Day 19.073: UK birds - incidental

Today is my dad's actual birthday - and although we're missing that, we celebrated well for the three days we spent there.

Here are some of the birds we saw when we weren't really trying (at my sister's house and near the property where we stayed):

Eurasian jackdaw

Coal tit

European greenfinch

Eurasian blackbird

European robin

House sparrow

European goldfinch

Reed bunting

Carrion crow

African peafowl (maybe feral or effectively a farm pet)

Collared dove

Red-legged partridge

Crows in the mist

Ring-necked pheasant

Domestic chicken in the back courtyard of the house - she quickly found her way back into the next-door farm.

Also seen in this way: magpies, wood pigeons and feral pigeons, common chaffinch, 

All of the wild birds here apart from the house sparrow and feral pigeons are new for my year list and the partridge and coal tit represent their first record for my life list.

Day 19.072: Home

We’re home after a journey that felt a bit like a game of Fortunately, Unfortunately the drive, check-in and flight to Dublin all went smoothly, but a delayed transatlantic flight left the group looking like this:

When we were able to depart we were very happy but quickly realized that Exile #4 would not make their planned train (9 pm) or the backup train (10 pm) and would have to decide between the 11:45 pm last train or an expensive taxi or ride share option. However, when we switched on our phone service after landing, it turned out that their friends had made the drive from Worcester to Boston to pick them up. 

The rest of us got home after a drive through falling but not sticking snow in Massachusetts to snow-on-the-ground but no longer falling (clear roads) in Maine sometime after midnight and then I had an out and back to take E5N1 back to his dorm ready for his day tomorrow. Now it’s nearly 2 am and time for me to get to sleep. 

Day 19.071: Snookered

This afternoon, we had a fairly hilarious game of snooker. The skills displayed were off the chart (off the bottom if that wasn’t obvious) but we had a lot of fun. Tomorrow we will make our return journey.

I have some more photos from our stay including our outing this morning to share another day. 

Day 19.070: Watching football; TV

A little more than half the group went to join the away fans as Bradford City traveled to Burton Albion this afternoon. 

Our view of the pitch (during the warm-ups)

The standing section for the away fans - in good voice for most of the match

In other news, Dad opened his birthday present - a significant size upgrade for his TV for when he gets home. 

19.069: Gathered

We are gathered with my dad, my sisters and their spouses and my nephew and his girlfriend for a few days to mark Dad’s 90th birthday. Here is how part of today went down:

More birthday celebrations lie ahead both while we’re here and after we leave to return home.

Day 19.068: Gathering

Today’s logistics were a little complicated but worked out about as well as we could have imagined. Exile #2, Exile #3 and I left home a little before noon and got on the road to Boston.

An hour and half or so later, we were at South Station in Boston to meet Exile #4 who arrived on a train a few minutes after we arrived. 

After another short drive we arrived at Logan Airport where I went on a side-quest to meet E5N1 as he arrived on his flight from Florida. We soon got together at the terminal for our departing flight. 

 We did get separated a little later when we decided to grab some mid-afternoon food. This was how we ended up seated to eat:

Hopefully all will continue to go smoothly as we continue together. 

Day 19.067: Ring...billed?

I took my camera when I went back to work after lunch yesterday and stopped to look at the small pond near my work which had - for the first time in a while - some ice-free water and as a result some ducks.

Most interesting was this one:

Immediately recognizable - thanks to the ring around its bill as a ring-necked duck. They do actually have a subtle ring around their neck when they straighten it out, but I've never observed it.

First sighting of this species for me this year.

Today, the pond is ice-covered again after a chilly night and all the ducks have gone somewhere else.