Work and play

Up at Sparrow fart (that's even before they start singing) to get some sensible work done before having to attend an ongoing nightmare of a job at Ashington. Even the young Collared Dove looked a bit bleary eyed but then he's only been in the big wide world a couple of days and still wants to hang round his tree where amazingly his mum is back on eggs.

Got to Ashington by 8.30 and by 10.00 had a hour or so to wait for materials to arrive so there was a choice. Go back home to check the post or.......Red backed Shrike just up the road. A few minutes later at Low Buston I identified the hill top posted on Birdguides earlier in the morning by the birder in the field with bins a scanning. Early hopes were dashed with tales of no sighting so wandered down the road to where more telescopes seemed to be purposefully directed. A possible sighting twenty minutes ago but nothing conclusive other than positive I D of JSB/EC and AA. Later I was to find out another bird club member and blogger was also present. Some good crack was had but no RBS.
Anyway, called it a (no Shrike) day and with still an hour or so left before I must return to Ashington nipped up to drop some webs counts in at JAR's and spent some time at Cullernose Poimt with the Kittiwakes, Fulmars and a good few walkers.


I could have set up a stall and made some cash by calling their attention to this bird close to the path with two young tucked underneath. Ahs ensued along with the customary 'bit stinky round here' comment. Not taking affront to their comments on my personal hygiene I continued to snap away with limited success at the splendid Fulmars


Back to work though and then home to find that I may have slipped under the Blogger Life list of Wild up North. Was TS amongst the gathered throng at Buston and did he miss the opportunity to snap the PC Wanderer?