5 House Martins were circling high above my house yesterday evening at 7:45pm. Does anybody know how much longer House Martins should be around before they all have migrated?
For Sale: Nikon D800 36mpx full frame camera. Mint condition complete with User Manual, Battery and Charger, USB cable and View NX2 software. 2 years old bought 18th September 2012 but used sparingly with only 5100 shutter activations. £1,100 cash. Collect from my home which is 2 minutes from Penni...
Focalpoint Optics will again be supporting and attending the Macclesfield RSPB Wildlife & Outdoor World Extravaganza this coming Sunday, 14th September. The popular Country Fair type event is held every two years at the excellent Pikelow Farm site which is managed with wildlife in mind. For...
Earlier this week after a work trip I spent 2 days walking in the foothills of the Italian Dolomites busting my legs in the most fantastically beautiful countryside around Bolzano/Bozen and Merano/Meran - 2 names for everywhere for here Italy becomes Austrian speaking and they really do go round in...
Stena Line are doing a £5 non landing return trip from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire and back up to 9th Sept,could be good for a few seabirds late Aug/early Sept.Although its an enclosed ship it apparently has a viewing area at the front,seems like a good deal for a fiver
Apparently the goverment IS 30 YEARS BEHIND in designating marine sites of importance(for all marine life including birds) The RSPB is running a petition to try and bring some pressure on this goverment to do something about it,if you feel concerned please sign up to this petition at www.rspb.org....
Hope this is OK Ian!! If not apologies and I wont be wondering where the post has vanished to. I have come into the possession of some camouflage netting and lightweight extendable poles suitable for making a portable hide out of. Thought it might be of use to the photographers on here. A check of a certa...
I have a Picture shortlisted the Nikon in Frame Monthly competition,and its a shortlist of 5 . My Picture selected is Echinacea - by John Tymon. Please vote for me it would be nice to win as I imagine many thousands entered. This is the link if Ian allows me to post . :) http://inframe.nikoncompetition....
An article in today's Bolton News, by Vickie Scullard, discusses the recent spate of bird deaths at the Lodge. It quotes the latest thoughts, from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), that it is probably caused by avian botulism. This is the first I know of the problem at Dof...
A birder visiting from America is in the Manchester area and would like to meet up with a birder willing to show him some British birds in the area (I'm sure Pennignton Flash would result in the widest variety of species!) on Sunday, September 14th. He has no transport but would be of course willing to pa...
First visit here, a circular walk runs around the perimeter of the moss, and a short nature trail runs through an area of largely Alder carr. As with other sphagnum bogs, there is no access onto the moss itself. There are some fine ancient Yews in the nearby churchyard, and the site is dotted is huge maje...
Yesterday morning at dawn, while sat in the car park known as the M56 (approx 1m west of Altrincham junction), I watched over 3000 Woodpigeons fly over heading north. All appeared to be coming out of some small woods just south of the motorway.
Hi all, My family are going for a short trip to Ambleside in the Lake District. I was wondering if anyone knew any good birding areas near there, and any species I'm likely to come across at this time of year? Also is this area close to Bassenthwaite lake (how close?) and will the ospreys still be around? T...
The latest BBS report has been published today, full of interesting information. Many species are showing declines including all three Wagtails and as to be expected, some of the farmland birds, Skylark numbers in particular continue to fall. It's not all doom and gloom, there are a few species doi...
The latest Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) annual report shows all three UK breeding wagtail species are in long-term decline. However, the reasons behind these trends are not clear. Our three wagtail species are: Yellow Wagtail, a farmland bird that migrates to sub-Saharan Africa; and two which larg...
As Bill Myerscough pointed out again today it is important to keep submitting bird records. Sending butterfly records to the county recorder are just as important. I sent my photo of the Dark Green Fritillary to Peter Hardy on Saturday to substantiate it, and to confirm this difficult species if the...
Myself and the two Steve`s decided on visiting a couple of new places of birding interest last Sunday. These sites often get mentioned on RBA, but, we have never visited them, they are Carr Lane Pools in Hale and Pickering`s Pasture in Hale Bank, near Widnes. The weather all day was showery with sunny p...
I have the following tripods for sale. Contact me if interested, viewing welcome. Manfrotto 055SSB Tripod and 501 video head; good condition, £100. Uni-Loc 1600 with a 25 ball head good for macro photography, see http://www.uniloctripod.com/ for further information. Good condition £60. Regar...
Since we cannot exhibit at the BirdFair due to it being sponsored by one of our main competitors & all other optics dealers are excluded we have come up with a special BirdFair Offer this year so that we can continue to serve the birders of the NorthWest in general and in Greater Manchester and Chesh...
A belated report of some of the interesting areas and birds seen during a three week camping holiday in the Vendee - not worth a trip report but since there's not much info on birding in France: Ile de Noirmoutier - Réserve Naturelle de Mullembourg - a short walk out of the main town on the island, along th...
On Sunday August 10th Birders Against Wildlife Crime, hosted by the extremely passionate and founder Terry Pickford was (one event) held at Dunsop Bridge to highlight the murderous acts towards Hen Harriers and other Raptors. The facts that Terry relayed regarding, Gamekeepers, raptor Politic...
I understand everyone has their own preferences but am thinking of purchasing one of the pagers available to all birdwatchers and was just wondering, which one people recommended.
I know that the Forum is sponsored by one of the available providers, but never having had one was just looking for y...
Highfield Moss is a SSSI site situated in the south western corner of our county and visitors to the site will be aware that it is bordered on its eastern side by an airstrip. This airstrip is used by Lancashire Aero Club and due to restrictions it can only be used for 28 days in a year. They have however rec...
Hi all, Looking for advice from the photographers out there. I'm new to the game, been using my kit: Canon EOS 1100D with a 70-300mm lens for around 2 years now. It's pretty good at certain distances and but I'd like to be able to get better shots of those birds which are just too far away for my current lens...
Do you know who we should report an escaped bird of prey to? Have just been looking at what looked to me like a very light coloured Saker type (hybrid?) Falcon. It had Jessie's and a bell on its legs and looked in good condition. (Can email a couple of photos if you are interested) It was sat on a roof on a hous...
