Bamber Bridge Birder

Red Kites, Tetsworth, Oxon - 13th January 2012

2012-01-14T21:44:00.000Z

TheM40 corridor north between Beaconsfield and Oxford is renowned for its largepopulation of Red Kites and I often marvel at their sight whenever I travelalong the route. On several occasions I’ve pulled off the M40 and travelled upthe A40 giving me chance to pull over and observe them at closer quarters.

Afterpulling in a layby on the way down from Aston Rowant NNR and observing 2 atdistance as well as a small flock of travelling Long-tailed Tit I decided tocontinue north to Tetsworth, Oxon where I’ve watched small numbers of RedKites over the village green and also gives good opportunities to photographthem.

Afterpulling up in a layby opposite the green I watched 10 Red Kite circling overthe roof tops and 2 over the green. Numbers for the day must have been aroundthe 100 mark with 3 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk adding to the raptornumbers along the stretch.

Above Red KIte below one of a small group of travelling Long-tailed Tit

Glaucous Gull, Southport Beach - 2nd January 2012

2012-01-02T20:54:00.003Z

I spent myfirst day birding of the year at Southport beach with the intention ofphotographing the Gaucous Gull that has been reported from there for a whilenow. Reading on the internet and chatting to a few local birders suggested thatthe bird was ill but after catching up with it after a 2 hour search mythoughts are rather different. I’d been told it was very approachable and as Iwas able to get within 15m of the bird without causing it any due distress I’dagree which would maybe suggest there was a problem with the bird. As thephotographs show the bill is rather red suggesting it has recently fed andthere seemed to be no problem with it as it took to the air joining a throng ofother gulls as an ignorant dog walker flushed it TWICE!! I wouldn’t mind but it was quite obvious thatabout 10 birders with a variety of scopes, binoculars and cameras were lookingat a large Gull that was on its own sat on the grass as she trundled throughflushing the Gull and not satisfied with that she let her dog off within metersof were the Gull had landed thus flushing it again! I don’t tar all dog walkerswith the same brush, most stayed away or even took an interest, and one coupleeven photographed it with their phone. Rant over.

GLAUCOUS GULL - 2ND WINTER ACORDING TO MY HELM GUIDE

BELOW TAKING FLIGHT FOR THE 2ND TIME

BELOW BLACK-HEADED GULL

Whilstsearching for the Glaucous I came across a single Sanderling which seemed tohave signs of oil on its underside. It didn’t seem to hinder the bird as it preened,fed and flew without any signs of a problem.

ABOVE SANDERLING PREENING OIL PATCH, BELOW FEEDING

As I left alarge flock of Twite (some ringed) fed near to the Weld Road car park, I estimatednumbers of between 80 – 100 but have been corrected with a count of 122 byanother birder who was there at the time.

PART OF THE LARGE FLOCK OF TWITE FEDING NEAR THE CAR PARK

2 ticks and updates - 16th December 2011

2011-12-18T15:31:00.000Z

With 2 birds showing well in North Lancashire that I neededfor my life list I spent the first day of a long weekend off work in search ofthem. The first stop was Leighton Moss RSPB and it didn’t take long to find theGlossy Ibis feeding at the edge of a flooded field near to the car parkentrance of the Allens Hide. Scope views were good but only record shots wereobtainable as the autofocus kept picking up the branches when I tried photographingit through a nearby hedge.

ABOVE & BELOW GLOSSY IBIS

Next stop was Heysham Docks were a small number of Twitewere feeding in the usual place. As I pulled up on the north side of theharbour. A quick scan along the edge as I walked up the entrance of the harbourbrought 2 juvenile Shag and a Turnstone on the walk back. I found the GlaucousGull at one of the outlets on the south side so views through the scope weregood but no chance of any photographs. These views were disrupted as a dredgerbegan work and I was unable to locate the bird for the remainder of my visit. 3Little Gulls were a nice addition as well as c30 Kittewake.

JUVENILLE SHAG

ABOVE & BELOW KITTEWAKE - NOT SURE OF AGES

Even though the blogs been quite I have managed to get outon a few occasions mainly to Crossens-out Marsh with the hope of getting some photosof the Short-eared Owls but though I saw them the weather conditions madephotography difficult. A tick with 4 European White-fronted Geese made thetrips worthwhile.

Local patch additions included Fieldfare, Redwing and on the17^th December a flock of c20 Siskin which was a nice addition.Buzzard have been showing well recently with 2 giving good views again on themorning of the 17^th. The disappointment has been the lack of thelocal Tawny Owl, it had been calling regularly up to a few weeks ago and I hadseen it several times at dusk and dawn but things have been quite of late.

Wall Farm Nature Reserve, Shropshire - 4th November 2011

2011-11-04T20:51:00.002Z

A call on Monday from Mike Foley prompted this trip down toWall Farm near to Telford. A Steppe Grey Shrike had been reported from there(firstly identified as a Great Grey) and Mike managed to get down on Tuesday andas my work didn’t take me anywhere near I managed to take Friday off and takethe 2 hour drive down to this small nature reserve. I must say I was a littleworried as first as my trips to Shrikes have mostly proved fruitless over theyears and as Bird Guides had reported the bird before 8.00 most of the week andit wasn’t until after 10.00 that it showed up on the report today. Afterparking up in the farmer’s field and dropping my £3.50 (all being donated tothe British Legion) in the bucket I took the 10 minute walk down to the edge ofthe ploughed field from where the bird could be viewed. It was quite distant at first, approximately600m and though well out of range for photography it was easy to pick up withthe scope. For the first 2 and a half hours it stayed at the bottom end of thefield but stayed mainly in view occasionally dropping to the ground beforereturning to the hedgerow or to a high point on a bush or tree. Eventually itstarted to move closer and spent about half an hour around lunch time at about400m where I was able to obtain a few record shots. I must admit with these orany other photos I’ve seen I’d struggle to distinguish it from the Great GreyShrike and even looking in my reference books and the internet I’ve failed togain any real knowledge about this species, a copy of Shrikes of the world ison its way. After about 4 hours I decided to head home happy that I’d added theSteppe to my Shrike list having only seen Great Grey and Brown I’ve still got along way to go.

Above the ploughed the Steppe Shrike could be viewed from, it didn't even make it down as far as the two large trees in the centre of the photograph.

Above you can just make out the white wing pattern, much larger than on the Great Grey Shrike

Banks Marsh & Marshside RSPB - 22nd October 2011

2011-10-22T22:53:00.002+01:00

Another weekend trip up to the Ribble Estuary but this time my first visit to Banks Marsh where I met up with Nick Green. I didn't get far along but managed some nice species including a late Curlew Sandpiper.

ABOVE CURLEW SANDPIPER BELOW WITH A RUFF

At times the Cirlew Sandpiper was as close as 20m even though dogwalkers constantly walked passed but it seemed to carry on undisturbed feeding at the pools edge in the company of a Ruff. A mixed flock of Black-tailed Godwit in the field behind were also accompanied by a few Ruff but soon took to the air when disturbed.
Other birds of intrest included Golden Plover, Widgeon, Teal, Lapwing, 2 Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Little Egret.

TOP BLACK-TAILED GODWIT BOTTOM A FLOCK OF ABOUT 20 GODWITS WERE PRESENT WITH A FEW RUFF

After Scanning the area with the hope of getting a Short-eared Owl (none present today) e headed off to Marshside in perticular Nels Hide. Black-tailed Godwit were present in larger numbers and more dropped in over the hour we were there. 2 Drake Pintail showed well as well as a small number of Shoveler but Teal just about outnumbered everything across the pool. The odd Golden Plover were intermingled with the Godwit as well as numbers of Lapwing. 3 Little Egret flew across as well as a Grey Heron and there were several Gull species including Common and Greater Black Backed.

ABOVE DRAKE SHOVELER BELOW FEMALE

ABOVE DRAKE TEAL BELOW MORE BLACK-TAILED GODWITS

ABOVE ONE OF SEVERAL REDSHANK ON THE POOL

On the drive back a single Hen Harrier was out over Crossens Marsh but still no Shorties.

Hesketh Out Marsh to the River Douglas - 15th October 2011

2011-10-16T20:22:00.000+01:00

With the weather being so nice I decided to spend the day on the south side of the Ribble Estuary mainly at Hesketh Out Marsh but I did manage a walk down to the River douglas for the first time. A few passing Redwing passed over at HOM as well as numbers of Skylark and Meadow Pipit. 4 Little Egret were feeding on the nearby pools and 4 Snipe dropped in whilst I was watching with another 2 over. A Kestrel was hunting along the enbankment and I flushed 4 Grey Partridge as I walked west along the reserve. A worrying sight was a single Avocet which surely should have headed south by now, it was sat on the end of one of the nearby pools to the west of the reserve. Walking East towards I brought Linnet, Starlings a further 2 Kestrel, A Buzzard, Carrion Crow and on the walk back a Marsh Harrier and Merlin.

ABOVE SNIPE IF I HADDN'T SEEN THEM DROP IN I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN THEM AT ALL

ABOVE LITTLE EGRET AND BELOW A MEADOW PIPIT

My first visit to the River Douglas was a little disappointing as I was hoping you could get nearer the river and explore its embankments a liitle more. I watched what is the mouth of the river as it joins the Ribble with Curlew, Lapwing and Redshank in large numbers as well as well as Cormorant a mix of Gull species including GBB. A Buzzard tried to find the thermals in the distance and 2 Raven croaked as they passed over. As the tide came in a few fishing boats started to pass through flushing a large flock of Canada Geese which included a Greylag and a small number of Widgeon. The best view though and worth the wait was a Peregrine as it flushed the Curlew and Lapwing. I didn't see it at first but as the Lapwing rose into the sky as one I knew something must have flushed them and I watched for 2 minutes as it chased round dropping low over the Douglas chasing a Curlew. On this occasion it was unsucsessfull and I last saw it dropping low into a distant field further up the river.

