Jonathan Scragg's Birding Blog

Final Post

2010-12-23T18:18:00.002Z

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

2010-11-25T18:30:00.004Z

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

2010-11-14T11:00:00.004Z

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

2010-11-14T09:28:00.004Z

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

2010-10-21T17:28:00.003+01:00

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

2010-10-17T19:54:00.003+01:00

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

2010-10-17T11:42:00.002+01:00

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

8th-22nd July Summary

2010-09-05T17:42:00.002+01:00

Another catch up post to try and get up to date. This post will cover the 8th to the 22nd July during which time I was doing my work experience for school with the countryside ranger and fellow local birder Len Blacow.

8th July
We went to Out Rawcliffe to survey an area where we would be doing a walk with the local school children the following week. Not many birds around however afterwards Len took me to a place where there was a Little Owl box where the adults usually sit in the tree around the box. They weren't there at the time however I managed to persuade my dad to take my down there later in the evening and we were rewarded with the male Little Owl (yeartick) giving great views.

11th July
Len was doing his monthly WEBS count at Fluke Hall and invited me along to experience what it was like (it being my first WEBS count). Beforehand we met up with another local birder Mark Farrar at Skippool Creek to see what waders were about and look through the ever present gull flock. A couple of Yellow Legged Gulls had been seen regularly but there was no sign while we were there. The usual build up of Common Sandpipers had begun and we counted 17 over 30 minutes. A single Whimbrel flew over calling as did a flock of 13 Mistle Thrushes, briefly looking like a very early Fieldfare flock.
We then headed to Fluke hall to do the count. I must have brought bad look as Len said it was the worse count he had ever done there with hardly any birds coming to roost. However he managed to pick out a dark morph Arctic Skua battling against the raging wind out of the bay. A juvenile Gannet also took this route soon afterwards.

12th July
Back to work and we did a strand line survey (a look at the different shells, natural object, etc that had washed up on the beach) with a group of local school children south of Rossall school. While Len was talking to the children I picked out a stunning summer plumaged Mediterranean Gull on the sea with a group of its browner cousins. At least 8 Sandwich Terns flew south giving their characteristic calls and another recognisable call was coming from the beach and after a bit of looking I spotted a Ringed Plover calling and running away from an area of shingle. On closer inspection I could see another adult sitting down in the stones, on a nest! It's not common for them to breed on the north Fylde coast so Len moved the kids further down the beach to not disturb them. I don't know how this pair fared however later on we were walking near the coastguard tower at Rossall and we found another pair of Ringed Plover, this time with 4 eggs in the nest. We decided to come back the next day and check up on them.

13th July
A check on the Ringed Plovers around midday revealed 1 egg in the nest and 1 check that had evidently just hatched. A check later in the day revealed all 4 chicks out of the nest and following the adults on the beach. How they managed to survive I don't know with dogs going past every minute or so; however the parents were very attentive and saw off anything that came to close. Me and Len decided to keep them a secret as if the local birders got whiff of them the ringers would be down to catch and ring them. This happened about 2 weeks later with all 4 chicks being ringed and I believe all successfully fledging. So no matter what anyone else sys it was me and Len that found them first ;).

17th July
My first visit to Brockholes Quarry of the year to look for a Hobby that had been seen in the days previously. A group of birders were on the track looking over the main pool so I joined them in the hope that they would spot something interesting. 2 Ringed and 4 Little Ringed Plovers were on the rocks around the water and a pair of Jays screeched from the woods behind me. However a lack of anything of note lead to me leaving early and call in at the flood at Mythop on the way home. The hoped for Green Sandpiper (yeartick) was showing well but apart from that it was very quiet so off home it was.

22nd July
My first pelagic, an interesting experience of which I would like to repeat, however on a larger craft next time! The Fylde Bird Club organised the trip from Fleetwood so 12 of us got onto this small fishing vessel (whilst under attack from the local kids throwing stones!) and set off out to sea. We went out about 8 miles before deploying the chum and following the slick back towards land. The first half of the trip wasn't a pleasurable experience due to my feeling really ill however after getting rid of my dinner I felt much better and was able to enjoy the birds as they fed on the chum close to the boat. A few Manx Shearwaters were flying past but not really taking much notice of the food however a Fulmar and at least 4 Kittiwakes gave brilliant close quarter views. Every now and then a Gannet would fly over and a single Whimbrel flew south very high up while calling. Some more unusual sightings were a Feral Pigeon flying rapidly east towards the coast, coming from a westerly direction (how far had it already flown across the sea?), and a large bee which landed on the boat and continued to hang onto a piece of rope throughout. On the way back we saw a few Sandwich and a pair of Arctic Terns and 3 Guillemots on the sea, and when we finally reached dry land the bee was put in the sand dunes on the beach to recover.

19th June - 3rd July summary

2010-08-02T10:12:00.005+01:00

I've got a back log of 2 months worth of posts so I'm going to try and squeeze them all into a few summarised posts.

19th June

The mid June lull was upon us with nothing but the most common birds being around and no whiff of a rarity about. So this was a good time to go and check up on the progress of the expanding Common Tern colony at Preston Docks. After 2 pairs nested the previous year the Fylde Bird Club installed some tyres on the breakwaters in the dock in the hope of attracting more to the small colony; and it was a massive success with 6 pairs nesting to date (I think). When I arrived I could see the adults hunting around the dock and heading off down the entrance to the river Ribble. 3 young heads could just be seen sticking out over the rim of one of the tires whenever and adult flew overhead.

At least 10 adults were around and 3 young were on view but more could have been hidden.

On the way back we stopped off at Lytham Nature Reserve to see if any migrants had taken a rest in the bushes. At least 4 Whitethroats were on show and being very noisy along with large numbers of Reed Buntings of Meadow Pipits. Skylarks were singing overhead and a Willow Warbler was singing from a patch of bushes before falling silent as a Kestrel flew over.

26th June

A simple yeartick, at this time of year there's no such thing. A small window of opportunity to get out birding so I thought Bispham Marsh would be a safe bet to add Mandarin to my yearlist as up to 5 had been seen regularly in the previous months. However like my other earlier to trip to try and see them they slipped through my fingers and refused to show themselves while I was there. I decided to try and photograph the Great Crested Grebes instead which were coming closer than usual to the banks, probably in search of more fish. A few of my shots are below.

3rd July
An afternoon of frustration trying to photograph Swifts on the air at Fleetwood Nature Reserve didn't turn up many good pictures but I'll let you decide that for yourselves. 16+ Little Grebes was also a great count for me at this site.

Dorset Trip (part 3)

2010-07-28T10:40:00.005+01:00

Thursday 3rd June
After all the early starts during the week this was my day to do some relaxing while my parents went for a beach day at Lulworth Cove with my brother. I spent the morning emptying my camera's memory card of the week's photographs and sorting them out, mostly deleting them; I was also writing my trip reports for the first few days (part 1). However boredom always creeps in when I'm trying to write anything so I decided to head up to the white horse on the hills near the house to see if there were any birds about.

Unfortunately I had misjudged the timings of setting off and it was just after midday with the temperature at a scintillating 27 degrees Celsius. With virtually no shade for most of the walk it wasn't the happiest of birding experiences but nevertheless there were some birds being moderately active to make it worthwhile. Butterflies were immediately evident with lots of Common Blue all along the path in small groups, also lesser numbers of Small Heath patrolling the grassy edges. At least 3 Chiffchaffs were singing from a small area of trees by the track up the hill although they proved difficult to see. The yaffling call of a Green Woodpecker drifted across the hillside and I obtained brief views of it disappearing behind a large area of trees. It was disappointingly quiet after this so I headed back with a family party of 9 Long Tailed Tits the only birds of note seen.

Friday 4th June

Another morning where my parents were off doing something of their choice so I repeated the previous day's excursion and walked up the hill again. It was cooler outside that day making the walk much more pleasant. A small stream running under the path seemed to be attracting lots of birds so I had a look around there for a while which produced some unexpected birds. A female Blackcap was scuttling around the hawthorn bushes bordering the stream and a large flock of 30+ Goldfinch and Linnets were coming to drink from the water. Further up the hill the call of the Green Woodpecker once again rung around the hillside. However on that day there were a pair of them flying around and making quite a racket. One of them gave good views as it sat perched on a tree next to the track.

A small bird flitting about the trees near the woodpeckers caught my attention as being very pale, much more so than the chaffinch I had assumed it was. Getting it in my binoculars I could see that it was one of my favourite birds, a Spotted Flycatcher. I watched it for the next 10 minutes as it demonstrated perfectly why it got it's name, perching on a branch before flying down and catching a fly in mid air before returning to the same perch. A pair of Grey Partridges flew out of the field near to the flycatcher adding to trip list and taking me up to 107.

Earlier in the week I had been tipped off by a local birder that an area of wood near to where I was staying held Nightingales, a bird that I had always wanted to see. Since it was my mum's birthday we had a meal at the Smugglers Inn near the beach at Osmington Mills and afterwards we were planning to head down to the beach. Over tea I gently slipped in the idea that I could go and look for these birds while the rest of them went down to the beach, my dad said he would come with me so after the meal was over (which was delicious and I would highly recommend the restaurant) we headed off along the coastal path. A pair of Sandwich Terns were fishing on the sea at the base of the cliffs below us and a male Kestrel was hunting the fields in the evening light. A Goldfinch provided a good photo opportunity as it sat by the path singing its heart out.

We reached the woods and followed the signs that lead us to a track through the first band of trees; the wood was alive with the sounds of the resident birds going about their business. A large flock of Long Tailed Tits chattered above out heads as they moved along the bushes by the path, with a family party of Willow Warbler close by, the parents frantically feeding the recently fledged young, their bright yellow plumage enhanced by the light from the evening sun. Chiffchaffs were very much evident with singing birds every fifty metres or so. The wood was in a M shape with 3 wide lines of trees and bushes extending vertically down from a large horizontal band. We reached the top of the first line of trees and headed along to the second, stopping briefly to watch an adult Nuthatch as it zipped through the trees, almost reminiscent of a Kingfisher flashing past over a river. Down the second band of trees another Green Woodpecker was calling and a male Cuckoo was making it's famous call in the distance, making the local dog walkers stop and listen, completely helpless as they were encapsulated by this magic birds sound, well how couldn't they be. So far the nightingales had proved hard to get and since the light was fading my dad suggested we started to head back. However as we passed by the bottom of the first band of trees I persuaded him to let me head back up for 20 minutes or so for one last look. I managed to find part of the path which gave a good view through a large area of the wood under the trees. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were making regular visits to a hole in a tree where they obviously had young. It was only then that I picked up a melodical song from somewhere in the woods. After watching for another 5 minutes I was rewarded with an all to brief view of a bird perched on a nearby branch, slightly larger than a Robin with beautiful brown plumage meant it could only be 1 thing, Nightingale (lifer 246). Over the next 10 minutes I got 3 more views, all as brief as the first but all confirmation that it was a Nightingale. The light really was going after this do I headed for home very happy. This brought my holiday list to 110 species.

Saturday 5th June

The last day and the last chance to visit Portland so it was up at 6 for a few hours at the bird observatory before we had to go home. 6 Manx Shearwaters were the only birds of note from the obs so I decided to take a look at the east cliffs in the hope of seeing Puffins. Hundreds of Guillemots with smaller numbers of Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Fulmars were flying around the cliffs providing some spectacular views but unfortunately the Puffins decided to stay hidden. Since the time was limited we set off home but an adult Yellow Legged Gull in Weymouth added some final interest and brought the final trip list to an impressive 112 species.

Dorset Trip (part 2)

2010-06-20T15:20:00.004+01:00

Wednesday 2nd June
Another early start, I was making a habit of it. Awake at 6 for another morning at Portland in much more favourable conditions. The local birders were already present when I arrived at 7, set up with there scopes on the patio. Unfortunately there was a slight heat haze over the sea meaning visibility was restricted to a couple of metres offshore. Very slow to start of with with just a 2 Manx Shearwaters east being the only notable sightings; however after about 40 minutes I picked out a dark bird flying east. I assumed it was another Manx until I noticed that it had dark undersides and very pointed wings, as well as being slightly larger, an Arctic Skua (year tick). The next hour passed very slowly with a flock of 38 Common Scoters east being the only sighting of note. After this attention turned to passerines as Martin the warden brought Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler to the patio so we could see them in the hand, beautiful birds made even better when seen in such fine detail.

A pair of Linnets and a singing Willow Warbler were also present in the garden but eluded capture. At 8:40 a birder came and informed us that a Spoonbill had been seen over Southwell. not an annual bird on Portland so caused quite a stir. I decided not to go and search for it as I had seen seen 1 the previous day; this turned out to be a wise choice as at 8:55 Martin shouted to us that he had the Spoonbill heading over the lighthouse at the bill. Good views were obtained through the scope before it flew fast out to see and was lost in the haze. We had to be back at the house by 10 so I decided to head off earlier so we could stop off at the car park at Ferrybridge to see if anything was on the fleet. A pair of Wimbrel and a Bar Tailed Godwit were feeding in the shallows as were a trio of Little Egrets. Looking out towards the centre of the water and the tern structure I quickly located a single Little Tern (year tick) resting on a nest and at least 2 others fishing close by, my 4th tern species of the trip. Since it was my turn to choose what we were doing that day I chose to head down to Arne RSPB near Poole Harbour to look for some heathland species. If you haven't already been to Arne it is well worth a visit as the habitat and scenery is spectacular, as well as having some brilliant wildlife. My parents went to look around Wareham so me and my brother took a look around the heathland section of the reserve. The area was alive with the calls of Meadow Pipits and a few Tree Pipits were performing their parachuting courtship flights. Stonechates were conspicuous with at least 5 males present but there was no sign of my main target species, Dartford Warbler. After doing the circuit of the heath we started to head back towards the car park but sidetracked by a small pond in a clearing in the woods (where Simon King was filming raft spiders for springwatch the next day). It was alive with Dragonflies with a stunning male Emperor guarding it's territory against all intruders, mainly Four Spotted Chasers.

