All the wonderful birds and wildlife of Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales and further
18/10/2025 Rutland Water Reservoir, Oakham
06/09/2025 Rutland Water Reservoir, Oakham
So, I decided to drive down on Saturday, leaving very early to get there for first light. However my bad luck with Baird's continued and the bird did a bunk over night.
They are a rare inland sighting, grey phalaropes are usually seen along the coast, so their appearance at Rutland Water is considered a rare and exciting event. Like other birds that appear inland, this individual was likely blown off course by strong winds during migration.
Trip Report - Morocco, April, 2025
Crimson-winged Finch: I've finally got around to writing up the Morocco birding trip. I had a ton of images to pour over and sort through, had to even buy an external hard drive to help organise my photos.
Levaillant's Woodpecker: Morocco offers fantastic birdwatching opportunities, with diverse habitats ranging from the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic coast. Popular birding destinations include Merja Zerga, the Souss and Massa estuaries, and the Tagdilt track.
Desert Lark: This trip repot covers our way from the high Atlas to the Sahara Desert. From driving around an hour from Marrakesh heading up in to the High Atlas Mountains and visiting Oukaimeden at 2600m altitude to the dunes of the Sahara.
Hoopoe lark: Exploring the Merzouga region where you can find desert specialties such as Egyptian nightjar, African desert warbler, desert sparrow, blue-cheeked bee-eater, spotted and crowned sandgrouse.
09/08/2025 Walberswick, Southwold, Suffolk
Zitting Cisticola: These small, brown birds with a distinctive streaked back and a broad, white-tipped tail that it frequently flicks are also known as the fan-tailed warbler are are visitors to the UK with fewer than ten records recorded in the UK. They primarily breed in southern Europe and are largely sedentary and classed as resident in their range.
Having been mad busy with work I was unable to go mid-week, so had the nervy wait until Saturday when Kris and I embarked on the 10 hour round trip to Southwold, Suffolk.
Black Stork: Zitting Cisticola are known for their characteristic "zitting" song that erupts into a series of sharp, repetitive calls given during an erratic, undulating display flight.
Walberswick is a tourist hotspot for crabbing, birdwatching and those who enjoy a serene seaside holiday, the village of Walberswick is one of Suffolk's gems and was not only home to the very rare Zitting Cisticola, but a juvenile black stork too.
We soon made our way to Boyton Marsh and Slaters Pit near Lowestoft and relocated the large bird sleeping on the side of a small dyke. The Black Stork is a large bird, with a glossy black body and white underparts. It is a rare but regular visitor to Britain, breeding in eastern Europe and migrating to Africa.
This was my 2nd black stork that I've seen the the UK with the first being at Spurn, although at the time it was miles way and obscured in the tall grass, this one however was could not have been any more different.
It was too close at times I had to back off in order to it in in my camera lens. An amazing experience seeing one like this, I've only ever been this close to black stork in Lesvos. I could have picked it up and taken it home!
01/08/2025 Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent
This is the 13th summer in a row that this individual has returned to Oare Marshes. originally the gull was found on the site back in May 2013 and has returned each year ever since.
Trip Report - Antalya, Türkiye
Brown Fish Owl: Antalya, offers excellent birding opportunities with a diverse range of species, including both resident and migratory birds. For anyone wanting to combine a decent birding trip with a family focused holiday, specifically a holiday with a small child this is perfect. We chose an all inclusive resort called Shearwood Dreams, witch offered a selection of swimming pools, a fairground and waterpark full of slides for Autumn. The main reason we chose this part of Türkiye was to see the brown fish owl.
It took us about an hour to reach our first destination, a cedar forest edged with a dense pine forest that ran alongside a small river, it was here that we saw the Syrian woodpecker, not easy to see only managing several short views creeping up the trunks and a few breif flight view. This defiantly got me excited.
The Taurus Mountains feature a large range of diverse habitats from Mediterranean scrub and forests to alpine zones, creating a biodiversity hotspot. These habitats include juniper-fir-oak forests, cedar forests, pine forests, and even maquis formations, with vegetation varying based on elevation and slope aspect.
22/06/2025 Undisclosed Site
It can be confused with the similar-looking and similarly named short-eared owl, particularly when the long-eared owl has its tufts of feathers laid flat on its head. However there are some key identification features to tell the difference between the two species.
20/06/2025 Audenshaw Reservoirs, Greater Manchester
25/05/20205 Leasowe, Wirral
Matt Bett has vixen who has been chosen the hole under a shed at the bottom of his garden for a couple of years to have her cubs. This year she had given birth to three cubs, of which one is blond, not red.
Red Fox: Here is one of the other fox cubs, with more normal colouration, having bright orange eyes, and stunning orange fur with a black noise and darker edges to the ears and eyes.
16/05/2025 Smithy's Hide, Chorley, Lancashire
Tawny Owl: It doesn't happen often if at all but I've struck gold, 18 karat gold!
With thanks to David Gibson I found a photography hide that not only offers the best views you could ask for of tawny owl but a hide with a really great set up too. Smithy's Hide in Chorley.
This Friday was my birthday, turning old, so to cheer myself up and I booked in with Kris. We arrived just before 7pm and after a brief and friendly induction from Sue we were soon joined by the male tawny owl. It perched up in the day light as we were talking to Sue standing outside the hide.