LROS Meeting Tonight…

… for seasoned Drunkbirder spotters tonight will be a rare chance to see me at an LROS indoor meeting. I don’t normally do the indoor meetings as I can’t be too bothered about oohing and aahing over stunning Neotropical birds in a dazzling variety of colours – that sort of birding doesn’t float my boat; I’m happier trying to work out whether the skulking LBJ is a Lancy or just a Gropper and kicking about scrub and thistles looking for dull 1W migrants. My Holy Grail would be finding a skanky looking Siberian Blue Robin at Sea Lane or a stunning Yellow-rumped Flycatcher in the West Dunes at Gib.

Well for one night only I was asked by Sue Graham to chair this evening and it just so coincided with a talk I really wouldn’t mind hearing – Taiwan. Forget your cheap palstic toys – Taiwan is a birders paradise and one place I actually would visit – the fact that they are a thorn in China’s side is a bonus. It has proper birds too, Flycathers and Buntings etc.

The meeting starts at 19.30 at the Church Lounge at Oadby Trinity Methodist Church, Harborough Road, (off the central car park) Oadby Leicester LE2 4LA (click here for map).

The Drunkbirder Stands Up – Again

Not being content with trying stand-up comedy once, or even twice I have been booked to do an 8 to 10 minute spot at the Ship of Fools Comedy Club this coming Sunday, 8 November 2009 at the Looking Glass on Braunstone Gate in Leicester. Tickets are £4/£3 concessions on the door.

See you Sunday?

Short-eared Owl 3 – 2 Barn Owl

Another large, dark type Short-eared Owl tonight. That makes three birds were seen today. Only two Barn Owl hunting as well. Maybe the wind was a bit too strong. Certainly the Short-eareds weren’t as obliging as yesterday.

Last night Matt Merritt LROS member and Features editor for Bird Watching Magazine told me that eight Kestrel were seen feeding over Swan Meadow the other day. Obviously this year has been a good ‘vole year’ in the area as a Buzzard was hunting as well at dusk, using the strong winds to hover over the meadow and three Grey Heron were in the meadow as well.

Let’s hope that the area can attract another Hen Harrier this year – a real omission on my Soar Valley list. I missed the last bird in the winter of 2002/3 due to sheer incompetence, neglect and bad weather.

Gruesome?

Just caught a piece on BBC1’s Country Tracks prgramme about Salmon poaching. Everyone’s favourite upper-class twit Ben Fogle was talking to a river warden who has describing some of the ‘gruesome’ methods  poachers use – such as gaffing Salmon.

I guess fishing methods for Salmon are only gruesome when they are illegal and cost river owners income from very rich upper-class twats. I’m sure snagging a Salmon by it’s lip with a hook and then dragging it around for a bit then clubbing it round the head causes the fish no distress at all?

Saturday Night’s Alright

After a couple of evenings when Leigh couldn’t get down to Cosso in time to see the Owls on Thursday or Friday we went down last night. Being the weekend a bigger crowd than usual were gathered in the hotspot overlooking Swan Meadow.

In recent evenings the Barn Owl have always showed earlier and tonight was no exception as one was picked up hunting at the back of the field. The SEO’s have, unusually, not started flying around until it was almost dark. Tonight however things changed and the first Short-eared Owl was up at 16.45 and spent plenty of time perched out in full view on fence posts. The other, a smaller, paler, bird was soon joining in. At time both Owls were locked in what appeared to be a cross between courtship and territorial behaviour. Lots of deep, slow wing beats and plenty of ‘barking’ calls.

I think tonight everyone would have left the site very happy.

Fucking Nutts

Just when you think we’ve got a Home Secretary that’s ok, he goes and blows all credibility just because he either doesn’t agree with someone or the Daily Mail/Express bandwagon has claimed another MP.

Against all scientific advice Alan Johnson has sacked the head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Professor David Nutt. Why does the Government actually bother having experts or commisioning studies on anything if they are just going to ignore the advice?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8334774.stm

I know that it will take a very brave Minister and Government to have a sensible debate on drugs but surely the money we waste on a phoney ‘war on drugs’ is criminal, just as criminal as the dealers. Sense needs to prevail and if we are ever to tackle problematic drug use we need to stop making users into criminals. Lets be fair almost all illegal substances were developed for the medicinal market. The Battle of Britain would never have been won by the few without pilots speeding the tits off. MDMA was initially trialed in WWI… just didn’t have the desired effect.

Alan Johnson… you’ve just lost my support. I thought you were a decent guy and a reasonable Labour man. Sadly I know think you’re just another twatish MP.

Owls About That Then

After yesterday’s phone call from Dave Gray about two Short-eared Owl at Cossington Meadows I made sure I finished work within easy drive as it’s dark early now… if you hadn’t noticed.

A few birders were already out and about whilst Adrian Russell and his wife were out walking the dog – Adrian was using this as cover to investigate leaf-miners! So as well as carrying the obligatory bag of dog shit he also had a bag of leaves and leaf-miners. A couple of male Stonechat were in the hadge that borders the main track at either end.

I popped down to Tern Pool to look at the Red-crested Pochard (Cosso tick No1) and the headed back down the track to join Dave Gray and Roger Davis on Owl Watch. As dusk fell up to three (possibly four) Barn Owl showed well over Swan Meadow, a Buzzard was mobbed out of it’s roost by Carrion Crows and the first of three Little Owl started calling.

Soon enough we picked up a Short-eared Owl in the gathering gloom at the back of the meadow (Cosso tick No2). This flew off towards The Moor and over the head of Steve Campsall and his companions. They also had one perched up. Another Short-eared was crossing and recrossing the path of at least one of the Barn Owls.

On the way back to the cars in near dark a female Tawny Owl called between us and the Rectory Marsh area. What a great evening. Only needed a LEO for a full house

This Post Was Inspired By Real Events on Shetland

A nightmare scenario…

Did He Really Say That?

My job means I’m often in coffee shops and today I was in a branch of a major chain – the most expensive one as well and one where they don’t have a loyalty card scheme. Anyway, these places are often populated by businessmen (and women) touching base and blue sky thinking and all that shit!

Today’s pair of sharp-suited arseholes were a dream, the younger one was very nattily dressed, nice grey suit, funky socks and a lovely pair of brown brogues. He also had a regulation semi-professional footballers haircut with a nice blonde frosting. In all the consumate twat.

Amongst all the bollocks they were both spouting – do we all need to know about your dreary business dealings? – he came out with a gem. ‘….it’s not big kahuna’s…’ I assume this means money but it was just the way he said. What an arsehole!

That Was The Week That Was

Bloody hell – what have I done to the Birding God to deserve this? Monday my frigging phone dies and therefore I missed out on a mega county tick – Little Bittern.

Then an Eastern Crowned Warbler turns up. I decide not to go for it but thought that getting out into Lincolnshire would be good for the soul. Wrong again as Andy Mackay and I flogged around some prime – probably too prime – habitat on the coast. The winds had gone all wrong, birds elsewhere had stayed, the rains came down and we found bugger all – except that the Beach Cafe at Anderby Creek isn’t very good.

Today I went up to South Shields – cheers Colin for driving – for the Eastern Crowned Warbler only to dip horribly. On our way home we tossed a bit of a coin – go for easy Black Grouse in Arkengarthdale or Bittern at Potteric Carr. We went for Bittern and dipped out again. Fucker!