Warton Bank, Brockholes Quarry, Pendle/Waddington, Leighton Moss/Woodwell - 31st March - 2nd April

31st March - Warton Bank
a 10 Meter + High tide at Warton Bank is always a good sign that it is worth the trip down Banks Lane. I arrived onsite for 11.30 for a 11.58 High tide. It was not until 12.58 that high tide actually came, which was frustrating.
As the high tide was flooding the marsh, the pipits begun to show along the foreground of the marsh. It was not long before I picked out a slightly larger and more distinctive pipit, which turned out to be a Scandinavian Rock Pipit (year tick). Pretty soon, I picked up an extremely striking white and grey Water Pipit(year tick) which was a nice addition to the list. There was a further 2 Water pipit seen including a orange flushed summer plumage bird and another Rock Pipit. A 3rd year tick was an Eider in the river channel. Year List - 138

view of Pendle Hill from Waddington Fell

1st April - Brockholes Quarry, Pendle Hill, Waddington Fell
Since about the start of February, I had planned to spend most of the day at Brockholes Quarry from first light in search of Osprey. In the spring of 2008 I went to Spain from 5th-9th April. Between these dates, no fewer than 9 Osprey were seen flying through my local patch. I therefore missed the whole of the Osprey Passage in 2008 and Osprey has turned into a bogey bird of mine.
So it was set, I arrived on site for 8am and set up camp on the Eastern end of the site on the mound next to the river. It wasn't too long before I picked out my first Birds of Prey of the scan: Peregrine was circling high over the M6 Motorway, and 8+ Common Buzzard were dotted about. At 09.37 I was scanning over to the east of the site towards Goose House Wood, when I saw a large Bird of Prey being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crow. As it banked to avoid/defend itself from an angry crow, it revealed a 'white' underside with dark underwings and white carpal patch. It was an Osprey! It was then seen to forcefully flew north until it was lost to view flying low behind Redscar Woods at c1/2 mile range at 09.40. It was such a relief after such a long period of failed efforts at the quarry.
At 10.30 I decided that I would check the rest of the site for migrants/waders brought in by the strong westerly winds. I picked up a Ringed Plover on the Island of No1, but that was about it except 2 singing Chiffchaff around the site which was a yeartick.

The day before Bill Aspin texted me about a Ring Ouzel in one of the fields at the base of Pendle Hill. I felt that Ring Ouzel would be a wonderful addition to the year list, so off I went. It took a great deal of time to get to the entrance to Pendleside farm as I went the long way round. I began to walk up the hill and got caught in a quite blizzard to add to the already white Pendle. As I got to the field above Pendleside farm, I scanned the fields and got several moments of excitement as male Blackbirds flew into the field of view in my binoculars. Unfortunately I wasn't able to locate anything except a male Stonechat.

I moved on to Waddington Fell as the sun began to come out to look for the Great Grey Shrike. I found the bird almost straight away but unfortunately it was not singing due to the wind. A Great Grey Shrike singing in the UK is an observation that is rarely heard or seen, and so far this bird was been shown to sing once heard by Allen Holmes. Year list - 140

1 of 4 Hawfinch - Woodwell

2nd April - I started off Good Friday at Woodwell in Silverdale, in search of Hawfinch. After abouut 20 minutes on-site, I spotted movement at the top of trees through the vegetation. Lifting my binoculars, I was rewarded with the lovely sight of two feeding Hawfinch. I took several photos of these awesome birds and then noticed 2 more birds flying above calling. As they flew over then watched the original feeding birds fly off in a similar direction. A superb year tick.

3 of 4 Snow geese - Leighton Moss

Marsh Tit - Leighton Moss feeding station

Eurasian Teal - Grizedale Hide

At Leighton Moss itself, i was rewarded with 4 more year ticks - Marsh Harrier, Marsh Tit and on the Eric Morecambe complex, Spotted Redshank and Snow Geese (these are 4 white morph birds that have been present in the Wyre area all Winter) A great day and final Year List total of 145

Waxwings - Astley Bridge, Bolton. Lancashire - 10th March 2010

up to 9 Waxwings have been present in the Astley Bridge area of Bolton for the last 3 weeks and as I have regretably not seen any this winter, I felt dutybound to do so.

