I got my orders this morning from Queen Fo to "get a bird box please" and this has come about because last year in the spring a wren, the most common breeding bird, built a nest and had young in the Ivy on a large wall in our garden. I first noticed this because as I looked up from my maths occasionally I saw something brown and small go darting up from the ground into the Ivy a metre up the wall. All well and good except that a big bad crow landed in the garden one day and was hanging around the Ivy obviously listening for something that being a meal made up of young wrens. A few days later the nest had been pulled out of the Ivy and the wrens had been gobbled up . So today, I went off to Saltholme RSPB reserve in Teeside , I don't need much excuse , and got a cute little nesting box for the Green Fingered Goddess of FoFo Land and also spent an hour on the Reserve . Totally brilliant . Walking down to Paddies Hide I saw a Little Egret just quietly stomping around and then it flew off and landed and at the hide I saw a Pintail Duck, another Little Egret and a huge flock ( one of many ) of Golden Plovers and Lapwings . Magic! Pity I'm going to do maths for the rest of the week but one needs fun and profit! All of the Plovers and Lapwings we will be seeing again up on the moors and hills as they steadily move to the uplands to breed.

Just had a nice weekend. On Saturday at sunrise I went to Rainton Meadows in County Durham the Durham Wildlife Trust reservation to look at Redpolls, lovely birds with a red patch on their heads. I saw quite a few of them in the company of an excellent birdwatcher I met there who was like a talking book. We just missed an Artic Redpoll and this chap was prepared to stand out on this hill all day until he saw one . He'd done this last week and still hadn't seen one ! I love a fanatic! Standing there with him made me realise I like looking at birds but mostly when I'm moving around. I got back at lunchtime and immediately went out with the family for a great two hour walk around the River Wear and the Centre of Durham City. Along the river there was not many birds because there were lots of female rowers training which was great . I noticed several of them having a good look at my two lads! Must be the spring! On Sunday in the morning I took Miles skate boarding and in the afternoon we went to see my Mum at Richmond in Swaledale. I helped Fo choose a jumper at the Edinburgh Woollen Mill which was a hoot because I've being doing this with her ever since we first met . In fact when we first did this in 1987 in York she said that was the first time she thought I was " nice " and a possible mate . Umm , and I though it was my zany humour coupled with her pity for my crippled hand. But seriously lads (and possibly lasses) good sense , a healthy sexual interest ,humour and a strong desire to work as a team ( most important) pretty much is love . Well it works for us !