LANCS: Rain stops play ..... again.

Once again no bird pics! Not that I haven't seen any - in fact it's been quite good. It's just that this crap weather makes things really tricky. These windy conditions are great for seawatching (oh how I wish I could have stayed on the Solway until Monday evening), but not so good for finding migrants in the bushes. That Turtle Dove at Southerness Point last year on a sunny Spring day is a fading memory. The Ortolan Bunting at Pilling would've been nice too this week but these survey squares don't get themselves done that way
Enough whinging, it's not been all bad. Male Redstarts in song, 3 Dippers from the car in one day, Ravens and my first Bowland Cuckoos of the year have made all that trudging around worthwhile. This afternoon's aborted fieldwork thanks to the weather had one consolation in the shape of some cracking roadside birding from the car. Ringtail Hen Harrier quartering a fell (a rare luxury to see one of these from the car), Redshank with 4 chicks, Oystercatchers with a chick and a Snipe sitting up on a dry stone wall made me realise just how rewardng this upland birding can be.
I see the predicted "nice weekend's weather" has shifted back a day or so and now starts half way through Saturday instead of Friday evening. Should be OK for Sunday though as long as I can escape from the Bank Holiday Weekend hordes.