LANCS: Morcambe Bay.

Took a drive out to the Pilling area on the south shore of Morcambe Bay this afternoon. Usually one of the most "birdy" winter birding sites, I found it a little quiet there today. I spent most of my time scanning the sands on the incoming tide. The power station at Heysham could be seen in the distance but the Cumbrian hills slowly disappeared in the clouds as the afternoon progressed.

Lapwings and Golden Plovers near Cocker's Dyke 30 Jan 2008.

Pilling Lane Ends was pretty quiet and no sign of Monday's Glaucous Gull at the roost at Cocker's Dyke this afternoon. Plenty of Lapwings, Redshanks, Curlew and Dunlin with some Golden Plovers attaining the black belly of their summer plumage.

Wildfowl numbers were very unimpressive though with only half-a-dozen Whooper Swans at Cockerham Moss plus 23 more at Fluke Hall Lane. Late winter is usually THE time to find a scarce goose in the Pilling area. However I found only two flocks this afternoon (550 near Eagland Hill and 452 out on the saltmarsh at Lane Ends). There were plenty on the move earlier in the week with skeins moving north through the country. Surely the Lancs birds haven't moved on already? It certainly seemed like a late March day on the bay rather than late January.

LANCS: Winter afternoon on the Ribble Estuary.

Bit of time to spare this afternoon so I popped down to the Ribble hoping for a raptor or owl over the marshes. The Newton and Clifton areas offeered nothing new, just the usual hordes of Wigeon and Teal plus a few Shoveler and single male Stonechat. Plenty of Pink-feet about at the moment with a hundred or so heading south over the water treatment works and about the same number heading north as I turned off down Bank Lane in Warton. Ten Little Egrets were on view immediately as I pulled up to overlook the marsh at Warton Bank. The "resident" Glossy Ibis was out there too with 48 Whoopers and a perched Peregrine but no sign of any harriers or shorties. I could only count 15 Little Egrets at one time but I'm pretty sure there were at least 20 around in the ditches. Not much else to report apart from a passing Sparrowhawk and Little Owl calling at dusk.

SOLWAY: A wet winter break in D&G.

Looking west across the Nith from Powfoot.

Mrs. B. and I were very pleased to accept a kind invitation from Chris and Pat Baines to stay for a couple of days this past weekend. On our way to the Solway our first stop was Seafield Bay at Annan where the tide was in and there were a few Oystercatchers, Lapwings and a couple of Snipe roosting on the saltings. A passing Kingfisher was an incentive to get out of the car but the drizzle and chilly conditions were enough to induce a "southern softy retreat". After a quick breakfast we headed west towards the Nith stopping at Powfoot for Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plover on the exposed mud before scanning the mosses near Ruthwell where we found a good herd of 40+ Whooper Swans.

The 'usual' congregation of Barnacles was present between Ruthwell and Bankend and a quick scan revealed a single Pale-bellied Brent Goose. We drove along the Nith to Glencaple where there was another flock of Barnacles on the merse and a couple of hundred Wigeon on the mud. With a couple of hours of light to spare we decided to head to the other side of the estuary and do a spot of birding at Southerness. We couldn't resist a quick stop at the Drumburn viewpoint but it was getting darker by the minute as the weather appeared to be getting worse. This was a lucky stop though as a Little Egret could be seen in the murky conditions - an overdue D&G tick no less.

By the time we reached Southerness the tide was low so there was little of note on view on the sea. A nice flock of 220 Pink-footed Geese at Arbigland kept us busy for a while and the small gathering of Barnacles held the albino that we'd been seeing all winter I guess. We called it a day and drove to Wigtown where Pat was waiting for us.

Chris was spot-on with his weather forecast for the 21st. Utterly miserable! Nevertheless we headed out west with a lot of "birding from the car" in mind. A brief stop at Stairhaven produced 150+ Common Scoter in Luce Bay plus the usual Mergs, Goldeneye, etc. The visibility at Loch Ryan (above) was pretty bad but we still managed to find a few Black Guillemots near Cairn Ryan plus the usual huge rafts of Scaup and Wigeon. The west shore near Wig Bay was little better and we were looking into the rain as well. Only 9 Pale-bellied Brents near Soleburn but a sizeable flock of 750+ Pink-feet in the fields above Wig Bay was noteworthy. A female Merlin surprised some Starlings but no sign of any Twite at the Wig.

Feeling that Loch Ryan was not going to be kind to us today, we decided to drive to West Freugh to look for geese. It was some time before we found anything but a few Greylags though. A scattering of Greenland White-fronted Geese (83 in total) were well spread out and only one Pink-foot was a little disappointing but spirits were lifted when we found a ringtail Hen Harrier and a Peregrine darted past the car.

