The action was quiet again at Ferry Meadows this morning. I think the first notable bouts of migration will start in a week or two. In the afternoon, my dear wife Jo and I went for a walk along the River Welland at Deeping St James (south Lincolnshire)…
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Responsible Birding Diary, Monday 21.9.20
Today’s Ferry Meadows CP, ‘vis mig’ session brought an indication of things to come with two flocks of Sky Larks, passing over, numbering 10 and 8 individuals. Other than the usual trickle of Meadow Pipits in ones and twos, though, it was a quiet sessi…
Responsible Birding Diary, Sunday 20.9.20
Easily the most interesting bird of the morning session at Ferry Meadows CP, was a Common Tern. It is reasonably late for a Common Tern, anyhow, with the adults and juveniles largely having gone south. This bird, however, landed on a nearby buoy and re…
Responsible Birding Diary, Saturday 19.9.20
For just the second time since spring’s ‘lockdown’, I left the Peterborough area, for a spot of out of area birdwatching. I went with my friend Will to north Norfolk, and we tried what I call the ‘Mark Ward method’ (after former BW contributor and Bird…
Responsible Birding Diary, Friday 18.9.20
I have taken a few days holiday, but started as is my new habit with a cycle to Ferry Meadows CP. It was another excellent morning, with a Pintail flying over with a small group of Wigeon, a couple of Mistle Thrushes heading south; but best of all was …
THE THURSDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Gene TierneyBebe DanielsBette DavisClaire TrevorDorothy LamourEvelyn KeyesEleanor ParkerGreer GarsonGail PatrickJoan BennettJean PetersMadeleine CarrollNancy CarrollRita HayworthJuliette GrecoFebruary 7, 1927 — September 23, 2020Have a glamorous Thursday!
THE WEDNESDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Diana RiggPublicity photo for Evil Under the Sun (1982)Ann DvorakAva GardnerConstance BennettCarole LombardDebbie ReynoldsEvelyn KeyesEleanor ParkerFaith DomergueJean PetersPublicity photo for Captain from Castile (1947)Jean SimmonsMadeleine CarrollMar…
THE TUESDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Tony CurtisAlan LaddCharles CoburnClark GableGlenn FordJeffrey HunterJohn PayneLouis JourdanRonald ColmanRock HudsonRobert MitchumRay MillandRobert MontgomeryWalter PidgeonYul BrynnerHave a glamorous Tuesday!
THE MONDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Jean HarlowSusan HaywardCarole LombardClaire TrevorDorothy LamourGene TierneyJoan CrawfordJudy GarlandLena HorneMadeleine CarrollMarion DaviesMiriam HopkinsMaureen O’HaraSue LyonShelley WintersHave a glamorous Monday!
Responsible Birding Diary, Thursday 17.9.20
There was further good progress with my early morning Ferry Meadows CP sessions, today, with three particular highlights. Firstly, a Raven flew north over Gunwade Lake, then drifted toward the nearby Milton Estate (probably the first place Raven…
Responsible Birding Diary, Wednesday 16.9.20
The wind had moved round to the east slightly, this morning, and there were more birds at Ferry Meadows CP. Lots of Chiffchaffs were out and about and calling., and there was an increasing in Meadow Pipit numbers going over (still small numbers, though…
Responsible Birding Diary, Tuesday 15.9.20
It was a quiet pre-work morning at Ferry Meadows CP, with no Otters or exciting birds to report. Oh well, at least I am getting some daily exercise again… In our back garden, the highlights were the growing number of singing Starlings and a visit…
Responsible Birding Diary, Monday 14.9.20
