Neils UK list. based in Lancashire (1 Viewer)

[purpleturtle]

5/5/12 Moor piece

129. Pied flycatcher
130. Redstart

Only 1 male pied fly found, too mobile for a digiscoped pic. Also, cuckoo heard but quite distant.

 

[purpleturtle]

6/5/12 Brockholes

131. Whitethroat
132. Whimbrel

Pair of whitethroat displaying to each other while I waited for the whimbrel roost to fly in. Only 3 whimbrel by 8pm (when I left) I believe the numbers are much higher by sundown.

 

[purpleturtle]

7/5/12 Sensitive location - withheld

133. Ring ouzel
134. Red grouse

Quite a few singing males surrounding me. Spotted one even before seeing my first red grouse of the year! No moorland raptors seen today. 1 reeling grasshopper warbler.

 

[purpleturtle]

Forgot to add this on Friday

4/5/12 Preston docks

128. Common tern

Approx 6 pairs on the floating docks.

 

[purpleturtle]

11/5/12 Brockholes

135. Common Scoter

 

[purpleturtle]

26/5/12 Barley, Lancashire

Got up really early to go and look for the reported Wood warbler on the other side of Pendle hill. Didn't take long to find as it was singing loudly. I nearly managed a photo but it was very mobile.

136. Wood warbler

 

[purpleturtle]

1/6/12 Brockholes nature reserve

Stop in briefly on my Friday delivery route. Immediately found the reported drake Garganey, then spotted and digiscoped my first reed warbler of the year. Then came a bonus in the shape of a drake scaup.
Also saw a beautiful cinnabar moth.

137. Garganey
138. Reed warbler
139. Scaup

 

[purpleturtle]

8/6/12 Donington racetrack
Certainly didn't expect to be seeing any birds at "Download" heavy rock festival....... but I did.
Singing in the only tree on the vast campsite.

140. Yellowhammer

18/6/12 @ work, Clitheroe

A first for the garden (for at least the 8 years I've been watching) and they are nest building!

141. Spotted flycatcher

20/6/12 back field at work

Re-found "my" tawny owl pair again today. Must be the same pair, even though I havent seen them for a while. They have very different colouration.

142. Tawny owl

Also, added pics of my Elephant hawkmoths which emerged from their cocoons this week. We reared them from caterpillars found last year.

 

[purpleturtle]

24-25/6/12 Robin hood's bay & Bempton cliffs

I don't get to the seaside often.........

143. Fulmar

144. Kittiwake
145. Razorbill
146. Rock dove (you'll notice that I don't count feral pigeon)
147. Gannet
148. Puffin
149. Corn bunting
150. Peregrine (6 months without a peregrine! shocking eh?)

 

[purpleturtle]

10/7/12 at home

I'd been waiting for any decent weather to get the chance to clean, dry and waterproof our tent. I managed to do so on Tuesday. Whilst I was doing so, a Hobby flew over. I got good views as the noisy, mobbing swallows attracted my attention.
My pair of spotted flycatchers nesting on the house are still doing well despite the attentions of the male sparrowhawk. They have chosen a well sheltered nest site which has helped them through the recent heavy rains. I have circle their nest in the photo below.
Jill's mum was cutting back some clematis in the garden when she found a nest. She asked me to see if it was occupied, so I held my digital camera above the nest without disturbing the foliage. It was occupied, with 2 goldfinch eggs, so the gardening has been postponed.
Also this week, we found a MOLE inside the office of our workshop! No idea how it got inside the building but we released it about 1/2 a mile away.

151. Hobby

 

[purpleturtle]

13/7/12 Champion moor

Got up at 5am to go and look for the reported male Montagu's harrier. Arrived on site at 6 but the harrier didn't show until 7.45. I had very breif views before I had to leave for work. I also caught up with the family of little owls on the same moor and saw another hobby hunting starlings.

152. Little owl
153. Montagu's harrier