A few days bits

A few days together here because I did not do much searching. I still have to get on with regular jobs as well but often this brings its own delights. Monday 9th Jan I was filling up the feeders just outside the Barn on Cuerden when two stunning male bullfinches waited impatiently for me to get on with it and on my return to my car a great spotted woodpecker called in alarm as I approached his tree. I went to the south end of the Park to check the water level of the river and managed to see a grey wagtail, a goldcrest drinking at the edge of the river,  and two dippers together. Could this be the start of courtship?

 On Tuesday I walked up to the Barn and saw the two regular roe deer in the field by the main path down to the river. They calmly lifted their heads as though to say " Why is this old man interrupting our breakfast ?" Several other folk have mentioned how obliging they are. I then went on that most enjoyable of pursuits - weekly shopping; (joy uncontrollable)

Wednesday I had planned to lead a walk at Brockholes and went down early to see what was around. Mainly drizzle which made observing stuff problematic in the morning. I had noticed a heron and a mute swan on Meadow Lake as I entered. They had their usual entourage of aggressive coots and noisy mallards. I then spotted an oxeye daisy still in flower. The winter really has been wierd. I walked towards the river and saw a few reed buntings at the feeder and was followed for several hundred yards up the Ribble Way by a kestrel. We had a pleasant Midweek Meander pointing out the high levels of water, the song thrush anvil, the tree sparrow block of flats and the long horned cattle. As our guests departed my brother Jim came into the office with a furry caterpillar. Conservation comes before administration for Sophie and we tried to find out what it was.However none of us were able to positively identify the beast.
Thursday I went to fill up the feeders again and called in to see Graham Jones. He very kindly keeps any moths he has caught, so I can add them to my list. He showed me a chestnut moth which I photographed and when asked, said he was confident the caterpillar from yesterday was a ruby tiger.

The chestnut made my total up to 117

Ticks and dips

Saturday January 7th was an extra trip so with this as with any others of a special "twitching" I shall be offsetting my carbon on here:- http://www.climatestewards.net/cs-int-en/home.html .   I saw there was a visit to Marton Mere in Blackpool by the Preston Society so I arranged with Jim to go. Unfortunately I mistakenly went for 0900 instead of 1000. The good thing was as we arrived so did the ranger on duty for the day. This meant we did not have to go searching for the long eared owl. As we approached the location we also managed to spot some long tailed tits in the bushes and two snipe which flew over. The RSPB were having a special day looking at the owls so we were able to help them set up some telescopes. Since both Jim and I recently received our badges for 20 years volunteering, we thought it was only right. There were two owls just visible, one with difficulty the other with extreme difficulty. Here is a photo taken a couple of years ago to give you a better view than we had .

We had a look over the Mere and saw teal, wigeon, several gulls, goldeneye, the inevitable coots and mute swans. There was supposed to be Mediterranian gull and Red crested pochard but by this time the sun was giving a very bright reflection from the surface of the water. This meant seeing anything was practically impossible. We decided to go to look for a black redstart reportedly at Knott End. We did see the members of the Preston Society arriving as we left. That is when I realised I had got the time wrong. On arrival at Knott End a quick scan revealed nothing. A hot drink and butties were needed to keep us going. Having consumed these we continued our search. Turnstones were feeding on the ferry slipway and in the distance oystercatchers, knot and curlew were following the tide out. An hours frustration followed. Although I was able to add scentless mayweed to my challenge list, we still did not see either the black redstart nor the twite that had been reported. Later that afternoon we heard that Blackpool had beaten Fleetwood in the FA Cup, altogether a disappointing afternoon on the Fylde

  

Total after today 103

Windy on the West Coat

The west coast I refer to is the coast of Lancashire/Sefton. As part of my 700 challenge in support of A Rocha UK and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, I had planned to visit Martin Mere, but the winds meant I delayed my departure and eventually decided to give it a miss. First brief stop was Hesketh Outmarsh RSPB reserve. The track to visit here is getting worse and perhaps should only be attempted in a tracked vehicle. We flushed a Barn Owl from one of the ditches approaching the reserve but when we arrived the sea was so far out, very little was visible.

 Then to Marshside to get some respite from the wind in Sandgrounder's Hide. Hundreds of birds easily seen through the panoramic windows. Lapwing, a few pinkfeet, greylag, shelduck, wigeon, teal, coot and mallard. I scanned a little more and glimpsed a single Golden Plover. One of the other folk in the hide then spotted a water rail. It was quite close to the hide but skulking in the vegetation. It was time for lunch which we had in the car overlooking the estuary. Several hundred pinkfeet moving in the vegetation and a massive flock of starlings on the edge of the sea were spectacular. Moving on from here westwards we went on a twitch. Once at Weld Road car park we were able to see our treasure - a glaucus gull. Sadly we could not enjoy it long due to the appearance of that most ubiquitous creature, the dog walker not in control of their dog. The bird was flushed and flew away. We decided at that point to come home and passing Marshside again we saw a merlin fly right across the front of the car. All together another productive day.

