[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Goshawk migration #2642

Blimey. Was it an adult male, Matt?

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Lancaster ravens #2615

What did you name your Raven, Eddy?

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Lancaster ravens #2591

I made the mistake of mentioning seeing this Raven (pictured over Lancaster this morning) to my dentist today. 'Ravens?! I thought they were fantasy birds!'… by which he meant mythical. I assured him they were quite real, but I don't think he believed me. Kronk! pic.twitter.com/biFTxLqrOR

— Lancaster & District Birdwatching (@LDBWSnews) March 15, 2021

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit #2581

320 Black-tailed Godwits feeding in A13 (field N of The Flood field) at 1430. None at latter site (A14) by this time .

16 Tufted Duck A4 S (Wildfowlers Pools S).

34 Redshank and 28 Wigeon feeding in A5 (field containing Frog Pond).

36 Linnets and 20 Reed Buntings feeding at LDBWS feeding station.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Lancaster ravens #2572

Poe – try in motion.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Selected Aldcliffe bits yesterday and today. #2554

For interest, here are the histories of two Black-tailed Godwits ringed at the Wash that have been seen by the Lune estuary and Lune valley of late. Thanks Pete, Jean, Richard Du Feu and Jennifer Gill.

O-GW//W
01.09.19 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
01.03.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
06.03.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
28.03.20 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
01.09.20 Titchwell, Norfolk, E England
24.09.20 Titchwell, Norfolk, E England
01.12.20 Cockerham Sands, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
24.12.20 Newton Marsh, Preston, Lancashire, NW England
15.02.21 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
06.03.21 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
09.03.21 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England

O-YW//W
01.09.19 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
08.11.19 Genêts, Dragey-Ronthon, Normandy, N France
19.11.19 Baie du Mont St Michel, Manche, N France
14.03.20 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
25.03.20 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England
08.08.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
09.08.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
23.08.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
19.09.20 Snettisham, the Wash estuary, Norfolk, E England
13.02.21 Pilling Marsh, Lancashire, NW England
09.03.21 Aldcliffe, Lune estuary, Lancashire, NW England

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe / Fairfield this morning #2537

We do have a birding battleships league Alasdair– but at the moment it’s committee members only.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe / Fairfield this morning #2532

We’ll look into doing some spring / summer guided walks, Alasdair. Maybe some vis mig and seawatching sessions too.

LDBWS feeding station good once more with close views of ground feeding Linnets more and more reliable (c25 today) and still good numbers of Reed Buntings (18 today) and Chaffinches.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe Knot #2519

Nice. I think Knot might be a new species for The Flood list. Any thoughts, Jon?

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe / Fairfield this morning #2508

Hi Alasdair– greetings from parallel Lancaster!

The club is currently working to provide data on land it deems ‘functionally linked’ to Morecambe Bay SPA– ie used by species that make the bay special in a conservation sense.

We’ve been getting as precise as we can (to field level where possible) so we’ve been devising maps which split up key areas for wetland bird species. I’ve been sorting through / winkling out Aldcliffe data from the last ten years and have divvied up what we might call Aldcliffe into 23 fields or clusters ie A1 to A23. For instance, A2 is Freeman’s Pools and A14 is the field that contains ‘The Flood’ just N of the foot of Aldcliffe Hall Lane.

Every time records are placed on this site Rosie (hi Rosie!) and others assimilate, interpret and cut and paste to a database which forms the backbone of the annual reports and other projects. At the moment we’re on a drive to up our data quality.

So for example if a developer asks us which records we have for a relatively obscure spot because they wish to build houses on ‘X43’ we can pull out our relevant records more easily and with added confidence.

I mentioned to Rosie that I would trial a system for my frequent Aldcliffe records and she welcomed the idea as it would her save time and head-scratching when transferring data from the site to the database.

At the moment it’s just between me and her but I plan to devise / upload a map of the Aldcliffe area which will reveal all– and which could be adopted as a recording system by others. There are familiar hotspots like the Wildfowlers Pools but also lots of nooks and crannies and near-identical fields so perhaps next time we have a Tundra Bean Goose at ‘Aldcliffe’ and someone asks yes but where exactly? we might reply ‘A5’ and both know what’s what.

Re: missing birds no two visitors to any site find or indeed record exactly the same thing and these sites can be quite dynamic: ‘You should’ve been here five minutes ago!’.

