Cheesedale World Birdin' Record Smashed!!!

Hey up folks, before we get to Utch I've got to first of all congratulate the new holder of the record for the fastest ton in Cheesedale Birdin' history, young Mad Malc'. He's hit the ton a full three weeks earlier than the previous record set by moi in 2005 with a Marsh Harrier at Croxden. Young Malc' hit the mark last night with a singin' Gropper where I work!!! No real surprise there, last year there was two singin' birds there. I wasn't completely put to shame, I've hit the ton myself today with two year ticks in the form of singin' Garden and Reed Warblers at Croxden. Not bad eh?

Also at Croxden today were: 2 Mandarins, 6 LRP's and 2 Curlew.

Utch 1810-2000

The female Scaup showed well this evening on the main pit, it seems like it may have paired up with a male tufty so we may have some interestin' aythas knockin' about locally later in the year. Still 6 Goosander and 2 Mandarins were again on the stream. Nothin' new on the wader front but still 6 Common Sand's around.

Scaup 1, Mandarin 2, Goosander 6, Shelduck 4, Common Sand' 6, LRP 6, Oyst' 1, Curlew 1, Yellow Wag' 3, White Wag' 3.

The weather forecast looks promising for tomorrow so it'll be a dawn raid on Utch, then back for brekkie before probably spendin' the rest of the day back at Utch to see if owt drops in.

That's all folks.

Utch 22/4/10 1735-1950.

Hey up folks, no there wasn't a Whinchat at Utch this evenin' but there was one at work this dinner time and a proper little cracker it was too! In the kingdom of Cheesedale they are just about annual so it was much appreciated by me and Big Geoff, Land Powers top stacker driver! Also another two Wheatears on site, that's an incredible 19 Wheatears through the site since Monday.

Jan was late from work again so transport was provided by fellow Cheesedalien Mad Malc' and The Rock Wagon. Top man. Very of little of note this evening at Utch. I'd hoped for a nice drake Garganey or perhaps something better but the only thing of note was an increase in Common Sand's which were up from 1 to 6.

Common Sand' 6, LRP 6, Yellow Wag' 2, White Wag' 3, Shelduck 2, Eurasian Teal 5, Goosander 3.

That's all folks

Whitearses everywhere!!!

Oooooh yes!!! After two very poor springs for Wheatears around work I hit the jackpot today. Not just one but twelve of the little beauty's in fields below the factory at snappin' time, problem was i found them with just ten minutes of the break left!

Soon as I could this evenin' I was back around work and managed to find two more but the flock of twelve had all already moved on. They must have come down after light overnight rain followed by a heavy shower around dawn. A break in the cloud mid-afternoon must have encouraged them to continue north. Nearby Spurn o Staffs (Berryhill) had 31 Wheatears this mornin and a Whimbrel as well!

That's all folks.

SEDGE WOBBLER!!! Utch 18/4/10 1050-1150.

Well after a bit of a moan on BF about this sunbathin' weather beein' crap for passage it seems as though the birdin' Gods decided to stop me in my tracks by producing a singin' SEDGE WOBBLER this mornin' in the small reedbed opposite Leasowes fm pit!!! Yes, I know you must be thinkin' I've gone mad(madder) but despite plenty of habo there's only been one previous record and that was a singin' bird last year that RP had, but failed to see so this was definitely a Utch Mega! I was determined to see it so after crashin' through the hedge i managed to get into a position where if it popped up I'd be onto it straight away. Thankfully after a brief wait it popped up in full view!!! Get in there you beauty It's so much nicer when you don't have to wait around for hours unlike the singin' Nightingale that we spent hours tryin' to see last spring at Branston and failed. That's local patchin though, for me this little Sedgey might as well have been a Berkley Square Songster.

Despite only beein' at Utch for just an hour I still managed to weigh in with four Utch year ticks includin' the WOBBLER. That means I'm now on 97 and nearin' the ton again and it's still only April.

Sedge Warbler 1, Willow Warbler 1, Common Sandpiper 1, Nuthatch 1, Goosander 9, Shoveler 2.

A stroll round Cotton Dell this afternoon with Jan and the hounds produced a singin' Tree Pipit near the old college but no sign of the big woodland three. Two RLP's were in fields on Cotton Banks. No birds meant a bit of a play with the old Mugimaki in this beautiful part of Staffordshire.

That's all folks.

Utch 17/4/10 1730-1950.

A beautiful day again today, far to nice to even think of a good bird poppin' in at Utch, and that's exactly what happened!!!! Naff all, not even a Greenshank or Whimbrel, both of which have been seen just over the Dove in the dark side. After the Wag' Fest passage seems to have come to a complete halt, either that or everything is just carryin' straight on overhead. One good thing though is as you can see from the picture, the pumps are goin' well and the water level is droppin' rapidly with several small islands now visible on the main pit and hopefully if the water levels continue droppin' we will finally get a really decent wader, one to get the armchair birders off their #####!

