Several weeks ago I received two e-mails in quick succession from a couple of my NE birding pals, (headlined rather in the manner we might expect from the Daily Express) to the effect that Rufous Antpitta had been split into no less than 12 species! One of them (Neil) announced that this had given him an...
Arrived on the moors above Stocks reservoir with Mr Barber in lovely sunshine this morning and within minutes we had our first views of the Montagu's Harrier initially being given grief by a Crow. We watched it for a while before it settled in a walled off area after having a difference of opini...
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/tests-reveal-that-rare-bird-of-prey--was-shot-illegally-8397633.html-- Edited by Ian Boote on Sunday 9th of December 2012 11:26:14 PM...
With National and Local Birdfairs Cancelled here at Focalpoint we realise that our customers still need to get 'Hands-on' with optics to make sure they are choosing the right one for them, before purchase. So withthis in mind we have set up a week when customers can pop along to our showroom and meet a r...
Been working ''Up North'' today doing a survey for work on wildfowl in the Cheshire area. Rostherne Mere - 3 Mute Swan, 3 Goldeneye, 70 Teal, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 30 Wigeon, 3 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 18 Tufted Duck, Farmwood Pool (Private) - 58 Tufted Duck, 22 Goldeneye, 11 Coot, 6 Shoveler 123 Wigeon, 1...
My Hazel Grove garden lies right in the middle of a housing estate which, in turn, lies on the edge of green belt. Hazel Grove Golf Course is nearby but the view from my house is essentially a typical suburban garden - a 12x20 yard rectangle. I have mature conifers and shrubs around the perimeter to act as...
Advice required please. Stockport Council have designated Wright's Wood (near Adswood, I think) as a Local Nature Reserve and have asked me about the siting of a tawny owl nest box there as they have one spare (a box not an owl). What are the 'rules' for positioning of such a box. Also, am I being pessimi...
Monday 10th August. This bird gone missing (on Saturday) from Charlesworth, just over the border in Derbyshire ... flew in direction of central M/cr. In juvenile plumage. Fitted with jesses & bells plus telemetry equipment (so obviously out of range) ... problem being only a young bird, never...
Don't know about anyone else on the Forum, but I regularly dream of birds, especially as Spring arrives and I await the 1st migrants. First one last night involved House Martins buzzing around my house. Seen as I only moved here in Jan, it may be true. Only a few months until I find out. Anyone else care to...
I've been sent this by a colleague at work. Ian is happy for me to post on here. This is your chance to have your say on Parks in GM. Imagine a greener Greater Manchester. A place that works with nature and where the urban landscape is filled with rain gardens, street trees, green roofs, walls and spaces. T...
Tuesday 24 March 2020 Working from home, in the garden. Very quiet bird-wise today, a few Meadow Pipits making their way north, and one Pied Wagtail possibly doing the same.
My garden is a small south facing plot. It is quite messy but contains a small pond. The best bird that actually visited the garden was a Brambling, but a Grey Heron visited the pond once and a Grey Wagtail has visited the garden twice. There is a thriving Jackdaw colony on the house behind the garden.
Great idea this Ian in these crazy times we find ourselves in. Working from home for the forseeable, so plenty of time to do some watching in, around and from the garden. Our Bolton garden is fairly urban, though we have a good vista both from the front overlooking Darcy Lever and to the rear towards Brad...
As I travel about a lot with work, am often trekking out of County or am staring out of a window on a train here and there, as I am sure many of you are, I thought an Out of County "Bits, Bobs, Odds and Sods" might be an idea for those little sightings we all see, but maybe don't afford a thread/blog o...
Its only a smallish south facing garden, though with a large Sycamore, massive clumps of bamboo (now some 15 feet high!), the odd ornamental shrub and tree and couple of quite old buddleia. Behind the garden are patches of brambles and rough grass fields (cut in summer for livestock food) lined with s...
With lockdown now over as we knew it for the months from March 2020 onwards, and the ceasing of those shielding from 1st August, this thread has come to it natural end and will be closed from 8th August, allowing those who wish to add conclusions, comments and round-ups the chance to do so. It will rema...
With the recently imposed lockdown due to COVID-19, for those more responsible birders amongst us, travelling to anything other than closely walkable birding sites has become inadvisable and frankly, irresponsible. Of course, birding remains for many, more than just a hobby. It keeps us sane, r...
What a great idea,it'll make going out in the garden even more enjoyable. My garden faces west and has open fields at rear,together with a number of mature trees in the surrounding area.i have 2 feeders with sunflower hearts and one with sunflower seeds. Unfortunately due to an unprecedented increa...
10.00-14.30 Butterflies : 1 Small Skipper, 3 Ringlets, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Small Heath and 3 Speckled Woods. Meadow Browns plentiful around the grass covered areas of moorland. 1 Brown Hawker dragonfly. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 08:59:02 PM
This is the 1994 edition,FREE to anybody who wants it,pm me if your interested. -- Edited by pete berry on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 09:47:56 AM-- Edited by pete berry on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 09:49:13 AM
Hi, and thanks for accepting my invitation to join. Keen and reasonably experienced, based in Chorlton. Joining was prompted by desire to report what seemed to me an unusual sighting, and ask for further info. Running round Chorlton Ees yesterday (Saturday) morning, I was surprised to see a group o...
BBC 2 has just shown a documentary depicting a year in the "Wild" based in North Yorkshire. (BBC 2 9.00pm 17th July 2020). For the most part the documentary gave a genuine and enjoyable insight into sheep farming and moorland management. There was little wildlife shown in the film, but has it also feat...
Had a been in social isolation at my place in Lodnon, then the bird list would have been quite small, so choosing to isloate at the old family home in Alkrington seemed a better bet both in terms of family support and in terms of bird. I've never kept a garden list religiously, but from memory, the best bir...
Probably the worst aspect of downsizing is facing up to getting rid of things. We have approx. 13 years (= about 80 issues) of this quality magazine (the US equivalent of British Birds/ Birding World) full of information on species/ sites, etc. of interest to any N. American birding enthusiasts. It w...
I live in a house in centre of a Victorian terrace . The garden is surrounded by a 9 foot wall and is 30 feet x15 feet. It is primarily used for growing vegetables.There is a bird table and several feeders in the centre. Up to now 17 species seen since lockdown . Goldfinch Starling Feral Pigeon Magpie Wood P...
