal 12, Goosander 3, Cormorant 32, Raven 2.

1430-1645

Dipper 1, Kingfisher 1, Barn Owl 1, Curlew 4, Dunlin 2, Golden Plover 19, Goosander 14,

That's all folks.

U.T.C.H 400 Club

Hey up folks, big day today! Today I became the founder member of the U.T.C.H 400 Club. This afternoons visit to Utch was my 400th in the two and a half years since RP first showed me what I was missin' while I plodded round Croxden. Four hundred visits and the best I've managed to muster is a poxey Purple Sand' in September this year! Yes I know Purp' is a good bird inland but I won't settle 'til I set up The Beast and find meself gawpin' at a crippler!!!!!

Nothin' of any real note today with highlights being 3 Ravens, a pesky male Peregrine and a sun tanned RP lookin' like he'd been tangoed after sunnin' himself on Scilly.

Goosander 22, Teal 40, Goldeneye 2, Golden Plover 3, Dunlin 1, Snipe 2, Raven 3, Peregrine 1.

While I was scopin' the main lagoon I heard several loud bangs comin' from the quarry works so I texted old "Hey Presto" the quarry manager to let him know there might be summat goin' on and perhaps gain a few brownie points for the future. BINGO! Six local numpties nabbed on site by the bobbies!!! After this I may well get "full" access.

That's all folks.

Clean kegs almost needed on A17!!!!!

After the excitement of the Dipper on Friday at Utch it was a back to basics on Saturday with very little of note apart from a single Dunlin, Green Sand' and Willow Tit so the chance of a day out in Norfolk with my aging muckers Mad Malc' and Norbert sounded worth missin' a Sunday visit to Utch for.

So off we set yesterday mornin' around 0500 arrivin' at Warham Greens just after eight. How we got there in one piece I'll never know, Malc was drivin' the old Mystery Machine as if it was a formula one car and at one point on the A17 I almost shat meself as we missed an head on collision with a forty foot artic by literally a few feet as Malc pushed himself to the limit in his quest to be the first man down his road to join the 300 club!!!! Luckily pour moi I'd been for a tom tit before I left home otherwise it could have been a tad messy owd duck!

Two and a half hours at Warham produced zip! No sign of either the Pallas's or Yellow-browed Warblers only a single Chiff'. Good views of the dark-bellied brent's could prove useful later in the year if old David the Brent turns up again in Cheadle.

With a Little Auk up for grabs off Cley coastguards we hit the road again and after almost skittlin' several wellie wearin' toffs in Cley as they took their mornin' constitutional we arrived to find the auk had flown off! The only birds of note here were a single bonxie, around fifty Common Scooters and a Red-throated Diver preening close in shore. Despite drawin' another blank we decided to hit nearby Stiffkey Fen in hope of jammin' on to the Little Bunt' that was seen briefly on Saturday.

No sign of the bunta but plenty of birds on the scrape with two Bearded Tits showin' quite well close to the dyke. Lookin' at that scrape just emphasised pour moi how fortunate coastal birders are in comparison to inland birders. There must have been at least thirty Pintail on what is little more than a large puddle. Bloody hell last weekend I was chuffed with just one Pintail at Croxden which is one of the largest holes in Europe!!

News of a Yellow-browed at Muckleburgh had Malc's nostrils flarin' so off set at warp factor three in the old Scooby Doo Van. What followed next left both me and old Norbert completely shell shocked . Spying a blonde photographer the normally very reserved Malc' started chattin' and displaying to the young lady as if he were a Ruff at a lek!!! I've never seen the old chap seem so lively and animated. At one point he threw his coat down on the ground and beckoned her to join him despite other birders bein' present!!! Anyway it did the trick and she offered to show us all where the Yellow-browed had last been seen. The YBW was feedin' in a Sycamore and so when news of an RB Flicker at Holkham broke our blonde friend bade Malc' a fond farewell and strode off like a moden Lady Godiva minus the horse, well that's how the mad lad sees her.

Anyway back to birds and despite lookin' through tear stained bins our Malc' connected with the little swine almost immediately as it chased two or three Chiff's around but then gave directions to the wrong "tree"! The tree was a bush! Just then another lady birder turned up and fortunately for her Malc' only noticed her when she read out a pager message that said" RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL AT HOLME". That's when I stepped in and said "right lads no more ######' about let's go see a real bird!"

