"Stunning for Who?" I'll confess I am a newbie here and not really a birder - but I do love birds! I'm concerned (for several reasons) about planned tall buildings in central Manchester. Could we be overlooking the effects of light pollution on birds? I commented on the Messenger thread (It is an ex...
Walk from Doctors Gate across to Alport Moor and back. The fauna on the high moor in winter consists of mainly of Red Grouse. Red Grouse appear numerous. A Buzzard soared high above the moor, and a female Kestrel hunted close to the A57. A 30 minute scan across the conifer woodland at Lady Clough produce...
I had some interesting reports of plants The woods themselves were pretty normal Wood Aven, Enchanter Nightshade, Herb Robert etc. The entrance to the Cemmy gave a bit more Meadow Cranesbill, Tufted Vetch, Teasel, Common St Johnswort and then some that looked like they had been introduced Betony,...
The January 2018 edition of British Birds includes a paper on the status in Britain of the Mute Swan colour morph known as Polish swan. It includes a map and table of records by county from 1973-2016. The Polish swan occurs chiefly down the eastern counties of Britain, though there are records elsewhe...
Many of you will already know, but just a reminder that we are closed at Focalpoint for a little longer over the festive period than usual. We are in all week this week, normal winter hours of 9.30am-4.30pm, then in on Saturday 23rd from 10am til 3pm or 4pm on demand. We will then re-open on Tuesday Jan 2nd...
Watch the trailer hereAward-winning documentary film partners with UK producer of bird-friendly coffee to raise awareness of the plight of migratory songbirdsFeature length documentary The Messenger explores our deep-seated connection to birds and warns that the uncertain fate of song...
This information was provided by Henry McGhie: Hello- I’ve written a book about Manchester Museum’s main bird collector (Henry Dresser), one of the most important ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries , and used his life to explore transformations in scientific society and th...
Hi All I guess this is one for Doc Brewster, but can anyone recommend some padded tripod leg wraps (just for the top part). I've a Velbon Sherpa 200R and am looking to make life easier on my shoulders. I've looked at the Wildlife Watching Supplies website, but they don't specify the Sherpa on their list....
Just back from an eleven night stay on the Riviera Maya in Mexico, approximately fifty miles south of Cancun. There were four hotels on a site covering around two square miles. A variety of habitat including coastline, gardens with shrubs, bushes and trees, a golf course with several pools and final...
I have a copy of one of the best raptor id books for sale. Very rare and hard to find. Collins birds of prey written by Benny Gensbol.£50 ovno. Also copy of the Helm guide to confusion species, another great book for all those similar looking birds. £ 30 ovno. Tel no. 07539 839015.
Now maybe I'm just showing my ignorance here, but can someone explain to me the difference between an Arctic Redpoll and a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll. I must admit I don't keep too upto date with taxonomy so maybe I've missed something, but last time I looked Arctic Redpoll was also carduelis hornema...
Having birded the GMC area(and elsewhere) for longer than I want to remember(and definitely a fully paid up member of the old farts club) I thought it might be interesting to list the birds we have lost and those we have gained in the last 30 years or so for people who perhaps have only taken up birding in t...
We have a limited number of copies of the fabulous new book 'Rare and Scarce Birds of Cheshire & Wirral' by Allan Conlin and Eddie Williams. These are in store for sale at the cover price of £25. They are a fabulous read, documenting occurrences of rare and scarce species in the region over the years...
Hi, does anyone have any recommendations for decent compact binoculars for under or around £100 (new or second hand)? Weight and portability would be top criteria, so am hoping it's possible to score well on that front while having decent performance at something like (max)8 x (min25). These would...
The big book by Rob Fray, Roger Davis, Dave Gamble, Andrew Harrop and Steve Lister for sale. In very good condition. "Used" books appear to average around £30 online. Open to price suggestions of course has to be reasonable. I can get t to North Manchester, Oldham, Bolton over the next week quite e...
The Carbon Landscape Citizen Science project is now launching the Winter Farmland Bird Survey (WFBS) which aims to monitor the abundance and distribution of farmland birds at a landscape scale across the Salford, Warrington and Wigan mosslands, as well as on other farmland in the three districts...
We have just taken in on commission sale a pair of Zeiss Terra ED 8x42 Binoculars. These are in excellent condition and come boxed with all accessories. They are the older style Terras, not the ones launched in 2017. They are black armoured too and ideal if you want a pair of decent birding bins at a very v...
We have recently acquired a beautiful pair of binoculars for sale which will be of interest to many birders on here wanting to upgrade to a European model but at a fraction of brand new cost. They are Swarovski 8.5x42 ELs, of the original model, so pre-Swarovision with no 'rolling ball' effect that som...
We have received to sell on a Commission basis a pair of Zeiss 8x42 Victory FL Binoculars. These were the top Zeiss model a few years ago before the advent of the HT and SF models which are currently on sale and so are of a very high specification, as all Zeiss products that carry the 'Victory' name are. Opt...
One of our ever popular In-Store Days is scheduled for Saturday December 2nd, hosted by Chris Galvin of Opticron. As a Birder and Optics expert, Chris will be on hand to answer all your questions and queries and to demonstrate the full range of Opticron products. Hopefully either myself or Yvonne wil...
As the Cheshire Farm Machinery business next to ours is in the process of moving to larger premises the yard is getting blocked by heavy machinery regularly. If you have difficulty parking please park down the side of our unit near the steps. You will probably see either Yvonne or my car down the side, j...
Just an advance warning that Bentley's Farm Lane (where Focalpoint is) is scheduled for closure for resurfacing next week. Current plans are for it starting on Tuesday, weather permitting, but we know no further details, I'll post if & when we get any Monday will have no disruption so if a matter...
The new Zeiss Scope - the Victory Harpia - is due out in 2018, but we have a chance for customers to try it out well before that, but for one day only On Thursday 23rd November (just 3 weeks from now) our Zeiss rep, Kevin, will be bringing this new scope in from 10am until 3pm so that our customers have a chanc...
Hi all. I'm about to quit the hobby wholesale for a multitude of reasons and although I have the tantalizing prospect of birding in Sweden (Stockholm) + New York City (the new world!) Coming up I know its all or nothing as, frankly, I can't in the present circumstances take it any further. I'm saying thi...
We have a pair of Leica 10x42 BN Binoculars for sale on a commission basis. These are well looked after evn though everyone will know them as one of the older Leica models. They come complete with the carry case and rainguards and are very competitively priced at just £500. Please call 01925 730399 duri...
We have just received a lovely pair of Leica 10x42 Ultravid Binoculars, the original model, for commission sale. The come with the strap and rainguard as well as the cordura carry case. These are on offer for only £699, so if you fancy a top end binocular for less than the price of a mid range one then thes...
A square park, with basically just grass and trees (thought there's lots of different trees: big ones, small ones, willows). There are a few small bushes in the centre. Seems to be a perfect park for urban birding: buildings surrounding it on all sides, the bustling Oxford road going right past it, an...
Sunday, 5/11/17 On the road leading up to the viewpoint/car park - a superb ivy-covered wall with thousands of flowers. A comma and red admiral feeding in sunshine along with numerous flies.
