Its SNOWING surely that has to lift your spirits, winter is a mix of light and dark, a season to reflect on the year, try to see the best and good bits of winter and enjoy the yuletide.
Dennis atherton said
Thu Dec 15 11:24 AM, 2011
Yep. Your right. I hate them both.
Dean Macdonald wrote:
Think you're mixing your equinox's with your soltices's Dennis
-- Edited by Dean Macdonald on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 10:50:29 PM
Dean Macdonald said
Wed Dec 14 10:45 PM, 2011
Think you're mixing your equinox's with your soltices's Dennis
-- Edited by Dean Macdonald on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 10:50:29 PM
Dennis atherton said
Wed Dec 14 9:06 PM, 2011
To get back on topic, were nearly halfway. Dec 21 winter equinox, ive been counting down the days, approaching critical mass now, the lighter days are on the turn, i can almost breathe again, almost
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Dec 12 6:37 PM, 2011
We're going off topic somewhat here guys...
stuartherring said
Mon Dec 12 6:18 PM, 2011
a certain saddleworth developer has totaly cleared a site near the farrahs arms but when the appartments were built nearby a few years ago the developer actualy saved some of the trees and incorperated them into the gardensive no doubt greed has won again
Steve Suttill said
Sun Dec 11 9:32 AM, 2011
Thanks Dennis & John
You're so right. You work hard to have a nice home (and I mean HOME, not a piece of real estate) and you dreams are trashed by someone who just wants to make a fast buck. The guy in question lives in a nice riverside "mini-mansion" which I have to walk past when I explore my local patch - not sure I can do that any more
Steve
JOHN TYMON said
Sun Dec 11 8:17 AM, 2011
Dennis atherton wrote:
Should of used the chainsaw on the bl**dy developer
We dont need any new developments, stop building more and more shopping malls, not everyone wants to go shopping, Sorry, calm down, ill get off my little soapbox, i feel your pain Steve, good for you for trying, very Sad indeed
very sad steve ,I have just had similar,if not as detrimental to wildlife,i worked overtime almost 7 days a week for 15 years to pay for the house of my dreams ,for a lad from a poor council estate,only to find a few months ago that the council had allowed a 4 story flat developement to be built overlooking my garden and after many protests and appeals from me,others neighbors couldn't be bothered,in the end some councilor decided it was ok because developement is what this government want and if we hide behind our shed,we will not be seen so they class that as privicy,thats what i was told at the final appeal. Even though the building is almost full height glass pannelling and all 9 flats will look into our house and gardenwhich apart from anything would make it now impossible to sellbut at the appeals your not allowed to mention the devaluing of your house or your appeal is squashed immediately,as your then classed as a nimby. developement is getting out of hand and there will be no green spaces left one day
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 11th of December 2011 08:31:04 AM
Dennis atherton said
Sat Dec 10 11:27 PM, 2011
Should of used the chainsaw on the bl**dy developer
We dont need any new developments, stop building more and more shopping malls, not everyone wants to go shopping, Sorry, calm down, ill get off my little soapbox, i feel your pain Steve, good for you for trying, very Sad indeed
Steve Suttill said
Sat Dec 10 11:05 PM, 2011
I can cope with going to work and coming back home in the dark. I can just about cope with the cold and seemingly incessant rain which afflicts this side of the Pennines...
...but I can't cope with waking to the sound of chainsaws as some "developer" removes all the trees and shrubs from the slope which borders my small back garden. When negotiation fails, I resort to standing under a soon to be felled conifer. Said "developer" calls the Police and I'm threatened with arrest for MY breach of the peace!
Gone are the trees in which Coal Tits, Magpies, Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove all nested this year. Gone are the bramble patches where Robin, Wren and Dunnock all nest. What birds will be left?
A big chunk of my life destroyed in a few hours. Got to be one of the saddest days of my life.
Steve
Joe Wynn said
Sun Dec 4 1:03 PM, 2011
This is the first time i've actually felt S.A.D, but this weekend no prospect of birding aside maybe some pied wag photography this afternoon, weather is aweful and I go out in the dark and come back in the dark. Its not great.
