Utch 31/3/10 1735-1940.

Hey up folks, first evenin' visit of the spring tonight with the clocks goin' forward(cheers RP) and despite the shite weather it was well worth the effort. Mad Malc' did the honours on the transport front so we were on sight for just after half five.



Nothin' outrageous but our first Swallows of the year were nice as they battled against the strong north westerlies blowin' straight off the top of the inland Spurn. No sign of any Wigeon tonight so it looks like they've finally cleared out and headed back to the land of the samovar. A female Greater Scaup was with the Tufties on the main pit.



Prediction of the night went to moi though with a shout of "Dunlin on Leasowes fm pit" as we headed towards the quarry. Guess what was on Leasowes? Yep, a Dunlin with three Little Richards.





Swallow 9, Sand Martin, Greater Scaup 1, Shelduck 3, Goosander 14, Dunlin 1, LRP 3, Green Sand' 2, Oyst' 2, Curlew 16.



That's all folks.

Utch 28/3/10 0715-0900.

Hey up folks, no it's no what you think, an aerial shot of Utch but the sunrise seen from the viewpoint at Poxey this mornin'. I called in on the way to Utch to check for Lrp's, still no sign. Last year we'd had two by the 21st.

Yet another rapid tour this mornin' due to a family christenin' at 1100am. Chiff's have doubled since Friday with 2 now present! The only new bird in today was a single Little Grebe. Upto 5 Skylarks were singin' as well as a single Meadow Pipit in fields by the Dove.


Little Grebe 1, Great-crested Grebe 2, Goosander 4, Eurasian Wigeon 4, Eurasian Teal 2, Gadwall 2, Common Shelduck 3, Common Snipe 3, Green Sand' 2, Oyst' 4, Lappy 1, LRP 3, Chiffchaff 2.


After leavin' Utch it was time to head for the christenin' which isn't exactly my ideal way to spend the best part of a sunday and despite havin' a right good sulk I still ended up goin'. Little did i know that i would soon be fillin' in a near miss form at the church after havin' a close shave with a septuagenarian vampire!!!


Not bein' the least bit religious means i find these church services a bit of a drag but i managed to entertain myself by studyin' the stained glass windows. You've got to give it to those old glaziers(not the Man U ones) they were bloody good but they did get the colour of Foxglove leaves wrong!!! Anyway, everything was ok until we got to the part of the service where everybody hugs each other. As usual I was playin' the fool and huggin' and shakin' for all i was worth,then i got a tap on the shoulder. I turned round and all I heard was "come here you" as the owd vamp' lunged towards me with gums bared. Quick as a flash i gave her the sign of the cross and she backed off straight away screamin' "oh he's terrible, i'll get him".


Guess who i had to sit next to at the reception, yep "Owd Gums"!


Back home later than planned I just had time for a quick check of Blake Hall to see if Bernie the Brent was still around, which he was as he fed with his Canadian cousins on the bottom pool.

Utch 27/3/10 1600-1740.

Finally got to Utch late afternoon after yet another day spent lookin' after our Ellie and SHOPPIN!!!!! Jan had to be at the barbers for half eight so that completely scuppered any chance of a visit early doors.

Today's highlight was a nice flock of seven LRP's on Leasowes fm pit. Other than that it was the ducks that continued to provide the only real interest as we wait for the first real arrival of migrants. Still twenty Goosander around but Wigeon have almost cleared out with just two birds seen.

Great-crested Grebe 2

Goosander 20

Eurasian Wigeon 2

Eurasian Teal 13

Tufty 34

Pochard 1

Shoveler 1, corkin' male

Gadwall 3

Mallard 42

Common Shelduck 3

Oyst' 6

Lappy 9

LRP 8

Drivin' the family taxi meant I'd got to be at Alton Towers just after six to pick up Sosh from work so I just had time to quickly call in at JCB South Lake to see if the two female Scaup were still around. No sign of the scaup but I was a bit surprised to see a pair of Gypo Geese with six fluffy little goslings feedin' on one of the nogger pitch's!!Eleven Mute Swans was a good count, they were probably the birds that have been feedin' in fields over the road.

