"Odds & Sods" (old version) - please add to the new thread 2020 instead !

Nice one Nige, well spotted, they are such lovely birds to see.

I thought I'd seen something unusual but didn't get a really good look at first. Luckily, it came back and posed right at the top of a pine tree on the slope below me giving me a really good, if long distance view. There won't be many sightings in a year for the area so I was pretty pleased to have seen it.

Nice one Nige :o)

Had to nip into town to pick up prescription after work today and had half hour spare so thought i'd nip down to the river....and who would've thunk it.... 5 goosanders....goosandi...whichever it is...not seen them on the Stour before

Nice to see. Not too many of those around, yet, whatever river you're on.

So day off today, and as I was awake at pre-Alan o'clock (04:30....yes Hazel, there are 2 of them in a day!!) I thought I'd venture somewhere I'd not been, hopefully coastal(ish) and see if I could catch the sunrise. I decided on Lytchett Field, which is sort of North side of Poole Harbour, about 1/2 hour from home, and somewhere I'd meant to go to for a good while.

Well, to cut a long story short, I arrived 1/2 hour before sunrise, but between me leaving home, and getting there, the sky became a blanket of cloud, so no sunrise shots  The tide was about 2 hours from being fully in (I'd even checked that out to make sure there was something to see, and not be too long to wait if there wasn't!!) but discovered I'd need to invest in one of those super-hyper-extendo-zoom lenses to be able to capture any of the waders, of which there were myriad.

The cloud broke, the temperature went up a degree, and the mist began to roll in

And roll further in... some of the million gulls/egrets/ducks that were there, but a way away!

A warbler sang beautifully in my ear (I was going to do a tweet/twitter gag there, but thought better of it!)

There were about a zillion wagtails, the majority pied, but I was assured there were some yellow among them (a chap turned up with a big scope), but I couldn't make them out

A lapwing came to play

As everything was so far away I gave it up, and on the way back to the car I saw these big webs...

Front and back of the same spider

and a second one, but this time a yellow and black stripey thing!

Now, Wendy and Nige, I know I've got a funky new phone that recognises stuff, but it doesn't do it with the wit, warmth and wisdom you provide, not with the love of the subject you show 

So.... I decided to stop at the river and see if I could see the goosanderi again, but alas, no......

YESSSSS!!!!!! it WAS 2 Otters!!!!!!

And finally, it's not a trip to the river without...…..

PimperneBloke said:

I was awake at pre-Alan o'clock (04:30....yes Hazel, there are 2 of them in a day!!

LOL PB  !!      Great set of piccies and well done spotting not one but two otters !    Love the L.Egret with its yellow wellies and all the other amazing species, you've cheered up a dreary drizzly day, thanks. 

PimperneBloke said:

A warbler sang beautifully in my ear

My funky phone says its a chiffchaff?!

EDIT: But it looks yellower than in the rspb book!

Unknown said:

you've cheered up a dreary drizzly day

Then my work here is complete, and I shall bid you adieu 

PimperneBloke said:

HAZY said:

you've cheered up a dreary drizzly day

Then my work here is complete, and I shall bid you adieu 

   LOL  !!     it's still raining here so go find some more piccies to upload  !!      Re Chiffchaff,  I think you and your app are right although I'll leave it to the experts like Rob..  I go mainly in ID for dark legs (usually ! )  bright under-eye crescent although it can be difficult in certain lights to see some of the pointers. 

Unknown said:

go find some more piccies to upload 

Don't tempt me.... I'll bore everyone silly, I haven't worked out how to delete yet, I've circa 30.000 pics on the computer lol (and no, I'm not a hoarder!!)