Christine's walking & birds blog

For about an hour around midnight last night, I stood outside scanning the starry sky - and saw three meteors from the Lyrids shower. Greger joined me for a while and spotted one which I missed; it's impossible to point meteors out - by the time you've said "Oh, there's...." it's gone! Meanwhile, numerous satellites tracked their swift, unerring courses across the sky. We identified Lyra with its beautiful bright star, Vega; for this I used my ancient Observer's Book of Astronomy - not without a certain amount of distaste, given its author.  Patrick Moore was for some reason seen as a lovable eccentric; I think he was a hateful man. He loathed women and voiced his misogynistic views publicly on several occasions. Never mind, I can always give a little cheer whenever I see Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock on The Sky at Night.

The best moment during my sky-watch came when I heard a single, rather hoarse trill somewhere above - I can't be 100% sure but I think it was a dunlin. Nocmig! And we both saw a bat (looking, oddly, white) hunting beyond the garden around the orange streetlights - the lights that are particularly irritating when trying to stargaze!