SOLWAY 19 February 2008: Garganey in Feb?

Our final day on the Solway for this trip started at Seafield Bay, Annan. The tide was rising although little was on view when we arrived so we made our way to the viaduct.

Plenty of Teal, Redshank, Curlew and Dunlin around with the odd skein of Barnacle Geese heading across the Solway from Cumbria too.

A nice raft of 40 Scaup drifted past us on the tide and the pair of Snipe put up by the incoming tide were a long overdue D&G year tick.

Stock Dove, Annan 19 February 2008.

With the tide covering most of the bay we decided to head for Castle Loch near Lochmaben to see if the Long-tailed Duck was still around. No joy at the sailing club car park so we parked near the woodland viewing platform to look through the ducks congregated on the small patch of ice-free water nearby. Still no sign of the LTD but a nice redhead Smew with a few Goldeneyes made up for it.

A few salmon-pink drake Goosanders were out there too and the woodlands came alive with Long-tailed, Coal and Willow Tits as well as Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Still "Long-tailed Duckless" we decided to check nearby Kirk Loch in case the freeze had displaced it. It looks as though LTD may not get on the D&G year list until next winter, but we won't have to wait until the Spring for Garganey. A distant small duck with a white stripe over the eye was making its way towards us around the ice - obviously the drake Garganey reported last week.

After a short flight thanks to a very aggressive duck Goldeneye the Garg' settled down to feed allowing a couple of record shots to be taken. A superb D&G tick for me and most welcome year tick. We ended the weekend with 111 for D&G 2008 (according to Mrs. B. the "list keeper") - not bad considering we'd had bad luck with the weather on our two previous visits this year. Another super weekend around the Solway with Red-breasted Goose, 2 owls, Iceland Gull, a couple of Smew, Garganey plus the "usual" geese, ducks and Black Guillemots. Roll on March!

SOLWAY 18 February 2008: Loch Ryan.

On Monday we decided to spend the day over at Loch Ryan near Stranraer. Our previous trip this year in January had been a bit of a "washout" with terrible weather. The rain, murky sky and windy conditions had made views across the loch rather poor and therefore we had failed to get decent views of any birds on the water and our birding had been mostly restricted to "from the car". So on Sunday evening I called Chris Baines and arranged to meet him at Bishop Burn for high tide and hope to see the immature Iceland Gull that had been frequenting that area of late.







Left: Chris Baines birding at the Wig, Loch Ryan 18 February 2008.

We left a cold and frosty Annan, making our way along the A75 for Stranraer with little to stop us on the way. Chris was already waiting at Bishop Burn when we arrived and there were only a few large gulls around the burn.

Bishop Burn, Loch Ryan 18 February 2008.

Plenty of birds around including Red-throated Divers, Slavonian Grebes, Common Scoters, hundreds of Scaup and Eiders and a few Black Guillemots. Dave Bickerton (another Lancashire birder) turned up just after we'd located an Iceland Gull feeding with a bunch of gulls some way offshore on the loch. The Iceland appeared to be a second winter with a mainly "frosty" appearance due to its white underparts, greyish-white mantle and wing coverts suffused with milky-coffee markings. The dainty rounded headed appeared to be white and the small bill pale with a darker tip. Apparently a different bird to the juvenile seen at the start of Feb and likely responsible for the putative Kumlien's report on 19th. Our views were just too distant and hopefully future sightings will reveal the true identity of this bird.

Drake Scaup at Bishop Burn, Loch Ryan 18 February 2008.

After all this excitement we headed through Stranraer and paid a visit to the Soleburn shore. The flat calm conditions looked perfect for locating the Long-tailed Ducks but we failed to find any.
There were a few Pale-bellied Brent Geese near the burn here but plenty more were seen near the Wig. We probably saw about 50 in all. Black-throated Diver, more Slav's (we saw 30+ in all), a Razorbill, adult Gannet and Black Guillemots in various plumages were seen in Wig Bay.

At the Wig itself we spent some time looking into the loch in the direction of Cairn Ryan (plenty of Shags, Mergs and Eiders), on the sands exposed by the falling tide (4 Grey Povers, some Golen Plovers and a couple of Ringed Plovers) and in the fields where we eventually found a flock of 80 or so Twite and 70+ Skylarks. Two Ravens flew over croaking as they went.

Golden Plovers sitting on exposed mud at the Wig.

Our next port of call was the Galderoch landfill site in the hope of Glaucous Gull. We spent about an hour scanning across the tip without so much as a false alarm so conceded defeat and headed off to West Freugh to finish the day.

A D&G year tick came in the form of 8 Gadwall at Clayshant Quarry and a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese could be seen in the distance coming down to feed so we drove around until we found them on the deck. At least 700 were present and we gave them a fair bit of scrutiny before heading back towards Newton Stewart. Another flock of 500 Pinks north of Chris's house delayed our arrival and it was nice to have a cuppa with Chris and Pat before setting off again.

SOLWAY: 17 February 2008: Southerness & Ken - Dee.

We started birding on the Southerness peninsula this morning and as we drove along the Nith estuary the tide was already dropping so we continued to Southerness Point. The fields north of the point were full of Barnacle Geese, including one of the regular albinos present this winter.

