Diary 2007    

Dec 30    I am pleased to put Mike Cram, Dave Lewis and Neil Tovey's November Oman Trip Report online tonight, click here and Bob Shiret's Nov/Dec Fuerteventura Trip Report, click here or go to the Trip Reports page for this and others. 

Please feel free to send me your guesses for the Christmas Quiz. The best score so far is 13 out of 15.

Dec 29    I hope you all had a really good Christmas. I am pleased to put Gordon and Margaret Avery's November Portugal Trip Report online tonight, click here, Dave Pearce's October Northern Morocco Trip Report, click here  and Paul Masters August Tuscany Trip Report, click here or go to the Trip Reports page for this and others. 

A great win for Glaws today beating Briz 27-0 and remaining top of the table.

Dec 06    I managed my very first OTTER at Slimbridge on Sunday 25th right in front of the Zeiss hide. A mega tick after all these years.

I also received this link today of a very seasonal Ring-billed Gull http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/594215 which I thought you might enjoy.

Nov 23    Well today it was the sequel - "Back To Gondor - Return of the King" - yes I know I said I wouldn't go back after two atrocious days searching for the Glaucous-winged Gull, but the lure of a PECHORA PIPIT near Fishguard was just too much. I travelled there alone today. I left after work at 11am following a hasty rearrangement of prior plans. For three hours there was no news beyond a brief sighting at 10am. I eventually got to the site at 2:30pm walked along the path to find fifty frozen birders rooted to the spot after five hours of waiting. Just as I arrived the call went up "There it is, it's just flown in" and lo and behold it was in the tree above my head for the next few minutes before flying off again. Now that is called "Perfect Timing"! Not only that it was my 400th BOU bird. Worth every miserable lonely motorway mile. Cracking!

Nov 08    I am pleased to put my Scilly Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Nov 03    There was an excellent turn-out at the Old Forge last night for the monthly meeting. 15 birders just about filled the place. This morning I dragged myself off to Ashleworth Ham and peered into the fog from 7:15am until 9:30am when a Water Pipit finally had the decency to show. I failed to see either of the Great Grey Shrikes though, understandable given the disturbance going on, with shooters, low-flying aircraft, birders and ringers.

I posted this on the Forum but since few people go there I'll ask here. I would like any good quality bird photos where the i/d is not obvious and would otherwise be discarded as rubbish. These are ideal for the Christmas Quiz. In fact if I get enough I may run a monthly quiz. Please send them to the usual address and immortality could be yours. 

Oct 30    I am pleased to put Steve Dark and Jeremy Squire's Western Cape, South Africa Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

I have received this link from Tim Neal for a great range and competitive prices on Hawke optics including birding 
binoculars and spotting scopes. Hawke Binoculars at Somerset Cameras additionally there is a Guide to Binoculars on the website here http://www.somersetcameras.co.uk/information/guide-to-binoculars/32/     

Oct 23    I'm back from an excellent Scilly break. We cleaned up over the week getting two Blackpoll Warblers, two Radde's Warblers (one in Cornwall on the way), Blyth's Reed Warbler, Rustic Bunting, Little Bunting, two Lapland Buntings, Rose-coloured Starling, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Wilson's Snipe, two Red-breasted Flycatchers, several Yellow-browed Warblers and Firecrests, Woodchat Shrike, Short-toed Lark, Blyth's Pipit, Richard's Pipit and American Golden Plover on the way home. That's not a bad list for a week and we didn't miss anything in Glos. My thanks to Paul, Andy and Colin for being great housemates and I'm already looking forward to 2008.

I managed to catch some of the rugby and the Scillonian Club was rocking when we beat the French, pity it all ended in tears but the boys did much better than expected.

Oct 09    Following a terrible week last week when I missed the Brown Flycatcher in Yorkshire due to illness (and conscience) and not being able to travel for the Blyth's Reed Warbler also in Yorkshire due to a family commitment at the weekend, I got my twitching back on track tonight nearer to home. After work I made the one hour trip to Farmoor Reservoir in Oxford for the American Buff-bellied Pipit and was immediately successful gaining views down to just a few feet as it fed below the causeway at the waterline. It was my 16th ABBP of the year having seen 15 together in Arizona in February. It was no more exciting than the other 15, a typical LBJ, but it was a British tick for me. Hopefully things will get even better next week when I get to Scilly.