I have been getting extra fat, since reducing the amount of cycling I have been doing. So, I decided it was time to start cycling again, and where better to go than good old Ferry Meadows CP (a round trip of 8-10 miles). This morning, I was rewarded by…
Responsible Birding Diary, Sunday 13.9.20
I started the day working the hedge at Eldernell, once again. Easily the highlight were the several Small Copper butterflies basking in the sun on the short-cropped ‘turf’. These are real beauties of the butterfly world! Small Coppers, Eldernell, Cambr…
THE FRIDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Nancy CarrollBette DavisPublicity photo for Jezebel (1938)Carole LombardDorothy JordanGwen LeeGrace MooreJean SimmonsKay FrancisLeslie CaronLilyan TashmanMadeleine CarrollMargaret LockwoodMyrna LoyMarilyn MonroePublicity photo for Gentlemen Prefer Blon…
Responsible Birding Diary, Saturday 12.9.20
It was windy (with a strong blast coming from the west) and the best action at Baston Fen NR (south Lincolnshire) was on the sheltered east side of the small wood by the car park, which was also catching the morning sun. Here were dozens of Will…
Responsible Birding Diary, Friday 11.9.20
This morning I duly assembled myself early at Deeping Lakes in anticipation of a filming session with our video genius, Jake Kindred. After yesterday evening’s slim pickings, it was encouraging to see evidence of a bit of ‘movement’ with a new-in…
Responsible Birding Diary, Thursday 10.9.20
I am due to do a bit of filming at Deeping Laeks LWT tomorrow morning (short clips of birding advice for the BW website). So, I did a recce this evening. It was very disappointing how few birds were around, however, with a single Common Sandpiper being…
Responsible Birding Diary, Wednesday 9.9.20
This evening I followed a tip-off and went to check out the wader habitat near Woodwalton Fen NNR, in the very south of the Peterborough area. It was a very pleasant evening and there is plenty of habitat which is potential wader paradise. This e…
Responsible Birding Diary, Tuesday 8.9.20
I popped up to the River Welland in search of ‘Sharky’ the Great White Egret and perhaps some Whinchats again, this evening. Sadly, the Whinchats were not to be found and neither was the GWE, until, I spotted him/her rising (in flight) briefly above th…
Responsible Birding Diary, Monday 7.9.20
This evening I followed a tip-off and went to check out the wader habitat near Woodwalton Fen NNR, in the very south of the Peterborough area. It was a very pleasant evening and there is plenty of habitat which is potential wader paradise. This e…
THE THURSDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Madeleine CarrollAnn MillerBinnie BarnesCarole LombardEvelyn VenableGlenda FarrellHedy LamarrJean SimmonsJane WymanKatharine HepburnFay WrayMary BolandMyrna LoyVirginia BruceValentina CorteseHave a glamorous Thursday!
THE WEDNESDAY CANDID 15!
Joan Crawford and Cesar Romero, 1951Ava Gardner on the set of Lone Star (1951)Betty Hutton greets Joan FontaineBrad Dexter and Bella DarviConstance Bennett shortly before her passing in 1965Victor Mature and Bella DarviPublicity photo for The Egyptian …
THE TUESDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Paul NewmanBing CrosbyBuster KeatonDana AndrewsDean MartinDick PowellGeorge BrentGene RaymondGeorge RaftHenry FondaJoseph CottenJames Mason Robert TaylorRobert WagnerWarner BaxterHave a glamorous Tuesday!
THE MONDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Joan BennettBonita GranvilleBetty GrableClara BowCarol LynleyCarole LombardElizabeth AllanJean SimmonsLeslie CaronMadeleine CarrollMitzi GaynorMartha HyerPiper LaurieRita HayworthPublicity photo for My Gal Sal (1942)Sonja HenieHave a glamorous Monday!
