Distractions from wildlife blogging

Wow! I havent blogged for a whole month! 2 very good reasons though.
1. the rugby world cup is on and I'm passionate about rugby
2. We are working on our new house in Billington.

I'll have a new patch to report on when we move. This is the view (click photo to enlarge) from our new bedroom window. The river calder in the foreground (not visible), Billington viaduct on the left, Whalley abbey and gatehouse ruins in the middle and Pendle hill on the distant right.








I've not had time for much wildlife watching but I have been recycling the old materials from the house to make robin/redstart boxes, a new improved owl box, a sparrow box, a kestrel box, som bat boxes and a new feeding station.





















The only new bird (in September) for my 2007 uklist is a guillemot, seen at Stonehaven bay whilst on a weekend with my friends in Scotland. My list could be 15-20 species better this year if I had done some coastal birding, but it just hasnt panned-out that way.

This rook below is visiting the garden for food frequently. It comes alone from the rookery at Clitheroe golf club and is less shy and more vocal that other crows. The carrion crow family of 6 only visit the garden in early morning with the magpies. The rook woke me with an alarm call to shoo away another stray cat that has been visiting too. I dont want the cats to take any of my garden woodmice or the voles from the owl field. I'll need to find a good deterrant.