ABOVE WIDGEON

NOT THE BEST PHOTO BUT I NEVER TIRE OF WATCHING PEREGRINE IN ACTION (click the photo to make it larger)

Slavonian Grebe at Fairhaven Lake - 8th October 2011

2011-10-08T23:38:00.001+01:00

I saw my first Grebe at the age of about 12 on a lake (MountFarm I think) in Bletchley. It was a Great Crested or at least they were asthey went through their ritual dance and ever since then I found the species adelightful one to watch and find them even in winter plumage a beautiful bird.

After missing out on the Solitary Sandpiper at Nateby,Reeces rugby and a slight hang over on the Sunday and working from the officefor the rest of the week, I decided to head up to Fairhaven Lake to try andcapture some photographs in the poor light and rain of the Slavonian Grebe thathas been resident there for most of the week.

Upon arriving there was no sign of it which happened thelast time I twitched (or dipped!) a bird at Fairhaven. Thankfully the bird wasjust diving and soon appeared from around one of the boats moored at the sideof the lake about a meter away. Iwatched with several other birders in the slight drizzle not needing a scope oreven binoculars as it bobbed along on the choppy water.

Brockholes LWT - 01st October 2011

2011-10-04T21:27:00.001+01:00

With the weather being so nice (26 degees in October!!) Reece and I decided to have a wander around Brockholes for a couple of hours to see if anything good was anjoying the sun. In birding terms a Little Grebe, 4 Buzzard and a single Kestrel were about all of interest that we saw but Dragonflies were out in force. There were more species seen on the day by others but the main species we saw were Common Darter and Migrant Hawker which I'd first identified as a Common Hawker and there were possibly some present as in flight they are hard to tell apart (at least for me). As shown in the photograph below the Migrant Hawker has a a yellow triangle at the base of the abdomen.

ABOVE PAIR OF MIGRANT HAWKERS EGG LAYING BELOW THE YELLOW TRIANGLE OF THE MIGRANT HAWKER

Common Darters where in larger numbers both on the pools and sun bathing on the paths.

ABOVE MALE & FEMALE COMMON DARTER IN A COPULATION WHEEL, BELOW MALE COMMON DARTER

Grey Phalarope, Ribble Ribble, Preston - 20th September 2011

2011-09-20T21:30:00.000+01:00

It all started last week when I missed out on the Grey Phalarope at Fairhaven Lake. I'd been working away and didn't get chance to get over their until Friday afternoon at which time it had moved on (it had been reported on the RBA light map on Friday morning). A second Grey Phalarope was seen by Bill Aspin on the River Ribble in Preston from the A59 bridge (near Penwortham), a bridge I crossed on the way back from Fairhaven!
With a busy weekend I wasn't able to get up to see it until tonight after seeing it reported at lunchtime on the Ribble Estuary facebook page by Colin Bushell.
I turned up about 18.00 parking in the car park by the alotments and headed upstream to where Colin had seen it earlier. Unlike other trips out to add to my life list I found the bird pretty much straight away feeding on the south shore about 100m infront of the bridge. I spent about an hour watching it as it drifted downstream towards the bridge before flying 300m upstream and returning back with the returning tide.

Adonis Blue at Aston Rowant NNR

2011-09-17T20:34:00.001+01:00

I haven't had much luck this year in adding to my Butterfly list but in the first week of September I called back in at Aston Rowant with the hope of seeing one of the most vibrant blues seen in the UK. The Adonis Blue is only seen in small numbers here and after switching on my camera on only to find the battery flat I wasn't holding out much hope. Most of the plants were putting to seed but there was a small patch were I found several mostly worn butterflies feeding and amongst them a Male Blue Adonis. Luckily my smart phone had packed in and I was using my trusty old sony C905 and with a 8.1M camera, with a little patience I managed to get a few shots. I counted 3 males during my hour visit along with 1 Siver-spotted Skipper, 6+ Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Painted Lady, Brown Argus and Common Blue.

Blue Adonis

Above Painted Lady

Above Brown Argus Below Common Blue

Aston Rowant NNR - 2nd August 2011

2011-08-07T21:15:00.001+01:00

I managed a second visit to this wonderful butterfly site in just over a week and what a difference. The temperature was around 25C with very little wind and though it was cloudy the number of butterflies was treble the amount I saw on my previous visit.
Chalkhill Blue were flying in large numbers and were certainly the predominant species. Small Heath ans Small Copper numbers were up and I saw at least 10 Silver -Spotted Skippers which were not flying on my previous visit.

Above the Silver-Spotted Skipper is common during its flying season at Aston Rowant and can be distinguished from other UK Skippers by the silver spots on its under wing.

Above Essex Skipper below Large Skipper

The Large and Essex Skippers can be distinguished by the Essex Skippers black tip to the antenna.

Above Small Copper below Small Heath

Above Common Blue, below female Chalkhill Blue, bottom male Chalkhill Blue

Top Small Tortoiseshell, above Speckled Wood below female Brown Argus

Ashdown Forest - Emperor Dragonfly - 1st August 2011

2011-08-07T15:04:00.000+01:00

Bowdown Woods BBOWT - 29th July 2011

2011-07-30T15:56:00.001+01:00

I haven't had much chance to increase my Butterfly list that I started last year so when I knew I was working in Thatcham I couldn't resist in calling in at Bowdown Woods where 2 of my target species the Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral are currently flying. Unfortunately things conspired against me and after a phone call from the office I had to cut short my visit without seeing either. I came across a small glade where I saw most of the species which included an unusual marked Green-veined White (below) and thanks to Andy on the UK Butterfly forum for helping with its ID.

Green-veined White

Speckled Wood

Meadow Brown

Some luck was with me and I stopped to watch 2 Green Woodpeckers as finished my walk along the Bomb Site path I noticed an Oak Tree and knowing there are Purple Hairstreak reported I took a good look finding one high up and just within my lens range, though the quality wasn't to good with shooting into the sunlight.

Purple Hairstreak

Male Common Blue

Female Common Blue

Other butterflies included Peackock and Gatekeeper

Aston Rowant NNR - 26th July 2011

2011-07-30T15:23:00.000+01:00

Aston Rowant NNR is a great place for butterflies with 35 species recorded on the site and 20 recorded the day before my vist. The sun wasn't out and there was a slight wind so hopes of seeing a high species count on my visit were not very high but with at least 10 on show I don't think I did to bad.

Male Chalkhill Blue

Female Chalkhill Blue

Female Common Blue

Brown Argus
There were several species of Blue flying and along with Skippers I find them very difficult to identify until I get home and trawl through my photos. Chalkhill Blue were flying in large numbers and with it being the middle of their flying season and Aston Rowants chalk fields its main habbitat it wasn't a supprise.

Essex Skipper

Small Skipper

Gatekeeper

Small Copper

Small Heath

The Small Heath was both a difficult species to find and photograph with only 2 subjects seen on my visit and both deep in the grasses. Other species onsite but not photographed were Large Skipper and Meadow Brown

Black Redstarts, Preston Town Cente - 27th July 2011

2011-07-27T21:44:00.000+01:00

For the second year running (as far as I know) a pair of Black Redstarts have successfully bred in Preston town centre. I was unable to locate them last year on several visits but an hour spent there tonight brought signs of a juvenile and though I didn't see the adults the male could be heard calling and both were seen later in the evening along with a second juvenile. Thanks goes out to Zac Hinchcliffe for putting out the information that they were back, check his blog for photos of the adult birds.

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 24th July 2011

2011-07-24T16:57:00.000+01:00

I spent 3 hours in the sunshine wandering around the reserve with Howard Prescot looking mainly for the White-letter and Purple Hairstreaks that are seen in small numbers at this time of year. Though the sun was out there was no sign of them on this visit but there were many other species flying across the reserve.

Comma

Green-Veined White

Red Admiral

Meadow Brown
Including the above there were also Peacock, Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood also Small and Large Skipper have been reported recently.
With the variety of flowering plants across the reserve is wasn't a supprise to see a great number of bumble bees including the 2 shown below.

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Dragonflies and Damselflies were around in numbers including 6+ Brown Hawkers as well as those shown below.

Common Darter

Female Empreror Dragonfly oviposting

I believe the bottom photograph is of a newly emerged Common Darter as the wings are much more transparent. Whilst I was looking for the White-letter Hairstreak I came across this Common Toad amongst the undergrowth and quite a way from any of the pools.

Common Toad

Brampton Woods - 11th July 2011

2011-07-17T12:26:00.001+01:00

I called in at Brampton Woods with the hope of catching one of the UK's rarest butterflies the Black Hairstreak. There are 5 known sites in the woods where they can be seen but its at the end of their short flying season so hopes weren't high. The weather didn't help either, it was warm but cloudy with a slight wind not ideal conditions so I wasn't disapointed when I didn't see one maybe next year.

Ringlet

There are plenty of other species to be seen with Ringlet being the main one flying low in the long grass and flowers rarely landing. The bottom photograph shows a very worn specmen which amazingly was still able to fly.

