Sorry, should have mentioned location. They were in ploughed field off Grave-yard Lane, which is off Liverpool Road, Bickerstaffe. We're present from 0645 until 0820, when I departed.
Surprise of my life this morning as found three Dotterel on a ploughed field doing my BBS this morning!? Meant to do it yesterday morning, but obviously meant to be!?
Also about on site were a few yellow wags, grey partridge, 7 wheatear, 8 yellowhammer, a smattering of the commoner warblers, tree sparrow and over 50 corn buntings. Normally the corn buntings are paired up here by now and most were, but a flock of 38 all together on a telegraph wire was notable also.
Made up with the Dotterel though, beautiful birdsong hopefully some of the local birders can catch up with them too.
Still doing my Bickerstaff BBS, and was out there this morning in the chilly easterly breeze. It is cracking farmland here and not surprisingly accommodates all the birds of old, which can still be found in good numbers:
Having been doing a BBS 3 miles west of Skelmersdale, North Merseyside, for the last 5-6 years I have had all sorts of gems on my early and late visits with small parties of Golden Plover in full summer plumage, Whimbrel piping overhead, while Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher have sang from hedge tops over the years. The site is very much an 'old school' farmland patch with 6-12 breeding pairs of Corn Buntings, 2-3 pairs of Yellowhammer, Grey & Red Leg Partridge, Lapwings by the dozen in most fields, Skylark all over, Ringed Plover, Tree Sparrows and common woodland birds in a small wood (GS Woodpecker to Garden Warblers), while Buzzards, Sparrowhawks and Kestrels patrol the skies.
This year I have added two new birds; Barn Owl this morning was the first for me on this site scouting over the long grassy central fields (about 6:15am), which I have suspected were present, but have not come across before. The other bird has been Yellow Wagtail, which I know to be a rare and very much decreasing breeding bird in Lancashire. I saw two pairs in my early visit and there are still two pairs now (although I only had two males and female this time). It's great to see such lovely birds haven't been completly eradicated from our countryside and shows how much you can see if you get out there and take part in BTO surveys, which ever one you can do. Sites may look dull and the hours to visit may be early, but you always get your rewards, every year brings a different treat. Now back to work in the office!?!?!
-- Edited by Sean Sweeney at 10:15, 2008-06-1
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 1st of May 2016 10:45:52 AM
Meant to do it yesterday morning, but obviously meant to be!?