Final Post

This blog has been getting rather tired and boring recently so I think it's about time for a change. So I'm ending this blog and from January 1st I will be posting on my new blog, 365 days of birding; check out the link at the bottom of this post to find out how the new blog is going to work.

Not done a lot of birding in recent days but a massive flock of 500+ Fieldfare in the fields behind my house has kept me entertained watching them feeding on the hawthorn bushes. Also like this time last year Pink Footed Geese have started to come into the fields to feed and there were 60+ birds there today. Other good local birds include a self found Tundra Bean Goose at Fleetwood farm on sunday, as well as Purple Sandpiper and Shag on the same day; and going even further back a Lapland Bunting at HOM 2 weeks ago. These additions take me up to 216 species for the year in Britain which is my highest ever.

So all that's left to say is thankyou for reading and following this blog for the past 2 years and I hope that you will continue to follow me on 1st January on the new blog.

http://365daysofbirding.blogspot.com/

Iceland Gull Preston Docks

Christmas shopping in Preston on Saturday didn't give me much hope of seeing any birds however I managed to persuade my parents to stop off at the docks on the way home to see if the 2nd winter Iceland Gull which had been present there for a few days was still there. Luckily it was present by the car park coming to bread that was being thrown by another birder so it gave great views down to 5 ft.On Sunday I went to the North west birdwatching fair at Martin Mere and since we went through Preston on the way home we stopped off at the docks to try get more views of the bird. Unfortunately it wasn't playing ball so I had too wait over an hour before it finally showed up on it's favourite pontoon.

A Red Letter Day

Yesterday was one of those days where things just got better and better and birds seemed to be everywhere. On Monday a Little Grebe at Hollingworth Lake CP near Manchester was re-identified as a Pied Billed Grebe, the first British record for 8 years! Typically I had to wait 5 days before I could try and see it so I was praying it would stay till Saturday, which much to my relief it did. Me and my dad arrived at around 11:30 at the visitors centre which was packed with birders and their cars so this was a good sign that the bird was still present. The walk around the east side of the main lake took about 10 minutes before I spotted the crowd of birders next to the hide by the nature reserve lake. In the centre of the lake was a single bird but the size of it was twice that of a Little Grebe so I didn't think it would be interesting until I got it in the scope and it was in fact the PIED BILLED GREBE (lifer 252).
The size of the bird was immediately obvious as not a Little Grebe, and the bill, although not at its full colour still had the black and white contrasting bands. It showed on and off fishing for the next hour to a crowd of over 50 birders including Kane Brides (link on the side), Mark Farrar (local fylde birder) and the Rose family. A pair of Bullfinches in the car park when we got back were also a nice surprise.

Since we were both hungry we stopped off at a McDonalds just round the corner from the lake; the traditional lunch while birdwatching for us; when my phone went off with a text from Paul Slade. Now usually when I get a text from Paul I don't want to open it because I'm usually at school and means I can't go see the bird in question, however since it was the weekend I was optimistic and even more so when it revealed that a Grey Phalarope was present on a flooded field on Lytham Moss. This became top priority so it was a quick finish to eating my lunch before dashing back to the Fylde and Lytham. Driving along the road through the moss we spotted a small group of cars parked next to a flooded field and a few birders stood on a track viewing it. We parked up and walking along towards them the Grey Phalarope (lifer 253) became obvious feeding on it's own in the field, going round and round in circles like a mad man. It showed down to 20ft at times to he small crowd of birders including Paul Ellis, Paul Slade, Stuart Piner and Maurice Jones. A fabulous bird and the second Phalarope I have seen in Lytham this year!
The final stop of the day was at Fleetwood Marine Lakes to try and get good views of the Great Northern Diver that had been present for a week. I saw it at dusk on Wednesday however the views weren't very good so I was determined to get some better views and shots. Upon arrival the bird was on the far side of the lake so I headed round there and noticed Zac Hinchcliffe already present with his camera. Unfortunately 2 very loud and fast remote control boats were being driven around the lake which disturbed the diver quite alot but at times when they stopped it came to within 15ft of the bank where we were giving stunning views in the sun light.

October School Holidays

With a week off school I thought it would be a good opportunity to try and get some new year ticks and maybe a lifer if I was lucky.

Marshside 23rd October

I have never been to Marshside when the sun has been shining and it was no exception on that day with dark clouds threatening to relinquish their contents over us. However the weather held and there were large numbers of waders and wildfowl to be found on the reserve. Over 70 Snipe were sitting on an area of mud from Nel's Hide and after painstakingly searching through them I finally managed to pick out a single Jack Snipe (yeartick) hunkered down in the grass.Unfortunately a Kestrel chose that moment to do a fly pass and it spooked all the snipe and once they settled down again I couldn't relocate the bird.

