Bill Aspin's Birding Blog 2

2011-06-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

A lack of recent posts is due to me becoming sick and tired of the length of time it was taking to organise and post blog entries due to glitches in the blogger software beyond my control.

Therefore, I have created a new blog: http://babbthree.blogspot.com/

Bearded Seal: Finstown, Orkney - 28th May 2011.

2011-05-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Local birding, Lancs : Brockholes NR LWT - 17th-22nd May 2011.

2011-05-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have put c50hrs of effort in at the local patch during the past week in much anticipated weather conditions of fresh westerly sector winds, with cloud and some rain, resulting in some some excellent wader passage recorded through the site as well as some other nice bonus birds.

Wader totals:

Wood Sandpiper: At least 1 bird. There was a two day gap between sightings. I have video footage of 'both' and intend to grill them to see if I can note any plumage differences.

Little Stint: 1.

Turnstone: 19 recorded through the site 16th-22nd, inc a record flock of 15.

Sanderling: 19 recorded through during the period, inc a record flock of 8, and a flock of 6. The previous best spring total was 21 birds between 13th May and 5th June 2000. Looks as though, given enough coverage, this total will be broken in spring 2011.

Dunlin: 66 recorded flying east-west through the site. With variable numbers of grounded birds recorded, number is likely to be closer if not exceeding c100. Highest grounded count being 20 on the evening of 18th May.

Ringed Plover: 68 recorded flying east-west on 16th-17th. With variable numbers of grounded birds, number definately exceeds 100 through the site 16th-22nd.

Grey Plover: A first-summer type evening of 18th May (the only decent bird I failed to connect with).

Knot: 3, grey first-summer type birds.

Whimbrel: Several records totalling c15 birds moving through the site and departing north during the day, contrary to birds dropping in from NE and back out when feeding/roosting in area.

Arctic Tern: 5 birds through.

Common Tern: 4 birds through.

Osprey: 2 sightings: 1 on 17th (see previous blog entry) and one on 21st May.

Blue-headed Wagtail: Male on 16th-17th May (see previous blog entry). This would apear to be the first definate record for the site, though there have been 1+ female types thought to be flava in the past.

Additionally: Occasional Hobby sightings and a regular imm Peregrine.

Above & below: Wood Sandpiper - 20th May 2011. Always a great species to record on the patch, particularly in spring, this is one of perhaps two different birds this week.

Above & below: Little Stint - 20th May 2011. Only the 3rd spring record in the period 1999 - 22nd May 2011, following one on 7th-8th May 1999 and 2 on 14th May 2000.

Above: Knot - 17th May 2011.

Above & below : Flock of 8 Sanderling - 17th May 2011. This is the largest single flock to be recorded onsite to date, Aug 1998-22nd May 2011. The previous site record flocks being 6 on 26th May 2000 and 6 on 24th May 2004.

Above: Sum plum male Turnstone - 17th May 2011. 19 birds have been recorded between 16th- including a recrd breaking flock of 15 on 16th May 2011. The previous record site flock being 9 (with three Sanderling) on 27th May 2000.

Above: imm Peregrine.

Local birding: Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs - 16th May 2011.

2011-05-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

11.5hrs of effort on the local patch in an f4+ westerly and virtually constant heavy drizzle throughout with steadier rainfall thrown in for good measure yielded some good results.

Firstly, no sooner had I parked in the Reserve car park and opened the boot lid, I glanced around to see a large bird with brown upperparts and a clearly interesting jizz with the naked eye, flying low over the screen planting on the SE compound bund.... A low flying Osprey!

All too quickly, the Osprey continued downriver towards the M6 roadbridge. I slammed the boot shut, cranked up the Chariot and shot down the Reserve access road hitting 50mph in an attempt to head the bird off at the entrance for a record shot. Thankfully no LWT staff were onsite to witness the manic drive/slow me down.

The Osprey stopped just short of the entrance and began to fish briefly before heading back upstream, allowing me time to get the record shot. Time of sighting was 07:10-07:19. What a great start to the session.

The Wood Sandpiper remained from the previous evening, allowing me to improve slightly on the record videograb of the previous night, and was still present when I left the site at 18:20.

An Arctic Tern appeared briefly on No1 Pit at 08:06, followed by yesterday's poorly seen interesting flava Wagtail which proved to be a male Blue-headed.

At 09:20, a gargantuan flock of 15 Turnstone dropped into No1 Pit from the east, but only remained for six minutes, 09:20-09:26 and most inconsiderately flew off seconds before I could digiscope them. This flock significantly betters the previous largest flock to be recorded onsite, 9 on 27th May 2000.

At 12:04, following a Coffee in the Visitor Village, a return to No1 Pit revealed 2 grey, 2cy Knot had arrived and were resting on the eastern end of the island. Both flew west at 12:48. A pair of Common Tern briefly circumnavigated No1 Pit at 12:21.

No new arrivals were noted thereafter until a single Sanderling dropped in onto No1 Pit at 15:27, and a single Whimbrel on Meadow Lake at 18:28. I did have two sightings of a Hobby during the day.

Following my departure home at 18:30, Nick Green arrived onsite to continue observations and was rewarded with a flock of 11 Dunlin 'in' onto No1 Pit and also a second Sanderling. At least 18 Dunlin and 10+ Ringed Plover were onsite mid-evening. An excellent day on the patch.

Local birding: Wood Sandpiper, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 15th May 2011.

2011-05-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

The f4 westerlies with cloud and rain produced some nice birds on the local patch today with the first Turnstone of the spring (2 birds) seen in the morning and a splendid Wood Sandpiper (above) early evening in foul weather which eventually resulted in 'rained-up' optics. Also, a Flava Wagtail was seen very briefly in the evening was thought most likely to be Blue-headed, but not confirmed.

Local birding: Grasshopper Warbler - Brockholes NR LWT - 11th May 2011.

2011-05-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

An absolutely brilliant 'Gropper' on the local patch.

A few offshore migrants: April 2011.

2011-05-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Above: Male Marsh Harrier - 8 miles offshore.

Above & below: female Yellow Wagtail - c15 miles offshore.

Above & below: 'Continental' Robin - 20 miles offshore. At 11:32AM this bird took off high NE, next stop Scandinavia. The best Robin I ever did see!

Above: Harbour Porpoise.

Local birding, Lancs: Brockholes NR LWT: 6th-12th April 2011.

2011-04-14T04:36:00.000-07:00

Above & below: 2cy Iceland Gull - Brockholes NR LWT - 12th April 2011. Found on 'Chain Gang Tuesday' by Volunteer's Tony Parnell, Pete Bainbridge & Robin Shenton as they were working on screen building by one of the new hides on No1 Pit. The bird is the first site record and was only present for c1hr around midday before heading west with the small flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls it had arrived with. Thanks to the newly revived Brockholes text group, a clinical twitch saw Myself, Tony Disley, Zac Hinchcliffe and Cllr. John F. Wright all sucessfully connect with it before it departed.

Above & below: A few flocks of icelandic Black-tailed Godwits have been recorded passing through the site in the past week presumably on cross country migration, largest flock size 29 on 12th April.

Above & below: A pair of Med Gull dropped in on 12th. It looks as though five different birds have been recorded in recent weeks, including a silver 'BTO-type' ringed adult.

Above: Kestrel.

Above & below: Good to see Tree Sparrows making use of the 'Totem Pole' nest boxes.

Above: Bolton legend Ricky Hoyle (right), 12th April 2011. Haven't seen him for years!

Other patch highlights following good coverage by several observers include: 2 Osprey (I have put in 30hrs so far and not connected with one yet!), Yellow Wagtail (always notable nowadays), at least 2 Greenshank, small numbers of Dunlin and a maximum day count of 12 LRP. Whilst the first Whimbrel of the year should be imminent!

Local birding, Lancs: Avocets - 5th April 2011.

2011-04-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

These two Avocets were initially found by Pete Bainbridge at the local patch, Brockholes NR LWT, on No1 Pit at 09:00 and represent the third site record, totalling seven individuals, since the first, long overdue record in 2009. At 10:34 they flew high and were lost to view over onsite trees before I had chance to obtain a record shot, but were relocated at 13:30 a few miles to the north of the site at Grimsargh Reservoirs nr Longridge. There they were still present 15:37 at least when I acquired the record shots above.

Lancs: Iceland Gull & Kittiwake - 31st March 2011.

2011-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

Above: 2cy Iceland Gull

Below: Ad Kittiwake

Preston Docks, Lancs - 31st March 2011.

1.5hrs at Brockholes NR LWT mid-late morning provided me with a yeartick in the form of 2 Swallow and also my first 2 White Wagtail of 2011. At least 50 Sand Martin were in the area, 5 LRP and 3 Ringed Plover, 14 Curlew, 2 Redshank and a Snipe, but nothing obviously brought in by the strong SW wind during my visit.

During the afternoon, a trip into Preston with my Wife provided an opportunity to call in at Preston Docks beforehand. The long-staying Juv Iceland Gull was immediately obvious upon arrival at 13:45 and a bonus bird in the form of a Kittiwake, a species I was hoping for at Brockholes earlier in the day, was also present.

Western Isles inc. Mull - 27th-29th March 2011.

2011-03-30T10:00:00.001-07:00

Above & below: Pied-billed Grebe, Salen Bay, Mull. Three videograbs of this excellent but elusive and frustratingly mobile bird taken at 350x magnification.

Above: Basking Shark, 28th March 2011. The first Scottish record this year and only the third in UK and Irish waters so far in 2011. Common Dolphin also seen.

Away from Mull, I was fortunate to be involved with the finding of two more White-billed Divers.

Above: The first WBD - 27th March 2011.

Below: The second WBD - 28th March 2011.

Below: Great Northern Diver. A few hundred seen. One birder on Mull counted 69 in Loch Na Keal alone. How many thousands must winter off the coast of Britain and Ireland? 17, mainly summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe were seen in Loch Na Keal and a Red-necked Grebe which I saw at the beginning of March was still present very distantly in Laggan Bay, Loch Tuath. Wheatears were clearly well in with several around the shoreline of Loch Na Keal

Above: Three Razorbill & a single Guillemot.

On Mull, a pair of Peregrine are delighting birders and tourists alike at Tobermory Harbour. For those familiar with Tobermory, the birds perch on the Church by the waterfront shops, allowing brilliant views and photos in between hunting sorties, terrorising the Feral Pigeon population as they chase their intended prey low over the buildings.

Above & below: Common Buzzard.

Above: Golden Eagle, Loch Na Keal, Mull. A couple 0f White-tailed Eagles were seen on a distant nest at another location.

Above: One of two Otter stubbornly remaining on the blind side of a rock. Four Otter seen at different locations on 29th. Mull truly is the Otter capital of Britain!

Above: Rock Pipit.

Lancs: Lesser Scaup, Marshside RSPB - 22nd March 2011.

2011-03-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

A good days birding on the south Ribble Marshes was largely spent in the Marshside area watching the 2cy drake Lesser Scaup on the 'Junction Pool'. Unfortunately it was mostly into the sun viewing as the skies were blue and a heathaze was evident. A good Lesser Scaup, better in 'the flesh' than some images viewed over the weekend, suggesting a potentially anomalous rear-headshape. Only my 3rd ever, all have been drakes.

Above & below: 2cy drake Lesser Scaup, Marshside RSPB, Lancs - 22nd March 2011.

Below: About to dive, change in headshape.

