I'm back

I'm back, but the summer migrants aren't. at least at Druridge anyways. I went to Druridge yesterday after a short visit to Valencia, expecting to see sandwich terns maybe or sand martins, or maybe a singing chiffy...nowt! A chap there had seen a couple of sand martins before I arrived though. Highlights were 18 grey herons on the Budge fields, this maybe my record site count - I still reckon they are eating frogs.

I was in Valencia for what is touted as Europe's biggest party - 'Las Fallas' It's all quite mad, they construct a 40ft virgin Mary from flowers, cook MASSIVE paellas in the street, set off tonnes of explosives every lunchtime in the main square for a month, host Europe's biggest fireworks displays (attracting a crowd of 500,000) and most crazy construct dozens of 'monuments' like this one below, some as high as 4 storeys and costing 100's of thousands of euros and then burn them down. It's an amazing spectacle which you should go and see before the EU bans it ans Spain becomes as bland and boring as Sweden or Belgium. Needless to say I got no birding done, getting in form the pub at 8.15 in the morning is not conducive to birding!