Crepuscular Ray

The first Common Tern I've seen this year was fluttering around the dock near Canary Wharf just now.

Adore skylarks - one of my most memorable mornings ever was mid-morning at Stonehenge just over 5 years ago - because it was pretty cold the skylarks had delayed getting going until then, but when they did go for it they were swooping around among the punters and the stones singing their little heads off - magical! If you've never been sung at by skylarks at about 20 ft (as opposed to the normal 150 ft) you don't know what you've missed!

They'll be expanding southwards from London rather than migrating north for spring. Get used to the idea of a new form or dawn chorus.

You're lucky to have such lovely signs of spring. I wouldn't take the parakeets as a sign of warmer weather, though: the little demons have been waking me up long before dawn for weeks and weeks and weeks. They're here all winter now - e.g., they were around v. early in January and it was bizarre hearing their squawks during a funeral in Surrey in early February when they look like such summery creatures, and they were around most of the time anyway.

You're not being thick: it's taken me several attempts to get it right when I've tried (or maybe I'm being thick too). Is there a limit on how much can be uploaded at one time? The one that has worked is over 3.7 mB.

About an inch here in west London at the moment: there would have been more but the ground's warm so it's melting from underneath.

If you want something really old and beautiful and a challenge to photograph in your area, try the Norman church at Patrixbourne - it's got gorgeous sculpture round the doorways.

Really? Admittedly I don't catch forecasts during the day (when they're aimed at a particular demographic assumed to be thick, so are dumbed down to) but I've not heard 'west is best' on the BBC or Channel 4, ever, even from the likes of mild-ramper Darren Bett and others (not picking on him, honest), who appear not to like the cold or Dan Corbett who would surely introduce a catch phrase if he could. Also, given that this weekend's prevailing winds are going to be from the north, how did they manage to introduce the idea that west is best? What forecasts has this been appearing on (so that the rest of us can avoid them)? CR

I think you're a wee bit previous looking for Cuckoos yet Rusty, especially given the forecast. But have fun looking for other stuff anyway.

Yes, extremely ugly - and they apparently bully other wildfowl, too. My mother was telling me this evening about one harassing a locally well-known and long-standing pair of Mute Swans off their nest (of 20 years) last year. Apparently they lost two clutches.

Interesting new theory on why tornadoes don't occur in all supercells...and amazing video. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/19...s.htm?list72553 CR ps: If it doesn't work as a link, copy and paste it into your address bar.

At the office in Docklands this afternoon we were a bit surprised to find a Muscovy Duck attacking the building, until we remembered that the window glass is mirrored and that he/she was responding to what he/she thought was another Muscovy Duck in the early breeding season. However, we can't find any information on whether Muscovy Ducks (obviously escapes from collections) are seen often in London.

Round here there's a poor robin who sings from about 2am onwards because he's confused by the streetlights. Him I can ignore. It's a different matter with the ring-necked parakeets. They're now up and about by about 6.15: I dread to think how early they (and I) will be awake come June.

Twigs run through a pencil-sharpener. Won't cause any damage, but will put them off (and that's from a cat-lover)

Urgh. I was staying at my parents' home in E Sussex at the time (off sick with a bout of shingles in the face which meant that going out in the cold was an absolute no, no, no): they didn't have double glazing or central heating and every morning there were icicles trailing down inside the windows and down the walls. Dad measured (I think) -10C or below (-15C a couple of times) about 10 nights in a row. There wasn't actually that much snow, it was just very, very, very cold.

There were lots of flowering cherries out in Sarf London (interestingly not in Norf London) earlier in the week, although I can't say that this is unexpected as there are many species of flowering cherries that are meant to be out by now (mad fools). But, although I haven't got around to taking a camera along to prove it, there does appear to be a kniphofia (aka red-hot poker) out in one of the council beds a wee way away from here, and February is about 4 months early for them, and it's still stupidly early for a bedding plant.

Is it just my opinion or has this been the best Time Team series for years? Even last night's - which had some inconclusive results - managed to find lots of amazing finds!

There are moves afoot to cut spending to the UK budgets for astronomy, astrophysics and particle physics. In the grand scale of government spending, the amounts are minute (e.g., about 1.5 Eurofighters or 1/500 Northern Rock rescue package) and many people would argue that there are better things to spend our taxes on, but it would mean that the UK withdraws from the Gemini telescope group (so, given that we've already pulled out of the observatory on the Canaries, UK astronomers would have no access to large visible light telescopes in the northern hemisphere) among other things and doesn't participate in the next phase of work at CERN. There is, naturally, a petition on the Number 10 website: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Physics-Funding/ Anyone who wants to add their name to the petition, feel free. CR

Spaceweather.com has also flagged it as being a new-cycle group. Finally!

What happened? He went a bit odd talking about measuring snow depth with metal rules and getting your hand stuck as a consequence, but then he got cut off midstream. Not a forecast he'll want to write home about, even with the vague promise of white stuff.

It's the high-latitude ones that are new-cycle and equatorial are now old-cycle. But, whatever, it's still been very, very quiet.

Nice, hopefully. As it's on the solar equator is it a remnant of cycle 23, rather than an early indication of cycle 24?

Even in my west London hell-hole, we get a mixed flock of great, blue and long-tailed tits pass through a couple of times a day. The last-mentioned are such good value! At least they're not put off by the horde of rose-ringed parakeets. Currawongs have to have the most gorgeous happy call there is (for those who've never been lucky enough, they say exactly what it says on the tin): arriving at Brisbane at 5 am after about 25 hours flight (e.g., 48 hours with no sleep) from London that beautiful flutey call really lifted my spirits. I don't envy you the Ozzie magpies, though. Scary things, they are if you get too near their nests (speaks from bitter experience). CR

Sorry, only just spotted this: yes, the Boho Waxwing is what the Americans (e.e., Clements) call Waxwings in order to differentiate between that and the Japanese and Cedar Waxwings, like they do Eurasian Robins, etc. Bah!

Unlikely, Andy, as this comet has only brightened to within naked-eye range within the last couple of days and would have been difficult in even large amateur 'scopes before that. At magnitude +2.5 it is not currently visible during daylight hours. I wouldn't normally suggest looking at Wikipedia because it can be unreliable at times, but the explanation of what - perhaps - causes outgassing might explain why this comet has brightened suddenly.