Even the one thing i did expect to appear, The Bare Arsed Knacker Flasher failed to show! For those who don't have a Scooby Doo what I'm goin' on about we have a local naturist at Utch who likes nothin' better than wanderin' round Utch completely bollocko on a warm Saturday afternoon! All he wears is a baseball cap and his shoes and the reason he wears a cap is to hide his Speedos under it for when he bumps into some poor sod. The first time me and RP bumped into him he was running on the spot starkers, ten seconds later he was two fields away with his Speedos on.

Goosander 17, Eurasian Teal 11, Mandarin 1, Shoveler 3, Goldeneye 1, Common Shelduck 3, Green Sand' 2, Oyst' 2, LRP one or two, Chiff' 2, Meadow Pip' 18.

That's all folks.

Utch 15/4/10 1825-2005.

Back down to earth with a bump this evening after the recent Wag' Fest's and Rock Star. The only highlight was bumpin' into a rather dapper lookin' RP. Bird wise very little to report despite at one point me hallucinating about a Common Sand'.

Eurasian Teal 9, Shoveler 1, Shelduck 2, Goldeneye 1, Green Sand' 3, LRP 6, Eurasian Curlew 4, Oyst' 2.

That's all folks.

Robin's Family Slain In Tragic Accident.

Tragic news as emerged this afternoon, of the accidental "slaying" of an unfinished clutch of Robin eggs in a Staffordshire factory early this morning. The unlucky robins had decided to build a nest on top of some m8x70 pins. When the nest was discovered by the local Birdman, everyone was made aware and the area was put out of bounds to non-Robin Strokers.

After four days the female had laid four eggs and all was goin' well until this mornin' when balding local computer game fanatic and telly addict "X BOX" returned to work after a spell on the sick after spiflicating himself while being harassed by a snake eyed team leader screaming "faster, faster, faster,faster"!!!!

Owd X Box got right into his stride after his lengthy lay off and proceeded to get his work area back in order. Sadly no one had mentioned the fact that the bits of paper hanging out of the box was in fact a Robins nest and he duly picked it up and emptied the contents straight into the bin!!!!!!! Only later when the Birdman went to check on the nest to see if egg numero cinq had been laid was the full horror of the mornings events revealed. By then it was to late and despite the pleading of Top Plasterer and Stunt Digger Driver "Young" Johnny Bradders it was decided that nothin' could be done and a short service was performed by Works Brief Mark "fishman" Show.

Sad but True.

That's all folks.

Utch 13/4/10 1735-1950 Wag' Fest Part Two.

Brrrrrrrr! God it was cold tonight, I'm still checkin' to see if owt's fell off. Another nice movement of wagtails through Utch this evening, this time of the yellow variety. Also one White Wag' among a few Pieds.

A fine summer plumaged Dunlin fed on the north year but seemed to have moved on by half seven. Good numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins fed over the main pit but i couldn't find any House Martins among them, still a bit early yet.

Yellow Wagtail 13, White Wagtail 1, Dunlin 1, Green Sand' 2, LRP 4, Snipe 2, Mandarin 2, Teal 14, Goldeneye 1, Shelduck 2, Shoveler 2.

That's all folks.

Utch 11/4/10 0750-0950/

Hey up folks after last nights rock n roll master class from Aussie rockers AIRBOURNE I was still buzzin' when I got to Utch this mornin'.

Bird of the mornin' must be the stunnin' male Canary....er sorry Yellow Wag' that fed on the north shore. It really was that yellow. Two singin' male Blackcaps were new in, one by the old barn and one in the edge alongside Leasowes fm pit. A pair of Shoveler fed along the north shore before bein' almost beheaded as two dodgy lookin' Gypo Geese dropped in after an incredible journey of over a mile from the nearby JCB Lakes. One of the pair, a very dodgy lookin' individual looks like the result of to many close family relationships, if you get my drift! I've definitely seen that one at Rocester. Funnily enough this is my first record of Gypos at Utch, it just shows they don't move that far. Havin' said that though I've seen quite a few around Cheesedale.

Blackcap 2, Yellow Wag' 1,Shoveler 2, Shelduck 2,Eurasian Teal 5,Goosander 1,Coot 16, Green Sand' 3, LRP, Oyst' 3.

After Fridays Wag' Fest' I couldn't find a single one this mornin' but it was nice to see that i'd jammed onto a bit of a movement of alba wag's judgin' by the amount of birds that were comin' onto the old pager, especially around the north west.

No chance of a return visit this evenin' after spendin' the rest of the day with Cheesedales very own Charlie Dymock, our Jan', I was cream crackered! Thankfully she hasn't done away with the old t cups yet.

