Amsterdam Russ

So they made it to Scotland and are surviving the colder conditions. They're obviously very adaptable then.

If I remember correctly, about 20-odd years ago their populations were mainly concentrated in the warmer south of England. If they've survived the wetter Manchester climate then it shows how very adaptable they are as a species. Scotland next, or have they made it that far already?

Loads of them round here. Their profile in flight always makes me think of one of these…

Here you go...

Eddie Holman "I surrender" has got to be up there. Must be something like three copies a week going through eBay for the last year or more and the price just keeps going higher and higher. Thought it expensive at £30 a couple of years ago but in recent times it's going for triple that - and that's the ABC issue!

Got your attention, didn't it? It worked!

You're welcome. Still not caught another sighting of a swallow or martin, so can't confirm that they're actually here. Possibly they were just stretching their wings and have headed back to the departure lounge at Schiphol before heading off elsewhere in Europe. What I can report is that in the battle between the coots and the grebes, the coots appear to have won. Where the coot would encroach upon the nest site and the grebes would see it away, now the coot is being much more territorial. Rather than just posture from atop the nest, it's swimming around it when the grebes are near. The grebes are making no real effort to win back their construction and are easily deterred when they now only occasionally approach it. A few things I've learned from watching are : 1) only one coot in a pair builds the nest 2) the coot's construction techniques are far more industrial than the grebes. The latter uses vegetation primarily while the coots are using lots of twigs and even branches to give support to the vegetation. 3) having witnessed them give up the nest without much of a fight, I believe that grebes are in some way related to the chicken.

Interesting read on the swallow migration... http://jkenny.hubpages.com/hub/Do-Anti-Squirrel-Feeders-really-work#

Well that took all of 10 seconds to find. According to this migration map, which shows things from a UK perspective, swallows & house martins come through both central Spain and central France before veering off in which ever direction pulls them. Would be nice to see the route in a bit more detail and see how they come into the Netherlands exactly - whether they're turning right when they get to the middle of France or whether they're coming in in other ways.

That might be right from a UK standpoint, but I doubt it's true for mainland Europe. I actually went off to look for a migration chart, got distracted on the way and eventually ended up back here having forgotten about my mission. Will try again!

If you look on a map where we are roughly lines up with Ipswich, so I always expect them to be here before they get to you. Of course, it depends on how they spread through Europe once they've crossed over from Africa. A migration chart would come in handy.

Pretty certain I caught my first glimpse of a summer migrant about half an hour ago. It was just disappearing out of view when I sped it, so can't be sure whether it was a house martin or swallow. Will keep my eyes peeled now so that I can confirm the sighting. Anyone else got summer summer migrants to report?

Thanks, Steve. I don't think Attenborough has anything to fear. I have to say it's been really fascinating watching events unfurl at the nest site. One thing that I've learned is that elements of the grebe's courtship display are ongoing. I've witnessed the head shaking that you see in the ritual happening very frequently on their own. It seems to be very much as if they use this display to continually affirm the pairing bond they made with the full courtship display. It also seems to be a means of communication about how the pair should jointly act. For example, every time there's been a coot/grebe stand-off, the grebes engage in the head shaking behaviour. It's almost as if they're agreeing with one another as to how they'll deal with the current situation. If you can imaging a couple of deaf blokes in a pub using sign language to communicate how they're going to get back at the bullying local who's been taking the piss all night, then that's what the grebes appear to be doing. I have to say the more I watch them interacting together, and against the coots, the more fascinating it all becomes!

While all the territorial squabbles goes on out the front, these pics were taken this evening through the side windows and the back balcony respectively.

Following on from my earlier post about the grebes and their courtship displays (post 398), it's been all go here. For the last few days the grebes have been busy building a nest in the centre of the waterway in front of us. Bit by bit their construction has started to rise out of the water. Thing is though, a pair of coots has taken a great interest in this. Every time the grebes turn their back one of the coots claims the mound for their own. This then results in something of a stand off with the coot moving aside every time thus far and as you can see in the pic. Pic quality isn't great. The action is about 30 metres away meaning that I've had to crop the images substantially. Occasion bursts of fighting have taken place, usually with the grebes as instigators. Once the coot is off the nest the grebes start diving near the coot and getting ever closer. It appears that they attack under water. That's what's happening in this pic. When the coot came out onto the grassy bank it was very noticeably limping although it appeared to have fully recovered later. This has gone on all day with the coots showing no sign of letting up their desire to take over the nest site and claim it for themselves. Thing is though, it may end disastrously no matter which pair has it. The contraption that the grebes are using as the base of their nest is a fountain and it'll be turned on in a few weeks time. Perhaps the local council (and the town hall is opposite us and just to the right of the pics) will review that this year!

Simple, Ian. Have a vote on everyone's suggestions. Mint members only to vote. Narrow down the initial 10,000 tunes to, say, half of that in the first round of voting and then get everyone to vote again based on the remainder and repeat. Keep doing that and you'll have the will of the people - and find you've got the "Move on up" track listing!

I was hoping to narrow it down a bit more than that, Steve!

Where in the world are you, Philippe?

Now you tell us!

Got one eye on the sky... Would be great if people could report in when they see the first of the summer swallows, swifts and martins.

Not long after the film came out, I was djing at a soul/ska/reggae night in a typical Amsterdam brown cafe. One of the locals came up and said that he'd just seen the film and really enjoyed it - and could I play the Tomangoes, Rita & the Tiaras and the Salvadors!

Very sorry to hear that indeed. I do hope that he had the opportunity to read the many heartfelt comments posted here and that he got a sense of just how loved he was. RIP, Billy Butler.

Haha! Let's hope they don't make a hash of it!

Same thing going on over here in the Netherlands - unless it's Martyn's pair on a weekend getaway! This pic was taken early evening looking out from the front of our apartment.

That's the link to the very same story Seano used to open this thread!