from the field book

Tree Shapes

2010-12-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I'm not the only person that enjoys tree spotting as I drive along the road. Once you get an eye for basic tree shapes and features, you can name many at a glance. To me, ash trees (left) are a bit snooty! Why? Because their twigs tend to curl upwards. Whereas beech tend to have horizontally spreading branches. Many have distinctive shapes and colours - I'll try photograph more another day.

A crisp tree shape against a cerulean sky - how many beautiful sights we have on winter days.

Since my camera isn't good enough to photograph birds, I've decided to share some tree shapes with you from a weekend walk around Croston. How complex is this willow trunk below?
How useful telegraph poles are in sparing a few extra berries for hungry redwings....At this time of year, I also enjoy the contrast between frozen and non-frozen patches.
And if you get close, have a look at just how brightly coloured lichen can be.

But let's not forget the birds. I really enjoyed watching the yellowhammers, their faces bright like summer suns. There were lots of roaming fieldfare in small parties and one had approaching 100 birds. A snipe was flushed from a ditch and two lapwings had returned to the fields to try their luck where the frost was melting. Amongst the stubble was a flock of about 100 larks, calling as they rose before plunging back into silence and more stubble. There was also a small flock of linnet, tree sparrows at several sites, reed bunting,buzzard, kestrels and lots of garden birds.

The Merging of the Seasons

2010-10-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

An October baby, I love my birth month: it's gentle-warm sun and the way we value the shortening daylight hours. I also enjoy the gradual changing of colours as autumn seeps in and leaves fanfare farewells.

This Croston Finney morning began with powder blue skies. Summer hovered in full fields of maize, and wild pansies quietly persisted amongst the rustle of barley waiting to be cut. Later, the stubble fields, bales and temporary clouding-over showed autumn's easing in. The trees, too, were straddling the seasons; some green, some yellow, some bearing only keys.Vocal skylarks celebrated the bounty of the fields. They approached two hundred in number and there was plenty for all. Over a hundred goldfinch likewise mustered for chatter and food. Crows, rooks, jackdaws all filled the sky with caws but none so loud as the grey heron's rasping croaks.

Common darters still danced over boggy fields where three wintering snipe were flushed by my presence. How rapid their wing beats; how stodgy my steps! A small white (butterfly) also floated by.
Back on a track. Yellow hammers perched on the telephone wires, their faces bright as summer suns. Corn buntings were harvesting the stubble, their numbers yet to increase. And the hedgerows held out their hips and haws for the redwings who have yet to arrive.

October, my birth month, I love.

OPAL Survey

2010-10-10T09:58:00.001-07:00

I've recently been working with a group to complete a clean air survey organised by OPAL (Open Air Laboratories). It involved measuring tree girths, counting fungal spots on sycamore leaves and identifying lichen on oak, ash and sycamore trees. The survey doesn't take long to complete and you could easily complete it in a local park or open area. What's more all the ID charts and materials you need are provided - a great teaching resource.

Why not take part - and let's see how clean the air in all areas of Britain is. There's lots of other surveys to complete too. Go on, try one...

Charnock Richard Scarecrow Festival

2010-09-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

A quick visit to White Coppice this morning was rewarded with the delight of about two hundred house martins, along with a few sand martins and swallows feeding in the shelter of Stronstrey Bank.

This evening I had a look around Charnock Richard's annual Scarecrow Festival. It didn't scare the crows - I saw a flock of about 50 gathering to roost - but it was entertaining for us humans. Below are a just a few of the many fun moments.

This charming horse and fox really made me smile. It's obvious whose side the horse is on.

But it looks like not everyone was enjoying themselves - I wonder what made this guy angry....

Tree surgeon anyone?

Whoops!

Errrrm no - I don't want to trust him to cut my lawn!

Many thanks to the folks of Charnock Richard.

Great Hill and Black Brook

2010-08-22T11:58:00.001-07:00

The skies were looking very changeable today as I set off for Great Hill. I'm glad I went because a wonderful spectacle awaited - well over a hundred swallows zooming around at low levels. As I paused to admire them, I wondered if the many short-tailed youngsters amongst them knew about the migratory adventures that lay so soon ahead. Part way towards Great Hill is Sam's Cup, the site of an old well. It remains a popular spot for having a break. A short distance further and I see the kestrel/s which showed little interest in the fast flying swallows as they hovered searching for voles etc.
I decided to return via Black Brook. It is not a public footpath but is a well used path through this area of access land. The path is eroded in places so it's wise to take a friend along (even if I didn't...)

The sun brought out the butterflies: small tortoiseshell, meadow brown, small coppers and gatekeepers. A couple of brown hawkers and a black darter were also seen, and bees were visiting the heather. I enjoy the landscape of this brook, looking at angles of the carved valley and its tributaries.

Dragons and Damsels

2010-08-16T02:17:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of yesterday's sunshine to take a walk to a couple of pools in the old quarries near Healey Nab. All the photos below are from the British Dragonfly Society's website and if you click on each photo or the credit beneath, the link will take you to that website - well worth a visit.

Before I reached the pools I saw brown hawkers flying around White Coppice area. They are an unmistakable species hawking over the bracken. However, when I watched them flying over the water, their wings suddenly appeared to be translucent bronze as reflected light shone through them. What a difference the light makes.

Brown Hawker by Andrew Harmer

Brilliant blue, male damselflies created a magic carpet along the path to the pool. So many of them, hovering there. Their brightness conspicuous above the sand-coloured path. Many were copulating amongst the vegetation until disturbed, when they flew in tandem to another resting place. Below is a photo of a pair in tandem; the female is green.

Common Blue Damselflies by Paul Hayward

Talking of green, there were also a few elegant emerald damselflies, flying over nearby vegetation. This species tends to be associated with acid pools so the the peat here must attract them.

Emerald Damselfly by David Kitching

A common hawker flew around the pool. It's size and colour announcing its presence.

Common Hawker by Mathew Webster dragonflysoc.org.uk

I was treated to a close-up of a male black darter, angling its abdomen as it rested on a rock. I could clearly see a spot on each wing. Soon after, a female perched on a nearby stone, her yellow abdomen making me think she was a different species at first.

Black Darter by Matthew Webster

Dragonflies - nice getting to know you.

Stocks Reservoir

2010-08-11T02:38:00.000-07:00

We decided to enjoy the sun and showers by taking a walk around Stocks Reservoir. It's a 11km / 7m circular walk which is well signed. Close to our start point is a United Utilities office - don't they just own some beautiful buildings? Soon we pass the Valve Tower (above). The reservoir is low at present due to less than average rainfall but when we notice that even the culverts near the reservoir are not being cleared, it begs the question: is the precious rainfall being captured efficiently in these catchment areas? We see several oystercatchers. One of the joys of this walk in summer is the flowers. Everywhere fields are pitted by the purple heads of black knapweed and self-heal and through the grass vetch stretches. You breath in meadowsweet, turn to admire its creamy heads adorning field and ditch. Amongst my favourite mauve and creams, other colours appear. Below is what might be larch bolete. The sunny spells encourage butterflies to rise and we see mostly green-veined whites and meadow browns. We also disturb a cloud of larks and are greeted by another favourite flower of mine - field scabious and I also spot sneezewort. I might pass on the fungi, but I do pause to pluck some pink-plump raspberries - just a couple. I explode them slowly in my mouth to explore their delicate sweetness. We notice the cormorant are gathering (about 30) at a safe distance and out of sight from the fisheries.

Now we veer from the reservoir through fields and a bridge to cross Hasgill Beck and the River Hodder which feed the reservoir. More lambs and flowers. Much of the return walk follows a dismantled railway line and I wonder what it must have been like to travel such a scenic route.

We look across the valley and absorb how remote this place is and how lucky we are to enjoy it.

BioBlitz

2010-08-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was helping to staff the Chorley NATS stall at the BioBlitz event at Cuerdan Valley Park, Bamber Bridge. These events provide a snapshot of the diversity of wildlife as surveys are undertaken to record the plant, insect and animal life found. As I made my way to the event, I passed a beetle expert busy with the survey.
It was heartening to see how much life had been found in the river and ponds. Species such as stonefly larvae and also dragonfly larvae testify to how well oxygenated and unpolluted the water is. Birdwatchers might be interested to know that crossbills have recently been seen in the park and a hobby put in a brief appearance.
Quite a few organisations had stalls so there were plenty of opportunities for networking and collecting some brilliant teaching resources. I also sold a few copies of my book, from the field book, and although not my main intention for attending, it was pleasing.
Of course we could BioBlitz our gardens and back yards and might be surprised what we find. My garden has been host to at least four blue tit broods and one great tit brood over the past couple of months. I love watching the yellow/green versions of these species as they forage around curious and not yet as wary as they will become. I've also had young coal tits, robins and blackbirds too. I'm not sure what's happened to the song thrush I heard all spring but I haven't seen any young.

You're probably wondering about the photos. Well, I decided to have a go at growing my own herbs and some vegetables this summer. I've enjoyed nipping out to collect fresh rosemary, parsley, coriander, basil and baby lettuce leaves etc. I have managed to find a variety that the slugs don't eat! Above is some sweetcorn - I just have to work out when it's ready for harvest. All advice welcome. And below are my yellow courgettes. I decided to grow them because I don't see the yellow ones in the shops. Bees seem to love their flowers.