We left the Wigtown area on 22nd, saying goodbye to Chris and Pat after unrivalled hospitality at their home overlooking Carsegowan Moss. We drove to Monreith where we picked up a few "D&G year ticks" like Fulmar, Stonechat and Rock Pipit. There were quite a few Jackdaws about and having read about birds in Lancs showing characteristics of Nordic Jackdaws on the internet I decided to check some. Surprisingly I found quite a good example of a Nordic Jackdaw with a dark throat and pale greyish-white collar and pale grey underparts. We watched this bird through the 'scope but failed to get a picture due to the bad light and rain that had now started. We headed back south in dreadful weather after a nice break on the Solway once again. If the birding wasn't outstanding, Chris and Pat's company was worth the journey alone - thanks to you both once again.

LANCS: Slavonian Grebe and then back to the patch.

Some bird pics at last! Last weekend when I was in one of the museums in Paris my mobile bleeped with a message from East Lancs birder Bill Aspin. I've only seen one Slav' Grebe in Lancs before so the news of one near Clitheroe was welcome, even if I was out of the country.

When I woke this morning the weather showed a slight sign of improvement (it couldn't really get any worse) and the news was out early that the Slav' had been seen so I packed my gear and set off up the A59. On arrival at Barrow Lodge it was obvious from the small huddle of birders where the bird was, so I parked and set up ready to snap a few pics.

It's not the most scenic site in East Lancs (MacDonald's and Sommerfields can be seen at the back of the lodge in the pic), but well worth a visit for the grebe and a nice Kingfisher bonus. After an hour or more watching the Slav' I decided to make the most of the reasonable weather and head back "on patch" to the Ribble Estuary. I stopped off at Brockholes Quarry but little to report from there, before pulling in at Newton Marsh.

The Entrance Pool was flooded once again with 300+ Wigeon and 80 Teal close to the road, but little else of note.

The Stonechats were in the bramble and on the barbed wires near the water treatment works showing well as 40 Pink-feet headed south.

With a bit of time still to spare I drove through Warton to Bank Lane where I spent an hour or so scanning the saltmarsh there. No sign of the long-staying Glossy Ibis with the 13 Whoopers and 5 Little Egrets but a nice selection of raptors included 2 Merlins, Peregrine and a ringtail Hen Harrier to add to the Buzzard and Sparrowhawk I saw on the way. Some huge flocks of Golden Plovers and Lapwings with a few Blackwits out on the mud - if only the Ribble was more accessible.

Five weeks to go until Mexico but plenty to do until then!

FRANCE: A Long Weekend in Paris (WARNING - no birds!).

No, I didn't take Mrs. B. to Blackpool for her Birthday! OK, it could be the tower from the fair, but I promise it was Paris. Binoculars were banned as we spent a long weekend in the central part of the city, staying at the very flash Hotel La Louvre near the museum of the same name.

We flew Air France from Manchester to Charles de Gaulle and then took the RER / Metro to the ity centre and checked into our hotel. We didn't waste much time in getting out and headed to the park for a spot of lunch and hot wine (very nice!).

It was a nice crisp winter's day and we ended up walking all afternoon, taking in the sites along the Champs Elysees as far as the Arc de Triomphe.

Amazingly Paris was still having trouble letting go of Chistmas with many trees and decorations still up. We spent the evening dining before walking along the Seine to the impressive Notre Dame.

Feeling a bit worse for wear the next day we took in one of the many museums. The Musee d'Orsay was very pleasant but I'm afraid that art is just like a Red-breasted Goose at Caerlaverock to me - I just don't get it!

Having spent 20 minutes staring at an exhibit before realising it was a fire alarm I decided art was not for me so we headed outside again.

This time we took the lazy way and bought a couple of tickets for the tour bus seeing most of the central section, including the Eiffel Tower. In the evening we hobbled along back to Notre Dame and took a few more pics before collapsing back in the hotel.

On our final full day we went to La Louvre museum. It's the largest museum in the world apparently and full of famous masterpieces. Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc - they're all in there.

Much about mate?

Anyway, not much birding lately (good time to get the 'scope serviced). Have to put that right!

Birding Update: 2 Goosanders over my local common land at Greyfriars. Still raining!

LANCS: Bright 'n' breezy on the Ribble.

Drake Wigeon at Newton Marsh 9 January 2008.

Found myself with a bit of spare time this afternoon so popped down to the Ribble for a couple of hours.

The ornithological hotspot otherwise known as Preston Docks.

First stop was Preston Docks. This site has produced a few goodies in the past but I doubt if anyone looks regularly nowadays as it's pretty hit and miss for birds. Anyway there were loads of gulls (mainly Black-headeds) but nothing unusual. Having spent all my time scanning the water I decided to glance skywards and was surprised to see a huge Raven making its way steadily north over the rooftops.

Next stop was Newton Marsh. The Entrance Pool was flooded and Wigeon were scattered everywhere with a few Teal and a handful of Shovelers.

