Spent an hour on Plex Moss this afternoon, but it was overcast and fairly quiet.
I was at the time blissfully unaware of the Golden Oriole at Martin Mere, what with work, life, and a clear breakdown in psychic bird vibe pick-up.
Dammit, that was a Lancs tick!
On the moss, breeding Lapwings and Oystercatchers seem to be doing pretty well, although I only heard three Corn Bunts singing.
At least two male Yellowhammers in the Haskayne Cutting, occasionally singing, but generally just sulking in the grey afternoon light.
Whitethroats and Willow Warblers singing in all the places you'd expect them to be, and a few Red Legged Partridges scurrying round the fields.
Some of the ditches at the west end are being dug out again - bad news for nesting Whitethroats and any Water Voles that may be left, but ploughing elsewhere was good news for Common Gulls, Skylarks, Black Headed Gulls and Lapwings, which followed the tractors, grabbing bugs.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Howzit Pommieland!
Out atlasing from dawn this morning in Devon - the one that's !00 kms east of Joburg or Josi. (Nobody here calls it Johannesburg). Did three pentads, each about 12kms x 7kms.
Top, top, birding with BLACK HARRIER - (rare winter visitor to the Highveld from the Cape, 1,000 miles to the south). Many calling and...eventually, six well seen, stunning BLUE KORHAANS (They are known as the Ghost Bird, as theybe all around you but you can't get on to them; cf Corncrakes).Best chance is to be where they are at dawn and listen for their amazing cslls and then scan forever. Also 113 BLUE CRANES (SA's national bird; six MARSH OWLS; ORANGE RIVER FRANCOLINS everywhere; overwintering GREATER STRIPED SWALLOW -Southern hemisphere climate change?
'Lekker'(crackin) day, with 121 species recorded in just eight hours of glorious winter sunshine.
SA life list now 604 and the Cape and the Kalahari still to come!
If you don't go out, you don't see nowt!
Go well.
yours contentedly
JOHN 'THE POM' BANNON
Male Red Backed Shrike and calling Quail near Formby Old Tip Sunday morning at 9:30am. (SD 320 099).Could both be found along Alder Lane For45.
3 Little Terns passed north at Freshfield this morning.
Up to 8 Sandwich Terns fishing offshore; 1 Gannet north and 1 Great Crested Grebe on the sea.
That's yer lot in a period of c90mins coming up to high tide.