A male Wheatear at the former Sand Works was a yeartick, several hundred Black-tailed Godwit and a flock of c350 Golden Plover were present, superb views of Avocets from Sandgrounders, 2 Little Egret, a f/imm Merlin on the Outer Marsh, 2 distant Hirundine sp. heading north over the Ribble were probably Sand Martin.

Views of the Pink-footed Goose flock on Crossens Inner Marsh were simply superb from the inland perimetre of the reserve. 2x1stw Eurasian White-fronted Geese, 1stw Pale-bellied Brent and a single Barnacle Goose were amongst the flock.

Above: 1stw Eurasian White-fronted Goose

Below: 1stw Pale-bellied Brent Goose
Crossens Inner Marsh, Marshside RSPB, Lancs - 22nd March 2011.

Above: Avocet from Sandgrounders Hide, Marshside RSPB, Lancs - 22nd March 2011.

Finally, 1.5hrs of solitude at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB produced highlights of c30 Avocet, f/imm Merlin, Grey Plover and 5 Grey Partridge.

Local birding, Lancs: Whooper Swans, Med Gulls - 16th-21st March 2011.

2011-03-21T13:30:00.001-07:00

Above & below: 16 adult Whooper Swan - Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 21st March 2011.

3 LRP and 4 Chiffchaff represented the summer migrants during a visit to Brockholes on the 21st.

Fishmoor Res Gull roost held a record count of 6 Med Gull (5ad consisting of two pairs and a single, and a 2CY) on the 16th. 17th: 5 Meds (4ad consisting of 1pr and two single, and the 2CY) and I could only find a pair of adults tonight, 21st.

Above & below: Ad Med Gull - Pleasington Playing Fields, Witton Country Park, Blackburn - 16th March 2011. I make no apologies for more photos of one of my favourite species! Haven't seen it since the 17th....

.... and suffice to say i've seen no Hawfinch in Pleasington Old Hall Wood!

Spotted Crake, Marshside RSPB, Lancs - 18th March 2011.

2011-03-18T13:15:00.001-07:00

Whilst at Fishmoor Res this evening (2ad Med Gull roosted), I received a second hand report of a Spotted Crake seen at Marshside RSPB today (18th) and have spent this evening chasing up the record. The bird was found by Simon Paul to the left of Sandgrounders Hide, in Simon's words, "Where the Water Rail is often seen". Seen at 15:30, for two minutes.

As you can see Simon obtained an excellent photo of it. What a good find. Well done Simon.

Above: Spotted Crake - Marshside RSPB, Lancs, - 18th March 2011 (Photo: Simon Paul).

Local birding, Lancs: LRP, Sand Martins, Iceland & Med Gulls - 15th March 2011.

2011-03-15T12:21:00.003-07:00

Above: LRP.

Below: Pair of Med Gull

Brockholes NR LWT - 15th March 2011.

The day started as in recent weeks, Pleasington Playing Fields and Pleasington Old Hall Wood, with no sign of the Med Gull for the second successive visit and another blank for Hawfinch. Up to four Bullfinch, 2 pair, are regular in the walled garden at POHW, but how i yearn for the days in the 1980's and early 1990's when there was a reasonble chance of connecting with the 'big woodland duo' of Hawfinch and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker here. Yellowhammer, another sadly lost local species, also used to breed immediately to the south of the wood in the 80's as well.

Following this, Brockholes NR LWT yielded two year ticks in the form of 12 Sand Martin & a Little Ringed Plover on No1 Pit. This flock of Sand Martin seemingly moved on after an hour or so. A pair of adult summer Med Gull dropped in onto No1 Pit from 11:30-11:54.

As an aside, Given the number of pairs of Med Gull breeding in the county nowadays, I was astonished to learn recently that Lincolnshire still awaits its first confirmed breeding record!

Visibility at the Fishmoor Res Gull roost was very poor this evening and was a case of 'white-winger or bust'. Fortunately, the 2cy Iceland Gull was present upon my arrival at 17:45 and one adult summer Med Gull was located.

Local birding, Lancs: Iceland Gull, Fishmoor Res, Blackburn - 14th March 2011.

2011-03-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

A nice juv Iceland Gull roosted tonight from 18:00 as did 3 superb ad sum Med Gulls.

Prior to this, an hour at Brockholes NR LWT late afternoon revealed the continued presence of at least 3 Ringed Plover squabbling territorially on No1 Pit Island, 54 Oystercatcher, 3 Redshank, 13 Lapwing, 18 Goldeneye and 13 Teal amongst the other usual suspects. The same green (B) darvic ringed Greylag Goose as recorded last spring, ringed at MMWWT in I think winter 2008 (will check), is present again amongst up to 14 Greylags.

Earlier in the day, there was no sign of the ad Med Gull on Pleasington Playing Fields in the hour that i gave it mid-morning. Predicatably there was no sign of any Hawfinch at Pleasington Old Hall Wood in my 7th recent attempt to try and confirm whether they still exist in this part of Lancs. If I were to succeed in the coming weeks, the event would undoubtedly rank equal first with any other top ornithlogical highlight of 2011, no matter what that may turn out to be come the year end?

If you are on Facebook and want to stay in touch with what is being seen at Brockholes and hopefully inform others of what you have seen, then 'like' the new 'Brockholes Bird And Wildlife News' Facebook page via this link: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Brockholes-Nature-Reserve-Lancs-Bird-Wildlife-News/179765618733795?sk=info

Local birding, Blackburn, Lancs: Med Head - 13th March 2011.

2011-03-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

The local Med Gull still present this morning on Pleasington Playing Fields, but i totally screwed up my photos by leaving the exposure compensation on yesterdays settings! Anyway, a heavily cropped one of the head just to show the lovely markings around the eye.

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs: Barwit & FDxPO hybrid - 9th March 2011.

2011-03-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Fresh westerlies in March usually produce the goods on the local patch. This Bar-tailed Godwit was present on No1 Pit from at least 10:00-12:45 at least.

Above & below: Female Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid on No2 Pit, 9th March 2011.

Local birding, Lancs: Med Gull - 8th March 2011.

2011-03-08T15:44:00.001-08:00

The same adult Med Gull continues to frequent Pleasington Playing Fields, Tower Road, Blackburn. This was followed by another fruitless hour praying for a Hawfinch to appear in Pleasington Old Hall Wood.

Up to three ad Med Gulls are being seen daily at Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT amongst c600 Black-headed Gulls. A Dunlin was on No1 Pit during the morning and 3 Ringed Plover included a mating pair on No1 Pit Island.

Isle of Mull, Scotland: 6th-7th March 2011.

2011-03-08T15:43:00.001-08:00

I have found it increasingly shocking that as a UK birder of nigh on thirty years, I have never made the effort to visit so many of the Scottish islands. So, at the grand age of 43, I have decided to address this beginning with a short visit to Mull.

Above: Red-necked Grebe, Sgeirean a' Phortaire, Laggan Bay, Loch Tuath - 6th March 2011. This was bird of the day in a Mull context, an Argyll description species. Always extremely distant, my ancient, trusty Camcorder managed to secure an identifiable record image.

Above & below: Great Northern Divers. The days total was what I regarded as a modest 30 in the waters of Loch Tuath, Loch Na Keal and Loch Scridain. Given the sheer size of the likes of Loch Tuath, this total was presumably the tip of the iceberg. 4 Red-throated Diver also seen: 1 Calgary, 1 Loch Na Keal, 2 Loch Scridain.

The weather deteriorated for the larger Raptors from midday. It would be a crime to visit Mull and not post any Eagle shots, no matter how poor they are. Above: 2 White-tailed Eagle, Below: Golden Eagle, one of three seen during the day.

Much scanning of shoreline eventually produced an Otter. This one showed brilliantly at Loch Beg mid-late afternoon, in albeit poor light and weather.

Above: An impressive set of teeth!

Below: The Otter location at Loch Beg.

Above & below: A few views of Loch Na Keal.

Above: A moving Memorial at a wonderful viewpoint overlooking part of Loch Tuath to a Woman named Susan Cameron, who tragically died during the 2003 Mull Rally.

Below: The three lochs of Loch Sguabain, Loch an Eilean & Loch Airde Glais. Gone 17:30, I had long given up on another Eagle in failing light and poor weather when an adult White-tailed appeared over the road and headed down this Glen presumably to roost.

Additonal selected sightings:

Achnadrish: 2 female Crossbill, inc 1 hat was perched on the road, but flew before I could bring the DSLR into play.

Loch Na Keal: 2 Slavonian Grebe, Peregrine.

Ballygown Bay, Loch Tuath: Greenshank.

Below: Back on the mainland the next morning, up to 20 Black Guillemots gave tremendously close views in Oban. Delightful, beautiful birds!

It's easy to see why so many people fall under the spell of Mull. A tremendous place both for wildlife and scenery. Having only begun to scratch the surface of the island's wildlife, i'll certainly be revisiting.

Local birding, Lancs: 1st-2nd March 2011

2011-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

The same adult Med Gull has been present at Pleasington Playing Fields, Blackburn, for the past two mornings. Disturbance by dogwalkers and other Human traffic is absolutely off the scale at this site!! Yesterday at Brockholes NR LWT, adult Med Gull, Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid, and a couple of Ringed Plover which appear to be on territory on No1 Pit island. Nothing of note seen in the Fishmoor Res Gull roost this evening.

Local birding, Lancs: Iceland Gull, Med Gulls & FDxPO hybrid - 28th Feb 2011.

2011-02-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

Nine hours pottering about locally started with an hour at Pleasington Old Hall Wood to see if Hawfinch still exist? No pain, no gain! Predictably no joy but I shall keep trying for the next month or two when possible. Following a fruitless first scan of the Black-headed Gull flock on Pleasington Playing Fields on the drive-in, a second check of Gulls present on the way back out along Tower Road was rewarded with three adult Mediterranean Gull. Always wanted to see a Med here, on the first ever local patch, Witton Country Park, where birding began for me back in the late 1970's!

Mass disturbance by multiple dog walkers saw the Gull flock disperse

Next stop was the local patch of the past 13 years, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT for the next 4.5hrs. Three Med Gull were present on No1 Pit upon arrival, 4 Ringed Plover on No1 Pit island and the female Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid made a reappearance.

Above: 3 Med Gull.

Below: FDxPO hybrid

Brockholes NR LWT

Next was a drive over Belmont and Entwhistle for an unsuccessful check of some Clearfell wth fantasies of finding a Great Grey Shrike, a species I am long overdue to find in East Lancs!

Finally, the Fishmoor Res Gull roost came up trumps with an Iceland Gull in at 17:52, which looked to be a 2CY, but by this time the light had almost gone completely. With up to six Meds seen locally today, I couldn't find any at Fishmoor, although one must have roosted surely!

Above: Iceland Gull (arrowed!).

Roe Deer - Above: Brockholes. Below: Pleasington Crematorium.

Above and below: I have lazily relied on automatic DSLR settings for far too long and have started practising with exposure compensation on birds in flight against lead-grey skies with the newly acquired 7D.... With the Osprey passage only four or so weeks away, I've got to get my act together for when one flies through in similar conditions. Work in practice!

Local birding, Lancs: Iceland Gulls - 1st Feb 2011.

2011-02-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

One juvenile Iceland Gull was present at Rishton Res upon my arrival just before c14:50, stood on the western bank amongst other Gulls. Just after 15:00, a second Iceland appeared on the water. With terrible sunlight in the face at the promenade and a south-westerly meaning all the Gulls were back-on, I had to run around the dam to get better light in order to age this second individual which proved to be another juv. Both were present for only ten minutes, with the second bird lingering until 15:45.