24th October

A definite red letter day for me started in the morning with a text from Paul Slade saying that a 1st winter Red Breasted Goose had been found with Pink Foots in the fields by Fluke Hall Lane. All other plans went out the window and within 30 minutes I was getting out of the car to join the small crowd of locals who were watching the geese. Kinta Beaver pointed me to the area where the bird was and looking through my scope I spotted the vibrant colours of the 1st winter Red Breasted Goose (lifer 250) sitting down in the middle of the flock. It sowed well for 10 minuted before the flock got scared and flew up and out onto the marsh, at which point I headed off for Waddington Fell to look for the Great Grey Shrike, my biggest bogey bird.

I picked up Brambling (yeartick) on route at Tower Lodge before carrying on to the fell to look for the shrike, the 5th time I had tried to see it this year. A couple of birders were already present and informed me that it had been seen in the morning but not since, this seemed to be the pattern on most days with it becoming more elusive as the day progressed. It was a case of just scanning the fence posts along the top of the fell to see if it appeared, and amazingly eventually the Great Grey Shrike (lifer 251) appeared at the top post and gave good, albeit brief views before disappearing once again. I was happy with this so headed home after a very productive day.

Barrow 30th October

With a flock of over 100 Waxwings present for over a week I thought that it would definitely be worth a trip up to Barrow near Clitheroe to try and get some shots of these beauties, and they didn't disappoint. Over 70 were along the main street feeding on a row of rowan trees and they were very obliging coming down into the tree closest to the assembled photographers meaning I could get some half decent shots.

Lancaster Canal 31st October

A walk with my parents that I didn't really expect to turn up any birds was surprisingly fruitful with not one, not two but three separate Kingfishers showing along different stretches of the canal! At least 4 Jays were also seen as was a pair of Ravens that flew over.

Bird of Prey and Thrush Day

After throwing up for half the night a day off school meant that today I could do some more garden birding, which after the previous weeks sightings I was very optimistic for! All the sightings were between 12:30 and 15:30.

The local female Kestrel was hunting over the fields but wasn't having much luck as it was being mobbed constantly by Black Headed Gulls. It showed well for the duration of my watch which is unusual as it usually hunts out of view from time to time. Another resident and almost daily bird of prey that showed well today was Sparrowhawk with the male hunting around the gardens for 10 minutes or so. The picture below was taken a few months back I've just not had chance to upload it yet so thought this would be a good opportunity. However a far more unusual sight was a Buzzard which was hunting over Amounderness Way (A 565). I see them over the river Wyre every month or so however it is only the third or fourth time that I have seen one over the fields itself. It seemed to give the local birds quite a shock as well since it was being mobbed by 12 Jackdaws, determined to see it off their patch. 3 Bird of Species in a day is good for my house but doesn't beat the 4 on 14th September 2008 when I saw my first ever Honey Buzzard as well as Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk!

The other obvious feature of the day was plenty of winter thrushes around. Some obvious migrating birds were:

10 Fieldfare North-West at 13:05

3 Redwing North-West at 13:15

25-30 Fieldfare North-West at 14:00

2 Redwings high South at 14:10

Apart from these were a few local birds, a flock of 5 Fieldfare that have been around for a few day and more spectacularly a flock of 90-100 Fieldfare which were slowly moving their way around the fields, the largest single flock I have seen from my house.

Other birds of interest today include a Curlew in the field and a Cormorant over.

The simple joys of birding

When you've been having a recent run of bad luck it feels like all the birds are against you. I've dipped on Red Backed Shrike, Great Grey Shrike and Lapland Bunting in the past few weeks as well as hearing that the Great Grey Shrike is back at Waddington Fell where I missed it on 4 separate occasions last winter! Yet even when things seem bad a good bird turns up out of nowhere and in the most unlikely places.

As was the case this morning when I decided to do a bit of garden birding since the light meant that I wouldn't be blinded by the sun when I looked out of my window. It was quite slow at first with the resident male Pheasant calling from the fields and both of the local Kestrels putting in appearances. A Grey Heron was causing quite a stir amongst the Black Headed Gulls in the area as it repeatedly tried to land in the fields before being driven away to the south east. A flock of Long Tailed and Blue Tits were moving along the hawthorn bushes but despite my best efforts I couldn't see anything else amongst them even though it is the optimum time of year to see something out of the ordinary, which is what happened at 13:20.

