Back in 1998 while carrying out fieldwork in the Cross Fell area, I saw something that most people refuse to believe.
I was hiking out of Dufton and coming up the back of Dufton Pike when I saw 12 Peregrines, mostly juveniles, in one group flying around each other. I watched them for about 5 minutes bef...
We walked along the Tame Valley Way yesterday from Stalybridge to Stockport and saw very few moorhens, mallards or coots. A man who walks his dog every day says the reason is that mink have been eating the young, and the numbers of birds has dropped dramatically. IS that right, and if so, is anyone tryin...
New garden tick this lunchtime when a juvenile Sparrowhawk tried unsuccessfully to catch one of the birds on our feeders. Fortunately for me it paused to regain its composure on the fence allowing a better view. In fact, if it hadn't landed I wouldn't have seen it as I was decorating the front bedroom w...
Spent a couple of hours trawling through the BH Gulls today looking for a Med Gull.
No luck The old "needle" and "haystack". Did witness a Herring Gull take a BH chick which it took a while to kill.
Also a Spotted Flycatcher in the trees by the sailing club entrance and a family o...
Two dippers on River Douglas this am, just south of bridge at bottom of Brock Mill Lane, off Wigan Lane. Later, in Lower Plantations, a kingfisher and a male grey wagtail on river 300 yards north of bridge on main track, where a narrow path goes off left. Never seen a kingfisher on the Douglas here for yea...
One singing only about 5 miles from the GM border:
19/06 12:52 LANCASHIRE : Icterine Warbler, Jackhouse Reservoir [A]
Park in B6236 Haslingden Road layby and walk north along Cobbs Lane for 1/3 mile SD742260 (12:05) Can be elusive but preset 2 weeks - first thought to be a Marsh Warbler.
The Goosander nest in a Tawny Owl chimney which we have been monitoring now for 4 weeks (and the owner of the house for some weeks longer) was empty today. There was one dead duckling that obviously couldn't get out of the tall box, but the remains of an estimated 10 eggs. It was some distance from any stre...
Just another plug for Bolton Central Library's excellent bird book collection. After Peregrine inspection at the Town Hall I called in and got:
A natural history of ornithology (Peter Bircham, New Naturalist, 2007 - £25)
First for Britain and Ireland 1600-1999 (Phil Palmer, Arlequin, 2000 - £2...
a six day trip round norfolk in total 107 species +7 heard for me anyway
abbey farm
2 turtle doves 1 little owl egyptian geese
hunstanton cliffs
nesting fulmars ,,
offshore common scoters ,gannets,3 male eider ,little tern sandwich tern ,common tern
titchwell
grey plover,pr of r c pochard...
A cautionary note: Yesterday afternoon my wife and I took ourselves over to Burton Marsh - parked the car at the bottom of Station Road/Denhall Lane just past the reserve entrance near to the new entrance to the Burton Point walk. When we got back some kind person had decided to have a look if there was an...
Just got back from 2 weeks touring Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. Very exciting as every bird we saw except house sparrow and starling were not native to the UK
Saw loads of raptors but only identified Golden Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Red Tailed Hawk and American Kestrel for sure, there are so man...
Just logged on and by chance noticed the most users at one time bit.
What exactly was going on to make 3 members and 38 guests all be active at 07.36 a.m. on May 28th???. Some MEGA event I missed or what???
I think we need to arrange, by PM, a time,(don't tell Ian Mck), when we all log on and beat this lowly to...
June 17th
Dovestones: as well as the Crossbills (inc. at least 5 juvs); Siskin; Redpoll; an early(late?) Tawny Owl and a fly-over adult Peregrine.
Walkerwood(Stalybridge) 28 adult Canada Geese & 3 goslings; 5 Mallard (all males) and 2 Common Buzzards
Castleshaw: 1 newly fledged Black...
I saw a blackbird in our garden eating some seed, then it hopped past our pond. A minute or two later, it was eating what I think was a tiny froglet which had just left the pond. Could this be right? What's wrong with eating a nice juicy, slow-moving slug? Plenty of those. Why eat a tiny thing which tried to...
The last thing I expected to see this evening when I went for a walk across the fields to Rydings Lodge was a party of 7 Crossbills in a line of pine trees by Law Flat, just off Wardle Road. Grid ref SD911165. I walked past the trees without seeing or hearing anything and was forced to turn back because a fenc...
i recently bought a cd of bird song and a new pocket guide that has silhouttes in it, to try and help myself improve my birding skills.
the song cd is going ok - i'm enjoying driving around the city streets with it thumping out of my stereo like an urban birding badass.
the pocket guide of silhouettes i...
Absolutely gob smacked to see a Mediterranean Gull feeding on bread in the middle of Hamilton Street in Atherton with a Lesser Black Backed Gull this morning!!!! Made my day! Kane -- Edited by Kane Brides at 14:35, 2008-06-14
I have copy of the above for sale,in vgc apart from a couple of small tears to the dust cover,looking for offers around £20. -- Edited by pete berry at 15:11, 2008-06-13
Stopped off at Trentabank Res yesterday on the way to Derbyshire Bridge area. Female Mandarin with 7 chicks happily swimming around the heronery island.
Up on the moors - Wheatear with chicks near Danebower chimney, Golden Plover with chicks on the road up to the Cat and Fiddle from Derbyshire Bri...
A non-birding friend of mine found a bird in his garage this morning in a pretty poor state. He phoned me and from the description I assumed it was a going to be a Feral Pigeon, but he later sent me a good picture off his mobile and it was a Cuckoo!!! The house is just off Ayres Road. He took the bird out of the ga...
Had my first proper trip to Mull at Whit.
Stayed in a cottage attached to The Pennyghael Hotel - Loch Scridain and its wildlife visible from all rooms bar the toilet - highly recommended.
Caught up with most of the specialities, White-tailed Eagles seen at two sites including one nest site visibl...
Well, I have to say that my week in Spain was quite dissapointing from a bird point of view. I normally manage to eek out a bit of birding from a family holiday but this time I failed completely.
I did see birds (of course) but other than the ubiquitous Serins and Yellow legged Gulls, well I might as well h...
Had a ride up the Cat & Fiddle as it was nice and sunny.
Short-eared Owl hunting over the moors by Derbyshire Bridge. 3 Ring Ouzels by Danebower Chimney, only saw 1 Red Grouse and no Golden Plover :(
So, all those entering the monthly marathon, how did your first day go???
Not being the over energetic sort I decided a nice saunter to Horrocks hide would help kick the month off and at least i managed Black Tern and Little Gull. Overall managed a not too bad......nah. That would be telling (and pote...
Osprey over Heaton Park at 8:40pm this evening. Took a stroll from tram stop through park on way home and saw it flying through the centre of the park Northwards. I lost it behind trees then paced toward the reservoir, but no sign of it there and lots of kids were knocking about on the banks.
Look out at El...
Female Marsh Harrier north of Hollingworth and north of Arnfield Reservoir at Higher Swineshaw Reservoir, viewable from Lees Hill at 9-9:10pm then lost to view this evening.
Info thanks to Tom McKinney
Five buzzards were circling together and calling at 10-30 this morning over Hall Lane, near Haigh Lower Plantations. Is it too early for family groups? Another, possibly one of the above, was over Pendlebury Lane earlier while, at the same time, a common tern, was apparently foraging over fields ne...
