Mediterranean Gull and Peregrine, Lancashire

March 24, 2011:
A short visit to the north of the county taking advantage of the continued warm weather provided good views of a Mediterranean Gull amongst many Black-headed Gulls and also a Peregrine staking out its territory.





The bird was not always popular with the neighbouring Black-headed Gulls though and eventually flew away.




However, other birds kept well clear of the Peregrine especially having seen its blood-stained breast feathers.

Whooper Swans at Brockholes Wetlands

March 21, 2011:
Coming down the M6 late this afternoon a group of white shapes could be seen on No. 1 pool as Junction 31 was approached. A closer inspection from under the motorway embankment showed they were Whooper Swans. Although viewed distantly there appeared to be about 12 birds, the majority of them asleep in the shallow water just off the island. No doubt they were resting up on their passage north; it was good to see them here.

Elegant Avocets at Marshside

March 14, 2011:
It was fortunate that other reasons led in the direction of Southport today as it also provided the opportunity to make a short visit to Marshside to see if the Avocets had arrived.



At first, the only sightings were two birds sleeping on an island plus a small flock at extreme range way out on the marsh with some Godwits. Soon, though, three new birds flew in and began to feed in the shallows nearby. Avocets are such elegant birds, delicately wading through the water in search of food and seemingly very careful where they place their feet.











All Avocets may not have impeccable manners but two of the birds on two separate occasions hurried out onto the bank to perform their bodily functions before immediately returning to the water to carry on feeding. Was this a conscious effort to avoid fouling the water in which they were feeding?


[The two well-mannered birds]

There were at least 20 Avocets here today and no doubt more to come in the next few weeks. Not many years ago just one bird would have caused a major sensation. Conservation work here is certainly paying off.


[Distant Avocets well out in the marsh]


[Typical wildfowl and wader habitat at Marshside, a result of conservation by the RSPB]

Waxwings in Lancaster

March 7, 2010:
Waxwings have invaded the country in huge numbers this winter and without doubt must be the most frequently reported bird at the moment. Very soon though they will be returning to Scandinavia so it was pleasing to see a small flock of about 20 birds today on the outskirts of the city.



They were perched towards the top of a very large poplar tree and were feeding on something different to their normal diet of berries. The tree was just coming into bud so presumably insects were present and attracting the Waxwings' attention.

The Storiths Great Grey Shrike

March 1, 2011
Today’s beautiful spring-like morning, warm, windless, and with a clear blue sky, provided the ideal opportunity to search out the elusive Great Grey Shrike which yesterday had been reported back at Storiths in the Wharfe valley after a long absence.
[UPDATE: What is almost certainly the same bird was was reported 3km to the east by the old A59 road on March 3 & 4; it was back at Storiths on the 6th]



This bird had first been seen here at Storiths on December 8 last year where it remained until the 14th. It was not seen again until January 3 when (what was almost certainly) the same bird appeared at Grimwith Reservoir, some 10km to the north, and remained there until the 13th. A week later on January 20th it was seen briefly from Barden Scale Raptor Watch-point which lies between Grimwith and Storiths but since then there appear to have been no further sightings until yesterday (Feb 28) when it was back at Storiths. This was at a point a little above the hamlet in an area where logs were being stored prior to transport.
This morning, the chances of seeing it seemed slight because heavy machinery was active in the logging area at first. Thankfully though this soon stopped and after an hour's wait the Shrike suddenly appeared and perched on the top of a shrub for a few minutes. Then it was off again but this time despite a long search it couldn’t be relocated. Hereabouts, there is a large about of territory suitable for a Shrike and being a rural under-populated area the bird could be present but remain unnoticed for many days.



The small hamlet of Storiths at the centre of the Shrike's territory.



On the way home over the moors a Buzzard gave a nice view as it soared over Eastby Crags.

Goldeneyes at Martin Mere

February 15, 2011:
A short visit here was rewarded with sightings of a wide range of wildfowl which included good numbers of Whooper Swans, Greylags, Pochard, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard and Pintail. There was also a small group of finely-plumaged Goldeneye comprising four drakes and a female which always kept close together whilst diving and otherwise apparently aimlessly cruising the water

Ring-necked Duck at Fleetwood Marsh

February 8, 2011:
This drake had been reported here intermittently for the past ten days; when absent it was thought to be at a nearby reservoir. Today, it spent all the time at the furthest, inaccessible part of the lake and could not be viewed closer than 250 metres.



Ring-necked Ducks nest in northern North America and Canada and are strong migrants wintering in the south of that continent. Each year a few vagrants arrive in Britain, one bird (possibly the same one) was in seen in the area last year.



Present with it were about 15 Pochard and a similar number of Tufted Duck, several Mallard, two Goldeneye, a Great Crested Grebe and numerous Coot. It kept in loose association with the Pochard and particularly with one female with which it spent much time diving.


[Above, the drake second from left, with the much larger Mallard and slightly larger Pochard]


[Here with its diving companion, the female Pochard]

In appearance and plumage it exibited all the typical characters of the drake: a distinctly domed rear portion of its head, a prominent light stripe across its bill with a white band at the base, silvery-grey flanks with a white spur only at the front plus a faint white line running along the top, and markedly S-shaped flank panels.



After a long period of diving during which it seemed mainly to bring up weed, it did a little flapping and preening before drifting away into the reed bed to sleep.

A Smew at Brockholes Wetlands but in vile weather

February 6, 2011;
Since the autumn there have been intermittent reports of Smew, both male and female/juvenile, being sighted on the Ribble in the vicinity of the Reserve or roosting on a nearby reservoir. Just before the end of the year a bird spent several days on the icy river below the M6 bridge (see earlier posting for December 29) whilst during this past week up to three birds (including one drake) were seen on the river above the weir. They would therefore seem to be wintering in the area but are very elusive and probably under-recorded since upstream from the reserve the river has virtually no public access over a 7-kilometre stretch.

In today's appalling weather (wet, dark, and with near gale-force winds) a female/juvenile Smew was on No.1 pool, consorting with at least ten Pochard and a similar number of Goldeneye. Watched for a while before being defeated by the weather, it could be seen preening and occasionally diving whilst riding out the semi-gale.






[Preening, two photos above]

A few very indifferent photos (above) were taken at long range in very poor light and through a constantly vibrating scope. Under the circumstances it was fortunate that any recognisable images were obtained.

An hour locally with the Reed Buntings

January 29, 2011:
A beautifully clear, bright day but with the temperature only just above zero, seemed ideal for a stroll around Brockholes Wetlands. Very prominent were the Reed Buntings, often very frequent here, and regular nesters in the marginal reed beds during the summer.






Both of the main pools were mostly frozen over but on No.1 pool especially, a large number of gulls and wildfowl were concentrated on the limited area of open water. Apart from the usual large flocks of Mallard and Canada Geese, there were also many Tufted Duck as well as several Goldeneye and Teal. At the water's edge a Dunlin, a Snipe and several Redshank foraged.