Three quarters of an hour later we were strikin' out across the dunes at Holme towards The Firs where the bluetail was bein' ogled by around fifty other birders. After around forty minutes we finally had a brief view as the bluetailed gem fed on the ground under the Sea Buckthorn. Luckily for us it then flew in our direction and dived into the scrub right infront of us. At this point I was right at the front of the assembled throng sittin' on the ground when my Fawlty Towers ring tone suddenly went off amid the silence of the crowd as we waited for the bluetail to reappear!!! Luckily pour moi I managed to locate me 'phone pretty quickly and switched it off but knew full well I could be facin' the wrath of our Jan later after ignorin' her call. Over the next twenty minutes the bluetail showed again briefly twice within' ten yards of us and just long enough to unleash The Beast on TARSIGER CYANRUS!

Amid all this one thing struck me and that was that a pal of mine has now seen three bluetails in a year and only just ticked Yellow-browed Warbler!!!!! How mad is that? It doesn't seem five minutes since I was moping around at home unable to get time off work to see the Winspit bird in '93, now bluetails have been relegated to nothin' more than almost typical late autumn migrants.

That's all folks.

DIPPER UTB!!

It always astounds me how a little bundle of feathers can lift ya spirits and this afternoons visit to Utch proved the point perfectly. I've got to admit I haven't been meself just lately with one thing and another and missin' Utch Megas like Great Grey Shrike and Dipper hasn't helped one bit! But just hang on there owd duck because I'm now back on form and firin' on all cylinders after firmly connectin' with said Dipper along the River Tean this afternoon.

After checkin' the main pit which unsurprisingly held the juv' fem' Scaup that was at Brookers on Sunday( birds regularly commute between these sites) I strode off along the tean in search of our water lovin friend. Within five minutes I was punchin' the air as if i'd found a Black-throated Blue Warbler on Scilly as the Dipper zipped off low over the water towards the confluence with the River Dove, brilliant! Thirty yards further along I relocated it sitting quietly on the waters edge and with no further ado unleashed the full power of The Beast. Still can't get used to this Swaro' it's superb. Crackin' views of a locally scarce bird which was sadly not of the continental black-bellied race. But then again if it had been I'd have ben spoilin' me reputation for never findin' owt good.

Time for a few celebratory swift ones me thinks, that's all folks.

Gripped Again!!!!

Plenty of good birds around over the last few days but apart from a juv' Scaup at Brookers and ringtail Hen Harrier at Swallow Moss I haven't seen any of 'em!!!!! So imagine my dismay when a text about another Utch Mega from the lover of knitted jumpers read "DIPPER @ UTCH ON THE RIVER TEAN" Oh for ####'s sake not again and unbelievably found again by my aging nemesis Farmer Fox!!! Only last week Fast Eddie came up trumps with a Great Grey Shrike which sadly didn't stick around long enough pour moi to connect.

Ten Golden Pullovers flying over Utch on Sunday afternoon put me on 127 for the year so if I'd connected with the Dipper, shrike and the Brambling that Fair Isle had on Sunday morning I'd have hit me target for the year of 130 with around ten weeks still left!

Wouldn't it be nice though if the Dipper was still around at the weekend and it turned out to be a Black-bellied Dipper from the continent! Oooooh 'errrr!

That's all folks.

Rare,rare,rare,rare,rare,rare........................

On days like today I feel like lobbin' me pager in the bin. Rares everywhere and no chance of fillin' the car full of eager compadres to accompany moi on a trip to the east coast today or tomorrow. To make matters worse it's duck hunt w'end and being a man of my word I'm forced to do me rounds. Hopefully a decent dabbler or diver will brighten tomorrows proceedings.

That's got that off me chest so back to to days visit to Utch in search of the shrike found in midweek. The plan was to give Utch a thorough goin' over and perhaps cover a couple of Webs sites today to give me a bit more time tomorrow if something pops up within shrikin' distance! Guess what though, I'd only been there an hour when our Jan' was on the blower uttering the words every birder dreads " what time will you be back because I've got to do some shoppin'?" "Bloody hell I've only just got here!!!!!" I said. "Well you've got no yoghurts for ya snappin" said a mildly put out Jan "#### the yoghurts!!!!!!" said I before makin' a sharp U-turn realising full well that I'd be goin' to bed early without any supper tonight after my outburst over the yog's.

