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nice walk up the valley yesterday with the wife . Wonderfull veiws of the golden eagle displaying trying to attract a female for the eight year , still alone wot a shame. But good veiws of great grey shrike on the way back down -- Edited by steve ashworth on Wednesday 27th of April 2011 03:04:05 AM

Spring Fieldcap growing on woodchip around the Blue Peter Garden on Wednesday Dave

A few bits of fungi lurking around today; Olive Oysterling - stunning specimens Lemon Disco Black Bulgar Hairy Curtain Crust Turkeytail Dave

Park Lane Reclamation Site today (former brickworks and colliery spoil between Maypole and Crankwood Road): 5 Green-Veined White, 2 Speckled Wood, 2 Orange Tip, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, Buff-Tailed and Red-Tailed Bumblebees -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 12th of April 2012 09:37:13 PM

There are 4 methods of record submission for your county sightings. 1. MapMate Biological Recording Software- this is the most efficient method for both you and I. Inputting data for you is simple as is sending that data to us. For your part, the software offers you easy reference of all your sighting...

I watched the big year the other night. Its about three American birders trying to be the best re number of birds in a year with all the competition. Its a comedy and its quite funny Steve Martin is in it and two other famous actors. It did have similarities with the British book arrivals and rivals especi...

I have a Pair of Blackbirds M & F collecting Beakfuls of Grubs,Worms,Bread etc and flying off fully laden. This only means they have chicks to feed. 1st week in April,Must be a record.

Has anyone got Blue Tits in their nest box yet? This time last year I had a pair building a nest in mine but so far this year there has only been one brief investigation a couple of weeks ago and nothing since. Is it too late now for Blue Tits to be building their nest or can I still keep my fingers crossed? My li...

Roe Deer Fox Mirror Carp All Dead In The Canal Today Cheers Colin -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 8th of April 2012 12:28:38 PM

Here in Madrid, I was surprised to read last week in El Pais (the major Spanish daily paper) of an outbreak of Leishmaniasis within a few kilometres just to the S.W. of the city centre. I was surprised, as I have always been under the impression that this disease is restricted to the tropics, where it is a...

Fox on the opposite bank of the River Bollin this morning during a walk around Sunbank Wood area. -- Edited by Phil Owen on Thursday 9th of February 2012 02:22:23 PM

As a new member of the forum I can't believe I have just missed the 20-60 eyepiece just sold. I have an earlier non locking eyepiece Televid APO 62 with 32 ww eyepiece but would like to get a zoom as well. Any possibilities? I am using an Opticron Verano 8x32HD which I find excellent (I reckon the 10x42 adve...

A carrier bag containing a scope and binos also DVD's has been recovered from the Worsley area- Farm lane. We have no records at present of any thefts of such items. If any of you have lost such things or know of someone who has please contact PC 2443 Darren Lowe at Swinton VCT on 856 5353. Thanks Ivan

FOR Sale. Sigma apochromatic, auto/manual focus, macro 70--300mm lens, f4-5.6. To fit Canon AF/AFS SLRs. Immaculate condition. Complete with lens hood and unused Sigma padded case. The zoom range quoted is for a full frame (35mm equivalent) sensor and the 300mm becomes nearer the equivalent of 4...

27th March - Holly Blue in a garden bordering the park - the earliest I've seen this species

Never seen so many Goldcrests in one place. 8+ singing from the conifers in the hotel car park. SS

If you regularly contribute to BTO surveys or got involved in Bird Atlas, this publication should be dropping through your letterbox soon. Whilst other publications may seem to ignore the North West, the BTO magazine has a two-page spread by Stephen Young from Hyde which is well worth reading. Step...

Small Tortoiseshell 2 Tawny Mining Bees Buff-tailed Bumblebee Pignut Wood Anemone Lesser Celandine Cow Parsley Blackthorn Dandelion Bluebell Marsh Marigold Bluebell Rust Dave

(Matthew Gonshaw) is banned from travelling to Scotland during the breeding season from February 1 to August 31, Stratford magistrates ruled last Friday. He is also banned from all RSPB land and any owned by the Wildlife Trust until 2022. There are posters going up in various RSPB reserves and hides...

With my lists (for Wigan and GM) taking a depressing backward step this last week, I´ve been pondering as to whether any positives can be salvaged from the situation..... I wonder if any of you are into cooking in a big way? If so,- do you think that Pintail might go well with a nice orange sauce please? re...

Does anyone have or know of a Nikon TC-20e III (not II) teleconverter in good condition available for sale please? Please PM me if you do - cheers, Martyn. -- Edited by Martyn Jones on Sunday 1st of April 2012 06:43:15 PM

I'm looking for any unwanted old Contax U4R digiscoping brackets, I think both Pennine & Opticron made versions. If you have one rusting in the loft I'm looking to buy. -- Edited by Rob Smallwood on Monday 26th of September 2011 06:11:08 PM -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 31st of March 2012 1...

Haven't found a thread for this which is suprising , Great Grey Shrike showing well but distant good scope views and great views close up of Red Grouse on the walk from Longridge Frank http://www.flickr.com/photos/sleipnerofasgard/

For sale - Zeiss Diascope 85 TFL with a 20-60X zoom lens and a stay on case. Very good condition. Contact Mike on 07742908182 or email me at m.j.lehane@liv.ac.uk -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 28th of March 2012 04:09:03 PM

Mountain Hare on the moor adjacent to the reservoir.

1 mink

near tram stop, then swam across the ship canal/irwell.

raptorpolitics.org.uk have launched an e-petition to lobby the government to provide better(any!) protection for Britains raptors, please visit the site and sign the petition. Cheers Ian

9am to 11am 11 Jan 2010 Just walking down the wooded valley alongside the River Medlock from Waterhead to Lees. A pair of dippers side by side in the water really close (always knockin about together there) And a snipe kept gettin' up and flying ahead of me down stream. Last week had 2 greater spotte...

Hi there. I have a bird feeder question. I live on the first floor of a tower block facing several back gardens which attract the usual birds to them and I was hoping to get some to visit my feeder. My question is has anyone tried anything similar in terms of above-ground-level feeders or am I wasting my ti...

Last one, I promise! In the summer i've been allowed to go to Shetland on holiday, about mid-late June as i've got exams earlier than that. I haven't made any concrete plans, as I thought i'd ask first about where to go once there. I'd have a number of species that i'd aim to see, if its illegal to disclose s...