The BioBlitz photos are used with the kind permission of Chris Rae

Two's Company

2010-07-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

I did wonder whether I was a little under dressed this morning when I ascended Great Hill in shorts and T-shirt but the wind wasn't cold so limited the chill factor. I had my water bottle with me and reckoned that as long as I remained hydrated then all would be well - it was. I always find the breeze invigorating. It reminded me of the transpiration process in trees - as long as there's sufficient water in the ground to replace what is lost through the leaves all should be well (assuming it's not too cold).

I was pleased to see a young dipper on Black Brook. The bracken seems to have grown amazingly quickly and provides lots of shelter for any birds that are starting to moult. I spotted the usual species including: reed bunting, wrens, larks, pipits, linnets and family of ravens having fun. I don't know what's happened to the stonechat this year - hardly seen at all. I saw a froglet and will hopefully see many more when we eventually get some rain.
Should I be surprised that I've been seeing fungi on my outings recently? Given the dry spell and time of year, I was. Today I saw what probably were wood mushrooms (the identification is courtesy of someone else).
I set out again this afternoon and was pleased to have some company - my eldest. We had a quick scramble up Hordern Stoops to Winter Hill and found this seasonal sign by the TV mast.
Then we moved on towards Rivington Pike. I think this is one of the most attractive views of it (above). Then swinging the camera southwards we see Two Lads (the rocks on the brow of the hill in the background). The sun brought out the butterflies and we saw several small heath, small tortoiseshell and a red admiral.
We returned via George Lane which is actually a rough track; it's great for testing how strong your ankles are...

Woodland Wonders and Wellbeing

2010-06-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

This month, I'm teaching at Yarrow Valley Park, Chorley. The aim is to promote the importance of trees in the environment as well as developing social interaction and communication skills. This week the learners were challenged to create art from natural materials and leave them as gifts for other visitors. One learner made a window of twigs and used it to frame the beautiful shapes of baby oak leaves and the contrasting shape and colours of ivy.

Another learner created a sculpture which doubles up as a home for mini beasts.

Above is another design which we hope will attract centipedes and beetles etc.

Someone else was also intrigued with ivy growing on the trees and framed it. Do you love or loathe ivy? Yes, it is a parasitic and can damage trees. But when I note just how many birds depend on its berries to see them over the lean winter months when very little other food is available, I think it can't be all bad.

Sunshine on the Fells

2010-06-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

What an ideal day for a walk - sunshine, breeze and a day off work. As with the route described below, I set off from White Coppice to Great Hill. Left is a photo taken en route. There were plenty larks, pipits and reed bunting around and the sunshine had also brought out little brown and orange butterflies (small heath, I think). From Great Hill you can see Jubilee Tower (aka Darwen Tower). I do go that way sometimes but not today. Below is a photo of it.

Today I crossed Spitlers Edge and and acres of waving cotton grass. If you're lucky you might see a red grouse. A fair distance to the east I could see where the peat had been on fire earlier in the week. The photo below shows Spitlers Edge and, in the distance, Winter Hill - my next stopping point.

All the human communication paraphernalia on Winter Hill is an eye sore I agree. But at least it's confined to one hilltop. The photo below shows Hordern Stoops and the steep scramble to the top. Scramble being the operative word. Not an ascent for a hot, still day but today's breeze made it pleasant. Incidentally the last time I climbed up here it was covered in snow....
Once on top of Winter Hill, I followed the ridge passing two cairns. From there the footpath disappears amidst the rough grassland. So with Riving Pike being easily visible and this being access land, I set off - and my left leg promptly disappeared to the knee into a mini peat bog! A bit disconcerting but, with my other leg on terra firma, I managed to haul myself out of the deep hole and walked the next mile with caution....

Rivington Pike is always popular with walkers and today was no exception. Above is a picture of the view from the top. The first reservoir is Yarrow and distant one is the end of Anglezarke - both of which I would be walking along later after making my way downhill through the terraced gardens and around Rivington Barn where lots of friendly bikers congregate. Notice how low the reservoirs are for this time of year.I deiced to take in Bullough on my return because I love strolling through its wood of ancient beech, oak and other native trees. The nuthatch love it too. The tree pictured above is a beech; on windy days it creaks alarmingly.

Moths

2010-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

On Thursday evening I was lent a moth trap and was looking forward to viewing a some of our garden's nocturnal visitors. After some help siting it for best results, all I had to do was go to bed and hope no-one would steal it overnight!

In the morning, Moth Man returned. There were over 70 moths in the trap and 30 species. By far the largest was a Poplar Hawk Moth. The most brightly coloured had to be the Green Silver-Lines and the bright Brimstones. The most intriguing were the White and the Buff Ermines which appeared to be dead; it's a trick to confuse predators - well they certainly fooled me! There was also a Bee Moth (and a bumble bee had also found its way into the trap) and the most numerous were the May Highflyer and Small Square Spot.

The records have gone to the area moth recorder and I'm looking forward to mothing again. Our garden is an ideal place for mothing because it is surrounded by a several species of trees and wild flowers. The best nights for mothing tend to be warm, still and overcast.

My local fells

2010-05-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love living near the West Pennine Moors is that there are always wonderful walks to enjoy whatever the season. I took my camera to show you but without a view finder and it being such a sunny day I couldn't see what was on the screen, it was a case of point and hope! Nevertheless here is a short extract from Sunday's walk.

Only a few minutes up the hill from White Coppice and this is the view. The moors were full of proclaiming larks, and pipits with beaks full of flies. A little further and the resident kestrels hover over Great Hill and I'm pleased to see the pair of wheatear nesting.

These great millstone grit (?) slabs guide you along Spitler's Edge and reserve the rest of the fells for nesting curlew and lapwing etc.

The ravines and peat pools are teeming with life. Lizards and newts are also to be found.

Today was rare - the path was dry. It was like walking on a springy, sponge in places. And when you get tired.... (not sure I approve but it did amuse).

The landscapes of peat are fascinating and ecologically important. They hold water and capture carbon. There is currently work being done on these moors to preserve it. Small dams are built across rivulets to slow the run-off and maintain the level of the water table.

Peat erodes and creates some interesting features. The sheep know how to take advantage of the shelter it offers. You can see layers of history in it.

The vegetation is in great swathes. Sometimes it's colourful heather and gorse, sometimes it's cotton grass. Each with attending butterflies and insects.

On reaching the road, wild flowers take over the verges - random and colourful. These bluebells and plantain arrange themselves better than any garden designer.

Catching Up

2010-05-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

So many outings and so few posts - oh dear.

I've just bought a BirdMike - a handy piece of IT for people like me who struggle to recall bird calls / songs. It's also quite good for attracting birders! On a recent trip with Chorley NATS, I helpfully played a linnet's song to encourage the birds to appear but all I managed to do was to cause half a dozen birders to simultaneously swivel 180 degrees . Errr sorry guys.....

What we missed in wildlife was supplemented by farm animals. We passed a very newly born lamb and mother and some calves enjoying their first experience of the great outdoors.

Thanks to Len Poxon for the photos.

One swift

2010-05-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

A cancelled appointment and the warm weather took me to the River Yarrow at Eccleston this morning after news of whimbrel close to where I'd seen them last year. Whimbrel are only in our area for a few weeks as they move northwards to their breeding grounds (which include Scotland but mostly the subarctic regions). This morning there were 24 feeding amongst the lengthening grass. (If anyone wants to email me a photo to use for this post, please do.)

With the return of the whitethroats, which were singing everywhere, 4 swallows, a displaying lapwing, singing yellowhammers, burbling curlew and my first sighting of a swift this year, I feel that spring has finally established herself. Don't know what's happened to the sand martin though; the sand cliffs remain empty for now....

A garden for all

2010-05-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your garden starts to resemble a wilderness? All that cover has been a haven for many birds during the winter but there's so little light getting through that I can't grow any flowers....
To minimise the disruption, I've just reorganised one bed - the one I can see from my windows. The birds are getting a bit confused since, apart from removing a dead tree I've kept the other shrubs but re-sited them to allow increased light into the area. Of course I checked beforehand that there were no nesting birds there. Hopefully the repositioning will result in a wider range of plants - and some flowers even! I've left enough cover and leaf litter to keep the dunnock and song thrush happy, I hope.
In the meantime we'll be building a new raised border to fill with kitchen herbs.

Chorley Bird Race

2010-04-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

The Chorley NATS's Bird Race took place at weekend. Four teams of two people had 24 hours to search the borough for as many different bird species as we could find. It provides a snapshot of species in the borough and their whereabouts. 93 species were spotted which isn't bad since we were a bit early to catch some migrants such as cuckoo and whitethroat. It's also a social activity when team members pool their knowledge so everyone benefits.

My favourite moments? Watching a buzzard chasing a barn owl just a few feet from where we were standing, a swan displaying in the first rising mists, a peregrine perched in a quarry, a little owl on cliffs, and just happening to see a pair of little ringed plover land on a huge gravelled site so we could tick them off straight away. Least favourite moment? Scanning Belmont reservoir for a Mediterranean gull in the freezing cold! I might have enjoyed it more if I'd found one... It was also a great day for butterflies.

