CM

It's just been reported again this morning! Good luck!

Lesser Crested Tern, Desert Wheatear and points Due South I'd always planned a big old day out to end my Big Year in style, though I anticipated it being sometime the other side of Christmas.  But t...

Another shout for my blog about one of the best days of 2025, with Lesser Crested Tern and Desert Wheatear. #ukbirding #birds

Lesser Crested Tern, Desert Wheatear and points Due South I'd always planned a big old day out to end my Big Year in style, though I anticipated it being sometime the other side of Christmas.  But t...

A blog written by a tired man, but full of joy at a remarkable day down south seeing Lesser Crested Tern and Desert Wheatear. Thanks as ever for reading. #ukbirding #birds

Thank you - an unexpected day out to say the least.

Female Desert Wheatear showing the pale rump/tail top, sandy tones, and black tail end as she flicked across scree and concrete, seeming to vanish when she sat still.

In context photo of female Desert Wheatear behind rusting equipment of mysterious purpose.

Female Desert Wheatear with bill open after her oddly eerie contact call. Maybe it was just the MOD setting that made me feel the eerieness...

Female Desert Wheatear in strong sunlight.

The second lifer of yesterday on the grand tour was this gorgeous female Desert Wheatear. Great to see this bird after missing the Bristol one earlier this year. She sadly spent all her time behind the green MOD fence hence the fuzzy pictures (my excuse and I'm sticking to it...) #ukbirding #birds

I really couldn't ask for more than I've seen this year!

Really good to see you there mate. Might catch you on one last big twitch between Christmas and New Year... Pacific Diver and Ring-billed Gull sounds good...

Cheers mate, though I'm so tired today I was worried it wouldn't make any sense when I wrote it 😄
I thought of us missing the Desert Wheatear back in the middle of June. Didn't think we'd pull it back in December!

Lesser Crested Tern, Desert Wheatear and points Due South I'd always planned a big old day out to end my Big Year in style, though I anticipated it being sometime the other side of Christmas.  But t...

A blog written by a tired man, but full of joy at a remarkable day down south seeing Lesser Crested Tern and Desert Wheatear. Thanks as ever for reading. #ukbirding #birds

Female Desert Wheatear showing the pale rump/tail top, sandy tones, and black tail end as she flicked across scree and concrete, seeming to vanish when she sat still.

In context photo of female Desert Wheatear behind rusting equipment of mysterious purpose.

Female Desert Wheatear with bill open after her oddly eerie contact call. Maybe it was just the MOD setting that made me feel the eerieness...

Female Desert Wheatear in strong sunlight.

The second lifer of yesterday on the grand tour was this gorgeous female Desert Wheatear. Great to see this bird after missing the Bristol one earlier this year. She sadly spent all her time behind the green MOD fence hence the fuzzy pictures (my excuse and I'm sticking to it...) #ukbirding #birds

This is where we successfully albeit distantly viewed from today.

The Lesser Crested Tern showed well from the hide at Dawlish Warren this morning; don't be fooled by my terrible phone scope footage! #ukbirding #birds

Cheers mate, just missed Kentish, now 4 hours home. An excellent day

Even the XL ones aren't actually big - they don't go on my head and I don't have any hair!

It's not quite the stunning male in summer plumage from earlier in the year that we missed, but she has a delicate beauty all her own. Redemption!

Up at 1am, set off at 2... 😁
Worth it. Lesser Crested Tern, Desert Wheatear (finally!) and Baikal Teal the headlines, and hoping for a Kentish Plover on the way home!

The Lesser Crested Tern showed well from the hide at Dawlish Warren this morning; don't be fooled by my terrible phone scope footage! #ukbirding #birds

@profanity.accountant I'm curious...

Anisota's Annual Bluesky Harvest 2025 A recap of your year on Bluesky. Discover patterns, connections, and insights from your journey in the ATmosphere.

Hardly rocket science, but interesting to see... My most-used words in 2025 were:

1. "birds" (301×)
2. "ukbirding" (297×)
3. "blog" (114×)
4. "bird" (80×)
5. "birding" (79×)

See which words you used the most here: anisota.net/harvest

That's a very early Red Kite for Manchester! I saw my first on this side in 2024, and even over in the hills out east my first was 2018. Was a strange/good moment to be excited about a bird almost unmissable in large parts of the UK, but I remember travelling to Devil's Bridge for them in 93!

They've been closing in for a few years, birds in St Helens and across the M62 corridor to the east of Manchester are making inroads. Worries me for the local declining Lapwing population - a huge increase in Ravens locally already pressuring Lapwings by feeding on their chicks...

Redpoll and Siskin feeding high up on an Alder, pulling seeds from the cones delicately.

Siskin high up.

Red Kite flying away from the camera

Redwing perched in the middle of a Hawthorn hedge.

My daily hour at Cutacre getting to know the Siskin and Redwing flocks produced a site rarity of Red Kite today, my first there in 5 years and only my second ever in West Manchester. A Redpoll was feeding with the Siskin just to keep the "red" theme going. #ukbirding #birds

That's a fantastic start to the day!

Thank you. The pressure is on, so I just have to keep applying.

And thank you, I appreciate the well-wishes 🙂

I'm not optimistic, but I guess we all just have to live a life we don't want to live in order to pay the bills.

Thanks Matt. 54 is a big amount! I've had 27 this year, and hope for over 20 next.

If I could even get past the stupid AI HR processes to an interview I'd maybe see some light at the end of the tunnel. Instead I'm trapped applying for jobs in teaching, that I'm desperate to get out of.

Manchester Birder's November 2025 Summary So there went November, the tumbling of months seeming to increase in velocity as winter dark grips every birding day in a vice of time pr...

Thank you for reading the blog - I really appreciate every person who takes the time to read. My November summary is up now. #ukbirding #birds

Bewick's Swans, balance and a new quest for 2026 One of the best things about birding is being aware of the changing seasons and seeing what that does to wildlife locally and nationally, an...

Another shout for a blog about beautiful Bewick's Swans and the next year on my blog. #ukbirding #birds