Noticed a good Magpie roost building up on the landward side of the Coast Road between Woodvale Lights and the Pontins roundabout at Ainsdale over the last few afternoons.
Yesterday there were between 40 and 50 of the critters swooping into the scrub at about 3.30pm.
They're going into the buckthorn, holly and willow scrub about 100 metres north of where Big Balls Hill (oh, please, act your age - no tittering) used to be, so I guess a stroll down the Coast Road could proved interesting.
Thanks to Mike Price for the pic of Magpies above, a hard bird to get a shot of at the best of times.
Mind you, if the westerly gale keeps on blasting like this, it could be time to look for a January Leach's Petrel wreck any day now.....
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies....
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John,
Following on from your blog. If anyone does find a Leachs Petrel could they let someone know?
If it's released it would be nice to have it ringed and if it's dead we would like to get as much info from it as possible - it's state of moult, body condition etc.
Thanks
Bob.
Good idea Bob, anything to help you ringers.
It would be interesting to find out where these winter birds are coming from - if anymore turn up.
I'll try to sort a contact number for people 2moro, in the meantime, if anyone does find a dead or exhausted Leach's Petrel around Merseyside, please let me know via the blog and I'll try to sort out collection etc.
John
Had a word with the powers that be, and in the unlikely event any more Leach's get wrecked (it's more likely to happen to me tonite, the day I'm having...)now that the hooley has died down, folk need to pass details or corpses etc to Steve Voitier who is handling the phenomena nationally.
Hardly a local opportunity to study one of these superb birds in the hand, but there you go.
S. Voitier details as follows:
stephen.voitier@plymouth.ac.uk
or via snail mail:
Steve Voitier, Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological Science, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth. PL4 8AA
Although thinking about it, you're hardly likely to hang onto a dead petrel for the time it takes to organise collection using the post.
I generally find Mrs D's tolerance to dead birds in the fridge extends to about 3.2 seconds, unless it's a chicken or turkey.
Regards magpies. The roost on Rimrose Valley still houses 200 plus of the black and white marauders. Plus 400+ jackdaws.Can't get out much these days due to elderly p's but do pop down before dusk to watch the muster, display then roost. The Black Arrows.