Barn owl photo by David J Slater

Three peaks and a wheatear

2010-04-04T01:50:00.000-07:00

Good Friday was a day on the local fells for me, taking in Great Hill, Winter Hill (which did have some snow on it...), Rivington Pike, then dropping back to White Coppice via Rivington Barn and Anglezarke. About 26km or so. With rain pending later in the day it was a case of watching on the move.
Good to see a young male stonechat at White Coppice. The moors were full of trampolining pipits and larks - little brown jobs that never fail to lift the spirits. Along Spitlers Edge I saw my first wheatear this year and some lapwings. Winter Hill was quiet whereas Rivington Pike was busy with folks making the traditional Good Friday climb. I was pleased to see that my books in Rivington teashop seem to have sold out. A little grebe was busy on the Yarrow reservoir and shortly afterwards the promised rain began...

Wheatear photos used by kind permission of Brian Rafferty

Painted Lady

2010-03-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Her thread legs test this hold
of woven fingers.
The only discernible weight
is that of her confusion:
tremulous wings try to lift
the weight of her want
to escape.
I unravel my hands - and she flies
over the hedge,
her leopard colours brighten
the meadows beyond. See,
how easily she claims her release.

The Contours of Spring

2010-03-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Combining navigation and nature watching was a bit of a struggle today - but let's hope I get better. Today I started at White Coppice where a spotted a pair of goosander on the lodge by the cricket pitch. Using Dean Black Brook as a handrail towards Great Hill, I spotted a dipper near last year's nest site, a pair of grey wagtails, a stonechat, and a newt making its swim across the brook look exhausting. It made it, you'll be pleased to know. These goosander were photographed by Dave http://www.holidays-revealed.com/

I overshot the spring (water) on the way down Great Hill but the rising skylarks and pipits were far more obvious as were a couple of early bumble bees. Across the A675 there were plenty of woodland birds, especially chaffinch and nuthatch, singing around Hollinshead Hall ruin.
Image of Hollinshead Hall copied from http://www.unitedutilities.com/FilmHollinsheadHall.htm

Another early bumble bee was seen on Darwen Moor along with a female sparrowhawk. By the time I'd got to Ryal Fold I had blisters on my heels - again. How long does it take to break in a pair of Brasher Superlites? They've blistered me every weekend since October....

Walking Group Leadership Training

2010-03-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Great to see the curlew and lapwings back on the moors and that Chorley town centre has a pair of nesting peregrines.
I've spent the last two weekends on local moors honing my map reading skills by straying from the well trodden routs to locate wells and other features marked on the maps. And all that looking down to avoid breaking my ankles on rough grassland has provided ample opportunity to locate red grouse droppings! We even saw a few as they took flight.
Amongst the grass a toad was going about its business. A rabbit skull and other remains indicated raptors although the only ones I saw were kestrels. I had hoped to see a short-eared owl or tawny whilst on night navigation but it took all my attention to focus on the map. (Night vision is not one of my strengths....)

Hopefully, my map work will improve so I'll have more time to look out for the wildlife.

Thanks to Brian Rafferty for the photo of the curlew. His site is always worth a visit.

Crystals of Ice

2010-01-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

Croston Finney was crusted with beautiful ice formations sitting on top of the snow like a wonderful species of sparkly moss. Many of the waterways were frozen so gone were the ducks and cormorant and in their place - meadow pipits and pied wagtails. Really. They were all intently hunting on the ice.

The barn owl is still finding it difficult and once again I saw it still out hunting at 11am. The snipe must be finding it difficult to seek out unfrozen areas; I flushed two this morning - I've never seen them on The Finney before. The lapwing had abandoned feeding in flocks today and only a few were spotted - all singularly. The corn bunting however were still staying together; four alternating between wire and stubble. The crows, jackdaws and woodpigeon were much less numerous than last week. Other sightings included 2 yellow hammers, a buzzard, 2 wrens, stonechat, fieldfare, 3 song thrush, 1 mistle thrush and other garden birds.

Speaking of which, the allotment area was a riot of chirruping tree and house sparrows.

Thanks to Chris Rae for sending the above photo of a corn bunting (a Spanish one).

Sparrows and Owls

2010-01-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

A walk around Anglezarke (looking for brambling in Grey Heights Wood) did not bring many sightings - probably something to do with the weather.

Today's circular walk around Croston was much more rewarding. The highlights included finding a new location for tree sparrows (along with the two I already knew about) I hope they continue to increase as they have declined severly over recent years. It demonstrates how helpful humans can be be to wildlife - sometimes. I also saw a barn owl out hunting at 11.15am - obviously struggling with the weather. I hope it managed to find something.

Other pleasing sightings were 2 corn bunting on a wire, 7 yellowhammers, 3 red bunting, 1 skylark, 100 laughing jackdaws, 24 lapwings, c800 corvids (mainly crows), 1 buzzard, only 2 fieldfare, 1 mistle thrush, 1 song thrush, a fair few greenfinch, goldfinch and chaffinch, 1 wren, 2 cormorants perched on a high wire, 7 moorhen and other common garden birds.

I'm still working with my boots: flat walks ok but as soon as I start uphill the blisters begin....

The Neatness of Crows

2009-12-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

In search of redwings, I decided to visit Healey Lodges but there wasn't much opportunity to scan the hedges as the icy paths demanded all my attention. I pressed on through Nab Wood towards Heapey Lodges - no redwing there either, nor in the fields on my return. So I began to contemplate the neatness of crows. It's that sleekness, like finley chiselled and polished jet, that makes them so easy to distinguish from shabby rooks. And just as jet is considered to ward off negative energy, crows too remove negativity from the fields by quickly removing carrion. Where would we be without such natural cleaners?

All photos of crows welcome - just attach to an email. Thanks.

And first up is a hooded crow from Peter Woodruff. This reminds me of my trips to the north. (We don't often see hooded crows in Lancashire.)

Cold Comfort

2009-12-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

We really have to earn our way off our road this week. Layers of ice-snow-ice-snow have persuaded us into a one-way system: we crawl up the lesser incline to exit and gently slide down the steeper one to return home.
I saw a small flock of lapwings flying over this morning - a unusual sight for Euxton. I couldn't help but will them to find some snow-free field to dine in. And a first for my garden - a beautiful cock pheasant trying to scratch beneath the snow. He was searching my lawn for a good 20 minutes. The alders that border our garden are busy with gold and chaffinch; blue, great and coal tits bustle around the feeders until the nuthatch brusquely scatters them. Robin and dunnock are around all day and a song thrush has been arriving around midday. A wren might have taken up residence in a thicket beneath the dormer.
I've not seen a goldcrest in the garden this winter which is a shame. For the past few years one has wintered in / close to out garden. It has been a bad year for them but let's hope....

The goldcrest above was photographed by Phil Kirk of Chorley NATS - thanks.

And another photo of a goldcrest. This one is by Chris Rae also of Chorley NATS. Keep them coming guys.

Still trying to make friends

2009-12-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

Despite wearing my new boots around the house and taking them out on several short walks, they're still giving me blisters. Ohh dear.... I wouldn't care but they're the most expensive hiking boots I've ever bought! But I live in hope that they will eventually become my best friends.... Maybe I should have bought some new socks as well?

A short walk down a frosty Eyes Lane, Bretherton and looping back through the crunchy fields (disappointingly no snipe there) revealed: moorhens, jay, treecreeper, nuthatches, yellow hammers, reed bunting, sparrow hawk, kestrel, 80+ lapwings, a small flock of 16+ jackdaws, mistle thrush and heron as well as common garden birds (blue, great & coal tits, chaffinch, robins, blackbirds). There was also a large and close-knit distant flock possibly starlings. A beautiful cerulean sky to lift the spirits and dazzling low sun seeking out and bringing everything to life.

Not so shy

2009-12-12T01:41:00.000-08:00

I managed to coincide some free time with good weather this week so wandered down to Yarrow Valley County Park because I've been told about a not-so-shy water rail. And sure enough not long after I'd arrived she emerged from the reeds strutting her feathers, stomping her beak and not at all perturbed by a couple of onlookers.Thanks to Brian Rafferty for this stunning image. His blog is well worth visiting.

Back on the big lodge, the merest glance of a human sneaking a plastic bag from a pocket immediately triggered a cacophony of opening wings, quacks, skidding webs and attention grabbing calls from circling black-headed gulls.

Heat

2009-12-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I last blogged but I'm back now.

On Tuesday I was pleased to attend the launch of Aware 5, the literary magazine produced by Chorley and District Writers' Circle. I was chair when we launched the first issue and I'm glad to see it's progressing into a fine publication.

I also collected the runner up prize in the competition 'heat' judged by Carole Baldock, editor of Orbis. My poem is reprinted below with one minor edit thanks to the judge's comments. My congratulations go to the worthy winner Holly Prest and brilliant runner up Lynne Taylor.

