Surrounded by tits

And as anyone who has seen the regional breakdown of referendum voting percentages knows, that's a fact. In an effort to remind the surviving non-zombies among us of anything vaguely not shit about this particularly poisonous corner of Little Britain, here's a Long-tailed Tit, fresh out of the nest here in Filey.

(Food) chain of fools

Being a young Mallard, Moorhen or Coot at this time of year means your chances of survival are about as likely as England dazzling in a European championship, but then at least these chick-shaped energy bars have a purpose in the grander scheme of things.

More from last month .....

Spring-cleaning the memory card, and so here's a few more (common) bits and pieces from last month on the land here at Filey. (From the top - Barn Owl, Pied Wagtail, Red Kite, Great Spotted Woodpecker, juvenile Starling, Cuckoo vs. Meadow Pipit, Grey Partridge, and a momentarily heart-stopping Herring Gull in disguise).

Diamonds and Perlmans

I'm not the greatest fan of bank holiday weekends - I'm an east coast birder in a seaside town, after all - but when spent in the company of the six-strong Perlman clan, it's a different bag of chips.

Local trips to Bempton Cliffs, the North Yorkshire forests, fossil-hunting on the beach and lots of fun elsewhere made for a blast of a weekend in great company (even Bamba the dog is friendly and chilled).

And there's a nerdily special thrill in getting to show a birding friend the local patch for the first time - a bit like letting your mate from school have a go on your prized, hand-made train set that took you years to build - and this being early summer on the east coast, in appropriately October-like conditions (I hired the smoke machine especially, just for the full effect).

My Mrs on Libby duty (note traces of Bamba)

Picnicking at Bempton - she saved me a crust

Uri digiscoping Puffins...

"And this is where I found ...." Yeah, fascinating....zzzzzz"