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OK, due to a combination of factors I have somewhat neglected posting on the blog. That doesn’t mean that I have been sat at home twiddling my thumbs or watching daytime telly. Does anyone still watch daytime telly to be entertained or informed? Definitely not the latter. Sources of news and entertainment on the Internet are more varied where by hitting the right buttons, the actuality & truth, as opposed to mainstream media who like to tell us what to believe, is there for all to discover. BBC, ITV, C4, Sky – they are all liars with biased and well-oiled axes to grind. 

Today there's a selection of pictures shot in-between bouts of bad weather that hit the North West from January and into May when I ventured out with bins and camera if the sun appeared and winds subsided. I felt so sorry for our local farming community when days and weeks of rain swallowed their crop fields; more knocks to a hard-working fraternity who receive little or no credit for their contribution to our British Way of Life. 

My mostly mornings with camera, plus a couple of ringing sessions confirmed that all is not well with birds. Where this year are Swifts, Sedge Warblers, Blackcaps, Swallows, Whitethroats, House Martins and Willow Warblers? - to name but a handful of supposedly “common species”. Luckily, Wheatears and ever curious Pied Wagtails  seemed in good supply with the jury out on seemingly low numbers of finches and buntings.

Adult Swallow

Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Wheatear

Pied Wagtail

Linnet

Reed Bunting

Pied  Wagtail - looking for the other one 

While saturated fields held no joy for farmers, a few waders took advantage by managing to rear chicks on fields into which a tractor would sink. Out Cockerham way a pair of roadside Lapwings I watched for weeks managed to grow all four chicks to adult size. All the time with crows looking on but chased off by sharp eyed parent Lapwings.

Lapwing

Lapwing chick

Carrion Crow

At another field nearby a pair of Shoveler took up residence where a male left his mate in an adjacent ditch while he stole minutes alone at a water flash. . 

Shoveler

Finally and into June the ground in parts dried out by which time both Oystercatchers and Lapwings could search the recently ploughed and now drying clumps of earth.

Oystercatcher

Male Lapwing - dig that crest!

And then in late June for a week and a day Sue and I ate out in the garden, enjoying the evening sunlight. A chance to try our own versions of Greek classics, Lamb Kleftico, Baked Feta and souvlakis together with a bottle of Ampelicious that too quickly ran out, the bottle courtesy of our lovely friends, Family Karaboula at Maistrali. 

 

Maistrali Taverna, Skiathos, Greece 

Ampelicious  Red

Bouyiourdi - Baked Feta

The first week of July. There's more rain in the forecast but I will be out whenever I can. 

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Back To The Future

Yes, it’s true. Following public demand Another Bird Blog is back. Click the Pics. You know the drill.

Four months later and following a number of stuttering, lethargic attempts I hit the keyboard to bring an update on the trials and tribulations of an ageing ringer, birder and photographer. 

It all began in December last with arthritis of a dodgy ankle that kicked in during a brutal morning at Oakenclough, unsavoury conditions that continued into 2024 with the wild and windy weather of January to May inclusive. Weather “experts” paid to promote dodgy data told us that May was “dry and very warm” but high energy bills and nearby flooded fields advised otherwise. 

Seeing again our Greek friends and experiencing Philoxenia in early May became Priority Number One. The pain, hurt and sheer torment of TUI and Terminal Two of Manchester Airport is not something to recommend but the thought of two weeks of Greek hospitality, Greek food and Ouzo saw us through the anguish as we finally landed at JSI, Greece some seven hours after leaving FY6. 

TUI

Our Jimny awaited whereby a detour from the airport to Slaventis Supermarket provided the essentials for the first afternoon and evening in Skiathos - orange juice, 6-pack water, ouzo and Metaxa, not necessarily in that order. 

Slaventis, Skiathos

Slaventis' Ouzos

Room Number 4 at Dream House was ready as our hosts the charming Efie and dad Kostas poured us a glass of ice-cold Fix, a brew that tasted like beer, not gnat piss. We swapped hugs and kisses then unpacked for tomorrow. 

Efie and Kostas

Fix

Dream House (Spiti Oneiro)

It was early May, when many migrant birds have already passed though Greece on their way to Northernmost Europe. March and April is the peak but as in Britain some linger while waifs, strays and residents entertain the few birders in evidence - one whole and a partly reluctant sun-loving Sue in our case. 

The list is not huge but included a number of mouth watering possibilities for birders struggling back in wet and windy UK – Bee Eaters, Hobby, Marsh Warbler, Red-rumped and Common Swallows, Nightingale, Scops Owl, Little Owl, Little Bittern, Night Heron, Tawny Pipit, Red-backed Shrike, Yellow Wagtails, Wheatears and Spot Flys etc, etc. 

Bee Eater

Black-crowned Night Heron

The travelling laptop tells a mixed tale of sunny, lazy days and recalcitrant birds. Not in any particular order but a taste, a feel of Skiathos.

Skiathos Town

Skiathos Town

The Greek flag together with symbols of Greece its culture and history are widespread. To mock Greece is to invite public opprobrium and worse.  "Philoxenia" - φῐλοξενῐ́ᾱ meaning "friend to a stranger” is about much more than a warm welcome; it is a complex moral code with deep roots in Greek culture and Greek daily life. 

Meanwhile in Western Europe and seemingly also in the US, there is an epidemic of cultural dementia coupled with a desire to obliterate our history and values. The Greek people don’t fall for such communist inspired claptrap. 

Mylos Taverna

A quiet coffee morning in Papadiamantis Street

 

Early May at The Bourtzi 

Feeding ducks

The Bourtzi

From The Boatyard

The Boatyard

The Boatyard

Mylos Taverna

From Mylos

Sleeping in Skiathos

European Shag

Grey Heron

Yellow-legged Gulls

Out and About

Out and About

Red-backed Shrike

Red-rumped Swallow

Whinchat

Night Heron and Little Bittern

Night Heron

It was three weeks later when deleting rubbish photos that I found the two herons just yards apart. I caught up with secretive Little Bitterns at other locations.

Little Bittern

Yellow Wagtail

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Local goat. The source of creamy feta cheese.

Morning Flight

Skiathos Town

Skiathos Town

Street Art Greek Honey Bees

Ferry Arrivals, foot passengers first.

Ferry Arrivals, cars and wagons.

Queue Here

Skiathos Cat - Yuk

We arrived back in the UK mid May and found the weather had improved, even warming up, but not yet up  to Greek temperatures.

A little birding, a spot of ringing became more appealing - after tidying the garden and catching up with family and friends.

Back soon. Maybe.