16/06/2021 Undisclosed Site, Lancashire

Long-eared Owl: Such a marvelous sight and such a privilege to observe these shy and elusive birds on a site that I've been monitoring.

Listening carefully and following the sounds of their sharp squeaking whistle, reminiscent of a squeaky gate. Their begging call rings out from within the pine plantation, but pin pointing them as they sit still, camouflaged is still a challenge. 

LEO's will breed between February and July with the female staying with the eggs and chicks all day and only taking a few breaks at night. The male hunts and brings food to the female and chicks until the brood are independent. 

I was also lucky enough to get a glimpse of an adult bird hunting over the moors, it was great to see it flying deep into the pines to feed its young, then flying off back on he hunt for more food. 

The chicks still can’t fly when they leave the nest and instead walk out onto neighbouring branches. Their parents will provide for them until they become fledglings and learn to fly and fend for themselves. 

11/06/2021 Singleton Avenue, Horwich, Bolton

Rose-coloured Starlings: This is a rare visitor  for anyone's garden feeders but even more rare with it being a garden in Greater Manchester!

This summer has seen an invasion of rosy starlings after large numbers have spread west through Europe and across the Channel Islands over the past few weeks. 

Weather where they are typical found has been much more unpredictable, possibly its has been much hotter than usual or like here in the UK their summer started off much colder May and into June. A combination of this could have stimulated the birds to overshoot their breeding grounds and push westwards through Europe. 

With this individuals settling in a garden near Bolton. 

The bird spent a lot of time within the garden itself, out of view, presumably feeding on some food on the ground. But from time to time, and with a spot of patience the bird appeared upon the fence. 

The bird was fiercely defending the feeder, chasing away all the other starlings and was unwilling to share. 

I hope the feeders get topped up soon, there wa plenty of activity with other starlings, wood pigeons, blackbirds and house sparrows all making a dent in the food. 

I've already topped up my own feeders and places dozens of fat balls around my own garden hoping i too can get as lucky as the redsitnet of this garden,I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  

06/06/2021 Sleekburn, Blyth, Northumberland

Red-necked Stint: This weekend just gets better and better! 

After yesterday successful twitch to Ham Wall I was quite looking forward to a long lie in, but then news broke that of a red-necked stint in Northumberland on the River Blyth. So I set my alarm for another 2am start and off I shot for fisrt light. 

I made good time and soon had a phone call of Mrak Payne who said it was still there at 5am, I arrived at 5.15am of which the last 15 minutes was a tense and stressful ride. 

Europe has no more than 30 records of red-necked stint with the UK playing host to only seven records, now eight including this individual and before this one it had been almost eight years since the last record. 

So needless to say when the news came out yesterday evening, it got peoples blood pumping. 

Typically just after I left the bird decided to land within 10ft from a few lucky birders who drove to a more favorable viewing area on the opposite side of the river.

So these blurred smudges that I took today through the scope just don't do the bird justice, in real life it's a belter. 

Special thanks to top bloke Paul Baker for lending me his image, great work mate. 

05/06/2021 Ham Wall RSPB, Somerset & Bristol

River Warbler: Well this was a turn out for the books, a baby free saturday, minimal negotiations with Dawn a 2am start and I've just added river warbler to my list. Absolutely brilliant. 

The bird performed brilliantly, singing in full view and constantly returning to the same persches in the same small area. 

River warblers belong to the Locustella family of warblers, the same as grasshopper warbler, but unlike their more common counterparts these are large, rather nondescript warblers, lacking the grasshopper scaling and with a dark a plain brown back, faintly streaked breast, and pale belly. The tail is rather long and full with a pale-tipped undertail. 

These birds are harder to come by then some folk realise, the last twitchable bird was over 11 years ago and the Wigan bird was back in 1995, well before my twitching days. 

02/06/2021 Saltwick Nab, North Yorkshire

Lesser Grey Shrike: After a couple of bad weeks of back to back dips I was relieved to have finally broken my bad streak by ticking the little beaut and adding a new bird to the list. 

When I arrived there bird was being pretty elusive and the small group of birders who made it one site before me were standing and waiting while looking on the hedge were it had spent most of the previous day. 

Eventually it was relocated to another hedge in the vicinity and was showing really well, if a little distant. 

The bird looks very similar to its cousin the great grey shrike and acts very similar too. But there are a few subtle differences. 

The shrike has a distinctive black face mask and long tail. Down the back runs a jacket of military-grey feathers and around the white brest is a pink flush. 

Very nice indeed. 

The species breeds no nearer than northern Spain and is more at home on the arid steppes of Asiatic Russia or the bush-dotted pasture of Romania. It is, in truth, mostly African, living eight months a year by hunting beetles or grasshoppers among the thorn scrub and drylands near, or south of, the Kalahari.

But the bird seemed just at home on the East Yorkshire cost of Whitby, amongst the hawthorn hedges, bramble scrub and newly sprouting cereal crops. 

