A bit of fudge.

Aythya hybrid (possibly Pochard x Ferruginous Duck) at Southport Marine Lake, 29 November 2010.

The Marine Lake in Southport can be worth checking in cold snaps such as the one we're experiencing at the moment. A noticeable influx of wildfowl there on 29 November included this interesting 'Ferruginous Duck type' hybrid. In truth this one never really caused me any panic due to its large size and I was able to see the bill pattern (with the broad dark tip and pale subterminal band) at close range quite early in the observation.

Ferruginous Duck type Aytha hybrid at Southport Marine Lake, 29 November 2010.

The 1st winter drake Scaup was still there as of course was the female Red-crested Pochard. I was a little surprised there was nothing else in the 133 Tufted Ducks and 21 Pochard but it was just good to have so many diving ducks locally to look through. Two Goldeneye were the only other 'divers' but dabblers included 15 Teal, 10 Wigeon, 20 Gadwall and 9 Shoveler. At least 30 Little Egrets were roosting on the islands at dusk when we called in too.

I managed to pop down to Hesketh Out Marsh first thing, after a quick check along Marsh Lane near the Douglas where a Woodcock dropped in and a Long-tailed Tit flock contained a Goldcrest and best of all a Treecreeper (rare in the HOM recording area). Scattering some bird food near the car park at the RSPB reserve had instant results with 3 Bramblings joining the 15 Chaffinches. A quick look around the reserve was good too and the saltmarsh is now sheltering a large number of Skylark (at least 350 at the moment) and 110 Linnets. This in turn is attracting raptors with the usual Merlin seen. Have I ever been to HOM in winter and not seen this charismatic little bird of prey I wonder? Marsh Harrier was putting up all the Wigeon that had moved out to the river in the freeze and the scavengers have moved in with 4 Buzzards and 2 Ravens noted.
Still 1000+ Pink-footed Geese on the NNR, all the Snipe were in the ditches where a Little Egret was making the best of the open water. Strolling back to the car through the fields on the public footpath is my latest tactic, hoping to pick up a few more passerines and get some idea of just how many 'small birds' use the area. It appeared there had been a small influx of Song Thrushes as in last winter's cold snap with at least half a dozen birds seen and surely some of these Blackbirds are of continental stock? At least 13 Tree Sparrows and a flock of 15 Long-tailed Tits and best of all a point-blank range Barn Owl on the last track ended the walk nicely.

The view from the canopy platform at Manu Wildlife Centre PERU, November 2010.

Striolated Puffbird, Manu PERU, November 2010.

Looking back to the beginning of the month in the tropics seems a strange thing to do as I sit in the office with the garden frozen and squabbling Starlings on the feeders. Still, it's another excuse to show some pics of Puffbirds so here goes!
The Striolated Puffbird is a canopy bird and these two were watched from the canopy platform at Manu Wildlife Centre a few weeks ago. These canopy platforms can blow hot and cold. The previous trip's attempt at canopy birding was pretty awful on a hot and humid morning with the sweat bees getting in our eyes and ears and even up our nose! At least the don't sting.

The last trip was much better with these White-bellied Parrots showing really well in the tops of the trees level with the platform. A good selection of canopy birds included Curl-crested and Ivory-billed Aracaris, Chestnut-winged Foliage-Gleaners and Sclater's Antwrens. Seeing the Pale-winged Trumpeters on the trails as we walked to the tower in the half light was a good omen I suppose.

The canopy platform at Manu Wildlife Centre PERU.

White-bellied Parrot, Manu Wildlife Centre PERU, November 2010.

Striolated Puffbird, Manu Wildlife Centre PERU, November 2010.

Messing about on (what used to be) the river.

Azure Gallinule on Cocha Blanco, Manu PERU November 2010

Still got a few shots from the last Peru trip in the folder but I have noticed that the same 'victims' seem to be popping up. I suppose that's the problem with digiscoping and its limitations. I need nice big subjects that'll sit still and not move for ages. The oxbow lakes have plenty of those and if you can compensate for the slight movement in the catamaran then there are some good photo op's.
So how are these oxbows formed? Well, the macaw lick that we visit used to be o the river (the Madred de Dios), but is now on a small oxbow. The image above shows what happens. Oxbows are formed when the river changes its course and takes a 'short cut' across the narrow neck of a tight curve in the river.