Bill Myerscough said
Thu Nov 24 7:41 PM, 2011
For all those afflicted by S.A.D , many of who haven't seen any decent daylight hours since the summer, I thought a quick review of this autumn's weather might help bring a bit of cheer into some lives and the realisation that all is not doom and gloom. It looks like this autumn may well turn out to be one of the mildest, driest and sunniest on record. There has indeed been many lovely, bright and sundrenched autumn days and even since the altering of the clocks in late October there has been some absolutely idyllic days, entirely suited to many hours of relaxing and enjoyable bird watching or photography. Although you may feel sad that all these glorious opportunities have passed you by, I hope that some awareness of this magnificent spell of autumn weather (that you have unfortunately missed and which may never be repeated again), has helped brighten up your day and relieved any S.A.D.ness.
Yours sympathetically (genuinely ) but with tongue firmly in cheek.
Bill.
Dave Thacker said
Sun Nov 20 10:19 PM, 2011
JOHN TYMON wrote:
I hate winter-going to work in the dark,coming home in the dark-in my case ,working in a factory with no windows,only seeing daylight at weekends,birding has to take a back seat or it would drive me mad,very little birding if you work days in winter,little photography.A S.A.D time for sure for me
I totally agree John. I have been working 7 days a week for nearly 3 months and the only light that I am seeing at the moment is when I am welding in work
If I hadn't managed to get a couple of hours out on the moss this afternoon after work I would have gone nuts Roll on the Xmas holidays as I will be out birding every day. Humbug!!
JOHN TYMON said
Sun Nov 20 5:18 PM, 2011
I hate winter-going to work in the dark,coming home in the dark-in my case ,working in a factory with no windows,only seeing daylight at weekends,birding has to take a back seat or it would drive me mad,very little birding if you work days in winter,little photography.A S.A.D time for sure for me
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 20th of November 2011 05:24:55 PM
pete berry said
Sun Nov 20 4:09 PM, 2011
I think winters wonderful for birding.All the leaves have gone off the trees so you can see anything lurking in the foliage.All the skulking little passerines have sodded off back to Africa to be replaced by non skulking birds such as Thrushes,waterfowl,gulls(ahh gulls) etc.Getting up at the crack of dawn doesn't feel like you've forgotten to go to bed,and perhaps most important of all you can go to the pub early doors safe in the knowledge you aint going to miss owt because its already dark outside
stuartherring said
Thu Nov 17 7:28 PM, 2011
the symptoms are back
Andy Bissitt said
Sun Mar 27 8:47 PM, 2011
Steve Suttill wrote:
Andy Bissitt wrote:
Steve has come over a little like Geoff Boycott...
Thanks Andy - as someone who spent much of their youth following the Tykes at Headingley and Park Avenue, that's one of the best compliments anyone has ever paid me
Watching birds can be just like watching cricket (or anything else for that matter). If you don't have boring or disappointing days, you wouldn't appreciate the good ones quite the same. If you saw a major rarity every day, it would eventually become boring!
As for living in Greater Manchester, all I can say is "Pied-billed Grebe, Dusky Thrush..."
Now, pull tha'sen together, get out their with them bins, and explore those corridors of uncertainty
Steve
Steve,
Excellent reply. If there's one thing that has always got me through in the end, it's my sense of humour and the ability to laugh at myself. However, mentioning the dusky thrush does not make me feel better. Still, the prospect of what I might see in the next few weeks will keep dragging me outdoors. As per the famous line from the end of 'The Thing from Another Planet' goes: KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES!!
Dennis atherton said
Sun Mar 27 12:03 PM, 2011
Thank Steve, very well summarized, are you my phyciatrist now? I hope you work out better than my last one, he never really understood My OCD
Steve Suttill wrote:
Andy Bissitt wrote:
Steve has come over a little like Geoff Boycott...
Thanks Andy - as someone who spent much of their youth following the Tykes at Headingley and Park Avenue, that's one of the best compliments anyone has ever paid me
Watching birds can be just like watching cricket (or anything else for that matter). If you don't have boring or disappointing days, you wouldn't appreciate the good ones quite the same. If you saw a major rarity every day, it would eventually become boring!
As for living in Greater Manchester, all I can say is "Pied-billed Grebe, Dusky Thrush..."
Now, pull tha'sen together, get out their with them bins, and explore those corridors of uncertainty
Steve
Steve Suttill said
Sun Mar 27 10:30 AM, 2011
Andy Bissitt wrote:
Steve has come over a little like Geoff Boycott...
