Category: Uncategorized
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Abundance – Nature In Recovery
I have read Karen Lloyd’s latest work over the last few days, so this is effectively a book review. But I’ve also been on writing workshops Karen led over the last twelve months. So it’s difficult to be objective. Also I’ve heard extracts and the arguments being made at online events so I wasn’t coming…
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Foula Focus
I was browsing old pictures today so I thought for a change I would major on images rather than words. All these photographs were taken last May on a trip to Foula. I am going again this year, hopefully it will be just as enjoyable second time round.
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The Tide Is Higher
Little Singleton isn’t a place to go at high tide unless the tide is high. By that I mean a normal high tide removes the exposed river banks and offers no compensating benefits. A spring tide is a completely different matter, as birds are funnelled up from downriver and others that are normally out of…
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Missing Mergansers
The Fylde Bird Club newsletter came out yesterday. This prompted a few thoughts on my part. This included how far the standard of local bird club newsletters has come on, with advances in photography and desktop publishing. It also struck me that it’s a bit sad that finder’s accounts of rarities are somewhat old hat…
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Fifty Not Out
This is my half century of entries on this blog. I haven’t missed a day, WordPress like Ebird call this a streak. I am not sure the pressure to maintain these ‘streaks’ is conducive to good mental health, but I will be on Foula in the spring without laptop internet access so I know radio…
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John Wilson – Changes In Bird Populations Over A Lifetime
Tonight’s Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society online meeting was a real treat for over 60 members as they heard club president John Wilson reflect on over 75 years personal experience of birding the area. Like most young boys of his era John got involved in egg collecting to a degree. He was something of an…
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Water Park Life
Unlike the preening Canada Geese pictured above I wasn’t able to turn a blind eye to the hordes of people walking round Chorlton Water Park today. That isn’t to say that it was unpleasant, but it’s always a bit galling to see dogs chasing swans into the water whilst their owners often find it all…
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Gulls Old And New
After dropping Jane at the hairdressers I stayed fairly close by to be able to pick her up when she was done. So gulls were the order of the day – at Stanley Park and Skippool. I was hoping for some foreign ringing recoveries in the park, but both the birds I saw were from…
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Big Garden Birdwatch – Grange Park Edition
I was asked to run a Big Garden Birdwatch event at the community hub on our Grange Park Estate today. There is always a danger with these events that nobody comes, or people come and the birds don’t show up. As it was we did fine on both counts, there was a healthy turnout and…
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A New Dawn At The Park?
Following the heavy losses of Mute Swans at Stanley Park over the last few weeks the lake finally reopened today with no cases for some time. Brambles Wildlife Sanctuary who have been dealing with the sad avian flu losses asked me to do a waterbird count, as I have been doing the Wetland Bird Survey…
Natural Selection 