Brighton Bound
Brighton’s Starlings Nothing too crazy to report today as nothing of great earth shattering importance occurred. Football tomorrow and then on Sunday I will be in Brighton searching for it’s urban birding hotspots. Any ideas anyone?
Entries by David Lindo
Unpleasant Pheasant
Cock Pheasant (David Darrell Lambert) Today was a great day! Primarily because the Tower 42 Bird Study Group is about to be born. I had a very successful meeting with the management at the Tower, who totally love the idea of a bird observatory on the top of their building. The RSPB London office are […]
Another day in the office
TUB on the Oban to Mull ferry (Russell F Spencer) I tried to get up this morning to hit The Scrubs, but grey skies and laziness got the better of me. I did a lot of work today and wrote my January Scrubs report in double quick time. Right, time to watch Family Guy!
Up and down
Short-eared Owl on Cape Clear, Eire (Andy Cook) Bit of a mixed day today. Had a couple of meetings at the BBC today that although were ostensibly positive they left me feeling somewhat crest-fallen. It’s a tough business this telly business. Later, I attended the Friends of The Scrubs AGM, as I am a committee […]
Busy
A deceased immature Black-headed Gull – an unusual Big Garden Birdwatch find (Russell F Spencer) I spent Saturday in agony after injuring my left index finger whilst in the spectacular act (someone’s got to big me up!) of saving a goal. The ball hit my hand at high velocity bending said digit further back that […]
Buckingham Palace
A Highland cow – absolutely nothing to do with anything royalty! I’ve been invited to Buckingham Palace!! I opened an invitation sent on from my agent today that had a request by the Queen’s hubby himself for my presence at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s Peter Scott Centenary Celebrations at the end of March. I […]
Out of the loop
Drake Tufted Ducks (Des McKenzie) At last the copy I wrote for my next RSPB Birds Magazine piece was finally good enough to send off to the magazine editor. It will appear in April (Spring) edition. I’ve been out of the local birding loop for some time now and I had every intention of heading […]
Crow Planet
I’m quite getting into this book reviewing lark as they slowly begin to trickle through my door. Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt landed on my doormat over six months ago – and no, it hasn’t taken that long to review it. No, my proper review will be appearing within the pages of an up […]
Mull reprise
TUB and some Mull locals (Russell F Spencer) Snow flurry (Russell F Spencer) Hunting Merlin (Russell F Spencer) I was extremely lazy this morning by not bothering to get out of bed to hit The Scrubs. When I did go out later in the morning to nearby St John’s Wood I managed to lose my […]
The new Bible has arrived!
My long awaited copy of the Bible arrived today courtesy of publishers Harper Collins whose offices are not too far from where I live. My previous copy was given to me in 2003 by my then long-term Slovakian girlfriend who wrote me a note in her native tongue at the front of the book that […]
Back at The Urban Birder Towers
Great Kiskadee (Yvette Spencer) After yesterday’s excitement, things returned to normality with a couple of meetings, tons of phone calls and the usual writing. Tonight, I was invited to a cocktail event at The Dorchester on London’s swish Park Lane. I wore jeans, jacket and t-shirt. So much for the posh evening wear!
Adverts?? Whatever next?
Today was quite weird. This afternoon I was pretending to be a ‘Rasta Lion’ for an Orangina commercial. I had to don a special suit with sensors all over it and filmed by a suite of ‘motion capture’ cameras which animated my body to make it look like a dreadlocked lion – or something like […]
Where’s my new Collin’s Guide?
Great Egret (Stephen Daly) Had a busy day today with a few tasks completed including the writing and emailing of my RSPB Birds Magazine piece about my recent adventures on Mull. That particular issue will be out in the spring – around April I think. I’m a bit peeved that everyone’s got their new remixed […]
More of Mull
TUB writing in Oban (Russell F Spencer) Somewhere beautiful on Mull (Russell F Spencer) The Pink House (Russell F Spencer) An uncertain bull (Russell F Spencer) I just had to put these wonderful shots up taken by photographer Russell Spencer. They just totally capture the vibe of the island.
Images of Glasgow
TUB at Hogganfield Park Local Nature Reserve (Russell F Spencer) First-winter Black-headed Gulls (Russell F Spencer) First-winter Black-headed Gulls (Russell F Spencer) Drake Goosander (Russell F Spencer) I had a very industrious day today that began with a conscience decision not to go to The Scrubs this morning. Why? Because I was bloody knackered! It […]
What I’ve been missing
All images courtesy of the London Wetland Centre Well, I’m back in The Urban Birder Towers after splendid few days on Mull to find that I have been missing a few things back at home. Apart from the multitudes of Redwing and Fieldfare, Woodcocks have been pretty prevalent. I wonder if there were undiscovered birds […]
I’m an honorary member of the Mull Bird Club
The RSPB’s Dave Sexton & Debby Thorne with TUB You’ve gotta agree – this is beautiful! Today was a bit of a birdy one spent with some of the Mull Bird Club’s finest. Traveling around we picked up more Hen Harriers, a Sea Eagle, Merlin, Otters and Common Seals. The scenery was totally eye-catching. The […]
SoliMull
Mull has surprised me in a couple of ways. The first is the number of non-Mullets (immigrant Mull residents) on the island. Most people seemed to have hailed from the Midlands. Indeed, Russell my photographer dubbed the island ‘SoliMull’! The remainder of people seemed to come from Yorkshire, Newcastle with a couple folk from the […]
Mulling things over
A Woodcock casualty on Mull Here I am, lying in bed after spending my first exhilarating day on the Isle of Mull. Although it’s been cold, I’ve been totally wrapped up in my Lapland/Berghaus gear feeling very toasty! Since my last entry I have been working quite hard on various projects ahead of my journey […]
That’s Bullfinch!
The countdown to Scotland is well underway. I admit that I was a little apprehensive about the possibilities of me ever getting there – what with the inclement weather. Regular calls to the Isle of Mull have proven that there hasn’t been any snowfall there since before Christmas. That was reassuring. Meanwhile, back at home […]