Don't forget the clocks go back tonight and that means more birdin' time, can't be bad.

That's all folks.

Utch 26/3/10 1340-1510.

A rapid tour of Utch this a'noon between the showers with Bothdee girl, our Jan. After 279 visits over the last two years she's finally decided to have a look at what all the fuss is about and i'm pleased to say she was left completely bewildered and wont be botherin' in future!!!! The cunning plan worked a treat, take her when it's a bit cold and wet and it'll put her off for good.

A few migrants around today includin' the first Chiffchaff which was singin' from willows near the River Tean. No sign of any Wheatears yet. Five Meadow Pipits were in fields near the Dove. A Little Egret flew west over the River Tean at c1410. Two Shelduck were on Leasowes fm pit before flying off east.

Common Shelduck 2

Eurasian Wigeon 14

Goosander 13

Eurasian Teal 8

Little-ringed Plover 1

Eurasian Curlew 2

Oystercatcher 5

Sand Martin 3

Chiffchaff 1

Meadow Pipit 5

After a quick brew and a slice of bothdee cake back at wom with Jan i just had time to check Blake Hall to see if Malc's Bent Goose was still around and to make arrangements for the anticipated hordes of weekend twitchers!!! Sure enough the little chap was still with his Canadian cousins on the small pool just off Brookhouse rd. I've taken the liberty of naming him Bernie after a popular Staffs birdin' character Bernie "The Voice" Smith. Just like Bernie this little chap is highly sociable as he spends all his time with around forty Canadas. I've got more than a sneakin' suspicion that he could well be the same bird that was at Utch and Hales last year.

Owd Lambsy here makes me think a Barnsley Chop would go down well tonight with a drop or two of Danish Love Juice. Might be a late start tomorrow folks.

Silent But Deadly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey up folks, you might have heard me mention Mad Malc' before. He's a crackin' lad and a fellow Leeds sufferer to boot. Now unlike moi, old Malc is to say the least a bit quiet borderin' on shy, which is unusual for a bloke of 75 but eh ohhhh.

Any way to cut along story short he's come up trumps again with yet another Cheesedale Mega added to his growin' collection. Last year he clapped eyes on a Dark-bellied Brent as we hit Hales lookin' for Water Rails, then last April after I unwisely decided to hit Utch and by-pass Poxey on the way he text me with shakin' hands to say he'd got an AVOCET at Poxey!!!!

Well he's gone and done it again. Unbelievably another DB Brent in the Cheesedale recordin' area, this time at Blake Hall Fishery. Thankfully it stayed long enough for moi to connect on me way home via a bit of a detour on the old slog iron.

Topman.

That's all folks.

Utch 21/3/10 0730-1030.

Hey up folks, after the rather lightweight performance by moi (fancy the host fallin' asleep) at last nights Inaugural Dinnerin' I was fresh as a daisy when I parked up the old punto at Spath this mornin'. The misty conditions early on gave way to a beautiful, sunny late winter mornin', perfect for searchin' out any migrants that may have pitched up at Utch overnight. RP had managed to get on the first LRP's and Sand Martins yesterday mornin' so i was hopin' to perhaps get onto the first Northern Wheatear or Chiff'. Later in the day a Swallow was picked up by some of the Staffs BFers on a rapid fire tour of staffs in search of owt they could get their weapons on.

Wildfowl numbers continue to drop and it won't be long before we're just left with M'ards and Tufties. A pair of Mandarins flew up from the Dove and another flew up from a ditch near one of the footbridges.

The three LRP's from yesterday were still on the Leasowes fm pit early on before movin' off, six more flew in from the east at 0950 and eventually landed on the Cottonmill fm pool.

Four Sand Martins were feedin' over the far end of the main pit as the sun came out around 0840.

A small movement of Meadow Pipits produced 15 in fields near to the River Tean, also 5 singin' Skylarks.