As we were watching these a man pointed us towards an area of gorse where he had been watching a male Dartford Warbler for about 10 minutes. We headed over with him and he quickly shouted to us that it was still there but I couldn't manage to see it, although it was continually calling. It took over 5 minutes before I got brief views if this superb male Dartford Warbler (lifer 244). Unfortunately it remained elusive and at this time we had to go. However I would be coming back later to look for Nightjars.
Me and my Dad reached the reserve at 19:30 meaning we had 2 hours to search the reserve before the car park closed at 21:30. We headed up to the area of heath where I had been earlier on. We passed a patch of gorse near to the path where someone had told us was a good place to see Dartford Warbler when I noticed a movement amongst the vivid yellow of the flowers. Binoculars raised and yes a superb male Dartford Warbler singing it's heart out from the top of the gorse. Amazingly it was joined by a second, probably a female and they flew towards a small tree even closer than they were at first, giving stunning views. Unfortunately I could only get some record shots in the low light (above). We then headed round to a bench that gave good views over a large area of woodland and heath land where I hoped the Nightjars might appear. A pair of Stonechats showed well in the setting sun light as did a male Whinchat (year tick). At least 6 Sika Deers were feeding in the clearing below us, these were a first for me.

We waited in this area till 20:45 when the light started to go and my dad wanted to look round the rest of the heath heath before we had to leave. There wasn't much about until suddenly out of nowhere the most amazing and eerie sound cut through the twilight, the Nightjars had started. At least 4 males were calling from all around us filling the night air with their spell binding calls. 1 was calling from a small area of trees so I decided to keep watch and sure enough seconds later a Nightjar (lifer 245) flew out and circled round before diving back into the trees. Unfortunately it didn't repeat this and soon we had to leave and go home. However this brought my trip list up to 100 species.

Dorset Trip (Part 1)

2010-06-06T18:40:00.005+01:00

Saturday 29^th May

A week in Dorset, what more could I ask for? Well to start with I would have preferred if the rarest Lancashire bird for 3 years, the stunning White Tailed Lapwing at Seaforth, could have turned up a week earlier so I could have tried to see it. Hopefully it will stick around or move to a more accessible location by the time I get back. Anyway the day started at 6 with packing for the week and listening to the Sedge Warbler calling behind my garden. I set my self a target of seeing 100 species for the week and had 17 target species I wanted to see, Balearic Shearwater, Nightjar, Dartford Warbler and Woodlark the main targets. I started my list when we got into the car and the first species was the local Mallard pair sat on top of my neighbour’s roof. Unfortunately the weather was horrible for the first 2 hours and my list was struggling to get into double figures. After 3 hours the weather lifted slightly and my first unexpected sight of the trip was a pair of Little Egrets which flew out of a field by the motorway. My heart jumped slightly when I thought 1 of the birds had an orange bill but was mistaken and they were both of the commoner variety. The rest of the journey passed without anything of particular interest, ending with 31 species on arrival at the cottage in Osmington, about 5 miles from Weymouth. The weather still was brilliant but since we were staying only a mile from the sea I decided to explore the area and walk down to the beach. Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers were calling from the woods along the path to the beach as was a single Lesser Whitethroat. The sea was very rough as there was a strong offshore wind blowing towards the land. I only took a brief look but a single Gannet passed west while I was there. A Rock Pipit fed busily on the rocks below me on the cliff taking the day total up to 39 species.

Sunday 30^th May

Planned to get up early so I could walk down to the beach and see what wildlife the local area had to offer; fat chance that was going to happen. Drowsily pulled myself out of bed at 9 but was down at the beach for 10. The sea was completely devoid of birds except for a single Cormorant briefly fishing. The History of the coast here was obvious to see with old gun emplacements all along the coast pointing out to sea, towards an oncoming storm. I took a brief rest at 1 of these battlements to take a look through the gorse bushes lining the edge of the cliff. A pair of Linnets flitted from top to top as they moved slowly eastwards, the male in stunning full breeding plumage. The local Jackdaws were squabbling at their nests on the cliff face until they got distracted by a large female Peregrine Falcon surveying the area for any prey, before setting it’s sights on a pigeon and setting off in hot pursuit; unfortunately this time she failed to make a kill but I’m sure she will succeed soon. By this time the weather system was moving in so we headed back to the cottage, the walk producing Skylark, Whitethroat and Reed Bunting for the trip list. A brief lunch stop was extended to give time to watch the Grand Prix; Hamilton and Button finishing 1^st and 2^nd J then a quick afternoon visit to my first reserve of the holiday, RSPB Lodmoor. The noise from the tern colony hit me as I stepped out of the car and I immediately headed for the cacophony coming from the closest lake. Over 70 Common Terns were nesting on the 2 shingle islands in the centre of the lake with birds constantly coming and going as they made their way over our heads and out to sea to fish. After looking through them few minutes the whole flock was spooked by a Kestrel overhead and I was able to pick out the single Arctic Tern which was holding territory in the centre of the colony. Apart from the terns there was very little birdlife on the lake with a few pairs of Tufted Duck and Shelduck present and a small flock of 9 Dunlin busily feeding in the shallows. We decided to walk down to the reed area of the reserve to try and connect with a few warblers. The bushes by the path were alive with birds with Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats being the commonest species. The best sight however was a family of 3 recently fledged Willow Warblers being fed franticly by the parent’s right next to path, seemingly undisturbed by the presence of people. The reeds themselves were full of singing Sedge and Reed Warblers, all other sound seemed to be drowned out by these charismatic yet elusive creatures. Even more elusive was a Water Rail which was calling but evaded being seen apart from a split second view as it moved from 1 area of cover to another. Unfortunately at this point we had to leave and with no more additions to the list the day ended on 62 species for the week.

Monday 31^st May
Another hot day, British weather finally coming good at the time I needed it to. The morning was spent lazing around the house while everyone else was out shopping, not my favourite pastime in the world, before an afternoon visit to the local reserves. My parents dropped me down at the visitor centre at Radipole RSPB right in the centre of Weymouth, an interesting yet in my opinion not a great site for a reserve as the noise from the nearby roads and train track could be heard all across the reserve. By the visitor centre was a small corridor of water and a small group of mallards getting fed by the public. Almost immediately I picked out a smaller and more colourful individual, even without binoculars it was obvious I was looking at the male Hooded Merganser. As I watched it it became obvious why it has become such a problem for the committees to decide if it is a genuine vagrant or an escapee. At times it was mingling with the mallards quite happily and was even taking bread that the public were feeding to it; however at other times it was successfully fishing along the edge of the reeds acting perfectly wild. It goes on my trip list and joins Ross’s Goose on my non BOU life list but not on my world life or year lists. Away from the merganser both species of grebe were present on the main lake as were 3 Black Tailed Godwits on the island. Apart from these it was surprisingly quiet so I decided to walk a kilometre or so to the north hide where I hoped to get Marsh Harrier. The reeds along the path were alive with Reed and Sedge Warblers and a few Cettis’ Warblers put in brief appearances. There was a local birder in North Hide who gave me the simple sentence of nothing whatsoever when I asked if anything had been seen. A nice surprise came when a pair of Turtle Doves (year tick) flew west over the lake and past the hide, the first of my targets for the trip. I wasn’t getting the feeling that Radipole was the great reserve I had heard about so I decided to pack up early and walk down to Lodmoor; personally for me a much nicer reserve. A couple of birders were at the viewpoint overlooking the main lake on the reserve and they pointed out the Arctic Tern to me on the closest island. Single Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers were feeding on the mud at the back of the lake along with a quartet of Dunlins in full summer plumage. Every now and then all the terns flew up from the islands, usually without any obvious reason, however on 1 occasion a large female peregrine gave them real cause for concern. Time was pressing so I started to head back along the coastal path to Osmington. A pair of Sandwich Terns fishing at the base of the cliff brought my trip tern list up to 3 species. Then as I was watching them a pair of Buzzards (record shot of 1 doing a kestrel impression below) flew over me mewing before diving towards the cliff; as they rose up again they were joined by 3 more then another 2 appeared from the south all circling upwards on a thermal. They were also joined by a pair of Ravens, what I sight! The rest of the afternoon passed without incident until me and my mum headed off to Portland to stay the night at the bird observatory. Upon arrival there were a few birders set up with scopes on the patio. A steady trickle of Manx Shearwaters (year tick) were heading past quite close in to the shore along with smaller number of Fulmar (year tick) and larger numbers of Guillemots and Razorbills. About 40 shearwaters passed before the light started to go so we turned in for the night, an early morning awaited. The day ended on 78 species for the trip.

Tuesday 1^st June

Rain. Great for gardeners yet terrible for my only morning at the bird obs. The weather meant that the mist nets couldn’t be put up for trapping birds so my ideas of seeing passerines in the hand quickly evaporated. Despite this I could see quite far out to sea so I set up my scope and did a couple of hours of sea watching. A small count of 13 Manx Shearwaters flew past (12 west, 1 east) and no sign of any BalearicsL. A single Shag (year tick) flew east as did 9 Common Scoters and a steady trickle of auks flew towards the colonies on the west cliffs. Unfortunately after 8 am the visibility decreased to such a level that the sea was no longer visible so we headed of home slightly disappointed. The weather was slowly getting better in the afternoon so my parents decided to go down to the swannery at Abbotsbury to try and see some young hatching. I tagged along in the hope that there would be some birds on the fleet, I was right. The swannery was an interesting place with over 300 Mute Swans nesting sometimes in the middle of the paths through the various pens. In any other part of the country the parents wouldn’t let you within a mile of their young without trying to see you off, whereas there I had to use the macro setting on my camera because the young were too close! A pair of Black Swans was also nesting amongst the sea of mutes, providing a splash of colour amongst the endless white. I decided to set up at the end of the bank looking out onto the fleet where there was a wide range of species present. As I was scanning along the bank of Chesil beach I picked out a large white bird flying high above the water, mute swan I thought considering where we were, however I decided to take a look anyway. Much less stockier built than the swans and a huge bill meant it could only be 1 species, Spoonbill (year tick)! It carried on its flight path before landing on the far bank and started feeding busily. I managed to get my dad onto it as it was feeding, a lifer for him. Great Crested Grebes were everywhere on the fleet with 18 counted in 1 sweep with my binoculars. There was an island in the middle of the water and a closer look revealed terns nesting on it, mainly Common Tern but a pair of Arctic Terns was flying around as well. After the swan feed we headed back and while my parents were looking at the shop I went off to the car. A loud and distinct call came from a nearby wood as a medium size bird shot out and landed on a telegraph pole; my first of many Green Woodpeckers (year tick) on the trip and one of my favourite noises in the bird world. Nothing more to see so we headed home and with no more holiday ticks the day ended on 84 species.

Interesting Garden Bird :D

2010-06-06T09:56:00.003+01:00

A brief visitor to my garden early this morning, suspect I can't add to my garden list :D

Insect ID's Needed

2010-06-05T16:53:00.002+01:00

Just got back from my trip to Dorset and need help in identifying these Drangonflies and a Butterfly. I think the 2nd Dragonfly is an Emporer but not sure. Any help appreciated.

Finally, Birding at last!

2010-05-20T12:31:00.002+01:00

After nearly 3 weeks of not being able to get out I decided to go do some birding no matter where it was. With a french exam the next day I should have been revising but as the sun was out with a few hours of light left I persuaded my mum to drop me down at Stannah just for a walk along the river.

With the tide being out the river level was low meaning a lack of ducks except the resident Shelducks. A Sedge Warbler that was calling from an area of reeds next to the path eluded my eyes as did a Wren a little further down the track. The mainly hawthorn hedgerow that snaked along the field and track boundary was alive with birds calling, the highlight being a Common Whitethroat sitting out in the open for a change, with the supporting cast being at least 3 male Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. The river was almost devoid of life with Oystercatchers and Curlews being the only waders on show.

As I was scanning towards Shard Bridge from the yacht club slipway, I picked up a couple of white birds mobbing a crow as it glided over the water and onto the far bank. Assuming they were Black Headed Gulls I usually would have carried on scanning and not given them a second look but I decided to anyway and realised it was a good decision. More slenderly built, black cap and red bills and short forked tail, Common Terns (year 165). After leaving the crow to it's business they continued downriver before being lost from view.

The rest of the evening passed without anything of real interest being seen. A pair of Great Tits were feeding young on the golf course as I walked across and I suspect a Mistle Thrush nearby also had a nest in the vicinity.

Easter Holiday Photos

2010-05-01T17:52:00.003+01:00

A few photos to go with my last post about the easter holidays.

Easter Holidays 2nd - 18th April

2010-04-27T10:40:00.002+01:00

I know this post is a bit late but as I didn't post after each trip I took during the Easter holidays I decided to do the whole 2 weeks in one big post, so be warned this is going to be quite a big read.