Sep 28    I haven't written a piece for ages mainly due to the fact that I've barely picked up my bins except for a visit to Yat Rock for the Osprey on September 1st. 

The Rugby World Cup hasn't been a raging success for England and could even be over tonight before the quarter-finals, against Tonga, if they don't pull their socks up. I can't for the life of me understand why no Glaws players were selected when they won the league last year with mainly English players. However England's loss is Glaws gain and they have made an excellent start to the season with two away wins. I'm looking forward to visiting the new-look Kingsholm tomorrow for the visit of Wuss.

Only a couple of weeks till I go to Scilly now and the pager is already hotting up. It may be worth giving any pipits an extra scrutiny with the arrival of a few American Buff-bellied Pipits in recent days. 

Sep 11    I am pleased to put my Mallorca August 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Aug 29     I'm back from holiday after a super family week in Mallorca, where despite the odd bout of British weather, I found time to do a bit of birding and had two new species, Eleonora's Falcon and Crested (Red-knobbed) Coot, reintroduced to S'Albufera and doing well.

This evening I went along to Coombe Hill Meadows with the usual gang and had excellent close range views of the Spotted Crake there.

Aug 11     After a closure of the M25 scuppered our plans to leap for the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper at Oare Marshes in Kent on Friday afternoon, Paul, Andy, Richard and I left at 2:30am on Saturday instead and arrived just after 5:30am. There was no sign of the bird and being notoriously short-stayers we thought our luck was out. Fortunately it flew in at 6:15am and we watched it for an hour before getting back on the road. I was home by 10:15am. Now that's how to twitch effectively!

Saturday night Bridgette and I went up to Aldsworth and had at least five calling Quail and a Barn Owl. For Bridgette, whose interest is astronomy, we had a fabulous view of the International Space Station with Shuttle attached as it sped across the sky and Venus and Mars. Then we stopped at The Inn At Fossebridge for a lovely pint or two of Tribute, before seeing the ISS again after closing and showing the staff. It was excellent up there away from light pollution. Sunday night saw us out again to see the Perseid meteor shower, again really good from the darkness of the countryside.

Aug 05     After nine days we got tap water back, what a relief, you really take for granted turning on the taps for water, showering and flushing the loo.

Yesterday I went with Paul T and Andy L to Llanfachraeth, Anglesey for the Black Stork. It was fairly easy and we had excellent views despite the pouring rain. It was only my second ever. As the rain was heavy we retired to our favourite little café in Llanfairfechan for a Big Breakfast whilst we considered our options. We decided to head for home and had reached the northern outskirts of Birmingham when a Marsh Sandpiper at Abingdon, Oxfordshire came on the pager. Paul and I had both seen Marsh Sand before so we left the decision to Andy who was driving and who hadn't seen one. Soon then we were heading for Oxford in beautiful sunny weather. It would have been very difficult to find without Paul's SatNav. We arrived to have excellent views of this dainty little wader, which was in the company of a Greenshank. It appears to have gone today so it would be nice to see it in Glos next, but preferably not the Water Park.

Jul 23     Well the British weather never fails to provide a talking point does it. Friday the rain was ceaseless and pretty unbelievable for July. I got close to getting stranded in two foot floods in Hardwicke on the way home from work, trying to take a shortcut (Stupid!). We lost Cable TV then the Internet, got those back after 36 hours, then the water was cut off, then today we lost power but fortunately (thanks guys) it was reinstated. Here at Quedgeley we are at least on slightly higher ground so there is no immediate danger of the house flooding. For those of you really suffering my heart goes out to you and hope things improve soon and we can get back to birding.

Jul 13     I went to a GOCC meeting mainly to discuss the new atlas last night. It was held at The Boat Inn at Ashleworth and if you've never visited there and enjoy great beers, lovely scenery and a friendly atmosphere give it a go. I can recommend it, click here - The Boat Inn

Jul 10     A good weekend when the sun finally shone and I was able to get out and photograph a few butterflies with Andy and Jake on Sunday and also catch up with a Storm Petrel at Severn Beach on Saturday with Andy and Paul. It was interesting that it treated the Severn Crossing as if it were a solid wall, and it might as well be for all the seabirds we get in Glos these days.

