07/02/2015 Broadsands, Devon

Cirl Bunting: Back in early January I booked some time off work to coincide with Gary's week off work. We planned a big trip down on the south coast hoping to bag lost of new birds.


However lady luck had her own ideas!

We drove down from Manchester at around 2am and after a long six hour drive one stop for a cup of tea and a whole lot of traffic restrictions we made it to Devon.

If anyone has ever been in my car they may have noticed the chocolate patch on the back seat left behind by Liam, or the very loud exhaust that rattled every time the car is in neutral.

Basically it was on its last legs, but well loved!

Anyway as soon as we arrived in Devon the car gave up and used it's last breath to crawl in to Broadsands car park.


Gary and I were extremely worried, to say the least.

I was just glad to stop and stretch my legs and I said lets forget about the car for now and go see our first Cirl Bunts.

It didn't take long and we found a huge flock of more than 25 birds feeding on the ground at the back of the unused car park feeding on some seed someone had kindly left.


Whoever this was I owe them a drink, we had some stonking views of these birds.

When we got back to the car its was dead and after a three hour wait for the RAC man just to tell us it really was dead we were then towed to the local garage in Paignton.

We waited a further five hours to be told the car should be scrapped and there you go we were stranded in Devon and I no longer had a car!


We had to cancel our plans to drive through to Cornwall and had to pay for an extra hotel room in Paignton and plan a ten hour journey, two busses and a train back up North.







Typical.....gutted......Cornwall doesn't seem to like me, are all words that crossed my mind and other people' s I am sure!
RIP little car.

08/02/2015 Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB

Long-eared Owl: Today I should have been in Cornwall ticking Pacific Diver and King Eider, however due to my car dying on me while in Devon and getting sent to the scrap heap this trip was cut short.

So instead Dawn and I had a very pleasant trip to BMW to see their resident LEO.

After gabbing away to some friendly familiar faces we headed straight down to Inner Marsh Farm side where the bird was roosting.

From here Dawn cheered me up by taking me to the carvery in Parkgate where we stuffed ourselves silly and I forgot about loosing my precious car.

05/02/2015 New Brighton Marina Lake

Laughing Gull: Isn't it brilliant when the planets aline and a little bit of luck comes your way!

When the news broke a few days ago that this bird was at New Brighton I was gutted I missed it due to work commitments, but today I had a pre-booked day off and got some superb views of this cracking bird.




I arrived just after 8.30am thinking I would put that little bit more effort in to this bird and try and pick it up along Perch Rock, but knowing that the best time would be high tide.

My plan paid off as within an hour of standing in the cold Phill Wollen picked the bird up loafing around the groyne next to the lighthouse. We watched as the tide came closer, pushing the bird further towards Perch Rock.

As the crowds swelled and the regular faces appeared the bird took off and shot straight over the pontoon.

This is what I was waiting for!

The bird didn't look all that well, it looked a little wobbly on its feet and was standing on one leg while dipping a wing and finding it hard to balance.

In stark contrast to when it was flying around, as it looked fine.

The bird was obviously hungry and took off to the far side of the marina lake to join a Black-headed Gull feeding frenzy as some one was feeding the gulls.

After picking up some bread the bird hit the deck and posed for the gathering crowds with their camera.

Eventually the bird went back over to the pontoon and rested until Alan and I had some lunch.

Once we finished the bird decided to go for some more bread and spent the next half an hour or so flying around the lake.

The bird was giving the passers by a real treat as it flew right over our heads, right past our faces so much so you could almost touch it!

02/02/2015 Wallasey Shore

Snow Bunting: I do love a snow bunt, they have a character about them which makes them very endearing. Maybe its because they are small dumpy little things that hop about with enthusiasm.

Or maybe its because they are little beauties with their striking winter plumage, yellow bill and rosy cheek patches.











Or maybe its because Snow Buntings are, without question, the toughest small bird on the planet.

No other songbird ventures so far north, and stays so far beyond the Arctic Circle, during the grim northern winter, when they and the local people must endure weeks of almost permanent darkness.









Again, I dipped these last year when a pair, probably the same pair, turned up a little further around the corner at Leasowe.

Its funny how birding works, for example if I had seen the pair at Leasowe last year I may not have come across them today and I am glad I did. The birds were very confiding and came incredibly close, perhaps closer then they would have at Leasowe.




I got some funny looks, not by the snow bunts, but by the dog walkers and passers by as I lay down in the sand to get eye level with the birds.

And there are some ignorant people out today at least two couples and a single lass all with their dogs simply disregarding the fact that I was photographing birds and let their dogs run straight across me - pushing the birds in to flight.

Great birds to catch up with, next stop Cornwall!!!

