14/01/2018 Blackpool

Iceland Gull: After getting a lot of disinterest over the week about going to see the Whitby wheatear and having no one to agree to go with me I decided to try my luck elsewhere.

 And am I glad I did!

After seeing via twitter and the @FyldeBirdClub twitter feed that the adult Iceland gull was spotted in Tesco car park in Blackpool I thought I would give it ago.

The bird is typically found on the roof of the recycling waste management building and after checking this and the car park there was no sign, so Dawn and I went for lunch and came back.

On our second visit I spotted the bird on the roof and I watched it for several minutes before a guy in an orange high-vis jacket drove by and said I can go in if I like and see the bird closer.

He stood with me while the bird flew in to the buildings open doorway and on to the waste material and back on to the roof.

This gave me an excellent opportunity to see the bird much closer and see it's bright yellow bill with red spot at gonys, it's pale coloured eye, white head, neck, breast, and belly and its classic white wing primaries.

Great local bird, and one that regularly returns each year.  I spoke with the man who said if I come back on my own I shouldn't go past the fence line. So for anyone who is going please stay on the right side of the fence.

13/01/2018 Elton Reservoir, Bury

Mealy Redpoll: It was nice to have some free time out of the office to catch up with some local birding with my first stop being the mealy at Elton Res.

Separating the two species, which freely mix in wintering flocks, is known to be not always easy, with some individuals being unidentifiable even in the hand.

However it is clear in this image that the mealy redpoll's general impression is quite different from that of a lesser redpoll. This is often made easy when the two species are side by side.

The mealy is obviously a bigger bird next to the lesser and had a deeper, crimson red poll (its colouration on the upper breast) however the mealy also has longer primary projections and darker ear coverts.

The bird is also much paler than the leasers with a greyer undertone to its plumage.

The feeders at Elton Res are a real haven for wintering finches and birds, they encourage many different species and a huge number.
So hats off to whoever stocks and manages them, brilliant work.

08/01/2017 Longford, Gloucestershire

Penduline Tit: Nice to finally catch up with this smart little bird which has been in the same area since before Christmas. Better to catch up with local lads Damion and Neil G.

The bird has taken a liking to Plot Court Nature Reserve and can be observed regularly visiting the Bulfushes to feed on the woolly seed heads.

I am always surprised to how small these little birds actually are and it was particularly interesting watching the bird using a headgerow for both feeding, preening and resting, as I thought they were exclusively reeds specialist's.

The masked bandit showed incredibly well and the crowd of toggers and biders didn;t seem to disturb it as it fed. 

If anyopne goes I would highly reccomed taking wellington boots.......its very wet and muddy in places.

 Enjoy.