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.

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

Weekend in Glasgow















I didn't expect to further my 2010 list on a pissup weekend in Glasgow... but I did.
My hotel was right on the Clyde. I saw my first meadow pipit (78) of the year on a building site in the city centre.
After a night out at the Stand comedy club, we dawdled along the river to the nearest weatherspoons for hangover brekkie. Spotted 4 female goldeneye (79) and then six males a bit further along. Then, at last, number 80 on the list this year 3 GREENFINCH! Where have they all been?
After another night on the beer I spotted a pair of Peregrine (81) hunting together over the city skyline. Possibly the pair that nests high in the Kelvingrove museum.

So this will be my last post here until I return from a scuba trip to Lanzarote.

This film, that I made in 2007, recently won a competition. The prize is flights, hotel and car hire in Lanzarote for a week.







Obviously, I'll be filming underwater again, but when not diving, I plan to film the Houbara bustard displaying as well!





















Back 2nd Feb, watch this space!

Newton marsh pool

Big change since last weeks fleeting visit.
Last week there were only a few redshank and lapwing, the pool was totally frozen.
Stopping from my delivery route today was a different matter.
1000's of wigeon (very late 2010 year tick no.76) had returned. No little grebe, which still evades me this year. 100's of curlew, 1 shelduck, a few shoveller and teal. I heard a skylark but I'm not counting "H.O.'s" this year.
















Eventually spotted a distant raptor..... which then flew straight towards me. A merlin! (year tick no.77)















It landed on a road-side post (it was probably pissed-off with the wind) but fled when one of those dust-bin lorries roared past, before I could dodgy-scope it.
















Lucky it landed in the nearby field, posing for pics whilst ignoring a flock of 50+ linnets.

Tiger shark in the river Calder


I thought I'd take a short Sunday walk along the Calder to see if the wintering common sandpiper was still present.
The litter washed up on the banks was deplorable.









































I saw a few mallard, 1 moorhen and a pretty big gull roost, but no common sandpiper.
On the walk back, I took a football ( amongst all the bottles, I had a choice of many! ) for my mates Jack Russell to play with.
I found this freshly half-eaten pike. Must have been a grey heron as the fish was 12"+

















The most ridiculous piece of flotsam on the banks was this 6 foot tiger shark! (gull roost in background)

In the garden

















It visited for about a month before the snow came. After the thaw its back! Quite an unusual garden visitor.