Normal service is resumed...sort of

The Safari is pleased to tell you that there are no weird and wonderful stringy sightings to report today. All the Great Crested Grebes were bog-standard Great Crested Grebes and both the auks seen were as-normal-as-you-like Guillemots.

250 or so Common Scoters were scattered to the four winds and today’s Cormorants numbered only about 50 mostly in small flocks heading out towards the rigs; it would seem that the big shoal of fish has moved on – we said that last week and it reappeared so it could well be back.

Best of the very limited rest was a Red Throated Diver and three Greenfinches in the back garden, the finches, not the diver.

Just when we thought normality had returned to the universe a nutter walked into work (sorry; an interesting chap with a unique philosophy)...reckoned saving energy was the work of the devil and we were all in collusion with said ‘spirit/demon’. Even our photovoltaic roof came in for some of his ire as looking intently at it somehow he came up with a multiplication figure of 660 and that was BAD...oh VERY BAD (we thought the ‘bad’ number was a few more than that and it is a very interesting number at that!)   

He had the staff a bit freaked out and even ourselves when he suggested harnessing the all the power in the entire universe, despite the fact that it’s still not known how big the entire universe is or what energy source is currently powering its acceleration, assumed to be ‘dark energy’ what ever that may turn out to be. Anyway if it can power and expanding universe we wouldn’t knowingly want to be anywhere near the source of all that energy.

Apparently and you heard it here first energy is the root of all evil as control of energy is ‘political’ power and that leads to corruption and oppression and also allows too many humans to inhabit the planet and that some of us should go to another (unspecified) planet – he didn’t say specify which energy source could be used to make the journey, tightly wound elastic bands? Steam engine? Dark energy?

Scared the living daylights out of the cafe staff when he walked into the kitchen and started inspecting the fore extinguishers. Frightened the living daylights out of us when he had a look at the art work along the corridors with his hands then placed them on his head to see the artists thoughts in his mind’s eye...yep...weirdo!!!  Harmless(?) though and it does take allsorts as our Ma n Da used to say. 

Good Starling murmurations were seen on the way home -wee tried to get a pic but couldn't park close enough. They were at North Pier and the closest parking spot is south of South Pier - quite a few of em though; 10000 perhaps.

And we've become a magician - we've turned a Smooth Newt into a Great Crested Newt and back. Yesterday Wifey told us a colleague of hers had found a newt at work and described it as small and very dark, so we assumed it was a Great Crest.Well we found out this evening it was a Smooth Newt when it was brought home in a jar to be released in the right place.

Where to next? More of the same but a very late finish so no chance of witnessing any murmurations - they'll all be fast asleep by the time we're passing.
In the meantime let us know what's been stuffed in a jar of leaves in your outback.