With the remnant section of the river receiving hardly any flow of water, the old loop chokes up with vegetation and an oxbow is formed. Hoatzins, gallinules, crakes, egrets, herons and Sungrebes move in.

A mature oxbow like Cocha Blanco (above), can be excellent for birds with plenty to see on the water, in the marshy fringes and even the forest borders where birds like this male Ladder-tailed Nightjar (below) can be found roosting.


The Pale-eyed Blackbird is a scarce Peruvian endemic species found in the swampy margins of these oxbow lakes. I took this photo on Cocha Blanco this November. It's a lake where I rarely see them in Manu; Cocha Camungo being more reliable for this species. Although the tropics has a reputation for 'stable populations' of birds throughout the year, many migrants do move in and some birds such as the Azure Gallinule (top photo) Agami Herons and Sungrebes appear more abundant as the wet season approaches.

Fast Food Outlet.

Versicolored Barbet on the Manu Road, Peru November 2010.

I often fill my Saturdays with non-birding activities. One of today's tasks was to clean the bird feeding station in the back garden and then fill it up again. A party of Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits were on the feeders before I had the chance to close the garage door. I managed to avoid watching the whole of an Arsenal lunchtime kick-off (like most of the team last weekend) by taking a stroll to the local nature reserve in Longton. The Brickcroft reserve was mostly frozen over but there were still 270 Mallards on the ice with 4 Shoveler and 5 Tufted Ducks on the small ice-free sections. A small skein of 19 Pink-footed Geese flew over and we could hear Bullfinch and Great-spotted Woodpecker in the woods as we walked round.

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Manu Road PERU November 2010.

No photos from today so here's a couple of cloud forest birds from Manu in Peru. Locally we still have the Iceland Gull, some Waxwings, at least one Firecrest still at Freckleton and of course the winter spectacle of thousands of wildfowl and waders packed on our estuaries.

Atlas TTV's and Whistle-stop Ribble Tour.

First winter drake Scaup at Southport Marine Lakes, 26 November 2010.

I've seen some decent birds over the last couple of days. Two adult Eurasian White-fronted Geese in the 1000+ Pink-footed Geese and 4 Greylag Geese on Crossens Outer Marsh (near Marshside) were the best today I guess. It's the quality of the birding rather than the bird that grabs me for sure.

Female Red-crested Pochard, Southport Marine Lakes 26 November 2010.

Then again ......

The Marine Lakes were good on my late morning dash around the Ribble sites though: Drake Scaup, dodgy RCP, redhead Goosander, 5 Goldeneye, 6 Pintail, 6 Shoveler, a Teal, 12 Gadwall and half a dozen each of Tufted Ducks and Pochards. Well worth keeping an eye on this site in a freeze I think.

I noticed Marshside was frozen over as I drove down so that reduced the amount of time I spent there, concentrating on the saltmarsh instead. Single Merlin on the Sandplant rubble and a nice gathering of ducks (including 11 Pochard and a Tufted Duck) on Rainford's Lagoon were all noted before I stopped by Crossens to grill the geese.

A frozen Rimmer's Marsh and Faircough's Pool, RSPB Marshside 26 November 2010.

I finished the day at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh with a late visit there. Another nice afternoon for raptors included Marsh Harrier, 2 Merlins, a Peregrine and a Sparrowhawk but no sign of any Hen Harriers once again. The Bramblings were hanging around the car park hedge with at least four in with the Chaffinches. Some waders had moved off the mudflats with 310 Golden Plovers joining 250+ Lapwings and 45 Curlews in the fields. The 'best of the rest' included the Goldcrest, 3 Tree Sparrows and 7 Grey Partridges.
I'm pleased to say I was back in 'Atlas Mode' again the other day with Graham Clarkson down near Skelmersdale. Top notch birds those Willow Tits and some nice flock action with Treecreeper and Nuthatch joining the tits.

Up town top rankin'.

Juvenile Iceland Gull still present at Preston Docks this morning. Blog's a bit overloaded with pics of this one, I know. Still, it's not every winter you get one of these dainty white-wingers on your doorstep. In fact it's becoming a bit of a celebrity with many passers-by asking to have a look through the 'scope. Maybe it's been in the paper?

Anyway I'd guess the Iceland Gull will be the current 'Snapper's Darling' now the Waxwings have scoffed all the berries and moved away. I wouldn't bother going into town tomorrow though with a couple of demonstrations planned.