Our main target for the morning was Purple Sandpiper and with the tide dropping we knew it was going to be tough to find them. We headed straight out on the rocks beyond the lighthouse (one of their favourite areas here) where we quickly found one with Turnstones, Redshanks and Oystercatchers.

No sign of any Twite on the beach but plenty of waders on the shore including at least 20 Grey Plovers. About 200 Golden Plovers and similar numbers of Knot were feeding in the pools on the rocky shore.

Not much on the sea apart from a raft of Wigeon and a handfull of Mergs so we headed round to Arbigland where we found a small herd of 18 Whooper Swans. The Pink-feet seem to have abandoned the area though, which is a shame as I thought we might turn up Ross's Goose here this winter.

I was time to get some woodland birds on the D&G yearlist now so we left for Loch Ken stopping in at Meresehead for a quick coffee on the way and a Red Squirrel trying to cross the road near Sandyhills! Driving alongside the Dee we were surprised to see a partially albino Buzzard before a flock of 71 Greenland White-fronted Geese flew over. Bullfinches were calling as we walked to the hide overlooking the marshes and we picked up at least 3 Red Kites over the hillsides.

The woodland around the hide was pretty lively with Willow Tit, Treecreeper and Nuthatches as well as a couple of Red Squirrels at the feeders.

Back at the car park the Greenland Whitefronts were on the deck and we waited some time trying to find a Brambling in the Chaffinch flock without joy. The road between the loch and Laurieston is pretty good for Fieldfares and we found at least 200 here as well as a perched Red Kite.

We took the road into the hills from Laurieston to Gatehouse of Fleet but the sun was going down and we saw nothing but a Raven.

The February sunshine lengthened the day somewhat and we made it to Carlingwark Loch at Castle Douglas in time to see a redhead Smew before dusk. The "scenic route" back to Annan took us back towards Meresehead for Tawny Owl (heard a couple) and Loaningfoot for Barn Owl but we saw neither. Our luck changed as we headed north along the Nith towards Dumfries however when a Tawny Owl was found on roadside cables. An excellent day's birding and we'd pushed our D&G yearlist into three figures at last despite two very wet January visits.

SOLWAY 16 February 2008: Red-breasted Goose & Starlings!

Saturday morning started with a quick review of the birds on offer in the north-west in anticipation of our lunchtime departure for the Solway. So a phone call from Chris Baines in deepest D&G with the news of the Red-breasted Goose showing near Carlisle was most welcome. We managed to reach Easton by 3.30 PM and despite finding a huge flock of a couple of thousand Pink-feet there was nobody watching the geese. A few Barnacles were littered amongst the Pinks so we started sifting through them wih difficulty as we were looking straight into the sun. I'd just about given up all hope when the Red-breast popped up out of a dip in the field, behaving very aggressively towards the Barnies with which it was associating. Too distant for a record shot even but very satisfying. Bouyed by our success we set off, Mrs. B. spotting a Barn Owl from the car and headed north of the Solway and into Scotland.

We'd been intending to visit the Gretna Starling roost this winter and as time was running out for us this evening seemed like a good opportunity. Our timing was perfect and as we headed west out of Gretna a few small flocks could be seen in the sky.

A couple of other cars were in the lay-by and no sooner had we arrived than a huge "blanket" of Starlings appeared in the sky above us.

The "swarm" thickened, crossing the road and twisting and turning as the flock gathered momentum and "spooking" every now and then as a Sparrowhawk passed by.

We whitnessed a couple of spectacular "swirls" as sections of the flock broke suddenly from the rest in perfect coordination. Estimations of this gathering have varied enormously but there are certainly hundreds of thousands here.

By now a few cars had gathered in the layby down the road too. The Gretna Starlings have local celebrity status and have now made the national news apparently with clips of the roost on YouTube as well. Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area. We watched from 5.15 PM at approximately NY311689 from the lay-by on the right hand side of the road from Springfield to Kirkpatrick-Fleming.

We set off for Annan happy with our afternoon's haul, adding a Peregrine and Buzzards to our tally for the day.

LANCS: Night Heron.

Adult Night Heron at Mere Sands Wood, Lancs 14 February 2008.

News of a Great White Egret at Crossen's Marsh had me dashing south of the Ribble this afternoon as it's missing from my SD102 (the OS Map covering my regular birding sites) list. Yes, pathetic isn't it? Too late as usual, plenty of Little Egrets (at least 5), a few "Pinks" and Wigeon being scattered by a menacing G.B.B. Gull but no joy with the egret.

The the news of a Night Heron came through so acting immediately and being the "rapid-response twitcher" that I am I sauntered down to Sandgrounder's for a look at the drake Green-winged Teal. I popped in to Mere Sands on the way back to Preston where the Night Heron was doing what Night Herons do best - sleeping. It did move once though, I just wasn't quick enough to catch it with the camera. Few Tufties and a Gadwall on the lake but not much else. I've seen Night Heron in SD102 ........ never happy, me.

LANCS: North Fylde Afternoon.