Friday the 2nd
The only post I have already done about the holiday so won't go into detail. A trip down to Rossal Point produced a summer plumaged Black Throated Diver, 6 Red Throated Divers, 3 Guillemot, 2 Razorbill and 3 Gannets.
2010 Yearlist - 137

Sunday the 4th
My third successive dip of the Great Grey Shrike at Waddington Fell was the main disappointment of the holidays. A flyover Raven was the only bird of note from the site. Then on the way back we stopped off at Brockholes Quarry to check through the hirundines on the river. Over 35 Swallows where feeding over the river and I could pick out at least 4 Sand Martins (year tick) with them.
2010 Yearlist - 138

Tuesday the 6th
A short 10 minute look out of my bedroom window produced by first Fylde Swallow of the year going north. Then it was down to Rossal Point to try and get some more seabirds that I had missed on my last visit. The wind was slightly stronger and the tide a little further out meaning what seabirds there were were distant. A flock of 4 Red Throated Divers flew in from the north before landing on the sea quite close inshore. After about 30 minutes or so I picked up a Kittiwake (year tick) behind an incoming ferry and soon after a flock of 3 Sandwich Terns (year tick) alighted on the beach not far from me giving great views. These were soon joined by 2 more and I waited for them to depart before I took my leave.
2010 Yearlist - 140

Friday the 9th
Since the weather was nice but my parents were at work I decided to try and beat the day record for number of species seen from my house, at the time standing at 34. I passed the 25 species mark with ease but as usual the next 10 were allot more difficult to get. A quartet of Greylag Geese flew south west and the resident Little Egrets continued to show in the dyke's around the fields behind my house. Birds of prey put in appearances with the local female Sparrowhawk and male Kestrel hunting and interest was added with a pair of Buzzards distantly over the River Wyre, a species not seen annually from my house. Only the 3rd garden record of Stock Dove took the list to 33 species, 1 off the record and this was then equalled by a trio of Mistle Thrushes that alighted briefly in the bushes in the field. So with only 30 minutes of light left could I get the another species to beat the record. No is the answer to that, I got 2 more species and both yearticks to boot. A superb male Blackcap (year tick) fed hungrily on the berries from the Hawthorn bushes behind the house and a pair of House Martins (year tick) barrelled overhead. So 36 species an excellent total for the day but I reckon I can still beat it at the height of migration.
2010 Yearlist - 142

Saturday the 10th
A quick pop over Wyre produced little of interest. A Little Ringed Plover (year tick) and a Greenshank were on Conder Pool and a pair of Twite (year tick) were feeding on the beach at Knott End. These were only meer distractions from what was generally a disappointing day.
2010 Yearlist - 144

Sunday the 11th
A day of ups and downs and quite probably my biggest birding upset ever. Leighton Moss was the site for the day with a stop at Woodwell to try and get Hawfinch. However as is usually the case with this most elusive species there was no sign of any but a singing Willow Warbler (year tick) and at least 5 Chiffchaffs provided some distractions. Then it was down to Leighton Moss where the real action was taking place. A stunning male Bullfinch was at the feeding station and was joined by a Nuthtach. Then down to Lilians Hide in the hope of seeing some of the Marsh Harriers (year tick); I didn't have long to wait before they showed up. At least 2 possibly females were hunting over the reeds and a single male was bringing material into 2 nest sights. A single Sedge Warbler (year tick) was singing next to the hide. Then we went to get some lunch and I had a look in the log book, something I regret doing now, a White Tailed Sea Eagle had been seen flying over the reserve while I had been in the hide :(. We headed towards the causeway and soon met up with the people who had seen this magnificent bird. I had following it's movements for the last few days as it had been moving up and down the east coast then headed west. I had hoped that it would turn up in Lancashire but I never would have thought I'd have been so close and still not seen it. The rest of the day passed without incident so we headed home with me feeling totally disappointed.
2010 Yearlist - 147

Tuesday the 13th
With the Langed Valley having an impressive recent run of Mealy Redpoll, Hen Harrier and Ring Ouzel I tried to persuade my dad to take me there and as it involved some walking he agreed. We found the parking area with little difficulty and I immediately located a small flock of Lesser Redpolls in the trees around the path. Unfortunately they were quite high up which meant looking through them was a challenge for the eyes and my neck. I had a possible female briefly but the flock flew off and I lost it. 4 Siskins, at least 4 Chiffchaffs and a single Willow Warbler were also flitting around the trees. We then headed up into te valley itself to look for the my other day target species. Scanning along the top of a ridge with my binoculars I picked up a large bird of prey gliding into the valley. As it got closer I could see the unmistakable grey colouring of a male Hen Harrier (year tick). It came into the valley then turned round and headed along a ridge before disappearing from view. Up on the hillside above us a pair of Sheppard's were herding some of their sheep with quad bikes and dogs. 1 of the dogs charged into an area of heather and flushed a medium sized, chestnut coloured bird, Red Grouse (year tick)! Although a fairly common bird on the Lancashire moors and around the trough of Bowland it had up until this point been my biggest bogey bird for Lancashire so I was very pleased to get these, albeit brief views. We had just reached the end of the track when a call rang out from a patch of trees next to the path, seconds later a small black bird flew out from these trees calling as it did, a female Ring Ouzel (year tick). With this target bird seen we headed back to the car and to try and pin down a Mealy Redpoll. I noticed that most of the little birds were drinking from a pool by the edge of the river, so I set myself up near it to see what came down; I didn't have to wait long to be rewarded as a stunning male Mealy Redpoll (lifer 242)flew in and started drinking. These views were enough to round off a good day so we headed home.
2010 Yearlist - 151

Wednesday the 14th
Just a very quick evening visit to Marton Mere produced the hoped for singing Reed Warbler (year tick). I was more focusing on photographing to birds in the light from the setting sun and will upload some pictures alter.
2010 Yearlist - 152

Thursday the 15th
My first visit of the year to Heysham to try and get the returning Black Guillemot that had eluded me in 2009. Unfortunately I couldn't pin the bird down even though it had been seen in the morning and was seen by Zac later on in the evening! I managed to pick out the Purple Sandpiper (year tick) on the wooden jetty with over 50 Turnstone. The sea was very quiet but my first Arctic Terns (year tick) of the year flew north, a sure sign that spring has arrived, as was the steady stream of Swallows passing through the harbour. With little else about I headed off not knowing I'd be back allot sooner than I expected.
2010 Yearlist - 154

Sunday the 18th
The last day of the holidays and my dad had said that he definitely wouldn't take me as he had allot of work to do, how wrong he was. At 09:34 I was looking on Birdguides when I report of a Hoopoe from Heysham set my heart racing. Now my Dad usually wouldn't take me twitching because he doesn't see the point of going to see a rare but sometimes very boring bird e.g. the Pallid Swift from Crosby the previous year. However even he couldn't resist the charm of a Hoopoe so an hour later we were arriving on the North Harbour wall at Heysham. A small crowd of birders were already present at the entrance to the sandworks and as we walked over a guy let us look through his scope to get out first views of this stunning Hoopoe (lifer 243). I quickly set my scope up and got onto the bird which was feeding along the top of a sand bank along with 2 Wheatears (year tick). It continued showing for the next 20 minutes when it was lost from view so I decided to go and have look at the sea from the end of the wall. A few birders were already here and 1 pointed out the Purple Sandpiper which was still present on the wooden jetty. Flocks of Curlew were flying south over the harbour as the tide went out and in amongst these I managed to pick out a pair of Wimbrels (year tick). Since the Hoopoe hadn't been seen again we headed up to the Nature Reserve to try and see any of the 3 male Redstarts that had been reported during the morning. Upon arriving in the car park a couple of birders were looking through the scopes into an area of bushes, where I presumed the Redstarts must be, so imagine my surprise when I went across and they exclaimed that the Hoopoe was sitting on the fence not 40 feet away. It showed even better than it had down in the harbour and as more birders arrived it flew down onto the floor and started feeding. Around 20 birders had arrived by now and the bird was showing exceptionally for all of us as it flew up onto a fence and extended it's crest out into it's full glory. It stayed like this for about 10 minutes before flying of and onto the nearby golf course. At this point someone pointed out a male Redstart (year tick) sitting near to where the Hoopoe had been. This was a first for Lancashire for me and with this I decided to head home after a very good day.
2010 Yearlist - 158

So overall the holidays produced 2 lifers, 4 county ticks and 25 yearticks. I will upload some pictures from the 2 weeks in a few days after people have had time to read this.

Moth ID Needed??

2010-04-23T07:36:00.003+01:00

Moth caught in bedroom last night. Not a species I've seen before so any help would be greatly appreciated.

That time of Year

2010-04-03T23:02:00.003+01:00

Looking back through my logbook it's this time of year that I get some of my best sea watching results from Rossall Point. But unfortunately the weather forecast for Friday was rain after 11:00 and my dad was having the car repaired till 11:00. However not for the first time the forecasters got it wrong and it hadn't started raining when my dad got back so I jumped at the chance to head down to Rossal.

After setting my scope up the first bird that flew into view was a Great Crested Grebe flying south. It usually takes a while before I see anything so this was a good sign. A quick scan revealed a couple of Gannets a long way out and 4 Red Breasted Mergansers on the sea. On the second scan I picked up a couple of birds quite far out on the water. Looking closer I could see they were both divers. The first was a typical winter plumaged Red Throated Diver (year tick) however the second looked different. It had a very distinct white patch on the flank, a very dark throat and much darker more uniform back, a belting summer plumaged Black Throated Diver (fylde tick)! It was floating in on the tide and gave great views. A steady trickle of distant auks flew south and only when some came close did I manage to identify 3 Guillemot (year tick) and 2 Razorbill (year tick). 3 male Common Scoters were my first in the fylde for the year. A steady flow of Lesser Black Back Gulls were flying in from the other side of the bay and it was almost a year ago to the day that I found an Iceland Gull in similar movement. No interesting gulls today however. So all in all one of my best sea watches from Rossall and takes me up to 137 for the year.

70 species day!

2010-03-30T09:51:00.005+01:00

On Saturday I had an amazing day birding around Lancashire. The day started at 06:00 (yes I know it was the weekend but was watching F1) and I quickly got the resident male Sparrowhawk and more unusual a flock of 6 Meadow Pipits in the fields behind my house. My dad said he would take me out from 1-5pm so I had to find somewhere to go in the morning. Since the sun was out and my camera had become worryingly under used I decided to take a trip on the bus down to Stanley Park and Marton Mere. Typically I missed the bus by about 30 seconds so while I was waiting for the next 1 I took a few shot of the Daffodils and Crocus's in Poulton Churchyard. My bad luck continued as the sun decided to do a disappearing act before I arrived at the park. At the north end I counted at least 20 Grey Herons in the heronry most on nests. At least 4 Chiffchaffs, my first migrants in the Fylde this year, were singing around the north end, some giving great views. The local Grey Squirrels took some interest as I was putting some nuts in a feeder and this 1 came into a tree about 1 foot from me and climbed up to head height and just waited for me to go, completely tame.
Then came one of my favourite ever birding moments. As I crossed the west bridge I noticed a Great Crested Grebe swimming very close to the bank. I had never managed to get decent pictures of grebes before so I headed down to the bank to try and photograph it. When I got to a reasonably close distance I got my camera out and a I was attaching the lens I noticed a second and quickly a third bird a little way off. At once the first bird went into it's aggressive position, whole body low to the water, crest fully up. 1 of the other birds mirrored this move and started swimming purposefully towards the first bird. However the second bird was soon chased off but hung around further away this time. The original bird then approached the third bird (complicated I know) and began to start the courting dance, a spectacle I've never witnessed before and one I feel privileged to have seen. They both did this for over 20 minutes, occasionally one would dive down and come back up with some weed and present it the the other. They eventually stopped and the male went back to patrolling the stretch of water. I decided to have a walk around Marton Mere after this in the hope of seeing the Mediterranean Gulls that had been around. There weren't any gulls on the Lawson Road playing fields as I walked past so I assumed they would be on the mere; I was wrong. There was only a handful of Black Headed Gulls and no Mediterranean amongst them. The mere was quite quiet with the only birds of interest being a singing Cetti's Warbler, 2 Goldeneye, and at least 5 more singing Chiffchaffs. There weren't any of the hoped or Hirudines either. So I headed back to the park to try and see the grebes again.
When I arrived a couple of people were already set up with their tripods and larger lenses. I recognised them both immediately, Cliff Raby who I had met on my last trip to the park, and Mick Foster who teaches at my school. Like me they were photographing the Great Crested Grebes. Over the half an hour I was there 1 male (I'm assuming it was male) was guarding a patch of water under the bridge and attacking anything that came near. 2 other pairs were a little further out and a pair were on the other lake, 1 sitting on a nest. So that's at least 7 in all which is a park record for me. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew through the trees above me as I was walking back towards the bus stop.

After lunch I persuaded my dad to take my down to Marshside to try and see the Green Winged Teal that had been present for a week or so. We headed down to Sandgrouses Hide first as large flocks of waders had been circling around the marshes close to it. Once I set up my scope I quickly found about 10 Avocet, a couple of Snipe and hundreds of Wigeon. After re-finding the American Wigeon at Glasson in February I couldn't resist searching through it's Eurasians cousins in the hope of finding another one, no sign of any though so I headed to Nel's Hide to try and find my target bird. On arrival it became immediately obvious that this wouldn't be so easy as the Teal were spread out over the entire marsh. After a first sweep with the scope there was no sign so I turned my attention to the other birds on the water. A flock of 42 Avocets, my biggest ever, was roosting in the centre of the marsh accompanied with over 1000 Black Tailed Godwits many coming into their summer plumage. A second search of the teal drew a blank but about three quarters of the way through the third I picked out the inconspicous white shoulder flashes of the Green Winged Teal. Although it was quite distant, too distant for photos, it showed well in the company of a pair of Pintail. This took my day total to 70 species which is my 4th highest ever.

Sorry

2010-03-29T16:04:00.002+01:00

My blog seems to be playing up at the moment it won't upload pictures into posts and won't let me view pictures in posts that have already been posted. Is it doing this for anyone else?

Fleetwood Area - 21/03/10

2010-03-24T15:39:00.003Z

Finally did my first sea-watch of the year, however as I expected I was about a week to early so only a very small handful of migrants were seen. A flock of 9 Gannets flew south soon after I arrived, the first to be seen in the Fylde this year. A small total of 8 Meadow Pipits north were the only overhead migrants but a pair of Skylarks were singing on the golf course. A flock of 3 Sanderlings and 8 Ringed Plovers were on the beach providing some distraction from the empty sea. After an hour I decided to pack up and headed down to Fleetwood Nature Reserve instead.

A single female Goldeneye was on the main pools along with a male Shoveler and 18 Tufted Ducks. On the smaller pool was the usual Little Grebe and a Snipe flew over and into the reed bed. The exact species I'm not sure about because the size pointed towards Jack Snipe but the views were to brief for me to confirm this. At least 4 Skylarks were singing some giving great views as they flew down and landed less than 10ft away; typically I had left my camera at home. Unfortunately there were no Wheatear about, a year to the day I saw my first of last year at the same site.

Since we still had some time left I decided to have a quick look at the ICI Reservior to get some better views of the Ring Necked Duck which is still hanging around since first appearing on the 29th December. It showed brilliantly at the far end of the reservior along with 2 Red Breasted Mergansers. 7 Goldeneye, 2 Little Grebe and a few Pochard. The photo is from when i saw the bird for the first time at Preesal Flashes on the 30th December. Determined to get some better shots this weekend.

Spring Migrants

2010-03-20T21:39:00.003Z

I'm up to date now with posting and will be posting more often now that I've caught up with all my work. The 2 pictures are from Leighton Moss a couple of weeks ago. The Great White Egret was my third at the site in 3 years. The Snipe was 1 of a pair that were feeding in front of Lilians Hide giving great views out in the open. 4 more were feeding in front of the Tim Jackson hide.

Went looking for the Great Grey Shrike at Waddington fell this afternoon but the weather didn't help, pouring rain. We found the lay by where it had been seen from easily and set my scope up and had a look around. A couple of Pheasants were the only birds on show over about 30 minutes of looking. After this I gave up and decided to head down to Brockholes Quarry to try and get some early migrants. We parked at the entrance and had a look over the river. A chattering noise above me made me look up to see a pair of Swallows hawking for insects. My first of the year and a sign that spring is here. A Chiffchaff was singing half heartedly near to the entrance gate, another year first.