Well, that's it for Iceland Gull pics; unless it happens to be standing next to a Franklin's Gull next time .......

Never trust a birding guide.

Thanks to Keith Gooday for sending me a few photos from the latest Peru trip featuring a moment of indiscipline at Boca Manu on the way to the lowland rainforests.
Iceland Gull still at the docks in Preston this morning and a Barnacle Goose in 3,000 Pink-footed Geese at Hundred End on the Ribble Estuary later on. There was another Firecrest on the north shore near Lytham yesterday; I wonder how many there are around here at the minute?

Lapland LongXXXXX!

Sorry, but I prefer 'Bunting' being an Arsenal fan .....

When we moved here I knew Lancs would be a great winter birding venue. I can't remember having so many good birds close to home as we have at the moment in the ten years we've lived here though. The Iceland Gull is still at the docks; Mrs B saw 50+ Waxwings in the city centre again today and the Firecrest is still being seen on the other side of the Ribble over at Freckleton.
I had a look at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh today in some fine November sunshine and jolly good it was too. There were lots of Pink-footed Geese around at the west end of the reserve but I resisted a walk along the seawall and headed to the stubble fields instead. A flock of 12 Corn Buntings was reward enough but a loud, dry "ticky-tick-tick" followed by a sharp, clear "teuu" let me know that there was a Lapland Bunting about and a male lifted out from the stubble, showing very well in flight. It joined another briefly; the fourth and fifth Lapland Bunting records of the autumn at HOM as far as I'm aware. Surely THE year to see this scarce bird on your local patch? The rest of the walk out to the river was a little quiet but of course there were the usual large gatherings on the river - 900 Lapwings with 6 Golden Plovers being the best. Three Marsh Harriers hunting together over the stubble was a real treat, only bettered by a Short-eared Owl over the partially flooded saltmarsh on the reserve. A couple of Peregrines, Merlin, a pair of Sparrowhawks and a Buzzard complemented a good count of nine Kestrels. Up to 300 Skylarks are now using the marsh and bird flocks are building as I counted 36 Reed Buntings and ended up with at least 18 Corn Buntings by the end of the afternoon. The Chaffinch flock along the seawall is still hosting at least 7 Bramblings but tit flocks aren't a feature of HOM so no Firecrests here today (there have been 3 or 4 in Lancs the past week) but the single Goldcrest is still a pretty good HOM bird. Apart from 100 Fieldfare that was it from the hedgerows but my attention switched rapidly to three lone geese calling and heading south over the seawall that turned out to be Bean Geese. Again, great flight views but obviously couldn't assign them to race as the flew by and kept heading in the direction of Martin Mere WWT.
The rest of my afternoon was taken up with the 2,200 strong Pink-footed Goose flock down at Hundred End. I spent a whole footy match sifting through these. I was on the look out for something black and white with bits of red (little did I know that it was with Pinks down near St Helens) but I did manage to pick out a Barnacle Goose and an adult Greenland White-fronted Goose before the light went. Watching this lot lift into the air as the sun set over the Ribble was a memorable experience too.

Out for the count.

Juvenile Iceland Gull at Preston Docks, Lancs 22 November 2010.

We had to stay in Preston overnight and ended up having breakfast at the docks this morning. The Iceland Gull was showing nicely just off the car park as we tucked into yet another unhealthy meal, even coming to bread by the buttie vans. The docks have a decent track record of unusual birds including Red-necked and Slav' Grebes, Long-tailed Duck, Scaup and Ring-billed Gull so the longer this bird stays the better, as I can see something else decent being found in the next couple of weeks.
Mrs B. was off today and had choice of venue and plumped for Martin Mere WWT this afternoon but we didn't find anything unusual. A nice afternoon though as we watched Whooper Swans, Pink-footed Geese, Ruff and the usual large numbers of wildfowl from the hides.

Yesterday was WeBS on the Ribble and I was allocated a stretch of the Ribble Coast just south of Southport. Some massive concentrations of waders on show, mainly Knot, Bar-tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Dunlins and Grey Plovers with a flock of 70+ Twite and Linnet a major distraction on the saltings. A Stonechat by the car park was a very pleasant surprise as I haven't seen one of these on the estuary for quite some time now.

Juvenile Iceland Gull at Preston Docks, Lancs 22 November 2010.