Essex Skipper

There were 3 species of Skipper, Essex Large and Small. They can be distinguished by their antenae with the Essex having a black tip and the Small having an orange tip.

Large Skipper

Small Skipper

Only one Brown Argus could be found on my visit and no other small blues seemed to be present but this may be due to the weather.

Other species included Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Green-veined White also reported at the site are White and and Purple Hairstreak.

Gatekeeper

Green-veined White

Meadow Brown

Red Admiral

Speckled Wood

Cuerden Valley Park Dragonfly Pond - 3rd July 2011

2011-07-05T20:10:00.000+01:00

I spent a sunny couple of hours up at the Dragonfly pond at CVP with plenty of Damselflies around as well as a few species of Dragonfly. The first notisable Dragonfly was a patrolling Emperor Dragonfly which on 2 occasions rested on some reeds at the edge of the pond. Though I attempted to get some flight shots they were poor at best I did managed a few reasonable shots at rest mainly using manual focus. Amongst the shrubs around the pond were several 4 Spotted Chasers probably one of the most photogenic of all Dragonflies and certainly one of my favourite.

ABOVE EMPEROR DRAGONFLY BELOW AND TOP 4 SPOTTED CHASER

Damselfly included Azure, Blue Tailed and Large Red though the latter is rather smaller than its blue cousins.

ABOVE LARGE RED DAMSELFLY BELOW BLUE_TAILED DAMSELFLY

ABOVE AZURE BLUE OVIPOSTING BELOW AZURE BLUE MALE

As I left I spotted a Brown Darter so I waited around in hope of it resting somewhere to enable a few photographs but after a brief encounter with Emperor it took a Damselfly and disapeared into the nearby trees to enjoy its lunch!

Nessebar, Bulgaria - 10th - 21st June 2011

2011-06-26T13:25:00.000+01:00

Things have been quiet on the blog of late due to problems with my laptop which still infected with viruses and is soon to end up through the window! There have been a few trips out mainly to Brockholes and Stags Lodge but I thought I'd come back with our recent trip to Nessebar in Bulgaria. The trip didn't go to well as far as birds went but we did well with Butterflies which will be on a later post once I've ID them all. On the visit to Bulgaria we spent a day in a reserve on the Turkey / Bulgarian border but most of the birds were photographed in and around the hotel complex and having forgoten to take my charger these are few and far between.

ABOVE AND BELOW YELLOW LEGGED GULL

The trip out looked promising with several nesting Stork on view and Little Egret, Grey Heron and Cormarant seen out of the Land Rover as we passed a wetland. Once we arrived at the national park though things took a downturn as we were accompanied by 60 Ukranian kids on a summer camp, you can't imagine!! Dipper & Kingfisher were 2 good birds along with a Grey Wagtail but chance of seeing much else went out the window. Apparantly there are Bears on the reserve and we hoped the kids would come across one!!

ABOVE AND BELOW GOLDEN ORIOLE

The hotel grounds was fruitful with a Golden Oriole seen daily along with a Jay, Swift, House Martin, Swallow and House Sparrow all nesting on site. Yellow-legged Gulls were the only gulls we saw on the trip and were abundant around the hotel.

ABOVE AND BELOW CRESTED LARK

We discovered a Crested Lark on a walk into Nessebar, the local town and even though we spent 2 hours in the heat searching around a local sand dune reserve we didn't see much else.

ABOVE JAY BELOW WHITETHROAT

Other birds on the trip iincluded Starling, Hooded Crow, Jackdaw, White Wagtail, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, and Goldfinch. Not a great list but I think we'll return in the coming years, next time hiring a car and spending a bit more time birding.

Spotted Sandpiper, Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 30th May 2011

2011-05-30T16:31:00.000+01:00

I was walking the dogs at the local patch in the rain when the text came through that resident birder Bill Aspin had sighted a Spotted Sandpiper on No. 1 pit at Brockholes. No brainer really so a call home to make sure Reece was going to be ready and another 20 minutes walk around Stags Lodge with the boys and off we headed.

I joined Robin Shelton in the car park and we walked down to 'the family hide' on No. 1 Pit to see stunning views as it fed along the shoreline in front of the Sand Martin wall.

ABOVE SPOTTED SANDPIPER BELOW WITH REDSHANK FOR COMPARISON

ABOVE SPOTTED SANDPIPER BELOW REDSHANK

There must have been c20 birders watching this stunning North American Wader and more were arriving as we walked back to the visitors centre and as we left. It was our first visit to the centre since it had opened and what a great place to have a coffee looking over the meadow pool.

Local Patch, Warblers & Butterflies - 29th April 2011

2011-04-29T21:12:00.000+01:00

I managed a few trips up to the local patch the first being on the way back from an early walk with the dogs at Cuerden Valley Park. On the way up I’d heard a Willow Warbler calling by the top kissing gate and more were heard on Cuerden itself as well as a Whitethroat calling near the paddock and Chiffchaff calling around the park.
On the way back through as well as the usual calling Chiffchaff there were 2 calling Whitethroat and 2 other Whitethroat in the area where 2 successfully nested last year which was a good sign and prompted a return visit with the camera.
Though I heard 2 Whitethroat calling the nesting pair were very elusive and it took a 45 minute wait sat in the long grass before I got the few shots shown.

ABOVE AND BELOW WHITETHROAT

Though the wind was up there were several species of butterfly in evidence and I came across a single Blue-tailed Damselfly which I think is a little early for them and the first dragonfly/damselfly I have seen this season though I have been checking the Dragonfly Pond at Cuerden regularly.

ABOVE AND BELOW MALE ORANGE TIP, THE FEMALE LACKS THE ORANGE TIPS

ABOVE WORN PEACOCK BELOW SMALL TORTOISESHELL

ABOVE SMALL WHITE BELOW BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY

Short-toed Lark - Fleetwood Nature Reserve 25th April 2011

2011-04-25T15:30:00.000+01:00

Lancashires first Short-toed Lark was reported on the 24th and Zac told me about it whist we were counting the Whimbrel in at Brockholes. I checked Birdguides in the morning and it had been reported early so we took a flyer and headed out. After dropping Mrs G at freeport we picked up the bird on a stone path just out of reach with the camera but giving good views through the scope. The local dog walkers were being petty good in staying away from the area but there is always one even though she could see c20 birders watching the area she ploughed on regardless. The bird of course took to the sky at first heading away, I managed to stay on it as it circled and headed over the top of us relocating at the edge of the model airplane field. I manage a few photos before heading back, also picked up a Lesser Whitethoat on the reserve a second lifer on the day for us both.

ABOVE & BELOW SHORT-TOED LARK @ FLEETWOOD NATURE RESERVE

Whimbrel Roost - Brocholes Nature Reserve - 24th April 2011

2011-04-25T07:11:00.000+01:00

Brockholes Nature Reserve is a well known site to see this passing migrant as they make they way to Iceland from their North Afican wintering grounds. Slightly smaller the resident Curlew and distinguished by the stripe above its eye they roost in ever increasing numbers between the end of April and mid May. Last nights count was 89 birds with 2 Curlew amongst them before the light faded at 21.00. Wimbrel numbers and other sightings from the site can be found on their facebook site Brockholes Sightings (this page is run by birders and not LWT)

ABOVE AND BELOW WHIMBREL

Cuerden Valley Park - Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T11:45:00.000+01:00

On the Friday I headed up to see the Dipper at 7am and after waiting for 15 minutes it appeared preaning on a rock sticking above the water line of the river lostock. It wasn't even disturbed by a local bin wagon that was emptying local skips, it just continued to preen and dip on the rock before flying down river and beyon sight.

There was the usual woodland birds on several early morning walks over the weekend including many Chiffchaff calling but the other warblers have either passed through or are staying quiet at the moment especially on Stags Lodge where Blackcap and Willow Warbler have been seen this year but not in the past week. Another missing warbler is the Whitethroat which bred successfully last year but there's time yet. The local Buzzard past over yesterday along with 6 Oystercatchers which are local to home but I've never seen them on the patch before. Butterflies are starting to emerge with Orange Tip, Small White, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell in evidence in various numbers.

Back Yard Birding 16/17th April 2011

2011-04-17T20:28:00.000+01:00

I was laughed at this morning as I put a large clump of Jaspers (one of my border collies) winter under coat that I had brushed off him on to the feeding pole. This afternoon though the laugh as on me as Reece spotted this Blue Tit collecting it to line its nest and I watched as it returned several times to collect about a third of what I'd put out.

Yesterday we had a pair of Coal Tit visiting the feeders for the first time this year and this stunning Starling is a regular visitor to the fat ball.

ABOVE COAL TIT BEFORE STARLING

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 10th April 2011

2011-04-10T20:48:00.000+01:00

BROCKHOLES VISITORS CENTRE

With the weather being the best it has been all year I decided to head down to Brockholes in hope of getting some passing migrants and re-build my collection of phototgraphs after loosing my hard drive recently. Though I heard a Chiffcaff there was no sign of any other warblers though Willow, Blackcap and Whitethroat have all been reported so far this year. No1 Pit had 2 Ringed Plover and 2 Common Sandpiper on the spits as well as Greater Black Backed Gull, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing and Greylag. I deceided to take a walk down to the Ribble in the attempt of getting some Sand Martin shots with not much luck. The one below was about the best of the 50+ I took of the c50 Sand Martins that were present. No sign of any Wheatear though a few have been reported but there were several Reed Bunting males and Tree Sparrow as well as a male Kestrel mobbing a Carion crow.