Mandarin 3

Goosander 7

Eurasian Wigeon 18

Eurasian Teal 7

Mallard 32

Tufty 16

Little-ringed Plover 9

Oystercatcher 6

Green Sand' 2

Common Snipe 4

Lapwing 10

Meadow Pipit 15

True to form no sign of the hoped for Whitearses or Chiff's, hopefully this w'end will be different and with the clocks goin' forward it means I'll be gettin' at least one mid-week visit in.

That's all folks.

Albert Village........and the Enthusiastic Birder!!!!

Hey up folks, after a quick bird less tour of Cheesedale this mornin' me and the Mad One teamed up with jolly old RP Spooner for a trip over to the dark side for a goosey gander at the possible Mew Gull at Albert Village near Swad'.

If you haven't been there before Albert Village lake is similar to Kingswood lake in Cannock in that it provides the local larid population with somewhere to have a bit of a wash and brush up after an hour or two rootin' through all kind of waste matter for a bit of summat to eat on the landfill site over the road. Funnily enough me and Jan were watchin' Sport Relief on Friday and she couldn't believe i was more interested in the Marabou Storks on an African tip than the plight of the kids scavenging over it!!!! Believe me i wasn't, but you know what it's like when the birder in you takes over there's no stoppin' it. Anyway before i get any abuse let me just confirm that i did make a donation!

When we got to the lake where the bird had been comin' in it was obvious that the initial interest from all the top listers had waned a bit and there was only a handful of us there. A quick "hey up folks ast sane owt"? was enough to confirm that we were in the company of Eddie The Enthusiastic Birder, you know the type who never has a bad day and always gets bostin' views of every bird he goe's after!!!! Accordin' to Eddie there was at least 300 YLG's on site and we'd just missed a crackin' Med' Gull by a matter of minutes! Eddie then revealed that he'd been there since the crack of dawn despite the bird tendin' to be picked up early afternoon. The next hour was spent with Eddie gettin' onto the bird every few minutes only for the bird to incredibly disappear every time somebody had a peep through his scope. Then out of the gloom strode Larry The Larophile in adult winter plumage with full beard and amazingly full head of hair(jammy git).

Larry parked himself next to moi and almost immediately got onto a 2nd winter Common Gull with a tail-band flyin' left over the bench!What bench??? Panic set in and i couldn't even find the bench he was on about and in an instant the bird had dropped behind the small island at the top end of the lake. A rapid trot around the lake found us lookin' straight at one of the most uninspiring birds i've seen for a while. I haven't felt so underwhelmed since i last saw a Lesser Scaup. Almost as soon as we'd got onto the bird it took off again and had a quicky fly round before settlin' on the far side of the island and out of site!!!!!

Off we went back to where we'd been in the first place, by this time Eddie was beginning to grate a bit so if we could get onto the bird quickly enough it was obvious that we would be back on the road to Gods own county before too long. If you've been around long enough you'll know that it doesn't work like that and apart from Eddie who was havin' bostin' views every time he looked into his scope we couldn't get onto the bird again. Then i noticed that Larry the Larophile had stayed back from the rest of us and was watchin' summat intently. As soon as i mentioned this Eddie scarpered in Larry's direction and before we knew it he was wavin' his arms like a demented traffic cop, Larry had been watchin' it all this time, ON HIS OWN!!!!! We then spent the next ten minutes listenin' not to Eddie but Sid The Southerner askin' for directions to the bird despite there only bein' four Common Gulls at that end of the lake!!!!!!! Now i know why i love local patchin' so much, nine out of ten times it's just me,Moll' and the birds.

With the bird safely UTB and pencilled in we headed for the car leavin' just Larry to sort through all those YLG's that Eddie had seen. Back in the car and who should be wavin goodbye but Eddie himself in his best Deputy Dawg hat, we waved back and gave him the old " see ya pal" as we headed back into staffs.

Once we were on the road RP tuned into Radio Darkside for a check on the Brewers score with the mighty Chesterfield home of the crooked spire and also a very confidin' Black-throated Thrush many moons ago. It wasn't good, 2-1 to The Spirites. RP was almost sobbin' after last weekends 11 goal debacle against Cheltenham another defeat would be to much for the big lad. Then suddenly the Brewers equalised and he was thumpin' the steerin' wheel faster than he can eat double cheeseburgers,and that's fast!