Catch Up

2010-03-12T07:24:00.004Z

Sorry for the lack of posting recently I've got nearly 2 weeks to catch up on. Only a quick update today as I'm going away for the weekend so will be even more bogged down when I get back.

I visited Martin Mere on the 27th of February to try and get a new part for my telescope that was broken at the time. We only had an hour there but since the swans were being fed when we arrived we decided to go and watch them for a bit. Over 800 Whooper Swans were still present as well as several hundred Pintail coming right up to the hide. About 30 Ruff (year tick 122) and a flock of 14 Avocets (year tick 123) were on the mere, the Avocets being my earliest ever record. After getting my telescope fixed, which took only a couple of minutes and a cost of £9 we headed for the harrier hide to try and see the Green Winged Teal that had been seen. Unfortunately it wasn't showing so we then spent a short time in the united utilities hide before we went. A pair of Peregrines showed brilliantly hunting close to the hide before perching on some fence posts giving good scope views. I also managed to spot the presumed escape Red Breasted Goose for the first time with about 15 feral Barnacle Geese. If it had been with the Pink Foots I may have been inclined to count it on my life list but it's staying as an escapee for now.

Garden Ducks

2010-03-03T20:01:00.003Z

Last spring and early summer we had a pair of mallards visiting our front garden which we fed regularly. I hadn't seen them since last June so was pleasantly surprised to see not 2 but 4 mallards coming down my street this afternoon. A slice of bread later they were feeding quite happily on our front lawn. The 2 birds from last year were still present (female and middle male) and had been joined by an additional 2 males. Hopefully all 4 will stay around and allow for better photographs to be taken of them.

Wales Weekend - Red and Black

2010-02-28T17:17:00.005Z

After seeing endless pictures of the juvenile Black Kite and Gigrin Farm in wales for weeks I decided to try and persuade my parents to take me there in the holidays, and amazingly they gave in. My mum found a gorgeous little cottage with a river running at the bottom of the garden in the middle of a valley so on the Friday morning we set off. A small flock of Curlew in a roadside field were the first birds of interest of the trip. Single Buzzard and Kestrel were seen before we reached the motorway with several of the former seen on the stretch between Blackpool and Preston. Waterbirds made there way onto the trip list as we went past Brockholes Quarry with Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Coot andMallard being seen. Few birds were seen after that until we got just north of Newtown in Wales where we got stuck in traffic for over an hour. Since I didn't have my binoculars (broken) I resorted to taking photos of distant birds then zooming in to identify them. After several Grey Herons and more Buzzards were identified I snapped another bird flying over the top of a hill. Zooming in I fully expected to see another buzzard so was pleasantly surprised to see a slightly pixilated Red Kite (year tick 116) on my camera screen. After clearing the traffic it was only 20 minutes to the cottage but 4 more Red Kites were seen along the higher stretch of road, braining the bird of prey numbers for the journey to 28 Buzzard, 5 Red Kites and 3 Kestrels. The owner of the cottage was waiting for us and showed us round including taking us down the quite long garden with the river flowing along it's edge. My brother spotted a pair of Dippers (year tick 117) feeding in the shallows and about 10 minutes later a Kingfisher (year tick 118) shot by. Surprisingly these were the only views I had of both species over the weekend. We only had an hour of light left so not many species were seen but a Raven flew over the ridge above the house and about 10 Coal Tits visited the feeders I had set up in the garden.
The next morning I had my first opportunity to properly look around the garden and see what species visited it. Over 10 centimetres of snow had fallen during the night leaving a crisp white layer on the ground creating a picture perfect scene. I took me camera out with me into the garden and set up in between 2 bushes in view of a couple of my feeders. Lots of Blue and Coal Tits as well as smaller numbers of Great Tits and Chaffinches visited the feeders and the food on the ground. 3 separate Robins hopped around some coming between a foot of me and after a while a superb Nuthatch came onto the nuts and duly took 1 in it's bill before flying away as quickly as it had appeared. A "pitcho" call above my head made me snap upwards to see a Marsh Tit hopping around in the branches directly over me. It slowly grow in confidence and eventually came down to the feeders where it was quickly joined by a second then a third. Then a fourth appeared and flew into a nearby tree and gave a completely different call, Willow Tit (year tick 119). I was delighted to see this as it is a species that I struggle to see some years. After everyone had had breakfast and got themselves ready we headed out into the local town Llandrindod Wells so that my mum and dad could do a bit of shopping and just generally mooching around. A Sparrowhawk over the town centre lifted me from my boredom briefly but luckily they got bored quickly so we headed off towards Gigrin Farm and the red kites. Since we had over 2 hours to kill before the kites were fed so we headed up to Edan valley for a walk. However we took a wrong turning and ended up driving up onto the moors along the side of a beautiful valley with a small lake at the bottom. We pulled over by the side of the road and I got my scope out (the only time I used it on the trip). A pair of Little Grebes and a Teal were present on the lake as well as several more Red Kites around the hills.
We decided to head down to Gigrin Farm early so that we could have our lunch and watch the kites building up. We arrived at 13:15 so had 45 minutes to eat our lunch and get a good seat in the hides. When we arrived there were already allot of people set up with some huge cameras in the tower hide so we went to one of the lower ones from where we could see the whole of the feeding area. A few kites flew over and about 30 Rooks and a single Raven were sat in a tree next to the field. With about 10 minutes to go a small congregation of kites appeared over a hill to the right of us and started circling getting closer to the field with every pass. Then the tractor appeared with the food and drove out through the snow to a point in the centre where it stopped and the man started throwing the meat around with a shovel. He then moved across to another point and did the same then departed the field. At once kites were everywhere filling the sky. I went into automatic taking picture after picture until about 15 minutes later I got a card full warning on my screen. Bugger. I had to delete about 100 photos before I could continue. After half an hour or so most of the kites had dispersed and I had time to look through my photos. Then out of nowhere a shout from the other end of the hide made me alert, Black Kite (life bird 241)! I immediately got onto it as it was flying straight towards us. Once again I started taking photos then after a while stopped and took the time just admire the stunning bird. Satisfied with my efforts we headed off full of joy of the spectacle we had just witnessed.
Back at the cottage a Great Spotted Woodpecker frequented the garden feeders and a Treecreeper showed how it got it's name. As dark set in a Tawny Owl (year tick 121) was first heard, then seen i the field on hte other side of the river.

The next day we had to head home early but a pair of Jays flew through the woods as we were packing up and the last species of the trip, Greenfinch were seen as we neard home.

Wales Pictures 20/02/10

2010-02-23T21:55:00.002Z

Will upload trip report when I can bogged down with school work at the moment.

New favourite picture

2010-02-17T16:02:00.002Z

Went out for 5 hours today to Stanley Park and Marton Mere. 11km in all which is a very good walk for me. The top picture is the favourite 1 I've ever taken as it sat in a tree only a metre or so above me. Other birds seen in the park include 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming, 2 Nuthatch and 3 Coal Tits. The at Marton Mere a pair of Long Eared Owls were showing brilliantly providing a valuable year tick.

Recent Sightings and Pics

2010-02-13T16:46:00.002Z

Sorry for lack of posting recently been busy with school work and revision. However I've managed to get out in the last couple of days and seen a few decent birds. 4 Ring Necked Parakeets were still in Lytham Crematorium yesterday calling and flying around giving great views. Then today been at Bispham Marsh to do abit of photography.

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 3

2010-02-10T18:20:00.002Z

Third part of my review of the year 2009.

June
Notoriously the most quiet month of the year and once again it lived it too it's boring reputation. On the morning of the 7th I noticed a bird calling in the morning as I got up for school in the bushes behind my house. It was a call I recognised but couldn't put my finger on what and couldn't locate the bird to identify it. This carried on every morning until the 10th when I managed to locate the bird and identified it as a stunning male Sedge Warbler. Although it isn't a rare bird it is a first for my garden and a surprise as they're isn't much water and reeds in the area. It carried on being seen till the 14th. Also on the 14th I took my first trip to Barbondale in north Lancashire which is a pristine woodland perfect for great woodland birds. I managed to locate a single Wood Warbler and a pair of Goldcrests. 4 Marsh Harriers were also seen that day at Leighton Moss including a superb adult male.

July
On the 3rd-5th we went up to Northumberland for my uncles birthday. I managed to get allot of birding in however. On the way up the road went along a section of the river Tweed and as we were driving I noticed a large bird over it. I assumed Buzzard then I noticed it was shaking water from it and it had a fish in it's talons, Osprey! Unfortunately we couldn't stop and the bird drifted from view. On the 4th we took a boat trip out to Coquet Island and saw over 20 Roseate Terns and a Mediterranean Gull. Back at home on the 6th I twitched a pair of Avocets just down the road at Skippool Creek and then on the 19th I finally vanquished my most embarrassing bird I hadn't seen, Green Woodpecker (year lifer 15). An adult and a juvenile bird at Brockholes Quarry, one of my favourite sites. That lifer was quickly followed by another on the 24th when a female Ruddy Shelduck (year lifer 16) turned up at Leighton Moss. And then on the 30th I managed to vanquish 2 more of my embarrassing birds and again 2 more woodland birds. At Haweswater me and my dad walked up into the woods and found a clearing surrounded by trees which was great for what I wanted. About 20 Spotted Flycatchers were feeding around the trees showing off why they're called flycatchers. After around 5 minutes I spotted a much paler bird, female Redstart (year lifer 17), yes target species 1. Then after another 10 minutes I noticed a bird in the tree closest to me, only about 10 metres away. Through the binoculars I could just about make it out as it hopped around, female Pied Flycatcher (year lifer 18), both target birds seen. A further female and juvenile Pied Flycatchers were seen.

August
A great month with allot of birding done as it was the holidays so 31 days to birdwatch. The first decent bird was on the 6th when I located a calling Quail on Rawcliffe Moss. I couldn't see it however so no lifer. Then on the 12th I got another embarrassing bird with the resident Yellow Legged Gull at Glasson Docks (year lifer 19) along with a Curlew Sandpiper. However the best birding of the month was on the 14th-16th with a weekend around the Wash in Lincolshire and Norfolk. A pair of Turtle Doves were around the campsite on the evening of the 14th and a Barn Owl hunted around the fields near them. On the 15th I had a trip to Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire then Titchwell in Norfolk. At Frampton a huge amount of waders were seen and in 1 sweep I counted 147 Common Snipe, 38 Ruff and single Wood Sandpiper and Little Stint. Then we headed up to the bank overlooking the salt marsh where my target species had been seen, Montague's Harrier. A Marsh Harrier briefly set the heart racing then a distinctively long winged bird appeared out of the heat haze. As it got closer I could see orange underparts and very long wings, yes Montague's Harrier (year lifer 20). Then later in the day a brilliant afternoon at Titchwell resulted in 2 Curlew Sandpipers, a Mediterranean Gull and 20+ Sandwich Terns. A few more decent birds were seen throughout the month e.g. 2 Scaup at Brockholes on the 18th and 2 Manx Shearwaters south past Starr Gate on the 20th. Then on the 28th I got my bird of the month and one of the rarest of the year. After a failed visit to Martin Mere on the 24th I had a second try on the 28th and in the Ron Barker Hide got my telescope onto a gorgeous female Wilson's Phalarope (year lifer 21). It showed well if a little distant. This was the last good bird of the month.

What A Day !!!

2010-02-07T20:17:00.003Z

(photo of 5 Bewicks Swans at Jeremy Lane yesterday)

Do you ever have one of those days when everything is perfect and you have the best luck in the world. If so you will know what I have felt like today.

I only had a couple of hours birding from 14:00 till when it got dark so I decided to try and get some year ticks overwyre. While driving past the junction between head dyke lane and Lancaster road I noticed a small flock of Pink Footed Geese in the fields beside the road. We pulled over and the first bird I got in my scope was a Pale Bellied Brent Goose. It was feeding very close to the road with around 150 Pink footed Geese giving excellent views. We then carried on towards Glasson but before we reached Sand Villa I noticed a smaller bird feeding with a pair of Mute Swans in a field by the road. On closer inspection I could see it was a Barnacle Goose. There were no Pink Footed Geese in the area so I was surprised to see it and hopefully it may stick around, plus it wasn't with the same Mute Swans yesterday.

We then headed to the Conder Estuary where I was desperate to try and see some waders that had eluded me so far this year. A Little Grebe was on the pools which was a later year tick than I had hoped. The only waders were Redshanks however so I headed round to a different vantage point in the hope of seeing some more, it paid off. A Greenshank was feeding just below where I was viewing and a little further upstream was the wintering Common Sandpiper.

From here I could see a large flock of Goldeneye on the lune so we headed down to Glasson docks. A large flock of Wigeon were on the bank of the river and as I was scanning through them I picked out a much paler bird. Although the light wasn't great I could make out a green eye strip with a very pale crown and chestnut sides and back rather than the usual grey, oh my god American Wigeon !!!!!!! It had been seen 9 days earlier a bit further down the coast but hadn't been seen since so I was overjoyed in finding it again. After double checking all the features I raced back to the car only then realising that my phone was at home. So 30 minutes later I was texting the news to Paul Slade who promptly texted the other Fylde Bird Club members about the sighting. Just before dusk I believe another person observed the bird.