Presumably both returned to Whinney Hill Tip as they didn't come into roost at Fishmoor Res until 16:56 and 17:16 respectively.

The above poor record shot of the second individual is handheld to the 30xw eyepiece. A few days ago, for the first time in several months I dusted down the 30xW eyepiece for the Kowa 883 (I usually leave the zoom on), which I inadvertently left attached to the scope. As a result, I forgot the zoom at home and my digiscoping adapter only fits the zoom. The effort involved to obtain even the record shot above handheld bordered on the farcical! - As a result, i'm considering biting the bullet and purchasing the ridiculously overpriced Kowa DA-4 and DA-10 adapter so both eyepieces are covered!

Local birding: Common Redpolls & Iceland Gull - 31st Jan 2011.

2011-01-31T12:22:00.001-08:00

Quality local birds began firstly with a call from Dave Bickerton who kindly invited me over to his garden at Petre Crescent, Rishton, where He and Mark Breaks had caught two Common (Mealy) Redpoll during a ringing session in DB's back garden (referred to hereafter as Rishton Bird Obs - RBO).

Above: 2x 1stw male Common Redpoll - Rishton Bird Observatory, 31st Jan 2011.

Above & below: 1stw male Common Redpoll (left) and 1stw Lesser Redpoll - RBO - 31st Jan 2011.

Dave Bickerton (centre, RBO President/Chariman/Owner) and Tony Disley (right) photograph the Common Redpolls. Much to my annoyance, I forgot to get some shots of the undertail coverts.

MkB extracts a Bullfinch: Rishton Bird Obs, 31st Jan 2011.

A good number of Gulls were noted from the moving car as I passed Rishton Reservoir enroute to RBO. Thankfully the majority were still present over an hour later. A juv Iceland Gull was noted on the first scan, probably the same bird as found by Steven Grimshaw c5 days previously at Whinney Hill Tip, and a different individual to the juv present a few weeks previously, being darker and more coarsely patterned than that bird.

Despite disturbance by the eternal scourge that is the dog walker (two in this case), the Iceland remained for c2 hours when it flew in the direction of Whinney Hill Tip at 14:22. Against the odds in foggy conditions, I briefly saw the bird at the Fishmoor Reservoir roost at 16:48.

Left-Right: Myself, Mark Breaks, Dave Bickerton, Geoff Turner & Steven Grimshaw - Rishton Reservoir, Lancs - 31st Jan 2011.

White-billed Diver, Scotland: 28th Jan 2011.

2011-01-29T12:59:00.000-08:00

I had the good fortune to find this magnificent (untwitchable) adult winter White-billed Diver at a confidential site in Scotland on 28th Jan.

North Ribble sites, Lancs: 21st Jan 2011.

2011-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

Above : 1stw Red-necked Grebe, Fairhaven Lake, Lytham St. Annes, Lancs, 21st Jan 2011.

Below: Ring-necked Parakeet. One of six at Lytham Crematorium late afternoon.

Pam decided she wanted to go for a walk somewhere, so I suggested Fairhaven Lake. The route from Blackburn saw us drive right past Preston Dock, site of the long-staying juv Iceland Gull. A quick pull-in onto the car park by the McDonalds at 14:50 produced instant results, the Iceland was on the water below the car park. Moments later a Eurofighter from nearby BAE Warton flushed everything sending the Iceland over to the other side of the dock, so no token record shot for the blog. Fingers crossed this bird decides to return to overwinter here in the years to come.

Onwards to Fairhaven Lake where the Red-necked Grebe was instantly located, actively feeding in the centre of the lake at the eastern end. The low winter sun was a nightmare, but eventually the Grebe came in close enough for a few record shots for the blog. Several skeins of Pink-footed Geese were moving between the estuary and sites north of Lytham, with more skeins overflying our route back to Preston on their way to roost on the Ribble.

With fog rolling in, a quick nip into Lytham Crematorium produced 6 Ring-necked Parakeets at dusk.

Over wyre, Lancs: 13th Jan 2011.

2011-01-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

The same adult Bewick's Swan on the right in both photos is ringed, yellow darvic on right leg, metal ring on left, but way too distant to read unfortunatley.

Four hours driving along the lanes of Over Wyre today failed to produce any other Goose species amongst the couple of thousand or so Pink-feet I was able to go through with the scope, a 'leucistic' PG the Goose 'highlight'.

Sighting of the day had to go to the wonderful herd of 16 Bewick's Swan (8xad, 8x1stw) with 42 Whoopers at Eagland Hill. A Merlin showed well on a post at the same location and a Barn Owl was quartering fields along Bradshaw Lane at 14:50.

26 Corn Bunting, 4 Yellowhammer and 3 Tree Sparrow were in the vicinity of the feeding station.

Back to Blackburn for the Fishmoor Res Gull roost, but nothing of interest for the third successive evening. I haven't seen the juv Iceland Gull since the 10th, the roost being both unsettled and reduced in size from the week before.

Iceland Gull - Fishmoor Res, Lancs: 9th Jan 2011.

2011-01-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

The juv Iceland Gull came in to roost for the 6th consecutive evening, from 16:10.

With the ice now gone, the Gulls have reverted back to their normal pattern of roosting on the large factory roof to the south of the site.

Fishmoor Res, Blackburn, Lancs: 8th Jan 2011.

2011-01-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

Above: Mike Watson (second left) , Myself (centre) abs Janos Olah (right).

With the Wife in tow, I only had time to call in at Fishmoor briefly on two occasions during the afternoon for a quick check of any Gulls present. A great surprise on the second brief call-in was the arrival of Mike Watson who brought with him Janos Olah of Hungarian based 'SAKERTOUR' Birding Company plus two friends on a brief visit to the UK. Mike, Janos and friends were keen to see the Iceland Gull which has roosted the past few evenings, and it duly obliged for them at 16:28.

I enjoyed a fabulous long weekend's birding in the Hortobagy, Hungary, with Sakertours and Janos as our guide back in mid-February 2008. A fantastic few days. Trip report can be read HERE .

Iceland Gull - Whinney Hill Tip, Lancs: 6th Jan 2011.

2011-01-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

Very distant shot of the juvenile Iceland Gull at Whinney Hill Tip, before it roosted for the third evening at Fishmoor Reservoir from 16:08. Also to roost was an unringed adult Med Gull.

A brief visit to Chapel Lane, Darwen, early pm resulted in a meagre 7 Waxwings at the site where a whopping 168 had been counted a couple of hours earlier.

Iceland Gull - Rishton Reservoir, Lancs: 5th Jan 2011.

2011-01-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Having failed to get a record shot of this juvenile the previous evening at the Fishmoor Res roost, it was nice to relocate the bird on the ice at my old stamping ground of Rishton Reservoir mid-pm. The Iceland again roosted at Fishmoor from 16:30 as did an adult Med Gull.

Smew, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs: 29th Dec 2010.

2010-12-29T11:25:00.001-08:00

A few more high magnification digiscoped efforts of the excellent Smew currently frequenting the River Ribble between Brockholes Nature Reserve and Brockholes Bridge.

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT: 28th Dec 2010.

2010-12-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

A couple of images of the redhead Smew currently on the adj River Ribble. Pity the light was absolutely dire.

This is the first site record proper in the period Aug 1998-2010, though up to 4 Smew frequented a stretch of the Ribble just upstream of the site back in January 2010. An older record involved a pair seen on the stretch of River upstream of the entrance bridge on a date in the 1980's.

Great to see a resurgence of this species locally in the last couple of winters. I assume this latest bird is the redhead recently seen to roost on Alston Reservoir's, Longridge. Chances are the 'White Nun', which also roosted at Alston at the same time, is also lurking on a local stretch of the Ribble....

Peregrine's, Blackburn, Lancs: 28th Nov 2010.

2010-11-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Above: Female. Below: Male.

Juv Iceland Gull - Preston Docks, Lancs - 20th Nov 2010.

2010-11-20T11:20:00.001-08:00

A cracking bird, coincidentally perched on the same groyne as a 2ndw Ring-billed Gull was in Feb 1991!

Waxwings: Above, some of the 40+ at Preston Docks. Below: A single at Ewood, Blackburn, the first time i've seen this species in the Rowans opposite the McDonalds in nigh on twenty years of checking in influx winters.

Great Northern Diver: Fleetwood Marine Lake, Lancs - 10th Nov 2010.

2010-11-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hard to resist twitching these magnificent beasts when an opportunity in the county arises.

Pied-billed Grebe: Hollingworth Lake, Gtr Manchester - 9th Nov 2010.

2010-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Bombshell news broke early afternoon concerning the discovery of a Pied-billed Grebe in Rochdale! The bird, an adult, gave excellent scope views to the assembled gathering of birders in the nature reserve corner of Hollingworth Lake. A tremendous find for the birders involved!

Great White Egret, River Ribble, Mitton, Lancs - 5th Nov 2010.

2010-11-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Excellent scope views were had of the first Great White Egret for the East Lancs Ornithologists Club recording area, on the River Ribble just upstream of the Aspinall Arms at Mitton mid-afternoon, albeit in miserable weather and light conditions for images.

This surely has to be the same bird as that seen flying NW over a vis mig watchpoint at Oxenhope Moor in West Yorkshire on Monday 1st Nov.

Local birding: Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT: 10th Sept 2010

2010-09-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Absolutely no movement through the site in three hours mid-pm - early afternoon. 1 Green Sandpiper (above), 1 Common Sandpiper, 30 Lapwing, female Goldeneye, 9 Shoveler, 7 Gadwall, c30 Teal, 26 Tufted, c30 Sand Martin and a Sedge Warbler.

Spurn, East Yorkshire: 8th Sept 2010.

2010-09-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Having not been able to check the Gull roost at Fishmoor on the previous evening, I awoke early to have a crack at first light to see whether the Caspian Gull had roosted for a second night. This is very hit and miss as you have such a short opportunity to try and connect with a target species due to the Gull's starting to disperse at the first chink of light and c30 mins later it's all but over. However, when I switched my phone on I received a text from Tony Disley offering me a lift to Spurn. The time was 04:50. Following a short period agonising what to do, I was in Tony's car twenty minutes later heading eastbound towards the hallowed peninsula!

Upon arrival we began at the Crown and Anchor car park where 2 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Blackcap and a Garden Warbler showed in the bushes, whilst two adult Med Gull flew over towards the Humber and 2 Little Egret fed along the shoreline.

News filtered through that there were more migrants at the Point, including a Spotted Crake which had been seen in the Point Dunes. What a lovely out-of-context migrant! So, thats where we headed next.

A few Whinchat and Wheatear were noted at New Road and once at the Point car park, a single Little Egret was noted on the humber as was a single adult Med Gull which flew south along the Humber tideline. This Spotted Flycatcher was perching on the wall by the car park.

Above: Spotted Flycatcher (Tony Disley).

The next few hours were spent at the point, where totals already noted by Spurn regulars included 25 Pied Flycatcher. For us, aside from Common Whitethroat, probably the most numerous of the common migrants was Tree Pipit with perhaps 15+ or so seen south of the point car park - the end of the Point itself, including 8 flushed from the point dunes south of the Green Beacon. I love the call of Tree Pipit, which has always been my favourite call of the common migrants.

Above: Tree Pipit (Tony Disley).