Utch 1150-1320

Teal 23, Pintail 1, Redwing 20 heading s/e, Chiffchaff 1.

That's all folks.

Gripped!!!!!

Oh the joy of dark nights!!!! No chance of gettin' out after work now so you can imagine my burst of expletives when a text from "Fair Isle" informed me that a bloody Great Grey Shrike as been turned up at Utch today and I haven't got a cat in hells chance of getting anywhere near until Saturday morning at the earliest. How I'd gladly have given up all those Iberian Grey's I saw last week in Portugal for a shrike at Utch. For a patch worker like moi it would mean far more than missing the Woodchat at Whitemoor which would have been a county tick for all but the lucky three! Hopefully it will stick around 'til the weekend and be viewable from the footpath.

Top marks to the finder, former farmer Eddie fox! I bet he was well chuffed especially after gettin' caught out of bounds a few weeks ago. TOP MAN.

That's all folks.

Elvis Alive!!!!

Hey up folks long time no blog eh? A bout of Bloggers Blues brought on by a lack of quality birds at Utch apart from a Purple Sand' and juv' Spot'shank found by lover of jumpers Steve "Fair Isle" Turner when he was unsuccessfully twitchin' the Purp' as been cured with a trip to Portugal with the family. Despite it being a "beach" holiday I still saw plenty of good birds with crippling views of Rock Buntings in freezing conditions at the top of Foia being the highlight as well as good numbers of Short-toed Eagles, Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vultures, , Black and White Storks plus all the other usual suspects you'd expect at this time of year in the Algarve.

The real highlight of the trip though came in the car park at Beliche close to Cabo de San Vicente where I bumped into none other than The King Of The Quiff himself ELVIS AARON PRESLEY as he took in the breathtaking coastal scenery before disappearing quicker than the Purp' at Utch!!!

The other main highlight of the last month has been me finally getting a new 'scope after ten years excellent service I finally traded in my trusty Kowa for a Swaro' ATM 8O HD with a 25x50 wa eyepiece. What a monster!!!! It's that good I've christened it THE BEAST. This seems to have put our Jan on edge though because every time I say it's time to unleash THE BEAST she quickly runs up stairs and bolts the bedroom door behind her!!!!!!

Off to Utch now in the Pouring Rain!!!

That's all folks.

Utch 27/8/10 1505-1650.

A poor show at Utch this afternoon with two adult Dunlin being the highlight! An adult Common Gull was among the blockheads.

Dunlin 2, Common Sand' 1, LRP 2, Common Gull 1, Shelduck 3, Teal 13, Shoveler 1, Goosander 1, Mandarin 1.

A call in at Croxden on the way home producd the "bird of the day" a Common Sand'! Yes it's a bit over the top but wader wise this year at Croxden, Common Sand' is more than welcome. This next three weeks at Croxden "normally" turn something of note up, something of note could mean something as common as a Little Egret but it's still a MEGA up here. Anyway hope it's a good un but not when I'm in Portugal!!

That's all folks.

Ellie Grace Big Four Today!!

Our beautiful little granddaughter is four years old today "Happy Birthday El'" from Nana Jan and Grandad xxxx.

Utch 25/8/10 1830-1920.

I was torn tonight between nippin' up the M6 for a buchas at the Long-billed Dowitcher in Northwich or another visit to Utch. In the end Utch won and I'm glad it did because the dowitcher flew off at around 1810 when I would have been "half way there....... livin' on a prayer" by then!



Five Black'wits were the highlight tonight. They flew in over Cotonmill fm at c1900 and immediately turned round and flew of again! Other than that there was very little on show apart from the four Shelduck from last night.



Black'wit 5, Green Sand' 1, Common Sand' 1, LRP 2, Shelduck 4.



That's all folks.

Utch 24/8/10 1830-2010.

