Sunday, April 13, 2008

Whip in my valise

Birding time a bit limited just now. Deadlines deadlines. Mind, it's perhaps just as well because it's still bl**dy winter here. Braved the Ice Storms of for a look round the village. What a waste of 3 hours of my life! Such were the highlights that I followed (yes followed) a female Common Stonechat around the fields for a bit, for something to look at, and turfed up a few (5) Meadow Pipits. Then I followed a Grey Wagtail down to the beach, and for a brief moment of excitement the beach was on fire! A pair of Rock Pipits called anxiously at me from a cleft in the cliffs just below where I was walking, and they are obviously hard into their breeding cycle. Maybe it isn't winter after all. But then I look out to sea and there is a Great Northern Diver (Common Loon) (actually that's quite decent) heading south, and a Red-throated Diver going north - it IS winter! But no, there is also a feeding flock of 200 Black-legged Kittiwakes - it's summer! And a couple of Eurasian Siskins overhead - it's autumn!

As you do, I spent an hour outside in the afternoon locked in mortal light-sabre combat with Peter. This was fun enough for me, but it got better when I heard the gulls squawking about something and saw an Osprey heading north along the coast. Now that's worth looking at. Just goes to show, if you're ever torn between re-enacting famous scenes from the Star Wars trilogy in six parts, and going birding, you can always do both.

ohhhhh.... I hate to say it but I am inexplicably possessed by the ghost of Morrisey this week, and he's not even dead. This is magnificent.



and !!! This is not for Morrisey, children or Birdwatching magazine readers).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TMn8mb1IJs

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