Thwarted!

The Safari is sat looking out of the window at a leaden sky watching the rain persisting down again, as it has done for the last 14 hours, rueing yesterday's blue skies and the 'lost' opportunity to get out.

We were out on a wet foreshortened Patch 1 just before 06.00 and got nothing other than soaked so went back to bed, no doubt hundreds of Lapland Buntings and a few Whinchats will have been sitting up for all to see along Chat Alley. The proposed visit to the nature reserve with 0ur Extreme Photographer was postponed twice then abandoned! A Jack Snipe was flushed during habitat work there during the week, we missed those last back end and now need missed 'regulars' like these if we have any hope of keeping in sight of Monika with our year list competition.

Heysham yesterday missed out on the Lapland Buntings but got a Snow Bunting instead, stringily and certainly not claimed, we think these are what our three mystery fly-overs on Patch 2 might well have been.

Our Extreme Photographer suggested building a log cabin with all mod cons - stove for heating and cooking, comfy bed for Frank, and most importantly a good outlook over a feeding station brimming with quality mammals...anyone know such a place? We'd need to hire a retainer to keep the feeders topped up during the times we weren't there - which might be a while for OEP as he's off to Aus for the winter (or should that be summer?)
Talking of Aus here's a pic we took on a cool sunny morning of around 35C - ahhh those were the (warm and dry) days!
Not long after the pic was taken, a couple of day) the sky went black and it really lagged it down

- shouldn't happen in a desert - probably hadn't for several years!

So far today the window has produced a Robin, eating stale breakfast cereal on the bird-table, a fly-over Herring Gull and a roof-top hopping Magpie - yes it's that good!

Was footling around on 'Nerd Forum' last night and came across this mammal thread.

The Safari would like to see, in no particular order:-

1. Orca - in British waters preferably (no offence Monika, although we'd certainly take an armchair tick from Orca Cam!).

2. Yellow Necked Mouse - probably quite common but we just never hear of them,a challenge for Autumnwatch?

3. Harvest Mouse - cute as and reported from the nature reserve while we were the warden but never seen a wild one.

4. Numbat - lovely little animal teetering on the brink - one was seen on the track near my mates place by a neighbour while we were staying there.

5. Clouded Leopard - either of the two (sub)species would do.

6. Wolf - perhaps rather listen to them while camping in the wilds than actually see them - far more evocative.

7. Okapi - what a stunning looking animal.

8. Pine Marten - in England rather than Scotland.

9. Humpbacked Whale - dipped the Glasgow one several years ago.

10. Don't laugh - Yeti/Sasquatch - just too many traditional stories from around the globe for it/they not to exist somewhere. Something like Homo erectus? Here's hoping.

So go on let's have yours.

Where to next? Maybe back later for a rant while the all singing all dancing 'Strictly' and Cr*p Factor dominate the telly.

In the meantime let us know if its stopped raining in your outback - still hasn't here.