Parklife

The Safari has been able to get out much recently, mostly due to work and fog in more or less equal measures.

Today we would have liked to have had a day out somewhere but in the week we were invited to do a talk for the Friends of Stanley Park as they'd had a last minute calamity and need a quick substitution. Never one to miss an opportunity to blab on for an hour or more about Blackpool's wonderful wildlife of course we said yes. we gave them a choice of topics and they chose the marine option...a wise choice (but then so would the other options :-)

We gave our presentation and as soon it was over was approached by two other 'speaker secretaries' to come to their groups and woffle on for ages at them...all good stuff, let's get the message out there, Blackpool might be the most urban English borough and 'socially 'deprived outside of inner London but we are blessed with some totally quality wildlife, where else can you be watching Bottle Nosed Dolphins one minute and no more than a half hour walk later be enthralled by a hunting Barn Owl?

We didn't do a half hour walk after our talk but waited for Wifey to arrive with Frank so we could have a family afternoon in the park.

Wandering down to the lake there was a huge amount of bread lying in the water - the ducks, swans, geese and gulls must have been full to busting! There certainly weren't too many in the favoured feeding place. Moving on Frank was terribly slow he's beginning to struggle walking any distance now but he keeps plodding on following his nose to every tree, tussock, fence post so we suppose he walks further than we think with all those zig-zags! We listened to Pied Wagtails singing and looked through the gulls but only found many Black Headed Gulls a few Herring Gulls and a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls. We turned round before we got to the wilder area of the park but doing so Frank broke from slow waddle to Chhhhhhaaarrrge when he saw a Grey Squirrel on the grass in front of him.

It scarpered pretty quick up the nearest tree but stayed very conveniently in range of the lens.

On the way back to the car park Frank would stagger ten or so paces the flop down in a heap for a few minutes soaking up the atmosphere and the adoration from thhe passing public especially one very small boy who were sure thought he could take home like a cuddly toy.

Ohh he's a lovely boy!!!

Where to next? Moth trap is on! And we'll be out somewhere tomorrow, maybe even have a go with the new underwater cam to see if we can see those pesky invisible Frogs.

In the meantime let us know who's being so slow in your outback.