CHIPS
Stay out of the kitchen
where words are unpeeled,
sliced, mercilessly
dissected to increase
the raw surface area,
seared in hot fat,
then served on a cold, white plate,
salt
-and vinegar of course.

Hesketh Out Marsh

2009-11-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

I visited Hesketh Out Marsh with Chorley NATS this morning. Although it's not far from where I live, I've never been there before. One of the advantages of joining a local group is that you find out about such places and another is that there are more people to notice sightings.

This morning's highlight was a stunning male hen harrier quartering low over the marsh. We also saw a merlin and managed quite a close look as we walked along the embankment. We also saw a small group of golden plover, a brown hare, redshanks and way in the distance huge flocks of lapwings. It was interesting to compare the herons and egrets fishing at fast flowing inlets; the herons poised still, the egrets plodding around.

The hedgerows were also worth exploring and rewarding with 20 fieldfare, long tailed tits and other common species. Although I wished I'd worn my thermals, the wildlife seemed out of synch with the cold; we saw a painted lady butterfly, the larks were singing and dandelions along with red and white clovers were in bloom.

Reading at The Preston Society

2009-11-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to speaking to the Preston Society (Bird Watching and Natural History) on Mon 16th Nov 7.30pm at St Mary's Church Hall, Cop Lane, Penwortham. I'll be reading from from the field book, talking about wildlife poetry and have a couple of surprises too - hope everyone likes them....

A delayed start to my walk today due to the weather. I went to Croston Finney. Not a lot to see at first, probably much of the wildlife had moved or was keeping a low profile due to there being a clay pigeon shoot. Once the noise ceased, sightings improved. Amongst other speacies, I saw 50+ fieldfare, a buzzard,corn bunting, tree sparrows (not in their usually territory), greater spotted woodpecker, cormorant, pheasants, meadow pipits and other common species.

Stomping The Stiperstones

2009-10-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Stiperstones is a 10km ridge in the Shropshire Hills. It is an unmistakable feature since all the other hills around here are rounded. It's an area of heather heathland and, although at this time of year the heather and gorse have gone over, the area remains beautiful.

Five ravens moved along the ridge ahead of us and still found time to make playful dives. I also saw a couple of late red admirals fluttering by and also a couple of pipits and a skylark. On the lower slopes I got a glimpse of four red grouse.

Above is Devil's Chair which is one of the craggy outcrops along the ridge. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Why is it harder going downhill?

2009-10-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm spending a few days in the gold and green Shropshire Hills. Small flocks of redwings and fieldfares are working across the trees. I have to say there doesn't seem to be an abundance of haws - little wonder the mistle thrush are being vocal. Although the holly trees seem to have done better. I regularly see buzzards flying over the caravan but have yet to spot a red kite. I'm told there was a pair around here although it's possible they've moved on. I'll keep looking.

This afternoon we enjoyed a short, energetic walk up the double summits of Earl's Hill. The colourful oak, ash, hazel and beech soon gave way to pines as we began the steep climb. And just as the path levels, I climbed over a stile to be greeted with the final gasp - another short but steep grassy climb - but well worth the effort for the views from the top. And then the difficult bit: skidding back downhill. It must be something to do with how our feet grip the ground, or maybe the way we place our feet, but whatever it is, it's always easier to climb than come back down (or is it just my mentality?)

Too late

2009-10-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed my visit to Rotherham this weekend and presenting awards to the winners of the Mike Haywood poetry competition which I've recently judged. It's always satisfying to select a winner when you can't fault the poem in any way, as was the case with the winning entry "Dates" by Julie Mellor. I was also pleased to meet the short story judge, John Turner, and of course Graham Rippon who organised the event.

I was thinking of entering the poem below into a local competition (the theme was 'heat') but I didn't manage to edit it sufficiently before the deadline. Not to worry; every poem takes its own time. Anyway, here it is so far:

Great White Horse
As polar bears swim
exhausted after the ice,
and glaciers mourn themselves,
a great white horse begins to swell,
gathering walrus, whale and fox
as it starts to rear, to shake its mane,
ready to fling carcasses
sprawling towards the equator,
and then trample everything below
its white, frothing hooves.

A few more fungi

2009-10-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Joyce and Tony for helping me ID a few more photos:Above and below are two views of a deceiver

Next are common yellow russula

And finally birch bolete

Magic Moors and Mushrooms

2009-09-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

We set off towards misty Brinscall Moors and what a treat: the moors were once again bouncing with pipits and larks ascending everywhere (probably migratory). A dozen crows were in a playful mood tumbling and twisting in the air just like their cousins, the chough. The raptors were having a hard time though: a buzzard was being mobbed by crows as was a sparrow hawk, and the kestrel was being set upon by three brave pipits.

The moors were in that in between phase when the heather is fading, berries reddening, rushes turning orange and the leaves are mostly still on the trees. A time when almost anything can be seen, including two snipe which I don't often see there.

Then I set off along The Goit to explore the fungi. Fly agaric (above) was plentiful and all stages of growth. The Goit is a watercourse flanked by birch, oak and some alder.

I'm a complete beginner to identifying mushrooms but here goes... I think the one above is yellow-cracked bolete. (Click on each image to enlarge.)

The next one is a woolly milkcap or bearded milkcap.

The one above is a cep, I think.

A blushing bracket on a silver birch?

Common earthball.

Under and over view of a false death cap (Amanita citrina) in one of its phases.

I've got several more photos to share so come back later in the week to see them too.

White Coppice > Great Hill > Brinscall Circular

2009-09-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Start at the cosy cricket pitch fielded by a row of white cottages. Cross the stone bridge and note the willow warblers' overs have retreated to warning hu-eets. Scan the bracken tops for stonechat and marauding brown hawkers.
As your calves work the climb and boots skidder on scree, enjoy the persistence of bright heather spikes poking through the deluge of weeks. And long for linnet, pipit or lark to lift the life of the sodden moor. Strip down to your T-shirt, absorb the breeze, feel its strength as you stride up the slope.
At the T-junction, take the track to the right and look for the kestrels that perch on headwinds approaching the knoll of Great Hill. Pause at the summit, stand and salute: to the east - Darwen Tower and to your back - Winter Hill. Observe how Lancashire smooths down her skirt to the west, right to its hen which is frilled by the sea.
Follow the flagstones and witness - here by the path - a pair of wings which are all that remain from a peregrine's kill. Watch skaters spread over dark, peaty pools and rub the last remnants (between finger and thumb) of soft, cotton grass as its pile recedes from the moor.
At the stile, choose the grassy path to the right, looping back to the well of Sam's Cup. Thrust your hands in the hollows of dry stone walls and touch the loneliness there - the emptiness now that the wheatears have flown. Then take the broad track that cuts Heapey Moor watching swallows that lack lustre now as they skim for flies and channel their strength to migratory flights. And search amongst them for this season's young with their non-streaming tails and wonder how many will grace here next year.
At the bend, take the hidden path to the left, cross the stream and keep to the old stone wall. Pass the overgrown quarry and climb the stile to the woods where wrens suddenly stutter as your boots approach their low, tangled world. Cast up to the coal tits flitting high in the pines. Be alert to roe deer sifting through shadows and tree creepers hugging oak trunks.
Emerge from the plantation to follow The Goit, being watchful for froglets before placing each step. Pass sheep shaking bracken and listen ahead for the crack of leather on wood and a rippling crowd whose thoughts peter out and wonder whether we'll hear the cuckoo next spring.

Smart Scarecrows

2009-09-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our neighbouring village, Charnock Richard, held a scarecrow festival this weekend. There's nothing better than a bit of community spirit. Thanks to all involved.

Below are a few of the many that caught my eye.

Click on each image to enlarge

Otter

2009-08-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

she recalls those playful days
when her silkiness would glide the riverbed,
curl, stretch, coil and tease,
confident of her sleekness
she would catch the river's flash,
float it on her back,
clasp it to belly,
web and claw,
gasping,
so sure of herself

Kreativ Blogger Award

2009-08-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sue Richardson for nominating this site for the KreativBlogger Award.

Having received the award, here's what I must do:
1. List 7 things that I love
2. Link back to the blog that awarded it to me
3. Choose 7 blogs to award as ‘Kreativ Bloggers’
4. Comment at each blog to let them know they’ve been chosen

So, off we go. Seven things I like: my reclining chair; walking in wild places with wind blowing through my hair; comfortable shoes / boots; getting on with my sons; my job; garlic bread; having a shower with fragrant shampoo and body washes; and loads of other things especially still having use of the five senses.

I love wildlife photography so am passing the award (in no particular order) to:
Brian Rafferty
Paul Foster
Richard King
Pete Woodruff
Bill Aspin
Richard Spencer
Frank Whitney

Hope you enjoy visiting them

Bracken

2009-08-22T01:37:00.000-07:00

... wrens summon it from slumber
and it rises through its brittle dead
with fronds of frightened caterpillars,
soon linnets romance over it, unfurling it,
their feathers flutter through its growth,
then stonechat - they proclaim from it,
breed in it, feed in it, shelter in it too,
young wrens lose themselves in it,
voles scrabble through it,
kestrels hover over it,
and sheep - they lie down in it,
let its russet hands enfold them
back into its peat.