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 2

2010-02-07T11:22:00.002Z

May
The month with the most lifers. My first trip of the month was to Crosby Marine Lake to see my rarest bird of the year. A large crowd was on the back of the lake so I headed over there and after around 5 minutes was rewarded with stunning views of the north wests first Pallid Swift(year lifer 7)! A great bird even thought the weather was a bit on the wet side. Later in the day we headed to Marshside and I managed to get another lifer in the form of 2 Little Stints (year lifer 8) along with a Garganey. On the 10th I did my own little bird race around the Fylde recording 87 species with the highlight being a Wood Sandpiper on the flood at Mythop. The rest of the month passed without incident until the 24th when I set off for a 5 day visit to Mull. The journey up saw 22 Buzzards and then when we got towards Oban, my first Hooded Crows (year lifer 9) of the trip. On the 25th we headed down to Oban to book a ferry crossing to Mull for the next day. In the harbour were 5 Black Guillemots (year lifer 10) including a pair that were sitting on a jetty and let you get within 5 feet of them. In the evening we went down to the beach were a couple of Red Throated Divers were swimming offshore and a pair of Crossbills flew over, a pair of species I would see allot more of over the week. Out first day on Mull on the 26th certainly delivered. We parked in a layby in Glen Moore and did a few searches of the surrounding hills. A Cuckoo flew over making it's trademark noise and a Peregrine cruised along a ridge. Then as I was scanning along a ridge a huge bird came over and started flying down the hill, WHITE TAILED SEA EAGLE !!!!!!!!!!!(year lifer 11). I got my brother and dad onto it as flew away from us but unfortunately my mum missed it. However she got her chance later in the day when we went to Loch Frisa to the see the breeding pair and managed to see both adults and both young in the nest. The 27th passed without incident then we had another trip onto Mull on the 28th. Another visit to loch frisa only produced views of only 1 of the eagles although it did give great views as it flew right above us. Time was short I decided we would headed down to Loch Buie to try and see some divers and grebes. On the way the road went around the edge of Loch Spelve with steep hills on the other side. As I was looking up at the cliff I saw a huge bird flying along the top of the ridge, once again I shouted out, GOLDEN EAGLE !!!!!! (year lifer 12). My dad stopped the car and I got telescope out and onto this magnificent bird. We all had great views before it flew out of sight so we headed down to Loch Buie. When we got there I immediately picked out a Red Throated Diver close inshore. My dad then said he had a pair of divers in a small bay close to us. I got my scope on them to reveal a beautiful pair of Black Throated Divers (year lifer 13) in full summer plumage. After around 5 minutes they took off and flew of into the setting sun, a truly amazing sight. Unfortunately I couldn't locate any Great Northern Divers so we headed back to the ferry. I thought that would be the end of the birds but on the journey home we stopped off at loch awe for something to eat. My brother spooted a pair of divers out in the middle of the loch and I managed to identify them as being Great Northern Divers (year lifer 14). So on the whole trip I saw 107 species including 6 lifers.

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 1

2010-02-05T15:58:00.004Z

After looking back through my logbook for last year I had the idea to do me review of the year. A month by month guide to my year and my best, rarest and favourite birds as well as sites.

January
I did my first birding on the 2nd with a short trip over Wyre t search for some geese. At Pilling Marsh a dark bellied Brent Goose was feeding with a huge flock of over 8000 Pink Footed Geese. Also seen that day was a Short Eared Owl was seen hunting over the fields at Bradshaw Lane. On the 11th I cycled to Bispham Marsh and was rewarded with an Adult Mediterranean Gull coming to bread along with a pair of Mandarins. I got my first lifers of the year on the same day. Me and my dad went down to Stannah to watch the high tide coming over the marsh. A few Common Snipe were flushed up then I noticed a smaller bird flying right towards us, Jack Snipe (year lifer 1)!! it flew right above our heads and a second bird did the same about 5 minutes later. We then walked further down the marsh to where a flock of Small birds were feeding on a small area of grass. The flock was mostly Linnets but then I noticed a much lighter coloured bird. I got my scope onto it and was surprised to see a Snow Bunting (year lifer 2)starring right back at me! After a minute or so the flock was forced off the marsh by the water and I lost sight of the bird. The rest of January was quiet until the 25th when another high tide meant I could see the Green Winged Teal that had been on the river Wyre for about a month. I viewed it distantly from Fleetwood Marsh as the teal flock fed on the far side of the river.

February
An after school visit to Stanley Park on the 5th resulted in a gorgeous 2nd Winter Glaucous Gull (year lifer 3). Unfortunately the lake was mostly frozen so the bird didn't hang around for long. Another trip over wyre on the 15th produced another owl and goose double with 3 Greenland White Fronted Geese at Bone Hill Lane and 2 Barn Owls at Bradshaw Lane. My first good bird of prey of the year showed brilliantly at Warton Marsh on the 16th, a female Hen Harrier that was quartering the marsh. My first visit of the year to Leighton Moss on the 21st came up with a surprise. When we arrived a quick look on the sightings board showed that a female Smew was showing from the Public Hide. A quick dash along the causeway resulted in good views of the this little gem, only my second ever.

March
A slow month with few quality birds. After almost a week I finally went to Stanley Park to see the minute Firecrest (year lifer 4). It showed down to 5 feet giving fantastic views. A male Brambling was feeding in trees at Brock behind Barton Grange Garden Centre on the 22nd. The only other birds of note were 3 Waxwings that flew south over Cottam Brickworks in Preston, also on the 22nd.

April
An interesting site on the 4th was a flock of 20 Goldeneye (10 male, 10 female) at Marton Mere. This is the largest flock I've seen in the Fylde apart from the 70+ that winter on the lune off Glasson. A weekend off sea watching off Rossal Point on the 8th-9th gave some impressive results. A hour in the morning off the 8th started well with a flock of 3 Guillemots flying south within the first 2 minutes. A steady stream of Gannets flew south with around 25 seen in total. After around 20 minutes I was following a Kittiwake flying west when a couple of dark birds started to harass it, dive bombing and one time pushing it into the water. I was so preoccupied with watching the Kittiwake it was only after it has escaped safely did I turn my attention to the darker birds and discovered they were Arctic Skuas. Single Red Throated Diver and Fulmar also flew south. On the 9th I also spent a hour at Rossal in the hope of getting some species I had missed the previous day. A single Razorbill flew north but it was a bit quieter overall. A steady stream of Lesser Black Back Gulls were flying across the bay and coming in near the Marine Lakes. After 30 minutes of watching I noticed a strikingly white bird following this line and assuming it was a Gannet got my scope onto it and could hardly contain my excitement when I found out it was actually a 1st winter Iceland Gull (year lifer 5)!!!! I watched it for around a minute before it flew over the sea wall and onto the Marine Lakes. I dashed back to the car and told my mum to go park at the lake. I quickly relocated the bird roosting on the lake but after around 5 minutes all the gulls were flushed by a dog and the bird flew south east. I texted the news out to Chris Batty and later in the day it was relocated on Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve. The next day Stephan Dunstan found the bird on the shore at Rossal so I headed won and viewed it along with around 10 other birders including Maurice Jones. It was resting along with 20+ Sandwich Terns. Rossal Point also served up the rest of the months best birds with 2 Velvet Scoters on the 25th a Great Skua (year lifer 6), 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Lesser Redpolls, a Whinchat and a Tree Pipit on the 26th.

Atmospheric Shots

2010-02-01T20:51:00.001Z

Past the Centaury

2010-01-31T08:22:00.008Z

Had a long day out in north Lancashire yesterday trying to reach the 100 species for the year (on 92 at the time). My plan was to visit Aldcliffe on the Lune to see the Redhaed Smew that had been seen on Freemans Pool and then try and see the American Wigeon at Cockersands which would be a life bird for me.

On the way a flock of 4 Grey Partridge were in a field near Gt Eccleston. (1 year tick)

I've never been to Aldcliffe before but could see why it has a good reputation. When we got to Freemans Pool I set up my scope and viewed a small flock of ducks on an area of water that wasn't frozen over. 3 Tufted Ducks then my dad said Little Grebe just dived. I waited for it to come up and was surprised when a beautiful redhead Smew ( 2 year tick) popped into view. It gave great views fishing and diving for over half an hour along with 10 Gadwall, 6 Tufted Ducks and 2 Snipe.

We then went over to view the marsh and a large flock of Linnets were feeding in a field by the path. Scanning through the flock I noticed a few Goldfinches, 3 Meadow Pipits and a Skylark (3 year tick). A very obliging Robin posed for some photographs. The only birds on the marsh and river were 14 Goldeneye that flew downstream and a small flock of Greylag Geese. The Greylag Geese reminded me about the long staying quartet of Snow Geese at Leighton Moss and I decided to head up there, stopping off at McDonalds in Morcombe on the way :D (where 2 Common Scoters (4 year tick) and a Buzzard (5 year tick) were seen along the promenade
We went to Lillians Hide after being tipped off the Greylag Goose Flock was there and no sooner had we sat down in the hide than we spotted the 4 Snow Geese (6 year ticks and Life Bird), showing amazingly well close to the hide. However because there were allot of photographers in the hide it was hard to get a spot near an open window. A single Barnacle Goose (7 year ticks)was also with the flock. A Bittern gave frustrationg views as it sat on an island with it's back truned for an hour before finally flting across the lake giving good views. A second very distant bird was seen flying over the reeds. There were lots of ducks on the water including a single Goosander (8 year tick, 100th for year) and about 10 Pintail (9 year tick).

Before we left we headed to the feeders to try and see Marsh Tit (10 year tick). A single bird visited the nuts for around 5 minutes along with at least 10 Blue and Great Tits, 3 Coal Tit and 5 Long Tailed Tits.

New Camera :)

2010-01-23T17:35:00.004Z

Finally got a new camera today, and my first DSLR as well, a Nikon D60. To test it out and get used to it I spent a couple of hours at Stanley Park today. I was lucky to have around 45 minutes when the fog lifted and the sun came out while I was there. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen including a male which was drumming against a tree, a magical sound. A single Nuthatch was also patrolling the trees. I took some peanuts with me and it turned out to be a good plan as all the little birds loved them. I had Blue, Long Tailed and Great Tits as well as a few Robins feeding no more than a foot from me, not scared at all.

100th Post - Yellow Legged Pics

2010-01-18T17:37:00.004Z

A couple of really bad photos of the adult Yellow Legged Gull at Marton Mere from yesterday. The colour looked a little lighter in the field. One of my best self found birds and means I'm finally getting the hang of gulls :)

Twitch or Dip

2010-01-17T17:20:00.002Z

I spent 5 hours at Marton Mere twitching the probable American Bittern seen yesterday. Unfortunately it didn't show while I was there and I haven't heard any reports of it today. However it was still a great days birding. 2 Great Bitterns gave beautiful views in the sunlight as they walked around the edge of the reeds. I also managed to see my first ever Cetti's Warbler which gave great views as it hopped around the reeds infront of the hide. An adult Yellow Legged Gull feeding on the mere was a surprise and a welcome year tick. A flock of 330 Black Tailed Godwits were resting on the mere itself and a single Bar Tailed Godwit was amongst them. No photos as my camera was playing up but I'm getting a DSLR next week so expect improvments.

Geese and Getting Twitchy

2010-01-16T22:37:00.002Z

A good mornings birding from my window today confirmed my suspicions that a small flock of Pink Footed Geese have been feeding in the fields behind my house in the mornings. I heard them fly in around 8 am and were joined by more between then and 9:35 when they had reached c140 birds. Then they all flew off south. Other species seen during the morning include 10+ Fieldfare, 4 Redwing, 3 Chaffinch, 20+ Goldfinch and a Wren.

Planned a long day at Marton mere tomorrow to try and see the "probable" American Bittern seen this evening. Even if it turns out to be a Eurasian Bittern I'll still be happy as I've not seen one there for years. Watch this space.

Confirmations of IDs

2010-01-14T17:26:00.003Z

Been sorting out my photos from earlier in the year and just need some confirmatons. I think all the gulls are herring, the front bird is a 3cy and the rest are 2cy? The terns I have down as common but just want to be sure.

Scorton 10th Jan

2010-01-10T15:53:00.002Z

Had a walk up above Scorton today with my mum and dad. Wasn't really birding which wasn't helped by the fact that my binoculars are now broken :( . I managed to get 4 more year ticks, Raven, Jay, Treecreeper and Sparrowhawk. The woods around the hills were full of small birds, especially around the hosues. I saw at least 6 Nuthatches aswell as over 100 Redwing in 1 flock and 15+ Fieldfare along with both Song and Mistle Thrushes. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling from the tree tops as were a flock of Long Tailed Tits.

Marton Mere 9th Jan

2010-01-10T15:19:00.004Z

Went down to Marton Mere yesterday to try and increase my year list abit. However hadn't antisipated the mere would be completely frozen over apart form one small area which was packed with ducks and gulls.

Year Ticks here were Coot, Shoveler, pochard and Gadwall. A Water Rail was also seen running across the ice. We walked around the back end to try and find some cetti's warblers but no sight nor sound of them anywhere. There weren't many birds around atall and as we were loosing the light we decided not to see the owls and went to the feeders instead. At least 5 Reed Buntings, 8 Long Tailed Tits and a Coal Tit were present aswell as a Fieldfare that was defending a group of apples.

Owl, Thrushes and Sisken

2010-01-06T13:25:00.004Z

Not really done much birding recently so my year list is only on a measly 68 species. Some recent species seen include:

Warton Marsh - 2nd Jan
1 Short Eared Owl, 2 Peregrine Falcons, 2 Merlins, 70+ Whooper Swans, 4 Bewick Swans, Water Rail, Grey Wagtail and 10+ Linnets.

Walking to School - 3rd Jan
50+ Redwings and 30+ Fieldfare flying around, most I've seen all winter.

Garden - 6th Jan
female Sisken visited briefly at 12:30, 2nd garden record

Happy New Years Birding

2010-01-01T21:41:00.002Z

A new year and new year lists. I am hoping to beat my previous highest totals of 180 and 213 for the Fylde and Britain respectively. A quick round up of the species seen today:

Got 20 species from my house up until 1pm. Most surprising was a flock of 5 Fieldfare which I haven't seen from my house for over a month. A Song Thrush in the garden was also surprising.

Headed to Fleetwood Marine Lakes to tick off the Ring Necked Duck which had relocated here during the morning. It was showing very well and was logged along with 2 Goldeneye and a Red Breasted Merganser.

Then headed down to Stannah to get some waders. Oystercatchers, Curlew and Black Tailed Godwits were the only birds around.

Only on 42 species so far but still need so common species such as Great Tit, Goldfinch, Grey Heron and Coot :O

Ring Necked Duck

2009-12-30T15:17:00.003Z

I understand why they call it twitching now. After finding out about a Ring Necked Duck (a new fylde bird) at Thornton ICI Reservoir after dark yesterday I was twitchy all night about going to see it. Then when I got up this morning I read on birdguides, no sign, gutted. Then at around 2pm I got a text saying it was on a pool at Preesal. 30 minutes later I was watching this beautiful bird feeding in a freezing wind. It was on the other side of the lake so not close enough for photos but all the key features could easily be seen. Other birds on the lake include a single Great Crested Grebe and 15+ Pochard.

