On sunday, when I was packing the car in Preston, ready to head back to Bangor after the Easter break, I checked Facebook (because I have no life and require Facebook as a life-support!). I noticed that Rob Smallwood posted that there was a Killdeer at Alston Res, Longridge!
I instantly dropped the packing and got into the car to drive the 5 miles to Alston! I got a phone call half way there off Bill Aspin to tell me the bird had flown off! I stopped off at Grimsargh Res to quickly check in case the bird had dropped in, but failed to find anything that would even remotely harm a deer! As a result, I continued to Alston with the hope that it would come back.
Upon arrival, the 15 birders present were running around like headless chickens, so I parked the car and sprinted to the nearest viewing screen. The bird was back!
A superb bird that really showed off during my time viewing the bird. It showed the characteristic double breast band, and when it took flight, it showed the striking orange rump and startlingly white wing bars which reminded me of the inside of a Cream Egg! The call was also very striking and sounded like a cross between a Lapwing and Golden Plover. It was remarkably loud and you could hear it calling even after it departed the wetland at 11.50 (ish...)
Gavin Thomas must be the luckiest man on the planet currently after finding a Killdeer in Ireland 10 days prior to finding it the same/another bird on his local patch in Lancashire! This is a first for Lancashire and a real deserved award for dedicated patchers of Alston (Gavin and Tony Parnell)
My personal thoughts are that the Irish bird and the Alston birds are different after looking at photos of the two birds, but I will leave that to the 'higher ups' to decide.
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