June 2006 Archives

Hot sunny afternoon, really quiet now with the summer lull kicking in with a vengence...

Did the dunes north of Sands Lake today, primarily for orchids and helleborines, but there were a few birds about...

Cranked up the trap again for a few hours on Friday night (23.6.06), although it was cool, there was plenty of cloud and moths came in in numbers nearer midnight.

Barry McCarthy (or "King Bazzo of the Dunes" as he shall hereafter be known) just texted me as he completed another morning seawatch at Formby Point - 3 Storm Petrels past today, but not much else.

Thanks to James Smith from Meols on Wirral who kindly sent me his BBRC rarity report for an adult Black Stork he saw - flying over Liverpool city centre on June 15th - a week after the one drifted over Marshside!

That's what I like to hear on the way in on what's left of the shipping forecast- "Deep Atlantic depression moving east, heavy showers".

Despite the rain showers, it wasn't a bad morning today, bit grey maybe _ picked up Bazzo early and headed for the marsh...

After a great session in the pub last night, the logical thing to do when I wobbled home to Ainsdale seemed to be to crank up the moth trap and stay up all night.....

Derek Williams called to update me on a nice set of morning seawatches from Freshfield dunes this week - details follow.

Just been over to stay with the outlaws on the east coast for the weekend _ very hot, but managed to do Far Ings, the superb reserve under the Humber Bridge on both Saturday and Sunday morning...

Neill Hunt's shot of a Blue Tit in his Southport garden. Neill also has breeding Dunnocks and Blackbirds.

That's all folks! Catch you later....
Eyes to the skies, everyone eyes to the skies....

More from Derek - as if all the Mosses stuff wasn't enough, he managed to fit in a seawatch this morning from Freshfield, from 7.30am- 8.45am, and look what he got.....

Latest from Derek William's diary on the mosses, with stuff from May 27 to June 3.

Graham Clarkson scores again - Black Stork flying north easterly over reserve this morning (well, at about 12.20pm), spooking everything before disappearing into the heat haze over Banks - but it seemed to be dropping down - you never know it could still be on the estuary somewhere....
First spotted by Danni, the new "Aren't birds brilliant" officer I understand.
Wow.

Bill Hale had a Red Kite over Marshside today - sorry no more details yet, but I imagine it was a fly-through - see what I mean about "eyes to the skies"??????

John Bannon e-mailed me with some interesting Birkdale dune gen this morning...

Mrs D and I bought one of them Mexican chimineas today (how suburban can you get???) and I cooked dinner on it, consequently I reckon I've probably got no more than 30 minutes before the delirium of botulism sets in , so let's BLOG fast....a hot day on the marsh.....

Went for a great walk in the Birkdale dunes reserve earlier this evening....

With the wind still gusting from the west it's a shame that the tides ain't so good now - the combination of time off work/high tides/right winds is a pretty rare occurrence in Dempseyworld these days.

More pix from Neill Hunt, who got down to Marshside today- with six Little Gulls, 1st summer birds, on the Sandplant pools, 4 Garganey in the log, but only one on show, Little Ringed Plover in front of Sandgrounders hide and 2 summer plumage Curlew Sands again.