Total now standing at 97

Meander around the Moss

I collected Jim from his home and we set  off to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. A diversion to Pilling enabled us to see Sparrowhawk, more pink footed geese, little egret and some linnets. There were also views of song thrush and rook on our continued journey north. As we approached Leighton we saw a number of folk with binoculars and scopes near the track heading to the Allen Pools. They were looking towards the reedbed and as we joined them we caught a view of their quarry. It was the Glossy Ibis. This again is a photo I took earlier

 

We then called in to the centre to wish a Happy New Year to our colleagues there. First port of call the feeding station with greenfinch, chaffinch, coal tits, bullfinches and marsh tits all delighting those of us who were there. Lilian's hide was our second stop with coots, black headed gulls, tufted ducks, teal and wigeon. A cry for help " What is this strange bird?" We had a look and were delighted to see a red headed smew. We could not stay too long and headed out towards Griesdale hide. In one section of the reeds we heard what sounded like a bird of prey in distress. Five minutes of patient waiting enabled us to get a glimpse of water rail. Further on and another surprise caught our eyes. It was a fungus called scarlet elf cup. By this time we were thrilled by what had already been observed and seeing a great white egret as soon as we entered the hide was another bonus. More teal, wigeon and mallard were disturbed by a marsh harrier flying over. It did not disturb a red deer stag with three hinds in attendance. 

Lunch beckoned which we devoured in Lilian's Hide with more good views of the smew. After lunch a walk to the public hide. Two ravens flew over and as we entered the public hide we had more coots and tufted duck in view. A pair of gadwall and another flypast by the marsh harrier made us glad we made the walk. On our return we heard bearded tits in the reeds and two marsh tits accompanied us along the roadside path. It had been a very good day. Total after today is 80

The reason I am doing this 700 challenge to support these two charities
http://www.justgiving.com/David-Beattie2
http://www.justgiving.com/David-Beattie3

New year or Noah's year

This morning, to quote Mahalia Jackson from her album Newport Jazz Festival 1958 "Didn't it rain"

Started in Cuerden to fill the bird feeders. Nuthatch, blue tit, coal tit, collared dove and chaffinch. There is also some Herb Robert and Ivy-leaved toadflax still in flower. On to Brockholes to meet my brother Jim where we had a walk round to see what was in view. Mainly rain but also 3 varieties of gull, tufted duck, goldeneye, pochard, mute swan, teal, several tree sparrows, lapwing and the inevitable plethora of coot. We had an interesting view of a kestrel sheltering from the rain and hail in the cluster of Tree sparrow nest boxes.

 

I had lunch and then went to Martin Mere. I purchased that most essential piece of birders equipment - a 2012 tide table. Still lots of rain but quiet on the visitor front. Pintails, shelduck, shoveler, pinkfeet, whooper swans, bedraggled herons, a wood duck ( obviously escaped from the collection), wigeon, marsh harrier and after a lot of searching the green winged teal. The picture here is one I took earlier

Don't forget the reason I am aiming for 700 taxa this year to support the following two charities

http://www.justgiving.com/David-Beattie2

http://www.justgiving.com/David-Beattie3

Total on first (very wet) day 46

CHALLENGE 2012

2012 is the year I reach a significant birthday. To celebrate this I am trying to see ten times my age of different taxa, which means 700 birds, insects, mammals, fish amphibians etc. This will be in the year 2012 and within UK. Please keep following my progress on this blog If anyone wishes to sponsor me then any money will go to either A Rocha UK or Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The Just Giving links are on the right here >

Micklepage and Pulborough

Time Out for the A Rocha national team is when we meet together for business and then have a day of reflection and learning what God has to say to us. This year we met in West Sussex at Micklepage. Norman and I had travelled down with David Hughes, our colleague from Eco-Congregation so he could meet with the rest of the management team. Norman and I were there to meet the entire team at dinner ( or tea for Norman and I). We had arrived at 12.30pm so we decided to go to Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve to see what was around. There had been reports of a Pallid Harrier nearby, but since it was reported to be a juvenile female, and we were uncertain of the exact location, we decided that Pulborough would do more for our physical and spiritual well-being.
It was stock taking day in all RSPB centres so we needed to leave by half past three, which suited us. At the first pool we noted a very busy dragonfly patrolling over much of the surface.

 

Norman had let me borrow his newer camera for me to try out so above is my first attempt. Just on the far side of the pool were several greenfinches cooling off due to the unseasonal heat. We continued round the reserve in  clockwise direction until we came to the first hide. Although there was a little water the only birds around were corvids. We pressed on to the next hide. Speckled Wood and Red Admiral butterflies tempted me to try my photographic skills, but they did not rest at all. We did however pass a hedgrow that was bursting with willow warblers. Somewhat elusive but they did pose for a short time

The next hide was a little better but we saw only two waders. There was an obliging snipe that thought it was hiding behind a clump of grass and a very elusive green sandpiper. This encouraged us to continue and further round we had several birds in view. Redshanks, lapwings, ruff, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, shovelers, teal and wigeon all present and easy to observe. Another birdwatcher in the hide said I could borrow her telescope. I did and was able to spot a little stint. A great finale to two hours, but we needed to leave and returned to Micklepage.

We did have a task to perform before tea. Norman and I did some weed clearing from the pond at Micklepage. We did have a lot of help from Cat, an A Rocha intern who is working in Sussex. The bonus to this was the sight of common darters both singly and ovipositing in tandem. 

 It was a great start to two days of meeting with colleagues and all of us meeting together with our Creator.

Before we started the business part of our day on Thursday we met in the "Chapel" which used to be a barn. If Jesus was prepared to be born in a stable, why should we not meet him in a barn?