An early morning walk (well 8.45am) today (10th Oct) around the Fisheries was very refreshing! On arrival the mist was hanging low around the trees and hedgerows in distant fields, giving a very autumnal scene! The sun shone as I started my walk and the birds were calling..well Robins and a Green Woodpecker being the most vocal, the latter yaffling teasingly several times on my walk but never showing! Not a great selection of birds today but lovely to see and hear nonetheless. Blackbirds, Blue &...

An early morning visit to Brandon to start with on a totally bitter day, good job I'd opted for my thermals!

By the time I arrived at East Marsh Pool for coffee I'd listed Bullfinch, actually my 1st bird of the day, plus Cettis Warbler, Pied Wagtail, the usual Blue, Great & Long Tailed Tits and on route through New Hare Covert I'd also heard a couple of Greenshank calling.
Read On....Birding Afloat

I went to Leighton Moss today, 08/10/09, on the train, no less. And whilst I was there I saw a bittern, great white egret, coal tit, shoveler and a fleeting glimpse of a water rail. These are all firsts for me, I don't know what birders call firsts. There where other birds there but these I had seen before so I won't name them. I also saw 3 red deer hinds but no sign of the stag although I was informed that he had been seen today.

I tried a pair of £600 bins. Quite nice but way too...

Decided to hop on the train to Cardross, hadn't been for a while. Arrived at 9.20am and headed west along the shore to view the adjacent farmland fields, seen Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Starling, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw and Magpie there.
I then headed back towards Cardross and seen Pied Wagatail, Redshank, Curlew Lapwing, Red-breasted Merganser, Mallard, Wigeon, Great Black-backed Gull,...

Since arriving back from my trips to Spain and France I've completed several visits to Brandon Marsh but without any positives on the migration front.

I was sitting in the hide this morning with other members of the 'Tuesday Bunch' on a thoroughly dank and miserable morning complaining of the lack of migrants recently, when the word complacency was uttered!!

Read on...Birding Afloat