I started by checking the Asda carpark by the crossroads of the A58 and A666, but no joy, so I drove into Topps Tiles and saw a few assembled photographers. Within moments I could hear the trill of Waxwings and managed to see and photograph 8 birds in total. As per usual, the birds were very tame and I was able to be less that 10 feet away at times and they just sat there patiently eating berries. Everytime I see Waxwings, I come away saying 'They are just so lovely in every way and are certainly my favourite bird!'

Great Grey Shrike - Waddington Fell, Lancashire - 4th March 2010

I went to twitch the waddington fell Great Grey Shrike and was lucky to get wonderful light and relatively good views of the bird. With a telescope, the photos would be much better as the distance was about 100 meters and 75 meters at best.

Smew - Alston Res and River Ribble - 24th January 2010

no, Its not just blog of dirt on a grey screen...this is actually the best I could do in the conditions at dawn Alston Res!

I arrived at Alston at 07.10 in pitch black and set up camp hoping to turn the faint black blobs on the black water surface into a Smew. As the light improved, the fog didnt, but I managed to pick up 19 Goosander and 2 smaller birds with White faces, result, the birds has roosted overnight. As I was about to send the news to Bill Aspin, i thought I could see another 2 smaller birds. I later confirmed that all four birds had roosted overnight at Alston Res. The fog made photographic conditions a nightmare. I managed to get a couple of poor videos of one of the birds which was a little closer and less flighty. At 08.18 the birds took flight and circled the res a few times, coming past me twice and headed off E/SE. My d-SLR was on self timer for some reason and there was a horrible 10 second lag time between the time I pressed the Shutter and the time the shutter opened!

I thought I would check Spare Mill Res before I checked the Ribble but only had 3 Goosander and 4 Goldeneye on here...with a raptor that I maybe shouldn't mention on a public blog.

I arrived at the Ribble at 09.30 and had a flock of 9 Pinkfeet over >SW. I was down by the river when the 4 birds with whistling wings alerted me from above and I watched them in flight for about 1 minute before I saw them come to a land towards the western end of Jackson Bank's Wood.

(Bill Aspin later found 3 of the 4 birds on the Ribble from Bezza Road, so the 4th is somewhere in the west Ribble Valley)

Smew give me the run around - Ribble Valley, Lancashire - 20th-23rd January 2010

Alston Reservoir No1 (circular) - 22nd Jan

The week before my last A level exam of January, I really didn't want something bird-wise to take my attention away from Biology revision. News of 4 reported redhead Smew on the River Ribble in the Alston area was just the news I didn't want to get.
It was less than a year ago before I saw my first Smew up at Lower Black Moss Resr in Barley, Clitheroe, so I felt I must attempt to confirm the record as a flock of 4 would be the largest group to be recorded in the ELOC recording area.
I finished college at 10.30, so when I got the text about them, I was quick to get into action and was managed to confirm their presence at 12.44.
The birds were in loose association with Goosander but were distinctly more flighty and whilst relocating to get a better view for photography, I caught sight of the birds flying past me downstream on the Ribble. One bird seemed a little larger and has noticeably more white on the wings which lead me to age and sex this bird as a 1st winter male with 3 female.
I relocated the birds further downstream but before I had a chance to get a photo, they caught sight of me and took flight again. Their flight pattern when flushed caused them to fly almost 1/2 mile downstream each time which was rather tiresome to say the least!
I finally caught sight of them for a fourth time and was just about to press the shutter when they took flight again! I saw no reason that I was the cause but then I saw a dog walker next to the river and found the reason. I saw the birds land behind the island next to Alston Old Hall.

