Avez-Vous un Cuppa?

After finishing the early shift yesterday I nipped over to Watermead CP South too see if the Oystercatcher was still on the Island opposite the car park, and in due course it was asleep amongst the Lapwings and mutant Geese! So with this sighting my year list is now moves up to 74 species. Other highlights around the country park included "Pete the Pintail" showing down to five feet and trying to court a female Mallard!! and the coloured-ringed Black-headed Gull from Norway (JAN4)  was still having free meals in the car park! "Pete the Pintail" Watermead CP South car park!

Over the weekend I checked out a couple of sites and added two year ticks to my list. This came in the form of a Cetti's Warbler at Watermead CP South and a female Pheasant at Birstall Lodge Farm. With these birds my list is now up to 73 species for the city challenge!

Here is probably the best James Bond song ever!? Enjoy!

Distant shot of the Slaty-backed Gull at Rainham RSPB Oriental Turtle Dove twitch thanks Beast!! Pieman at the Slaty Gull twitch!! So on Thursday and news from the previous day of the Slaty-backed Gull was refound again at Rainham Marshes RSPB, London and the long staying Oriental Turtle Dove at Chipping Norton,Oxfordshire a two tick day was on the cards. So meeting up with Neil Hagley and the famous "Pieman" Mark Reeder we were on the road by 8.00am and got to Chipping Norton just before 9.30am. Parking in the small town, we walked down the hill on to "The Leys" and met up with the Beast (Colin Towe) and Trev Woodcroft who had been on site since 8.00am. The dove had been seen briefly an hour earlier but since then it had disappeared in to the local gardens. Then Neil said those magic words "There it is in the nearby ash tree!" Viewing the dove from the road, the dove sat in the tree for the next 15minutes until it was flushed a wood pigeon. So the f...

Here is a few record shots of the Glaucous Gull I saw at Albert Village Lake on the 9th.

Here is some video footage of the 3rd winter Glaucous Gull at Albert Village Lake I took yesterday. Enjoy!

As I have been on annual leave this week I have been checking a few sites in the city boundaries for the Leicester year list. With Western Park on my door step it was quite logical to check this site first! So over a couple of hours walking round the park I found at least four year tick in the form of Lesser Redpoll , Siskin , Jay and Nuthatch. The other usual suspects included at least 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers,Green Woodpecker, and good numbers of finches. The next site I checked was just in the city boundaries at Birstall Lodge Farm, next to Birstall golf course. At this site I had been informed that Yellowhammer and Grey Partridge had been seen in the last few days, so parking on the old Thurcaston road, I scanned the fields and straight away I picked up a group of 7 Red-legged Partridges , a singing Yellowhammer and then totally out of the blue a Woodcock flying over the new Thurcaston road! GET IN!! Another 3 year ticks on the list! Buoyed with these new ticks the fina...

This afternoon I spent sometime down at Watermead CP South to look at the gulls. I found a new colour-ringed Black-headed Gull in the car park which was probably ringed by one of the South-West Gull groups. Observing the gulls I noted again the previous colour-ringed gulls I had found in December 2010 were still around the car park. The only other sightings I noted included a large group of Jackdaws (500+), and a few Rooks roosted in fields opposite the car park at Watermead CP South. The Rooks were actually a year tick for the City challenge, which now put me on 64 species. Colour-ringed BH Gull (VO28) Colour-ringed BH Gull (JAN4) Colour-ringed BH Gull (2H64) Colour-ringed BH Gull (2H64) again!

This week I been listening to this great track by Adele, enjoy!!

Film of the "funny looking Gull" at Watermead CP South last weekend. Comments are welcome on the bird!