ABOVE SAND MARTIN BELOW MALE REED BUNTING

ABOVE TREE SPARROW BELOW MALE KESTREL

Butterflies are starting to appear more frequently with Small White, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock, the latter being very aggressive towards the other species.

PEACOCK

Dipper @ Cuerden Valley Park - 9th April 2011

2011-04-09T21:06:00.001+01:00

I finally took the advice of some of the blog readers and visited Kem Mill at 7 this morning with hope of finding the Dipper. I wasn’t disappointed as it appeared within seconds of my arrival so I took the opportunity to take plenty of photos at close range as it hunted along the river lostock. It wasn’t until I checked through my photos as I awaited its return that I realised I hadn’t turned the image stabiliser on so some very poor results. I watched the stretch for about 45 minutes and early on it kept flying in and out so there is a possibility it could be rearing young close by. Other sightings included Chiffchaff, Wren, Great & Blue Tit, Mallard and a Treecreeper ( IS turned on!)

ABOVE DIPPER BELOW TREECREEPER

After my brief visit to Kem Mill I headed up to Stags Lodge with the dogs where on the previous evening I’d seen my first Willow Warbler on the patch. It was still calling in the morning on the bank of the river lostock where a male Black Cap was also calling again the first on the patch for the year. Other sightings included Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren, Carrion Crow, Canada Geese, Mallard, Coot, Magpie, Blue and Great Tit.

I also spotted a Blue Tit entering one of the traffic lights at the A49/A6 crossroad, one nested there last year so with any look it will again this year and I’ll try for some photos.

The feeders have been busy and Great and Blue Tits have now returned after not being around for several weeks after the tree was cut down. It also looks like we have a pair of Dunnock in a conifer hedge at the other side of the ginnel, the male has spent most of the day calling its alarm call due to our cat lazing in the sun on top of our shed.

DUNNOCK

Marshside RSPB - 2nd April 2010

2011-04-02T21:04:00.000+01:00

I finally managed to visit Marshside RSPB today to try and see the Lesser Scaup that has been reported there over the past few weeks. I wasn't to be dissapointed as it sat on the junction pool fast asleep for at least the hour and a half that I was there.

LESSER SCAUP

It was a nice tick though i was a little disappointed that it didn't wake up during the visit. Other species noted on my visit were Chiffchaff, Wheatear, Meadowpipit, Skylark, Little Egret, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit.

ABOVE BLACK TAILED GODWIT BELOW AVOCET

The local patch has brought up a couple of new species for the year with a Sparrowhawk and Grey Herron on the patch last night as Reece and I walked the dogs. For a full list of our years sightings click 'LOCAL PATCH' at the top of the blog.

Earlier in the week I was working at Whitstable Harbour and though I didn't have my gear with me saw quite a few nice birds. 30+ Turnstone on the side of the Harbour and then later in the day on the beach and on both occasions gave good photo opportunities though as usual I didn't have my camera. Gulls included Herring, Common and Black-headed though all in small numbers, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, House Sparrow could be seen around the harbour and a single Swallow flew over at lunch, my first of the year. A Great Crested Grebe was out on the sea amongst the Gulls.

Stags Lodge, Cuerden Valley Park - 27th March 2011

2011-03-27T21:36:00.001+01:00

Well a pretty eventful day and not just because I had three trips up to the local patch, Reece managed to get his nose broken playing rugby so all plans of heading out somewhere in the afternoon went out the window. So with about an hour to spare I decided to hit the Stags Lodge without the dogs in hope of photographing one of the returning Chiffchaff.

The one by the bridge over the river Lostock gave me the run around for about 20 minutes so I gave up and had a wander around the patch to see if anything interesting was about. A single Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow 6+ Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, Blue, Great and 4 Long-tailed Tit, 4 Mallard and a calling Greater Spotted Woodpecker were about all I could find. A second Chiffchaff by the bench at the top of the meadow was much happier to hang around for me to photograph.

Back home the feeders seem to have started to bring the birds back in though a different mix of species. The Golfinch have returned in smaller numbers and though I have seen the Greenfinch locally they don't seem to like the new feeders. 2 Dunnock are regular visitors as well as Starling, Collard Dove and new on the feeders over the weekend Woodpigeon, okay not a spectacular bird but we were both happy to see them and add them to our back yard list.

Local Patch and other bits - 26th March 2011

2011-03-26T15:16:00.000Z

An early visit to the local patch brought the first migrant back for this season in the form of a Chiffchaff calling near the car park. A walk around Stags Lodge and a second Chiffchaff was again calling this time near the bridge over the river lostock. Last year there were 5 Chiffchaff on the patch from what I rememeber but no sign of them breeding unlike the Whitethroat which successfully produced 4 young. Plenty of Chaffinch calling, Songthrush which look like they are breeding here this year, Jay, Carrion Crow, Mallard, a single Coot the other presumably on the nest and the usual Great and Blue Tits.

During the week I saw my first migrant whilst working at Nestle in York (for those of the older generation the Rountrees Factory). This ringed Chiffchaff was calling for most of the day along the boundary.

CHIFFCHAFF

This Buzzard was sat on a fence post at the side of the road whilst I travelled to Holmeswood but by the time I pulled over and stuck my head over the bank with my camera it was well on its way!

BUZZARD

Peregrine Falcon - 20th March 2011

2011-03-21T20:50:00.000Z

The light was quite poor though I'm sure if I knew a little more about photography I could have got some better results of this local male Peregrine. I spent an hour watching him as he sat and watched me occasionally taking to the air as I took over 200 photos that even with photoshop I couldn't improve. Hopefully he and his mate will stick around and I can catch them on a sunny day, either that or I should book myself on a photography course!!

Last few weeks

2011-03-13T21:14:00.000Z

Trips out bird watching have been very infrequent over the last few weeks with just the usual trips up to Stags Lodge and surrounding areas and 2 visits to Brockholes Nature Reserve.

I have continued slowly to add to the patch list of Stags Lodge with Nuthatch, my first on the patch and Starling in the past few weeks. This weekend’s visits brought a calling male Bullfinch and a drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker. The usual patch birds have also been present in the form of Song Thrush, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Mallard, Coot, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Robin, Dunnock, Wren and Black-headed Gull.

Other local sightings of interest include a pair of Peregrine and a Pair of Raven. I’m hoping to get some photos of the Peregrine if I’m lucky to see them again.

Back Yard Birding seems to have come to a halt after our neighbour cut the tree down that bordered our properties and I was using to hang my feeders. I have bought a feeding stand which I’ve fastened to the back wall but the Goldfinch and Greenfinch that used to devour most of the seed I was putting out seem to be keeping away presumably because of the lack of cover. Starlings seem to be enjoying the fruit suit I put out and Reece said he’d seen a pair of Dunnock and a Collard Dove on them this morning so there’s hope yet.

It’s a while since I’d been to Brockholes and the place is coming along nicely and should be ready for opening over the Easter weekend so I’ve been told. Sightings are what you would expect for the time of year with very little of interest on any of the pools on both weekend visits. A single Redshank amongst a couple of Lapwing on No1 pit was just about anything I saw of note. 2 Sand Martin were reported on Saturday lunchtime which even though they nest in the area I think they were just flying through but I’m sore the resident birds will be back soon.

Thanks to those who’ve let me know about the local Waxwings, I’ve not had much chance to get out to see them but I’m sure I saw a small flock travelling as I drove through Bamber Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Birthday Birding - 21st February 2011

2011-02-21T20:54:00.000Z

This is the 3rd year running I've taken the day off work and headed out with Reece on or around my birthday in the hope of a good days birding. Well 2 out of 3 aint bad as the song goes. First stop was Sizergh Castle with the hope of seing the Hawfinch but half an hour of scanning the trees brought nothing but a Robin, Nuthatch, several Chaffinch and a small flock of Fieldfare. On to Ambleside with better results as I spotted a female Long Tailed Duck feeding in the marina, a tick for both of us. Jackdaw, Starlings and Mallards in abundance as well as a Wren and Robin were the other birds of note.

ABOVE FEMALE LONG TAILED DUCK BELOW JACKDAW

Next we headed south calling into Conder Creek which was totally flooded due to the high tide as was Pilling with a few Redshank and the odd Curlew patrolling the waters edge.

Next stop was Bradshaw Lane but with no feed down there was very little about apart from a dozen Whooper Swan nearby with several Geese which I was unable to identify as I couldn't pull to get a better look.

Back yard feeders have been busy with the local Starlings loving the fat balls, Goldfinch a plenty on the nyjer and the odd Greenfinch calling in for good measure. We had a rare visitor over the weekend when a male and female House Sparrow called in to feed, there is a small flock resident 500 yards from the house but it's very rare we get a visit.

The number of birds I've seen at Stags Lodge has increased oer the past week or so with Greenfinch and Bullfinch both showing as well as the return of the pair of Coot that bred on the pond last year. The only raptor I've seen was the fly over of a Buzzard last weekend though the Tawny Owl was calling again on tonights visit.

Walton Park - 13th February 2011

2011-02-13T17:45:00.000Z

Thanks to Russ for the information about the Waxwings at Walton Park. I recieved an email about the comment just after the comment was posted and decided to head down in the rain as I'd missed the flock that had frequented the Brownedge Road area of Bamber Bridge, though they are probably the same flock. I pulled up in the Spar car park at 16.00 just in time to see c15 Waxwing fly over out of sight. I stayed for a further 20 minutes hoping they would return but no such luck and a quick trawl around the area brought no sign of them either. There are plenty of berries on the trees next to the car park so I imagine they will return at some point. I'd post a token photo but my external hard drive containing all the photographs I've taken over the last 2 and a half years has packed in!! Cheers again Russ.

