Still Waiting...

If it is a toss-up between birding in the wind or in the rain, then give me the wet stuff any day. Chores were therefore duly completed on a blustery Saturday leaving me a good few hours at a damp Point of Ayr this morning.

Unquestionably the star bird was a rather bedraggled Red Kite hunting over the old colliery lagoons and latterly over the scrap metal yard, where a pair of Ravens had also taken up residence.

These birds are definitely making more frequent forays in Flintshire and I would go as far as saying that there is/are a permanent resident or residents now.

Nonetheless it is always a great bird to see (and to share too after Mark Murphy promptly turned up), although being Derby day I did have second thoughts about being generous to the Red enemy!

Mercifully the raptor was also free from those hideous wing-tags that are often attached, although missing the odd primary or three it certainly wasn’t in its Sunday best.

Despite a series of announcements on the ‘Dee Estuary Birding’ website concerning the work being carried out by the Environment Agency to strengthen the seawall, a quick glance along the embankment reveals that bugger all is going on.

This reflects the similar level of inactivity at the site of the old bird hide; a structure if I remember correctly was certain to be in place by the onset of winter. Well, I don’t know about you but snow and freezing temperatures suggests to me that that season is well upon us now…

The latest communicae from the RSPB (from Paul Brady and buried deep in the ‘Introduce Yourself’ thread of the NWBF) seems to suggest that we could be waiting for some time yet.

I know that the RSPB are not the only organisation involved in this protracted farce – perhaps it is time for somebody to identify precisely who or what is responsible for the delay.

Until later.