Smaller numbers of Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts, Willow Warbler, several Whinchat, Wheatear, Garden Warbler and a single Lesser Whitethroat were seen and several Flava Wagtails were noted heading south. A few Swifts were also on the move, and we recorded c20 during the day the largest flock being six flying south down seaward side of the VTS tower and an adult Med Gull flew south past the end of the Point. A few glances offshore revealed some Wildfowl on the move, with three flocks of Teal totalling c70 individuals, 6 Shelduck and 5 Wigeon > south, as did two Common Scoter, but directly over the peninsula.

Scarcities recorded by others at the Point included the Crake, Ortolan, 1+ Barred Warbler and 2 Rosefinch, but try as we might (the Crake aside which was a classic single observer sighting) we failed to connect with any of the more quality migrants.

It's incredible how fast time flies and already it was gone 13:00 and with still no scarcities seen we headed north towards Tank Ditch/Wire Dump where a Wryneck had been showing near Post 63. Typically, the bird had disappeared and it took c1.5 hrs before I was fortunate to have it fly past me as I walked a path on the seaward side of the road. The Wryneck landed on the path briefly out of sight, then showed in a bush before heading off again west of the road. A while later we saw it again in Tank Ditch itself. Other migrants in this area included several Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher. Several Wheatear were just north of Wire Dump Trap, but there was no sign of the Rosefinch that had been seen here earlier either.

Above: Pied Flycatcher & Common Redstart (Tony Disley).

A thirty minute seawatch from the Narrows on the incoming tide was fruitless, 3 Swift > south well offshore the highlight, 2 juv Common Tern > SE and a Gannet > north. An eclipse drake Eider was on the sea and a Little Egret on the Humber.

A brew in the Bluebell cafe (£2.50 for a cup of tea and a twix!) and a chat with some other birders who had just come back from Beacon Lane revealed that they were similarly struggling to connect with the quality migrants. We weren't the only one's! 6 Yellow Wagtail (1ad, 5 juv) fed amongst Cattle by the Borrow Pit.

The last couple of hours was spent around Easington where 4 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Spotted Flycathher, 3 Redstart, 2 Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were the best we could come up with.

Finally, a postmortem of the days events with other birders outside the chippy in Patrington revealed that all had failed to connect with anything but the Post 63 Wryneck! An enjoyable day nontheless and as always great to be back at Spurn.

Left - right: Andy Makin, Tony Disley, Phil Rhodes and Myself - Narrow Neck, Spurn - 8th Sept 2010.

Local birding: 2CY Caspian Gull, Fishmoor Res, Lancs: 5th sept 2010

2010-09-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

This bird was located just before 20:00, c20 mins before light failed completely and in already dull, cloudy, rain threatening conditions. These images are the best I could obtain. At the moment I have aged it as a 2cy on the basis of broad tertial fringes and a consistent feature in the videograbs of the raised right upperwing are the pale inner primaries.

Dick Newell kindly commented re the age as follows: "It looks like a typical 1st winter bird, but the tertials have rather broad white fringes like a second winter. I don't see any 3rd generation grey feathers in the scapulars, which I would expect for a 2nd winter. So, either a rather advanced 1st winter or a delayed 2nd winter. Would need better pictures to be sure which it is. Probably, as you say, a 2nd winter (=2CY). But Caspian Gull, yes."

Alan Dean kindly commented as follows: "Yes, looks like a Caspian. As you say, images not overly clear in failing light but what can be seen of mantle and covert pattern look quite like a 1 cy in some respects but the tertial pattern in image ‘a’ (for example) looks to have the more complex terminal pattern of a 2cy and this would also explain the rather short primary extension i.e. outermost primaries dropped during moult to 2W."

East Yorkshire (Flamborough & Hornsea): 3rd Sept 2010.

2010-09-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

Above: Olivaceous Warbler twitch on the south side of the legendary Old Fall Plantation.

With my car in for a service, I got my wife to dump me at Brockholes for five hours or so enroute to work in the hope a Curlew Sandpiper would fly through as there are quite a few appearing at coastal Lancs sites. My visit only lasted one hour though, as Dave Bickerton kindly offered a lift for the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler at Flamborough, a bird I was particularly keen to see, giving me only enough time to note a juv Ringed Plover on No1 Pit and the continued presence of the eclipse drake Garganey on the Main Pool before Dave collected me. Janet Davie made up the final team member.

Arriving at Flamborough at c12:00, we were soon insitu on the southern side of Old Fall Plantation where several excellent scope views were had of the Olivaceous on and off over a c2.5hr period. I didn't get any photos, preferring instead to concentrate on getting views of this very educational bird, a species I last saw in Greece way back in May 1994. 1-2 Pied Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher were in the same area.

Whilst there a shout went up of Buzzards, of which there were 21 in all, thermalling S/SW to the east of Old Fall Hedge. Almost immediately came calls of up to two Honey Buzzards amongst them, but try as i might in the c1.5 minutes all/most of the birds were in view all I could connect with was Common Buzzards.

Following the Olivaceous we walked south down the Old Fall Hedge then walked a route towards the Lighthouse, Bay Brambles and along the road back to the field car park. Many Linnet were present, another Buzzard went south, single Sparrowhawk, 3 'flava' Wagtails and very pleasing was two sightings of flyover Lapland Buntings (3+4).

We missed a Barred Warbler at the Bay Brambles by seconds, and an hour scanning the wider Bramble area produced 2 Lesser Whtethroat, Common Whitethroats, juv Stonechat, House & Tree Sparrows.

Next stop was Hornsea Mere, where a Common Crane had been present for a few days. The bird was eventually found very distantly, visible only through a small gap in the bankside trees on the far side of the Mere, a great spot by Dave. If we hadn't have been stood in the very spot we were we would have dipped it, pure and simple! Even at this distance, the Crane gave pleasing scope views. A Black-necked Grebe was very conveniently, although distantly, bang in line with the Crane, mid-water. A check of the visible shoreline before we left revelaed a juv Greenshank and three juv Ruff 20+ Teal and a Red Crested Pochard.

Talking to a local, I enquired as to how many Little Gulls were currently roosting on the Mere. "Very few" was his reply to which he also mentioned there were only small numbers offshore as well. A total contrast to the mind boggling 15,000 that roosted here a few (several?) years ago. What a hell of a spectacle that must have been! A fine piece of Halibut in Hornsea rounded off the day nicely

Above & below: Adult Common Crane, Hornsea Mere, digiscoped with camcorder at great distance!

Below: Black-necked Grebe, Hornsea Mere.

Below: To absent friends, thanks once again for the Sandwiches Tim (in-joke).

Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancs: 2nd Sept 2010.

2010-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

The last couple of hours of light was spent viewing the NE end of Leighton Moss RSPB from the road as I awaited the appearance of the roosting Osprey which duly appeared, cruising in to Island Mere from the NW at 19:55. The sight of Little Egrets flying in to roost was a delight to behold, with 56 in from the SW by 20:15. Ninety-two was the final count by observers in the Lower Hide.

Local birding: Garganey, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 29th Aug 2010.

2010-08-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

An eclipse drake Garganey present on the Main Pool mid-morning at least.

Local birding: Little Gull, Fishmoor Res, Lancs: 28th Aug 2010.

2010-08-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

The first time i've done the roost this autumn produced a 2cy Little Gull at 20:10. A very good bird at Fishmoor. Just a single adult Med Gull was a disappointment despite much scanning.

I fear United Utilities may be tightening the noose re access to Guide Res. More fencing has gone up, blocking the access point of recent winters which involved squeezing through the gap and around the fencing blocking the track. Access is still possible across the ditch (whilst water levels are low!), but the banking on the Guide Reservoir side of the ditch has been cleared. I hope i'm wrong but this could be for a reason. If UU put fencing along this side of the ditch, then we may be screwed re access to the banking of Guide Res. This would mean no way of scanning the roof. If so, an absolute disaster for law abiding citizens such as my good self who have been watching this Gull roost for nigh on twenty years only to suffer the consequences of the actions of lowlife scum from neighbouring estates who vandalise the site! Rant over... for now!

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs: 25th Aug 2010.

2010-08-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

This adult Med Gull was the only noteworthy Gull seen during three hours watching low numbers of Gulls coming in and out of the site. No Common Gull seemingly in the vicinity during my visit... never mind Ring-billed's!

Provence, France: 18th-24th Aug 2010.

2010-08-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

This was a family orientated holiday and NOT a dedicated birding holiday... Mission priority directive: to engage in quality time with Wife and my Parents!

Above: View from the apartment balcony in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes area of Provence) looking east. Below: Looking north.

The ridge simply demanded to be scanned for raptors and during the course of five days, I managed to put in 20hrs+ scanning the ridge in the mornings before/or inbetween family orientated activities. Optics wise, I left the Kowa 883 at home and went armed with the Leica APO 62 and smaller carbon tripod to save on weight in the luggage case. Forsman's raptor book alone weighs 1.2kg!

The birding from the apartment balcony gave me sufficient ornithological fix to be able to enjoy, sorry, concentrate on family orientated activities. Honey Buzzard (max 14 > SW on morning of 22nd Aug) was the most regular larger raptor noted and inc. a couple of wing-clapping males, smaller numbers of Common Buzzards (Max 4 on one date), Short-toed Eagle (presumably the same bird flew north on the same flightline on two consecutive mornings between 09:00-09:15. 4 Hobby, two sightings of Peregrine (one adult), frequent Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. A pair of Raven were noted on a few dates.

Other notable birds seen from the apartment balcony included: Golden Oriole (Max 6 on 23rd Aug), Serin (Max 4 on 19th Aug), one Western Bonelli's Warbler (19th), 1 Short-toed Treecreeper (19th), Green Woodpecker (regularly calling), Great-spotted (regularly calling) and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (the latter, a male calling on four dates, at times frustratingly close, but never seen), Red-backed Shrike (one female, on 18th Aug), several Crag Martin and 20-30 Alpine Swift which were amongst a flock of 50+ Swift hawking over the ridge prior to 09:00 one morning, the rest being Common/Pallid Swifts. Padders included Blue & Great Tits, Greenfinches, Chaffinch Blackcaps and Nuthatches.

Above: Golden Oriole from the balcony.

On a couple of days my Dad, who was the only person eligable to drive the hire car, drove me up into the hills for a couple of hours, stopping off for scans, which on the first occasion was eventually productive close to the village of Coursegoules where 2 distant Golden Eagle and an excellent Short-toed Eagle were seen. The second time was brief as plans had been made for the evening but produced several Serin, presumably the same Short-toed Eagle in the same area and this female Red-backed Shrike.

The historic 9th century perched village of Saint-Paul De Vence was the main destination on the 19th.

Above & below: This male Honey Buzzard wing-clapped as it flew south over the bell tower in the photo above, Saint-Paul De Vence.

Above: Pam & I at the viewpoint from the walls at the southern end of Saint-Paul De Vence. Below: Moments later this Honey Buzzard drifted past just above eye level.

The forecast for the morning of the 20th was for rain, which presented me with the opportunity to get the parents to dump me at the Var Estuary, Nice, for a few hours until the weather improved as was forecast around lunchtime whilst they visited the adjacent Shopping Mall, the largest on the Cote D'Azur apparently. Unfortunately, for two of the three hours I was onsite, the rain was torrential, but stopped for the final hour.

Birds seen in the area included: 15 Mediterranean Gull amongst numerous Black-headed Gull, 40+ Yellow-legged Gulls, 100+ Common Tern, 100+ Sandwich Tern, 5 juv Black Tern, 6 Ringed Plover, 3 juv LRP, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, 1 Melodious Warbler, 1 male Cetti's Warbler, 7 Indian Silverbill, Sparrowhawk and 5 Crag Martin.