A quick tour of North East Staffordshire's top birder less hotspot this evenin' again failed to turn up anything decent. The last decent bird was RP's Wood Sand nearly two months ago! It's bird less times like this that test even the most ardent of local patchers. What I'd have given tonight for summat like a Knot, Kittiwake or Little Gull all of which were only eight miles away at Blithers this evenin'.

A single Ringed Plover and a flyover Greenshank were the "highlights" this evenin'.

Ringed Plover 1, LRP 9, Greenshank 1, Common Sand' 2, Green Sand' 2, Shelduck 4 juv's, Yellow Wag' 2, Peregrine 1.

That's all folks.

Utch 22/8/10 1820-2010.

Still no quality at Utch this evenin'. A crackin' evenin' for a stroll though, we'd better make the most of 'em cos the nights are closin' in quickly and before we know it we'll be stuck inside night after night! God I hate dark nights!!!


Greenshank 4, Green Sand' 6, Common Sand' 3, Dunlin 2, LRP 2, Snipe 1, Goosander 2, Shelduck 1, Teal 13, Yellow Wag' 13.


That's all folks.

Utch 21/8/10 1240-1540.

Naked Birdin' seems to be the latest thing if you look at Martin Garners excellent new blog "Birding Frontiers" it's all about birdin' without optics and all the other paraphernalia we carry around nowadays. Well today I was semi naked! No don't worry I haven't been wanderin' around Utch with the old crown jewels hangin' out, nothin' of the sort but I did feel rather lost and nervy with NO PAGER! Yes me pager has died and I can't seem to get through to anyone at RBA so I'm relyin' on The Alkborough Two to keep me up to date until I can get it sorted.



Nothin' of any real interest today infact the only real talkin' point was the fact that I didn't have a coat when the heavens opened and I had to dash for shelter under a hedge



Greenshank 3, Green Sand' 6, LRP 6, Common Sand' 5, Dunlin 1, Snipe 1, Shelduck 2 juv's, Yellow Wag' 7, Redstart 2, Sedge Warb' 1, L'throat 2.



That's all folks.

"watch where ya treadin' owd duck!"

Hey up folks, let me tell you a little story about something that happened at work today. Every detail is for once sadly and completely true!

Earlier this mornin' my team leader Dogtanian said I was wanted outside in the kittin' shed but he didn't know why. "Where's the kittin' shed?" I said "I'll show you" said Dogtanian who obviously thought he was missin' out on something, how he would later regret bein' so nosey! So after donnin' the compulsory Hi-vis vests we trooped of outside to see what was occurin' ?

As we walked into the shed through a large roller shutter door two Swallows flew out and almost knocked me block off! From over at the far end of the shed one of the lads shouted "you've just trod on that bird!!! "WHAT BIRD?" We both asked as we turned round to see a juv' Swallow doin' the dyin' fly spinnin' around on its back. " Oh shit that bird" I quickly rushed across and picked it up as the poor little sod drew it's last breath! How unlucky was that? If they'd only said that they needed me to move a bird then Dogtanian probably woudn't have come with me and the poor little sod would have been still alive tonight and dreamin' of spendin' the winter in the sun!!!

So you can say that old Dogtanian really put his foot in it this time!!!!!!

That's all folks.

Tickin' like a tart!!!

Well after finally nailin' a Tree Pipit securely to the Old Pox' List after fourteen years on Monday the last thing I expected was another addition so soon! But then just as i was jumpin' in the car after a bird less hour on the viewpoint me mobile went off with a message from my nemesis the newly crowned Baron Croxden or as he's known to his fans Mad Malc' lettin' me know that he'd got two Spot' Fly's over the far end of the quarry right where I had the Pipit!!!

Then RP turned up just as I was about to roar off,can you roar off in a punto? "Spot Fly's follow me!" So off we roared in a mini convoy with Paul Rogers warbling away to the Bad Co. classic "Bad Co." What a tune! Five minutes later and we were just in time to 'scope one of the fly's before it flew off into the edge of the wood.

Nice one Baron!

That's all folks.

Utch 17/8/10 1815-2015.

With a report of four Spot'shanks at Blithers and up to eleven Ruff at Belfield I hit Utch with high hopes of a good bird at last tonight. As usual the birdin' gods failed to play ball but three Greenshank and a crackin' juv' Whinchat wasn't to bad a result.