The Invisible Month

2009-08-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

... and it all builds up to this,
these summer months
when the garden quietly goes over,
young robins start to make their own way
with fire fanning through their feathers;
their parents tick amongst the undergrowth
skulking as they moult their roles.
And out in the pastures, curlews'
instincts are being tugged towards the coast,
to the silver pauses left
each time the tide rolls back.

Bitter Blue

2009-08-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've just read Bitter Blue quickly - because I was scarcely able to put it down. Private Investigator, Sally Kilkenny, is a single mother and many readers will identify with her contemporary struggle to juggle work around childcare.

It's got everything you'd expect from a crime fiction thriller: pace, increasing drama, location (Manchester), tensions within the PI's personal life and carefully placed clues to keep readers just ahead of the PI at strategic points. She also had be chuckling at her ever-so-timely flashes of wit.

As a writer, I'm also interested in the cross-genre skills. Cath Staincliffe's script writing skills are also apparent here especially in her plot structure. Almost ready made for screen adaptation.

Do you agree that writers can benefit by regularly writing in more than one genre because it enables them to sharpen transferable skills?

snap, crackle and drop

2009-08-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Having heard all the exciting news about the juvenile terns at Yarrow Valley Park, especially the older chick: starting to fly - splattering into water - nearly drowning then managing to fly learning how to fish, I really had to go visit them tonight. After all the day's exercise, the younger was resting on the raft and the older stunt-chick was limiting his adventures to swimming around the raft (or maybe mum had grounding him? I am, of course, assuming he is male - certainly sounds like it!)

My camera isn't good enough to get a decent photo so I took one of this cygnet instead which spent ages grooming itself.

On our way round, we noticed this peeling birch tree. No idea what has happened here. Man made damage perhaps?

Later we paused under a beech tree and heard it snap, crackle and drop its nut cases on us. It shed them like a shower. At first I wondered whether there was a squirrel in the tree but there wasn't evidence of the beech nuts being eaten - just falling. A magic moment (even if I wasn't wearing a hard hat!)

We also saw a juvenile grey wagtail looking very lonely (Awww) and a frog. It's always worth a short evening stroll; you just never know what you might happen upon.

Closer to home

2009-07-28T00:53:00.001-07:00

Being grounded for a couple of weeks still presents opportunities. I used the time to judge the Mike Haywood Poetry Competition 2009. An interesting proposition since all the entrants had to live, work or study within a twenty mile radius of Rotherham. However, the geographical limitations did not compromise the imagination and skill of the entries and I was pleased to select some worthy winners and highly commend a couple more.

In an earlier blog I mentioned going for a walk and seeing a white satin moth - the whites of both the moth and pupae are easily spotted in the fields. Thanks to local moth recorder Peter Krischkiw for sending me a photo of one. It's amazing how many different moths he gets in his garden - hundreds. And maybe you have hundreds too. Why not make a simple moth trap and find out?

In the garden I've seen the green sheens of at least three new broods of great and blue tits emerge over the season, and also two broods of coal tits, a young nuthatch and a couple of young speckled robins.

In the shed a wood mouse is munching on the bird food before I put it in the bird feeders. It's nibbled through very substantial plastic tubs to steal!

Coal Tits by Mike Atkinson - see the link in the side bar to his wonderful site.

Is it a good idea

2009-07-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

to post a poem I've written a very short time ago? I certainly wouldn't submit one to a magazine unless it had been hidden for a week or two and been through several redrafts.

However, here's a poem written in a few minutes last night after reading Coastcard's comment that she would like to hear more about Norfolk. A line added to it this morning when I woke to the call of it in my head. (I'll let you guess which one it was....) The clichés are, of course, entirely intentional. And I expect I'll edit it when I start typing it below... Can't resist!

Norfolk Poppies

They seem to grow uninvited now,
bright distractions amongst our daily bread,
scarlet skirts fluttering, flouncing in the sun,
creating lawless charges through the fields
yet managing to damage scarcely anything at all.
Their fecklessness wipes a smile across a stuffy day,
and scatters taste across the table as, despite ourselves,
we take our hungry bites from poppy-seeded bread.

Image copied from www.freefoto.com

An evening stroll

2009-07-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed an evening stroll with Chorley NATS earlier this week along the River Yarrow (Eccleston - Croston). Sometimes we found ouselves wading waist high though grass, Indian balsam and nettles; other times we were just wading through cows. An enjoyanle walk in the company of people with a range of interests: butterflies & moths, flowers and birds.
It was lovely to hear several yellowhammers singing and whitethroat too. And a summer evening wouldn't be complete without house martin, swallows, swift and sand martins too sweeping over the pastures.

Amongst the vegetation green-veined white, meadow brown, comma and small tortoiseshell butterflies and an ermine moth. Also spotted were azure damselfly and banded demoiselle.

These photos from the walk were taken by Chris Rae. Click on them to enlarge.

Oh, and tawny owls have been heard very close to, if not in, our garden several nights this week. Yeah!

Tern Raft at Yarrow Valley Park

2009-07-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

In between hospital visiting, I finally managed to see the terns at Yarrow Valley Park. The raft has a gravel base and chicken wire sides (to keep off gulls etc) and was placed there earlier this year.

This morning I was pleased to see two chicks, the youngest spending most of its time tucked under mum, while dad was busy flying the length of the lodge catching and bringing back small fish. At point a buzzard flew over and, to my horror, both mum and dad flew off to mob it, leaving the chicks alone with black-headed gulls and magpies around.... Anyway, mum came back and all was well. I have to say, that although you can see the chicks when they are standing, the moment they crouch they become invisible against the gravel.

I also saw a pair of grebes building another nest. The female seems to be incubating since she wasn't moving at all. The male, busy bringing all manner of nesting materials and placing them in front, behind and alongside the female, was having himself and all his offerings resolutely ignored . Oh dear... or perhaps another case of post coitum omne animal triste est?

The house martins, on the other hand, were anything but sad. A group of six flew in to have a drink and joyful fly around.

To learn more about the raft go to http://www.chorleynats.org.uk/ternraft.php
Photos of common tern and great crested grebe by Mike Atkinson http://mikeatkinson.net

Orchids in the Dunes

2009-07-05T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I joined Chorley NATS on a field trip lead by Peter Gateley to explore Ainsdale Dunes. We saw how sea couch-grass (which can withstand salt water) traps the sand to create small dunes so that the fresh water Marran grass can establish itself and create much higher dunes behind it. We also saw sea lyme-grass.

The range of habitats within the dunes is amazing ranging from sand to marsh. Plants included common spotted, pyramidal (left) and early marsh orchids and marsh helleborines (below).

In addition to the orchids, we saw grass of parnassus (left), sea and Portland spurges, common and sea centaury (rare), marsh cinqfoil (below) and many other fascinating plants.

I also got a taste for dewberries (similar to blackberries).

Photo of dunes copied from http://flickr.com/photos/66909027@N00/3626420633
All orchid photos are by Peter Burford and copied from www.communigate.co.uk/hants/snhs/php9RGmRT
Other flower photos from www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk
Photo of dewberries copied from Wikipedia.

Making the most...

2009-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Long daylight means that it's not too late, even at 9pm, to go for a walk. Yesterday I went to Kem Mill, followed the stream listening to song thrushes, then joined Dawson Lane where I watched farmers, working late, baling silage. Their machines are amazing: gathering the grass, wrapping it and then laying bales in the field like huge, shiny, black eggs.

Tonight I followed the stream behind our house. The song thrushes were again welcoming the evening and somewhere someone was playing bagpipes. Wild honeysuckle sweetened the air, a single swift rushed by, wrens were busy competingwith calls, the last swallow flew into the stables and as the moon brightened, the first noctule flit towards the trees. What better way to end the day?

Kem Mill by Jon Burslam
Noctule bat by Mnolf http://www.thinkoholic.com

Front Door

2009-06-28T09:22:00.001-07:00

How much do you value your front door?

It's the place where people are welcomed into our homes and sometimes the first impression people get of us. It's also our contribution to the street we live, a chance to add something pleasant to the environment to be seen and so shared by all. Due to the many calls on my time, I admit that my garden has to be low maintenance but even so it's possible to make it welcoming.

The hydrangea by my door used to grow in my mother-in-law's garden so every time I see it I'm reminded of her. The first year it flowered blue, then pink for several subsequent years. What a surprise then that this year it is pink, blue and in some places purple. I haven't added anything to the soil so I wonder what's going on?

Titchwell Marsh

2009-06-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Whilst on the north Norfolk coast I visited the RSPB's Titchwell Marsh. Sightings included a pair of marsh harriers showing well, several pairs of copulating demoiselles, dragonflies and some chasers. I watched avocets defend their tiny islets from the larger black-headed gulls and wondered how they manage to protect their chicks on such small strips of bare shingle.

I enjoyed listening to sedge and reed warblers and trying to spot them. There were also several whitethroat to be enjoyed. But the find of the day for me was a ruff still in breeding plumage.

Avocet photo by Dave J Slater, sedge warbler by Andy Bright follow the links to their sites from the sidebar.