Thanks Andy - as someone who spent much of their youth following the Tykes at Headingley and Park Avenue, that's one of the best compliments anyone has ever paid me
Watching birds can be just like watching cricket (or anything else for that matter). If you don't have boring or disappointing days, you wouldn't appreciate the good ones quite the same. If you saw a major rarity every day, it would eventually become boring!
As for living in Greater Manchester, all I can say is "Pied-billed Grebe, Dusky Thrush..."
Now, pull tha'sen together, get out their with them bins, and explore those corridors of uncertainty
Steve
JOHN TYMON said
Sun Mar 27 8:30 AM, 2011
Dennis atherton wrote:
But on a good note, the good times are coming, the next 10 weeks anything can turn up, glasses half full and all the phycological babble, i do hear what you are saying, it would be good to get action all the time but thats just how it goes, last year mid summer i got lots of pleasure finding juv whitethroats, willow warblers, sand martins, make the most of it, thats all we can do, a bit like life i suppose, oh dear, getting deep again, call the therapists
and trying to get hobbys pictures at Risley moss
Dennis atherton said
Sat Mar 26 9:07 PM, 2011
But on a good note, the good times are coming, the next 10 weeks anything can turn up, glasses half full and all the phycological babble, i do hear what you are saying, it would be good to get action all the time but thats just how it goes, last year mid summer i got lots of pleasure finding juv whitethroats, willow warblers, sand martins, make the most of it, thats all we can do, a bit like life i suppose, oh dear, getting deep again, call the therapists
Andy Bissitt said
Sat Mar 26 8:56 PM, 2011
Thanks Dennis. You are a little more understanding than others. Steve has come over a little like Geoff Boycott (cricket fans will know what I mean). I do live a very boring life, so when the birding situation remains static for any length of time, it gets me down. I rely on birdwatching for my entertainment, but being in Greater Manchester I am probably expecting too much. I have to say that I often read about the therapeutic effects of birdwatching and how it can help combat depression. However, the people writing these articles never seem to consider that when you are seeing your birding
patch torn apart (see John Rayner's Ludworth Moor entry for today), and bird life becoming scarcer, it can have the opposite effect. Still, I'm up for whatever the next couple of months brings.
Dennis atherton said
Sat Mar 26 8:23 PM, 2011
i hear all points here but i dont stop at all as summer comes and it slows down a little, i just spend time with the migrant birds i like watching, the hurundines and all the warblers, trying to get photos of new juvenilles, i agree with Ian here where you can bird at a more leisurely pace and not have to chase all the passing migrants, im not sure if any therapist could help though, ive not yet met a birder who doesent have a little OCD
Steve Suttill said
Sat Mar 26 9:41 AM, 2011
Andy Bissitt wrote:
Dennis,
... come the end of May, that's it, you've seen it all. Then you have a 16 hour day to fill with the same old birds
there must be a therapist who can help...
Ian McKerchar said
Fri Mar 25 9:58 PM, 2011
Hmmm, not sure I agree personally Andy. I recall vividly many (many) years ago when many serious birders turned to moths or butterflies over summer, or even packed in birding until autumn started but times have changed. I think birders ignored the summer months and all they can bring (and I'm not just talking about breeding birds either Bill ) and we missed out. Personally I really like them, I can focus on certain species in a more leisurely manner and it often brings some real crackers too. Each to their own though
Andy Bissitt said
Fri Mar 25 8:57 PM, 2011
Dennis,
Yes, I think everyone is glad that the spring is here, although I'm not too keen on the daylight length stretching out to 16 hours plus. The return of our summer migrants is certainly to be welcomed and brings a feeling of mounting excitement. But I hope we also get a decent crop of scarcer stuff as well, otherwise, come the end of May, that's it, you've seen it all. Then you have a 16 hour day to fill with the same old birds. Luckily, that's when butterflies, moths and dragonflies start to kick in. They are what really make the summer worthwhile, so lets hope for better weather than the last three summers.
Oh, and by the way. There is not an extra hours daylight from this weekend. The day length only grows by a few minutes every day. All that happens is the goalposts are moved, so to speak.
