A ride down to the caravan yesterday to open it up for the summer. Managed to grab 20 minutes at Dulas estuary mud flats. 1 Yellow Legged Gull (a first for me on Anglesey) 2 Common Sandpiper 5 Whimbrel 1 Little Egret 6 Sandwich Tern 12 Shelduck 1 Wheatear 4 Oystercatcher Plus all the other usual birds. -- E...
AN ENGLISH ARCHER BENT HIS BOW
MADE OF A TRUSTY TREE
AN ARROW OF A CLOTH-YARD LONG
UNTO THE HEAD DREW HE
AGAINST SIR HUGH MONTGOMERY
SO RIGHT HIS SHAFT HE SET
THE GRAY GOOSE WING THAT WAS THEREON
IN HIS HEARTS BLOOD WAS WET
WILLOUGHBY POEM DESCIBING GOOSE FEATHER ARROW FLIGHTS
An evening walk through the reserve with the last hour of light to see what was moving, and it was a pleasure to hear so much birdsong.
5 longtail tits
2 pair bullfinch
large numbers of Blue and Great tits, robins and blackbirds m & Fs
1 wren
1dunnock
5 song thrushes
30 jackdaws
2 Carrion Cro...
WHY ORE THE VERDANT BANKS OF OUSE
DOES YONDER HALCYON SPEED SO FAST
TIS ALL BECAUSE SHE WOULD NOT LOSE
HER FAVOURITE CALM WHICH WILL NOT LAST
SHENSTONE
A flock of 12 have been visiting my garden throughout the day.
First sighted them at approx 10am this morning in the tall trees in my back garden watched them through my binoculars for a good half hour, before they flew off towards Fog Lane Park.
Again 10 minutes ago 2.20pm same amount feeding in the b...
AND THE LARKS SHRILL PIPE SHALL COME
IN THE MORNING FROM THE FALLOW
AND THE BITTERN BEAT HIS DRUM
IN THE EVENING FROM THE HOLLOW
SIR WALTER SCOTT
NICE AND SIMPLE
Birdwatch magazines in excellent condition: 2004 complete; 2005 complete; 2006 complete; 2007 (missing Sept); 2008 complete; 2009 March, May-Oct and some odd issues 2010. The reviews and stuff may be out of date but many of these contain ID articles by Keith Vinicombe and others. However being a b...
I spent a lovely 10 minutes watching a pair of Goldfinches investigate what seemed to be every twig of a Silver Birch tree outside the 2nd floor window of Gregson House yesterday afternoon.
A low flying Raven also flew past the window on Monday morning.
3 titles in Reaktion Books' 'Animal' series for sale. All totally brand new due to being sent 2 copies of each by an incompetent supplier!: 'Parrot' Paul Carter 'Falcon' Helen Macdonald 'Swan' Peter Young Wonderfully illustrated in colour throughout these books set each bird in its cultural histo...
So, in around 30 years of birdwatching I've never yet tried watching for off the coast (by which I mean sitting on land, looking out to sea for gulls, petrels, shearwaters, etc).
I've got three days off coming up and was thinking of spending one day doing this (or half a day, with another half on a reser...
Spent the weekend here - snow and freezing cold.
However saw around 6 Dippers in a 3 mile stretch, most were singing which I'd never heard before - a scratchy jumble of notes which not surprisingly could clearly be heard over the rushing of the water.
Also 30 Oystercatcher huddled on a bank and arou...
Out birding this afternoon at 2.30pm along River Tame at Haughton Dale. Crossed over large bridge and followed the path to the left. Got a Water Rail and three Dippers, also usual Mallards and Moorhens and small stuff.
Winter plumbe Slavonian grebe showing very well in Queens Bay and still present at .1335hrs Its strange to say but this is my first grebe on Hollingworth this year! but what a cracker.Kingfisher on reserve was pleasing at least one has made it through the winter.Cheers Alan
Hi All,
was looking through some old back numbers of Bird Watching magazine recently from the 1990's. In the sightings section for Halifax there's some really good records for Fly Flats I was wondering if any members had any idea of the location.
Cheers Dave Phillips.
Went to check out a Finch flock that had seen from the bus on the way back from Holcombe yesterday.
In fields above Wood Road (which is between Summerseat & Brandlesholme on a map)
Linnet 56
Woodpigeon 110
Magpie 16
Moorhen 2
Mallard 6
Kestrel (male)
Out cycling yesterday,we investigated a new excavation in progress at Hollins Green, behind where the Public toilets used to be (side of the cemetery). I could make out the shape of a largish pond with an island. Workman told me it was for Wildlife and a guy called Neil is behind it. Some connection wit...
I am just at crompton lodges and there is a dead mute swan. Is there any one this should be reported to?
The incidents may not be related but I was here at the week end with my daughter and 2 Asian boys were throwing stones at the birds. I told them in no uncertain terms what I thought of them but now a dead swan...
Prompted by a post on the Pennington thread re. hearing what seemed to be a Marsh Tit but it possibly being a Great Tit I recently observed a Great Tit near Hawkley Hall feeding station Wigan Flashes making the most extraordinary sounds. I first heard what I thought was something like a high-pitched Go...
Whilst driving to pick my mother up in Didsbury at 1:50 this atfernoon, saw what I thought was a flock of Starlings in the tall tree's opposite The Parr's Wood pub on School lane. I slowed down as the "jizz" of the birds didn't seem right. I did a u-turn and parked up and found they were Waxwings...
Had a trip out today and first call was Mirfield where I spent an hour between the gravel pits and the weir until I eventually picked out the long staying Ring Billed Gull at the weir. After scanning tens of Commons in the area it was startling when I got onto the right bird with the light iris and the clearl...
A news story in todays Wigan Evening Post (21/12) about a Tawny Owl entangled in a tree by discarded fishing line. The opening scenes to the linked YouTube clip are saddening, and dare I say it, a bit disturbing ? The bird was however released and taken into care. Well done those chaps who rescued it..
...
I am looking for a cheap 30W eyepiece for my Kowa TSN 820 Scope, have searched the net but cannot find anywhere.
If you have any ideas it would be appreciated.
Cheers
A slghtly more interesting local walk than usual this afternoon, Sunday, November 4.
I think the walk is part of SJ79H.
In my garden: Blackcap 1m and Goldcrest 1.
Dutton's Pond: Moorhen 4 ad and 3 imm.
Mute Swan 1 ad and 2 imm.
Canada Goose 6
Coot 2 ad
Mallard 20+
Amongst the more mundane near J...