On the 21st Tony Cooper tried to be the 3rd birder to get a sighting of the birds but failed to locate them. As they were moving downstream, I felt that they could be heading towards the pits or surrounding river at Brockholes which would be a patch first. Robin Shenton had a look but couldn't find them.

22nd Jan, there was no news either way but my thoughts were leading to that I was the only birder to confirm a sighting and wasn't able to get a record shot of the largest flock to be recorded in East Lancashire. I was talking to Bill Aspin and were suggested that Goosander from the river roost on Alston Res, so I payed a visit before dark on the Friday but only had 1 male Goosander with no smaller sawbills in tow. I left at 3.15 so there is a chance they came in later on with the other Goosander on the river. Also present were 34 Goldeneye, female Tufted Duck and 2 male Teal

23rd Jan. I had just finished a mock exam and saw that it was approaching 4.15 so I made a decision to check the roost one more time. I quickly found a group of 5 Goosander but sadly i couldn't see any white cheeks in the red heads. I was losing hope for the birds so I decided I would check the large roost of smaller gulls (Black Headed and Common) for a Med or Ring Billed Gull (optimistic I know!) when i caught sight of another 4 Goosander, It was extremely misty and visibility was a little restricted in the fading light. I suddenly caught sight of 2 smaller birds with them and assumed they were the Teal from the day prior. The Visibility slightly improved and I could make out 2 Smew! I rang Bill with the news and he was just about to send the text that Nick Green had 2 Smew on the Ribble at the same time as me! Nick's birds are near Redscar Weir at Redscar Wood meander so are very close to being recorded from Brockholes!

Marton Mere, Blackpool - 17th january 2010

Although there are no photos from my day out at Marton, I had an extremely productive day.
Paul Ellis and Craig Brookes had a probable American Bittern with a Eurasian Bittern on the evening of the 16th. If this is confirmed, then It would be the 2nd for the site, which is an amazing claim to fame!
I arrived on site at 07.15 and whilst walking to the Fylde Bird Club Hide, I saw a nice Woodcock flying overhead. I got into the FBC hide at 07.20 and the first bird I saw was a Bittern flying high over the site heading West. Flying into the wind, I was able to watch it for at least a minute and was able to confirm that it was a Eurasian. After this I wasn't long before I spotted a Short Eared Owl (year tick) hunting over the island.
I moved along when it started to get a bit lighter and headed towards the western end to see If i could get a Bittern out on the ice. I was quickly rewarded with a chattery song and an excellent view of a Cetti's Warbler.
I didn't have any more Bittern after my first one, so I headed to the causeway where I met up with Chris and Stuart Piner and a host of about 30 birders. I managed 2 Long Eared Owl and 293 Black Tailed Godwit that came onto the ice and roosted. I left the site at 11.30 to do some revision at home.

I ofcourse came back for dusk as an American Bittern is a bird I refuse to miss (I wasn't born for the 1991 bird...like that is an excuse!) I arrived back onsite with my parents at 3.30 and went to the causeway to again watch with the assembled birders....Stuart and Chris hadn't left yet, even though they arrived at 7.30. Between 3.30 and 5.00, we had 4 Bittern showing really well (we couldn't conjure up an American Bittern out of them... A flock of Pinkfeet flew over holding a Barnacle Goose. For now, the 21st century remains without a confirmed American Bittern on the British List...

North Lancashire 'Yomp' - 16th January 2010

Adult Winter Mediterranean Gull - North Harbour Wall

Heysham North Harbour Wall
Purple Sandpiper on Wooden Jetty
2 ad Med Gull (1 Czech Ringed bird)
fem/imm Red Breasted Merganser flew south

Eagland Hill
Barn Owl

Yearlist - 99

A Snowy Preston - 5th-9th January 2010

1 of 3 Fieldfare
1 of 2 Mistle Thrush

Thrush footprints leading to apple (which was dragged off to the left by Fieldfare)

As the snow fell on my garden lawn, so did the birds. My usual Blackbirds were joined by 3 Fieldfare, 2 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush (1 being a presumed 1stw winter female) and a Song Thrush, all feeding on Apples and Raisins I put out for them.