02/02/2015 Crosby Marina Lake

Long-tailed Duck: After working the weekend and unable to find enough people who wanted to go to either Essex for the Serin or Aberdeen for the Harlequin Duck I decided to settle for another duck, not a mega but much more local.








This was my second attempt at this bird, my first try I ended up getting very wet and very cold, this time I was just very cold.









Upon my arrival the bird was right out in the far middle of the lake before flying toward the southern edge giving me some excellent views.

25/01/2015 Neston Sewage Works

Water Pipit: Today I finally bagged one of my bogey birds, I can't tell you how many hours I have spent looking through the fence at Neston Sewage Plant.






I arrived around 11.20 and waited with two other local birders who where there 20 minutes before me. The three of us spent about 40 minutes searching and only finding Pied and Grey Wagtail foraging around the circular treatment systems.

I decided to stay and wait another hour after the locals left for Burton Mere, I am glad I did as not long after they left a Rock Pipit turned up with a single Water Pipit. Almost as soon as I picked the water pip up it flew off but landed on a fence within the plant. I watched it for a few minutes while it fed just to the left of the fence that it was perching on, until it flew up on to an old lamp post then off out of sight. 

24/01/2015 Pilling Lane Ends, Lancs

Pomarine Skua: Its really good to be back from my weeks trip to Morocco, despite the cold winds and grey skies of Lancashire. I was really pleased that the long staying Pom was still showing well.




Thanks to Alan McBride for the directions however he didn't say that there would be a mile long walk involved!  When I arrived the bird had been spooked off yet again by another dog walker and it flew off right down to the bottom end of the path.






I didn't have to wait too long as the bird seemed to appear out of nowhere from the marsh and land a few yards in front of me as it took shelter behind a large piece of drift wood. Soon a small crowd of birders gathered around me and we watched it for about 45 minutes before it took off.




The bird flew out of sight and back down towards the dead bird it has been feeding on for a few days now. We all followed it back down the long path where it was feasting.

It's been a long time since I last saw a Pom, Shetland back when I was a Student, but I never had views like this.

04/01/2015 Rossall Point

Shore Lark:  I was hoping I would get another chance to see Fleetwood's Shore Lark before my festive break finished and I had to go back to work.

This was a lovely day trip with Gary and his better half Elise. I was keen to help Gary bag a few new birds and help him increase his list so we headed to Blackburn for the Great Northern Diver.

From there I drove across to Blackpool and with a small detour to check out the waste management roof for some nice white winged gulls.

We arrived at Rossall Point early afternoon and walked up past the receding high tide towards the bird which was more or less in the same place I saw it last time. 

However this time the bird came right up to the sea wall giving us all the best views. 

02/01/2015 London Wetland Centre

Ring-necked Parakeet: My first post of 2015 and there is no little Bustard or Harlequin Duck, but I can offer some nice London locals.

After a super New Years Eve watching the London fireworks then the London day parade Dawn and I headed across to Barnes to the LWWT.

Upon arriving the first bird we saw and heard were RN Parakeets, these were shooting around the visitor centre like one of the previous nights green fireworks.

Bittern: Our target bird was the Bittern that has been skulking around the reedbeds there for ages and once we had our parakeet fill we headed down to the Wild Side Hide where the Bittern can best be viewed.

After a short wait it was Dawn who picked up the almost invisible bird trying hard not to be seen.

I thought LWWT was great and well worth the visit however maybe because I am from the North or grew up with it, I think Martin Mere is better, the wildfowl and Swan Link Hide in my mind make Martin Mere WWT a really special place.

30/12/2014 Moore Nature Reseve

Glaucous Gull:  This would be my third trip in as many weeks to Moore, however on this visit I had more time so spent all day watching the gulls.

After spending two hours at Birchwood Pool I wandered over to Pumphouse Pool where I found a juvenile Iceland Gull, unfortunately not long after I picked it up the bird took off and I was unable to relocate it.

After losing the Iceland Gull I headed over to the upper hide on Pumphouse Pool with the hope of settling in and scanning through the building numbers.

Not long after I arrived Mike Mulholland turned up and it was from this moment that I simply spent the rest of the day chatting away with mike, no gulling, no birding.

I can however tell you some stories about Mike that includes a Frankie Goes to Hollywood T-shirt and Morocco, a lads weekend in Ibiza and a surprise visit from a Leatherback turtle in Conwy!

After we finally stopped gassing we spent some time looking through the gulls when I picked up a nice white winger amongst the flocks.
At first the Glauc in my mind was a bit small, however comparing the birds general size and bill size and next to the local argentatus we concluded it must be a Gluac and not the short legged, short billed, long winged Iceland Gull I spotted earlier.


On my way back I stopped off at Birchwood Pool where the gull numbers were much larger than earlier in the day it was here two young birders told me they just had a juv Gluac, juv Inceland and an adult Med Gull in the past hour or so.

(first two images where digiscoped)