Birding and other distractions

Travelling back from Samlesbury we called in at this reserve, my previous visit here being for Black-faced Bunting in 1994. Weather was sunny and continued to be very mild. Pennington Flash is a good site for Willow Tit, a species I haven't seen for around ten years. Unfortunately there was no sign of Willow Tit today, though plenty of other birds were viewable from the hides. The best was Bunting Hide, affording excellent views of Bullfinch, Stock Dove, Reed Bunting, plus the commoner tits. It appears that the gorgeous male Bullfinch shown below has some sort of infection on its feet, noticeably on the rear toes. Bullfinch (male) Reed Bunting (male) Stock Dove  Great Tit and Reed Bunting

We arrived just before dawn and parked near Roach Bridge at Samlesbury. Negotiating the path to view over the river Darwen was tricky due to extremely muddy conditions, but at least the weather then was dry and very mild. The Belted Kingfisher had flown to a site to the south of Preston the previous day and it was not clear if the bird had returned to Samlesbury, where it had recently been present every morning. As the light improved there was no sign of it, but after approximately an hour and a half the distinctive rattling call of Belted Kingfisher was heard. However, it took another hour before the bird was seen, approximately 500 metres away. Despite the distance satisfactory 'scope views were obtained on and off in the same general area until midday when we called it a day as rain had started. Other birds seen at the site included a number of Coal Tits, plus Nuthatch, all very vocal in the nearby trees, several Mistle Thrush, and most notable a Common Kingfisher, which was muc...

The rain today finally stopped around midday though conditions remained overcast and windy. Nevertheless a couple of hours in the dry at Berengrave was welcome. One of the first sightings was a Goldcrest, surprisingly my first this winter at the site. The usual 'crest in recent weeks has of course been the Firecrests, and they did not disappoint today, two being found in scrub/trees behind Wash Mills area. They were quite vocal and individual birds gave several sightings over a one hour period, before the pair flew a short distance to a different block of trees. Photographing them was the usual challenge however, the picture below being the best of a generally poor bunch. Love the yellow feet on this bird! In the same area were two Chiffchaff, one of which was somewhat greyer in appearance. It did not call, and overall was not convincing  for a Siberian.

My third visit to Crossness, together with Keith on this occasion. Weather was mild and calm, though somewhat gloomy on account of the stable high pressure system. We walked east along the Thames Path passing the old Crossness Pumping Station. This was decommissioned in the '50s being replaced by the modern sewage treatment plant. It was high tide and a variety of ducks and waders were close inshore. Teal was the most numerous duck, though over 100 Shoveler were also present. Redshank was the most numerous wader, with c30 Black-tailed Godwit, 100+ Dunlin and a single Common Sandpiper. At Crossness NR good views were obtained of a Peregrine, briefly also joined by a second smaller bird, presumably a male. There were small flocks of Linnet and Goldfinch, a pair of Greenfinch, and several Cetti's were heard.  On the way back a Kingfisher was seen in flight along the river. The tide was ebbing and a few larger gulls had assembled on the exposed mud. These included two smart Yellow-...

A bright sunny morning so Berengrave seemed a good option. When I was last there about a month ago the reserve was very quiet, however there was plenty to see during this visit. A Firecrest was hoped for in view of last year's wintering bird and I managed to find one in the same general area as before, i.e. the ivy clad trees on the bank between upper and lower paths. The bird was typically very active, and as last year proved challenging to photograph. There was a suspicion of a second Firecrest but not enough to say for sure (edit. two seen the following day). Near the steps leading to the lower path a plaintive call sounded right for Siberian Chiffchaff, and sure enough the bird was in the tall trees, a Sycamore being favoured. It was a typically pale individual, and  on view for several minutes though mostly  high up. Also present at Berengrave were two Common Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, good numbers of Great, Blue, and especially Long-tailed Tits, plus a couple of noisy Jays....