Let's start a fight .....

So down at the redoubtable Scaling Dam this very morn and what's this in the log? One nationally known birder - it's tempting to name and shame - has written that they think it's "selfish" to take away the log pages every few weeks and what is more he won't write in the log because of that and having a log book would be far more sensible. Er, what's all this about?

1. The note implies he doesn't know who takes the log pages away when it's someone I'm sure he knows and I presume could have easily phoned up (it's not me by the way).
2. So why not write in the log? Surely the act of not writing his observations in are also a "selfish" act?
3. Hasn't he heard of BirdGuides and pagers which I know the keeper of the log uses to put out any news of interest from the lovely Scaling Dam.
4. Log books get taken and lots of places have had to resort to pages that are removed every few weeks because otherwise the poor recorder has to copy the info from the log book at each visit to preserve the records.
5. The recorder for the transformed Scaling Dam works the place weekly, he finds the most good birds there, he puts scarce bird news out on the pager etc system, he writes the annual report and he supplies his records reliably to both TBC and YNU. What's to knock? Nought IMHO.

Transformed, yes, Scaling Dam has had its earth moved, someone has assaulted its delicate tideline with a significant piece of machinery. Looks like a good job to me. There was even a Dunlin there today to celebrate the new wader-friendly Scaling Dam. Also House Sparrows galore, a veritable scarcity; Redshank, more gulls than I've seen for a while 6 Goldeneye and shockingly 6 real birders in the time I was there (I include myself, perhaps erroneously, in that good total). What no pictures! Sadly I was so distracted by the birding chat and thrown by the disconcerting attack on the recorder I clean forgot.

Best bird of the day was a complete fluke. Having delivered offspring to a party I cut across the moor. Something caught my eye alongside the vehicle and behold twas a male Gos flying alongside me not 20 feet away, keeping pace at car window height. I guess the moment didn't last more than a few seconds but it was a wonderful view of a magnificent beast.