Coasting Norfolk

2009-06-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Just back from the Norfolk coast where we took a trip to Blakeney Head. Whilst waiting for the tide to quickly fill the creeks, I was entertained by larks throwing their long songs across the salt marsh from somewhere in a big, blue sky. I also saw a little egret probing the silt. How do they keep themselves so white when constantly in the mud?

Blakeney Head is a breeding place for several species of terns; I managed to spot Arctic, common and sandwich terns. They were bringing back single sand eels for their youngsters and dipping them in the sea before feeding them.

Right on the point were seals; mostly common but there were a couple of greys amongst them. You can tell them apart by the shape of their heads: grey seals have long, angular heads whereas common seals are rounded. Also the greys are much larger creatures.

The following morning I was pleased to meet up with poet Wendy Webb - a warm and friendly lady. Here we are at Cromer.

Arctic tern photo by David J Slater, seals photo by Jeremy Burton - follow the links in the sidebar to their sites.

Time for a poem

2009-06-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

Thinking about being outside...

so we decided to
take the risk, stay out
and wait for night to arch its back,
stray from the path
and hide, like roe deer, in the woods,
pile bracken high,
unpeel ourselves,
feel the moonlight,
float
out of ourselves

Go-Ape

2009-06-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

I wonder what you readers think about high wire adventure parks. GoApe has recently opened in Rivington and not without a lot of opposition from local environmental groups not least because some trees were felled to make room for it. I took a walk there last night.

I couldn't tell where the felled trees had been because there were no obvious open spaces and the zip wires ran close between the trees. (That said, felling is very undesirable unless absolutely necessary.)

I was first introduced to aerial adventures parks about ten years ago in France - and had a great time! The courses were mentally and physically challenging but also rewarding to complete.

I think they encourage young people to leave their PCs and enjoy the great outdoors - surely that can't be all bad? Also once you're up high in a tree you begin to realise just how wonderful, majestic and tall trees are. I suppose some might object to wildlife disturbance but the reality is that participants can't go anywhere following the defined courses. What do you think?
Apols for image not being very good; it was taken with a mobile phone in the gloaming.

Two-timing male?

2009-06-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Further to yesterday's post, a fellow birder went to check out the place I'd seen the redstarts and sure enough found them. He also went to the spot a pair are more frequently seen and saw a female only. So - are there two pairs or is one male dividing his time between two girls? I wonder.... Here's to seeing lots of juveniles soon.

If you haven't been reading the comments, you'll know that this week is the RSPB's Make Nature Count Week. To find out more or take part in the garden survey go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount You've got until Sunday to complete the survey.

I've copied this photo of a female redstart from the RSPB's website. If you go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/redstart/index.asp you can hear one too (a male, that is).

... and finally - the redstart.

2009-06-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I visited White Coppice after work to try find the redstarts. I've been told where to see them but were they there - no. Well, not exactly.

On my way back I heard some unfamiliar warbling - and saw a female redstart sitting on top of a bracken spire flicking her red tail. Yes! A first for me. (But the warbling wouldn't have come from her.) Next I glanced what could have been a male stonechat sitting on top of another bracken spire, as stonechat do, but... it wasn't behaving like a stonechat; it was flicking around more and... with binoculars up I saw it was the male redstart - and what a handsome chap he was!
And, right on cue, he started singing again, then flew into the oak tree a few feet from me... he flitted around for some flies, landed in the tree again, flit some more, then back to the tree, to the ground, to the tree, through the tree and then away again. Finding them has really made my day.

This redstart photo was taken by Richard Spencer who found the male weeks before I did!

Tetrad Visit

2009-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better get my late final tetrad visit done this weekend (much easier to do when the birds are all still singing). I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive knowing that I had a field of horses and a field of donkeys to cross but I managed on my own. In fact most of the donkeys didn't seem to be there (perhaps they're in Blackpool now?); all that remained were a mother and three identical foals - all thickly coated in creamy-white fur. Cute, very cute - until they started trotting towards me!
One of the advantages of volunteering to survey a tetrad is that you often get to know an unfamiliar patch and watch it change as the seasons progress. (You are asked to make 4 visits during the year.) Some species, such as woodpigeon, collared dove, lapwings, garden birds and raptors have been present all year. Others, such as fieldfare, redwing and jackdaws have now gone. Others such as rooks and black-headed gulls are less numerous during the summer. And the spring brought passing migrants such as whimbrel and others, such as curlew and chiffchaff, swallows, swifts and house martins have come to breed.

Today's special moments were walking through fields dense with buttercups, sorrel, red clover and vetch to name but a few. Watching swallows, swifts and martins zooming low over almost every field. How do they manage not to collide? Listening to curlew burble round their fields and hearing wrens stuttering from just about everywhere. Suddenly spotting a so-low buzzard that was quickly seen-off by a pair of crow. The sparrowhawk and kestrel were also having a tough time elsewhere today. Seeing two grey partridge toddling down the road ahead and a couple of red-legged on a barn roof. Heartening, too, to see fledglings : pied wagtail, blue & great tits and seeing lots of adult birds carrying food.

Oh, I also saw a stoat running along the bank of the River Lostock, rabbits in most fields, lots of mole holes and two young lads very pleased at catching four chub.

Photos of collared dove, curlew and common buzzard are all by Mike Atkinson http://www.mikeatkinson.net/index.htm Pay him a visit - well worth it.

A Listening Walk

2009-05-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

This time of year birdwatchers need to use their ears. The birds are there but often hidden behind the foliage so recognising bird calls and songs is a key skill. I'm no expert in this area although I am getting better.Walking down the wooded Eyes Lane I managed to pick out a blackcap (and saw it too so knew I was right!), chaffinch, robin, mistle thrush (but no song thrush I'm sad to say), blue and great tits and pheasants. Looking into a field opening, I saw a grey partridge take flight. There were also a couple of swallows swooping around and a kestrel disappearing over the treeline.

I decided to take the path over the fields and saw reed buntings. The farmer had wisely flattened the path with his tractor so walkers don't stray and disturb the birds so much. But what a cacophony when I crossed the bridge into a field of bare ground and low weeds! I was surrounded by ten lapwings wheeping at me and then a pair of redshanks started circling me with their piercing piping calls and just as I was reaching the end of the field a lark trilled up. I'll certainly remember not to upset them again until the breeding season is over.

More larks and pipits started up as I walked along the embankment of the Mean High Water and I'm almost sure I heard sedge warblers. Back Lane rewarded me with tree sparrows (red status) and red-legged partridges.

A lovely Sunday morning.

Reed Bunting photo by Dave F Barker. Grey Partridge and Sedge Warbler by Richard Spencer - thanks guys.

About varnishing doors

2009-05-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was varnishing doors and skirting boards. I couldn't help notice that the process of sanding, varnishing, sanding, varnishing etc until it's 'right' is not unlike the editing process. Before all that, I took my youngest to Preston and wrote this whilst waiting for him. It's had it's first sanding and coat of varnish and awaits the next sanding to smooth the rhythm in places and remove a few splinters.
PRESTON

It's like anything else, I suppose:
you have to get to know it, learn it,
hear the cool lull of cobbled courtyards,
see the majesty of the Corn Exchange,
let your eyes stroke the curves of the ristorante glass
and rough rust marble set into polished black,
accept the Meccano offices as fashions like Rubki's cubes,
return to Fishergate at nightfall
when its glamour dances across windows,
and shimmers in puddles of afterthoughts.
Be startled - as a sudden flock of waxwings
pluck amber berries from ornamental rowans
- here in Victoria Street, a quiet place
that has become a stage for shutters and clicks.
Don't think of the rats in the cavity walls
and the labyrinth beneath your feet, but
pause
with the newness of a child kicking leaves,
see the smile of the Mohican youth,
the tilt of hips in jeans as she crosses the street
her traditional headscarf tugged by the breeze, trying
to fly where clouds feign indifference as they gather the fumes
and push to the pastures beyond,
where the Ribble remembers to ebb each day
so the heron can wrestle with eels,
and watch the city encroach on more fields
as it keeps re-inventing itself.

Photo of Preston Corn Exchange by Tony Worrall

Annual Mass Fledging

2009-05-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

The annual mass fledging of starlings seems to have happened on Saturday so if you haven't already seen them make a point of greeting the latest noisy generation.

The cacophony around Anglezarke this morning, however, wasn't so much starlings as chaffinch, willow warblers, robins and cuckoo. A friend and I were were looking for pied flycatchers but instead found ourselves watching spotted flycatchers delicately dancing in the air and hovering like humming birds. The area seems to have more than have previously been recorded so that's encouraging.

Starling photo copied from www.bbc.co.uk and the spotted flycatcher was photographed by Richard Spencer.

What a difference the rain makes....

2009-05-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those morning when I really had to work hard to spot anything. The White Coppice dippers were out of sight (Rick saw a fledging dipper yesterday). I could hear a stonechat but could I see it.... A couple of us could hear a grasshopper warbler but it too remained illusive. And there was neither sight nor sound of the redstart which I've missed on every visit.... But gradually things got better, with the help of another birder I saw a blackcap and a newly arrived spotted flycatcher.

