Back in the saddle; the car booting season begins!

We have missed doing the car boot sales over the winter months, at least, we had been missing them up until around 05:00 hrs on Saturday morning when the idea of setting forth, overcoming the temptation to stay in our warm and comfy bed, was not so appealing once the moment had finally arrived. It was only after having flung the alarm clock out of the bedroom and down the stairs that I started to think about those intrepid birds that were either on the move or preparing to set off in the face of so many dangers and obstacles that I tore myself from under the blankets feeling very guilty and very selfish indeed.

All these little chaps (at least those that have survived since the photo was taken - Broome September 2013), were out there somewhere struggling through another day as I lay snug in bed. That's enough to get any concerned citizen up and motivated.

That first outing was well worth our time and effort, even though the weather was uninviting being cold, windy and with a little light rain in the air.

The sun fights (and loses) a battle to pierce the gloom.

Easter Bank Holiday Monday saw us repeating the process but in much better weather. We set out under a delightful moon with a slight frost on the ground but the temperature reached a tropical 17°C by late morning.

The bright moon showed promise for the day ahead.

This was another early start which was made all the worse by my missing the Barn Owl garden tick before we left as I was once again having a 'last five minutes' beneath the blanket! Serves me right.

The tranquillity of a car boot site before the crowds arrive.

Strangely the first day produced slightly better takings despite the chilly weather, but they were both among the best days we have ever had raising money for Wader Quest in this way.

Our set-up; we have a little of everything, books (in the boxes), toys, tools, bric-a-brac, clothes and some household items.

There are many months of this ahead of us and many early morning starts to face, but the pleasure of counting the money, over a cup of tea, when we get back home makes it all worthwhile, especially when we exceed expectations as we did on both of these occasions.

Our first full financial year is now over and we have made a good start in our initial year as a charity. We obviously hope to build upon these solid foundations over the coming twelve months. We have together with the help and guidance of our wonderful Trustees, and of course our generous sponsors, donors and supporters across the world started as we mean to go on, growing an ever stronger system of support for smaller wader conservation projects.

We have some exciting developments that we hope to tell you about soon and we are looking forward too to the public events that we will be attending such as the Norfolk Bird and Wildlife Fair and the British Birdwatching Fair later in the year.