All the gulls from the field went up again and I assumed that the heron had reappeared, however I couldn't see anything until I noticed a oddly coloured bird amongst the riving throng of birds. I got my scope onto it and my heart skipped a beat as I realised I was looking at a Short Eared Owl! It was flying slowly north being mobbed by a pair of Black Headed Gulls as it went; I quickly got my camera out and fired off 68 shots as it got further and further away. All were distant but a few were good enough to clinch the ID.

This was the 95th species of bird I have recorded from my house and amazingly the 4th species of owl, only need Long Eared now to complete the set.

Summary of past 3 months

Sorry that I've not posted for soooooo long just been finding it hard to find the time to post and whenever I tried it wouldn't let me. Anyway this is just going to be a quick summary of the best birds I've seen since the 22nd July.

Northumberland 24th - 25th July
A weekend at my uncles cottage in Northumberland meant lots of birdwatching could be done and the weekend got of to a great start with an Osprey (year tick) flying south on the journey there. A day trip out to the Farne Islands with my new camera lens also gave some great birds with thousands of Puffins (year tick) and Roseate Tern (year tick). A strange repeat of the previous July when I got the same 3 year ticks on a trip to Northumberland.

Brockholes Quarry 28th July
My second attempt of the month for Hobby (year tick) came up trumps with a gorgeous adult above the main pit showing brilliantly, one of my favourite species.

Crete 3rd - 10th August
A family holiday in Crete for a week wasn't intended for birdwatching however it didn't stop me doing some of my own around the apartments and on a few trips around the island. 11 lifers were seen: Griffon Vulture, Lesser Kestrel, Bonelli's Eagle, Rupell's Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Scopoli's Shearwater, Crested Lark, Short Toed Lark, Tawny Pipit and Italian Sparrow, as well as other great species such as Eleanora's Falcon, Audoins Gull and Crag Martin.

North East 22nd - 23rd August
A quickly organise trip to the north east area with my mum to try and get some decent birds on that side of the country. By 10am on Saturday I was at the sea-watching hide in Whitburn where I had a Great Skua (year tick) past before moving along to Whitburn Steel where 2 Black Terns (year tick) were roosting along with 6+ Roseate Terns and over 500 Common and Sandwich and a single Arctic. Then it was inland to Shibdon Pond where I met up with another young birder Andrew Kinghorn to watch the Spotted Crake (lifer) which had been there for a couple of weeks. It showed very well albeit a bit distantly along with a Garganey (year tick); a great bird and a great mate to go with it.

The next day we started doing some sea-watching at Hartletpool Headland where I added Great Norther Diver to my year list along with 6 Arctic Skuas and a single Great Skua which were terrorising a flock of Kittiwakes offshore. The final stop of the trip was at Saltholme RSPB where I got the juvenile Whiskered Tern (lifer) along with Little Stint (year tick) and 10+ Yellow Wagtails.

Pennington Flash 30th August
My first visit to a site which made an immediate impression as a great birdwatching destination when I arrived in search of Black Necked Grebe and Little Gull. A trip around the hides produced some good birds with 8 Green Sandpipers from the Teal Hide and Bullfinch and Willow Tit from the Bunting Hide, one of the best feeding stations in the country in my opinion! Unfortunately there was no sign of the grebe however the 1st winter Little Gull (year tick) was still present and showing well from Horruck's Hide.

Condor Estuary 11th September
A pair of juvenile Curlew Sandpipers (year tick) were showing very well on the creek along with the normal selection of waders, Spotted Redshanks, Ruffs etc.

Rossall Point 15th September
After some strong westerly blows massive numbers of Leach's Petrels (year tick) had been seen down the west coast and the Fylde was no exception. An after school trip down on the 15th saw 7 in total flying south very close into the shore, with 2 of them over the beach itself!

Fairhaven Lake 18th September
On the back of the strong westerly blows on the previous days a juvenile Red Necked Phalarope (lifer) was found on fairhaven lake, the first on the Fylde for 24 years so I had to get down there. After negotiating the buses around Blackpool I arrived to find it showing brilliantly on the far side of the lake behind the islands.

Leighton Moss 26th September
An early morning trip produced the hoped for Bearded Tits (year tick) with a pair on the grit trays along the causeway showing very well in the early morning light.

So after all that my different lists stand at:
World Life - 301
British Life - 249
Fylde Life List - 205
British Year List - 203