Happy New Decade!

I hope that you all had a safe and enjoyable New Year's celebration. I also hope that all that you dream for and desire happens for you during the ensuing months.

I had one of my best New Years Eve ever. I was alone at home in front of my laptop writing whilst watching Sky Plussed pre-recorded episodes of Family Guy. My eyes must have closed because I suddenly awoke when I heard a series of large explosions, which I subsequently realised was the display at the Millennium Wheel.

Resolutions are not normally my thing, but I do have a few hopes and dreams for the coming year. I have been very blessed thus far with my career as The Urban Birder and have been to places, seen things and done things that I never dreamt of just a few short years ago.

I hope that you will enjoy reading my blog over the coming months to experience the continuing unfolding of The Urban Birder story.

The day after the day after Christmas

Common Stonechat (Jon Osbourne)

Dawn saw me standing on the western edge of The Scrubs listening to hundreds of squawking Rose-ringed Parakeets getting ready to leave their roost whilst I scanned the skies for signs of hard weather movement. Ultimately, I was to be disappointed as the only real movement I saw were around 30 Redwings and 2 very distant Fieldfares.

Today was also the Scrubbers Christmas get together replete with mince pies and mold wine. Well, I forgot my mince pies and certainly didn't bring any wine. It was just as well because only long term Scrubber, Roy Nuttall, showed up. So we strolled around flushing 2 Snipe and finding our winter resident pair of Stonechat.

Back at home, I finally cracked open my presents. Aside from the itouch and field guide I mentioned yesterday, I also received 2 scarfs and some cosmetics to help keep an urban birder young, sexy and beautiful looking!

Crimbo

I hope you all have had a fun and peaceful Christmas.

I put on at least 6 stone on Christmas Day, although to be fair to myself, I did have a 2 hour game of scratch football in Kensington Gardens with my mates - you know, jumper for goalposts stuff. We played near the Round Pond so there were plenty of milling gulls and flocks of Mute Swans and feral geese to watch out for. Today I wasn't in goal but playing outfield, so birding opportunities were somewhat limited. I scored the winning goal in a penalty shootout. You should have seen my celebration!

I've also been hitting The Scrubs for the past couple of mornings scoring at least 4 Snipe, a calling Red-legged Partridge and this morning, a superb winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull. Tomorrow morning is the planned Scrubbers Christmas gathering, but the turnout is likely to be poor.

Yesterday, I received an email from India alluding to the possibility of an invitation to the Indian Birdfair that's being held in February. It may also be a case of the true meaning being lost in translation. I responded saying that I would be up for it plus I suggested a few ideas. I'll see what comes back.

Believe it or not, we still haven't opened our Christmas presents in my household - strange I know. What I do know is that my mum has got me the Helm field guide to the birds of the Atlantic Islands and that my best mate has got me an Apple itouch, which I'm particularly looking forward to fooling around with tomorrow when we finally crack open the presents.

Time to kip up so that I'm fresh to find that oddity in the morning that's lurking at The Scrubs.

Scotland

Crested Tit (Hugh Harrop)

I'm really looking forward to my trip to Scotland in early January next year. It's going to be great, especially stalking around Mull.

I've been thinking about my first trips to Scotland during the school summer holidays as a youth hosteling teenager. I went with my local youth club in Wembley, north London and me and my mate Alan were the only birders on the trip. I say 'birders', we were not that great, however, we did find a female Surf Scoter along the coastline of Handa Island, up on the west coast. Well, we didn't know what we had found, but we knew it was interesting. So we wrote and left a description on the warden's door (as he wasn't about). He very kindly wrote a couple weeks later to tell us of our exciting discovery.

The other day I was having a moan about Visit Scotland and their apparent unhelpfulness. Those words were written during a time when I was feeling a little peeved by a few things not going to plan at the time. In reality, Visit Scotland are totally fine. Having thought about it since, they very helpfully facilitated my trip to Edinburgh earlier this year when I did the Firth of Forth cruise. Maybe I spoke out in haste. I'm so passionate about getting the urban birding message out there sometimes I get annoyed when I feel that I'm being impeded.