I'm sure many of you will have been to Clearwater Drive in Quedgeley over the last few years during the winter to see Jack Snipe and Water Rail, mainly thanks to Andy Chapman and his regular reports. Well now Quedgeley has its own website and I would ask you to all take a look and support this worthy cause. I received this from Andy tonight. 

"Dear All, you may be interested to know that the Quedgeley Area Conservation Association (QACA) has a new website (created by yours truly). It contains details of the local green spaces and the various flora and fauna of the area. Please have a look at www.qaca.org.uk If you have any links you wish me to add, or any other content please let me know. You may like to sign the online petition to save Clearwater Drive and our Jack Snipe and Water Rails. I look forward to your comments, Regards, Andy. 

P.S. The professional looking photos were taken by Paul Masters, the not-so-professional ones by me. (thanks Paul). 

Jul 07     I've just been asked to link to Steve West's new web site for travelling birders with an interest in NE Spain www.birdinginspain.com There are free itineraries and maps to the best birding spots in northeast Spain, checklists, trip reports, downloads and more. 

Jul 02    I'm getting really good at this dipping lark this year, first there was the Glaucous-winged Gull, then the White-tailed Plover and now the stunning news of a Yellow-nosed Albatross at Brean Down, which just had to be tried for. I went yesterday afternoon with Richard, Paul T and Tony as it was so close. Suffice to say the highlight of the time spent there was double chocolate gateau with double cream in the café. If only they'd realised what they had I'm sure they could have raised some serious money at the release on Saturday. It's enough to make grown men cry.

Just for good measure Jake, Paul M and I dipped Quail on Friday night in perfect conditions. Funny how these mega-County year listers all got them singing in rubbish weather the days before. Just kidding lads, I'm sure you know what partridges sound like.

Jun 23    I am pleased to put Andrew Bluett's French Alps August 2006 Trip Report online today, click here  and Mike Fox and Sean and Colin Murphy's Portugal April 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

Jun 22    I am pleased to put Pam and Frank Bryant's East Anglia October 2006 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

I also found this new website Wildlife Channel TV, where you can watch a really good selection of bird and other wildlife programmes for free. 

I also found the following interesting story with local interest regarding the reintroduction of Common Cranes at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/6767843.stm 

Jun 21    I am pleased to put Rob Miles Cape Verde June 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

Additionally I have unfortunately received a concerned note today from the local RSPB Group expressing displeasure at the number of photographers inappropriately waiting too close to nestboxes at Nagshead, in order to land that great shot. With the ability of current lenses such a close approach is unnecessary and disruptive to scarce breeding species. Please don't do this, stay at an appropriate distance. Take note of The Birdwatchers Code which you can see here if you are uncertain. Thank You.

Jun 16    I am pleased to put my French Alps May 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

Jun 11    I found this new website Bird Cinema, which is like a You Tube for bird videos. I've just uploaded some Alpine Chough footage there. It is mainly USA birds at the moment but looks like it will grow. Worth a look I think.

Jun 10    I went to WWT Caerlaverock yesterday with Paul, Andy and Jake to attempt to twitch the White-tailed Plover. We left at 10pm Friday and made good time, no worse than a Cornwall trip, and were ensconced in the hide in prime position ready for first light. There were masses of people there with limited viewing, but when dawn broke it was a white-out due to fog. The fog took about another three hours to clear and it soon became apparent that the bird had gone. We did see many Northern Marsh Orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella), and for the botanists among you (one I believe) there is a pic below.

We decided not to waste the day completely and headed for the Dunsop Valley in Lancashire to see the breeding Eagle Owls. This time we were successful although the pager directions were in Cornish miles, because it was a very long hike. My Coolpix had broken on holiday so I was restricted to using my new P3 through the scope to take some record shots. We also had a few good upland birds including Dippers, a Merlin, Ravens and Oystercatchers. Also in true Mystic Mike fashion I predicted last night that the plover would reappear at Leighton Moss and I even predicted the Eric Morecambe hide. The boys were seriously impressed today when it did.

