Lancs: 25th-27th April 2010.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!