Today, Mark and I headed for Pilling with the unlikely hope of bagging an Iberian Chiffchaff, flagged up by Birdguides just 20 minutes before we set off.  If I bagged this one today, that would mean 2 winners in 2 weekends after a prolonged drought of 2 years! 

We noticed the call was very different from a conventional Chiffchaff, starting off low in pitch, then getting higher, then ending in a rather messy crescendo.  It showed pretty well under the windy circumstances.   

Today, Eddie and I headed for a completely new spot for us: Newton Marsh, near Fleckleton. Birdguides had indicated a Temminck's Stint in that area, so off we went to investigate...    

Again?  Well, yes.  Succumbing to my family's demands, we ended up in Orlando again this summer for yet another "once in a lifetime" experience.  Apparently, there were some theme parks we hadn't done before.  On that basis, I expect we'll be here next year too, and the next one... unless I put my foot down.   

Clutching at straws for winners, I snapped away at any unusual wildlife...

The next day, my son convinced me that the giant lobsters weren't actually real.  The cooked ones were real, but quite dead, so didn't really count as wildlife.  Unperturbed, we headed to Universal Studios, which didn't disappoint...   

My sanity was finally saved by a visit to a local hot-spot: Wekiwa Springs.  Just half an hour from Orlando, this little-known gem is an oasis for wildlife (real wildlife) away from all the plastic and nonsense... 

We hired 2 kayaks and headed off downstream only to encounter this beast weaving its way accross the water...

There are times when you wish some wildlife weren't real at all.  Like house spiders in your bath, or lice in your hair, or a fly in your soup.  However, this snake went as far as boarding our Kayak and nestling next to my leg.  Whether it was a harmless Green Water Snake, or a venomous Water Moccasin, I didn't ask questions.  I simply flicked it back into the water with a cool, nonchalant flick of the wrist, thus saving everyone's lives, like Spider-man would, or the Incredible Hulk.  

So there you are folks: Florida in a nutshell.  Like it or loathe it, you'd be a fool to like it.  But it does throw up some interesting wildlife from time to time.

I knew it wouldn't be long until we had another brood of ducklings swimming on our pond and causing havoc in the back garden.  These emerged from the reeds this morning for their first dip with mum.

Lunt Meadows is a relatively new Wildlife Trust nature reserve just west of Maghull near Liverpool.  It was Mark who drew my attention to it and today we decided to explore for the first time.  This place is enormous: several square miles of marshland, forest and scrub, surely it would yield something on this windless sunny evening...   

Gosh, its been so long since I updated my blog, I almost forgot how to do it.  I must be getting old in my old age.  So what's been happening?  Not much to be honest... until today!  Yes folks, Mark and I have been dangling our rods again, this time at Glasson Dock, still a great place to catch pike...

(This, by the way, is the first and last time I ever use a mobile phone to take a picture.  Give me a proper camera any day of the week).     

If you're like me, you'll buy all your clothes from Asda.  You'll be 6ft 4 inches tall and you'll own a brown Citroen C4 Picasso with a large dent just above the nearside left rear wheel-arch.  But that probably doesn't apply to you, so I'll start again.

If you're like me, you'll hate theme parks.  However, our family holiday to Florida this summer taught me that theme parks needn't be hell on earth.  Keep an eye out for wildlife and, eventually, you'll stop tearing your hair out...   

Stupidly, we visited Kennedy space Centre on a rocket launch day.  No chance of any wildlife here...   

After a week in Orlando, Lynne and I were ready for a holiday.  Sarasota was only a 2 hour drive away...

Opposite The Sandcastle Hotel on Lido Beach, Sarasota, there is a nature reserve with a mangrove swamp and a shoreline teaming with life....   

While I fished, this little guy appeared from the shadows.  Probably sniffed out my prawns (or my butty).

Needless to say, the water-birds here are numerous and spectacular.  Easy pickings, even with a small lens...

Having recharged our batteries for a few days, we headed back to the theme park madness of Orlando.  But could it really offer any more natural wonders?

It was time to head back to Miami to catch our flight home.  On the way, we stopped at Fort Lauderdale Beach which had an interesting nature reserve directly behind it, not a place for aracnaphobes though... 

All in all, a great holiday was had by the whole family.  Thrills for the kids, beaches for Lynne and the odd wildlife winner for me.  Not bad really.  Oh, and because our outward flight was delayed due to a technical fault, our flights to Miami and back worked out totally free in the end.  But don't tell that to the guy who spent £8K today on a one-way ticket from Miami to the UK.  Hurricane Irma should hit Florida tomorrow, so I guess we got lucky with the weather!  

Our Mallard production line has a spanner in its works.  Just 6 hatchlings emerged from the nest on Sunday morning.  Sadly, 2 of them died within a few hours and another died on Wednesday night.  Then another one died the next day when I tried to relocate the family to our nearest pond.  The last I saw of this troop was yesterday morning: mum was parading the remaining couple of chicks around the cul-de-sac whilst an on-looking cat licked its lips.  The upside is our back garden survived! 

An evening at Rufford Meadow Fishery is just the tonic after a full day's work.  With beasts like this keeping you occupied all evening, you'll hardly get a chance to sup your beer. 

Predictably, we headed to our favourite Spring-bank holiday retreat this week which always throws up something new every year...