February is a great month! With the days getting longer there's more birding hours per day - just a shame that the winters are getting shorter - it seems that the winter birds will only be here during the short days soon. An afternoon out started at Fleetwood Marsh on the Wyre Estuary in "baseball cap and sweater weather, rather than "wooly hat and fleece".

Plenty of large gulls bathing on the pools along with 3 Goldeneye, a pair of Shoveler and some Tufties. I was scanning the gulls on the fish factory roof when the juv' Iceland Gull flew by and headed out to the river. No sign of it on the river but plenty of waders, including some Blackwits on Barnaby's Sands. A desperate scan with the 'scope of a flying skein of Pink-feet on the other side of the Wyre near Staynall failed to produce a white blob that I could claim as a stringy Ross's Goose day tick. Off to Fleetwood then.

A rather disagreable "scrote" in a Man Utd shirt throwing stones at the roosting waders on my arrival at the Marine Lakes ensured that I had little chance of locating the Purple Sand's that had been seen there at the weekend. I spent a bit of time there at high tide and to be honest I don't think I'd have seen the "Purps" anyway, but as a Gooner it is at least an excuse to blame him! Nice flock of Turnstones though, plus a few Redshank and a single Knot. Not much on the mirror-like sea off the prom' apart from 20+ Mergs and 30+ Cormorants.

Having to pick up my son from work on the A6 gave me the perfect excuse to call in at the "Pilling goose fields" on the way back to Preston. Many of the Pinks were heading out to roost on the Wyre when I passed Stalmine and I failed to find any on the deck to check for the Ross's. The Pilling area on the other hand was simply infested with them.

There must have been in excess of ten thousand Pink-footed Geese in the fields south of Lane Ends. Most were distant or behind hedges, but there must be a Bean, Greenland White-front or even a Snow Goose here somewhere? Only time will tell and hopefully they'll hang around a few weeks for examination.

LANCS: Day trip to Bowland.

Day off for Mrs. B. today so we set out for a day in Bowland. Beautiful weather again and after leaving early enough to miss the local traffic we stopped for a quick coffee overlooking Abbeystead. Not much about here apart from a pair of Buzzards though.

The scenic Dunsop Valley (of Eagle Owl fame) was our main destination and on arrival Mrs. B. spotted a Dipper on the river (an overdue year tick for us both).

Lots of bird activity around the river - Grey Wagtail, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper all "singing" and incredibly a Tawny Owl too! Surprisingly very few raptors though with only half a dozen Buzzards seen but Pink-footed Geese are definitely on the move with 3 skeins totalling about 330 birds heading in a general westerly direction across the valley.

Apart from a craoking Raven overhead the only other highlight was lunch at Bashall Barn and a visit to the Bowland brewery where several bottles of the local "Sky Dancer" (complete with the Hen Harrier label) made their way into the boot of our car.

LANCS: Ross's revisited.

I'd been wanting to take another look at the Ross's Goose and this morning seemed like a good opportunity given the promising weather forecast. So I set off for Staynall (the goose had moved from Stalmine where we saw it a week ago) and on my arrival a large flock of geese took off.

The Ross's Goose was amongst them but they landed out of view so I drove back to the main road where a few Pink-feet could be seen near the road. After a short wait the Ross's Goose wandered into view and fed with the "Pinks" for 20 minutes or so before flying off out of view again. Satisfied I headed towards Pilling.

As I drove towards the village only a few flocks of geese were noted, all landing out of view behind hedges. Before stopping at Lane Ends I took a trip around Cockerham where there were no geese but a spectacular "swirl" of Starlings near a gliding Buzzard. The feeding stations were in good form with plenty of birds including Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Corn Buntings and a couple of Bramblings (a nice year tick).

I'd timed my arrival at Pilling to coincide with the high tide in hope that yesterday's Lapland Bunting would reappear from the saltmarsh. I checked the stubble fields from the seawall for Skylark flocks but very few appeared even when the tide covered the saltmarsh.

At least 14 Whooper Swans were on the pool and on the saltmarsh with the tide pushing Great-crested Grebes, Mergs, Teal, Wigeon, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew and thousands of Lapwings closer to the seawall. A couple of Rock Pipits flew around calling too.

At least 3 Little Egrets were out there too and I walked as far as Lane Ends where I met Mrs. B. A quick spot of lunch and a quick look at Fluke Hall Lane (Red-legged Partridges, 200+ Pinks, Little Egret and 8 Tree Sparrows) before heading back out on the seawall again.

By now the tide had dropped but there were still plenty of birds so that Mrs. B. could practice using her 'scope.

A considerable improvement from our last outing as tripod legs were only entwined once and I only received one prod during the whole afternoon.

Bewick's Swans at Fluke Hall Lane, Pilling 9 February 2008.

Next stop was the Conder Estuary where our targets quickly fell in the form of Greenshank and Spotted Redshank.

Two Spotshanks were on view plus a couple of Curlew, loads of Redshanks, a Grey Plovers and 20+ Teal. The 'shanks were both well-received year ticks.

Two drakes and a female Scaup were present on Conder Pool with the Tufties, a Pochard and a couple of Little Grebes. Let's hope the weather continues - Solway next weekend.