Barely enough light left for a walk around the Sands Lake at Ainsdale when I got home from work today, but I gave it a go anyway.
The Magpies were already gathering pre-roost, and on the water, the number of Tufted Duck has shot up to at least 91, presumably as a consequence of the cold snap in the week.
The gusty north westerly didn't help matters, and the bushes around the lake were pretty quiet - three or four Long Tailed Tits, and the usual Goldfinches, Wrens and Robins.
A flock of 19 Curlew came over from the south east later, heading out to roost on the beach, but the only splash of colour around today was the remaining clusters of Sea Buckthorn berries still on the spiky grey branches.
I can feel some Waxwing therapy coming on.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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I went down to David Bryant's house in Bootle and bought myself a copy of 'In the footsteps of Eric Hardy' and I can't stop reading it! It's a magnificent volume, full of Eric's wonderfully evocative writings, and loads of photos.David has done a fantastic job.Every Merseyside naturalist should buy it!
To launch the celebration of 100 years of ringing, the British Trust for Ornithology has published âÂÂBird Ringing: A Concise Guideâ explaining how and why we ring birds.
Marking the start of the celebration of 100 years of bird ringing in this country, âÂÂBird Ringingâ is full of facts on the scheme that began in 1909. The last 100 years have seen over 36 million birds fitted with unique numbered rings, allowing scientists at the BTO to learn more about their movements. When ringing birds began in 1909 the migration of Swallows was unknown, with many believing that they spent the winter months in the mud at the bottom of lakes and ponds. Without the recovery of many British and Irish ringed Swallows in South Africa, we still might not know where they go. However, there is still a lot to learn. We donâÂÂt know where the House Martin, one of our closest neighbours, spends the winter months. By continuing to ring birds like these, the information collected can be used to help in their conservation, both here and in their winter quarters.
Ringing birds can also tell us a lot about their lives. The oldest ringed bird in Britain, at 50 years and 11 months, is a Manx Shearwater; originally ringed at Bardsey Bird Observatory, North Wales, on 17 May 1957, it has returned to breed there each year ever since. Even small birds can live a long time; a Starling ringed on 20 November 1983 was found 17 years, 7 months and 25 days later, making it the oldest Starling in Britain. One Starling looks very much like another and without its unique ring number there would be no real way of telling how old this bird really is.
For more information on BritainâÂÂs oldest birds, which bird holds the long distance record, at 18,056 km (Anglesey to Australia), or which British bird was found in the stomach of a crocodile in the Gambia in November 2000, donâÂÂt miss your copy of Bird Ringing: A Concise Guide.
Bird Ringing is available from BTO on-line sales at www.bto.org or by telephone, 01842 750050. The book costs ã7.50 plus p&p.