I've not done too much birding over the last couple of months so, having finished work for a few days, I was keen to get out and about, despite the several inches of snow that was turning the art of walking into a full blown workout! Marton Mere was cold and bleak at 8.30am and as my feet sunk into deep snow I was begining to have second thoughts.

As soon as I walked into the reserve I saw a Kestrel perched in the upper branches of a tree and rattled off a few pics before it flew off....

I've just returned home from a lovely week in Dublin, staying with friends in Swords, while attending to some family busines. A good craic was had by all without any exaggeration!!

Not long after our arrival, my other half had to attend a meeting in the city, so myself and Geraldine - our friend and hostess - took a stroll around Phoenix Park while we waited. There were all of the usual park residents - Magpie's, House Sparrow's, Pigeon's, Chaffinches, Robin's, Starling's and Blackbird's,...

I paid a trip to RSPB Marshside this morning and arrived just after 10am in the middle of a storm. It was a very windy day altogether, at times I had a job walking and keeping upright. The rain was an added problem, most of the time it was horizontal. The love of this hobby eh!!

The birding made up for it though, which, given the inclement weather, was done from Sandgrounders hide and Nells hide, with just a quick dash in between.

Most notably, from Sandgrounders hide,...

I haven't been birding to Stanley Park since the end of May, so a visit was long overdue. I was in work last night, so I took my camera and bins with me, as the park is directly across the road.

I got off duty at 8am and was in the park by 5 past. What a miserable, cold grey day it was. I didn't hold out much hope of any pictures turning out half decent - but that's the same in any weather I fiddled about with the exposure settings and hoped for the best.

I took a...

The weather, as I'm sure you all know without the need for me to say it, has been appalling.

The Met office stated that my neck of the woods would be fine on Wednesday, so I accepted an overtime shift on Monday, with the intention of going birding on Wednesday.

Fairhaven Lake in Lytham, Lancashire, had reported a juvenile Shag and 3 Red Breasted Mergansers that I thought I might catch up with.

So, in work on Monday night, I checked the weather again to...