Anti-Climax Day, and Eurovision Review

Saturday 16th May.

A change in wind direction put pay to the passage of waders and terns that occurred during the week. Oh well. At least I had been indulging myself in birding as much as I could during the good conditions. In fact, indulging as much as an MP filling in their expenses form. Ooh, satire!

Weaver Hills, 7am. Thick fog! Which can be good for bringing migrants down, but I didn't fancy getting myself lost up here.

Blithfield Reservoir, 12:30 - 16:00

Still a couple of hangers on from the causeway, in the form of a Black Tern and a Turnstone.




















Two each of Common Sandpiper at the dam and Ringed Plover in Blithe Bay.

Uttoxeter Quarry, 16:30 - 18:00.

6 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Red-Legged Partridge. As I said, bit of an anti-climax really.

Eurovision Review.

Dobra Dacha! Hello world wide web, this is Local Birding calling.

Anyway, it came and went like a dose of salts, and I've now sobered up. With Norway triumphing in a record points total (was he really playing that violin?). I thought it was rubbish, but mind you, does anyone watch it for the quality of the songs?

I thought Azerbaijan should've won, which finished third. Amazingly, we were fifth. Although I felt that putting Andrew Lloyd Webber on stage, tinkling the ivories, was a blatant point-gaining exercise.

Unfortunately the lunatic songs from Czech Republic and Serbia didn't qualify for the final, so only leaving Moldova to provide some weirdness.

I fear that the change of voting system, stopping the loonies from voting for the stupid songs, will finish what I consider to be a golden-era of Eurovision over the last decade or so. Some of my personal favourites of recent years are as follows:

Austria 2003.

Ukraine 2004 (this one won!).

Moldova 2005.

Lithuania 2006 (actually, this one really is awful).

Ukraine 2007.

Spain 2008.

I don't think you'll see quality of this kind in future.