Visitor From Lapland
The visitor from Lapland was not Father Christmas this time but a Shore Lark that has spent the last couple of weeks on the Fylde coast. I only twitch Arctic birds and the trip to Fleetwood was well worth while with some great views of a very confiding bird. A couple of Snow Buntings were […]
The Butcher Bird
Yesterday in the Ribble valley I had a chance encounter with a Great Grey Shrike or Butcher Bird as it is sometimes called. It was some way off on top of a pole and was watching the same five Goldcrests that I was watching along the edge of a pine forest. Once it catches prey […]
Lapland Day Out
A day trip to Lapland in search of Father Christmas gave only one hour of daylight and only one bird seen. It was however my favourite bird, a Waxwing, feeding just before it went dark on rowan berries. There were masses of rowan berries in the township of Rovaniemi and this was the obvious reason […]
Winter At Leighton Moss
On Wednesday the coldest place in Britain was Leighton Moss at minus 5 °C and I was in the hide there before 8.00am. Everywhere looked superb in the hoar frost and better still as an Otter fished in a far off bay. Two Bitterns were seen but as usual they were too far away to […]
The Ringtail
Ringtail is the name given to a female Hen Harrier or a juvenile in its first winter when it is difficult to tell the sexes apart. The name comes from the white rump and is clearly visible as shown in this weeks photo. There is no doubt that any sightings of a Hen Harrier make a […]
DVD Christmas Offer
Many people have been collecting my DVDs over the last five years and as I am to stop giving my film shows in fifteen months time I have decided to offer a special rate for them for Christmas. You can purchase any two DVDs for £20 plus £2 p&p. This offer may be obtained through […]
Wintering Chiff Chaff
On the 18th on Hopwood a Chiff Chaff was seen but it quickly disappeared in the scrub. I always wonder how many winter in Britain and go unnoticed. Two years ago in Middleton a Siberian one was found and caused quite a stir in the twitchers circles. At Stakehill on the 17th the rooftop Lapwings […]
Rooftop Lapwings
On the 9th the Lapwings on the roof of the local Industrial estate set a new record at three hundred and twenty.They always use the same roof which in our eyes looks no different to the many others nearby but to the Lapwings it is special. The first Autumn Woodcock appeared in Hopwood woods on […]
November Record
With a cooler period of weather mid week we had a November record of birds feeding in the garden on the 6th. Twenty three species fed during the day including 17 Goldfinches, 2 male Bullfinches, Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and the first Nuthatch of the year. I saw my first Fieldfare of the […]
Islay One Hundred
Our 100th visit to Islay since 1976 and by far the worst October weather we have ever had. Only two dry days in eight but on Islay there is always good bird-watching to be had despite the horizontal rain! The Geese and Whooper Swans are always impressive but what was impressive on this visit were […]