The missus has booked our annual getaway and we're off to spain on the Costa Brava at Santa Susanna in late spring. This is a family holiday so I'll be restricted to a couple of hours here and there and I wont have a car either. The resort looks quite small and is surrounded by fields and some woodland so it l...
What was the closing date for Jan mystery birds? Just gone to send my entry and the results are there. I assumed it was the end of the month but i must admit i don't remember the date.
I had them both right as well Honest, i did
Cheers Dean.
Went to see the Grebe at Barrow Lower Lodge just south of Clitheroe(off the main road at the Macdonalds!)this a.m. Dead easy to find and its been there all week, the 2nd lifer for me in 2 days
Cheers Ian
I've been told by my optician that I now need glasses for distance work as well as the reading glasses I already have. He's suggested vari focals but I wondered how these work with bins as I don't want to be lifting my specs every few seconds to use the bins.
Any tips from those of you out there who've alre...
Found an article that led me to an American website, nortbirding.com. interesting id piece on this site.
obviously you have to put the www. bit in them northbirding.com/idtraining
as its an american site and it has american birds on but its something to do on these dark nights
And on that subject a...
yesterday the river roch on the bury/rochdale border was up to with a couple of inches of the top of the bank and today in the city centre the irwell was up higher than i've ever seen it and both rivers are so full of silt that they are the colour of mud, my question is this... how does it effect all the fish etc...
Had a saunter this p.m. around the area near Foxdenton Hall & also some of the local farmland and sections of the Rochdale Canal close by.
Plenty of the expected species plus - 3 Siskin, 1 Meadow Pipit, 9+ Mistle Thrush (including a singing bird), 2 Fieldfare, 3 LBB Gull, 1 Common Gull. Biggest su...
Report from my Mum of a possible Common (mealy/arctic?) type Redpoll in the garden today - Off Shay Lane at the Thorley Lane end. There is a stand of alders there which often harbour Siskins and Redpolls if anyone's interested. Just awaiting photos now. Come on mum! Thanks. Henry Cook. P.s. I have to ad...
Does anyone have any experience of using the opticron discovery (8X42 WP PC)seen on ebay for cheaper than shop, i'm interested in getting theese as they are pretty small and compact I already have a pair of nikon actions (8X40) but there not waterproof and pretty clumsy when walking about...
It seem that Greater Manchester may be undergoing something of a Great Black-backed Gull invasion and I'm wondering if anyone else out there has noticed increased numbers at their local patch? I'm particularly interested in those gull spots just outside our county if anyone has any details (or kno...
Birdguides report 98 Marsh Harriers at Stubb Mill, Hickling, Norfolk this morning. I can't recall ever hearing of such a flock in the UK, has anybody else ?
Some stats from BTO. British population 201 females in 1998 to 2002. First record from 1544, from fossil evidence. European population size a...
19/01/08 all three reservoirs and wigan golf course am
2 cormorant 2 little grebe
20 b/h gulls 30 mallard
2 canada 6 moorhens
12 blue tit 12 great tit
2 g c grebe 3 mislte thrush
4 robin 12 blackbird
1 g s pecker 1 nuthatch 2/3 calling
20 woodpigeon 6 goldfinch
cheers geoff
Rooks 40+ feeding in field just off sale lane tyldesley, between mossley common and mort lane 1130 this morning. behind new housing estate lhs field going towards stonehouse farm.
THANKS AGAIN IAN FOR ANOTHER VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE.ILEARNED A LOT FROM IT,IM SURE EVERYONE ELSE WILLJUST HOPE YOU AND THE OTHER TOURNIMENT LEADERS DON'T START CLAIMING FEMALE GREEN WINGED TEAL,OR ILL BE WANTING PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE -- Edited by JOHN TYMON at 19:26, 2008-01-16
Thought i'd read up about Green Winged Teal. It doesn't seem to be in any of my field guides.
Thought it would be in the Collins but no. Unless i've missed it somewhere.
Any suggestions?
Cheers Dean.
On Friday I observed over 100 hypocolius feeding in an abandoned garden in Jasra. Birds had been initially observed in this area by Dr. Brendan Kavanagh, our resident BTO ringer. On Saturday Howard King, the Bahrain recorder, saw over 300 birds in the same location and today managed to take over 20 ph...
At approx. 11am this morning Dave Broome heard what he is almost certain was a Cetti's Warbler singing, albeit breifly and faintly from the back of Pearsons Flash (Wigan Flashes) by the cemetary. Unfortunately, despite several birders turning up to assist in locating the bird (my thanks to you all f...
Judith Smith found a drake Green-winged Teal at Pearsons Flash at 12:50 today, at the rear of the flash if viewed form the canal. Later, due to the weather the bird had moved underneath the overhanging trees along the Ince Moss Landfill edge to shelter from the weather and was last seen by Ian Woosey at 1...
On the 7th, Andy Isherwood found a single Mealy Redpoll amongst 20 Redpoll near Gin Pit village, Tyldesley. The birds were along the muddy track on the right after the grass field in the village, although they later flew off towards the back of the rugby club (Tyldesley RUFC). There may however, have b...
For some reason or another not put these sightings on - better late than never! 30/12 Pinkfeet 127 West (site tick) Water Rail 3 seperate squealing birds (also a site tick but didnt get to see them) Willow Tit 3 Bulfinch 11 Pochard 8 Shoeveler 4 Gadwall 4 Teal 143 Tufted Duck 31 Snipe 3 6/1 Worst visit ever...
two buzzards,one very pale plumage[ could be young bird] sat in field next to m61 motorway,just before foot bridge goes over the m61 traveling towards wigan.
today at 1250 pm,and seen here on regular basis.possibly descend from breeding pair off boothstown farmland.
My first day here in 08; some very interesting sightings; 512 Great black-backed Gull - the highest record by far for here (152 previous best 1/1/06) 450 Herring Gull - again very high numbers here 1500 Black-headed Gull 300 Common Gull 10 Siskin heading west 47 Goosander 1 Little Owl 30 Lapwing 4 Mall...
Please note that I have already changed some usernames on the forum, if you are having difficulty logging on, your username is the one that appears on any one of your posts and your password remains the same. Any problems please let me know. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 19:43, 2008-01-09
On Wednesday I had to go to a meeting in Birkenhead.
On the way we saw Buzzard from the M56, Marsh Harrier from the Helsby end of Frodsham, the meeting overlooked Birkenhead's Peregrine site so super views of two birds both perched and soaring, on the way back several Sparrowhawk, more Buzzards and t...
Nice little article ian well written and shows the need to take notes carefully.
just cannot help feeling you knew about this little beauty before NYD or is it just blooming good luck that you get points on day one