I found myself at Southport Pier at the end of the count and being high tide I thought I'd take a look at the sea. A Great Northern Diver was a good record for the Ribble Coast but the only other things I could find were a few Eider, 9 Goldeneye and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers. My post lunch (yet another bacon buttie) walk along Ainsdale Beach produced a female Snow Bunting and then it seemed to get dark real quick!
Saturday is best forgotten. It all started well with 30+ Waxwings in Preston and finished well with a walk down to the nature reserve just outside the village (Water Rail, Kingfisher, Goldeneye, Bullfinch, etc, etc) but the football between these two excursions on Sky TV had to be erased from my memory with alcohol later.

Firecrest.

Honestly, I am a miserable git. Today I went into Preston to see some of these........

Then went to the Ribble where there was no sign of yesterday's Iceland Gull; so went to the docks..........

....... where I found this .......

while looking for one of these ........

where I bought one of these ........

Showing well!

Looking a bit fidgety.

Only seen briefly for five minutes and no sign since lunchtime.

Whereas this was a little mobile but still present late afternoon at least.

Can't stop sneezing at the moment. I don't think I've bought anything back from Peru; I reckon it's the dust from the DIY on the house. I say DIY ....... it's me who opens the door when the guy arrives who's fitting the bathroom. Yesterday was OK at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh I suppose with several Bramblings, 14 Corn Buntings, 5 Yellowhammers in the finch flocks plus the usual raptors (always Merlins there) and wildfowl (at least 21 Whooper Swans and Pink-footed Geese). The female Scaup was still there too.
Anyway, I'm like a bear with a sore head and keeping out of everyone's way just in case I pass something on at the moment. Not easy when you pop out to see the 'Darling of the Snappers' (Waxwings) though. Preston is a pretty good city (yes, it has got city status) to live in / near if you like Waxos though and seems to get its fair share in good, or even reasonable 'Waxo Years'. So having resisted the temptation the last couple of days I took the short trip into town; sorry, city to see them today. I like Waxwings but I do wish they'd pick better sites. Honestly, the one in the picture above taken last year (I couldn't be arsed today), was outside some student accommodation near the university. Today's birds were at a children's playground. I ask you ......

Anyway, after all that urban excitement I thought I'd take a look on the Ribble in Preston in case yesterday's Iceland Gull was still about. No joy near Miller Park so a sausage 'n' bacon barm / buttie / bap (depending how far north of Watford you're from) at the docks was in order. And there it was (the gull, not the barm)! Sat for a while with the Black-headed and Herring Gulls before flying off down the other end of the docks where at least the light was a bit better. Bacon like Lineker's ears and sausages like Shiltons fingers (the barm, not the gull).

Newton Marsh, Lancs 19 November 2010.

Being on a roll (no pun intended) I decided to take the road along the north Ribble to Newton Marsh where a Goshawk has been seen on a couple of occasions recently. Now this is when that little Packham pops up on my shoulder saying "Don't bother, you know you only ever see Goshawks on breeding grounds", but this was my old Ribble patch in the days when we lived north of the river and it was just good to be back again. Stacks of birds on this fine November afternoon (wonder if I'll get to say that again this month?) with Wigeon, Teal and Shovelers on the pool but the only raptors were a couple of Kestrels and a Buzzard.

Hutton and Longton Marsh at the confluence of the Douglas and Ribble from Freckleton Naze Point, Lancs 19 November 2010.

The raised footpath out to Freckleton Naze Point gives a good view over the North Ribble Marshes so I took it in hope of some raptor action. Certainly got some, but just a couple of Buzzards, Kestrels and a Peregrine. The Naze was superb at low tide though - thousands of waders (mainly Lapwings - 1500+, Golden Plovers - 350+ and Curlews 50+) and a great view across the Ribble to Longton and Hesketh as the sun began to set. Just the one Little Egret so I guess the roost at the pool has dispersed but I picked up Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker and plenty of winter thrushes on the way back. It was on reaching the wood alongside the creek that I let myself go as I waited for a tit flock to pass:

"Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, more Long-tailed Tits and Ffffff ........ abregas! A friggin male Firecrest!".

One dog walker passed me hurriedly as I watched this little gem hover-gleaning at leaves at the edge of the trees. What an absolute stonker and only my second ever in Lancs and my first Ribble record.

Tried one of my old Barn Owl sites on the way home. Just pushin' it a bit much, that. Dipped. Who cares!