Dennis atherton said
Wed Mar 23 6:46 PM, 2011
YES YES YES,
The longest SADest time of the year is over, the clocks change this weekend giving us an extra hour of daylight, i cant tell you how much my heart lifts when i do this, Migration time, breeding season starts, swallows return, birds singing, Extacy
Dennis atherton said
Sun Oct 31 9:14 AM, 2010
dave broome wrote:
Only another seven weeks until the days start getting longer In the meantime get your fix of House Sparrows in Coronation Street. It's the last winter for the Bird Atlas in Weatherfield
ill be counting down those 7 weeks everyday
I agree with Bill, if you wake up look out of the window and it is dull, dark and raining what do you do? yep get back into bed, the weather perfectly mirrowing our day
dave broome said
Sat Oct 30 9:02 PM, 2010
Only another seven weeks until the days start getting longer In the meantime get your fix of House Sparrows in Coronation Street. It's the last winter for the Bird Atlas in Weatherfield
Bill Myerscough said
Sat Oct 30 8:26 PM, 2010
My own mild version of S.A.D isn't brought about by the clocks changing and shorter days in late October but mine comes at the end of the bird breeding season. The breeding season - the most important and exciting time of the birding world! - full of action, birds singing, the dawn chorus, birds fighting, birds pairing up, birds setting up territories, birds defending territories, migrants coming to our shores to breed, birds mating, birds laying eggs, birds incubating, birds succeeding in their breeding attempts, birds failing in their breeding attempts, birds trying again after earlier failures, birds nurturing their young......life and sometimes death but all for the continuation of the species. It really is bird life at full tilt! A vibrant, colourful and noisy time that is jam-packed full of interest. The countryside is alive and it makes me feel the same.
The end of the breeding season - so what is there for a bird to look forward to? The drudgery of trying to get enough food and find safe shelter to get through another day. All that every bird is just trying to do is hang on through the harsh winter months. Survival, survival, survival is the only objective. Sometimes it can be grim survival for those that are lucky or strong enough to hang on. And why this battening down of the hatches to try and get through these harsher, shorter days....well, just so that they can try and make it through to a time when they might be able to have the chance to breed and bring the world to life again and bring new life into the world.
My own version of S.A.D has nothing to do with day length but I know it will suddenly start to evaporate when I hear that first Skylark singing over the moorland in February and with the sighting of that first Sand Martin of the year and I know I will be totally non-S.A.D by the time I hear the rich, cascading sound of that first Willow Warbler songster! Can't wait for spring!
Actually, when I think about it, doesn't our own moods and mindsets throughout the year by and large mirror that of the rest of the natural world?
Cheers,
Bill.
Dennis atherton said
Sat Oct 30 6:35 PM, 2010
Hi Andy,
When i say "out there" i mean anywhere outside, horwich moors, penny flash, loads of birds migrating and moving around though i can only see the birds that migrate at the weekends, Very SAD,
Stuart, i feel your pain, awful, the clocks move tonight and we lose another hour of daylight it makes me depressed to think about it,
Soon it will be going dark at 4 and i will again become a Vampire, i will be going to work in the dark and then coming home in the dark, never seeing daylight or the sun, a pale skinned vampire living in the dark, Me and John Tymon Vanhelsink
JOHN TYMON said
Sat Oct 30 6:14 PM, 2010
I am with Den,It's the time of year,I realise that working for a living,is actually Living to work,I only see the outside world in the dark in winter,and feel even more jelous of the people who don't/can't work than at any other time of year,and sometimes I feel like just stopping birding altogether,has its almost impossible,to get any decent ,sunny days at the weekends in winter,it always seems sunny in the week and wet at weekends-think I have it worse than you DEN
Andy Bissitt said
Sat Oct 30 2:30 PM, 2010
'So much going on out there'. Where exactly are you referring to as 'out there'? I'm actually glad of the dark evenings/nights as it stops me from wasting time looking for anything that might be even slightly uplifting. It allows me to refuel my batteries and start building the expectation that next year might be a bit more interesting locally. When I say interesting, I mean that I might see things not usually seen in any given area I visit. The only SAD I suffer comes from seeing my local patch habitats trashed by tiny-brained farmers and even more pathetic landowners. Longer days just gives them more time to condemn the countryside to death.
stuartherring said
Sat Oct 30 10:21 AM, 2010
i have been suffering in silence for years i am glad i am not the only one
Dennis atherton said
Fri Oct 29 11:25 PM, 2010
Does anyone else have this who i can share my pain with?