An abhorted call at Catholme saw us at Branston Gp's at around 1500hrs. By now i was rapidly loosin' interest as the local patcher in me got the better of me and i was findin' it difficult to even pick me bin's up. I'v got to be honest, even when i've travelled to the top of Scotland and the far reachs of Cornwall i'm not really interested in lookin' at owt unless it's the target bird or summat a bit different, all i want to do is get back on me local patch. Well i paid the price today because while i couldn't muster the effort to set me 'scope up RP was uttering the words "Oh two Avocets"! "What"????? "Are you jokin'"? "No, two Avocets over the far side, honest". My Flabber was well and truely Ghasted, not only doe's the lad clean up in me wake but now he's doin' it while i'm there!!! Don't even mention Spoonbills and barbeque's! RP decided to let top mid's lister and aviarazist(snapper) The Blurred Birder in on his latest find via text before we left and with almost Dr Who like ability as we strolled back he came tearin' along the footpath with his weapon hangin' round his knees. "Are they still there? As Jules seen 'em yet"? He asked frantically, "steady tiger, calm down we haven't seen hide nor hair of him, they were still on the Sandy Pit five minutes ago, fill ya boots pal" and how he did! Martyn left them roostin' on the Sandy Pit and as he checked the main pit on the way back to the car he came across another two"! Were they the same birds? Probably, but you never know.

An hour later the big fella dropped me off and it was time to iron me tux' for the inaugural Cheesedale Review of Steve Evans Latest Rare Birds DVD back at Barker Towers. Despite problems with the red carpet the guests started to arrive, all two of 'em, and both at the same time after i picked 'em up. One call to the local Indian Eaterie meant the snappin' was sorted for ron so with the help of a few sherbets we settled down for a spot of reminiscing' over last years birds and birdin'. And needless to say after an hearty meal and the odd sherbert the host fell asleep while the guests finished watchin' MOTD. What a light weight!!!!

That's all folks.

Birdin' Cheesedale 19/3/10.

Hey up folks, no chance of gettin' to Utch this a'noon so i thought i'd have a trawl round Upper Cheesedale and Croxden Quarry in search of the first local migrants. Once again no luck on the migrant front, i couldn't even muster one of the local Chiff's of the race Cheesedaleii in their usual spot along Sandy Lane. The best i could come up with was 6 Goosander(2 imm' males and four redheads) on the main lagoon at Croxden also on there were 2 LBBG's. Four Little Grebes were on Sandy Lane pool, this time last year there was around 12 present before they paired up and moved onto the assorted small pools that litter the quarry. Good numbers of Tufties around at the moment but sadly no sign of the 2 Scaup that have been at Brookers and Rocester. Now that would have been nice, Scaup on the old Poxey list.

Gettin' desperate now in my efforts to win worst photie of the year!!!! The top one is "The Sleepin' Giant" Croxden Quarry followed by Sandy Lane pool, Greatgate Wood and finally a nice bit of new clear fell that's got one particular resident of the Chase written all over it, ooooh errr!!!

That's all folks.

Utch 14/3/10 1500-1620.

Hey up folks, finally managed a brief visit to Utch this afternoon after various family duties and the WEBs Duck Hunt meant that there was no way i was goin' to get to Chasewater for the Scandinavian Rock Pip's(not seen this race before) that were showin' well on the dam accordin' to me pager. Typical eh! The first time for a while summat turns up that's interestin' enough to get me away from Utch and there's no chance of me gettin' within sniffin' distance of a tertial, never mind an undertail covert. Then again sniffin' undertail coverts could be a bit messy owd duck.

Duck numbers at Utch are droppin' quicker than the water levels despite the best efforts of the management. So hopefully all bodes well for a nice sprinkling of waders as they begin to move north over the next couple of months.

Nothin' of note today, only the fact that Coots are now in double figures!!! Pied Wag's again noticeable with 27 around the site but no sign of any "alba" wag's yet.