More Goose Watching

2009-12-28T16:08:00.001Z

Went back today to search the Pink Feet for anything more interesting. Even though 2 Tundra and 1 Taiga Bean Goose had been seen as well as an adult White Front which had joined my 2 Juveniles from yesterday I saw nothing. The geese were much more spread out today over many fields so searching them was more difficult. Around 1500 Pink Feet were present in all along with a single Whooper Swan. Also present in the fields were around 200 Redshanks, 100 each of Lapwing and Oystercatcher and around 10 Curlew. Over 3000 Starling were roosting on the telegraph poles next to the road being constantly harassed by a Sparrowhawk.

Local Goose Flock

2009-12-27T15:18:00.002Z

Went down to have a look at my local Goose flock at Fleetwood today. Around 2000+ Pink Footed Geese were feeding in fields by Fleetwood Road. After around 20 minutes of searching I managed to locate a pair of Juvenile Eurasian White Fronted Geese feeding at the back of the fields. They proceed to feed for a further 5 minutes before the entire flock flew over a hedge and out of view. A single neck collard bird was also present with the combination LZF. I am awaiting the results and will post when I receive the details.

Unknown Gulls

2009-12-24T17:02:00.002Z

The 3 gulls I am interested in are the centre 3 birds. The left hand bird possibly 1cy Herring Gull (the ringed 1), middle adult LBB and right 2cy Herring but could be wrong.

Velvet Scoter - Barrow Lodge

2009-12-23T18:12:00.003Z

Ventured up to east Lancashire today to see the amazingly tame Velvet Scoter at Barrow Lodge near Clitheroe. I find it amazing how this bird could find this tiny lake miles from the see up in the hills. It was showing down to 10 feet and constantly feeding in the small area of non-frozen lake. Other birds on the lake included 103 Mallards, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Moorhens and and Coot. Other birds of note include single Grey and Pied Wagtails, 10+ Long Tailed Tits, 15+ Linnets, 3 Kestrel, Buzzard, 3 Redwing, Mistle and Song Thrush, 100+ Lapwing and a Cormorant.

Marton Mere - 13/12/09

2009-12-13T15:41:00.005Z

Had a freeing but very good couple of hours at Marton Mere today. I had 4 target species (Bittern, Cetti's Warbler, Long Eared Owl and Bullfinch) but I would be happy with any one of them. At the north end 2 Reed Buntings and a single Wren were calling from the reeds and 97 Black Tailed Godwits flew north. A Grey Wagtail was walking around the caravans. Half the lake was frozen so there weren't any ducks at the feeding area apart from 4 Morrhens which provided a good photography opportunity. A family group of 7 Whooper Swans (2 adults, 5 juveniles) were feeding on the mere along with 17 Gadwall and a male Goldeneye. We then walked around to the viewing area at the west end where Maurice Jones filled us in on the species he'd seen. A small bird flew across the water in front of us a couple of times but didn't call so we weren't sure if it was a Wren or a Cetti's Warbler. Then a flock of lapwing and around 20 Snipe erupted from the east end and a single snipe got chased by a male Peregrine Falcon before finally escaping. Maurice told us where the Long Eared Owls had been seen so we walked round to where he said, stopping on the way to watch a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a flock of 20+ Long Tailed Tits. Luckily a couple of birds were already watchin the Long Eared Owls so they pointed them out to us. 3 birds in total and my biggest year blocker finally vanquished.

Recent Sightings

2009-12-11T21:49:00.005Z

Not uploaded for weeks so am gonna roll all my recent sightings into 1 post.

Cottam Brickworks - 28/11/09

Went in search of the Willow Tit that had been seen in the area for previous week. We walked around the site for around 30 minutes but couldn't find many birds so headed back t the car. A flock of small birds were in the bushes near to the main gates and I managed to find the Willow Tit (Fylde tick) for about 3 seconds before it disappeared off into the bushes. Other birds see include a male Reed Bunting and a Mistle Thrush.

Fairhaven Lake - 28/11/09

I had 2 target species and managed to see both of them within a minute of arriving. A juvenile Shag (Fylde year tick) hauled itself onto the side of the lake with a large fish in it's beak which it proceeded to swallow. It seemed totally unafraid of humans and allowed viewing down to 10 feet. Amongst the flock of 20+ Tufted Ducks were the pair of Scaup (Fylde year tick). They also showed very well but the light was fading so the photography wasn't very good. A female Goldeneye was also present.

Rossal Point - 05/12/09

30 minutes of seawatching produced very little indeed. A Red Throated Diver flew north and 7 Linnets and a Pied Wagtail flew West.

Fleetwood Marine Lakes - 05/12/09

3 Goldeneyes (2 males and 1 female), and a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers were on the boating lake along with over 300 Turnstones with 20+ Redshanks mixed in with them. A Little Grebe was fishing around the island.

Starr Gate - 06/12/09

Again not a vast amount of birds but I was interested to see 2 flocks of Pintails going south, 7 (3 males, 4 females) and 5 (3 males, 2 females). I've never seen these off Rossal Point before. 6 Black Tailed Godwits also flew south.

Carleton - 11/12/09

Large movements of Pink Footed Geese today. A huge flock of 750+ flew south, a great spectacle and sound. A flock of 13 Whooper Swans also flew south just above house level.

Dalton Crags

2009-11-17T07:23:00.002Z

Tried to see the Great Grey Shrike on Sunday at Dalton Crags. Unfortunately it wasn't showing while I was there but there were a few quality birds around. A Green Woodpecker was calling as it flew around the woods. Amazingly this is the 4th individual I've seen since I saw my first in July. A Goldcrest was flitting around the car park with 17 Long Tailed Tits. This was probably even rarer than the woodpecker as it is the first Goldcrest I've seen since August. Other birds of note include a Coal Tit and 30 Fieldfare.

Mistle Thrush

2009-11-15T10:35:00.001Z

East Coast

2009-11-01T11:36:00.003Z

I spent a couple of days on the east coast last week in the hope of seeing some rare migrants and hopefully some new birds as well.

I didn't take many photos as I had forgotten to charge my camera batteries before I set off! My next few posts will contain allot of photos to make up for it.

Right back to the east coast. As usual on the journey there I saw allot of species, especially birds of prey with 9 Kestrels, 4 Buzzards and 3 Sparrowhawks. We were staying in Hull for the night so we went straight to Spurn for the afternoon. Driving up the point the tide was in and 1000s of waders were gathered on the shore. Around 200 Dark Bellied Brent Geese were feeding close in to the shore giving brilliant views. It was only the third time I have seen Dark Bellied Brent Geese ever. We pulled up half way down the point to have lunch and do a bit of sea-watching. A Great Skua slowly flew south (2nd for me) as did 20+ Common Scoters and a few Eiders.

When we reached the end of the road we pulled into the car park and headed towards the point dunes where 2 Lapland Buntings and 3 Snow Buntings had been seen. A male Brambling was in 1 of the gardens (3rd for me) as were around 50 Redwings, feeding furiously probably having just flown in from Scandinavia. We then headed into the dunes which was more like a maze with hundreds of Blackbirds and Robins in amongst the bushes. Quite a few Stonechats which allowed photographs as well as a brief view of a small bird which could have been a Firecrest. We then headed onto the beach where a male Scaup flew south with 11 Common Scoters but nothing else so we headed back.

The next day we went to Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs. Unfortunately there was a fog over the sea which gave me limited visibility at Flamborough. About 50 Gannets flew both ways as did 2 Shags north and a female Teal south. A couple of Skylarks flew south along with 4 Pied Wagtails and 25+ Goldfinches. Then looking away from my scope for a second I noticed a small bird hoping around the car park about 20 feet from me. It was very dark and as it flew off it showed the red tail, Black Redstart (2nd for me)! I couldn't relocate it though so we headed to Bempton Cliffs. We walked towards the viewing platfrom looking over the cliffs. Not allot of birds around and as it was very cold I decided we should head back to the car. As we were doing so a medium sized brown bird flew up from a field on our left and flew towards a group of bushes. As I got my scope on it it flew up and landed on top of a bush, Red Backed Shrike (2nd for me).

So for the whole trip I had 79 species, 3 seconds for me and 2 thirds for me. Not bad all in all.

What a Day

2009-10-27T09:18:00.004Z

Got a backlog of posts at the moment so will be posting quite allot at the moment.

I had a brilliant evening at Leighton Moss on Sunday. As usual I had a few target species: Slavonian Grebe, Cetti's Warbler, Great White Egret, Bittern and Bearded Tit. So how did I get on?

We stopped off at Pine Lake on the way to try and see he Slavonian Grebe which had been present there for about a week. We walked round to the north end as that was where most of the birds seemed to be. On the walk round 3 separate Grey Wagtails were feeding on the shoreline at different points. When we reached the top end we started scanning through the mass of Coots, Pochards, Mallards and Tufted Ducks. After a few scans I managed to pick up the Slavonian Grebe (lifer) feeding behind the coots. It showed very well despite frequent showers.

We then headed to Leighton Moss and parked at the top of the Causeway to go to the Public hide. We walked down the causeway stopping briefly at the grit trays but no sign of the Bearded Tits as I suspected as it was too late. When we got to Public Hide the usual assortment of ducks were present including Pintail, Shoveler and Great Crested Grebe. After around 5 minutes an egret flew over the hide quite high towards the roost. I assumed it was a Little but it was immediately obvious it was enormous. I got my scope on it and yep large Orange beak, black feet, Great White Egret. It carried on flying slowly away from us towards the roost then dropped down int the trees. It didn't re-appear while we were there so I turned my attention to a Buzzard above the tree line. It was soaring then a bird of prey swooped in and started mobbing it, a Peregrine. It carried on mobbing the Buzzard repeatedly for 10 minutes before flying off east. We were about to leave the hide when a shout of Bittern went up from someone further down the hide. It was flying almost out of view and I got a good view for about 2 seconds before it was gone.

As we were walking back along the causeway I heard a strange call coming from the reeds. It was doing a call like "cyarchi" in bursts of 4. Any ideas??

We went to Lillians last where the Great White Egret flew in from the public hide way and landed at the back behind the reeds before getting mobbed by a Grey Heron and flying back, showing just how big it is. Other birds seen from Lillian's hide includea Little Grebe, a calling Water Rail and allot of Wigeon. We were also treated to around 10,000 Starlings coming into roost. We didn't see them all go up at once but it was still quite a spectacle none the less.

Marton Mere 17th and 24th

2009-10-26T10:55:00.003Z

Quick Update

2009-10-11T18:21:00.003+01:00

Just a quick update today. No photos either as I always forget to take my camera with me :(

From my window - 10th Oct - 14:30 - 16:00
Was hoping to see my first Redwings of the autumn in the field behind my house. Typically they only showed up 5 minutes before I had to go out so I didn't have time to apreciate their beauty. 24 birds in total in flocks of 2, 16 and 6. Lots of other species around including: 250+ Pink Footed Geese over, mostly north, 2 local Sparrowhawks and 2 Snipe.

Fluke Hall Lane - 11th Oct
9 Barncale Geese with over over 5,000 Pink Footed Geese today, my highest amount of Barnacle Geese in the Fylde. Other birds seen include a Red Legged Partridge and a Sparrowhawk.

Black Headed Gull

2009-10-06T16:44:00.000+01:00

Brilliant Sea-Watching

2009-10-03T15:57:00.003+01:00

After watching the Leach's Petrel numbers climb and climb on Birdguides throughout the morning I had to get down to Rossal Point to try and see some. Almost immediately after I arrived Maurice Jones picked 1 up flying infront of the Wyrelight. It carried on flying slowly on for the next 10 minutes as did 2 more about 5 minute later. A Juvenile Little Gull also flew out of the bay and a Juvenile Kittiwake was roosting on the grass at Fleetwood Marine Lakes.

My Favourite Reserve

2009-09-27T18:39:00.002+01:00

Had planned to try and find the Great White Egret on the Ribble today but the thought of a Long Billed Dowitcher at my favourite reserve, Inner Farm Marsh wouldn't go away. Then when it emerged on Birdguides that another one had been found there I couldn't resist the temptation.

Wen we arrived it was immediately obvious that quite a few twitchers were around. The car park was full and a second one that had been set up in a nearby field was almost full aswell, a good sign the birds were still around. On the walk down to the hide 2 Buzzards and a Kestrel showed over a nearby field. The hide was packed witharound 20 people, all with scopes pointing towards a flock of Lapwings. I had barely set my scope up when a Peregrine Falcon flew in scattering all the birds into the air. Luckily they all settled back infront of the hide and the Long Billed Dowitchers were quickly spotted feeding together (lifer 240). The peregrine then returned and carried on doing so for 10 minutes or so, at one point chasing a dragonfly for a bit, before departing to the west. It wasn't long before another Bird of Prey replaced it with a ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the marsh sometimes giving very good views close to the hide. Then my other target species was spotted with a Hobby flying back and forth infront of the woods. It carried o showing for the whole time we were there getting mobbed by a Sparrowhawk a couple of times taking my Bird Of Prey day total to 6 species, a new record for me.. Other birds of note include a Water Rail, 2 Snipe, 3 Ruff and 5 Golden Plover.

Paint-balling Birds

2009-09-26T14:43:00.002+01:00

Not literally. Had a brilliant morning Paint-Balling at a mates party and wasn't birdwatching but noticed quite allot anyway. After we finished we had something to eat in the car park. In the field by it was a large fock of wagtails and even without binoculars I could see at least 3 Yellow, more than 5 White and 20+ Pied. Other birds seen included a Kestrel, a Jay and 30+ Pink footed goose.

Brockholes and Garden

2009-09-21T19:44:00.004+01:00

Just a quickly as I can't be bothered writing a full report. Went down to Brockholes Quarry yesterday to try and see my first Black Necked Grebe of the year. It showed very well on the main pit. A couple of Water Rails were showing at the east end of the lake, both these species take my Brockholes list to 83 species. Lots of species were around including 3 Sparrowhawks, at least 12 Buzzards, 11 Snipe, 6 Teal, and allot of Jays.

My local male Sparrowhawk has been showing very well in my garden recently and this morning was sitting on my neighbours terrace. It showed for over an hour and I took 100 photos of it.

Migrant Mania

2009-09-19T14:33:00.004+01:00

What started out as a really bad day turned into one of the best for a long time. As the morning progressed more reports of rare birds kept coming in and I was sat at home with no-one to take me out. Great White Egret and Nightjar at Leighton Moss, Red Necked Phalarope at Martin Mere and even closer to home, Yellow Browed Warbler at Rossal.