THE FRIDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Norma ShearerAnne BaxterAnn MillerElizabeth TaylorGreta GarboGinger RogersJoan BennettJoan CrawfordJanet LeighJane RussellJean SimmonsPublicity photo for Spartacus (1960)Marlene DietrichMary PickfordRosalind RussellDiana RiggJuly 20, 1938 — September 1…
Responsible Birding Diary: Sunday 6.9.20
This morning, I decided to once again explore the hedge west of the car park along the ‘counter drain’ at Eldernell, Cambs (part of the Nene Washes complex). I encountered 50 species, including 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Cetti’s Warblers, 13 Chiffch…
Responsible Birding Diary: Saturday 5.9.20
Today was a great day for nice, scarce, photogenic birds! I started the day by checking to see if a reported Whinchat was still present a bit south of Spalding (but still in the Peterborough area part of south Lincolnshire). I saw two lovely Whinchats …
Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 4.9.20
I didn’t get out until quite late, today, and headed down to Tanholt Pits in search of waders etc. The best I got was close by from a male Marsh Harrier and a couple of juvenile Little Ringed Plovers. So, I abandoned the pits and went north to D…
Responsible Birding Diary: Wednesday 2.9.20
It wasn’t a great day for getting out and about birdwatching, today. After all, my son Eddie finally flew the nest today (or rather he has gone down south to London to college). So, it was a morning of packing the car rather than watching wildlife. Tha…
Responsible Birding Diary: Thursday 3.9.20
After work I cycled down to Ferry Meadows to search for a male Redstart which had been reported there in the same spot where I watched a female not so many days ago… Alas, there was no sign of the Redstart, and the whole area (a scrubby Hawthorn …
Responsible Birding Diary: Tuesday 1.9.20
I started off today’s birding by visiting Castor Hanglands NNR at c6.30am. It was a case of the usual stuff, with plentiful Marsh Tits, Nuthatches and lots of woodpeckers (of both common species) all over the place. Sadly, no tree Pipits, or Reds…
Responsible Birding Diary: Monday 31.8.20
I was inspired by yesterday’s Redstart to have an early-ish start at Eldernell. Once more I walked the hedge, but it was so much less windy, sunnier and warmer that birds were dripping out of the bushes. There were families of Reed Warblers, Whit…
Responsible Birding Diary: Sunday 30.8.20
Having seen not much on a tour of a few sites, I found myself working the hedge, to the west of the car-park at Eldernell, which is a viewpoint over the Nene Washes. This particular hedge has a reputation for turning up good birds, the best of wh…
Responsible Birding Diary: Saturday 29.8.20
Today was always going to be very windy and cold. The wind was coming from the NNW and that is a cue to think about looking for potential ‘seabirds’ such as skuas and Gannets, which may come inland from The Wash and pass over the Peterborough are…
Responsible Birding Diary: Friday 28.8.20
It was a very foggy start to the day, but after dropping off Eddie for his last blueberry-picking session (He is off to college next week), I went up to Deeping Lakes LWT, anyhow. I was surprised to be able to record 52 species from the east pit …
Responsible Birding Diary: Thursday 27.8.20
It was a very pleasant morning, so I went to check out the scrubby rough fields and hedges of Castor Hanglands NNR, just west of Peterborough. I was mainly after scarce passage birds such as tree Pipits or Redstarts. No such luck. However, the pl…
THE THURSDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Burt LancasterAnthony PerkinsCary GrantCharlton HestonDane ClarkGlenn FordGeorge NaderJack OakieJeff ChandlerJames MasonPaul LukasRonald ColmanRobert WagnerWilliam HoldenYul BrynnerHave a glamorous Thursday!
THE WEDNESDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Gloria SwansonBette DavisPublicity photo for Jezebel (1938)Greta GarboGlynis JohnsGail PatrickGinger RogersHeather AngelHonor BlackmanHelen VinsonIrene DunneLouise LovelyMamie Van DorenNancy CarrollRosalind RussellSonja HenieHave a glamorous Wednesday!
THE TUESDAY GLAMOUR 15!
Glynis JohnsPublicity photo for Miranda (1948)Anne BaxterAnne CrawfordAva GardnerPublicity photo for The Little Hut (1957)Alexis SmithAnn SheridanDorothy LamourGail PatrickJoan CrawfordPublicity photo for The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)Janet LeighKay Francis…