Waxwings at last!

A beautiful day today. It would have been a crime not to go out and enjoy it. So we started with a walk up to barrow lodge with Treakle as usual. Grabbed a bite for breakfast from Mcdonalds. This is very unusual for me to use this litter-producing outlet but I was quite hungover after watching the dismal rugby yesterday. It was quite nice watching the birdlife with a coffee in hand.

2 dippers were the first thing of interest, flitting up and down the brook and then 1 of them flew surprisingly high over the lodge itself. 2 pristine grey wagtails on the brook too. Most notable today is the lack of slavonian grebe, it seems to have moved on. No kingfisher at the lower lodge either but its probably just moved back to the upper lodge.
Also, of note today were 3 GS woodpeckers disputing over territory and the first drumming that I've heard this year. Goldcrest and chaffinch in full song too. It must be spring! The great tit pair in the garden have obviously chosen their nestbox for this year, so I'd better get on with the box cleaning and maintenance. I've made several new boxes to go up too.

At lunchtime, we went up to look at some bathroom suites in Burnley, just up the road from where I dipped the waxwings last weekend. When we came out of the store I saw a guy with a 'scope in the car park, then I saw the rowan tree laden with berries and I knew exactly what to expect.
Sure enough, there were 2 Waxwings in the trees. Fantastic! I havent seen waxwing for 2 years. Such a beautiful migrant. I spoke to the 2 birders who had just chanced upon the waxwings as they were on their way to twitch the Shrike at Padiham.
Still sickened that I was camera-less due to Thurdays mishap, so no pics of the waxys.

I noticed that a barn owl has been spotted by the A59 at barrow lodge again. I'm working the early shift this week, so I'll take a short detour past this spot at 5.30am each morning this week to see if I can get lucky. I wonder where it lives? I know this area very well and cant think of any vacant farm building. The nearest one suitable barn , in Wiswell, has a little owl in it already. Theres an owl box at the upper lodge, perhaps it uses that.