Human Remains!

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
I was birding in Bowland yesterday....Brilliant.But unfortunately I'm out of blogging time probably until Saturday. So Birds2blog is running late....nothing new there then. But some 'good stuff' wasn't the only thing I found in Bowland.Seeing is believing. Welcome to Bowland Landfill.Bring your waste to Bowland Landfill, and tip it there....It's Free. ...
Continue Reading » Human Remains!...

Book Review – Wildlife of Madeira and the Canary Islands

Posted on by Phil Slade - In Another Bird Blog
When I arrived back home after two weeks in Menorca, there was a parcel waiting. It was a review copy of Wildlife of Madeira and the Canary Islands, freshly out as the newest addition to the highly successful WILDGuides titles. The author John Bowler is a conservation officer on the island of Tiree in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. He is the author of a number of field guides, including Wildlife of Seychelles (Princeton WILDGuides). Wildlife of Madeira and the Canary Islands - Princeton PressMacaronesiaSo how does the new book stack up? Firstly, the clue is in the title. Potential buyers should note that this new volume is a more than a bird guide. It is a “wildlife guide” and therefore includes a guide to not just birds but also mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and dragonflies. The book covers the key wildlife s...
Continue Reading » Book Review – Wildlife of Madeira and the Canary Islands...

Back To Brown

Posted on by The Hairy Birder - In Fleetwood Birder
It was a return to the brownfield site in the south of my region for me this morning, and what a glorious morning it was as I headed south down the M6 at 5:00 a.m. The weather was equally glorious at my survey site with clear skies and a light northeasterly breeze.I was keen to find out what was happening with the Little Ringed Plovers (LRP). I got out of my car and stood in front of a mound to give some background to my outline, and scanned with my scope. It seemed quiet at first and I thought "had they gone", but then I picked up one, then a second and then a third, and a breathed a sigh of relief. Little Ringed PloverI decided to change position to get the sun behind me and have a proper systematic look across the site. As I headed round to the other side to stand in front of a hedge, again to give some background to my outline, I c...
Continue Reading » Back To Brown...

A Packet Of Smarties

Posted on by Phil Slade - In Another Bird Blog
I met up with Andy for our first Sand Martin ringing session of 2018. Like me, Andy had been on holiday, me in Menorca, and he in Turkey. Birders and ringers are ultra-competitive and as we swapped tales of sunny days his Eleonora’s Falcon was pretty good but I reckon I smashed him with 5 Golden Orioles, a European Roller and a Red-footed Falcon. There was no such exotica today. It was back to the bread and butter of Cockerham, the piping of Oystercatchers and the steady buzz of Sand Martins all around us as we waited to catch. Last year was very poor for our catches here as the so-called summer kept thwarting our planned visits. This year the colony is more tightly packed and so far at least, the weather is much better. We counted 200+ Sand Martins in attendance with most of the occupied nests in the softer strata layer of the...
Continue Reading » A Packet Of Smarties...

A Day In The Life Of….

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
....well, only five hours on Monday actually.The Goosander. It was good that I finally caught up with the female Goosander with her 4 ducklings in the creeks at Conder Green, along with a female Mallard and her 5. A combined total of 9 ducklings from an absolute minimum of 17 between these two birds, an amazing 26 if they both had full broods which they probably rarely do, either way, some serious losses here then, 8 minimum loss, 17 maximum loss. I've so far found no breeding records of the Goosander anywhere near this area....a first. The pair of Common Tern and the Oystercatcher were loafing around - sitting on eggs in the case of the females - on the Conder Pool pontoon, appearing to totally ignore each other barely a half metre apart, also, 17 Tufted Duck, and 5 Greylag noted. A circuit produced, Hous...
Continue Reading » A Day In The Life Of…....

First Numbers Of Swifts

Posted on by The Hairy Birder - In Fleetwood Birder
Certain species have been giving birders cause for concern this Spring with their lack of numbers and/or lateness of arrival, and Swift is one of them. Others include Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. What the Hirundines and the Swift have in common is that they are aerial feeders and need flying insects during their migration back from Africa to sustain them.This morning I was doing the second of a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) in north Lancs and I had a few Swifts, thirteen in fact. And this is by far my largest count this Spring.I also had a few House Martins, nine, and four Swallows. Just a single Whitethroat, one of the other missing species, and a single Chiffchaff took care of the Warblers. Best of the rst included a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a singing Song Thrush, four Mistle Thrushes, a Kestrel, four La...
Continue Reading » First Numbers Of Swifts...

Comment on Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear

Posted on by John B (not the sloop) - In Sky Dancer
The plight of our hen harriers is a national disgrace. The relentless persecution will not end until driven grouse shooting is consigned to the dustbin of history where it belongs. Then we can start to rebuild the shattered ecology of our uplands, and our national Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty can become what they were intended to be. ...
Continue Reading » Comment on Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear...

Comment on Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear

Posted on by Alex M - In Sky Dancer
This is so sad. There can be little doubt as to the fate of these birds. As there is no risk of being caught and punished, the perpetrators do not seem to care that people who do care about these birds know what is happening.
Continue Reading » Comment on Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear...

Blog Post: Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear

Posted on by Cathleen Thomas - In Sky Dancer
Hen Harrier LIFE Project Manager, Dr. Cathleen Thomas, reports on the sudden disappearance of three tagged hen harriers in suspicious circumstances With the arrival of spring, we look forward to the warmer weather kickstarting the growth of new flowers as buds burst into life. Animals start to appear again, some rousing sleepily from their hibernation. We dust ourselves off after the long winter, ready for a summer of activity. Our hen harriers become more active too as they begin to move away from their winter roosts, making longer flights towards upland areas to scope out potential nesting sites, ready to pair up and raise a brood of their own. Here at the Hen Harrier LIFE project, we already have reports of skydancing males, pair bonding and nest building. We watch with anticipation to see if our tagged birds will settle and try to rai...
Continue Reading » Blog Post: Silent spring? Saorsa, Finn and Blue all suddenly disappear...

Larry The Cuckoo.

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Cuckoo Stocks Reservoir May 2018. Paul Foster.It was good to recieve this image of Larry the Cuckoo from Paul, the bird he found on 17 May in the Forest of Bowland. Quite amazing as, a) the bird arrived back in England in the early hours of the morning on 8 May, to the same area it was tagged, at Stocks Reservoir in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, in June 2015 as an adult male Cuckoo, b) this is the very bird Paul chose to sponsor, when he found it last Thursday he said....'I couldn't believe it when I saw the transmitter'....which is just visible in this shot.  Great stuff Paul, you must have been really chuffed to find this bird....Thanks for sending me the image, much appreciated. You can follow through twelve pages of documentation, including a fascinating map which can be played to show routes this bird...
Continue Reading » Larry The Cuckoo....