Oh Dear!

I bumped into Will on Rawcliffe Moss at teatime and I was telling him how impressed I was that all the birders at Rossall yesterday were following the instructions not to enter the fields to view the Red-backed Shrike.  Then I found out that two employees of that rare bird news service, you know the one, the one with the pagers that bleep incessantly and really annoy you, were wandering around the fields this afternoon, trespassing to try and see the Shrike. Apparently their excuse was "we thought we were on a public footpath". Bollocks!!! They knew exactly where they were and didn't give a f*ck!

You would think that they would set an example and follow the instructions that they were sending out to subscribers. I think these two characters thought they could get away with it, get a closer look and try and get some shots close up of the Shrike. What they have in fact done is spoil it for everyone else. This site will now become a 'bird news black hole' and no gen will now be released from the site, or not from me at any rate.

I am actually bloody livid about this as I have worked hard to get permission to ring here. I have to produce monthly and annual reports for the school to ensure that we can continue to carry out our valuable ringing studies here. The School won't differentiate between us and these two clowns and any more actions like this could jeopardise everything we have worked hard for, and I am not prepared to risk this. What makes it even more annoying is that both these clowns are qualified ringers and should realise how hard you have to work to gain a landowners trust. Despicable!

These two idiots should take a hard look at themselves and the organisations that they represent and ask themselves whether they have set a good example or not. One of the clowns sits on a national committee and helps to asses whether yours and my records should be accepted or not. Is this acceptable behaviour for someone in this position? I think not.

Anyway, I'm not going to waste my time on this any more and on to today's birds or lack of them.

It was completely cloudy last night and as a result I didn't have a single Redwing calling. I didn't see a Peregrine flying over as I walked across the car park at work either, but I did have a several Coal Tits and a couple of Nuthatch coming to my office feeders.

 Nuthatch

Oh, and Red-breasted Nuthatch, but not on my office window feeders!

On my way back from Longton this afternoon I dropped into Freckleton Marsh to have a alook at the ditches that we put in and they look absolutely fantastic. I'll bob back with a camera next week and let you have a look.

Back to where I started I suppose in that I called at my feeding station on Rawcliffe Moss to feed on my way home from work. As I drove along the track a male Sparrowhawk flew in front of me only inches above the ground. Amazing! Tree Sparrow numbers were similar to a few days ago and I had 93 in total. Other than 3 Skylarks over and a Coal Tit calling from Curlew Wood that was it.