My College was closed on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th which allowed me to spend time watching the different behaviour of birds in the snow. For example, Magpie was seen 'flycatching' snow flakes from my bird table and it kept flying to and from thin air.

Ever since the Mistle Thrush's have appeared in the garden, nothing else has! One particular Male was an absolute brute of a bird that mobbed everything within a 30 meter radius of his apples. The worst thing was that he generally just sat in a tree not even eating food himself which seemed pointless.

Apart from the unusual visitors to my garden(that made revision difficult due to their entertaining antics), I managed to make a quick stop at the beautifully wintery Cottam Brickworks and managed to see the (now aged at 1st winter) Willow Tit at the feeder for my Yearlist.

Marton Mere - 3rd January 2010

Drake Ring Necked Duck with Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot and Teal.
1 of 3 Long Eared Owl
Fieldfare

An early morning trip to Marton Mere with Chris Piner was in order to seek out the ever present Cetti's Warbler, as neither of us had seen then on our Fylde list (Chris hadn't seen Cetti's at all)

We started in the Fylde Bird Club as we felt this was probably our best bet. Within a couple of minutes Chris alerted me that he though he had just seen the Ring Necked Duck. I got onto the bird quickly and confirmed the ID, so sent out the news to local bird networks. It was far more active today compared to when I saw it at Thornton. With not having a compact camera with me at the time, I wasn't able to digiscope any shots so the poor photo above was with a 400mm d-SLR.

After a short time, we decided to check for the Owls and come back for the warblers later on. We checked the Bridleway for the owls looking deep within the vegetation. This caused embarrassment when a runner pointed one out just next to the path. We managed to see all 3 Long Eared Owls with relative ease.

Heading back to the Fylde Bird Club hide, we bumped into Bill Aspin, John Wright, Margaret and Mark Breaks. They had successfully twitched the RND. Back in the FBC hide, we managed to see a Water Rail casually walk across on the ice which was a year tick for both me and Chris.
Bill Aspin then rang up to tell us that they had heard a Cetti's on the other side, which we were able to catch up with with relative ease. It was quite elusive but both me and Chris were able to hear it call and briefly see it. A nice Fylde and Lancashire tick.

(we headed to Warton Marsh for high tide, but as the tide failed to flood the marsh, we left quite soon after seeing very little!)

Ring Necked Duck - ICI Thornton, Lancashire - 29th December 2009

Drake Ring Necked Duck

The Fylde has created a very good end to 2009 with 2 lifers in 2 days! A text from the Fylde Bird Club news team just after lunch caused me to put a hold on revision and put my Megane into race mode. Soon enough I was parked in a carpark full of the cars of the Fylde regulars. A 1/2 mile walk to the ICI tank was rewarded instantly as there were about 10 scopes all trained on a group of aythyas. The bird was immediately recognisable with its brilliant white patch on the flanks and grey towards the rear. I arrived after the light was going and the drake had decided that it has shown off to the crowds for long enough and the views above of it roosting were the same thoughout my visit. Scope views were excellent however and my photos do not do justice to how striking even when roosting, this bird was. Great bird and a fine way to end 2009 and my 2009 fylde year list on 161.

Goose Watching - Marshside and N. Fylde - 28th December 2009

I started off at first light at Marshside RSPB with the intent of doing several hours Goose Watching...To my horror, I arrived to a Pea Souper with only 20ft Viability. I persevered until about 10.30 and managed to stop the Great White Egret (the same colour ringed bird that visited Brockholes in the Autumn). As it was obvious that the fog wasn't clearing, I made a quick stop at Southport Marine Lakes and managed to connect with one of the two Shag present.
adult Eurasian White-fronted Goose.

