Saturday 13th February 2016. Morning wander along my childhood stamping grounds, on Seaburn and Whitburn beaches, Sunderland, on a receding tide. A very enjoyable couple of hours preceded an even more enjoyable couple of hours at the football. Small raft of Eider within 50 yards of the shore 50+ Pi...
Wed 13th: A Green Sandpiper calling over the south end of the park, late morning. I was at work, inspecting land at nearby Greenslate Farm, so didn't have opportunity to follow it up, but it seemed to be flying off west
19 nests in trees near to the centre of Hollingworth as I passed along the A628 today. Also Jackdaws nesting in the chimney of the Junction Inn. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 7th of February 2011 09:04:44 AM
Was lucky enough to spend two days in Scotland with Marcus of ebirder fame, to try and improve my birding and photography skills but to be honest the birding was so spectacular the photography moved rapidly down the priorities!
Some of the following are sensitive species so I'll only give approxim...
Had a couple of hours at Delamere today - no sign of the Firecrests reported over the last few days and only brief flyovers of the 20+ strong flock of Crossbills. Still it was quite pleasant "down in the woods" with lots of Great Spotted Pecker activity.
Had a nice walk round Anglezarke today. 1 male and 2 female Goldeneye on the top small reservoir (think it's called Yarrow). Male starting to display. A Buzzard over the car park and really close up look at a Treecreeper.
I would imagine most of us have had a Bird they most wanted to see at some time or other. A Bird that's been Number 1 on their wanted list.. Mine was a Snowy Owl. I remember as a child reading about Britains first ever recorded breeding Snowy Owl's on Fetlar, discovered by Bobby Tulloch on Stakkeberg in 196...
Was way up in the North of Scotland this week and took half a days leave to get some birding in on the way back to the airport. Didn't quite go to plan as there was a whiteout and some scary driving conditions which meant I had to stick to the coast rather than go eagle spotting...
Highlights:
Perfect gr...
If anyone is in need of a pair of superb powerful binoculars for observing a nest site for bird protection ie peregrines etc we have taken in a pair of Vortex 18x56 .mint basically used once . They are about £1800 new these are on offer with 12 months guarantee for £960 . Be aware they are not really hand hol...
Peregrine late morning perched in top of a hedge off Parkside Rd. Different bird to the one I saw at HGF earlier this morning Also female Pintail on Newton Lake (Willow Park) late afternoon and 28 Linnets on Parkside Rd -- Edited by Mike Baron at 17:33, 2008-11-08
A Short Eared Owl was present from 5pm till dusk hunting the fields behind the colliery and giving views down to 10m,completely unphased by the dogwalkers and dogs.
I have been told by an RSPB volunteer living in Rochdale, Jill Brown, who is involved with the Manchester Peregrines, that a pair is now in residence at the (secure) Town Hall tower, hopefully using the tray we put up in February 2009.
Any sightings at all gratefully appreciated!
If anyone is interested in collecting the following before I consign them to the tip, please contact me. All in decent condition. WWT WILDFOWL & WADER COUNTS 1990-1991; 1991-1992 BTO NEWS JOURNALS NOV '84-NOV '85; JAN '86 - DEC '86. (12 in all).
I always tell myself that this time of year anything can turn up anywhere. This whinchat was a nice reminder. Spotted it perched on United Utilities' fence as I strolled down the disused freight line. Couldn't get any closer without scaring it off by barging through a couple of bramble patches.
2nd Winter Visit
House Sparrow 44
Robin 6
Magpie 33
Blackbird 5
Blue Tit 31
Collared Dove 14
Wood Pigeon 17
Great Tit 17
Sparrowhawk 1 ( in Chadderton Cemy harrassed by 5 Carrion Crows)
Redwing 50 (min - parties of 29, 45, 50, 13 but last 3 at least probably all same flock)
Wren 4
Nuthatch 1
C...
Velbon sherpa Pro,cf531el tripod, boxed as new,carbon fibre and magnesium with ph-157q head and quick release plate, with stone bag and hanging hook,adjustable legs for low level shots, leg warmers, maximum height 1.65m ,removable centre column, clip lock legs .£130
Late afternoon 1500hrs Overcast but dry. Female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Finally after 6 visits this month had the black capped female high up in the Alder trees giving good views for 20 minutes. At one stage had the Lesser & Great spot in vision on the same branch. The bird was located in the exa...
I visited the new RSPB reserve St Aidans today near Swillington in Yorkshire. Today was the opening day and we decided to arrive early so we would not have to struggle parking. Arriving at 9.20am there were just 4-5 cars parked and there appeared more staff and volunteers than visitors. Although with...
A wander down the perimeter of Eccles Sewage Works was interesting with over a 100 Pied Wagtails feeding on and around the sewage beds,also at least 150 Black Headed Gulls ,2 Herring gulls and a few Jackdaws also feeding on the beds.On the adjacent Ship Canal there were another 50 plus Black Headed Gul...
As this is such a long route, stretching from Audenshaw to Chorlton, I think it deserves its own thread. There are basically 30 bridges on the cycle/walking route, from bridge 30 at St Werburg's Road tram stop in Chorlton, back to the start just West of Audenshaw Reservoirs. I cycle it at least a few tim...
Woke up this morning & looked out to see a small bird sheltering near the front feeding station. At first glance just thought Robin, as the feeders are quite distant & through double glazing, but something made me think it wasn't just a Robin so I went to fetch my bins to get a proper look. I was am...