That's all folks.

Wolverhampton Civic 10/4/10 1930-1045.

Absolute Hyper Zonky Mega Crippler!!!!! 100% Pure Rock N Roll!!!!!!

Utch 9/4/10 1705-1930.... and The Musical Dippers

Hey up folks, what a bostin' afternoon, didn't even bother with a coat today!Another crackin' couple of hours patch watchin' produced an incredible 15 WHITE WAGTAILS feedin on the north shore. It got to the point where i was hopin' the next bird wouldn't be one because it was gettin' so ridiculous. One or two birds would be more the norm'.



The female Scaup was still present with her male tufty boyfriend. Still 21 Goosander on site but no longer considered newsworthy by RBA. Apart from the Wag's, the only new bird in was a female Goldeneye which seemed to have come in late on because i didn't pick it up 'til after seven.

White Wagtail 15, Meadow Pipit c40, Pied Wag' 7, Green Sand 1, LRP' 4, Oyst' 4, Snipe 1, Eurasian Teal 12, Greater Scaup 1, Tufty 31, Common Shelduck 2, Goldeneye 1, Barn Swallow 5, Sand Martin 6.

If you read the last post you'll know me and Jan were off to Wolvo to see Canadian Rockers Theory Of A Deadman. Well it doesn't happen very often but every now and then a band that sounds great on "vinyl" turns out to be a real letdown when you finally get to see them live. TOAD are one of these bands, the lead singer who will remain nameless put on a terrific show but nothin', or very little came out of his mouth!!!! The best he could muster was a strained growl. In fact he'd have been better off mimin'!! In birdin' terms we came away with that same feelin' you get when you've just driven half way across the country, waited patiently for eight hours in the cold and rain before finally admittin' you've dipped. It was that bad.

The only thing that stopped it bein' a complete waste of time and money was the first act on HALESTORM featurin' stunnin' lead singer Lizzy Hale, what a voice! Never sang a duff note and she plays guitar as well, like a young Anne Wilson or better still JOAN JETT from the Blackhearts!!!

That's all folks.

Utch 6/4/10 0650-0850.

Hey up folks, no sign again of the "interesting" Water Pipit or the female Scaup either this mornin' and nothin' of any real note apart from a Treecreeper and one or two LRP's knockin' about. No sign either of Birdwatchin' Mag's target bird the old Green Sandpiper. Last night we had four of 'em. Still two White Wag's on the north shore.

White Wag' 2, Chiff' 2, Oyst' 3, LRP, Shelduck 1, Goosander 3, Swallow 1, Sand Martin 4, Treecreeper 1.

No chance of a return visit this evenin', I'll be in Wolvo at the Wulfran Hall to see Canadian Rockers THEORY OF A DEADMAN. Should be good.

That's all folks.

Utch 5/4/10 070-0900 and 1650-1850.

Hey up folks, only a quick one tonight because the second half of FROST is on in twenty minutes and I've been told I can't miss it!!!!

Managed to get to Utch for seven this mornin' despite a bit of Bow Time last night followin' the Pipit Fest. No sign of last nights ROCK STAR but the "interestin" Water Pipit was still on the east shore. No sign either of the female Scaup this mornin' but she was back tonight.No sign of the pipit this evenin' despite a thorough search.

Totals for today: Water Pipit 1, Green Sand' 4, LRP 4, Curlew 1, Oyst' 5, Goosander 7, Shelduck 2, Scaup 1, Gadwall 2, Chiff' 3.

That's all folks.

Utch 4/4/10 1615-1915.

Hey up folks, today's unsettled weather produced the goods pour moi and RP this evenin' with a site first in the form of a ROCK PIPIT! It popped up in the background just as I'd got onto the second record of WATER PIPIT for Utch, a crackin' near full summer plumaged bird! To complete the picture a smart White Wag' was feedin' in the same area. The nice thing about it though was once again it shows how birds are constantly movin' through the place after they weren't picked up earlier by other birders.


Rock Pipit 1, Water Pipit 1, White Wag' 1, LRP 4, Green Sand' 2, Oyst' 4, Curlew 1, Scaup 1, Mandarin 2, Goosander 7, Wigeon 3.


That's all folks.

Rock Wagon!!! Elderly Rockers Hit Suffolk.

Hey up folks, with the hope of this weeks Lesser Kestrel reappearing somewhere in sleepy Suffolk and Mad Malc also needin' Pallid Swift we hit the the road just after half four this mornin' once we'd picked up Norbert from the Meir. Weston Coyney millionaire Vaughan dropped out at the last moment so that meant there was a small amount of room in Malc's tiny KA or as it's now known "The Rock Wagon".