the dark nights are here, i go to work in the dark, come home in the dark, Cant go out birding till the weekends, so much going on out there at the moment and i can only get to see stuff passing through on a saturday or sunday, very SAD, the worst time of year now, i wish the clocks went the other way to give us more daylight at night instead of less
-- Edited by Dean Macdonald on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 10:50:29 PM
You're so right. You work hard to have a nice home (and I mean HOME, not a piece of real estate) and you dreams are trashed by someone who just wants to make a fast buck. The guy in question lives in a nice riverside "mini-mansion" which I have to walk past when I explore my local patch - not sure I can do that any more
Steve
very sad steve ,I have just had similar,if not as detrimental to wildlife,i worked overtime almost 7 days a week for 15 years to pay for the house of my dreams ,for a lad from a poor council estate,only to find a few months ago that the council had allowed a 4 story flat developement to be built overlooking my garden and after many protests and appeals from me,others neighbors couldn't be bothered,in the end some councilor decided it was ok because developement is what this government want and if we hide behind our shed,we will not be seen so they class that as privicy,thats what i was told
at the final appeal.
Even though the building is almost full height glass pannelling and all 9 flats will look into our house and garden
developement is getting out of hand and there will be no green spaces left one day
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 11th of December 2011 08:31:04 AM
We dont need any new developments, stop building more and more shopping malls, not everyone wants to go shopping,
Sorry, calm down, ill get off my little soapbox, i feel your pain Steve, good for you for trying, very Sad indeed
...but I can't cope with waking to the sound of chainsaws as some "developer" removes all the trees and shrubs from the slope which borders my small back garden. When negotiation fails, I resort to standing under a soon to be felled conifer. Said "developer" calls the Police and I'm threatened with arrest for MY breach of the peace!
Gone are the trees in which Coal Tits, Magpies, Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove all nested this year. Gone are the bramble patches where Robin, Wren and Dunnock all nest. What birds will be left?
A big chunk of my life destroyed in a few hours. Got to be one of the saddest days of my life.
Steve
This is the first time i've actually felt S.A.D, but this weekend no prospect of birding aside maybe some pied wag photography this afternoon, weather is aweful and I go out in the dark and come back in the dark. Its not great.
Yours sympathetically (genuinely
Bill.
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 20th of November 2011 05:24:55 PM
Yes, I think everyone is glad that the spring is here, although I'm not too keen on the daylight length stretching out to 16 hours plus. The return of our summer migrants is certainly to be welcomed and brings a feeling of mounting excitement. But I hope we also get a decent crop of scarcer stuff as well, otherwise, come the end of May, that's it, you've seen it all. Then you have a 16 hour day to fill with the same old birds. Luckily, that's when butterflies, moths and dragonflies start to kick in. They are what really make the summer worthwhile, so lets hope for better weather than the last three summers.
Oh, and by the way. There is not an extra hours daylight from this weekend. The day length only grows by a few minutes every day. All that happens is the goalposts are moved, so to speak.
The longest SADest time of the year is over,
ill be counting down those 7 weeks everyday
I agree with Bill, if you wake up look out of the window and it is dull, dark and raining what do you do? yep get back into bed, the weather perfectly mirrowing our day
In the meantime get your fix of House Sparrows in Coronation Street. It's the last winter for the Bird Atlas in Weatherfield
The end of the breeding season - so what is there for a bird to look forward to? The drudgery of trying to get enough food and find safe shelter to get through another day. All that every bird is just trying to do is hang on through the harsh winter months. Survival, survival, survival is the only objective. Sometimes it can be grim survival for those that are lucky or strong enough to hang on. And why this battening down of the hatches to try and get through these harsher, shorter days....well, just so that they can try and make it through to a time when they might be able to have the chance to breed and bring the world to life again and bring new life into the world.
My own version of S.A.D has nothing to do with day length but I know it will suddenly start to evaporate when I hear that first Skylark singing over the moorland in February and with the sighting of that first Sand Martin of the year and I know I will be totally non-S.A.D by the time I hear the rich, cascading sound of that first Willow Warbler songster! Can't wait for spring!
Actually, when I think about it, doesn't our own moods and mindsets throughout the year by and large mirror that of the rest of the natural world?
Cheers,
Bill.
When i say "out there" i mean anywhere outside, horwich moors, penny flash, loads of birds migrating and moving around though i can only see the birds that migrate at the weekends, Very SAD,
Stuart, i feel your pain, awful, the clocks move tonight and we lose another hour of daylight it makes me depressed to think about it,
Soon it will be going dark at 4 and i will again become a Vampire, i will be going to work in the dark and then coming home in the dark, never seeing daylight or the sun, a pale skinned vampire living in the dark, Me and John Tymon Vanhelsink