Above: Indian Silverbill, Var Estuary, Nice.

Above: Little Egret.

Above and below: Mediterranean Gulls.

As predicted, the weather improved around midday and the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent at Antibes. Ornithological interest was restricted to a few Yellow-legged Gull, 1ad Med Gull and a few Indian Silverbill's along the seafront.

Prior to visiting our favourite perched village in the region, the stunning Gourdon, for an evening meal, a walk around the perched village of Tourrettes-Sur-Loup on the evening of 22nd saw a family party of Crag Martin giving stunning, point blank views from the viewpoint at the southern end of the village. Sadly, i didn't have the DSLR to hand. A Golden Oriole also did a nice flypast.

The 23rd Aug and final day saw a trip to Sainte Marguarite Island, location where 'The Man In The Iron Mask' was imprisioned for eleven years. A couple of Crag Martin and Swift sp (Common/Pallid) patrolled the seafront at Juan les Pins whilst we awaited the boat to the island. Once on Sainte Marguarite and following a lengthy and interesting tour of the Fort and Museum, I sped off to spend the final hour at a hide overlooking a pool on the island. 2 Black-winged Stilts, inc. a smart juvenile, saved the day ornithologically. Other birds on the pool included 2 Little Egret, 18 Grey Heron, 5 Common Tern, 40 Black-headed Gull, 2 juv Yellow-legged Gull, 4 Common Sandpiper and 2 juv Common Redshank.

Above: Black-winged Stilts.

Above: The pool on Sainte Marguarite.

Above: Group photo from the walls of the Fort on Sainte Marguarite with Canne in the background.

Above & below: Posing at the village viewpoint in Vence.

The final decent bird of the trip was a Crag Martin which flew and landed on a ledge above the entrance of the multi-storey car park at Nice Airport as we were driving in.

So, in summary, The primary mission objective was achieved. Ornithologically, given the nature of the holiday I can't complain either!

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs: 12th Aug 2010.

2010-08-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Apart from 2 Ringed Plover and a juv Shelduck > west, It had been quiet for the first 2hr 20min of my visit, when this 3CY Yellow-legged Gull dropped in for ten minutes mid morning, 8th site record.

Two minutes later, a Wood Sandpiper appeared in flight, calling loudly and repeatedly over the M6 end of No1 Pit, then did a close flypast, still calling as it gained height, crossed the M6 and headed SW downriver. Good to see Brockholes coming back to some kind of form re Wood Sand following four blank years (2006-2009 inclusive), with records in both passage periods this year. There have now been 16 records since Aug 1998, totalling in excess of 20 individuals.

As the weather warmed considerably for an hour or so late morning, 9 Buzzard could be seen in the area, and a distant large Raptor in heathaze to the NE of the site at 11:00 was almost certainly a Marsh Harrier but wasn't clinched. A Raven also circled to the south of the site.

The last bit of action noted was at 11:59, when a short shower forced 10 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Dunlin and 2 Snipe to drop low over the site, but didn't landed.

Barn Owls, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT: July 2010.

2010-08-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Barn Owls bred on the reserve for the first time in 2010. The ringing of the brood of 5 young took place on 15th July.

Hugh Jones & Glynn Anderton process two of the young Barn Owls.

Wood Sandpiper, Parsonage Res, Lancs: 13th July 2010

2010-08-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Found by Tim & Janet Davie. Does anybody know if there has ever been an earlier record of a juvenile Wood Sand in Lancashire?

Bowland, Lancs - 13th June 2010.

2010-06-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

I have never had the DIY gene, so did the thoroughly dishonorable thing and left my wife, mother-in-law and parents decorating/gardening at my home whilst I spent an afternoon birding in Bowland! Disgraceful I know, but well worth it! To hell with the consequences!

The wingtagged male Hen Harrier above provided me with the most prolonged views of a perched male I have had in years, 30 minutes preening on this fencepost, albeit several hundred metres away. What a bird! Prolonged views of 2 Short-eared Owl and a male Merlin were also had, whilst Tawny Owl, 2 Pied Flycatcher and a pair of Whinchat were the best of the supporting cast. Excellent!

Lancs birding: MMWWT & South Ribble Marshes - 2nd June 2010.

2010-06-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

Female Red-necked Phalarope, MMWWT, Lancs, 2nd June 2010. If you want to find one of these in Lancs, work at the Infocus shop! Between the two of them, Andy Bunting and Tony Disley have found 1 & 2 respectively in recent years, whilst the third staff member Bernie Starkey has found a Grey Phal on The Mere!

Above & below: imm Spoonbill, Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, Lancs, 2nd June 2010.

Following on from twitching the Phalarope, I spent the evening on the South Ribble Marshes starting at Old Hollow Farm. The saltmarsh pool are dried up, the only water being in the right hand channel close to the seawall. A single Dunlin and a handful of Redshank were present and a single Corn Bunting in fields just inland was noted.

At Hesketh Out Marsh, the Spoonbill fed actively, 2 Avocet were present as were small numbers of Dunlin & Ringed Plover flying in and out from time to time, with more present in the channels further out but impossible to go through from the viewing screen. A couple of Tree Sparrows around the car park and great views of a hunting Barn Owl rounded off a lovely evening.

White tailed Lapwing!! - Seaforth NR - 27th May 2010.

2010-05-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Earth shattering news broke early afternoon with the stunning discovery of a White tailed Lapwing at Seaforth! - I was away when the May 2007 Dumfries and Galloway bird was refound in Lancashire at Leighton Moss, and naturally concluded it would be a once-in-a-lifetime county bird missed. Who would have thought another chance would arise?!

And what stunning views, down to c40ft, and a small appreciative crowd, in total contrast to the crowded anarchy of the tower hide at Caelaverock!

I'm unsure as to the age of the bird currently and haven't researched, but the wing coverts are very abraded. Could it be a 1st summer, or an adult in which the feathers have suffered weathering in the middle east?

Almost as rare was the arrival of Doug McAdam, a blast from the past during my manic twitching days in the 1980's.

Spotted Sandpiper, Stocks Res, Lancs - 18th May 2010.

2010-05-27T11:03:00.001-07:00

The best I could manage in the heat haze, but a record shot all the same, of the second Spotted Sandpiper for East Lancashire, found by Gary Waddington. Sadly, I am old enough to have seen the first, on Lower Foulridge Reservoir, Colne, in August 1986, found by Martin Naylor. What was widely considered to be the same bird was found by Ted Hunter on Lower Rivington Reservoir, Horwich in Dec 1986/Jan 1987.

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT: Wood Sandpiper - 15th May 2010.

2010-05-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

Some images by Mark Fanshawe of the first Wood Sandpiper to be recorded at Brockholes in six long years.

In the 2005 report I classified this species as 'rare in spring' / 'scarce in autumn' as we did very well for this species in the period Aug 1998-2005.

Todays bird is the 14th site record totalling 19 individuals, August 10th 1998 - May 15th 2010, with 5 spring birds and 14 autumn birds.

Multiple arrivals have occurred on three occasions, once in spring: 2 on 9th May 2002 (the same date as the only site record of Temminck's Stint!) and three times in autumn: 2juvs on 8th August 2004 until 18:10 only, followed by three new 3 juvs on 9th August 2004 (two of which stayed until 15th and one until 4th Sept), and, 2 (ad+juv) on 30th July 2005.

Marshside, M/Side - 2nd May 2010.

2010-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Above: Wood Sandpiper from Nels Hide - 2nd May 2010.

It has been years since I last saw a summer plumaged Long-billed Dowitcher, so decided upon a couple of hours at Marshside in the afternoon.

No joy was had with the Dowitcher, but compensation from Nels Hide in the form of a Wood Sandpiper. 2 Dunlin, 1 Ruff and a Ruddy Duck were also noted.

Whilst in Nels, I had brief views to the north of the hide of a Swift which in a rear view seemingly showed clean white underparts. A brief view of the upperparts however also revealed a white splodge on the back. No firm impression of size was noted, but in the brief view I couldn't eliminate that it wasn't on the large side, presumably due to the aberrant plumage. Although I still plumbed for aberrant Common Swift, the initial shock meant a change of underwear was required nonetheless!

Walking back up to Sandgrounders some 45 mins later I was told the aberrant Swift sp. was out over the inner fields from Sandgrounders. Indeed it was and talk that it was the size of Alpine Swift, coupled with views of the bird for a few minutes almost had me suckered in as I struggled to assess the size, to the point where I contacted Colin Bushell to say it may be worth nipping down.

Thankfully common sense prevailed very soon after and an aberrant Common Swift it was. Aside from size, closer scrutiny revealed darkish throat and the underparts showed signs of darker feathering on the belly.

Colin mentioned that a bird matching this has apparently been seen for the past two springs at Marshside!

2 Curlew Sandpiper were amongst a small number of Dunlin on Polly's Pool.

Lancs: 25th-27th April 2010.

2010-04-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

27th April: Very disappointing views of the male Dotterel on Abbeystead Lane this afternoon!

This Snipe on roadside fenceposts was much more obliging.

And it was worth the trip just to view some of the stunning northern Golden Plover present.

Below: A couple of selected Moths from 6w actinic Heath Trap left overnight at Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT on 26th April:

Above: Water Carpet - appears to be a first for the Brockholes 10km square according to Mapmate.

Below: Purple Thorn - a beauty!

Above: A fraction of the 265 Whimbrel into roost on 25th April 2010.

Local birding: Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT, Lancs - 25th April 2010.

2010-04-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Above: A 'silent' migrant Tree Pipit on the mound at the east end of the site.
Below: White Wagtail on the gravel bed downstream of Redscar Weir.

Whimbrel numbers are now getting respectable, and it was good to be able to get down tonight and enjoy the 265 that roosted. Sedge Warbler were new in today (none seen y/day?) with 4 singing males.

Local birding: Ashy Headed Wagtail or hybrid, Brockholes LWT, Lancs - 23rd April 2010.

2010-04-23T13:06:00.001-07:00

Whilst a hybrid consensus of opinion appears to be more likely at this stage, this stunning colour-headed Wagtail runs pure Ashy Headed pretty damn close. However, the bird shows a vestigial supercillium behind the eye coupled with a faint and narrow supraloral stripe between eye and bill and a single 'weak' flavissima-like call has been heard.

Research I have done on the internet suggests that Ashy Headed can produce a 'flavissima-like' call in between the typical harsher call. Attempts are being made to record the call.

An excellent find by Carl Partington and Zac Hinchcliffe, and another excellent bird for Brockholes whatever the conclusion.

local birding: Brockholes LWT - 5th April 2010.

2010-04-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Above: Cutting a forlorn figure during a 3hr Osprey vigil from the eastern end of the site. A pair of adult Med Gulls dropping into the site from time to time and a nice count of 4 Green Sandpiper on the River Ribble were the highlights of the afternoon. Thanks to Bill 'paparazzi' Gregory for the photo.

Bill Gregory also took this opportunistic photo of a Greylag taking off. Closer inspection on his PC at home revealed the bird was darvic ringed. Alas, twas too much to dream it to be of Icelandic origin. The bird was one 7 Greylags ringed at MMWWT, Lancs, on 19/11/2008. All were given a green 'B' ring.

Additional to the Brockholes sighting, there have been three more reports of these ringed birds: One was seen at Southport Marine Lake, One was found dead at Banks nr Southport, and another was seen in St Helens.