First stop Kessingland Sewage Works for the Pallid Swift. As soon as we parked up Malc' was off like a shot leavin' moi and old Norb' to lock up the Rock Wagon. He needn't have rushed as you could see it feedin' overhead as soon as we got to where the "crowd" had gathered. Despite the light we had bostin' views as it fed about thirty feet over our heads!!! The fact that it was the only bird there was also a bit of a bonus, there's nowt worse than tryin' to get onto or give directions to a rare apus or hirundine feedin' among hundreds of its commoner cousins.

Back at the Rock Wagon and old Norb' had a narrow escape when he was attacked by a "Brambling" his words not mine, whch wrapped its thorny arms around Norb's trusty mackintosh "Russel". It's the only coat I've ever heard of that's got a nickname! Still no mention of the kestrel so we headed up the road to Ness Point, Lowestoft for a buchas at the tamest Purple Sand's I've ever seen. With the Purp's only about ten yards away even the old Mugimaki managed to come up with a couple of decent record shots.

While we were there we bumped into the two extras from "Last Of The Summer Wine" again who we met at the Welsh Black Kite, you might remember them, one is a dead ringer for Stokes Tony Pullis. Back in the car Malc' revealed that the Purps were a lifer as well!!!! With two lifers under his belt Malc couldn't hold back and he whacked up the volume on his latest gizmo in the Rock Wagon and we belted through Lowestoft with Iron Maiden pumpin' out of the speakers. When you consider our combined ages are around 160 you can imagine how we sad we must have looked but hey who gives a ####!!

Still no sign of the kestrel so we decided to have a trot round Minsmere and if there was still no sign we'd head home.

I don't know what it is but i never feel comfortable at these top notch reserves, perhaps it's because they are just that, comfortable! I've never been a fan of hides and thats where the best views are at these places, from a hide. While Malc' was havin' a power nap me and owd Norb' had a look round. Half way round we had the shock of our lives when a stunnin' young lady walked up the path with her beau in tow wearin' the most revealin' pair of leggin's you've ever seen!!!! Put it this way the old Jack and Danny was far from hidden and when old Norbert saw her he nearly choked on his false teeth. Later back in the Rock Wagon Malc' revealed that he'd also seen Jack and Danny and ended up havin' to clean his spec's after they steamed up!!!!

Bird highlights included good views of a Cetti's Wobbler, upto 10 corkin' summer plum' Med' Gulls and distant hazy views of a juv' Glaucous Gull and a drake Garganey.

With Jack and Danny still the main topic of conversation we hit the road with Malc's gizmo turned up full and we rocked off home to the likes of Bad Co, Kiss, Kansas, Queen(not my car) George Thorogood, Journey, Foreigner, The Boss and many, many more but it wasn't 'til the mighty Quo came on that i really got goin' singin' lead vocals and givin' it the old 70's shoulder number while Malc' played drums on the steerin' column and Norbert played a mean lead guitar in the back!!

On a more serious note Malc' revealed that he doesn't own a single AC/DC tune and thinks they are #####!!!! How this never came to light before I'll never know but he's a mate so I'll let him off.

That's all folks.

Utch 2/4/10 1500-1650 "a bit wet owd duck".

Hey up folks, when's the sun goin' to come out? Absolutely terrible conditions this afternoon until around half four. Constant rain and bitterly cold to boot. I don't think I've been that cold all winter.







A quick call in at the JCB Lakes at Rocester produced half a dozen Swallows and Sand Martins feeding low over the north lake and a brood of nine goslings for a pair of Gypo Geese! Nearby on the south lake last weekends brood of Gypos had reduced to five.







Me and Mol' arrived at Utch already soaked and just in time to see two very wet lookin' birders headin' back to their cars with heads down lookin' at the ground. Bit of a tip there folks, you wont see owt lookin' at the floor







Despite the conditions there was still birds to be had including 2 White Wag's and the first Northern Wheatear of the spring on the bank above Leasowes fm pit.







Northern Wheatear 1, White Wag' 2, Swallow c20, Sand Martin c20, Chiffchaff 1, Little Richard's 3, Green Sand' 2, Oyst' 4, Goosander 11, Gadwall 2, Common Shelduck 2, Eurasian Teal 6, Greater Scaup 1, Wigeon 1.







After being completely drenched i thought i can't get any wetter so i might as well head up the A50, pick up me old mucker Norber and have a quick shufty at the two Ring Ouzels on Spurnyhill (Berryhill Fields LNR)deep in the heart of the potteries(bandit country).







After a short while we eventually had good views of the Ouzels as they fed in one of the fields below the masts despite some confusion over their "exact location".

Berryhill is fast gainin' a reputation for pickin' up good birds durin' spring and autumn migration and is becomin' known locally as the inland Spurn, and that is down to a group of dedicated birders who work their way through the run of the mill stuff and every now and then comin' up trumps. Keep it up lads the biggie can't be far away.










That's all folks.