Pinkfeet

It was clear that I wasn't going to be able to search for my target White fronted Geese at Marshside, so I thought I would try the flock of Pinkfeet near to Freeport in Fleetwood where Jonny Scragg found 2 juv Whitefront on the 27th. It took about 40 mins searching the flock of about 1100 Pinkfeet before i spotted anything different. A superb adult European White Fronted Goose feeding actively in the centre of the flock. This is a lifer for me and one of my unluckiest birds throughout my birding career! Another couple of searches through the flock and I picked out Jonny's 2 European Whitefronts. Hunger was taking over, so I decided I would go round to the other side of the flock for a few scans of the back of the flock. On my very scan of the flock, I picked up a Tundra Bean Goose feeding away from the flock with a Pink foot. This was only my 3rd Bean Goose after 2 Tundra Bean Geese on Eagland Hill in 2005.

Velvet Scoter - Barrow Lodge, East Lancashire - 23rd December 2009

A female/immature Velvet Scoter turned up on what appears to be a coastal magnet! Barrow Lodge is currently no larger than a garden pond as 3/4 of the lake is frozen over. Even so, there is a large population of mallard that have certainly been welcoming to the scoter. This is my first inland Velvet Scoter and also the first record for East Lancashire. The Bird fed actively only 10 feet away throughout my visit. A superb bird and a fabulous Christmas Present to all East Lancashire Birders who get a chance to see it before it decides to have more of a seafood dinner.

Female/immature Velvet Scoter.

Willow Tit - Cottam Brickworks, Preston - 6th December 2009

Willow tit - Cottam Brickwork

I have finally pressed logoff on the facebook homepage and managed to twitch the delightful Willow tit at Cottam Brickworks. The bird appeared at the newly/temporary placed feeding station. The light was awful though so the photo's are simply awful!
It's a shame to have the words twitch and willow tit in the same sentence but this is the case in most parts of Lancashire. A real Fylde Scarcity!

Rossall Point - 4th October 2009

After Saturday's wreck of Leach's Petrels off the north Fylde Coast, I was fully optimistic about my mornings sea watch off Rossall Point. The main reason for Saturday's wreck was the strong SW wind which by Sunday, had moved WNW. This therefore made the seawatching an anticlimax.

Highlights of a 2 hour seawatch - 5 Red Throated Diver flew south, 2 Red Breasted Merganser, Sandwich Tern flew south, 93 Ringed Plover, 18 Sanderling, 4 Eider, 3 Guillemot, Razorbill, 300+ Common Scoter, 32 Kittiwake, 2cy Gannet

Great White Egret - Brockholes Wetland LWT - 25th September 2009

Great White Egret - on River Ribble adj to Brockholes Quarry

The Bird was first seen by Carl Partington and I was able to twitch the bird an hour after it was found at 16.00. On arrival I saw the bird flying distantly away which was a bad sign but at least I got views of the bird. The bird then remained out of view but still in the area so the wait was on with Bill Aspin, Tony Disley and other regulars
Due to work responsibilities I had to leave at 16.30 so when the bird reappeared at 16.25 flying back to the river, I was extremely relieved!
The First site record for this county rarity and the 5th new species for Brockholes in 2009 - What a Year!

Fylde Coast - 7th September 2009

Image taken 9th August 09, note the Lancaster Bomber!

I intended on sea watching from Starr Gate like usual but missed the hourly train to Blackpool South by 2 minutes so I thought I would give North Shore a go. I sat about 500 metres north of North Pier in rather pleasant weather. I had expected gales and driving rain so I was wearing about 4 layers too many which was uncomfortable after 2 and a half hours sea watching.

The Weather effected birding dramatically with very few birds seen at all.

c300 Common Scoter, fem Eider, 3 Shelduck, 150 knot, 4 Sandwich Tern, Common Tern and that was about it!