Tufty 17

Pochard 7

Mallard 78

Wigeon 44

Teal 3

Goosander 35

Curlew 8

Oyst' 2

Green Sand' 1

Stocker's 5

Pied Wag' 27

That's all folks.

Teutonic Temptress, not arf!!!

No birdin' today and i didn't expect to blogin' for once but after what we've seen today i thought i'd share it with you.

Now if like me you grew up in the seventies you'll remember posh dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse and her famous catchphrase "Walkies"! She wasn't what you'd call glamorous, more like a vicars wife all knitted cardie, tartan skirt and wrinkled tights. So you can imagine the shock the whole crowd in the main arena had durin' the International Heelwork To Music competion when the German contestant strolled into the ring with her dog. She looked like an eighties groupie of German rockers the Scorpions or perhaps she'd come straight from her other hobby that probably involves lots of strange clothin' and whips and things. Have a look and see what you think.

Needless to say all eyes were on her and not the dog! It's the first time i've openly photographed another woman with Jan sittin' right next to me but i'm sure she understood the fascination. Old Mrs Woodhouse would be turnin' in her grave!!!Unsurprisingly the three female judges made sure she came near to last. Personally i think she looks so much better than the Czech winner who turned up dressed as Fireman Sam.

Off to bed now folks, now where did i put that whip?

Utch 12/3/10 1345-1600.

Hey up folks, a classic mid March day today, full of expectancy as i searched for the first Northern Wheatear, LRP, Sand Martin or Chiff' and typically zip on all three fronts! A pretty poor visit really with the only thing of note being a miniscule movement of winter thrushs and Pied Wagtails. Wigeon numbers are droppin' now as they start to think about headin' back east and Goosander were down on this time last week.

Goosander 29

Wigeon 40

Tufty 17

Pochard 11

Mallard 70

Teal 8

Snipe 6

Curlew 6

Oyst' 5

Lappy 57

Green Sand' 1

Fieldfare 36

Redwing 30

Pied Wag' 20

Meadow Pip' 4

No birdin' pour moi tomorrow, it's time for the annual visit to The Greatest Dog Show In The World, Crufts at the NEC in Brum. Yep i'm a birder who loves dogs despite the increasingly bad press dogs get and i've also got three CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's that all about? Surely the stereotypical birder should hate both cats and dogs alike? Well not this lad, so anyone who thinks different please stop readin' here.

Nice shot of our Meg taken around Three Shires Head just before she popped her clogs and who is sadly compost now.

That's all folks.

Magical Mystery Tour 7/3/10.

Hey up folks, after a spot of over indulgence on the old Strongbow last night i wasn't that keen on leavin' the warmth of my pit to early yesterday mornin' but RP was pickin' me up at seven so i thought the least i could do was be ready for the lad. Heavy overnight frost though meant he was a bit late after defrostin' his motor so i could have had a couple of extra minutes anyway.

The plan was to give Cannock Chase a good goin' over in search of year ticks for RP's growin' year list and then play it by ear. As you probably know there are one or two scarce breeders on the Chase so from this point it may get a bit cryptic, sorry for that but you can't be to careful.

We arrived on the Chase at around eight in brilliant sunshine and with a heavy frost coverin' the ground. Our first site failed to produce the target bird but a crackin' male Yellowhammer was a year tick for the big lad. Anyone who knows RP will tell you he's not the best if nothin' is happenin' so after twenty minutes we were back in the motor and headin' for our second secret location. Personally i was glad to be back in the warm, it was bloody freezin'!

Out of the motor at site two and the first thing we saw was a woman with one of those dogs that can't walk and as to be carried by it's lovin owner, a Lap Dog. Might see one or two more of them at Crufts on Saturday. A Green Woodpecker flew in front of us across the path and RP had year tick number two UTB. Then we heard a distant but familiar song, get in! As we headed towards where the song was comin' from we spotted another birder lookin' in our direction but as soon as he spotted us the singin' stopped and he scuttled off quickly. Who was this bobble hatted birder? Was he playin' a tape? Had we been listenin' to a recordin'? Heaven forbid, i'd never do that, honest. The mystery birder then disappeared for a minute before reappearin' as our target bird flew up and towards us from his direction before droppin' onto the path infront of him. As we made our way round to where it had landed a lycra clad mountain biker decided to go straight where the bird had been and forced it into the heather on the edge of the path, cheers pal. At this point we realised that the mystery birder was infact top mid's lister and Blithfield bouncer Julian Allen cleanin' up another bird in his race to beat the Blurred Birder to this years title.