Jun 07    Well I'm back from the French Alps where I had a nice break and a few good birds and other wildlife. I finally nailed Alpine Accentor, which had become my bogey European bird. I had already dipped it three times in Sierra Nevada, Spain, a site where it was allegedly impossible to miss. I hope you managed without me, thanks to all who used the Forum. I'm sure the Great White Egret may yet reappear, after all that was its second visit.

In other news for those of you into birds and football have a look at why the Finland-Belgium match was stopped for a long period last night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPOS64vVo10

News from Ian Ralphs for those of you at a loose end this weekend - 

If there's no birds around this weekend anybody fancy going to see a rare plant?

Badgeworth Nature Reserve is one of only two sites in the UK where the rare Adder's-tongue Spearwort (Ranunculus ophioglossifolius) can be found. The reserve open day is this coming Sunday 10th June, 2pm to 5pm, and can be found just 100 metres from the north end of Cold Pool Lane, Badgeworth, on the outskirts of Cheltenham. SP911205.

This really is one of the most exceptional rarities in the UK, and one of a suite of once widespread plants of grazed and temporary pools that have all but disappeared from the UK's flora.

May 17    Exciting news out today - Common Cranes are breeding at Lakenheath in Suffolk http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-159692. I am pleased to put Pam and Frank Bryant's December 2006 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. I still have a large backlog of reports and photos, which I will get to, but my site is suffering from it's own success and is all very time-consuming. 

May 14    What can I say! I'm absolutely gutted! I went to Twickers with Bridgette and my sister and family but unfortunately Glaws forgot to turn up and as a result they got a right hammering. So we'll forget about that one and just remember who won the League. As to birds I got three Red Kites along the M4 and two Ring-necked Parakeets just outside the ground. 

Yesterday morning I went to the Forest, saw nothing, got drowned and drove home in my underwear. However it was worth it because when I stopped at the lights by Lidl an Osprey flew over followed by most of the gulls from the tip. I tried to follow it towards Tredworth but the lights were always against me. Then Wolves lost too by the odd goal in five but it ain't over yet. A memorable weekend mostly for all the wrong reasons.

May 06    I am pleased to put James Lees Canada May 2006 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others. 

I am doubly pleased with the fact that Gloucester thumped Sarries 50-9 in the Premiership semi-final yesterday so we will be going to Twickers next weekend. I only hope we can finish the job this time (Stupid idea, these play-offs, how many times do you need to win a title to be Champions). Wolves also confounded critics and fans alike by reaching the play-offs, fingers crossed on that one too.

Apr 23    I heard from James Lees today that the new WWT website is now up and running. All of WWT Slimbridge daily sightings can be found at http://www.wwt.org.uk/news/213/sightings.html and video and photos are now on too. 

Also if anyone managed to record the combination of colour rings on the Stone Curlew please let me know. Thanks.

Apr 22    After a fairly quiet weekend last weekend, with an early Garganey being the best bird, this weekend was manic. It started Friday afternoon when Jake and I invested a lot of time into connecting with Grasshopper Warblers at West Down. They just didn't want to co-operate and it took several hours to get only brief views. I arrived home at 6:45pm just in time for my hairdresser to arrive. Halfway through my haircut at 7:15pm John Overfield rang to say "I've got at least nine Glossy Ibises in the 100-Acre". I said to Sue "Cut faster!" and was out the door by 7:20pm trying to ring as many people as possible on the way to Frampton. I had reasonable views Friday evening and was soon joined by a pretty ecstatic crowd. I saw nine on the deck and then eight in flight. Odd we thought, one's gone. It was only after I left that the incredible truth became apparent when nine and eight joined together on the flash to roost. Possibly the biggest flock of Glossy Ibises in Britain ever and certainly since 1900.

Saturday morning I was up at 4am and back on the Viewing platform at 5:15am, where I met a couple of other insomniacs and James who I believe had been there all night as he couldn't be contacted the night before. He needn't have worried for as the dawn broke all 17 birds began to feed on the flash before eventually flying to the back of the reserve. Later in the morning WWT staff kindly arranged closer access, for which many thanks. 

