Good News

I definitely wasn't tempted out today - it was dull and bitterly cold, so I did a bit of catching up on my correspondence and then a bit of crafting. 
I checked with my birder expert about yesterday's Redpoll and he thought my ID was probably correct. It' great to have someone to help out with IDs. The BTO also is an excellent source of information about bird ID and also trends in the fortunes of birds. They do really good factsheets and videos to help with IDs and their informative publications and newsletters have really helped me learn more about birds. 
This recent magazine had some good news as its cover story. The Barn Owl also features in the final ten candidates for David Lindo's (The Urban Birder) bid to have people choose the UK's National Bird. Odd that the Hen Harrier and the Red Kite are in there but not the Peregrine. I'm torn between voting for the Wren and the Kingfisher. I think it will probably be the Wren, as I think it was one of the birds I nominated at the Bird Fair last year. If you are interested, you can vote here