Cuerden Valley Park - 12th February 2011

2011-02-12T18:18:00.000Z

I've covered pretty much all of CVP today at some point starting this morning with a 4 mile walk with the dogs, a few hours this afternoon in search of a Dipper at Kem Mill and then to the local patch of Stags Lodge this evening before sun down.
The morning walk brought the usual woodland birds in the form of Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Robin, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, mixed Tit flocks, Blackbird, Jay, Magpie, Goldfinch, and Chaffinch. The usual Mallard were on the lake though I didn't walk around to see if anything else was about plus c15 Canada Geese in front of the Sue Ryder home. A Buzzard and Bullfinch were a good adition to the Stags Lodge list as I walked to and from the park.

ABOVE TREECREEPER BELOW MISTLE THRUSH

I've heard Dipper are present along the Kem Mill section of the river Lostock so I took a walk up this afternoon with the hope of getting some photos. No such look on this occasion though the azure flash of a Kingfisher as it flew downstream more than made up for the lack of Dipper. A Treecreeper obliged for the camera as did a Mistle Thrush that was calling from the top of a tree. Again a mix of Tits plus c12 Redwing, Chaffinch and most of the Corvid species could be seen at this end of the park.

ABOVE SONG THRUSH

Several Song Thrush were calling this evening at Stags Lodge as were Chaffinch, Robin, Blackbird, Dunnock and Blue & Great Tit.

RSPB - Big Garden Birdwatch - 29th January 2011

2011-01-30T06:54:00.001Z

As everyone no doubt knows this weekend is RSPBs big garden birdwatch when you report the birds seen in your garden over an hour period. I sat down after topping up the feeders and getting rid of my own and next doors cats (not literally). I don't get anything too exciting in on my feeders with only having a back yard with a few feeders on a tree and some seeded brown bread and suet scattered on top of my shed. Sightings across the hour included 1 Dunnock, 3 Goldfinch, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Robin, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Starling 5 Blackbird and 1 Song Thrush. Though I don't keep a 'back yard list' the Song Thrush was a first, feeding on the bread and suet. Anyone wanting to take part in the survey can find further details here RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Back to see the Red-necked Grebe - 23rd January 2011

2011-01-23T19:48:00.001Z

The plan was to head up to Lytham to try and get some better photographs of the Red-necked Grebe that seems to be enjoying the delights of Fairhaven Lake of late. On the way up I called in at Preston Docks to see the over wintering juvenile Iceland Gull but a quick scan over the water revealed nothing. So back in the car and off up to Lytham where I bumped into Robin who'd had the same idea as me. A quick look over the fence and the Grebe was easy to pick out as it dived for food. We headed down to the lakes edge and watched it diving and feeding often being mobbed by other birds as it fed.

ABOVE AND BELOW WINTER PLUMAGE RED-NECKED GREBE

As well as the Grebe Coot, Mallard, and Tufted Duck frequented the lake as well as various gulls and a pair of Merganser. The Merganser seemed to spend most of their time diving and were often surrounded by oppertunistic junvenile Herring Gulls looking for an easy meal.

MERGANSER ABOVE MALE BELOW MALE & FEMALE

Next was a quick trip to Lytham Cemetery to see the resident Ring-necked Parakeet. I often see them when I'm down in London but have never had chence to photograph them before and the 6 birds that were present were more than happy to hang around to be photographed.

RING-NECKED PARAKEET

On the way home we decided to call back in at Preston Docks and see if the Iceland Gull was back. After a five minute scan and a long look at a juvenile Herring Gull it finally turned up on the water amongst c50 Black-headed Gull. Unlike previous visits to see the bird when it seemed to keep itself to iteself on this visit it seemed to be quite aggressive often using bullying tactics to obtain a quick meal from other Gulls.

ABOVE AND BELOW JUVENILE ICELAND GULL @ PRESTON DOCKS

I knew I should have brought my camera! - 21st January 2011

2011-01-22T18:38:00.000Z

Things have been very quiet on the birding front so far this year for me with just a trip out on New Years Day along the Ribble Estuary with Colin Bushell and friends which I didn't get around to blogging but was a great 4 hours birding and a quick trip up to Fairhaven Lake to see the Red-necked Grebe. On Friday the 21st I was working away in Southampton and had just shut the boot on the car when I heard what has become a familar call over the last few months. It didn't click at first what the call was but as I turned to look in the nearby trees I counted 12 Waxwing. Now I've wanted to see Waxwing for years and last year was the first time I managed this with the large influx in the Preston area but Southampton was the last place I suspected to see them and without even trying. The light was great and they didn't seem to be bothered by the workers that were smoking almost under the trees. My next thought was to get yet some more photographs but as the title suggests...................

Red-necked Grebe,Fairhaven Lake - 9th January

2011-01-09T21:16:00.000Z

It was late afternoon when Mrs G and I arrived at Fairhaven Lake with our 3 border collies. The plan was to walk the dogs and hopefully get a few shots of the Red-necked Grebe that has been on the lake for about a week now. It was quite distant when we arrived but I managed a few shots before the boys decided they'd had enough and wanted to move on. It turns out these were my best shots even though I got closer views as I left but with the sun going down behind the sand dunes I struggled to focus in the fading light. At least a few record shots more than I got when one visited Brockholes on 10th May 2009.

Bamber Bridge & River Ribble, Brockholes - 28/29th December 2010

2010-12-29T21:34:00.000Z

I met up with local birder Nick Green who took me to a park in Bamber Bridge to get my second tick of the week in the form of a Jack Snipe. The bird had been there for several days sat in a small stretch of ditch that hadn't frozen over in the cold weather we've experienced here of late. On our way Reece noticed a Snipe we flushed which had first led Nick to explore the area more carefully several days before. I managed a few poor shots on a second visit, the auto focus struggled with all the vegitation plus I was wary of local dog walkers as their pets which were taking some interest in me and I didn't want to flush the bird.

I have been down to the Brockholes section of the Ribble on several occasions over the past few days with the hope of getting some reasonable photos of the red headed Smew but with the bird relocating on more than one occasion and the light being poor these record shots are about as best I could manage up to now. Today (29th) it has been showing very well and the light hasn't been to bad but on my arrival I was told the bird had relocated after being in one location for most of the day. After a quick walk up stream I decided to head back as time was running out, meeting up with a local birder (sorry I should know your name) who told me it was back in the original location behind the Tickled Trout Hotel. I didn't have time to stop but put the word out as others were looking for it (thanks Colin for the mention). I'm hoping it hangs around for another 24 hours so I can pay another visit to see this rare Lancashire winter visitor and put my new sigma lens to the test.

ABOVE AND BELOW POOR RECORD SHOTS OF THE SMEW ABOVE WITH A FEMALE GOLDENEYE

ABOVE FEMALE GOOSANDER BELOW MALE GOLDENEYE

Cuerden Valley & River Ribble

2010-12-27T18:58:00.002Z

I’ve only managed a few trips out since the trip up to Leighton Moss mainly to Cuerden Valley Park.

Cuerden Valley Park

Sightings whilst walking the dogs included a single Goldcrest, a small number of Tit flocks including Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal, Chafinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Song and Mistle Thrush, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Buzzard, a mix of Corvids and 2 Roe Deer.

Home on the feeders

We’ve had the usual visitors of Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Greenfinch and Goldfinch plus Starling, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, and House Sparrow. The latter being a very rare visitor to our feeders.

2 brief trips down to the River Ribble today around the Brockholes Wetland entrance gave views of Goldeneye (increased numbers in the afternoon 12+), Goosander, Heron, Mallard, Canada Geese, Black-headed & Herring Gull and on the afternoons visit what looks like a first winter Smew (a first for me). I’m hoping the Smew is still there tomorrow morning as on today’s mornings visit I forgot the battery for my camera and in the afternoon I’d forgotten to replace my SD card!! (though the light was poor for photography). The Smew was showing very well at first on an ice flow on the near bank then on the far bank along with a female Goosander about 200m upstream from the entrance to Brockholes Wetland.

Bittern & Waxwing - Leighton Moss

2010-12-23T20:16:00.001Z

The plan was to try and photograph the Bittern at Leighton Moss and with the pools all frozen over now was going to be our best chance. Parking up by the public hide track we headed down towards the grit trays in search of the Bearded Tits but no such luck on this occasion but we were told that Bittern had been seen by the Lillians Hide so off we went after picking up a Waxwing in the garden of the house by the path.
We didn't have to wait long as Reece saw a Bittern fly across the front of the hide (I was wandering around the paths!) and land in the reeds near a small pool of open water. It was about 5 minutes before it made an appearance but gave good views for at least an hour as it nervously moved around the reed edge.

ABOVE AND BELOW BITTERN @ LEIGHTON MOSS

It was whilst watching the Bittern Reece spotted a Water Rail sculcing amongst the reeds. Reece wasn't the only one watching as the Water Rail broke cover a Carrion Crow flew in. The Rail dashed for cover but there was only ever going to be one winner.

ABOVE AND BELOW A CARRION CROW MAKING A MEAL OF A WATER RAIL

After a fine early lunch / late breakfast in the cafe we headed back to see if we could catch the Waxwing again. 30+ were on show flying between the garden and the golf course feeding on berries and apples.