March 8th-18th 2010.

2010-03-20T03:01:00.001-07:00

Above: Water Vole, Rainham Marshes RSPB, London - 7th March 2010. Whilst watching the individual above I was fascinated to learn from a warden at the reserve that during the population crash of circa a couple of decades ago, numbers of this species at Rainham Marshes were not affected and as a result held 10% of the national population at the height of the 'crash'. Nowadays as numbers have recovered nationally, Rainham holds 1% of the population, with between 5,000-7,000 Water Vole estimated to be present on the reserve currently.

Above: drake American Wigeon, MMWWT, Lancs - 13th March 2010. Axillary colour not seen during time of observation, but a cracking bird otherwise!

Above & Below: 4 Med Gull (2pr), Brockholes LWT, Lancs - 18th March 2010. Fabulous birds and a single day site record count I think. Also, 5 Sand Martin, LRP and Ringed Plover seen.

Great Grey Shrike, Waddington Fell, Lancs - 6th March 2010.

2010-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

An overdue twitch for the Waddington Fell/Grindleton adult Great Grey Shrike early afternoon was rewarded with good views of the bird on wires to the east of Slaidburn Rd, plus 2 Raven overhead.

A few hours with the wife in Clitheroe followed before nipping back up to the Fells with 50 minutes of light remaining and a hastily drawn up hit list of species to see within the timeframe: Great Grey Shrike, Hen Harrier, Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl, Tawny Owl and Little Owl.

The list proved a little over ambitious in the remaining light, with four of the six species seen. The Shrike obliged on arrival at 17:50, still actively hunting from trees and fencing and was followed by a drive around the wider area which produced Tawny Owl, 1+ Short-eared Owl, Little Owl and a bonus Woodcock which flew past at close range as darkness fell.

Local birding: Med Gulls, Fishmoor Res, Lancs - 5th Feb 2010.

2010-02-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

Above & below: 2ndw Med Gull.

One of my very favourite species in all plumages, it was nice to get three Med Gulls at Fishmoor tonight: adult, 2ndw and 1stw. Both the adult and 2ndw were unringed, whilst the 1stw was the red darvic ringed individual.

Although 3 Med Gulls have been recorded in an evening roost at the site on a few occasions in the past 15yrs (Med Gulls were considerably rarer in the region prior to 1995), I can't recall a single date roost count exceeding 3 from memory. The post breeding roost from mid- Jul into August/Sept would probably offer the best chance of exceeding three birds on a single date nowadays.

My kingdom for an Iceland Gull though!

Lancs: Med Gulls - 4th Feb 2010.

2010-02-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of Med Gulls seen today inc this distant unringed adult at Myerscough Quarry, 'phonescoped' through the Leica APO 62 in dull conditions, but at least its a record. The other Med was a 1stw at Fishmoor Reservoir, red darvic ringed on the right leg, thought to probably be the recent Hungarian bird still coming into roost, but no chance of confirmation other than the same ring colour on the same leg!

Local birding: 2 of 4 Smew, River Ribble - 24th Jan 2010.

2010-01-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

This Camcorder videograb was taken on c400x magnification at close to 1/2 mile range in dull conditions on the stretch of River Ribble, c1km NE of Brockholes LWT at Lower Hall, viewed distantly from Bezza Lane early afternoon, hence the very poor quality, but those of us old enough to remember pre-digiscoping technology shouldn't lose sight of how remarkable it is to achieve any sort of record image at this distance!

Zac Hinchcliffe put the time in this morning arriving at Alston No1 Res for first light where all four Smew had obviously roosted. Having noted the E/SE flight direction when they left the roost at 08:18, Zac then relocated them at Jackson's Bank Wood. They went missing from 10:00 as they moved downstream along poorly viewable reaches of the river before eventually all four were relocated by observers at Lower Hall early-mid afternoon.

Tantalisingly these birds have so far been as close as 1/2km from the local patch, Brockholes LWT. Lets hope they actually grace the waterbodies onsite, adj River Ribble or are seen by somebody onsite in distant flight at some point.

Many thanks to the so far unknown finder of these birds for sharing his/her good fortune and putting the news out on the 20th Jan.

In an ELOC context, this flock of four represent a record-equalling flock for the ELOC recording area (Lancs avifauna states four present on Clowbridge Reservoir in the winter of 1995/1996).

Local birding: Hungarian colour ringed 1stw Med Gull - Fishmoor Res, Blackburn, Lancs, UK - 10th Jan 2010.

2010-01-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Details as follows:

Left Leg: Metal ring - Budapest 382723

Right Leg: Red darvic HE79

The bird was ringed in the nest at Rétszilas (Örspuszta), Fejér, Hungary (HG31 46°51'N 18°34'E) on 31st May 2009.

Distance from the ringing site in Hungary - Fishmoor Res, Blackburn, Lancs, UK: 1677km (297 degrees W-NW).

Time elapsed since ringing date: 7 months, 12 days.

This is the first report since the ringing date.

Local birding: 8th Jan 2010.

2010-01-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

Above: 1stw Med Gull, Fishmoor Res, Blackburn - 8th Jan 2009. One of two Med Gulls this week, but i'm damned if I have been able to find anything else in 4 visits. The distortion in the image is either my aged and deteriorating camcorder or 'cold haze' or both! 50-70% of Gulls, large and small, coming in to Fishmoor over the past two nights have at some point departed purposefully to the west, coastwards, suggesting they are also having a hard time of it even on landfills. The first Fylde record of Caspian Gull in recent days is probably connected to this I think.

Lancs: Fylde birding - 3rd Jan 2010.

2010-01-08T10:34:00.001-08:00

An enjoyable day's birding on the Fylde with Cllr John F. Wright began to the south of the Blackpool end of the M55 in the wider vicinity of Lytham Moss searching for Pink-footed Geese flocks. After over an hour we could only locate c150 Pink-feet on the deck, a flock of 11Whooper Swan and c400 Lapwing plus c100 Golden Plover in fields around Great Plumpton.

Zac Hinchcliffe kindly texted me with news that he had relocated the drake Ring-necked Duck at Marton Mere, so that was our next stop and a quality three hours birding followed.

The drake Ring-necked Duck was easily found amongst a horde of wildfowl which included numbers of Tufted, Pochard, Goldeneye, Gadwall, Shoveler and Teal. A Water Rail showed for 15 minutes sunning itself amongst some Mallard on the reed edge.

Mutliple Water Rails were heard in the reedbeds along the walk to the Long-eared Owl roost where three LEOs were just about visible.

4 vocal Cetti's Warbler's were noted calling from the reedbed/scrub, but mostly frustrated by giving only brief glimpses as they crept amongst the bases of the vegetation.

JW located a Bittern at the very far end western of the Mere. Whilst we watched this, another appeared only metres away, with both in view at the same time. Later one of the two or a third bird gave an excellent close flight view at the eastern end and some decent scope views on the deck whilst Cetti's warblers continued to call in the reed in front of us, rounding off a quality visit.

We were keen to grill some Goose flocks so headed Over Wyre for the final 2.5 hrs of light. c2000 were located in the Pilling area in two areas, but no other species could be found amongst them despite much searching, save for two neck collared Pink-feet CHT & PVF for which I have emailed the details and will add to this post when received.

From Pilling Lane Ends car park, single Merlin & Peregrine were noted, both sat distantly out on the saltmarsh, with the Merlin flying close by east a short while later. The same or another Merlin was seen perched on a fencepost in fields inland of PLE a short time later. A few Pintail were distantly offshore amongst numbers of Teal and Wigeon and two Little Egret fed in the saltmarsh creeks.

Above: Merlin. Below: Peregrine

Pilling Lane Ends - 3rd Jan 2010.

Final stop of the day was Eagland Hill, where two Barn Owl showed, one distant, one close. A Little Owl was perched on a hedge and two Little Egret flew over presumably heading to roost at Fluke Hall. The evocative calls of Grey Partridge filled the freezing, still air over the Mosses as darkness fell providing a very atmospheric end to the day.

Local birding: Black-necked Grebe & Glaucous Gull - 28th Dec 2009.

2009-12-28T10:15:00.001-08:00

Above: Black-necked Grebe, Rishton Res, Lancs, 28th Dec 2009. Scoping the Gulls whilst sat on a bench on the promenade, I glanced forward with my 'spare' eye to see the Grebe only feet out from the prom. Cursing myself for not having my DSLR with me I managed this with the Camcorder on 10x optical before the BNG swam rapidly towards the outflow end of the Res. Fingers crossed it will now adopt a regular circuit of the eastern shoreline rather than stay along the awkward south end of the reservoir.

Above: 1stw Glaucous Gull, Fishmoor Res, Lancs, 28th Dec 2009. This bird came in to roost at 16:17. Moments after this record shot, any light for digiscoping had gone completely.

More Velvet Scoter images, Barrow Lodge Clitheroe - 22nd Dec 2009.

2009-12-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

Some superb images of the Velvet Scoter at Barrow Lodge, Clitheroe, courtesy of Pete Morris.

Local MEGA: Velvet Scoter, Barrow Lodge, Clitheroe, SD740381 - 22nd Dec 2009

2009-12-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Medical advice not to drive following a very recent stomach operation simply had to be ignored when news of East Lancashire's first-ever Velvet Scoter broke mid-afternoon... and the pain was well worth it, what a bird!

To anyone who saw the Slavonian Grebe at the same site in early 2008, the Velvet gives staggering views just as close. A must-see MEGA local rarity. I'm unsure about age & indeed sex of the bird at this stage. From a photographic point of view, I just managed to get there with enough light to get something for the blog, but this bird is a dream subject in good light.

Above: The Velvet Scoter was showing as close as the nearest Mallard in centre of the photo!

According to the 'Birds of Lancashire' there have only been two genuine inland occurences, 3 probably immatures at Rivington Res on 12 Feb 1956 and a 1st winter male on the Ribble near Preston 21-25 January 1997 (per Tony Cooper). I believe the latter bird apparently made it as far upstream as Brockholes Bridge just downstream of the Tickle Trout Hotel.

Pom Skua, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset - 2nd Dec 2009.

2009-12-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

Nice scope views of the albeit rather distant imm Pom Skua were had as it fed on a probable Common Gull at the mouth of Herons Green Bay, a cracking bird! A Red-throated diver off the Dam and a Black-necked Grebe off Nunnery Point were also seen in a couple of hours mid-late afternoon.

Local birding: Ad Yellow-legged Gull, Whinney Hill Tip, Altham - 27th Nov 2009.

2009-11-27T15:09:00.001-08:00

Black Redstart - Dog Inn, Longridge, Lancs - 15th Nov 2009.

2009-11-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

I dipped on the adult male Black Redstart which had joined the fem/imm in the vicinity of the Dog Inn for a couple of hours during the morning. However, the f/imm performed impeccably for those present, actively flycatching from the roof's down to ground level, showing down to feet to the delight of the birders present. Two Raven flew west and an adm Peregrine flew south.

Black Redstart - Dog Inn, Longridge, Lancs - 14th Nov 2009.

2009-11-14T15:38:00.001-08:00

Photos of the second Black Redstart to be found in Longridge in the past three days, a f/imm present on the roof of the Dog Inn, Berry Lane, 15:20-16:10 at least, by the finder, Lee Parnell.

Great Northern Diver - Hollingworth Lake, Gtr Man - 12th Nov 2009.