However I managed to persuade my Granddad to take me out to Rossal to try and see the Warbler. On arriving it was obvious there were a few birders around (mostly by the Fylde Bird Club stickers in the car windows). When we got to number 14 a man directed us to the back garden where a crowd of birders were standing about half way down it. After 10 minutes or so Someone heard it calling in some bushes on the right hand side and I managed to pick it out flitting around from branch to branch. It was on view for a full 10 seconds before dissappearing into the neighbours garden and we didn't see it again.

Autumn is Here, Recent Records

2009-09-15T19:36:00.002+01:00

My Autumn has now begun with the arrival of my first Pink Footed Geese. Birding in the garden has also improved.

11th - 3 Chaffinch in garden, Both local Sparrowhawks hunting over the fields, 2 immature Greater Black Backed Gulls flew North West over field, my second record from my house.

14th - First Pink Footed Geese flock of the Autumn when 26 flew South East at 18:46

15th - Another flock of Pink Footed Geese, this time 16 flew South at 17:50. A flock of 4 Snipe did a few laps of the field before landing in one of the dyke's. The male Sparrowhawk landed in one of the garden trees as did, more unusually, a female Kestrel.

I hope to get down to Banks Marsh within the next week to get the Great White Egret, might cheat and try and scope it from Lytham.

Third time lucky

2009-09-13T20:53:00.003+01:00

On my 3rd attempt I managed to see the Green Woodpecker at Poulton Cemetery. This is my 175th Fylde bird this year but more importantly my 200th of all time. It showed really well, sometimes hopping over the path no more than 20 feet in front of us. It took us about 30 minutes before I noticed it flying through the trees but it showed really well for the next 15 minutes after that. Other birds around included Robins, Blue and Great Tits, Wren and Goldfinches.

Rossal and Poulton dissapointment

2009-09-06T17:21:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post as there aren't many birds to mention. It seems that the recent seabird activity has passed as there was very little at Rossal Point this morning. A couple of exhausted Guillemots were swimming in the shallows 1 of which halled itself onto the beach later on. The only other seabirds were 4 Sandwich Terns and 6 Common Scoters south. 6 species of waders were on the beach including 5 Knots and 50+ Sanderlings.

For the second time I missed the Green Woodpecker at Poulton Cemetry. There were a couple of other birders who pointed us to the area where it had been seen most but no sign. It will probably still be around though and I am determined to get it and get my Fylde List to 200 species.

I don't think I can count this :)

2009-09-03T19:14:00.002+01:00

As you can probably tell form the picture I failed to see my 200th Fylde Species, Green Woodpecker at Poulton Cemetry. I only had 15 minutes to look round in between rain showers and managed to see a grand total of 7 species. I hope that it stays around for longer so I get a chance to see it this weekend.

A successful twitch! Even rarer than the bird!

2009-08-29T18:34:00.004+01:00

Second time lucky as I managed to see the Wilson's Phalarope at Martin Mere yesterday, making up for the disappointment of last week. It was showing well from the Ron Barker Hide all afternoon albeit distant (the photo is of the Phalarope, trust me!). A Green Sandpiper was also showing from this hide along with 3 Ruffs and the usual pair of Stock Doves.

There were alot of species at the feeders including a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Coal Tit and a Reed Bunting along with lots of Finches.

I am hoping to get upto Leighton Moss before the end of the holidays to get Spoonbill.

3 Words, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN

2009-08-25T09:22:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post today and as you may be able to guess from the title, not a good one. We spent most of the day at Martin Mere yesterday but as many of you will know, the Wilson's Phalarope was not present at this site. A few birds of note were seen however including Kingfisher, Avocet and Marsh Harrier but overall it was a pretty poor day. Then I got the really bad news when I got home. It's at Marshside!!!!!. And even worse later on, it's not even there any more. The only good bit of news is that it was last seen heading north east which may mean it will turn up in the Fylde, hopefully.

Unidentified Butterflies and Moths

2009-08-23T18:35:00.002+01:00

The BUtterflies were at Framption Marsh in Lincolnshire, I thought they were all Common Blue but now I am not so sure. I have no idea about the moths.

Brockholes Quarry and Starr Gate

2009-08-18T20:37:00.002+01:00

Spent the afternoon out with my Granddad today at Brockholes quarry and then at Starr Gate to try and catch up with my 2009 bogey bird, Manx Shearwater.

Brockholes Quarry was quite interesting today. a pair of female/juvenile Yellow wagtails were moving their way around the edge of the largest pool. Definately not Grey wagtails and my first ones for the site. Also present on the main pool were the possible pair of Scaup. They did look like Scaup although they were going throug molt so may have been Tufted Ducks.

On the gravel pit a Little Ringed Plover was about the only bird of interest and at the feeding station in the woods a coal tit showed well, also a firt for the site for me.

Then we went down to Starr Gate. It wasn't high tide but this meant that a group of around 15 Sandwich Terns were resting on the beach along with 2 Common Terns. On the sea it was terns that ominated with around 50 Common and 100 Sandwich heading in both directions but mostly south. A Juvenile Gannet also passed south then the bird I had been waiting for, a distant pair of Manx Shearwaters, taking my British year list up to 205 species and my Fylde year list up to 173.

The Wash Weekend 15-17/08/09

2009-08-18T16:16:00.007+01:00

Sorry about the lack of posting recently. I have been away allot so posting has got backed up. I will try and post as frequently as possible over the next week. Be warned this is quite a long one.
Last weekend I went camping in Lincolnshire. I was hoping to visit Frampton Marsh to try and see the Montague's Harrier and Pectoral Sandpiper that have been seen there recently. On the journey down from Blackpool there weren't many birds around but single Sparrowhawk and Buzzard stopped me from falling asleep completely. We were staying at a campsite just north of Holbeach, near to the Norfolk border. The first birds that I saw were a gorgeous pair of Turtle Doves (blue means highlight) that continued to entertain me for the whole weekend. This was only the second time that I had seen Turtle dove and another year tick. During the night a Barn Owl repeatedly called from nearby.

The Sunday was the main birdwatching day for me. after consulting the map we decided that we would go to Frampton Marsh for a couple of hours, then go into Boston for lunch before driving to the other side of the wash at Titchwell Marsh (one of the places I have been wanting to go to for ever).

When we arrived at Frampton Marsh RSPB we were told that both of my target species hadn't been seen today but were probably still around. On the way to the reedbed hide lots of little birds flitted around including Whitethroat, Whinchat and this female Wheatear.

From the hide itself it soon became obvious that the most common species on the reserve was Snipe. There were at least 100 in view from the hide an most of these were out in the open, not skulking in the undergrowth as Snipe usually do. Amongst the snipe were around 40 Ruff and a few Dunlin. It was amongst these Dunlin that I saw my first highlight of the day, a Little Stint. It proceeded to feed along with a Wood Sandpiper for around 0 minutes before disappearing out of view. the Pectoral Sandpiper wasn't showing though so we decided to head over to the marsh to look for the Montague's Harrier. On the way lots of butterfly species kept us company.
When we got up to the seawall we immediately felt the wind hitting us. It was quite strong so we didn't do allot of birdwatching when we were up there. 4 Little Egrets were flying around on the saltmarshes but apart from that it was a bit disappointing. When we reached the start of the main path back to the car park we stopped on a bench where we could see most of the marsh. A few Greater Black Backed Gulls flying around kept me on my toes as did a female Marsh Harrier which really set the pulse racing for a short time.

Just as we were about to leave I spotted a large bird way out on the marsh in the heat haze. I could tell immediately that it was a bird of prey and that it was heading towards us at a steady rate. As it drew nearer I could make out distinctively long wings and closer still, orange underparts. Yes, MONTAGUE'S HARRIER (lifer). It continued to show exceptionally well as it quartered the marsh for the next 20 minutes before heading off towards Frieston Shore. After this we headed into Boston for some lunch then on to Titchwell.

We headed for the Fen Hide when we arrived as it was the closest one to the car park. When we got there it seemed to have been a bad decision as the only bird I could see was a Reed Warbler. Then my brother shouted out, Water Rail. It was standing out in the open giving me an excellent opportunity to photograph it. I took over 70 photos of it over the course of 15 minutes.

We then moved on to the Freshwater Marsh where a gorgeous adult Curlew Sandpiper showed well along with 8 Avocets, 1 Little Ringed Plover and another female Marsh Harrier.

We had a quick stop in at the viewpoint on the beach where a few Sandwich and Common Terns flew north and an adult Mediterranean Gull flew past on the beach. a flock of Sanderlings was on the beach bringing the days wader total to 16 species, my highest ever. we then headed back to the campsite but got a surprise on the way back with a Green Woodpecker feeding on the roadside grass. That night the Barn Owl was joined by a distant Tawny Owl calling during the evening.

This brought my day total to 90 species, a new record for me and the whole holiday to 94 species.

Birdforum Quiz - First 10

2009-08-13T14:36:00.004+01:00

These are the full photos for the first 10 rounds of my quiz on Birdforum. They go as follows:

1) Bullfinch

2) Robin

3) Teal

4) Carrion Crow

5) Great Crested Grebe

6) Tufted Duck

7) Arctic Tern

8) Canada Goose

9) Eider

10) Kestrel

5 down - 1 to go

2009-08-12T13:56:00.002+01:00

If anyone doesn't understand the title I will explain it now. On Birdforum there is a thread called "Embarrassing birds you haven't seen". Last month I posted 6 species that I hadn't seen which for me were embarrassing. Since then I have seen 5 of them (Green Woodpecker, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Quail and today's new species, see below). However the last species, Cetti's Warbler may be a bit harder but you never know. But enough of that, lets get back to the present.

Yes today I finally managed to vanquish another bogey bird for me, Yellow Legged Gull. I know the pictures are of a Mute Swan but the other birds were to far away for my camera so these were the only decent photos. Today's sightings are as follows:

Conder Pool: 5 Greenshanks sleeping on the far bank of the pool, 1 adult Spotted Redshank on one of the islands along with 30+ Redshanks one of which only has 1 leg.

Conder Estuary: 4 Common Sandpipers, 1 Black Tailed Godwit

Glasson: The 3rd Summer Yellow Legged Gull was present on the Fylde side of the river just after mid-day along with around 200 other gulls including 4 Greater Black Backed Gulls. The adult Curlew Sandpiper was still present along with 100+ Dunlins again on the Fylde side of the river.

Birds of Prey - Lake District

2009-08-09T20:10:00.003+01:00

As the title might suggest I went to the lake district with one ambition in mind, to see as many birds of prey as I could. My utmost target was 6 different species but I wanted to get at least 4. So how did I do?

We stopped off at Haweswater on the way up to the campsite and Keswick to visit the RSPB Golden Eagle watchpoint. Unfortunately over the couple of hours I was there it didn't show although it had shown earlier! I also missed my other bird of prey target Peregrine Falcon here but I did managed to see Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. Other species seen included a male Crossbill and 4 female Goosanders.

The campsite we stayed at was at the other end of Derwent Water near Borrowdale. It is apparently the wettest point in Britain and I can believe that as it seemed to rain all through the night and morning. Despite the weather the birds were still showing well. On the stream at the bottom of the site a Dipper and a pair of Grey Wagtails showed well and during the night Little and Tawny Owls were calling from the nearby woods where a Nuthatch, 2 Treecreepers, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Blackcap showed during the morning.

Despite my bad luck with the Eagle I was determined to get the Ospreys at Bassenthwaite Lake. When we arrived at the lower viewpoint we were told that the birds weren't showing at that point but could show at any minute. My mum and dad went up to the upper viewpoint while me and my Brother stayed at the lower. The birds didn't show however and I resorted to watching the woodland birds at the feeders. 3 Jays were showing well but that was the limit of the interesting birds.

Then my mum and dad returned with 3 pieces of bad news. They have just seen and Osprey, damn, my Dad spotted it, oh no, we have to go now, f**k. I managed to get 5 more minutes out of my mum while my dad and brother set off down the track. At that moment one of the wardens phone rang. Then the shout went up, Osprey!! It was perched on one of the fence posts down in the lake. Through the scopes the views were very good and I reached my target of 4 bird of prey species for the weekend.

62 species in all.

Quail - Wimarleigh Moss

2009-08-06T12:39:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post. My 200th British Bird this year. After almost an hour I managed to locate a singing Quail on Winmarleigh Moss. Unfourtunately I didn't see it but I count birds that I have heard so it is going on my lists. Lifer 236.

Birds, Butterflies and Bees

2009-08-04T19:59:00.003+01:00

An hour or so on the railway track behind my house today didn't result in many birds but the butterflies kept me busy photographing them. At least 5 Painted Ladies were showing very well, most recently emerged with immaculate wings, but a couple obviously older and more worn individuals. Other Butterflies around were: 3 Speckled Wood, 1 Meadow Brown, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 5+ Small White, 5+ Large White.

Birds consisted mostly of hirundines. At least 50 Swallows were weaving around over the fields giving me a decent photo opportunity. Not professional standard but for me quite good. In amongst the swallows were 20+ House Martins, 4 Swifts and a single Sand Martin.

No Red Grouse but Crossbills make up for it

2009-08-02T20:15:00.003+01:00

As you can tell by the pictures I didn't manage to see my 200th British Bird for this year, Red Grouse despite my Dad assuring me that Jubilie Tower was the best place and he saw 50 there last year. Infact I didn't see anything of interest. The only birds of ny note were Kestrels, about 6 hunting up on the moors. However when I got home things started to pick up abit.

I was in my bedroom when I could hear a strange call from outside. Going to my window I could tell that the call was circling around the house. When it came around again I could see that it was coming from a flock of 5 small birds, around Greenfinch size. 3 were Greenfinch colour but 2 were red, Crossbills! My first for the Fylde. They carried on flying around for around 5 minutes before heading off east.

Frustratingly Brilliant

2009-07-30T16:51:00.004+01:00

Me and my Dad spent the day at Haweswater in the Lake District. I had a tip off that this was a great place to see my last 2 bogey birds, Common Redstart and Pied Flycatcher. So how did I do?

The journey up wasn't anything special, 3 Buzzards and 2 Kestrels the best of the birds. When we arrived at Haweswater we could hear lots of small birds calling in the woods behind us, good start. a few ducks were on the reservoir including 4 Goosanders (3 female, 1 male) and a female Red Breasted Merganser. We soon found a path through the woods and found a good vantage spot where we could see a small group of trees (bottom photo).