ABOVE AND BELOW WAXWING

On the way home we called in at both Heysham where we saw 20 Twite and what I think is a first winter Linnet. Then down to Bradshaw Lane feeding station with Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow with Whooper Swan and Shellduck over.

ABOVE TWITE AND WHAT I THINK IS A 1ST WINTER LINNET

ABOVE TWITE BELOW RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE

Out In The Snow - 19th December 2010

2010-12-19T20:29:00.002Z

JACOB SHEEP @ STAGS LODGE, CUERDEN VALLEY PARK

I remembered the camera this morning but didn't have any of the oppertunities as I did walking the dogs yesterday. The feeders have been like a motorway service station today with constant visits from Dunock, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Starling, Blue & Great Tit.

An hour down at Brockholes Nature Reserve before sundown just to stretch the legs and get a little fresh air brought several species of Thrush at the top end of the reserve. On the feeders were Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robbin, Wren, Blackbird, Blue & Great Tit and Reed Bunting. The pools were frozen over appart from a small section of number 1 where a mix of Gulls, Mallard and a few Coot took advantage of the open water.

ABOVE FIELDFARE BELOW MISTLE THRUSH

ABOVE MALE REED BUNTING BELOW OUR WINTER FAVOURITE THE ROBIN

ABOVE AND BELOW SONG THRUSH

Back Yard Birding - 18th December 2010

2010-12-18T18:51:00.000Z

With the 6" plus of snow falling last night we had more than the usual visitors to the feeders this morning with Goldfinch, Grenfinch, Blue & Great Tit, Starlings, Blackbird, Dunock and not to be out done by Colin (see Ribble to Amazon Blog) our very own Robin on the fat ball.

Out with the dogs at Stags lodge this morning were amongst the usual suspects 5 Siskin on the sheep feeders and 2 Buzzard over head being mobbed by several crows. I also got very close views of a Wren in a local garden, typical I didn't have the camera with me as there were some great photo oppertunities. Maybe tomorrow!!

Cuerden Valley Park - 15th December 2010

2010-12-15T11:40:00.000Z

With having the day off work Mrs G and I decided to walk the dogs up at Cuerden Valley Park. Not always an easy thing dog walking and bird watching but I did see plenty around including A distant flock of 20 Fieldfare, 4 Jay, Severel Tit flocks including Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal though no sign of any Goldcrest amongst them, the usual corvids, Mallard, Black-headed Gull and a small flock of Canada Geese that had just flown in on the lake, Dunock, Wren, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and 5 Bullfinch including the Female below feeding in the paddock.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB - 11th December 2010

2010-12-11T21:30:00.000Z

The plan was to head over to HOM for an hour or so and try and get to grips with my new sigma lens. There seemed quite a mixed flock feeding next to the car park so I wanted to attempt to get some better photographs than last weeks visit. Best laid plans and all that............ The light was poor, and with the flocks keeping mainly to the bushes between me and the sun anything reasonable was a no hoper. Anyway Linnet, Reed Bunting, and a single Yellowhammer were all on show. No Brambling this week for me but numbers have been reported seen today though I did see both Peregrine and Marsh Harrier from the car park. I moved up the approach road viewing Chaffinch, more Reed Buntings, Redwing and large numbers of Fieldfare. Turning left at the farm I walked about half a mile down the track scouring the fields for something interesting a single Merlin, more Fieldfare and Linnet, 2 Magpies, a Pheasant, Skylark and 75+ Meadow Pipit were aabout all I could find.

ABOVE AND BELOW MEADOW PIPIT

BELOW FIELDFARE

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB - 5th December 2010

2010-12-05T20:36:00.000Z

Both Reece and I headed out to Hesketh Out Marsh today to have a further look around after fridays visit and an email from Colin Bushell giving me a little more information on the area. Well the temperature wasn't as cold as Friday and we got a few more sightings but no sign of the Barn Owl though it was afternoon. First stop was a scan across the field to the east of he car park with a large flock of Linnet mixed with Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow and Brambling.

LINNET, TREE SPARROW AND BRAMBLING IN THE FIELD NEXT TO THE CAR PARK

A scan from the platform gave distant views of Pink-footed Geese, a few Redshank, Kestrel, Curlew, Shellduck and Mallard. From the platform we headed west and added 4 Dunlin which dropped in with a couple of Redshank. More Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit were in the hedges as well as more views odf the Merlin and a Buzzard and Little Egret over. A large number of Teal could be seen in one of the distches as well as a second Kestrel and we flushed 2 Woodcock in seperate locations, one as we were leaving the car park. A Sparrowhawk made an appearance on the way back to the car and we were told of a Female Hen Harrier having been seen from the platform wilst we were wandering around!

ABOVE 1500+ PINK FOOTED GEESE BY THE RIBBLE

ABOVE SPARROWHAWK (TAKEN BY REECE) BELOW TREE SPAROW

Hesketh Out Marsh & Marshside - 3rd December 2010

2010-12-03T15:07:00.000Z

The plan was to have a good look around Hesketh Out Marsh then head up to Marshside to both see what was about and try my new lens out but with the temperature at -8 when I left home I wasn't for stopping out for long! I spent about an hour or so at each place and called in at Preston docks on the way back to see if I could catch up with the Iceland Gull again.

At HOM there seemed to be plenty of Meadow Pipits around, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch 2 Kestrel and 3 Song Thrush. Curlew and the odd Redshank were the only waders I managed to see and a single Little Egret as I left the reserve. The supprise of the trip was this Barn Owl which I watched for 15 minutes as it searched for a meal along the path.

After watching the Barn Owl I decided to head back to the car to thaw out and make my way up to Marshside. No one seemed to ba around when I got there so I headed around the Sand Plant to see if there was anything showing. A large flock of 20+ Greenfinch, Goldfinch and again plenty of Meadow Pipit. The only raptor to make an appearance was a male Kestrel which was a dissapointment after last year but there's plenty of time yet. I sat for about 45 minutes behind the sand plant watching the Pink-footed Geese come and go hoping to pick something out but as usual no such luck.

ABOVE AND BELOW PINK-FOOTED GEESE AT MARSHSIDE

Cuerden Valley Park - 27th/28th November 2010

2010-11-28T12:46:00.001Z

1st WINTER BLACK HEADED GULL

2 visits to Cuerden Valley Park this weekend, the first late afternoon the second at sunrise and both with similar sightings. Finches included Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and the ever elusive Bullfinch yes on both visits and it’s been a while since I’ve seen one at CVP. The usual Tit flocks where around with Blue, Great and Long-tailed showing in numbers along with the odd Coal (try putting it into predictive text as I did without checking, I won’t repeat the reply!) No sign of any Goldcrest or even better a Firecrest which I still haven’t managed to see even though there have been 2 within striking distance. The usual Corvids were around and about but no sign of any Jay which is unusual as I’ve seen plenty of late and not just locally, there have been many around on my travels. Greater Spotted Woodpecker could be heard if not seen and on my morning walk Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Mistle Thrush were in evidence as well as a scattering of Robin, Wren and Blackbirds. On the lake were the usual array of Mallard and Black-headed Gulls with a single Canada Goose, the odd Moorhen and Coot and in the evening a Great Crested Grebe. The surprise and a first for me on the CVP lake was a drake Teal amongst the Mallards, I hadn’t picked it out on the evening visit so I presume it must have dropped in later in the evening.

DRAKE TEAL A FIRST FOR ME AT CUERDEN LAKE

With the cold snap we are having at the moment I decided to re-stock the feeders but not after giving them a good clean. We've had a few visitors including Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Dunock, Great, Blue, Coal and this afternoon a large flock of Long-tailed Tit.

LONG-TAILED TIT IN THE BACK YARD

Two Ticks - Preston Docks & Marine Lake, Fleetwood - 20th November 2010

2010-11-20T22:30:00.001Z

After reading about the Iceland Gull on Colin Bushells blog I decided to pay Preston Docks a visit on the way back from town. Parking up in the car park by the ‘Green Frog’ snack bar I searched the pontoons in search of the bird and after a few minutes I soon picked it out amongst the Black-headed Gulls. When I arrived there were only two other birders but the numbers soon swelled to about 30 before I left. I caught up with Nick Green whilst I was there and after leaving before me he soon headed back to let me know about a small flock of Waxwings in the Ribble Pilot car park. I watched the Waxwings for about ¾ hour before heading back home to pick Reece up and before I had left many of the birders that were watching the Iceland Gull had come down to view the marvellous spectacle.

WAXWINGS BY THE RIBBLE PILOT, PRESTON DOCKS

On our return the Iceland Gull was in a much better position to photograph so after half an hour observing the bird not doing a right lot and catching up with Bill Aspin and Mike Foley we headed off to Fleetwood with the hope of seeing the Great Northern Diver that has been on the marine lake for the past 2 weeks.

ABOVE & BELOW JUVENILE ICELAND GULL WITH JUVENILE HERRING GULLS

ABOVE AND BELOW JUVENILE ICELAND GULL WITH BLACK-HEADED GULL

As we arrived the light was fading but the Diver could be clearly seen as we parked the car. It was quite close to the bridge and didn’t seem to be bothered by ourselves and 3 other photographers that stood on the edge of the lake. For the ¾ of an hour we watched, the diver continued to live up to its name spending long periods under water in search of food. Although we didn’t see it surface with anything the diver did look in good condition and there must be plenty for it to feed on having been there for 2 weeks already. Heading home we called back in to Preston Docks and the Iceland Gull could still be seen at 16:30 amongst a roost of at least 500 mainly Black-headed Gulls.