2009-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Can't resist inland Great Northern Divers within striking range. For much of the time this juv present for c1week fed so close to the wall/shoreline of the reservoir it was too close and feeding too actively for me to digiscope. without a DSLR to hand, I had to settle for a couple of 'digibinned' efforts in poor weather for the blog as it swam further out.

For anyone with a DSLR and quality lens, this bird is a photographic dream, showing down to c6ft at times. Great bird. I MUST get my Canon 100-400 lens repaired!!

Local birding: Whooper Swans - 5th Nov 2009.

2009-11-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

4 adult Whooper Swans grounded on Fishmoor Res in poor weather, 12:10 at least.

Eastern Crowned Warbler, Trow Quarry, Tyne & Wear - 23rd Oct 2009.

2009-10-24T03:00:00.001-07:00

An emergency twitch was organised late the previous evening following the shock news of an Eastern Crowned Warbler at the superb migrant trap on the north east coast that is Trow Quarry, Tyne & Wear.

I had previously visited this site on only one occasion, Sept 2008, seeing the female Subalpine Warbler, a Wryneck and common migrants including Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts and Lesser Whitethroat. To me, Trow Quarry is one of the sites closest to the 'perfect' migrant trap I have seen.

The carload consisted of Myself, Dave Bickerton and a germ-ridden Phil Rhodes and we arrived onsite at c08:30. Following the short walk over the extensive grass strip of the Leas, the fantastic 'amphitheatre-like' Trow Quarry, and the twitch within, opened up before us.

Over the next three hours several prolonged and absolutely stunning scope views of this stonking, feature packed phyllosc were had in the Sycamores it shared with a Yellow-browed Warbler, and 2 Blackcap. Although my record shots may not convey just how good a bird this was, the Eastern Crowned Warbler was an absolute crippler, and even better 'in the flesh' than i could ever have previously fantasised!!!

Above & below: Eastern Crowned Warbler, Trow Quarry, Tyne & Wear - 23rd Oct 2009. Quite simply, the best 'old world' Warbler I have ever seen!!

Below: Yellow-browed Warbler, Trow Quarry - 23rd Oct 2009.

Above: left-right, Dave Bickerton, Phil Rhodes & Myself, Trow Quarry, Tyne & Wear - 23rd Oct 2009.

Above: Adult Med Gull, Trow Quarry.

Afterwards we travelled to South Gare for a couple of hours birding. The site was generally quiet for migrants; just 1 Chiffchaff & 1 Goldcrest seen amongst presumably migrant Robins between Paddy's Hole and the end of the Gare. We also dipped on the Lapland Bunting.

A final stop at the Shrike Bushes before having to leave resulted in a couple of brief binocular views of the palest Lesser Whitethroat I have personally ever seen. In these brief views i was instantly struck by the striking pale sandy upperparts, the head also appeared pale with the darkest area seemingly confined to the side of the head from the bill and around the eyes. Phil also managed to obtain a view to confirm the bird was pale whilst Dave manged only a flight view as it unfortunately flew into the densest area of the Shrike Bushes and didn't show itself again before we had to leave, but again the impression was of a pale warbler in flight. I was in no doubt the bird was some sort of Eastern Lesser Whitethroat and rang it out to alert local birders who will hopefully stick a mist net inside over the weekend, weather permitting!

Lancs: South Ribble Marshes - 22nd Oct 2009.

2009-10-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

Above: Partial eclipse Drake Green-winged Teal or hybrid, Nels Hide, Marshside, Lancs - 22nd Oct 2009.

This Teal took up most of my afternoon as it was mostly elusive for long periods amongst vegetation to the far left of Nels Hide. In scope views, the head pattern looked ok for GWT with pale border to the green on the head restricted to below the eye and there are stripes on either side of the fore-flanks, but do the stripes, if fully developed where visible, look a little narrow? As it is still in partial eclipse I feel it is better to err on the side of caution until fuller plumage is attained.

Now gone 17:00, I hurried to Old Hollow Farm, where I eventually located the 2 juv Long-billed Dowitchers on the saltmarsh pools, 1 juv Curlew Sand and 1-2 Spotted Redshank amongst numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Redshank Lapwing and Golden Plover. As usual, 2 Peregrine and a Merlin were in attendance on the wider marsh.

Final stop was Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB at dusk. Single Spotted Redshank and juv Ruff being the best birds in the available light.

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An update on the colour ringed Little Egret I have during visits to Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB on 12th & 20th Oct 2009.

It was the elder of a brood of 3 Little Egret ringed on 13th June 2009 at Porth Penrhyn, Bangor, and is the first report of this individual, but other birds from the 23 ringed on the same day have already made it to Northern Ireland and two birds on the Isle of Man. - Thanks to Richard Du Feu for pursuing details of this bird on my behalf and Tony Cross for details of the birds history thus far.

I also saw a Little Egret with the same colour ring combination (left: White, Right: yellow) on Crossens Outer Marsh on the 18th, which may have been this individual but was too distant to read the lettering.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Old Hollow Farm, Lancs - 17th Oct 2009.

2009-10-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Another enjoyable afternoon on the south Ribble Marshes, this time in the company of Dave Bickerton, Mike Watson and Cllr John F. Wright, saw us spend a few hours firstly at Old Hollow Farm where, after a lengthy search, we located the single juv Long-billed Dowitcher reported earlier in the day, but where is the other bird?

Above & below: Juv LB Dowitcher, Old Hollow Farm, Lancs - 17th Oct 2009.

Other waders seen: 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, c80 Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwits, Golden Plover, Snipe, Curlew, Lapwing & Redshank.

Runner up in the bird-of-the-day stakes went to the 'flava' Wagtail which flew east over the seawall and into distant stubble at 15:17, my first and very likely the last in Lancs this year! Raptors included two sightings of Merlin and a juv Marsh Harrier. Four Raven included two at OHF and 2 at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB and a flock of c60 Fieldfare flew east at OHF.

Above: Left-right, Myself, Dave Bickerton, Mike Watson and John Wright - on the seawall at Old Hollow Farm, Lancs - 17th Oct 2009.

Long-billed Dowitchers, Old Hollow Farm, Banks Marsh/Crossens Outer Marsh, Lancs - 14th Oct 2009.

2009-10-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today's mission was to try and relocate the two Long-billed Dowitchers on Banks Marsh, which i did, and attempt and get some better images of them, which ended in failure after several hours of effort. The weather was grim for much of the time, murky with light drizzle, coupled again with distance, hampering digiscoping efforts considerably!

After a few hours a Peregrine flushed everything, but i relocated the Dowitchers much closer to the seawall at Crossens Outer Marsh, midway between OHF and the Coast Road at Marshside. This was my chance to obtain my best images yet.

Just after I had taken these 'insurance' record shots, I hurried further along the base of the bank on the inland side to get the birds in better light and crept up. The Dowitchers were still out on the pool. Then out of nowhere a Wildfowler appeared on top of the bank, flushing everything and I couldn't find the Dowitchers again from 15:00 - 17:15, either on Crossens Outer Marsh, OHF or the Junction Pool at Marshside. Did they go all the way to Inner Marsh Farm?

Other birds at OHF/Crossens Outer included: 2 Spotted Redshank, 3 juv Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 juv Grey Plover, 40 Dunlin, 10 Snipe, 50 Blackwit, 34 Little Egret, 6 Whooper Swan, 2 Black Swan, c300 Wigeon, 2 Peregrine, male Marsh Harrier, 1 Merlin, 1 Rock/Water Pipit heard and 1+ Twite > south. A Cockatiel provided unexpected entertainment as it flew over the saltmarsh calling, always great value in flight.

Looking towards OHF from Marshside late afternoon, several Wildfowlers with Dogs could be seen on the Marshes. The last port of call late-on was Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB and once again I was positively salivating at the potential of this newly created reserve. 15 Black-tailed Godwit and a perched Merlin the highlights.

Lancs: Brockholes Wetland LWT & South Ribble Marshes - 12th Oct 2009.

2009-10-12T14:24:00.001-07:00

The day began with three hours on the local patch, Brockholes Wetland LWT. The eclipse drake Garganey was still present for the fourth day, eclipse drake Pintail still, ad Whooper Swan new-in, a Green Sandpiper, and 15 Redwing > north.

Above: ad Whooper Swan, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 12th Oct 2009.

Late morning, Councillor John F. Wright texted with his intention to book half a day off and visit the Stocks Reservoir area in the afternoon. I quite fancied doing a recce of the new RSPB reserve at Hesketh Outer Marsh now it was officially open and succeeded against the odds in persuading the normally stubborn Councillor to head to the Ribble Marshes instead of Bowland. It was to be a good decision.

We arrived at Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB at 14:30 and noted a couple of birders to the far right of the car park. They were watching a few thousand Pink-feet in stubble, also containing 7 Whooper Swan, 2 Barnacle Geese and a 'Blue Snow Goose type'.

Above: Pink-feet and Whooper Swans, Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB, Lancs - 11th Oct 2009.

Although distant with heathaze a problem, we did not think the bird was a Snow Goose, but probably a Ross's Goose hybrid, perhaps Ross's x Barnacle, although the bird did appear larger than the accompanying Barnacles with which it always associated and noticeably smaller than the Pink-feet. The head and bill size/structure appeared 'Ross's-like' to us. Finer detail was hard to discern and when the Geese flew, the bird was lost immediately only to be relocated in a stubble field further away, in worse haze. EDIT - THE GOOSE IS APPARENTLY A PINK-FOOT X BARNACLE HYBRID!

Above & below: Ross's Goose hybrid, Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB, Lancs, 12th Oct 2009.A distant Peregrine and six 6 Buzzard were noted before we moved to the viewing screen. Upon looking out from the screen, I was simply blown away with the potential of this site, a feeling I have not had since my first visit to Brockholes Wetland in 1998!!! - In the years to come this reserve is going to be simply MINDBLOWING!!

Above & below: View from the screen, Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB, 12th Oct 2009.

Birdwise from the viewing screen, the highlight was a colour-ringed Little Egret, with another couple of unringed birds present.

Above & below: colour ringed Little Egret, Hesketh Outer Marsh RSPB, Lancs, 12th Oct 2009. Details of the birds history will be added in due course.

Single Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Golden Plover, 20 Redshank, 15 Lapwing, 10 teal & 2 Pintail were noted from the screen.

Approaching late afternoon, next stop was Old Hollow Farm, Banks Marsh, and a check of the saltmarsh pools. Being long established, the pools were much busier that the newly created reseve at Hesketh, with c120 Golden Plover, 20+ Dunlin, 2 juv Curlew Sandpiper, Lapwings, Redshank. and 2 Little Egret.

JW had a millisecond view of a wader in the far right hand corner of the furthest saltmarsh pool before it went out of view. This briefest of views aroused his curiosity sufficiently for us to both train our scopes on the area. c1 min passed, before one of those magic birding moments occurred and a Dowitcher walked out into view... followed moments later by another!!!

Both birds were juv Long-billed Dowitchers. The birds fed very actively together and despite the distance and strong low evening sunlight from the west, the birds appeared unremarkably patterned above and detail such as the plain tertials with narrow pale fringes could be seen. Obtaining images at that distance in poor digiscoping light was another matter however, and below are the best I could manage with both still camera and camcorder.

Above: 2 juv Long-billed Dowitcher, Old Hollow Farm, Banks Marsh, Lancs - 12th Oct 2009.

Below: The Dowitchers were on the furthest pool, just below Cllr
Wrights right shoulder.

