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  • Alasdair
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      Post count: 40

      At Foulshaw on Sunday we also had a Downy Emerald and on Friday there was a newly emerged female Black-tailed Skimmer at Gait Barrows.

      Alasdair
      Participant
        Post count: 40
        in reply to: Freehold waxwings #8171

        17 Waxwings in Sycamore on N side of Rydal Road at 15.15 just E of Grasmere Road. Had been feeding in White Rowan on Rydal.

        Alasdair
        Participant
          Post count: 40

          I don’t think any boxes were used by breeders this year, but heard that bangers were responding to the callers and checking out boxes, so fingers crossed for next year.

          Alasdair
          Participant
            Post count: 40
            in reply to: Ken Harrison #4985

            Thanks, Jon. Very sad news. I knew Ken for 25 years, working with him at the university. He made a huge contribution to the RSPB and LDBWS. He’ll be missed.

            Alasdair
            Participant
              Post count: 40

              12 noon today

              Chaffinch 12
              Brambling 1 F
              Linnet 10 in tree
              Stock Dove 2 – pair courting, then another male turned up and was chased off.
              Reed Bunting 8
              c200 Pinkfoot on Drumlins

              Plus fleeting appearances from Robin, Great, Blue and LT Tits, Dunnock, Wren. Song Thrush singing in Pony Wood.

              Alasdair
              Participant
                Post count: 40
                in reply to: Conder & Glasson #4906

                SE Owl spotted at lunchtime hunting around Conder Pool.

                Cycled down to Cockersand.
                c150 Whoopers in two herds in fields by Moss Lane.
                25 Linnet by Lighthouse Cottage.
                20 Eider off shore.
                1 F Snow Bunting reported beyond abbey.

                Alasdair
                Participant
                  Post count: 40

                  1 F Brambling still mooching around at the feeding station 13.00 today along with a posse of Chaffinches and about half a dozen Reed Buntings.

                  Alasdair
                  Participant
                    Post count: 40
                    in reply to: Painted Ladies #3412

                    At least 6 painted ladies near Clougha on Friday evening.

                    Alasdair
                    Participant
                      Post count: 40

                      That’s not a flock, Pete, that’s a blizzard.

                      Alasdair
                      Participant
                        Post count: 40
                        in reply to: Freehold swifts #3299

                        Swifts will fly hundreds of miles to avoid bad weather so they can keep feeding. Chicks go into a torpor while parents are away, lowering their body temp from 105 to 70. Amazing birds. Log then on swiftmapper.org.uk if you have a chance.

                        Alasdair
                        Participant
                          Post count: 40

                          Still looking for swift surveyors. Drop us a line at [email protected]
                          Ta!

                          Alasdair
                          Participant
                            Post count: 40
                            in reply to: Lancaster canal #3184

                            Haverbreakwater?
                            Main Cetti’s ship canal?

                            Alasdair
                            Participant
                              Post count: 40
                              in reply to: Lancaster ravens #2631

                              Wonderful stories, Eddy. Thanks for sharing them. And interesting to learn that you were the first to use social distancing to reduce the risks of corvid.

                              My favourite raven tale was of a pair seen in the Welsh mountains hopping up to the top of a frozen slope then flipping onto their backs and sliding down head first before repeating the process. Sheer playfulness, like their victory rolls in the air.

                              Alasdair
                              Participant
                                Post count: 40
                                in reply to: Arnside Raven Nest #2602

                                Thanks John. I remember seeing a family of ravens mooching around the shore in Arnside.

                                Alasdair
                                Participant
                                  Post count: 40
                                  in reply to: Arnside Raven Nest #2594

                                  I wonder if the Arnside pair are the ones that nested at Foulshaw for a few years – quite close to the osprey nest, which led to the odd fracas.

                                  Alasdair
                                  Participant
                                    Post count: 40
                                    in reply to: Lancaster ravens #2593

                                    I’ve heard ravens around Greaves and Haverbreaks a few times.

                                    Eddy’s brother’s knowledge of medieval Scottish literature is impressive. It reminded me of the Scots nonsense songs we would sing as bairns of Three Craws sittin’ on a wa’.
                                    The first craw fell and broke his jaw
                                    The second craw was greetin’ for his maw
                                    The third craw went and flew awa’
                                    – and this is where it enters the realm of abstract philosophy and ontology –
                                    The fourth craw wasnae there at a’.

                                    I appreciate the literary and cultural history of corvids might be better discussed elsewhere, but hey, lockdown. Take it where you find it.

                                    Alasdair
                                    Participant
                                      Post count: 40

                                      And there was me thinking you were just playing Birding Battleships. “You’ve just sunk my little grebe! No, there it is again.”

                                      In all seriousness, it’s an excellent idea. The more we can do to protect this area the better.

                                      Alasdair
                                      Participant
                                        Post count: 40
                                        in reply to: Blackcap #1874

                                        1 male blackcap in front garden in Greaves, Lancaster this a.m.
                                        (Breaking concentration while looking out of window during work phone call.)

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