Just as I was about to go home at 9am I got a call from Mark Dowie to say he had found a Stone Curlew on Cleeve Hill. He has just moved to the area and after I had calmed down he said "Is that good then?" Well yes it is, another Mega for Glos in 24 hours. There was a mass movement away from Frampton by the locals at least. I dropped my car off home and saw my family for about 15 minutes before Neil and Martin picked me up. We made Cleeve in record time and as Mark had kindly stayed with the bird were soon watching it gaining good scoped views. 

I would like to give a big round of applause to John and Mark for their wonderful finds and particularly for getting the news out so quickly so that so many people saw their birds. Thanks also to the WWT Wardens for arranging access to the 100-Acre.

The other non-birding event that has kept Bridgette and I entertained over the last few nights is the visible passage of the Space Station. It was excellent last night showing for four minutes. For more information on how to see it click here.

Finally to the three numpties and their dog, posing as birders, who succeeded in booting the Stone Curlew yesterday afternoon, Very Well Done! Please think before you walk up to a bird!

Apr 10    A very pleasant weekend with a good sprinkling of migrants throughout the weekend once the north winds had eased with Ring Ouzels on Cleeve Hill being the star birds, delighting both the regular hill trolls (you know who you are ) and visiting birders alike. I managed to get to all points of the County over the weekend and saw a good few birds, and also fitted in a trip to the pub on Friday where there was a good turn-out considering it was Easter. A popular find on Easter Monday was the Marbled Duck at Saul Warth found by Rich Baatsen. There has been a steady stream of visitors to see this smart duck, regardless of provenance. It is still present this evening. There is a thread in the Forum about it and if you are year-listing amaze me with your thoughts. The real amazement will come from people actually visiting the Forum.

Apr 05    I am pleased to put Pam and Frank Bryant's January 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to Trip Reports for this and others.

Also I received news of a Binocular Field Day today from Simon Mackie, which may interest some of you - Click here to view.

Last weekend I took a trip to North Wales on Saturday with Jake and Andy to have yet another attempt at the Black Scoter. I'm pleased to say that it was third time lucky for me. We also had Black Grouse, Black Guillemots and black Choughs. A really lovely Black Day all around. We can also recommend The Beach Hut cafe at Llanfairfechan (not the one in the car park) for a really nice big breakfast for a fiver. I also had my first Swallow and Sand Martins on Sunday at Frampton. 

I'd like to wish you all a Happy Easter and hope to see some of you in the pub on Friday.

Mar 24    This morning I took a quick trip to Knighton near Bridgewater with Jake and Andy to see a Hoopoe, which we managed with great ease. Always a pleasure, still my favourite bird. I had a quiet weekend last weekend, with a failed attempt to see the Andoversford Med Gulls, but a very successful trip to Kingsholm to see Glaws beat HairyQueens (sorry Harlequins) 34-25. 

I am pleased to put Ben Macdonald's Morocco January 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Mar 17    I am pleased to put my Arizona February 2007 Trip Report online today, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Also today I have received this butterfly news from Paul Taylor which may interest many of you when the summer birding goes quiet. See it at Butterfly News.

Mar 10    I have received this new website link from Panos Oikonomou Wildlife Bird Photography in Greece, which has some wonderful photos and is well worth a look.

Mar 07    A full weekends birding with about 1000 miles covered and very little sleep. On Friday afternoon the Glaucous-winged Gull reappeared on the pager, it was showing at Ferryside in Carmarthenshire. I got in the car at about 2pm and set off straight away. When I was approaching the end of the M4 it flew off. I carried on figuring it would reappear. It didn't, it was lashing it down and very few birders were there. As dusk fell I tried to start the car to come home and it was dead, faulty starter motor. Eventually after a Rescue patrol decided I would need a tow, I gave it one last go in a temper and the engine roared into life. I got home at about 9:30pm.

