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.