Greenshank 3, Green Sand' 6, Snipe 3, Common Sand' 1, LRP 7, Teal 34, Shelduck 1, Y-front 1, Yellow Wag' 3, Whinchat 1 juv'.


That's all folks.

Site Tick!!!

Hey up folks back at work today after an almost completely bird less three week break and as soon as I got outside at snappin' time a juv' Wheatear flew up from between two tractors! First of the autumn.


Today's best bird though was a single Tree Pipit this evenin' at Croxden which flew up in front of me and the dogs and gave crackin' views through the 'scope. A long overdue species at poxey and a site tick to boot!!! Also at poxey this evenin' were a fem/juv Mandarin and two Teal.


That's all folks.

Utch 15/8/10 0915-1200.

Meet Hansel and Gretal two of several "donations" to the local avifauna at Hales Hall, presumin' they are a pair any offspring will will be tickable under the latest Cheesedale Recordin' Area Guidelines which have just been published in the local rag.

The only thing of note on todays Webs duck count was two Yellow Wag's which flew over Hales Hall callin' at 0650. Yep I know they aren't ducks but they're still a good bird for Cheesedale!

No need for a full check of the Utch today with RP already on site but plenty of time for a natter as usual. The light north easterlies seemed to have done the trick with a bit of an influx of Yellow Wag's which numbered at least ten and possibly up to fifteen. Duck numbers were up with twenty two Teal the highest total since the spring. Very few waders on show but a juv' Greenshank showed well on the pool by Cottonmill fm.

Greenshank 1 juv', Common Sand' 1, LRP 1, Gypo 10, Shelduck 1 juv', Teal 22, Shoveler 2, Yellow Wag' c15, Reed Warb' 1, Sedge Warb' 1, Garden Warb' 1, Chiff' 2, Willow Warb' 1, Willow Tit 1, Swift 1, Peregrine 1, Stramshall Man 1.

A rare appearance today from Stramshall Man who was twitchin' the feral Y-front for insurance purposes. Sadly no sign of said Y-front while he was there so it meant a long drive up the road to home.

That's all folks.

Utch 14/8/10 0800-1050.

The best couple of hours at Utch for a while with the highlights bein' 3 juv' Greenshanks that touched down briefly at 1005 in front of an incomin' shower before movin' off again and Redstarts now up to 3!!! Two fem' imm's and the crackin' male still in hawthorns near the Dove.




Greenshank 3, Green Sand' 7, Common Sand' 1, LRP 4, Goosander 2, Shelduck 1 juv', Y-front 1, Gypo 10, Yellow Wag' 2, Redstart 3, Sedge Warbler 1, Lesser' throat 1, Whitethroat 1, Willow Warb'1, Chiff' 1, Swift 1, Peregrine 1 juv'.




Duck count tomorrow and hopefully a Gargoyle or two!




That's all folks.

Redstart!

At this time of year I usually start doin' a spot of bush bashin' at Hales Hall Pool on the edge of Cheesedale lookin' for any migrant wobblers, flycatchers and chats that have stopped off on their way south. Today was a bit of a red letter day with a Redstart flashin' right in front of me just as one of the lads from work stopped for a chat! Needless to say it never showed again while I was there. Although it's only a mile to Hawksmoor and the Churnet Valley where Redstarts are regular breeders it's only my second record for the site.

With the Redstart at Hales and a pager message revealin' a Whinchat at Potteries Birdin' Mecca Berryhill I thought I'd give Tickhill ago but didn't expect to much with these seemingly permanent westerlies. Oh how wrong can you be! First hedge I looked in produced 2 Redstarts! After that it went rapidly downhill at Tickers with not even a sniff of a 'chat but I wasn't complain' after the recent run at Utch. As you can see from the picture below a 'scope is a must at Tickers. Make a note of that ready for when you're watchin' the biggy up there this autumn!

Next stop Utch and unbelievabley 2 more Redstarts! Both birds were in Hawthorns near the Dove. One was a corkin' male!!! Very little else at Utch not even a Green Sand'!

Quite a day really in local terms pour moi it's the first time I've ever had Redstarts at three different sites away from breedin' sites.

No Idea what the fly is, have you? Answers on a postcard please.

That's all folks.