While we were havin' a natter Julian picked up two of the target birds as they fed under some Birch's near the path. This time we managed to 'scope them and despite the "heat haze" we had good views. Very little else here apart from a couple of Ravens and another Yellowhammer. With the first of our targets and three year ticks UTB we headed back to the warmth of the motor after biddin' Jules a fond fare well and wishin' him luck in the competition.

On to site three and hopefully our second target bird of this bitterly cold mornin'. Despite a good kick around we couldn't find our target which may well have succumbed to the recent arctic conditions we've been endurin'. Again very few birds around apart from two Raven tusselin' with a couple of Carrion Crows. One highlight though was five Fallow Deer that came flyin' down the hillside after bein' flushed by yet more mountain bikers. Quick as a flash i whipped out the old Mugimakki and rattled off a few more candidates for "Worst Photie Of The Year".

Site four was not much better either but we did manage another of our first targets as it sang and then landed near us to give a brief view. Hope you are still with me and it's not to confusin'. Can't be to careful eh?

At this point i had one more site up my sleeve, one that RP hadn't visited before and so didn't know what was in store for him. At the end of Old Acre Lane in leafy Brocton is a bank that makes Kilimanjaro look like a doddle. After several minutes of puffin' and pantin' and RP almost needin' gas and air we reached the plateau above the Old Acre Valley and what is probably the best part of the Chase.

Again very few birds about but we did drop on a pair of Stonechats that showed well as they moved between gorse bushs. Walkin' back i spotted one of the locals with of all things a goat on a lead! Takes all sorts i suppose, but then the next time we saw them the unsuspectin' goat was bein' lured into a bush by it's dodgy lookin' owner, ooooh errr! Perhaps they were just off to make some goats cheese, eh?

By now we were both gettin' a bit peckish so bein' as RP was drivin' i said i'd get us a bite to eat from Macky D's in Utch before we hit the quarry. What an experience, i've never seen double cheeseburgers demolished with such speed, three of 'em plus large fries in under thirty seconds, what a player!!!

A quick tour of Utch produced the highest count of birders so far this year, FIVE includin' Staff's Wheatear Hunter Nick Pom and national year lister Ian Burgess. As RP said "well it is sunny". Apparently there was more than that when RP found the Friday Night Spoonbill but we won't go into that. New in were a female Pintail and drake Gadwall. While we were natterin' i picked up a Cormorant tryin' to swallow a huge Pike, despite its best efforts it couldn't lift the fish out of the water and eventually gave up.

Goosander 49

Pintail 1

Gadwall 1

Teal 4

Tufty 28

Next stop on this magical mystery tour was the South Lake at Rocester where RP had two female Scaup on Saturday. One of the Scaup was still present alongside 55 Tufties and 4 Pochard. Here's another dodgy photie to prove it.

Time was now knockin' on a bit so we headed up to the North Staffs Moors in search of a few more year ticks for the lad. First stop and no need for secrecy here was Swallow Moss, famed for it's Hen Harrier roost and sadly the site of the last Black Grouse lek in Staffs which is no more after the last of the grouse died out in the mid nineties. We didn't bother stayin long when we saw that somebody had been cuttin' the heather and left around twenty of those large buildin' merchants bags on the moss, full of heather!!!! On the bird front absolute zip apart from a distant Common Buzzard.







A quick call in at Boarsgrove and Middle Hills also produced zippo so we decided on a quick tour of a few "secret locations" to finish the day off. We'd almost given up when RP picked up our target bird as it flew over fields and then in uncharacteristic style he slammed on the anchors, leaped out of the motor and onto a grassy bank to watch the bird as it drifted off into the now gatherin' gloom. Mission accomplished owd duck!
















