A relatively light south wind freshened during the day. Mainly overcast and dry with a few glimpses of the sun. Report from Pete: 15 minutes seawatch awaiting the noon ferry: Kittiwake 1 adult out Razorbill 1 out Greylag Geese 2 out Behind Ben my Chree 12:05 Kittiwake 1 adult Mediterranean gull  one 2cy with more black than usual on primary tips and not the 2cy which was on ocean edge grass briefly yesterday I escorted a field trip organised by Deborah Woods (The Bay – Community & Engagement Officer (Morecambe)) (MD) We started at Heysham Nature Reserve, along the dog walk path to R ..read more

This is a short post because there's not much news. And once again the culprit is the lack of decent weather in which to get outdoors for serious birding.  Let’s start with a request to regular readers to take a look at a recent photographic competition. The same readers will know that The Forest of Bowland features occasionally in Another Bird Blog.  “Hi Phil”  “Many congratulations, your image 'Redshank' has been shortlisted in the Forest of Bowland photo competition. The prize allocation will be decided by the public and voting will run from Monday 28th November to Monday ..read more

A light westish wind, with sunshine in the morning, but heavy showers in the afternoon South shore Just a quick morning check from saltmarsh to Red Nab, found the "cupboard" pretty much bare! (MD) No passerines on/around saltmarsh, one day I'll see what purges them. Greenfinch 3 and Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab No Shelduck but c150 Wigeon on Red Nab. North Shore Steve Brown checked Heysham Head whilst on dog walking duties and didn't fare much better, but at least he managed a couple of nice shots. c25 Redshank, and 5 curlew on the shore,  1 Rock pipit, 2 Goldfinch and 5 Linnet over Red-breas ..read more

During the week I managed a couple of blasts through Williamson's Park and Lancaster Cemetery. This turned out to be another one of my good idea's as I was rewarded with the latest sighting of 4 Bullfinch here again, seen as two male and female. This is my fourth sighting of Bullfinch in Lancaster Cemetery since I found five on 30 October 2014, whilst noting as in Bowland, I've never found Bullfinch here during the breeding season starting late April. Canadian Maple In Williamson's Park. Pete Woodruff. Also of note in the park, 2 Jay, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, and Wren, 3 Coal ..read more

Very light SSE breeze.sunshine pretty much all day  Heysham Nature Reserve  Jean had Water Rail 1 Woodcock 1 Brambling 1 over Heysham Head Red-Throated diver 1 on dropping tide (Pete) South Shore I just checked saltmarsh to Red Nab (MD) Linnet 40 Greenfinch 3 Goldfinch 5 Reed Bunting 4 Rock Pipit 2 All the above on or around the saltmarsh  Shelduck 140 out from foreshore  Wigeon 185 on beach between Red Nab and No.2 outflow till flushed by a dog Kingfisher 1 flew out from the freshwater culvert on Red Nab Nature Park Chiffchaff 1 calling  Bullfinch 2 calling Kevin ..read more

The forecasts for Wednesday proved to be on the wrong side of marginal. Luckily I’d already decided to drive and top up the feeding station without taking the ringing gear. The Fiat splashed through deep puddles of the days and weeks before as I looked for a less sticky spot to park up and disembark.  I’d made a good decision as the wind was a tad strong for any netting and this would be a day for dropping a bucketful of supplementary seed and a quick look around.  A Cetti’s Warbler greeted me with a burst of rapid-fire song as if it was trying to attract attention but I didn’t eve ..read more

A gusty NW wind, it remained dry till lunchtime, then some heavy showers in the afternoon. South shore I just checked saltmarsh to Red Nab late morning (MD) Linnet 70 on saltmarsh  Shelduck 210 out from foreshore  Rock Pipit 1 on foreshore rocks Nature Park Chiffchaff 1 calling Goldcrest 1 Mark Jones had a walk along the wall at the same time, and took these nice shots. Curlew  Little Egret  One of two Peregrine  Pete checked the noon ferry: Surprisingly nothing of note behind the ferry Shag 1 immature, likely the juvenile, seen flying ac ..read more

With thanks to a grant from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, our Education and Engagement Officer has been able to create a brand new education programme for Lancashire primary schools. Each school taking part receives one session per half term- that’s six sessions in total for each school over the year. Water + Wellness mirrors the aims of HEAL in its activities. Read more>> The post Water + Wellness; boosting wellbeing in Lancashire primary schools appeared first on Ribble Rivers Trust ..read more

My recent visit around the Lune Estuary seemed a little scrappy, and somehow never settled into a steady flow. It started with a huge disappointment at Conder Green where Conder Pool was on the brink of deserted, but a Ruff was in the creeks with 16 Redshank. Worth noting, the Ruff holds a first record this year at Conder Green, in that the species has spent 8 months here since 9 April, and has been recorded every month since. A species no better than a scarce winter visitor, and uncommon spring passage migrant, though more common in autumn.  Great White Egret. Brian Rafferty ..read more

A light SE wind. Dry all day with plenty of sunny spells. Heysham skear - low water 10:10 (MD) Little Egret 11 - Kevin Singleton took these shots out from Whinnysty Lane Red-breasred Merganser 5 Eider 1 male No Great Crested Grebe seen Whooper Swans 7 - distant and high heading south. Dunlin 35 Knot c400 - two flocks c150 each plus several small groups (presumably the same birds seen leaving later by Pete) Jackdaw 2 flying around noisily. There are always Carrion Crows here (4 today), but Jackdaws are a bit unusual. Pete checked from the Shore: Shag 1 x 2cy feeding out from Heysham Head&nb ..read more