It seemed that every 2 seconds a bird would appear for a moment before diving back into the trees and out of view. There were lots of Spotted Flycatchers around, probably at least 25, showing off their brilliant flycatching skills. Then in the bush closest to us a small bird appeared hopping around as all the others were doing. Unlike the others though it sat still for a few minutes giving me the confirmation I needed, Pied Flycatcher! It gave me a chance to get a photos before it disappeared off into the undergrowth. Then another bird appeared, pale front, interesting, reddish front aswell, yes female Redstart! 2 lifers and my 2 biggest bogey birds vanquished.

Other birds seen included:

1 Garden Warbler (year tick)

2 Nuthatch

1 Treecreeper

10+ Willow Warbler

1 Chiffchaff

1 calling Green Woodpecker

1 Goldcrest

3 Wren

15+ Chaffinch

5+ Blue Tit

2 Coal Tit

2 Great Tit

2 Buzzard

1 Sparrowhawk

Not a bad day all in all.

Recent Sightings

2009-07-29T19:31:00.002+01:00

26th: This little guy flew into my front window early in the morning. He seemed a bit dazed and flew up into a bush nearby o recover giving me an excellent photo opportunity. He flew off a few minutes seemingly unharmed.

28th: My first Fylde Green Sandpiper of the year was at Mythop sheltering from the pouring rain along with a single Snipe.

29th: My fourth visit to Brockholes Quarry was a bit dissapointing with the only birds of note being 9 Black Tailed Godwits, 3 Common Sandpipers and a pair of Gadwall.

Ruddy Shelduck - Leighton Moss

2009-07-24T21:01:00.005+01:00

I had a late evening trip to Leighton Moss to twitch the Ruddy Shelduck (lifer) that has been seen over the last couple of days. On arrival at the Eric Morecambe Pools the Ruddy Shelduck was showing very well although the picture doesn't do it justice. Also present were the pair of Little Gulls that have been hanging around there recently, 3 Greenshanks and a young Peregrine Falcon that gave unbelievable views down to 10 feet in front of the hide as it pursued a Redshank.

We popped into Leighton on the way back but a lack of birds from Lilian's Hide and the feeders was disappointing. A male Marsh Harrier gave distant views and the only ducks of any interest were 3 Gadwall.

60 species in all

A Lifer at Last

2009-07-19T14:05:00.005+01:00

After the plethora of birds at Brockholes Quarry yesterday (Red Kite, Garganey, Mediterranean Gull and Little Egret to name a few) I thought a visit was needed. The weather held for most of the day apart from a small shower in the middle.

Yes a record shot I know but as it just about shows I finally conquered my bogey bird today, Green Woodpecker! This Juvenile was feeding on the grass verge of the approah road along with a Jay (Brockholes Tick). It flew off after a few minutes and as me and my Dad walked towards the place where it had been an adult exploded from the grass 5 feet away from us, calling loudly.

The eclipse male Garganey (Brockholes Tick) was still present on the main pit along with 2 Common Sandpipers, a female Teal, a female Tufted Duck and a Great Crested Grebe. For the second week in a row a Kingfisher flew up the entrance driveway before flying off into the trees. After the rain shower had passed a pair of Common Terns (Brockholes Tick) flew straight across the main pit without stopping, heading towards the River Ribble.

Brockholes Quarry 12/07/09

2009-07-12T16:20:00.006+01:00

My second ever visit to Brockholes Quarry today saw me miss Green Woodpecker again. I may have heard some though. There were at least 2 birds calling near to the entrance gate in the woods. They had loud, rasping calls like a Jays or Magpies but they didn't show themselves so can't be sure what they were.

The hightlight of the day was a Kingfisher that flew up the entrance track before landing in the trees next to me. It called once before dashing off towards the Gravel Pit. It's only the second Kingfisher i've seen this year. Other brids seen:

Waders: 2 Snipe, 3 Common Sandpipers and 3 Redshanks
Ducks: 3 Gadwall, 2 Female Teal

Unidentified Moths and Butterflies

2009-07-11T21:24:00.002+01:00

The butterfly photos were taken on the train track behind my house. The moth was in my house.

Comments welcome about identity.

Avocets - Skippool Creek - 06/07/09

2009-07-06T21:00:00.002+01:00

Went down to Skippool Creek this evening to try and get my first Fylde Avocets. With a little help from Paul Slade they weren't to hard to find. They were standing in the middle of the river feeding and showing very well. My 196th Fylde Bird. Lots of other early waders around including single Greenshank and Common Snadpiper and 2 Wimbrels amongst lots of Redshanks.

Northumberland 03-05/07/2009

2009-07-05T20:44:00.005+01:00

Carleton
Amble

Coquet Island

Went up to Northumberland this weekend for my uncles 50th birthday, with a bit of birdwatching thrown in.

3rd

Carleton: An adult Mediterranean Gull in the fields behind my house was a nice surprise when I got home on Friday. It was feeding in the recently cut grass with 11 Black Headed Gulls.

Journey: Lots of birds were seen on the journey including Buzzards, Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Ravens, and then the best bird of the whole weekend. Just as the road drew alongside the River Tweed I noticed a large bird gaining height with something in its talons. My first thought was Buzzard but then it shook water from its feathers and I could see that it was a fish it had caught, Osprey!! My first one of the year. Unfortunately it flew high to the south and out of view.

Berwick Upon Tweed: A Grey Seal was fishing up river after we had finished or tea. Also seen were a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers and around 300+ Mute Swans.

4th

Amble: We went down to Amble from 10 till 2 to try and get on a boat trip to the RSPB reserve on Coquet Island. We had to wait around the harbour for an hour before we set off. An adult Mediterranean Gull was a nice surprise taking bread from passers by. It turns out that 2 pairs have bred on the island with 3 chicks being reared, first breeding record for Northumberland.

Coquet Island: Both target species were seen on the hour boat trip around Coquet Island. Puffins were everywhere with over 15,000 birds on the island. Only my second ever Roseate Terns with around 30 birds seen including quite a few chicks. Also seen were: Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills.

Uncles House: We were at the party from 4 till 10pm with not alot of birds seen. However a flock of 3 Crossbills was nice, as were 2 Yellowhammers.

5th

St Abbs Head: Only a short amount of time here as the rain drew in after 20 minutes of getting out the car. Birds seen include 1 Stonechat, 200+ Gannets, 4 Rock Pipits and 20+ Linnets.

Swinton: Female Yellow Wagtail with 2 young on the park opposite the Wheatsheaf hotel.

Carleton: Mediterranean Gull still present around 7pm with the same flock of Black Headed Gulls.

Railway Track 02/07/09

2009-07-02T19:36:00.004+01:00

Went out on to the old railway track behind my house this evening. Lots of birds around including a Reed Bunting (photographed), 4 Whitethroats (3 Juveniles), 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 10+ Swifts, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk.

Also seen were lots of Butterflies. Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady, Large White, Small White, Common Blue and Speckled Wood were all seen along with 2 unidentified species pictured above. Bottom one possibly Small Tortoise Shell but other 2 haven't got clue.

Brockholes Quarry 28/06/09

2009-06-28T16:48:00.003+01:00

My first, and certainly not my last visit to Brockholes Quarry, just outside Preston today. Lots of birds around,

Waders: 2 Common Sandpipers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 6 Oystercatchers, 50+ Lapwings

Ducks: 2 Teal, male Wigeon, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 20+ Canada Geese

Small Birds: 2 Common Whitethroats, 3 Sedge Warblers, 5+ Reed Buntings, 20+ Sand Martins.

Mammals included 1 Brown Hare and lots of Rabbits.

Butterflies were everywhere including: Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Peacock and many Meadow Browns

Crosby and Marshside

2009-06-27T15:27:00.009+01:00

Went down to Crosby Marine Lakes and Seaforth LWT in Liverpool today, stopping off at Marshside and Preston Docks on the way home.
It was raining as soon as we set off from home and I wasn't hopeful of anything better at Crosby. As you can See I got a bit distracted from birds along the way.

Despite my pessimism the rain had cleared by the time we arrived at Crosby. We walked round the lake to the fence separating it from Seaforth. Terns were flying around everywhere and I easily picked out many Common, Arctic and Sandwich amongst Black Headed Gulls. There were lots of waders around including a single Green Sandpiper amongst a flock of Black Tailed Godwits and Knots. Other waders included a single Greenshank and 50+ Redshanks. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were on the main pool briefly. Being there also gave me my first chance to see the Another Place statues spread out all long the beach

Next up was Marshside RSPB but it was disappointingly quiet with only 1 Avocet being seen. 3 Bar Headed Geese were a bit more interesting but almost certainly escapes.

We stopped off at Preston Docks to have lunch and try and see the pair of Common Terns that are nesting there. It didn't take us long to find them whilst watching them on the nest, 4 more appeared from the River for a short while before returning back down river.

This moth was on the path at Marshside RSPB. Not sure what it is and how rare or common it is. Comments welcome.

Edit: Cinnabar moth

Even More Garden Photos

2009-06-20T13:46:00.003+01:00

Taken while revising for Chemistry GCSE on Monday.

More Garden Starling Photos

2009-06-15T17:53:00.002+01:00

Barbon and Leighton Moss

2009-06-14T18:20:00.002+01:00

Not the best day for birds but still a nice day.

I have been wanting to go to Barbon for ages as I still need to get 3 common woodland species, Green Woodpecker, Common Redstart and Pied Flycatcher. Unfourtunately I didn't see any of these although a singing Wood Warbler (year tick) was a nice consolation. Also seen and heard were:

4 Nuthatches

2 Treecreeper

Male Blackcap

2 Siskins

Great Spotted Woodpecker

2 Goldcrest

1 Willow Warbler

2 Chiffchaffs

Families of Coal and Blue Tits

We called in at Leighton Moss on the way home and had excellent views of at lest 3 female Marsh Harriers and 1 male. Not much alse was seen apart from 2 Reed Warblers and a Chiffchaff.

Garden 09/06/09

2009-06-09T21:12:00.002+01:00

Singing Sedge Warbler behind my house for the past 4 mornings. It is the first thing I hear when I wake up before going to school. It is a strange place for a Sedge Warbler as there are no reeds and no bodies of water nearby apart from my garden pond (3 square metres). I only assume that it is living in the series of dykesthat criss-cross the field behind the house.

Also seen today were a pair of Lesser Whitethroats, Male Sparrowhawk and about 10 Swifts hawking over the house.

Finally I have reached my 1000 hits target for my blog since the 6th March 2009.

Garden 08/06/2009

2009-06-08T17:29:00.002+01:00

A few pics from my garden today. My first 3 fledged Starlings and 3 Fledged Great Tits along with the male Blackbird which is helping feed young on the nest at the moment.

Possible White Tailed Eagle reported to me

2009-06-01T17:37:00.002+01:00

One of my dads colleagues told him that he saw an enourmos bird flying over the M56 between junctions 14 and 15 south east of Little Stanney. He believed it to be an eagle because of the shear size of the bird and he did describe some features that sound like White Tailed Sea Eagle e.g. large size and long fingers on the end of the wings which were slightly upturned.

Coincidently there was a probable White Tailed Sea Eagle seen in Derbyshire the next day about 45 miles away, a distance that an eagle could easily cover in a day. If anyone has any infromation about this or any other reports of eagles last week please leave comments below.

Red Kite

2009-05-30T16:35:00.002+01:00

Red Kite just flew WNW over Carleton as seen from my bedroom window. All the main features were picked out including the wedge shaped tail and the overall size compared to the Lesser Black Backed Gulls that were mobbing it. No photos though.

Also seen were single Lesser and Common Whitethroats

Painted Lady Butterflies

2009-05-30T12:50:00.001+01:00

A few photos from my garden today. These were the first Painted Lady's I have ever seen and there have been over 25 around my house today.

Photos

2009-05-29T17:48:00.004+01:00

Scotland 29/05/09

2009-05-29T15:55:00.002+01:00

Although it was my last day I was still in for a big surprise. On the way back we drove along the north end of Loch Awe. As we were I noticed a pair of birds sitting on the water. I could tell that they were divers and their bulky shape and darker colour showed them to be Great Northern Divers. Altough we only saw them for about 10 seconds they were clearly of this species and my last target species of the holiday.

Jonathan Scragg's Birding Blog

Final Post

Iceland Gull Preston Docks

A Red Letter Day

October School Holidays

Bird of Prey and Thrush Day

The simple joys of birding

Summary of past 3 months

8th-22nd July Summary

19th June - 3rd July summary

Dorset Trip (part 3)

Sponsored Non Motorised Bird Race 2010

Dorset Trip (part 2)

Dorset Trip (Part 1)

Interesting Garden Bird :D

Insect ID's Needed

Finally, Birding at last!

Easter Holiday Photos

Easter Holidays 2nd - 18th April

Moth ID Needed??

That time of Year

70 species day!

Sorry

Fleetwood Area - 21/03/10

Spring Migrants

Catch Up

Garden Ducks

Wales Weekend - Red and Black

Wales Pictures 20/02/10

New favourite picture

Recent Sightings and Pics

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 3

What A Day !!!

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 2

Review of the Year 2009 - Part 1

Atmospheric Shots

Past the Centaury

New Camera :)

100th Post - Yellow Legged Pics

Twitch or Dip

Geese and Getting Twitchy

Confirmations of IDs

Scorton 10th Jan

Marton Mere 9th Jan

Owl, Thrushes and Sisken

Happy New Years Birding

Ring Necked Duck

More Goose Watching

Local Goose Flock

Unknown Gulls

Velvet Scoter - Barrow Lodge

Marton Mere - 13/12/09

Recent Sightings

Dalton Crags

Mistle Thrush

East Coast

What a Day

Marton Mere 17th and 24th

Quick Update

Black Headed Gull

Brilliant Sea-Watching

My Favourite Reserve

Paint-balling Birds

Brockholes and Garden

Migrant Mania

Autumn is Here, Recent Records

Third time lucky

Rossal and Poulton dissapointment

I don't think I can count this :)

A successful twitch! Even rarer than the bird!

3 Words, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN

Unidentified Butterflies and Moths

Brockholes Quarry and Starr Gate

The Wash Weekend 15-17/08/09

Birdforum Quiz - First 10

5 down - 1 to go

Birds of Prey - Lake District

Quail - Wimarleigh Moss

Birds, Butterflies and Bees

No Red Grouse but Crossbills make up for it