I have been intending to get to Leighton Moss over the last week or so but a mixture of work and night duty-induced knackerdness has been getting in the way.

I was determined to go today, so set my alarm for 5am and struggled out of my pit at ten to six! I got a shift on and thanks to a reliable local taxi company, made it to the station on time and woke up on the train en route.

I arrived at 8am and ambled about the feeder stations to see what was about and decide my...

I had a good 4 hour roam around my local patch this afternoon with overcast skies and poor light, but at least no rain and little wind and it is still relatively mild.

I'm a creature of habit and always enter the mere from the Lawson road end and then turn right, to make the feeder station hide my first stop.

It was much busier here than on my last visit. The usual tits and finches were in good numbers as were the regular pheasants, a rabbit and an acrobatic grey squirrel...

The shoulder is about 80% and it's time to go back to work so spending all day bird watching is about to end but this isn't the end of my blog or my new found love of birds, I can't call it a hobby because it seems to have taken over my life.

The last week has had it's funny and rewarding moments, the rewarding ones were enticing the tits back to my tree with a coconut feeder and watching one of the great tits not only check out but go inside and have the full tour of the nest box...

Our first stop on arriving in Norfolk on a very warm October lunchtime was Weeting Heath to look and see if there were any lingering stone curlews; there were not, only lapwing. We moved on to nearby Grimes Graves where the main interest is archaeological but we also saw our first wheatear of the trip and lots of meadow pipits.

From here, we headed back across the border to Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk. Unfortunately, the cranes weren’t at home although the person manning the visitor...

The last week has been my first test of patience and commitment to my new hobby. First the curry eating cats, then the neighbours washing (again) and DIY, and then the last of the berries on the tree at the bottom of the garden has made for some long days. Only the robin and a few magpies have been in the garden, but I stayed optimistic and continued to put fresh food and water out in the hope something would change.
I woke this morning to find the rain hammering on the window with a fond...