Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris

The Safari has no idea wot happened to the formatting on yesterday's missive. We tried to add some feeder pics (not that good actually - another through the dirty windows effort) and blogger went haywire so we gave up in the end but not before even Wifey got totally frustrated with the whole shebang too.

This time last week we were counting down the days to 'cast-off' but it hasn't really helped we're still trapped within these four walls...maybe tomorrow...it's bandage off day and we can get some air at the ferocious wounds. Although at tea-time we did manage to get out onto Patch 1 with Wifey and Frank, not much about but two Peregrines were on the tower out of sight from Base Camp and an unknown number of Long Tailed Tits busied themselves in the depths of the shrubbery at the Butterfly Zone. By the time we got there that was enough and the return journey seemed to take a throbbing age.

This morning we were hoping to do a bit of vis-migging but the rain soaked garden seat put paid to that. A few short looks out onto the sodden world did give us our first Base Camp skein of about 75 Pink Footed Geese, their sinuous V snaking across the steel grey sky.

Back in the garden it wasn't long before the Coal Tit joined the regular crowd, wonder if it's a local bird and will stick around for the whole of the winter. A Robin was a new visitor to the repositioned feeders but seemed a bit flummoxed as to how to attack it, or perhaps just didn't fancy the sunny seeds on offer.

A little later two female Chaffinches were enjoying the provisions - wonder how far they've travelled to be here; there's been huge numbers on the move recently. a Long Tailed Tit joined the throng too - making it a rare double figure species day at Base Camp...sort of gives some compensation for having a permenant wasp sting like pain in the finger tip, of a finger which is still totally numb and unable to discern hot or cold weird or what???

A Collared Dove sat hopefully on the bird table - deliberately kept devoid of food so as not to attract the attentions of the local band of Feral Pigeons...just by sitting there it did, two appeared within minutes. We note too that arch-rival Monika has begun to get the same 'problem'. Snazzy looking feeder she's put up, not seen annything quite like it over here.

Another grubby through the window in the gloom pic we're afraid.

A session in the now sunny garden was unproductive pic-wise, the morning feedind frenzy had waned, but the Grey Squirrel put in another appearance, avoiding the feeders but looking around the area they used to be. All Blackbirds seen this morning were 'normal' seems like the northern dak-billed ones have shot through leaving the last of our Pyracantha berries for the locals.

The warmish sunshine encouraged a Red Admiral to cruise around. The never seem to land on the Sedum flowers despite their reputation as a butterfly attractor...note the spider weaving its web; arrowed

The clouds came back and that was the cue for the butterfly to do a bit of basking - not on the aforementioned flowers but on a tatty bit of guttering...

It did allow close enough approach to get a couple of macro shots off in the cool of the cloud cover.

When the sun came ut we watched this Collared Dove - what a difference being outside makes to the pics - trying to work out how best to get at the bread we'd put in the fatball feeder...unlike Dean we didn't have any left over doughnuts.

Interesting to see the shape of all the primaries, something not normally obvious unless you're a ringer and have them in the hand.

Where to next? Well Blogger is coming up with all sorts of formating and pictue adding nightmares and driving us to distraction so it's gonna be publish and be damned...but if one of those northern Bullfinches lands on the feeders we'll be back...as they say...one pic little text at a time :-( Apologies if it looks like a dog's breakfast - we're past caring!!!

In the meantime let us know what doesn't attract what it's supposed to in your outback