28/05/2021 St Helens, Merseyside

Red Fox: Back again, and not soon enough as I was eager to spend another evening with the local fox family and wasn't disappointed as I was treated to not one, not two, not three.... but four foxes on show tonight!

Brilliant!

the fisrt vixen broke cover around 6.30pm and by 7.30pm there were two vixens which were coming out into the open to forage on the short grass right in front of me and they were joined by another two a little later on.  

they were getting regularly spooked by dog walkers and dashed into cover before popping their little heads out, their ears up and eyes focused on the yapping yorkie. 

Eventually the dogs would pass and barking would stop and they vixens would reappear back on the hunt for food. Foxes are mainly carnivores but are generally classed as omnivores.

In Britain, the red fox feeds mainly on small rodents such as field mice, voles and rabbits, however, they will also eat birds, insects, earthworms, grasshoppers, beetles, fruit and mollusks and crayfish, amphibians, small reptiles and fish. almost anything it finds, often eating carrion (dead animal carcass) or preying on smaller to medium sized mammals and birds. 

Another great evening in the company of these great animals. 
 

28/05/2021 Marbury Country Park, Cheshire

Spotted Flycatcher: Nice to catch up with Marbury's  spot fly, these are annual visitors to the park breeding in the broadleaved woodlands each year.  

Hearing them before I saw them these smart little birds were perched up in the canopy within  'big wood' close to the stream that runs through. 

The rest of the park was pretty quite with sedge warblers and whitethroats the only birds of note. 
 

26/05/2021 St Helens, Merseyside

Red Fox: What a treat, being able to spend a couple of hours with a local fox family as they lay in the sun, rolled around and foraged in and out of the undergrowth. 

This family has been watched for a few months and they have become habituated to the presence of humans and are bolder than semi rural foxes I've encountered before.

 

The public park that they have chosen to live in is pretty busy too, with dogs, bikes and joggers so they are pretty bold. 

Humans have a love hate relationship with foxes, some folk regard them as nothing more than bin bag tearing, chicken stealing vermin and think they should be exterminated. Some folk even get a kick out of hunting them for sport.

Although other folk see them as a beautiful and wonderful addition to Britain's native fauna. Foxes appear to be one of the few mammals doing well in an landscape which is changing fast, becoming increasingly developed, increasingly polluted and increasingly unwelcome.    

 

Love them or hate them, foxes have an important role in Britain's ecology, some of which we've only recently begun to understand. 

It was a real privilege to spend the evening with these charismatic, beautiful animals I look forward to returning for another session soon. 

21/05/2021 My Garden, Abram, Wigan

Siskin: Yesterday saw non-stop heavy rain in Wigan, it was horrible, but not only did the rain bring some relief to the potted patio plants it also brought down this male siskin.  

The bird came down from the treeline twice before resting in one of the willows for a long while with the rain lashing down. I was hoping it get a sharper, clearer shot but I had o manage shooting through the double glazed patio doors!  

 

A This was my 2rd garden record after a female I had on the 15th of April 2018. 

https://austinmorley.blogspot.com/search/label/Siskin

14/03/2021 Bin Green, Dove Stone RSPB

Wood Warbler: I love wood warblers, these are attractive but unobtrusive Phylloscopus with their bright yellow upper parts, throat and upper chest and white under parts they similar to willow warbler, but with much more contrasting plumage.

 

This bird has taken up residence in the woods just below Bin Green car park at Dove Stone Reservoir, the bird wasn't in showing itself as it foraged low amongst the scrub and rowne trees before flying higher into the canopy to sing.

At times it was pretty close but only for short periods, the issue wasn't the bird but the light, shooting within the woods on a dull like like today made me push my ISO much higher than I would like resulting significantly creamier images.    

Wood warbler also have a brilliant and distinctive call that some liken to a 'spinning coin' with a repetitive, descending metallic sound.

They are spring and summer visitors, wood warblers arrive in the the UK around late April or early May, and generally depart by early September so it's a bird I don't get to see every year so when I do its always a special day. 

Definitely one of my favorite warblers. 
 

13/05/2021 Longham Lakes, Dorset

Whiskered Tern: So this week I've been doing a range of ecological surveys near Luton, and the site was much closer to Dorset then Wigan so I thought I would the for the whiskered tern.

There have been some really gripping images of it sat on a water level post where it was giving some great views. Typically, when I arrived it was hawking above the water and resting on an orange boy way out on the lake.

Whiskered are stout little marsh terns with a slightly forked tail and summer plumaged adults resemble common terns more than black terns due to their black and white heads, but the short, broad wings and tails are typical of marsh terns.

They breed in scattered populations across southern Europe and Asia, in south-eastern Africa and Madagascar, and in Australia and are particularly area visitor to the UK. 

Although the bird refused to alight on the water level post it still came in close and showed extremely well. 

Whizzing right past me at some knotts it was difficult to follow with the camera set to 1.6 crop, but I managed to get these images. 

Tis was the only tern species on the lake but there were hundreds of swifts, swallows and martins, i also heard a cuckoo calling ad there were dozens of spring warblers.  

A nice bird to add to this list and a bird too tempting to pass up.