Regular bloggers will be relieved to learn I resisted the temptation to go entirely buck naked while out birding in the hot, hot sunny conditions today, although clothes were hardly necessary.
Spent an hour or two at two Hobby sites, but there was no sign of birds at either - not surprising given the conditions, you need to be up very early, or out very late to see these babies on territory at this time of year.
"What big eyes you've got Grandma"
"All the better to hunt at dawn and dusk"
Or at least I think that's how the fairy tale went.
A quick call to Andy Bunting at the In Focus shop at Martin Mere on "Wild Merseyside" business, gave me the opportunity to scope the distant and dozing form of the Spoonbill there, but far nicer was a Brimstone outside the Ronnie Barker hide.
It made a change from the Painted Ladies.
Few Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers about, with young Avocets dotted here and there.
As the refreshing, but still warm, westerly breeze picked up in the early evening, I popped down to Marshside, where some of the marsh orchids are at their "ice lolly" best, Whitethroats were gabbling away, and a female Marsh Harrier was hunting over Crossens Outer.
Giant Hogweed starting to flower impressively in the SSSI ditch now too.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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BBC Radio Lancashire presenter Garry Scott will be getting to the root of your gardening enquiries with a special broadcast at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserve in Silverdale on Sunday 14 June.
Every Sunday, gardening gurus visit different garden centres throughout the county and broadcast live between 2 and 4 pm to solve all your gardening problems. This week they will be holding a special programme in the popular nature reserveâÂÂs shop and café with a guest wildlife gardening guru, Jennifer Lauruol of Lancaster based âÂÂCarpe Diem designâÂÂ.
Jennifer suggests âÂÂMaybe you might like to know which are the best plants to encourage birds and wildlife to your garden or what are the easiest perennial edible plants to look afterâÂÅ whatever your question, IâÂÂll try my best to answer them! IâÂÂll also be giving you ideas about how you can make your garden more sustainable, which is also one of my passionsâÂÂ.
âÂÂIf you own a garden, or even just a window box, you can take simple, practical steps that will benefit many of our most important birds, mammals and insects. The RSPBâÂÂs âÂÂHomes for Wildlifeâ project gives advice about how to make your garden richer in wildlife as well as making a real difference to the fortunes of many species that are declining in numbers. Anyone can get this information pack by phoning our hotline 0870 2401 001 or by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/hfwâ said Jen Walker, Visitor and Publicity Officer at the reserve.
So why not pop into Leighton Moss that afternoon to meet the team? You could also get some inspiration for your garden by visiting the woodland bird feeding station or taking a wander around the nature trails, browsing round the wildlife gardening section of the shop or have a cake and cuppa (with all our profits helping wildlife too - easy!). If you canâÂÂt make it, then you can also phone in with your wildlife gardening question on the day (Tel: 01254 841023) or fill in a form with your question on the BBC Radio Lancashire website www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2009/02/20/stephen_lowe_gardening_venues_feature.shtml ...and Garry and the team will unearth the answers!
Cheers Jen, but Birdblog don't do gardening. Charlie don't surf, and he sure as hell don't worry about Ground Elder.
X
Although there has been much publicity about the plight of the cuckoo in the last week, this is certainly not the only summer migrant that is in trouble. Why did House Martins turn up so late and where are the rest of them? Surely, Spotted Flycatchers ought to be hawking for insects from the branches of my apple tree? Isn't it sad to be entering summer without the call of the Cuckoo or the purring of a Turtle Dove?
The A3 poster from the Out of Africa leaflet (follow the link below) asks more questions and suggests some answers:
http://www.bto.org/appeals/Out%20of%20Africa%20Inside%20of%20Leaflet%20A3%20press.pdf
To read more about the appeal, please visit:
http://www.bto.org/appeals/out_of_africa_appeal.htm
(You can download the rest of the appeal mailing by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of this page)
The target for the appeal is ã365K - a fitting amount, given that birds like Cuckoo, Spotted Flycatcher and Yellow Wagtail need year-round support.
Publicity would be much appreciated. BTO might have great data and tremendously loyal volunteer birdwatchers but we need much wider support if we are to understand what is happening to the sound of summer.
Regards
Paul Stancliffe