Then up over the Nab and on to Heapey where I spotted hedge sparrows, a pied wagtail carrying food and swifts. After a chat to the lodge keeper the rain began. I sheltered under a tree and noticed a blue tit's nest and my first house martins of the year. They moved on and I followed. And as the rain increased so did the martins: 10 ... 20 ... 30 ... and finally almost 40 house martins along with some swallows were busily scooping up flies. Some flying within three feet of me. And as I reached the road, I couldn't believe it - two more (or the same two?) spotted flycatchers also making the most of the sudden abundance of flies. A song thrush, a pair of mistle thrush. Well worth staying out in the rain for.

Photo of spotted flycatcher used by kind permission of Phil Kirk, Chorley NATS. Click on it to enlarge.

Little Owl

2009-05-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

Croston Finney is often a rewarding place to visit in the evening and yesterday was no exception. The lapwings were busy guarding their different fields, whitethroat singing in the hedgerows, yellow hammers on the overhead cables, a kestrel being mobbed, a heron crouched by a ditch, 3 hares each in a different field, a short shower ended with larks soaring to sing the last drops away, a rainbow, 3 pairs of red-legged partridges and the star of the day - a little owl arching its white brows as I nosily stared at it through my bins.

Click on the image to enlarge and get a good view of the little owl. Image used by the kind permission of Richard Spencer - follow the link to his blog.

Little owl in the snow by Phil Kirk of Chorley NATS. Thanks Phil.

Hiking Sandals

2009-05-15T14:14:00.001-07:00

Readers, do any of you wear hiking sandals? It seems a strange phenomena... I mean, can a sandal really be suitable for hill or fell walking? And what happens when you walk through mud or it starts to rain?

I can see the appeal being lightweight and cool. Some have soles that provide good traction. Some have toe bumpers but surprisingly a lot don't. So how likely is one to stub a toe? (I suspect the way I walk it's very likely!) Can the straps provide adequate support? And are they soft enough to prevent chaffing even if your feet get wet?

If anyone of you have tried them, do let us know what you think.

Evening Rewards

2009-05-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

With sunset at 9pm, there was time for an evening stroll. So, after a tip-off about whimbrel, I paused by a local field and found one. Very pleasing.

Then off to Eyes Lane, Bretherton for a quick stroll. Rather chillier than expected but worth it. I saw a kestrel out hunting late, a pair of red legged partridge running across a field and a hare in no hurry at all. (How do they keep warm, lying on in open fields all night?) Best sighting was a barn owl silently quartering the fields and I'm sure I heard a tawny owl calling from the woods.

Photo of red-legged partridge is by Mike Atkinson. Use the link in the side bar to view more of his photos.

Whitethroat

2009-05-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

WHITETHROAT

whole-bodied launch
from top of hawthorn spike,
tail flicking,
head cresting,
throat back wide,
unashamedly, unhamperedly
true to himself

Photo of whitethroat used by kind permission of Phil Kirk.

Get outta my patch

2009-05-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

We're two weeks into rewiring; half way there. Can't complain since the guy who's doing it is very organised so the disruption is as minimal as possible. I can't wait to do all the subsequent redecorating though.... Hmmm

But onto a happier subject...

Between errands yesterday, I took time out for a walk around Croston Finney. The most striking additions since my last visit were whitethroat calls which emanated from all the hedgerows. I was also struck by how well the lapwings were defending their territories against the much larger black-backed gulls. Well, all except one pair who looked on in despondency as two dozen crows, assorted gulls, pigeons and magpies were feeding all over 'their' field.
I was pleased to see a kingfisher flying over a field - it's not often I see one there.

Photos of lapwing and whitethroat are by Frank Whitney. Click on photos to see images enlarged and follow the link in the sidebar to his blog.

2009-05-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

A short evening stroll around Rake Brook and Roddlesworth reservoirs was enhanced by open-mouthed swallows sweeping over grassy banks and flat waters. The woods were filled with song thrush repeating their calls, along with chaffinch and robin. House sparrows by the keeper's cottage were very vociferous and every so often the trees were startled by a corrrrking pheasant.

A sudden movement and I saw a roe deer darting between the trees, given away by its white rump. And following it was another, smaller roe. Just as the three quarter moon was beginning to reflect itself in the pathway puddles, and the robins were starting to tic, a brown hare, resting on the track, was startled by our presence and bounded down the bank.
Overhead a kestrel looked down for a late evening meal.
Roe deer photo copied from Wikipedia.

Stonyhurst

2009-05-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we enjoyed a walk with friends around Hurst Green. We passed Stonyhurst College where JRR Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. It's a beautiful old building surrounded by picturesque rolling hills. Most of the boarders seemed to be outside enjoying cricket in the sun - a lovely day for it.

Part of the route follows the River Ribble and I was delighted to find a busy colony of sand martins in a bank where the Calder joins the Ribble. They were flying around catching invertebrates and occasionally returning to their burrows.
They typically nest in sandy banks, quarries or cliffs near water where they burrow out holes. Their population is prone to crashing due to droughts in their African wintering grounds so I was heartened to see them here. I wonder how safe their nests are being so close to potential flooding.... Let's hope they enjoy a successful breeding season.

And a little further along, I saw my first swift this year, two in fact. The only Hirundinidae I haven't seen so far this year is house martin - maybe tomorrow?

The photo of Stonyhurst College was copied from their website: www.stonyhurst.ac.uk

The sand martin photo has been used by kind permission of Andy Bright www.Digiscoped.com See the links in the side bar to more of his photos - well worth a visit.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Work in Progress

2009-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

The poem you saw earlier has been tucked away for a couple of weeks so today it was time to look at it again. I've kept the first line - and that's all. I plan to keep the original second stanza as it holds a truth albeit for a different poem. So here's the next (but not the last) version. The rhythm needs smoothing in places and there are a few words I'm not satisfied with. I had planned a multi-layered poem but the poem has decided it wants to be simple.... Time to put it away for a couple more weeks.

Willow Warblers
White Coppice, April 14th 2009

The willows aren't alive until the warblers arrive,
winding their songs through the trees,
encouraging catkins out of their buds
to entice their pollen away.
And silver birches stir from their stupors
pulse sap to the beat of green-feather calls.

Leaves will grow and shimmer the trees,
and the warblers will hide in their homes,
a cuckoo will lay deceit in a nest,
shoulder out the birthrights.
The world will quietly turn,
towing these songsters in its arc,
yet some will survive
and renew their gift of irrepressible hope
to start another year.

Willow warbler photo by Mike Atkinson. Follow the link in the side bar to his site.

Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

2009-04-26T06:39:00.001-07:00

What a pleasing morning! I heard my first cuckoo of the year - loud, clear and near. Eventually I found him sitting out in the open in a dead tree.

I'd also had news of a pied flycatcher. So off I went.... I didn't know what his song was like (not a good start) but I went anyway. I thought I heard an unfamiliar call and saw something dark arrowing off.... so I waited ... and waited ... and filtered out the calls I knew until I heard this unfamiliar one again - only this time it kept singing. I'm not very good at locating where sounds originate but finally I caught sight of the songster - a beautiful pied flycatcher sitting in the open. And he sang on and on and on. How wonderful. And finally he treated me to a flypast: darting through the trees and arcing right round me. Wow - so lucky me!
Let's hope a suitably impressed female pied flycatcher comes his way.

Photo of cuckoo used by kind permission of Rick Spencer http://astleybirdingblog.blogspot.com
Photo of pied flycatcher by Mike Atkinson http://www.mikeatkinson.net/index.htm

Wandering into Whimbrels

2009-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we do get what we wish for. I had been hoping to see some migrating whimbrel ... and as I was completing my tetrad visit this morning a sound from the sky alerted me to a flock of 24 landing in an adjacent field (Sarscow Farm) to feed. I didn't want to disturb them so just watched from the path with my binocs.

And what a difference a dry spell makes; I managed to cover my tetrad without getting caked in mud - a first! Also what a difference in bird species. Still a few rooks around but most of the other corvids have left and in their place are waders: lapwings, curlew and passing whimbrel.

The hedgerows were busy with sparrows, finches, tits, dunnocks, robins and wrens. A pair of chiffchaff were showing anxiety - I must have stopped near their nest so moved away. I love this time of year when the hedgerows are full of colours: white blackthorn flowers, fresh green hawthorn leaves just bursting and the distant purple hue of waking trees.

Local information told me about yellowhammers and owls which today I didn't see but what a joy to watch a pair of circling buzzard and a pair of kestrel hunting over the fields near this derelict farm. And off Holker Lane a single single skylark threw his song against a clear cerulean sky.

Click on the photos and they'll appear huge. Photo of whimbrel taken by Chris Rae of Chorley NATS http://www.chorleynats.org.uk

The willows aren't alive until the warblers arrive

2009-04-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

A draft:

The willows aren't alive until the warblers arrive
encouraging the flowers to burst from their buds,
and Black Brook is empty without a pair of dippers
chirring down its course,
and the moors are more desolate without larks
singing down like the sun.

This absence of conversation,
the stony silence of your back
as it steadily mounts the track,
causes me to fall further and further behind
until I politely take a different path.