Pied Billed Grebe, Hollingworth Lake - 13th November 2010

2010-11-14T21:24:00.000Z

Like most birders not only from the North West but from across the country I made my way up to Hollingworth Lake near Rochdale to see its current resident.

It was Reeces first ‘mega’ and we weren’t disappointed as it gave good views as it preened close to the hide in the mid afternoon sunshine. Our only disappointment was sevral of our fellow birders whom equipped with lenses the size of rocket launchers made their way to the front even climbing over fences to set their equipment up. Now put me straight if I’m wrong but these monstrosities enable the ‘photographer’ to photograph the subject at distance, so the question is why do they need to get so bloody close? I dodged between bobbing heads with my 300mm lens, hand held struggling to even get a few reasonable record shots. Luckily not all birders are the same and a kind chap took grate interest in Reece trying to get some shots and even offered the use of his scope and to you I offer my thanks. Reece did manage some good shots and I’m sure they will appear on his blog soon enough.
To pose more questions what will happen to this bird now? After being blown so far off course, will it ever make its way back home? Although it does look healthy and is feeding well, with a wingspan of about 50 cm and a body length of about 35 cm I very much doubt it which would be a shame for such a stunning looking Grebe, but as some would say ‘that’s nature for you’.

Great White Egret - Great Mitton - 6th November 2010

2010-11-06T19:25:00.000Z

The Great White Egret had been first reported localy on Thursday morning when it had been seen at Edisford Bridge, the following morning it had moved to Great Mitton and I had a confirmation text from Mike that the bird was still there in the afternoon (check Mikes Blog for some great photos). It was then that I decided if it was still being reported in the morning I was going to take a look and at just after 9 the confirmation came through. I headed out just before lunch and having parked up at the Aspinall Arms I had a quick scan up rier from the bridge just in time to see it being chased from the river bank by a Grey Heron.

GREAT WHITE EGRET RELOCATING DOWN STREAM

I watched as it relocated further down the Ribble and headed off in search of its whereabouts. Upon finding it just beyond the bend, about 500 meters from the bridge I observed it for about half an hour during which it relocated again further down the river.

It was a little out of reach for my 300mm lens so I added my x1.4 tele-convertor and used manual focus as previously my camera has struggled to focus with the x1.4 on. I got record shots at most but with the low light and distance I couldn't have hoped for anything better.

GREAT WHITE EGRET ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER RIBBLE, GREAT MITTON

Next stop was Waddington, just north of the Moorcock Inn to see if I could find the Great Grey Shrike. I stopped for around an hour with now sign of it but it had been seen that morning and I'm sure I'll see it if I manage to get up a little earlier in the day.

On the way back I called in at Barrow Lodge for a coffee and decided to watch the Black Headed Gulls at close quarters from the car. Some were ringed but I was unable to get any numbers from them.

ABOVE AND BELOW WINTER PLUMAGE BLACK HEADED GULL

ABOVE FIRST WINTER BLACK HEADED GULL BELOW A RINGED ADULT BLACK HEADED GULL IN WINTER PLUMAGE

Waxwings @ Barrow - 30th October 2010

2010-10-30T20:50:00.000+01:00

I first heard about the flock of Waxwings at Barrow near Clitheroe on the Friday afternoon whilst at work when a text came through from Mike. A quick call back and I was told a flock of 70+ was feeding amongst the Rowan trees in the middle of the village but I was unable to get there until the following lunch time. When we arrived there must have been 25+ long lenses pointed into the trees and plenty of birders milling around but no sign of the Waxwings! Was this going to be another of our famous dip? Well after a wait of about 5 minutes a small flock circled the area and headed off back over the roof tops, TICK.
This continued to happen for a further 10 minutes, personaly I think with so many people hanging around they were a bit cautious about coming in to feed. Eventually a small flock of around 8 landed on the far end. Not having much time we crossed the road and took a few long range shots from behind the car when luck came our way and they moved to the tree opposite. A few reasonable shots and it was time to head off home finally catching up with a bird we'd been after for the past couple of winters.

Out & About in Lancashire - 27th October 2010

2010-10-30T20:15:00.001+01:00

To start lets put the previous posts identification to rest - they are Linnet!

Well its been a while, weekends being busy with Reeces rugby but I took the day off work and decided to visit a few places across Lancashire to see what we could find. We started up at Heysham north harbour with the hope of seeing some Twite but it took a second visit later in the day to find them. Nothing unusual found with Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew, Turnstone, various Gulls though we couldn't pick out the Med Gull that is hanging around up there, Pied Wagtail and Goldfinch rounded the visit off.

ABOVE BLACK HEADED GULL

ABOVE A GULL DROPPING A MUSCLE ON THE ROCKS BELOW

ABOVE 1ST WINTER HERRING GULL

ABOVE PIED WAGTAIL & BELOW ONE OF A LARGE FLOCK OF GOLDFINCH

Next stop was the Eric Morcambe and Allen hides at Leighton Moss with 100+ Redshank, 8+ Little Egret, 2 Greenshank, Goosander and Wigeon the only birds of interest.

ABOVE & BELOW LITTLE EGRET

ABOVE WIGEON BELOW REDSHANK

BELOW ROOK TAKEN BY REECE

From there we headed back to Heysham where we picked up the Twite before passing through the Trough of Bowland in hope of catching site of the Great Grey Shrike that has taken up residence just north of the Moorcroft pub at Waddington. As is usual we missed out on the Shrike but we didn't have that much time to stay to se if it would make an appearance but we did manage a flock of Brambling along with some Chaffinch and a 100+ Fieldfare on route.

ABOVE TWITE WITH A SINGLE GOLDFINCH

ABOVE BRAMBLING AND CHAFFINCH BELOW FIELDFARE

Mistaken Identity!

2010-10-03T20:31:00.001+01:00

After posting last week I recieved an email from Mike suggesting my Linnet photograph may be a Twite. I had labeled it a Linnet as they are frequently seen at Heysham and I just presumed they were juvenile because of the slight grey seen on the head. After doing a little research I now agree with Mike on his Twite ID and thanks for correcting me (not for the first and I'm sure not the last).

TWITE TAKEN ON THE NORTH HARBOUR APPROACH ROAD AT HEYSHAM

As usual I've been walking our 3 collies at Stags Lodge (Cuerden Valley Park) come rain or shine. Recent sightings include Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Malard, Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Song Thrush, Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tit. A single Moorhen has appeared on the pond after none being there all summer, a Buzzard has been around on more than one occasion over the past week and the number of Robins has increased over the last week. All the summer migrants seem to have moved on including the Coots that were quite successful this year.

Back to Birding! - 26th September 2010

2010-09-28T20:07:00.000+01:00

Things have been very quiet for me at least on the birding front since I got back from Tunisia. It's not that there hasn't been plenty around as a few lifers have past me by in the last few weeks but I just haven't had the time to get out. All changed on Sunday when I had a few hours free and decided to to head out to Heysham docks and call in at Conder, Pilling and Bradley Lane on the way home. I wasn't looking for anything in particular I just wanted to see what was about and hopefully get a few photos.

ABOVE 1ST WINTER HERRING GULL (I THINK!) AT HEYSHAM

ABOVE AND BELOW A LONE PURPLE SANDPIPER ON THE SHORELINE AT HEYSHAM

ABOVE LINNET AT HEYSHAM

ABOVE LITTLE EGRET AT CONDOR POOL

ABOVE REDSHANK BELOW CURLEW BOTH ON CONDER CREEK

ABOVE AND BELOW KESTREL AT BRADSHAW LANE

Skanes, Tunisia - August/September 2010 - Part lll

2010-09-11T21:42:00.000+01:00

I haven't had any time to get out since getting back so here ase a few more photo's from our trip to Tunisia. I'm not a 100% on the identification of all the birds so if any are incorrect please let me know.

ABOVE BEE-EATER BELOW PURPLE HERON

Over the week we saw small flocks of bee-eater fly over the area but thay never landed so we were unsure what they were until I managed to take several photos as they passed over. The Purple Heron also flew over on 3 occasions and what supprised me was the size of the flock being about 25 birds. I've seen Heronries in the UK but have never seen Grey Heron flying in large flocks.

LAUGHING DOVE

Laughing Doves were frequent visitors to the are but seemed quite shy as soon moved on if there was any movement however far away.

FEMALE SPANISH SPARROW

MALE SPANISH SPARROW

Other common visitors to the pool area were Spanish Sparrows, they are distinguishable from the House Sparrow by their speckled breasts and on the males pale cheeks and chestnut crown.

SPOTLESS STARLINGS

Spotless Starlings could be heard calling every morning and small flocks would gather in surrounding trees throughout the days.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

I'm pretty sure these are Spotted Flycatcher, we saw several of these birds around the grounds. One bird would regularly perch on a tree less than 10 feet from our sun beds.

Just the Gulls to go now once I've had time to identify them and we hope to get down to see the Red-backed Shrike at Frodsham if its still around (knowing our luck it will have moved on).

Skanes, Tunisia - August/September 2010 - Part ll Butterflies

2010-09-08T06:10:00.001+01:00

We saw very few butterflies on our trip and the ones we saw were seen flying through the hotel grounds in the mornings usually before 9am. Out of the 3 species I managed to photograph and therefore identify 2 of them are found in the UK.

ABOVE LARGE WHITE BELOW PAINTED LADY

I haven't seen to many Painted Ladies in the UK this year their migration to this country being nothing like the numbers we had in 2009. The Large White although looks a good specimen has a small section of its lower wing missing, possibly a run in with a bird?

