This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Leigh Ornithological Society and to cap it all we were given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which is the equivalent of an MBE for volunteer groups.To celebrate we are having an Open Day at Leigh Library on Saturday 9th October from 10am until 3pm. At th...
Someone has just posted on a neighbourhood (non-bird) group that a goshawk has been sighted around the Sheepfoot Lane area and said 'can take small pets apparently' .1) this seems very unlikely 2) the negative way a possible sighting is reported is obviously annoying. Any further info/thoughts o...
Dr Ian Newton, author of several Poyser and Collins New Naturalist titles, was due to present an online talk about Sparrowhawk research next week, hosted by Birdwatch Ireland Meath Branch. It has been cancelled, but has instead been pre-recorded. The link is advertised as being free to distribute...
For sale, a pair of 8x42 Zeiss Victory SF binoculars in good conditions, only £400. Please contact me in the first instance and I'll put you in touch with the seller, a Pennington Flash regular. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 7th of October 2021 10:32:52 PM
Next Saturday, 9th October, whilst I look after the Focalpoint Shop (open as normal for appointments) Yvonne will be attending the Leigh OS 50th Anniversary Open Day at Leigh Library. She will be representing Focalpoint Optics and supporting this event that celebrates a fantastic achievement fo...
if your stuck in and bored,this is a good cam to spot from home https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/south-africa/tshwane/pretoria/pretoria-bird-feeder.html
Hi Volunteers, Monday 17th is the day 9-30 car park near center , I have parking passes. We will be removing birch saplings from an area near the lagoon on the ruck overlooking the flash. it's a good butterfly area but is being over grown with trees. Loppers and bow saws please, if you can bring your own it...
We are holding an open day in the Libary to celebrate 50 years of conservation activity and will be receiving the Queen's Award for Volunteers 10 am until 3 pm, all welcome and it's free. -- Edited by David Shallcross on Sunday 26th of September 2021 07:31:13 PM
After taking Caths dad John to Ludworth Moor in April we had hoped that we could get him out again unfortunately this was not to be as his health took a turn for the worse. On the 24th June he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and given 12/14 months. Bucket lists were made, top of which was a birding outi...
Natural England is leading on an exciting new project, which they (and GMBRG, the Greater Manchester Bird Recording Group) hope will result in the designation of a new National Nature Reserve (NNR) in Wigan covering the Abram Flashes SSSI, Bickershaw LNR, Pennington Flash LNR and the Wigan Flash...
We have this afternoon received a pair of 8x42 Viking Navilux binoculars for sale on commission. These are a discontinued model but did retail at c.£140. They are in excellent condition although over 10 years old, but the customer only used them for 6 years before upgrading. He now wants to make room i...
We have just taken in on Commission Sale a stunning piece of kit that I am sure will not stay on sale for very long. It is a Kowa 883 scope with the 25-60x Zoom Eyepiece and the Kowa Stay-on Case. All the boxes are included and the kit is in mint condition. This is the Prominar angled version in the Kowa 880 Ser...
We have on commission sale an Opticron 10x42 DBA VHD+ Monocular with a 2x UTA magnifier and Tripod Adapter, boxed and as new. The monocular alone retails at £309 and the customer wants just £299for the whole kit. This would work really well with a monopod as a lighter option than a scope and with the UTA w...
We have, this week, received to sell on commission a Swarovski ATX65 Objective Module only, which could be added to an ATX Eyepiece Module from our new stock or added to the customers own kit. This is boxed and as new, showing no signs of use at all. It has all accessories and the seller wants ONLY£529 for...
We have just taken in on Commission Sale a rarely seen piece of kit on the second-hand market, a Swarovski BTX. This one is a Swarovski BTX65 Telescope with the stay-on case and all boxes. It is mint condition, like new, out of the box and is a real bargain. The customer only wants £2500 for this kit which i...
Enjoyable week in Eastbourne allowed me a couple of visits to Beachy Head on September 12th and 17th. Lesser Whitethroat 1 Whinchat 2 Blackcap 1 male. Redstart 1 Raven 1 Yellow Wagtail 6 Stonechat 4 Whitethroat 2 Willow Warbler 2 Chiffchaff 3 Tree Pipit 3 Rock Pipit 1 Meadow Pipit 20+ Grey Wagtail 2 Swa...
A wee heads up about the Blogs that I write on the Focalpoint website. The latest one is at the link below and it's about the trip to see the White-tailed Lapwing/Plover and the day at Blacktoft Sands. I never overload posts on here with multiple shots of the same bird, so these blogs have extra pics and pi...
We have just taken in a pair of Zeiss Victory 8x25 Pocket compact binoculars on commission sale. These are boxed with all the accessories and are as new as they were an unwanted present. They have an almost complete 10 year warranty and are a fabulous option to get this model brand new for lower than the n...
We have on commission sale a pair of Viking 8x42 ED Field Flattening Binoculars, they come with all accessories and are boxed. They are in excellent condition, boxed as new and look hardly used. The customer is asking ONLY £240 for this pair, the owner paid £449 for these, so he is nearly halving the pri...
Flock of about 25-30 Fieldfare (yep Fieldfare) right on what I think is the GM Border near the Cinamon Indian restaurant on Preston Road between Standish and Coppull.
They definitely flew into GM if they werent quite there to start with.
In just a week or so we are running an event to fill the gap left by the demise of the Rutland BirdFair. Focalpoint has it's inaugural Optics Venue in the Village event at the village hall in our closest village of Comberbach, just a minute down Gibb Hill from our shop. Several of our suppliers will be ther...
A 'consultation' has been launched on the proposed plans for the so-called Places for Everyone which replaced the Manchester Spatial Framework after Stockport withdrew and which have just been published. As part of the plan New Carrington is being built on most of Carrington Moss south of the Lyon...
Originally posted today by Lez Fairclough Nearest thread I can find to here - Lead Mines Clough Only butterflies seen today were Tortoiseshell, Large Cabbage White & Female Green-Veined White.
We have now received, as expected, another Swarovski ATS 65 Scope Kit for sale on commission. This one is even better, having the wide angle, newer, 25-50 Zoom eyepiece. It also has a stay-on case and all the boxes. This very desirable kit is on offer for ONLY£1199, a fantastic top end piece of kit for...
We have on commission sale a nice pair of Leica 8x32 HD Binoculars, they come with the srtap, rainguard and objective covers, a carry case and are boxed. They are in good condition and are the smallest top end 8x32s on the market, so well worth a look. The seller wants ONLY £879for these bins which is a bar...
We have on commission sale at present an excellent condition Kowa 773 telescope (angled and prominar version) with a zoom eyepiece, stay-on case, Velbon Sherpa 530 tripod and hide clamp. This is a lot of kit, is in excellent condition and is selling for ONLY£1199. If you want to check it out call 01925...
We have just received on commission sale an Opticron MM4 60 angled travelscope with a HDF Zoom eyepiece, a stay-on case and with a lightweight travel tripod. The customer is asking for ONLY £529 for this the HD version of the scope, which would make an ideal scope for holiday travel or even a main scope....
15.45-17.00 The mossland NR was largely birdless apart from the odd Woodpigeon, a few passing gulls, single Buzzard and a lonesome Blue Tit. A stunning display of Scarlet Elf Cup fungi though. Just North of the M62 though a field alongside the River Glaze (Cheshire Side) held a tremendous flock of mi...
Just within the boundaries I think? Sunday afternoon visit in warm sunshine - large numbers of emerald damselfly and black darter particularly around the large pool nearest the footpath / train lines. Singles of small tortoiseshell and peacock on the heather. A baby common lizard was a slight su...
