21/02/2026 - A #5MinMerlin on the way home this afternoon. Usual place by the burn. The app picked up 13 birds in the 5 minutes from the same spot. That's the most in 5 mins so far this year for me. So happy to pick up waxwings on the app.
Starling
Chaffinch
Wood pigeon
House Sparrow
Blue Tit
Jackdaw
Robin
Blackbird
Waxwing
Song Thrush
Redwing
Common Buzzard
Carrion Crow
All the snow has pretty much gone now here. Still cold though. I saw a kingfisher fishing on the burn on the way to shop earlier. I've never seen one dive before, just magic.
I got 2 new birds on the Merlin app too, siskin & pied wagtail. I'm up to 39 different birds now calling in 2026. The kingfisher did call but the app missed it.
Lying in bed this morning with the window open (cold morning air is so good). I had a little win to start the day. I've been trying for 13 days to pick up herring gull on the Merlin app but with no luck. It's odd as 4-5 of them sit on the roofs calling away to each other every morning. Today it was just 1 and Merlin heard it, happy me and a nice way to start the day before boring work.
10/01/2026 - 10th day of snow lying. Chilly out but clear skies for the most part. 9 miles on the quiet snowy roads, doubt my boot touched tarmac more than once or twice. Everywhere looked lovely in the sunshine. 8 birds added to my 2026 Merlin list for birds heard on walks from my house. I'm up to 35 for the year now. Today's pick was probably snipe. The moment of the day wasn't a bird though, we saw an otter on the river! Never seen one before on a walk from the house, just magic.
04/01/2026 - We travel the snowways.
Snowy sunny walk on the very quiet roads this afternoon. Lots of birds about. 4 birds added to my 2026 Merlin list for birds heard on walks from my house. The best was dipper. It was singing its little heart out by the burn to another dipper in the twilight. Just a magic moment.
03/01/2026 - Another snowy and chilly day out. It was sunshine and snow showers on our afternoon walk today. I managed to add 8 birds to my 2026 Merlin list for birds heard on walks from my house. We saw dipper and reed bunting too but neither called for the app to pick them up, next time hopefully.
02/01/2026 - Snowy walk from the house this afternoon on the quiet back roads. No flowers to see because of the snow but we saw some nice birds about. Red kite, long-tailed tit, goldcrest and treecreeper were probably my favourites on the walk. This year I'm seeing how many birds I can hear on walks from my house using the Merlin bird app. I heard 13 different birds today which was pretty happy making as it was a cold and windy day. A tough day for the all wildlife out there.
Spaceways