The third butterfly I managed to photograph was a Long-tailed Blue, a species I had not seen before. It took a while to trawl through the internet for its identification and thanks go out to Mike for his help with this. The Long-tailed Blue is a very rare migrant to the UK which isn't a suprise considering its size though is probably more to do whith its inability to survive our winters.

LONG-TAILED BLUE

Skanes, Tunisia - August/September 2010 - Part 1 Great Grey Shrike

2010-09-05T22:09:00.000+01:00

We didn't get much bird watching done whilst in Tunisia but what little we did do in and around the hotel brought us some interesting birds. We pretty much stayed in the grounds of the Ramada resort hotel and the local scrub nearby where Reece spotted a Great Grey Shrike on a power line post.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE (LANIUS ALGERIENSIS)

After looking through my Collins bird guide I think its the sub species Lanius algeriensis, the markings look good and so does the area we where stopping. We observed the bird for five minutes before is flew into some scrub joining a second bird and before they both flew further away. After exploring a little further in the scrub and surrounding area I spotted what I presume is one of the same birds in a different area.

The following morning a I spotted another GG Shrike from our balcony after hearing some Spottless Starlings getting agitated and it soon moved off. We located a bird later in the day near to the hotel and again saw several more Shrikes perched on power lines further afield while on a trip out.

It was a pleasant suprise to view the Shrikes at close quarters after missing out on several in the UK over the last year or so. I hope to post some more sightings from our trip to Tunisia over the next few days once I've identified one or two I'm struggling with.

Brockholes Nature Reserve LWT - 15th August 2010

2010-08-22T12:23:00.000+01:00

The plan was to head out to Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB but just before we left a text came through from Mike saying the Purple Hairstreak were showing at Brockholes Nature Reserve so off we went. Walking towards the Oak tree where they had been spotted at the edge of Boilton Wood we spotted several other species of Butterflies some being a first time for Reece. I've always had a mild interest in butterflies and could probably have named a dozen or so species but this year as you can probably tell by the increased postings on the blog I've increased my knowledge and the amount of species I've seen. The one thing that has amazed me though is the size of some of the butterflies as shown in the photograph of the Small Copper below. I spotted it when passing some Ragwort and Reece was shocked at both how I'd picked it out and how small it was.

ABOVE SMALL COPPER BELOW WORN FEMALE COMMON BLUE BOTH ON RAGWORT

There were 5 or 6 people observing the Oak tree where the Purple Hairstreak had been seen but as we arived none had shown for 20 minutes but it wasn't long before one made an appearance. They were quite distant and being a small butterfly with a wingspan up to 40mm I couldn't get in close as I usually do. Unlike most species they feed on the honeydew of Oak trees so they are hard to spot as they spend most of the time in the tops of the trees.

They fly between the begining of July to the first week in September and I'm hoping we have another sunny day so I get the chance to try and photograph them again. Other species on the wing included Common Blue, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Comma, Small White and Green Veined White.

TOP SMALL TORTOISESHELL BELOW COMMA BOTTOM SPECKLED WOOD

Dragonflies were also flying and none more than the Common Darter. Both the males and females were showing well across the reserve and were quite happy to remain perched as we both photographed them. No such luck with the Brown Hawker which never seems to land though a female was seen oviposting on the fishing pond but none of my photographs were any good to show. We also saw a Southern Hawker and a Migrant Hawker but again with them being on the wing photos were near imposible. Not forgeting birds we saw a Green Sandpiper fly from one of the smaller pools and a Little Egret was seen on pool No 1 but not by ourselves.

ABOVE FEMALE COMMON DARTER BELOW MALE COMMON DARTER

Aston Rowant NNR Revisted - 12th August 2010

2010-08-12T15:30:00.001+01:00

I was again lucky to be travelling home from work via Aston Rowant and this time I met up with Mike Foley on the reserve who was hoping to photograph the Silver-spotted Skippers I saw last week. By the time I caught up with him he'd already seen Chalkhill Blue, Silver-spotted Skipper and Brown Argus, a species I'd hoped for but hadn't seen on my previous visit. As I emerged from the tree lined path down from the car park I spotted 2 Small Heath, something I thought I'd seen last week but upon searching around I couldn't find again to photograph. This time I took the opportunity when it presented itself and managed a few shots before it disappeared across the hillside.

MALE SMALL HEATH

I decided to search for the Brown Argus having not seen one before and I soon came across a worn example of a male (not shown). Whilst I searched for a better specimen I anaged to photograph a few of the species I saw last week.

ABOVE SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER, BELOW MALE CHALKHILL BLUE

ABOVE MALE COMMON BLUE BELOW WELL WORN FEMALE COMMON BLUE

I finally managed to find several Brown Argus flying hurredly between the plants and only occasionally alighting to feed. The female is distinguished from the male by its larger form, more rounded wings and bolder orange markings that reach the wingtip.

ABOVE FEMALE BROWN ARGUS BELOW AND BOTTOM MALE BROWN ARGUS

Although the the weather was similar to last weeks visit there didn't seem to be as many butterflies around until the sun made an appearance from behind the clouds. It was during one such appearnce I came across 2 Small Copper a butterfly I'd only previously seen at my visit to Bishop Middleham Quarry.

ABOVE AND BELOW SMALL COPPER

The last species I managed to photograph and another first for me was the Essex Skipper. I'd read that they could be seen on the reserve but hadn't found one on my first visit and it wasn't until I was almost ready to leave that I found what at first I thought was a Small Skipper. The two species are very difficult to distinguish unless viewed through binoculars or a camera as the antennae of the Essex Skipper has a black tip.

ABOVE ESSEX SKIPPER BELOW NOTE THE BLACK TIP OF THE ANTENNAE

ESSEX SKIPPER

All in all another great visit to the reserve with a total of 4 new species and a grand total of 10 species across the 2 visits and I'm sure there is more to be seen through out the year.

Aston Rowant NNR - 5th August 2010

2010-08-06T21:44:00.001+01:00

I'd been working in Crowthorne and decided I had time to call in somewhere on the way back. Having dismissed the first two areas I found due to lack of parking or a long walk from the nearest car park to the reserve I came across Aston Rowant NNR and it wasn't even off my trip home. As I approached the area I found I'd been driving past the reserve for years being just off the M40 at Junction 6 and for those who used to watch the Vicker of Dibbley its the chalkhill cut section of the motorway in the opening credits, anyway I digress.
I parked up and took the path that I hoped took me down to the chalk meadows.

It was overcast but warm with sunlight showing through on odd ocasions but there were planty of butterflies flying. I hadn't come for anything special but had noticed on the reserve notice board Silver-spotted Skipper could be seen and for once my luck was more than in. Silver-spotted Skippers are only found at a few locations with here being the their most northerly one. Their habbitat is made up of short flowery turf on chawk downlands and this area of the reserve was ideal with c10 flying whilst I was there, I'm sure there were more if I'd looked.

ABOVE AND BELOW SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER

There were many blue butterflies flying across the meadow and on further examination I found Chalkhill Blue as well as Common Blue two species I found difficult to distinguish in the field.

ABOVE FEMALE COMMON BLUE

ABOVE AND BELOW MALE CHALKHILL BLUE

ABOVE AND BELOW A MALE AND FEMALE CHALKHILL BLUE DURING MATING

Other Butterflies in flight during my visit included a single Painted Lady, Small White, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown. If you are in the area at the moment it is well worth a visit to see these beautiful butterflies.

PAINTED LADY THE FIRST I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR

Arnside Knott - 1st August 2010

2010-08-05T21:17:00.000+01:00

First we headed up to Roundsea NNR to try and find the Raft Spiders, Adders and Slow Worms as Reece was keen to see all of the above. Well two out of three wasn't so bad and if you want to see Reeces superb photo's check out Spudds Nature

Next we headed over to Arnside Knott and after finaly finding the right car park we caught up with Mike on the hillside watching Scotch Argus. Even though there was a slight wind and slightly overcast but warm c20 Scotch Argus could be seen over the hour or so we were there.

SCOTCH ARGUS

Along the many stone paths Grayling were hard to pick out but present in small numbers.

GRAYLING

Brampton Wood - 29th July 2010

2010-07-30T21:05:00.000+01:00

I'd been working in Braintree so while traveling back along the A14 a quick visit to Brampton Wood near Huntingdon was a no brainer. With the woods known for White Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak and probably the best site in the UK for Black Hairstreak (though I'd missed them by a few weeks as they fly at the end of June begining of July) I was hoping to add a new butterfly to my growing list but as happens when I'm out birding it wasn't to be. The weather was warm but white cloud dominated the sky so maybe I shouldn't have expected to much from this ancient woodland and again like my visit to Bishop Middleham Quarry I only covered a small amount of the area. Ringlet were absolutely everywhere and by far the most common species throughout my walk.

RINGLET SEEN THROUGHOUT THE WOODS

Meadow Brown were about in numbers as usual and the odd Peacock made an appearance along with Speckled Wood and Gatekeeper.

FEMALE GATEKEEPER

Both Small and Large Skippers made an appearance along with a single Common Blue

ABOVE SMALL SKIPPER BELOW LARGE SKIPPER

MALE COMMON BLUE

There was a number of dragonfly and damselfly in the area I walked most of which I couldn't identify or photograph due to them being in flight though I did see a male Empreror Dragonfly patrolling a small pond deep within the woods.