I guess when you have a productive walk like mine to
Willington last week, you sort of hope that other weeks will be as good, especially in
January when there are many birds to add to the year list still to be found.
I had read about the rifle pit at Long Eaton, but I did not know
how exactly to find it, until I got some much-appreciated help from the
Derbyshire expert, Rod Key. His
directions (2 choices!) were spot on and on Tuesday
January 22nd I found the 2 pits without any problem. The reported 2 Green
Sandpipers were alive and active, and soon spotted chasing each other along
the waters edge in the larger pit.
Could not say the same for the Black Necked Grebe. Yes, I had the
right place; no, I could not find it. 3
or 4 Little Grebes to add to the confusion, but no sign of a Black Neck. So, my
morning walk was just the one. Oh well, they all count.
Sorry to hear that full-time ranger at Carsington Water, Dave
Drury is moving on. But it is promotion. He is going to Tittesworth, a Severn
Trent reservoir near Leek, covering 12 months maternity leave. I have always
found Dave a happy and helpful person, and the secondment will look good on
his CV!!
Mary gets daily e-mails from Canada from an old friend she knew in
Surrey. I suspect he is on a Facebook or similar and many of his-mails just get
deleted. Many of the photographs are of wayside signs, and this one I thought
worthy of repeating.
Outside a chapel “Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the Snake, and the
snake did not have a leg to stand on.”
Friday. I have had a sequence of e-mails from
Christine who is happily birding in Scotland with Heatherlea.
Kicked off well with a Barn Owl, and later a lovely flock of c20
Snow Buntings. Capercaillie and Ptarmigan have been the bogey birds so far, but
there is plenty of time. John seems to be having more “hits” with his camera,
such as seals, dolphins and he also had a Barn Owl. He has however found that
it has been so cold, that his camera would not download. And I complain about the cold!
Very sad picture in the Derby Telegraph on Thursday, and repeated
on national Television on Friday, of a pair of Great crested Grebes taken at
Ogston. The birds are facing each other, but one, presumably the male, is
presenting a piece of clear white plastic to the female. As the report said,
“Yes, the Blue Planet got it right, but plastic is equally an issue much closer
to home.”
Saturday 26th
January 2019
I hope you will allow me a little
self-indulgence, as this day was a milestone year for me, and it was to be a
memorable day.
As a clue, two of the 21 birthday cards gave
a strong hint. One listed notable events that happened in 1939, and I also found that 134 years to the day, General Gordon was killed at Khartoum... and not a lot of people know that!!
The second card depicted
2 Roman centurions speaking to each other. First centurion - “Lo and I am LXXX to day”. Second
Centurion “Well, you don’t looketh a day over XL.”
All six of my family plus our grandson Leo enjoyed an excellent meal at Morley Hayes
hotel and golf club (near Ilkeston) in The Dovecot Restaurant, greatly enhanced by Mary and I being transported
there in a stretch limo, complete with on-board champagne.
On the gift front, “didn’t I do well?” A day course at Crich tram museum in April including
actually driving a tram; a very nostalgic Moonpig type photo album containing
23 surreptitiously obtained memorable landmark photographs of my life from Zero
to last year in Cyprus. (Pass the tissues.), and a number of generous meal vouchers to continue the birthday celebrations.
So many kind people made the day truly memorable.
This morning (Sunday), with a bit of a not surprising hang-over, I went for some fresh air to Carsington, and had a further gift of 3 additions to my birding year list.
Following the guidance that I so often give to others, I checked all the
Canada Geese in a large group, and there in the middle one Barnacle Goose. Then seeing Amanda going into twitching mode in the Wildlife Centre, and
following her eye line, I spotted the regular pair of Ruff as they landed on the water’s edge.
Finally, almost falling asleep leaning against the window overlooking
the feeding station, my patience was rewarded with a resident Willow Tit. + 3 = 76!!!
Which means if I am to get 24 for my January 100, the next 4 days must be
spectacular….. and nigh on impossible, with all I have on this week. Chris and
I are going to Slimbridge on the 31st, which might add a dozen or
so, but I suspect I will have to wait until the 5th February for the
100 mark when I do the Avocet cruise from Exmouth.
I’ll leave you some of the more amusing bird quiz questions that
were in one of my birthday cards.
1.
Which birds spend all their lives on their
knees? Birds of Prey
2. What do you call a sick eagle? An
Illegal
3 Which birds fly through the jungle singing
opera? The Parrots of Penzance.
And finally..
4. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other
slide.
The others were not printable!
Happy Birding
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