I’ve had 20+ years of practice of getting the most out of each trip to Aldcliffe and I still miss stuff. I’m very familiar and think I know what to look / listen out for– and where. Perhaps me and / or others could do a guided outing when restrictions allow. Would you be interested? The club committee is currently looking to see how the society can benefit our members, the wider community and the base of knowledge we’re acquiring from being in the field since 1959!

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Heversham Moss birds/Silverdale Tortoiseshell #2507

Hi Chris,

Good records!

The club is doing some work on land we deem ‘functionally linked’ to Morecambe Bay SPA– and for records for key species (most waders and wildfowl) we’re trying to map the usage to field level if possible.

Are you able to pinpoint the sites you mention for Whooper Swans and Snipe respectively?

https://gridreferencefinder.com/ is easy to use and we’d really welcome a 6 or 10 figure grid ref for each precise spot.

Many thanks,
Dan.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe / Fairfield #2441

140 Linnets in Aldcliffe maize field (A3) today.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe / Fairfield #2438

Forgot:

55 Black-tailed Godwit on Wildfowlers Pools N (A4).

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Fairfield Stonechats #2426

Two Stonechats at SD455565 on saltmarsh just N of Conder Green today.

Quite a good passage of this species in recent days.

Note Kevin’s razor-dodger from Heysham Harbour below.

@LDBWSnews A lovely male Stonechat living dangerously at Heysham harbour today. pic.twitter.com/JN2DoNzfKP

— Kevin Eaves (@khrizmo) February 21, 2021

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station #2425

A whopping 21 Reed Buntings in and around the feeding station this afternoon. This counts equals the site record.

Ad Peregrine over NE.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Fairfield Reserve Barn Owl #2400

LDBWS Feeding Station early morning:

Chaffinch 32
Linnet 19
Reed Bunting 10

30 Fieldfares in Pony Wood.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Various Linnets and Aldcliffe Geese #2397

No quality for me either but 2180 Pink-footed Goose in field containing Frog Pond SD 45908 61170 mid-morning. (note for Rosie: ‘A5’!).

63 Linnets in maize stubble field opposite (A4!).

77 Curlews on ‘The Flood’ (A14!)

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station at Fairfield #2389

Many thanks Mal and Eddy. This will definitely keep us going until Mid-March when there will be a breeding season hiatus until the autumn.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station at Fairfield #2381

32 Cavendish Street
Lancaster
LA1 5QA

Thanks!

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station at Fairfield #2353

Our ‘grain mountain’ is dwindling and were hoping to carry on the supplementary feeding for another three or four weeks.

Is anybody able to help in purchasing a 25kg sack of this? https://www.gardenwildlifedirect.co.uk/no-wheat-wild-bird-seed-mix.html

The birds are fond of sunflower chips and we have a good few kilos of those in stock (in my back room) but this particular mix is going down well too.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station at Fairfield #2351

LDBWS feeding station seedeaters (mostly on the deck) this afternoon:

Chaffinch 40
Linnet 26
Reed Bunting 13
Blackbird 6
Lesser Redpoll 1

A mix of Linnets, Chaffinches and Reed Buntings eating LDBWS seed mix at Fairfield. Jack Snipe by 'School Pond' in the N half of the reserve. Hawfinch seen at a former district stronghold (Woodwell, Silverdale). https://t.co/MSuWeBpHCd pic.twitter.com/o2xD2NKnhh

— Lancaster & District Birdwatching (@LDBWSnews) February 14, 2021

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Arnside Chiffchaff #2313

Good record.

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Caton/Halton #2312

Great shots.

The duck is actually a Red-breasted Merganser (note the red eye, straight –not hooked– bill tip).

Great images on your site, by the way– particularly the Lune ones!

https://www.samadelewildlife.co.uk/blog/a-good-start-to-the-lune-valley-wildlife-project

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: Aldcliffe #2299

I made it about 180 Black-tailed Godwits as well, Barrie.

No sign of the harrier this afternoon.

55 Linnets in middle of maize field (SD455611).

190 Lapwings in narrow field E of ‘upper path’ at SD460604.

Two Green Sandpipers, two Grey Wagtails and two Goldcrests were at Stodday sewage works.

Pictured: a decent flock of Black-tailed Godwits new in over the flooded fields at Aldcliffe today. I'm sure I'm not the only one hoping Spring 2021 can equal Spring 2020 when four figures of these Icelandic birds were using these floods daily. pic.twitter.com/D0FeXibyrQ

— Lancaster & District Birdwatching (@LDBWSnews) February 8, 2021

[Dan Haywood]

in reply to: LDBWS feeding station #2294

Chaffinch 31
Reed Bunting 17
Stock Dove 2

Kestrel 1

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