However Andy Lodge was picking me up at 11:30pm to go to Cornwall overnight with Jake King, so I just had time for a change and some food before we were back on the road. We arrived at Padstow at around 3am and tried to sleep in the car until about 5:30am. The reason for the early arrival was a Gyrfalcon roosting in a quarry at Stepper Point. We stumbled about in the dark to arrive at the entrance to the quarry at about 6:25am, not before crossing a stile where Jake failed to tell me that the step the other side was actually a water trough! Anyway the Gyrfalcon behaved beautifully perched on its rocky roost for 15 minutes before a Kestrel harassed it into flight over our heads and across the bay. Absolutely stunning!

Next we travelled down to Hayle where the birds came thick and fast. First an incredibly obliging White-billed Diver, a lifer for me.

Then came Franklin's Gull, Spotted Sandpiper and a very unusual Lesser Whitethroat of the halimodendri race. Then on to Penzance where we had Great Northern Divers, Red-throated Divers, Black-throated Divers and Pacific Diver (although very distant). Also Purple Sandpipers were here. We made a half-hearted attempt at a Yellow-browed Warbler, but did not give it long as we were all ready for home. On the way home we heard that both Glaws and Wolves had won and that the G-W Gull was back. I made arrangements to give it another go on Sunday with Paul T, Rich B and Tony E. 

Sunday morning, back to Wales, once more into the rain, with an extremely optimistic weather forecast which never materialised. To sum up it was another dip day with the bird claimed by one birder only at 4:50pm. The only high(low)lights was the first Ringed Plover of the year and a Merlin over. The place was depressing, heavy cold rain, grey beach, skies, water and birds - like Mordor but without the flames. We returned home disappointed but had realised first hand how difficult this bird will be. Unless you are in the right place at the right time you have no chance. It only seems to appear for very short periods and the roads outside of Ferryside are not conducive to fast-moving between places and there is almost no parking.

A memorable weekend, particularly Cornwall and of course the gull was back again today!

Feb 28    I spent the weekend trying to catch up with some of the rarities that I had missed whilst I was away. I got the Temminck's Stint and the Great Grey Shrike on Saturday but failed to find the Lesser Scaup in Wilts or Glos on Sunday. As for sport Glaws won and all the other top teams lost, England got crushed in Ireland sadly but Wolves won their fifth match on the bounce.

The trip report is coming along slowly but I'm getting there. Don't forget the pub meet this Friday - see you there.

Feb 19    Well I'm back, I hope you coped. I see some of you even used the Forum. I had a great trip to Arizona with about 60 lifers including Roadrunner and Coyote, California Condor, male Vermillion Flycatcher, American Dipper, Burrowing Owls and Anna's Hummingbirds. A trip report is in the offing.  

Feb 02    In the absence of any updates please use the D-I-Y Gloster Birder in the Forum. You will need to log-in with a user name and an e-mail address. Don't find anything too good but I can't promise I won't.

Jan 28    A good weekend catching up with a few species. Andy and I put in a good few hours searching for the Temminck's Stint on Saturday to no avail. However we had a superb female Merlin on the deck with a kill for at least half an hour, naturally I didn't have a camera, but it made the morning. This morning we caught up with the lovely male Black Redstart at Sharpness. 

Today I've updated (at long last) the Insect Gallery apologies to the patient photographers. I am gradually clawing back the backlog but that will stop when I go away.

I hope to see you all at the pub Friday, if only briefly, as I am flying out Saturday morning. Apologies for the lack of a Bittern photo today, but there is a new one for yesterday.

A super win for Glaws against Sale yesterday and Wolves lost as expected.

Jan 26    I am pleased to put Dave Pearce's Majorca October 2006 Trip Report online tonight, click here or go to the revamped (by Continent) Trip Reports for this and others.

Jan 25    I haven't written anything lately but there's not been too much to write about. I've done the Forest, WWT and the Water Park and realised that I was drifting dangerously back towards serious year-listing, so that will have to stop. I have caught up with most of the good birds in the County with the possible exception of the Great Northern Diver, which I have seen last weekend with Andy but unfortunately in Wilts. 

Today's find by James, and confirmed by Dave, of a first-winter Temminck's Stint at WWT is exceptional. Hopefully it will stay till the weekend.

