You couldn't write it!

The safari can report that the Peregrine was still on the water tower at 10.00pm last night but we were excused the early morning walk with Frank so don't know if it was still sat on its ledge at 07.00hrs. Must get in touch with my contacts in the water board and see if they can get a nest box put up there.

We weren't sure we were going to get out today but the sun was shining and we were able to get to the local park to try out a bit of digiscoping. All hand held, not got one of those stick your camera to your scope adaptors. But the results aren't too bad. The light was variable but when it was strong it was a bit dazzling as you can see from the white parts on these Herring Gulls. They were a good distance away more than could be achieved with the 'normal' camera and a better result too I think.

We tried to get the Cormorant as it was preening but lost the sunlight behind hazy cloud unfortunately.

With the 'normal camera and no scope we hit the duck feeding zone and got a couple of shots of much nearer quarry without too much zoom.

We were hoping for a Mediterranean Gull as they are regularly found amongst the Black Headed Gulls here. The Black Head below is digiscoped at a range of about 50 yards.One of the Black Heads was ringed but as we were about to set up the scope and get some shots off to see if we could read it all hell broke loose - total mayhem...
A CAT ran past us...with its LEAD dragging behind it...too much for Frank...The reason we were in the park in the first place was so that he wouldn't run round too much and get all muddy on account of his stitches. The park is ideal, all the paths are well tarmaced and generally puddle free unlike the nature reserve or the access to Patch 1. He had been well behaved, just sniffing other dogs backsides, as they do, almost ignoring other dogs' balls (throwing balls - not testicles), he even managed to ignore the Grey Squirrels although other people around made getting shots impossible which was a shame as they were undeniably cute today. But the cat was the straw that broke the camel's back - what freakin' dough-brained numpty idiotfink brings a cat to a place full of dogs for a walk? A bearded twit of one that's who. Well you know what happened next, Frank set off after it at breakneck speed snapping his lead, felling the scope (it's OK Mick it fell on to the muddy grass not on the hard tarmac - dirty but undamaged fortunately). The cat disappeared; Frank was here, there and everywhere looking for it - it had jumped on a bench and was trying to make itself as small as possible. What a bloody pillock! Frank was now mud-up; I had blood on my hand from where I grabbed the lead, not, fortunately, from his stitches. Even more fortunately the blood was from the finger NEXT to my bad one otherwise I'd be in hospital by now and not ranting away at the computer in my sitting room. Not badly hurt just skinned by the fast moving lead.

If you're wondering why I was so worried about Frank take a look at his wounds - he's got a stitch in his eyelid too.

If we hadn't have had to dash home to de-mud then we could have had an hour looking at the sea - flat calm today for the first time in ages...picture taken almost legally from a moving Land Rover on the way home. If you can't tell the sea is the shiny patch behind the people below the darker grey of the sky. Not a white horse in sight...annoying!!! Bloody pillocks!!!

Alls well that ends well, thankfully.

Where to next? There's a Grey Phalarope near the hospital, hope it's still there tomorrow; might just be able to sneak half an hour before visiting time.

In the meantime let us now how many pillocks, numpties, dough-brains, there are lurking in your outback - I know Fleetwood Birder has had problems with them recently.