Two Blue?

Tried for the Blue-winged Teal this morning and arriving at Castle Island, started to scan the Teal flock on the south side of the island itself. After a few minutes, and discounting those with teal-coloured specula, I am 100% certain I located a blue one, and furthermore, a few wing stretches and pale blue area on the wing clearly visible. Excellent, thought I, a possible lengthy spell of Teal elimination was shortened and so off to Amble for the Caspo. However, I checked BirdGuides and at the same time as I was patting myself on the back for a job well and speedily done, the bird was to the west of the Rowing Club (RC). Impossible! My 100% was now 99.9% and so I drove to the RC car park and met up with Lord Bullough and another frequently-encountered but so far un-named birder and the quarry was within a few feet of the bank-side. Could there be two? Here's the 'deffo' one:

100 and out!

Just spent a week in the Algarve, based in the Ria Formosa (as usual) and a good guided bird trip to the Castro Verde with a real local expert, Mr Ray Tipper. Will add some photos to the blog next week when I am back from celebrating the big 5 0 in The Lakes, but for now, here's the holiday list (Emboldened = Lifer) 1. Audouin’s Gull 2. Avocet 3. Azure-winged Magpie 4. Barn Swallow 5. Bar-tailed Godwit 6. Bee-eater 7. Blackbird 8. Black-headed Gull 9. Black-headed Weaver 10. Black-shouldered Kite 11. Black-tailed Godwit 12. Black-winged Stilt 13. Blue Tit 14. Booted Eagle 15. Buzzard 16. Carrion Crow 17. Caspian Tern 18. Cattle Egret 19. Cetti’s Warbler 20. Collared Dove 21. Common Sandpiper 22. Coot 23. Corn Bunting 24. Crag Martin 25. Crested Lark 26. Curlew 27. Curlew Sandpiper 28. Dartford Warbler 29. Dunlin 30. Gadwall 31. Golden Eagle 32. Goldfinch 33. Great Crested Grebe 34. Greater Flamingo 35. Great Tit 36. Green Sandpiper 37. Greenshank 38. Green Woodpecker 39. Grey Heron 40. Grey Plover 41. House Sparrow 42. Iberian Chiffchaff 43. Hoopoe 44. House Martin 45. Jay 46. Kentish Plover 47. Kestrel 48. Kingfisher 49. Lesser Black-backed Gull 50. Little Bittern 51. Little Egret 52. Little Grebe 53. Little Ringed Plover 54. Little Stint 55. Little Tern 56. Magpie 57. Mallard 58. Marsh Harrier 59. Mediterranean Gull 60. Melodious Warbler 61. Montagu’s Harrier 62. Moorhen 63. Northern Wheatear 64. Oystercatcher 65. Pied Flycatcher 66. Pied Wagtail 67. Pochard 68. Purple Gallinule 69. Raven 70. Red-legged Partridge 71. Red-rumped Swallow 72. Redshank 73. Redstart 74. Ringed Plover 75. Rock Dove 76. Sanderling 77. Sandwich Tern 78. Sardinian Warbler 79. Serin 80. Shelduck 81. Short-toed Eagle 82. Short-toed Lark 83. Shoveller 84. Slender-billed Gull 85. Southern Grey Shrike 86. Spanish Imperial Eagle 87. Spoonbill 88. Spotless Starling 89. Stonechat 90. Swift 91. Thekla Lark 92. Turnstone 93. Waxbill 94. Whimbrel 95. White Stork 96. Woodchat Shrike 97. Woodpigeon 98. Yellow-legged Gull 99. Yellow Wagtail 100. Zitting Cisticolla

Turned Out Nice

After a slight drenching (can you be slightly drenched?) with the dog from 1800 to 1845, time for a trip to Wessie in the hope of getting more wet, and wind swept (but not interesting (Billy Connolly)). On arrival near the water's edge (my Big Boots were, as ever, elsewhere) I huge dark bird harassing the crows in the north edge's trees. Initially, I 'saw' a forked tail, but on raising the bins, the cream head of a Marsh Harrier. So, scope, tripod, bins, camera and phone, 'assisted' by the wind and sausage fingers combined to produce this record shot ('record' in its broadest sense). Also present were three Greenshank, two Dunlin and an LRP. Not too bad for a breezy puddle, one of the Dunlin looked a tad odd, so many a minute in fading light trying to turn it into something better. And whilst doing so, one of the Greenshank walked through the scope view, except it had become a Ruff. And there were two, as well as the Greenies. The good Lord alone knows where they came from, but who cares. 121 for Viet-Cram so far and a wise move to not be beaten by the elements!