The Entrance Pool at Newton Marsh.

Not much else here apart from a Little Egret in the distance so I drove round to Freckleton and checked the other side of the grazing marsh. Plenty of Shelduck heading to roost on the Naze Pool and the Little Egret flying around the fields and dropping in the ditches.

As I hadn't sen a Barn Owl on the estuary all winter I decided to give Clifton Marsh a try. Scored with one in a grassy field at about 3.45 PM (mobbed by a female Merlin!) and it was light enough to see a pair of Stonechats and 10 Stock Doves too. A nice end to a pleasant afternoon.

SOLWAY: Great weather - shame about the birds!

Criffel in the distance fron the Avenue Tower Hide, Caerlaverock WWT.

Spent today around the Nith starting near Bankend. A nice clear morning overlooking the saltmarsh with 25 Whoopers and a couple of thousand Barnacles Geese to look through kept me busy for an hour or so. Plenty of Lapwings in the fields with a nice flock of Golden Plovers and a cople of pairs of Oystercatchers chasing around in the winter sun.

Met up with Lancastrian D&G birder (if you see what I mean) Chris Baines and we passed the afternoon at Caerlaverock. It looked a really good afternoon to see the Red-breasted Goose with such good visibility and so many Barnies on the reserve, but once again it was a no show. The Snow Bunting that had been present also decided it was having a day off too - double dip.

The late afternoon Barnacle flight was as spectacular as ever - must've been 2 - 3000 birds on view from the Avenue Tower Hide this evening.

LANCS: Bring Me Sunshine!

The Eric Morcambe statue on Morcambe Prom: "What do you think of it so far .......... ?"

Despite rising early this morning we resisted heading too far north up the M6 due to severe weather warning for the north west today. We made it as far as Leighton Moss though, calling in at Woodwell near Silverdale first thing in the hope of Hawfinch. We wandered around for about an hour but no sign of our target bird. In fact I usually see these birds here straight away or not at all but it was nice to get a few woodland year ticks nevertheless. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Jay, Nuthatch and Marsh Tit all seen easily.

Being in the land of perpetual dusk it still wasn't light by the time we decided to call it quits and move round to the causeway at LM.

Plenty of Greylag Geese overhead as we walked down to the public hide plus some Water Rails "squealing" in the reeds.

Goldeneye, Pochard, Tufties, Gadwall and a couple of glowing drake Goosanders seen from the hide, but best of all a Bittern that flew across giving us great flight views. Not much else apart from a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzard soaring in the distance.

Bearded Tits called as we walked back along the causeway and had shown on the feeding trays about 20 mins before we got there. We decided to drown our sorrows in coffee and cake at the RSPB centre instead before checking out the Eric Morcambe hide. Few bits and pieces here like Little Egret (2), a pair of Pintail, Wigeon, Gadwall and 150+ Teal that flew in all of a sudden. Guessing that it was not going to get any better we drove to Morcambe where we found the Purple Sandpiper at the end of the Stone Jetty as well as the usual Gt. cr. Grebes, Eider, Oycs, Turnstones and packs of Knot.

SOLWAY: New Year's Day 2008.

Happy New Year? Well, 2008 got off to a wet start but despite unpromising weather Mrs. B. and I kept to our plans and headed up to D&G to start the new year's birding. I barely had time to stop the car near Gatehouse of Fleet before Mrs. B. stated that she'd seen the Cattle Egret right by the side of the A75.

The weather was dreadful but it didn't stop some intrepid photographers getting decent shots.

The Cattle Egret was very tolerant but not so of the sheep that kept chasing it around. Not much else here to pump up the year list and the rain became heavier so we left for Castle Douglas.

Cattle Egret, Gatehouse of Fleet 1 January 2008.

On arrval at Carlingwark Loch we set out looking for the redhead Smew that had been seen a few days previously but it took quite a bit of finding. Loads of Goldeneye, a few Goosanders, Tufties, Teal and Pochard on view and we finally picked out the Smew in the distance with 5 or 6 female Goldeneyes. A good bird anywhere in the north nowadays as I haven't seen one in Lancs for a couple of years now.

The weather hadn't improved by lunchtime so we set off to Caerlaverock where we could at least bird watch from the hides. We clocked a load of Whoopers just outside Kelton on the Nith, maybe up to 70 or so before reaching the WWT grounds where the fileds were covered in water. The Barnies were out on the saltmarsh and way out of view in the "clag". Yellowhammers were numerous though maybe 30+ around the feeding stations and the Tree Sparrows, Reed Bunt's, etc attracted a Sparrowhawk that darted along the hedgerows leading to the hides. Over a thousand Goldies in the fields plus a few Blackwits and some nice drake Pintails looking resplendent in the rafts of Wigeon and Teal. No sign of the Red-breasted Goose though - will this ever fall onto my D&G list?

All the best for 2008.