This week I've booked for Scilly again in October, with Paul and Colin from last year, and Andy joining us. I've got the bug now and can see me making it annual. 

In just over a week I am off for a fortnight in Arizona and also taking in Grand Canyon, so long as B.A. get us there. Fingers crossed! I've been looking forward to this for months and now it's in a little bit of doubt. We won't be happy if we lose a couple of days.

I'm hoping to make the bird meeting at the Old Forge on Friday week, even though I am flying out next morning. I received this from Jeremy today, in his own inimitable words - "At next weeks birders meeting, Ken Shaw is going to put in an appearance. Writer for BB, Birdwatch, author of many papers to do with ID and vagrancy and BBRC's longest serving member Ken Shaw has had an illustrious career with the RSPB and popular in the field and even idolised by twitchers throughout the land. He's joining us on our Bulgaria trip next week but would like to spend the weekend in Gloucestershire catching up with a few of the specialities but would also like to meet up with Glossy lot on Friday night. He is a down to earth kind of chap who doesn't mind signing the odd autograph! It should be an entertaining night all round. Regards Jeremy". So there you two Celebrity Birders for the price of a pint.

Sport-wise Glaws have played a mixed bag in recent weeks but the win over Leinster was great, unfortunately I was watching my brother-in-law playing the dame in Panto so couldn't be there. As for Wolves, well they're 10th as usual!

Jan 07    A good weekend with an unprecedented twitch to Scotland on Saturday. Friday afternoon I tried for the Glaucous Gull from Holden Tower but failed. 

On Saturday I travelled to Loch Venachar at Invertrossachs together with Andy L, Paul T and Tony to twitch the drake Barrow's Goldeneye. We left at 2am and with a couple of stops and all four of us sharing the driving we arrived 8am, however this far north it was still dark. A team of birders from England were checking the dam area when it got light so we started to drive along the edge of the loch towards the Sailing Club. After about 200m a single duck was close inshore; it was the drake Barrow's Goldeneye. We had excellent views from the car, it was even displaying although alone. When we tried to get out of the car to get scopes it flew further along. It proved to be very skittish but it showed well again in the company of three female Common Goldeneyes for about half an hour before it started moving off towards the end of the loch. We didn't follow as we had seen it well but celebrated in the car park with a cup of coffee whilst watching a flock of 30 Siskins. We also had adult and juvenile Whooper Swan and two Goosanders. If it lingers a little longer there is likely to be a profusion of confusing hybrids this summer. We thought of a few stops that could be made on the way back, but in the absence of anything really notable on the west coast, we kept going and arrived home at around 4:30pm. I was even in time to watch Glaws throw away a tight match against Sale.

This morning whilst lying in bed watching Match of the Day and with no plans to move soon my phone rang and Andy told me he had found the Glaucous Gull feeding on a dead sheep at Fretherne. I couldn't resist so soon joined him in atrocious conditions and had great views. Are we all mad? You bet!

Jan 04    The big news is undoubtedly the discovery of a Glaucous-winged Gull at Gloucester Landfill Site by John Sanders on December 15th, which was then cannon-netted on the 16th. Sadly it hasn't been seen since. Congratulations to John on his find, thoroughly deserved given the hundreds of hours John puts in studying gulls and reading rings. It would be nice if it does a Murrelet and turns up somewhere a bit more amenable, like the Pit 16 roost at CWP for example. Visiting the tip is sadly a no-go these days given our society has become so Health & Safety conscious. Oh for the days when you could crunch over broken glass, used syringes and all manor of disgusting detritus so long as you had a high-viz waistcoat on . Links to John's brief article and pics at Birding World can be found in the Sightings. If you do find a large grey gull about the size of a Shetland Pony and aren't sure about it give me a call.

Jan 01    A Happy New Year to you all, I hope it is a good one and filled with lifers. 

I started the year at WWT and amassed a reasonable list of 71 species during the morning. Bonuses included a drake Scaup, a Cetti's Warbler, not always easy to see in Glos, and the Bittern, which didn't appear until 11:40am. Not good when I was supposed to be home for 12. I blamed the Bittern, fortunately Bridgette is used to me blaming the birds, and our lunch guests were (fortunately) nearly an hour late.