Ornithology and wildlife around East Lancashire, Pendle hill and the Forest of Bowland, by Neil Mitchell

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Found a dead Tawny owl (unringed) next to the road at the Eagle at Barrow pub. Hopefully not one of "my" birds. My summer tawny owl roost is only 500m from here. I still havent managed to get the owls to use my nestboxes. The pair usually turn up at the summer roost at the end of April. I'll find out if this was one of the pair then.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

I'm barely back from Lanzarote and spotted a waxwing on the way back from tesco, Blackburn. Jill was driving when I spotted it in a bare tree, as we left sunnybower, driving back to Billington via Whalley old road. View was fleeting but I'm 100% certain.


Lanzarote 26th Jan - 2 Feb 2010


















































































































































































































































(Full list in order seen)

Hoopoe - first bird seen from airport and then fleeting view at Yaiza
Great grey shrike - sedond bird seen from airport, common on the plains and elsewhere
Kestrel - widespread, many seen daily
Yellow legged gull -abundant
Collared dove - abundant, also some barbary sp.
Turnstone - most common wader, seen daily
Spanish sparrow - abundant
Black necked grebe - 4 seen on main salt lake and Salinas de Janubio (SdeJ)
Redshank - flock of about 6 at SdeJ
Greater Flamingo - single (apparently a long stayer) at SdeJ
Grey Heron - - single at SdeJ
Black winged stilt - up to 20 seen at SdeJ
Common sandpiper - 1 maybe 2 at SdeJ, 1 at Playa chica
Black headed gull - single at SdeJ
Grey plover - single at SdeJ
Kentish plover - 3f, 1m at SdeJ
Trumpeter finch - common on the plains (El Rubicon and El Jable)
Houbara bustard - 2 seen just outside the town of Munique, 1 on Rubicon plain.
Berthelots pipit - common everywhere
Lesser short toed lark - common in flocks on the plains
Pallid swift - 2 then 1 (on different days) seen over Playa Chica
Whimbrel - twice (on different days) at Playa Chica
Sandwich tern - daily at Playa Chica
Egret sp. - 5+ fly-bys but never good enough views to separate Cattle from Little
Linnet - circa 5 at Playa Chica
Sanderling - single at Playa Chica
Raven - 1 at Yaiza
Starling - circa 6 at Playa Chica