Glossy Ibis at Brockholes Quarry (Lancs), 1st October 2006.

The quarry's enjoying an excellent run of good birds at the moment and today's Glossy Ibis is definitely pick of the bunch! This bird disappeared to the south every now and then, but returned to the Main Pool was still present at dusk this evening. As well as the continued trickle of Black terns the quarry produced two site-firsts for me over the past week in the form of a passage Honey Buzzard and two separate Raven sightings. All in all an excellent break between tours and still over a week to go!

Black-necked Grebe at Brockholes Quarry (Lancs), September 15 2006.

"Patch birding" is something very dear to me and personally the most rewarding part of my hobby. Therefore in between tours I take every opportunity to work my local birding sites in the Preston area and Fylde coast. During a Friday afternoon excursion to Brockholes Quarry (only six miles from my home in Preston), I found this Black-necked Grebe. Only the second record for the quarry, this was well received and frequented the No. 1 pit for 10 days or so. Indeed No. 1 pit has been the focus of attention recently with an excellent run of Black Tern records (including a daily max. of at least 40 birds) and the discovery of a Dipper - not rare in Lancs but a "mega" at the quarry and a site-first.