As it happens, it now looks like they may be able to assist with my up and coming trip to Glasgow. It may well be a case of all's well that ends well.

Back at The Scrubs

I made it!

I finally made it back to The Scrubs!

As I pulled up on Braybrook Street (on the western edge of the site) I was surprised to stumble across a mass gathering of around 1,000 Rose-ringed Parakeets collected on a few roadside trees noisily chattering away. Occasionally, they'd all lift off only to return back to base for some more chattering. I was frantically scanned above them for whatever might of spooked them. I saw nothing.

I parked further up the road, got my gear together and strolled into the site. By now the parakeets were beginning to head off, mostly west, in small squawking groups. It's funny, a few days ago a PhD student contacted me about the Wormwood Scrubs parakeet roosts as she was studying them in London. We hadn't recorded any large roosts for the past 4 months and I told her so. Looks like I'll have to send her another email.

Before I left this morning, I recorded a wayward Lapwing calling overhead, 7 Skylark feeding on an unfrozen patch on the football pitches, around 12 Meadow Pipits, a pair of Stonechats and a brief Reed Bunting all in the icy grassland.

It was an absolute delight to out in the morning under the clear blue sky.

Strictly

Before I start, I must unequivocally state that I have no beef with Scotland or the people of Scotland - I'm just a bit peeved with the tourist board. Just thought I'd mention that.

Today was a freezing, crisp sunny day. It was so cold that I even wore my Berghaus puffer jacket in goal for the first 20 minutes. We won and I enjoyed the game. I had nothing to add to my 'Whilst Playing Football List', indeed the birds I noticed were a few Magpies and several Black-headed Gulls.

Finally, on a completely different note, I congratulate Chris Hollins on winning Strictly Come Dancing tonight. We share the same agent so I salute my fellow stablemate.

Let downs and lifts

TUB on the Cairngorms c1996

Since the last time I put finger to keyboard I've not been to my local patch nor lifted a pair of binoculars. This time I have no excuse because most of my deadlines are out of the way and apart from a few flecks of snow one morning and a couple other more rainy ones, the mornings have at least been dry - if bitterly cold. No, this is my mid-winter doldrum period, an annual occurrence than can sometimes drift into March. I aim to stop the rut this Sunday by dragging myself out of my warm pit to visit The Scrubs and I must continue the newly found purpose to the end of the year. I must, I must, I must. Well, maybe I may have a lay in one morning......

A couple disappointments were had over the past few days. The usual ones from certain execs at particular TV channels but the biggest disappointment emanated from Scotland. Visit Scotland refused to support my one day trip to Glasgow for Bird Watching Magazine because the felt that the magazine's circulation was too small. They are the first unhelpful tourist board I have come across in 12 months of traveling Britain and Europe on my urban birding tour. I didn't understand why they didn't get the idea that the magazine's readers were active and actually do visit places in pursuit of their hobby. I was amazed by their attitude, especially given that as far as I know, no one else in the world is writing about city wildlife to the people most likely to go look for themselves.

Last night I went to a Christmas gathering at the swanky Mayfair Hotel, off Piccadilly. The reception desk told me that I had to go to the 5th floor, so I strolled through the thronging atrium to the lifts. I got to them just as one was closing. A well placed foot prevented the doors from closing on me and I entered. I was dimly aware of a couple of kids and three adults in the tight car as I stared at the panel to punch the 5th floor button. The doors closed and we started to ascend. I casually looked to my left and was flabbergasted to see JERMAINE JACKSON standing there!

Before I could think, I had introduced myself to him and told him how much of a pleasure it was to have met him. He was lovely and called me 'Dave', to which I replied with a jovial smile on my face, 'David, it's David to you!' As I said this, my floor arrived and I bid the occupants of the lift a good night and skipped out.

It's not often you get to meet megastars and I didn't even get the chance to show him some of my moves!