The Feral Pigeon - Not so Boring

Every morning on the way to school I walk past a large care home on the outskirts of Poulton Le Fylde, and every morning the sound of Feral Pigeons "cooing" comes from the roof. It is one of my favourite sounds and although most people think of Feral Pigeons as "rats with wings" I think that when you look at them closely you see that they are allot more colourful and interesting; especially around the neck area where in the right light colours from dazzling purple to irridescent green are on show, better than any piece of art in a gallery.

The other thing which I love about them is a sight which I suspect most people will have seen, a small flock of pigeons flying in tight formation over a town which are captive birds. I can watch them for ages as they twist and turn at some extreme speeds and then as they turn a flash of white underwing briefly dazzles the sight.

P.S. - There might well be more of these tributes to the commoner species throughout the year on the days which are slower on the birding front.

2011 Yearlist - 88 species

First Dip of the Year

With the weather forecast looking good for the afternoon I thought that it would leave me enough time to get to Fairhaven Lake to see the Red Necked Grebe before the light went. I figured out that to have a chance of seeing the bird I would have to get there by 16:15 to have enough light. However the first bus from Poulton to Blackpool took longer than I suspected which meant that it was 16:30 before I got to Lytham and the light was nearly gone. I went round to the south east corner where the grebe had been seen however the only birds there were the usual Mallards and Coots and I couldn't spot anything else on that half of the lake before the light went. This would be a lifer for me so I really hope that it sticks around till Saturday and that the lake doesn't freeze over the next 2 nights.

No yearticks today so my 2011 yearlist remains on 88 species.

Sparrowhawk Ages

First day back at school today so not much birding done again, however the resident Grey Wagtail pair provided a good yeartick. On the way home I had a couple of sightings of Sparrowhawks and it got my thinking about some of the birds I've photographed in my garden and what ages they are. I think they are as pictured above:

1) Adult female

2/3) Juvenile Female

4) Adult Male

5) Adult Male in moult?

Any opinions appreciated.

2011 Yearlist - 88 species

Last day of the Holidays

Last day of the Christmas Holidays today and the parents were back at work, so something was bound to turn up. Around lunch time I got a text off Paul Slade informing me of a Red Necked Grebe on Fairhaven Lake in Lytham, bugger!! This is a big gap in my life list but unfortunately I couldn't get out to see it today so I'm praying that it will stick around till the weekend.

I did some birding from my bedroom in the hope that I would connect with the local Pheasant and maybe some other year ticks, however it was deathly quiet all except for another flyover Raven. This is the 3rd time I've seen this bird in 2 weeks so it must be hanging around the area.

2011 Yearlist - 87 species

Raptor Fest

Another day clearing up the yearticks today and getting down to the south of the Fylde this time to try and see the raptors that are usually present over the marsh at Warton. High tide was at 10am so I got down there in the morning and joined a small group of birders on the bank over looking the marsh. Maurice Jones was there and informed me that 1 of the 10 White Fronted Geese from the previous day had been shot by wildfolwers that morning and none others had been seen while he had been there. There were at least 2000 Pink Footed Geese on the marsh however all I could pick out amongst them was a single Leuistic bird and a white neck collared bird with the letters LPT on it (awaiting details).




Single Merlin and Peregrine were easily located on the many pieces of wood and metal strewn across the marsh and after 10 minutes the ringtail Hen Harrier appeared from the east and continued to quarter the marsh before disappearing off towards Lytham. Sprrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel also showed well on the marsh but unfortunately I missed a Marsh Harrier that turned up briefly that would have completed the Ribble 7 as Colin Bushall (link in sidebar) puts it.

(photo taken last year)

The White Fronts didn't show up while I was there so I decided to go to Lytham Crematorium to get the Ring Necked Parrakeet's to the yearlist. I could here them as soon as I got out of the car and immediately 2 flew over calling in their high pitched voices. Quite a few other birders were present and they pointed out some more in the trees, 6 birds in all and a flyover Skylark also made it onto the yearlist.

2011 yearlist - 86 species

My Favourite Bird

A fantastic day today at the local patches, Stanley Park and Marton Mere. I tend to only visit them when my parents are out as it means I can only get out by using the buses, as was the case today.

I took my usual route from the bus stop at Victoria hospital, through Stanley park then past the De Vere hotel to Marton mere. There were plenty of birds in the woods at the north end of the park, at least 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Nuthatch were showing well.

The only area of open water on the lakes were under the 2 bridges separating the lakes. These areas were crammed assorted ducks, geese and a female Goldeneye which is a good bird at the park. There were plenty of Coots present and many of these had colour rings on their legs, I managed to photograph 18 of them and get the codes so will have the details back about them by the end of the week.

(This photo was taken earlier in the year)

On to Marton Mere where I first went to look to see if the owls were in their usual spot, and as usual at least 5 Long Eared Owls were roosting in the hawthorn bushes on the north side.

On the mere itself the ducks were gathered in a small area of water in front of the Fylde Bird Club hide so I headed round there to see if I could catch up with the regular ducks and also water rail and cetti's warbler. A few birders were already present and informed me that the Bittern had been seen during the morning so this gave me hope. Several Gadwall were feeding in the water with 20+ Pochard, 75+ Wigeon and several hundred Teal. It was at this point that all the gulls to the right of the hide flew up and this is a sure sign that a Bittern is around, and sure enough it flew right past the hide from left to right giving stunning views! Typically my camera was in my bag but I got it out at this point just in case it returned, and luckily a few minutes later it flew back the way it came and I managed a few shots. This is without a doubt my favourite bird, such a powerful and majestic beast and I am extremely lucky to get them on my local patch.

With this I decided to head back, stopping off at the feeders where I managed to pick out a Lesser Redpoll with a flock of 12 Goldfinch in the alders opposite the hide. On the way back to the bus stop I walked through Stanley Park, where I added Goldcrest and Treecreeper to my yearlist. These take me up to 76 for the year and I am hoping to get out tomorrow and if I'm lucky reach 100 species.

2011 Yearlist - 76 species

Good start to the New Year

New blog, new year which means a new start to the yearlist. This year I wanted to concentrate on my local Fylde Bird Club yearlist competition so I am going to mainly focus on getting the birds in the local area.

The first bird of 2011 was a Blue Tit in my friends front garden as I had stayed at his house over night. I managed a good start looking out of the downstairs window, accumulating 22 species including Great Spotted Woodpecker and a female Sparrowhawk.

With a number of good birds in the Preston area at the moment I decided this would be main area of choice for the days birding. First port of call was Preston Docks where the Iceland Gull was still present and showing well on the nearly completely frozen docks.

(If I can't see you then you can't see me)

On the only small area of open water were 40+ Coots and amongst these were a couple of colour-ringed individuals. I will post details on them when I receive them off Kane Brides who is in charge if the scheme.

Then it was on to Cottam Brickworks to try and bag the Willow Tit that has been present there for over a year. Luckily a few local birders were already present and pointed me towards where the feeders were where it is usually seen. Luckily I didn't have to wait long before it showed briefly on the seed, a cracking little bird. Plenty of Blue, Great and Coal Tits as well in the area. This site is the best place in the Fylde to catch up with Bullfinch but I didn't see any when I was there. The birders informed us that there were Waxwings in the area and when we were driving away I noticed a flock of 8 fly from a rowan tree by the road and proceed over the houses next to us.

We took a detour on the way home which meant I also added Dipper at Brock, Bewicks Swans at Fluke Hall and Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer at Bradshaw Lane. 61 species for the day is a good start to the year and hopefully tomorrow I will be spending the day at Marton Mere so I hope to get many more.

2011 Yearlist - 61 species