Roundup of the week so far..

It's been a quiet blog week with one thing and another, mostly the day job getting in the way clearing work before finishing for some leave. That said, there's been a few birds around that I have seen. Returning migrants are sadly absent from my list, the cold snap easterlies this week along with snow is probably the reason, and I've been reading of numbers of Woodcock around who appear to be delaying their return to their summer habitat. Not all the birds seem to be taking the cold snap to heart though, with the male House Sparrows in the garden starting to show courtship displays, and the starlings with their glossy breeding plumage. The resident peregrine in the town centre has been around almost daily, with cracking views of it on Wednesday as it chased a pigeon above the car park, matching each twist and turn of the pigeon's frantic effort to evade becoming lunch. In this instance it was the pigeon that won the day, with the peregrine deciding to discontinue the chase. Sadly the camera is always in the wrong place when I need it, so you'll just have imagine!
The weather today is brighter, although there's still a bit of wind. Hopefully tomorrow will be calmer and there may be a chance of some ringing.

A quiet weekend

With one thing and another I was confined to barracks this weekend, and to be honest I'm not a big fan of freezing, so maybe not a bad thing! Birding was confined to looking out of the window, but actually I don't mind that too much. It does give me a chance to see at close quarters two red listed species feeding in the garden ( for a definition of what red listing means, see link below). House Sparrow and Starling are the predominant species, and both give us good views as they squabble over the sunflower hearts and other treats we put out. Other visitors this weekend included Pied Wagtail and Blackbird, and a fly past of a pair of Mute Swans. Part of Saturday was taken up preparing a food parcel for my daughter. She can't seem to make bolognese sauce "as good as papa makes" so I delivered a pan full to her, frozen into portions that should keep her going for a few weeks. The reason for mentioning her is to link to today's picture. When she was younger we used to visit Martin Mere and she always loved listening to the "wooooo" of the Eider Ducks outside the visitors centre, so this picture's for you Beth :-)

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/status_explained.aspx

We've got the white stuff......

The Met office were right (for a change!) and I woke to a very wintery scene this morning. Fortunately I had a 7:30 meeting to be at so I managed to get out before the rush hour really started. I was too busy fighting with my coat in the wind to look for birds when I got to my meeting, and although I did hear the calls of a flock of tits in the trees around the car park, I was also far too busy looking at my feet to make sure I wasn't sliding around in the slush to look up and see them.
Town centre birding today was limited to Black Headed Gulls being blown around in the sky, and a glimpse of a Peregrine moving between the shopping centre and Thwaites' tower. On the way home via the Waxwing bush from earlier in the week the only movement was a solitary Fieldfare scoffing on the berries. Hopefully the weather will be a bit kinder tomorrow and I can get out for a bit more birding. Apologies for the quality of the Fieldfare picture, the light was low.

Town centre birding

One of the joys of sometimes working out of an office in Blackburn town centre is that on occasions the town centre smells. Not in a bad way though, having Thwaites' brewery on it's doorstep and with the wind in the right direction some days the town is scented with the unmistakeable aroma of beer brewing. It's funny how a smell or a taste can transport you back in time. The smell of beer brewing takes me right back to my childhood, and my dad's home brewing exploits. I don't know how successful he was with it, or if it ever reached the point of being drinkable without causing temporary blindness, but the smell is one I will always now associate with that bucket of frothing liquid. One of the other advantages of being in the town centre today is that I can scan the skies for Peregrine's. I have seen a couple in the past month or so, in fact they can be quite distracting when I'm in meetings and one flies past the window, so much so I've started to sit with my back to the window to avoid them taking me away from my agenda. As i went for lunch I saw the resident flock of House Sparrows in the bushes next to work, chirping to each other, no doubt discussing where the next bit of dropped sandwich was likely to turn up! I had to wait until home time though to see the Peregrine, and as if it knew I wouldn't be able to get my camera, it waited till I was pulling the car into a queue of traffic to make it's appearance, flying around Thwaites' tower looking for a suitable perch. A nice end to my day for sure, town centre working may not have all the advantages of a rural setting, but if I got to see a Peregrine every day it would make up for it!
The weather forecast this weekend is threatening more snow, although light, but with the winds looking to be blustery I think a ringing trip is unlikely. I'll have to try and get out and get some birding in, although any migrants if they have any sense will have turned back south to keep warm!

Lightweight birding!

Today was a day of a bit of snatched birding, although lazily it was from the drivers seat of the car while making a trip to Preston. A single curlew flying over the road brought a smile to my lips, the bill meant it really couldn't have been anything else. A pair of buzzards lifted over the woods as I came into Preston, their wings outstretched catching whatever gust of wind as they circled. On my return trip I looked as I crossed the bridge over the Ribble for any hirundines, but none were present. I keep thinking it can't be long before they return. Today I've read of a swallow being sighted at Martin Mere, and a Osprey travelling North in mid Wales, so the signs of migration are certainly there. A slight detour down the drive of Brockholes Nature Reserve yielded a brown hare ambling across the road in front of me and a couple of tufted duck among the usual suspects on the lake before the light started to go and a rumble from my stomach told me that it really was time I went home.
No photo's from today, so you'll have to make do with a Siskin from my recent ringing trip to South Wales, details of which will follow when I have a "slow news day".

So far this week...

Well, an urgent call from Sarah had me scurrying out on Sunday afternoon. She'd seen some "grey,pinky birds with crests" on her walk to work and wondered if they were "those ones you've been on about all winter and not seen". Indeed they were, a flock of around 20 Waxwings, virtually on the doorstep! I barely had chance to get my bins on them before they were off, but at least I'd seen some. The following morning was a cold start with a few flakes of snow, so on my way home from work I took a detour back to where I'd seen them, sure enough, there they were, although now their number had increased to 55. More relaxed this time I managed to take a few shots with the camera. I suspect these are on their way back to the continent now, so it was probably the last chance to see any this winter, although I will probably take a look on my way home later.....just in case!