It was one of those magical, atmospeheric evenings on the Marshes, with little wind and plenty of birds to see. The evening roost flight of several thousand Pink-feet down the central channel of the Ribble and two Little Owls on the Mossland roads followed by a celebratory pint in honour of the Dowitchers in the Bluebell Arms in Preston rounded off an excellent day.

Local birding: Brockholes Wetland LWT - 11th Oct 2009.

2009-10-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Above: 2 Greater Scaup (fem & juv), Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 11th Oct 2009.

Good coverage throughout the day by several observers produced highlights of 3ad Whooper Swan until 11:00 when they flew SW, 2 Greater Scaup, eclipse drake Garganey for the third day, eclipse drake Pintail still, ad Peregrine, 1 Dunlin, 2 Raven, 5 Swallow > south and a pair of Stonechat.

At 14:20, Allen Holmes picked up a distant flock of large white birds to the NE of the site, on a westerly heading, and understandably thought them to be probably Swans. The birds must have been close to a mile away when first seen, but Myself, Mark Fanshawe and Robin Shenton all almost immediately got onto them with the bins. It was clearly a scope job and we were onto the birds in seconds. Instantly, it was obvious they were not the Whooper Swans we were expecting, they were Geese, the majority of which were white with black flight feathers and amongst them were at least 4 blue-morph birds. Despite the distance, they could only be Snow Geese. The flock was now quite tightly grouped meaning only a rough estimate of number could be made but there were 20+ birds, presumably part of/the flock reported on the Fylde a few hours earlier and I rang them out in the hope that whatever their origin, their movements could be further tracked. Total views were only c1 min before the flightpath took them behind Tunbrook Wood and out of sight completely.

Local birding: Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 9th Oct 2009.

2009-10-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Above: Eclipse drake Garganey, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, 9th Oct 2009.

Above: Eclipse drake Pintail, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, 9th Oct 2009.

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Above: Jack Snipe, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, 4th Oct 2009 - Mark Fanshawe. A very showy bird and the best photo obtained of this species at the site to date. A little cracker!

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An update on the colour ring details for the Great White Egret present on 25th Sept:

The bird was ringed at Besné (in Brière, Loire Atlantique, France) on 6/5/2009 and is the first report since the ringing date.

Local birding: Great White Egret, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 25th Sept 2009.

2009-09-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

With the exception of actually finding the bird, there isn't much more of an ornithological buzz than connecting with a local patch MEGA, and this was certainly the case today as all hell broke loose mid-afternoon when Brockholes regular Carl Partington contacted me with news to say he was watching a GREAT WHITE EGRET on the adj River Ribble below Redscar Weir!!!!

The GWE initially shared this area with a Little Egret, which slipped away unnoticed as all attention was firmly on the magnificent GWE.

The Great White Egret would feed for c20 mins then take flight of its own accord to another area, and was seen on the reserve proper as it landed on the wet meadow scrape, Sludge tanks and No2 and No3 Pits briefly before returning to the Ribble NE of the site around Redscar/Tunbrook Woods, eventually returning to the favoured area of river, the gravel beds downstream of the weir at the NE end of the reserve where it remained giving great scope views until 16:55 when it took flight and flew strongly and distantly SW downstream.

This awesome bird was the total package in that it was also colour ringed. Details have been sent off and the history of the bird will hopefully be posted in due course.

Amazingly, the finder of the Brockholes GWE, Carl Partington, was watching this same colour ringed individual at Banks Marsh on the Ribble Estuary y/day afternoon (24th), and it is NOT the same bird as that seen on the Ribble Marshes and roosting at Naze Pool, Freckleton, c1 week ago from what I can see from photos on Colin Bushell's blog showing an unringed bird. I assume this unringed bird is indeed the same individual which relocated to Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancs/Humphrey Head, Cumbria.

Many thanks to Carl for the initial text which enabled c20 birders to connect with this awesome beast of an Egret at Brockholes, the first site record for the reserve! - What a spectacular bird, thank goodness I was local today!!

With Avocet, Red-necked Grebe, Fulmar, Red Backed Shrike and now Great White Egret added to the site list so far in 2009 (and i've managed to see them all!!), what new addition will be next I wonder? Well, as always the site is screaming out for the first Spotted Crake.... my tip every autumn!

Other notable birds onsite today included the delightful juv Black-necked Grebe still present and a Green Sandpiper.

Great White Egret, Humphrey Head, Cumbria & Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 24th Sept 2009.

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Above & below: Great White Egret, Humphrey Head, Cumbria, 24th Sept 2009. Always an impressive sight, the Egret showed well, though fairly distantly, on the saltmarsh on+off before flying north at 15:40, though perhaps not far.

Above: Whinchat, Humphrey Head, Cumbria. Also seen were 2 Peregrine, a skein of 48 Pink-footed Geese flew south, 3 Raven and 2 Wheatear.

A visit to the local patch, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, early evening:

Above: The juv Black-necked Grebe still present.

Above & below: 2 Water Rail (top: juv/1stw, bottom: adult), Brockholes wetland LWT, Lancs, 24th sept 2009. Absolute record shots, these two birds have been present in the reedbed at the eastern end of the Main Pool, out from the third passing place, for at least a week now. Evenings appear to be best.

Local birding: Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 22nd Sept 2009.

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Above: Juv Black-necked Grebe

Below: Peregrine

The highlights from 5hrs onsite today.

Local birding: Black-necked Grebe, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs - 22nd Sept 2009.

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The juvenile Black-necked Grebe remains on the Main Pool for the seventh day. This is the 5th site record since the first in 2001, totalling six individuals. Of these, 1 record (a pair) has been in spring, and four records (3juv, 1 ad) in autumn.

In your dreams Cllr John F. Wright, in your dreams!!

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Lancs: Nightjar & Long-billed Dowitcher - 19th sept 2009.

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Above & below: Nightjar, Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancs - 19th Sept 2009. A very, very long time coming, the first fully available Nightjar for the 1980's generation of Lancashire birders was found roosting on one of the closest Bearded Tit grit trays out from the causeway. Amazingly, it is the the second Nightjar to be found in the Leighton Moss area in the past ten days following a bird picked up injured (broken wing) at nearby Silverdale Golf Club. It is also the third Nightjar to be found in Lancs in the past ten days!!

Above & below: Juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher, Fleetwood Nature Reserve, Lancs - 19th Sept 2009. A great find by an old birding friend and 'old-school' local patcher Ian Gardner.

Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs & New Brighton, Wirral - 4th Sept 2009.

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Above & below: Common Terns, Brockholes Wetland LWT, 4th Sept 2009. Three birds through this morning, plus an Arctic Tern briefly. A Water Rail was the only other bird of note and once again the site had no wader interest whatsoever!

The Terns kept me at Brockholes much longer than I intended, in the hope more would pass through, but after 3.5 hrs I had had enough of staring across at the expanses of Crassula, formerly wader mud, and headed for the Mersey to salvage what I could from what would be left of the tide.

Between 12:30-14:30 from New Brighton, c4 Leaches Petrel, 1 Manxie, 2 Kittiwake and num Common Tern came out of the Mersey, but pride of place went to this moulting adult Sabine's Gull which spent an hour lingering offshore around Fort Perch Rock, 13:10-14:08.

Colour-ringed Kittiwake, Irish Sea, Cumbria - 25th Aug 2009.

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Black-legged Kittiwake, Irish Sea, Cumbria, 25th Aug 2009 - Photo: Paul Derbyshire

Whilst on a boat 6 miles off Walney Island, a colour ringed adult Kittiwake landed briefly. The reply received from the ringer, Jean-Yves Monnat, is very interesting and informative:

“That bird, a male, is one of "mine", indeed. It bred in 2009 at Pointe du Raz colony (Plogoff, Finistère, France, 48°02N 04°43W) on the same nest where it was first caught as a breeding adult in 1999. It bred, or tried do do so, every year on the same place since, and raised 13 chicks to independence from 1999 to 2009, which is quite a good performance.

Nevertheless, he had obviously some individual problems by the end of the season. Although we check every nest daily at fledging time, we failed to see it on it's nest from 24/07/2009 onwards, a very unusual situation, as it's chick first fledged on 03/08/2009 and left the nest (and the area) for good on 13/08/2009.

We saw it once however, but in an apparently poor condition on 11/08/2009, alone on a club: dirty (oil ?), wings hanging down, sleepy for a good while... So, I'm happy to know that he survived yet for a fortnight at least and was strong enough to travel from Brittany to Cumbria.”

Brockholes Wetland LWT and Marshside, Lancs - 2nd Sept 2009.

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3.5hrs on the local patch, Brockholes, produced an adult Water Rail on the Main Pool, an increase in Teal to 45, 1 Green Sandpiper and 11 Buzzard in the air at the same time.

In the aftenoon I visited Marshside. An enjoyable few hours with 2 Merlin, 1+ juv Marsh Harrier, 30 Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwits, 100 Redshank, 20 Ruff (6 juv), 2 Ringed Plover, 3 Little Egret and 200+ Teal noted.

Above: Merlin

Above: Ruff. Below: Black-tailed Godwit

Above & below: Golden Plover, Lapwing, Ruff and Starling.

Farmoor Res, Oxon: Marsh Tern Fest - 30th Aug 2009.

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The following distant camcorder videograbs do no justice whatsoever to the scope views of this magnificent trio of Marsh Terns: Juv Black Tern, Juv White-winged Black Tern and Juv American Black Tern, watched over a wonderful and very educational three hour period at Farmoor Res.

Above: Juv American Black Tern.

Below: Juv White-winged Black Tern

Local birding: Brockholes Wetland LWT - 21st Aug 2009.

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Six hours on the patch today was rewarded with an Osprey in the area, showing on+off from 12:05-14:27 when it finally appeared to head off S/SE in improving weather. The juv Garganey remains for the 21st day, 1+ Green Sandpiper in the area and LRP heard. A f/imm Merlin flying south at 15:10 was the first of the autumn.

S. Yorks/Notts - 19-20th August 2009.

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18th Aug: This imm Spoonbill flew in to Eddersthorpe Flash shortly after I had set up my scope and tripod to begin searching for a Spotted Crake found earlier in the morning. No joy was had with the Crake in three hours, but the Spoonbill remained, 14 Black-tailed Godwits in two parties dropped in and out, 4 Green Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, a Garganey, and a family party of Yellow Wagtails were noted at this excellent site.

Next was a stop at Old Moor RSPB where the highlight was a juvenile Spotted Redshank from the Wath Ings Hide. The scrape here is in ideal condition with acres of wader mud in superb condition. If only Brockholes had quality mud like this!

Above: Juv Spotted Redshank, Old Moor RSPB - 19th Aug 2009.

Next stop was at Welbeck Raptor Watchpoint, Notts, late afternoon. Single Hobby and Peregrine were the highlight, with several Common Buzzard in the air.

20th August: Five hours at Welbeck Raptor Watchpoint was rewarded with a distant male Honey Buzzard late morning.

Local birding: Brockholes Wetland LWT , Lancs - 14th August 2009.

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Above: Clouded Yellow, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, 14th Aug 2009. Presumably the 'yellow Butterfly sp.' seen briefly by Robin Shenton y/day.

Above & below: Juv Little Grebe, Brockholes Wetland LWT - 14th Aug 2009.

Above: Juv Garganey, Brockholes Wetland LWT, Lancs, 14th Aug 2009. Present for the 14th day.

Above: 3 juv Greenshank, Brockholes Wetland LWT - 9th Aug 2009.