All in all not a bad day despite the general lack of birds, but we did have a chuckle and that's as important for the soul as a good bird or beer , sometimes.





That's all folks.

Birdin' Cheesedale 6/3/10.

A lack of transport this mornin' meant a spot of catchin' up on the old Cheesedale World Series List was called for. A quick pre-breakfast check of Blake Hall Fishery before i lost the motor put me right back in the race with Mad Malc'. Two year ticks as soon as i pulled up! Two Oyst's feedin' in a roadside field among the local Canadas with a single Curlew , not bad eh?





Down on the bottom pool an immature male Goosander was among the Mallards. This is a crackin' little pool right behind some cottages. It regularly holds one or two Wigeon in winter despite bein' so close to the cottages. Last year it held a Eurasian White-fronted Goose for a while with the Can's. It's also thee place to look for Wheatears, Whinchats and Stonechats in the Cheesedale recordin' area. Ten or fifteen years ago Yellow Wag's were regular as well.





After handin' over the motor to "she who must be obeyed", only jokin' Jan,' i managed to cadge a lift up to Croxden with our Alex' who was on her way to feed Harvey the Horse. As usual there was naff all on offer at "Poxey" but i did pick up a Green Nut Nibbler for the old list as it flew low over the recently felled area that looks perfect for one particular species that will remain nameless. Also around the quarry were a flyover Curlew(2nd of the mornin') the now resident Shelduck, and the regular Tawny Owl pair sittin' side by side, in the fifth tree from the right of the last one.





Mid afternoon texts from RP about Jack Snipe being flushed by maraudin' sheep on the Weavers and two female Scaup at Rocester only helped to rub in the fact that i should be out birdin' rather than playing the glamorous assistant to the worlds slowest Plumber!!!!





By half four it was obvious the best i could hope for was a quick tour of a few Cheesedale hot spots to see if i could pick up anymore local year ticks. Hales Hall pool was first stop and produced a smart Great-crested Grebe among the local Mallards. After that a quick tour of reported Barn Owl sites produced absolutely ZIPPO! A flyover Woodcock at Woodhead looked to be havin' trouble flyin' as it flew in front of the car, perhaps it was the copy of Razzle tucked under it's wing causing a few problems eh?







Off to the pub now to see me little brother who's up from Cambridgecestershire, might try the odd sherbet or several while i'm there. Better go steady though, RP's pickin' me up at seven in the mornin' for a change of scenery.





That's all folks

Utch 5/3/10 1200-1520.

As you can see from the picture facilities are a bit basic at Utch. No hides and no "facilities" in fact if you get caught short the best we can offer is a bush and a dock leaf(between May-Sept' only) we haven't even got a car park. Could this be what's keepin' the hordes at bay? Who knows? Any way it's not keepin' the birds away. Yesterday afternoon some jammy sod sneaked in and had a cripplin' 35 Whoppers at Utch before they flew off towards Rocester!!! No sign of any Whoppers today but still a good three hours birdin pour moi.

Today's highlight was a Jack Snipe that finally got up from under my feet in the wet meadow! It got up in typical Jack fashion, silently flyin' only a short distance before landin' in a nearby ditch. Funny how a bird such as a Jack Snipe can have you punchin' the air and givin' it the old "Get in"!

The Little Egret was again roostin' mid afternoon on the far side of the main pit with 5 Grey Herons. Around 19 Curlew were in the fields near the Dove alongside 4 Oystercatchers. Top duck was again the Goosanders that had reached one short of equaling the record of 61 by around 1500hrs.

Goosander 60

Wigeon 84

Pochard 7

Tufty 15

Mallard 95

Teal 8

Shelduck 1

Jack Snipe 1

Snipe 7

Curlew 19

Oystercatcher 4

Green Sand' 2

Little Egret 1

On the mammal front a Stoat took me by surprise when all i could see was this white thing bobbin' around! It turned out that the Stoats tail was completely white apart from the black tip. A single Brown Hare was near the Dove.

That's all folks.