Where's the rain?

I'm still smarting after having to cancel my highrise filming planned for the morning. Well, it's nearly midnight and there's not a drop of rain anywhere in sight.

Has Sky News weather lied to me?

Oozing Ouzels

Ring Ouzel (Stephen Daly)

I've having quite a purple patch at The Scrubs recently.

It was incredible when the Richard's Pipit flew over my head the other day and then yesterday I found 2 Ring Ouzels in Chats Paddock making it 6 years on the trot that these beautiful birds have used my patch as a refueling spot. I just had a feeling that there might be Ouzels around - and there were! In fact, shortly after I left fellow Scrubber Rob Ayers went to investigate and found that there were 3 of those northern beauties in the paddock!

This morning me and a few other birders ventured into the Paddock in the vain hope of refinding them. No avail, but we did hear the first ever record of Cetti's Warbler at The Scrubs. What an autumn we're having!

However, today had a sting in its tail. I had to cancel my planned filming session from atop Tower 42. The weather at the moment is mild and fine but that's set to change come Saturday night when the driving wind and rain comes. It will whip up and become particularly bad on Sunday. This of course would negate any filming efforts and anyway, the security people feel weird about having people on the roof during a gale. I was totally gutted.

I just hope that it really does pee down on Sunday morning.

Shreeep shreeep!

Richard's Pipit (Sacha Barbato)

What a morning!

After spending one and a quarter hours watching visible migration on the edge of the grassland at The Scrubs, Roy Nuttall and I had clocked up over 700 Redwings heading west, c130 Fieldfare including one on the deck, c500 Starlings, c300 Woodpigeons, 41 Jackdaws, 2 Mistle Thrushes, around 20 Redpolls, maybe 10 Chaffinches and many unidentified small flying objects.

At 8.45am Roy decided that he had had enough and began stroll off. I too thought that it was time to go, but I decided to give it just 5 more minutes before I had to run and rescue my car from a potential parking ticket. I turned to the grassland and within seconds a large pipit rose from it around 50 feet away and flew over my head calling 'shreep' as it did so. I yelled at Roy to watch the bird as it headed southwest.

As soon as I heard it initially call I instinctively knew it was a Richard's and I immediately started to register the salient identification points; build, pot belly, size and sparrow-like call.

Yowza! Our 3rd ever Dick's Pipit at The Scrubs - and I found 2 of them!

I'm really getting excited about the next film that I'm doing with Birdguides next Sunday morning. I will be on the top of one of London's tallest buildings - 600 feet up on Tower 42 (the old Nat West Building). The aim is to watch visible migration from this potentially amazing vantage point.

Roll on Sunday!

Bristol bound

A Cattle Egret in Portuguese skies

This morning I arose at 5.45am to shower and shave before catching a train to Bristol for a series of meetings at the BBC's Natural History Unit and with a couple of production companies. I also met with the features editor at BBC Wildlife Magazine to chat about my forthcoming series of articles that should start next March. Pretty exciting stuff.

Got back to London feeling knackered and thinking of Cattle Egrets - a bit random I know!

Be Nice to People Party

It's good to be back in Britain - not!!

Grey skies, a chill in the air and hardly any birds flying around at The Scrubs this morning. Around 40 Redwings, 2 Stonechats and a score of Meadow Pipits were my reward. A few days ago I was watching birds by the truckload in Portugal.

The afternoon was spent variously working, getting depressed watching Manchester United loose to Liverpool and indulging in a touch of urban cricket in the backyard.

In the evening I was on Radio London as a guest on the Eddie Nestor talk show to gas about some news items in the papers with a really nice playwright called Funke - great name. We were in Broadcasting House, Portland Street in the station's new office. The gremlins struck and no callers could get through, so we ended up having a discussion between the three of us about the BNP.

I still managed to throw in a few urban birding references.

Portugal

What an amazing few days.

The thing that struck me most about being in Portugal was the abundance of birds. There were birds everywhere - hundreds of them! The fields were full of larks, the bushes heaved with sparrows, finches and warblers and the watercourses were stuffed with waders (particularly Avocets), flamingos, gulls and egrets. It was a like being in paradise - even when it was raining!

Tagus Estuary

The Tagus Estuary, on which Lisbon lies, was particularly graced with abundant birdlife. Joao, my guide and I found nearly 50 Stone Curlew, 60 plus Little Bustard, legions of Black-tailed Godwits, Kentish Plovers and Ringed Plovers, Literally thousands of Greater Flamingo and Avocets, hundreds of Crested Lark and White Stork and loads of Marsh Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite and Cattle Egret. We also had a Bonelli's Eagle, Booted Eagle, several Hen Harrier - the list goes on.

Some of my doggy friends in the Tagus Estuary

Feral horses

One of the pools at the Tagus Estuary

We also found a few national rarities including a Red-throated Diver on the sea near the Sado Estuary (which is around 40km south of Lisbon), Portugal's 11th or 12th a Marsh Sandpiper in a dyke in Tagus and a very probable American Golden Plover (found by yours truly) with some roosting Kentish and Ringed Plovers - again at the Tagus Estuary.

Vasco da Gama bridge

Portugal is so cheap to get to these days and there's barely anyone out there birding it. We all need to get out there check out their wonderful birds and make a name for ourselves by finding some new ones!

Portuguese love

I'm too knackered tonight. Tell you more tomorrow.

Male Spanish Sparrows with House Sparrows at Sado Estuary

Greater Flamingo (Stephen Daly)

Great Egret (Stephen Daly)

My Guide Joao Jara with Ruben of the League for the Protection of Nature in Castro Verde

White Stork, Sado Estuary