Photo of Willow Warbler by Dave F Barker http://www.holidays-revealed.com

Wheatear arrive at Solomnn's Temple

2009-04-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

What a joy to hear the birch and willows at White Coppice once again alive with warbling - a wonderful Easter gift. I've sooo missed them. And then another treat - a redpoll drying itself after splashing in Black Brook - what a great day this was becoming! The nuthatch were very vocal as were the multitude of wrens and from nearby trees a green woodpecker yaffled and then a curlew came burbling overhead and landed in a field. After a tip-off about a redstart I took a diversion but didn't see it. Maybe next time.

Up on the moors everything was singing: pipits, larks, stonechat and a pair of very flirting buntings (reed that is). I thought I'd try a new path today so followed the map to Solomon's Temple which turned out to be a grand name for a derelict farm. But to my delight was the tell-tale white rump of a wheatear bounding over the field and landing on a wall. My first sighting this year.

Earlier this week I went to Croston Finney where several pairs of lapwing have claimed a field each, also spotted there were a pair of buzzards, a merlin, yellow hammer and a pair of hares. I also saw a roe deer at Roddlesworth and lots more.

Wheatear by Rick Spencer of Chorley NATS http://www.chorleynats.org.uk
Willow Warbler by Mike Atkinson http://www.mikeatkinson.net

The trouble with picturesque places

2009-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Living here

We long for the eerie dusk
when the traffic has bumped back down the track,
when we can quietly stroll through the meadows alone,
wait for the last robin's call,
stand still in the silence and watch
as woodcock rise out of the woods,
haunting the edge of the sky.

Update - Fings to do before I'm fifty

2009-04-08T03:07:00.000-07:00

A few folks have asked me how I'm doing with my list so here's the progress so far:

I've spotted waxwing and crossbills but still have firecrest and and flycatchers to find
I'm still looking for someone to accompany me up Scar Fell and Coniston Old Man
I am swimming 30 lengths a week but its soooo boring I'm thinking of dusting off my bike now the better weather is here
I did loose a few pounds but put them back on again! A work in progress....
Have done a pilates course and have enrolled on another next term.
Slow progress with the bird calls because my aural memory is - pathetic!
Sent my children's story off - now the long wait for a reply
Haven't entered a poetry competition yet - must get on with that as I must with the short story. But I have an article appearing locally soon
I've read Three Men in a Boat
The manicure and foot spa will be a pre-birthday party treat. Speaking of which, the room and ceilidh band are booked. But maybe I should save the foot spa until the day after the do?
Have eaten wild mushrooms at a restaurant but still plan to pick & eat some wild ones for myself. I've also had scallops in Harrogate
My foxgloves are growing and I've planned where I'm going to grow more herbs
I've changed my hairstyle (see photo) but now plan to change it back. I've been told it makes me look older - and that really will not do!
I'm going to read at the Polyverse festival in July
I've not yet been to Norfolk
I'm still working on how to fly (other than by plane). Paragliding perhaps?
I've not yet got my fishnets, fell into a fountain or decided what feat I shall perform - but there's still time - it's not October yet

Like a hare....

2009-04-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

Just to show that I'm trying to do a poem a day, here's one from day four. It had to have an animal in the title. And because I like themes, I'm trying to link each poem to White Coppice or thereabouts.

Like a hare

The season lies flat in the field
quietly watching me pass,
but there'll be other days
when its ears will lift to the chiffchaff's chiff,
when it will stand tall as a curlew's call,
bound high like a lark in a clear, blue sky,
flit round the dry stone walls,
and settle itself in the scent of plump, yellow gorse-tips.

Chiffchaff

2009-04-06T01:50:00.000-07:00

Just thought you might be interested in reading my poem Chiffchaff which Juliet Wilson has published on Bolts of Silk.
For anyone who hasn't visited the site, it's well worth a visit. Here is the link:
http://boltsofsilk.blogspot.com/2009/04/chiffchaff-by-carol-thistlethwaite.html
Photo of Chiffchaff by Dave F Barker. His website is: http://www.holidays-revealed.com/

Paving paths across the moors - what do you think?

2009-04-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Toady's walk was more for exercise than birds: White Coppice - Great Hill - Spitlers Edge - Sam Pasture - Lead Mine Clough - Jepson's Gate - High Bullough - Anglezarke - Stronstrey Bank - White Coppice. A 4-hour mainly moorland walk.
A fair proportion of Spitlers Edge is covered by substantial flagstones (about 6 inches thick). Although somewhat out of character, I am generally in favour of them because, far from destroying the natural habitats they cross, they actually preserve them. I see so many pathways widened when mountain bikers muddy them ... so walkers create parallel paths which the bikers also use ... and before long there is a 10- 6ft wide path eating into the landscape. The flagstones, if properly laid, don't erode so walkers and bikers stick to the paths and encroachment into specialised habitats doesn't tend to happen. It's also prevents casual walkers getting lost! What do you think?

Sightings included green woodpeckers, stonechat, several curlew, lapwing, larks & pipits singing everywhere on the moors, buzzard, kestrel, oystercatcher, little grebe & goosander. And let's not forget the dazzling reflections from the pools nesting in the peat.

And man's best friend? A jogger's dog, all proud ears and tail, running alongside his master carefully carrying his all-important water bottle in its mouth. Ahhhhh!

Photo of Spitlers Edge copied from www.altrincham-ramblers.org.uk. Curlew by Colin Smith - follow the link in the side bar to his website- well worth a visit.

Poem A Day - April

2009-04-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

For anyone who would appreciate some inspiration, Robert Lee Brewer is providing poetry prompts; one a day for every day in April. By the end of it you could have a chapbook of poems ready to edit.
The blog address is http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/default,month,2009-04.aspx
Good Luck.

Trills spilling from the foliage

2009-03-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

White Coppice was full of trills and yaffles this bright, frost-melt morning and more birds are pairing. The dippers on Black Brook are still together and there was another pair on The Goit. A couple of curlew flew over burbling in the spring and the linnet have arrived back in their usual patch. Wrens were stuttering from all over the bracken, robin, stonechat and reed bunting were all chirping too and a pair of dunnock were also flitting through last year's brittle bracken. And on my way back, I'm sure I heard a chiffchaff.

Up on the moors a single skylark was pouring out his sing from high in the sky. Many pipits were also singing on the wing then lifting their tails to near-vertical to accomplish sheer drops back into the heather. What a difference a tail makes....

Green woodpecker photo by Rick Spence of Chorley.
Meadow pipit by Alex Auer - paste this link into your address bar to find more amazing photos: http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/meadow-pipit:anthus-pratensis-photo-8301.html

Rapturous Leighton

2009-03-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

The raptors at Leighton Moss certainly held us in rapture yesterday. A splendid female was displaying well as she hunted over the reeds and later, at Warton Cragg, we were treated to watching a peregrine fly past and rest on a narrow ledge.

Other favourite moments were watching flocks of black-tailed godwits circle and settle, half of the time being shooed off by a lone coot (who was most certainly in a mood that morning!) and watching waders from Allen Pool which included half a dozen avocet.

We neither heard nor saw the bittern and the bearded tits were keeping hidden in the reeds (well it was a windy day) but it was still a very enjoyable morning. 'We' by the way was Chorley NATS.

The photos of the bearded tit (Titchwell) and bittern (Minsmere) are by Mike Greenhalgh. Use the link in sidebar to view more of his photos. www.mmpc.co.uk

Busy, Busy

2009-03-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

As I was drinking breakfast coffee, it was obvious that the garden birds had been up way before me and were well into their daily activities.
The nuthatches only appear one at a time now instead of in pairs - is this a good sign? I hope so. And I noticed a blue tit carefully tugging up the softest moss from my wall and carrying it the nest box in our next door neighbours' tree. I look forward to watching its progress.
Meanwhile a squirrel has widened the entrance hole to the great tit box in our garden and is living / hiding in it. It must be a bit cramped!

This photo is by Mike Atkinson. One of the aspects I enjoy about his site is that he includes spectacular shots of our common birds (of course has has rarities too). It seems a lot of photographers overlook the commonplace but I think we should celebrate and value it - while it's still here.

Dipper update

2009-03-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

I might have lost my voice this week but the birds haven't. One or two green peckers were yaffling, wrens' songs were shooting out from the bracken undergrowth, and half a dozen crows were noisily mobbing a buzzard over White Coppice. Not to mention all the chaffinches, robins and tits. But as for the song thrush, it took one look at me and shut up!

And guess what - the dippers are now working together, flying in and out the water pipe - nest building. I hope the little dippers don't try to leave the nest before they can fly though - a perilous plummet to unforgiving rocks awaits them.

The grey wagtails are still looking very settled together, always within a few metres of each other, and a male stonechat has found his partner. I wonder if it's the same pair that successfully raised up to three fledglings last year in the same area.

Further along the path two pairs of reed buntings were busy flying round their patches and further still a pair of goldfinch.

On the lodge a pair of great crested grebes and a pair of goldeneye with another female nearby - I wonder what will happen there?

Dipper photo copied from http://www.iol.ie/%7Ecarigeen/Wildlife.htm
Male goldeneye by Mike Attkinson http://www.mikeatkinson.ne

A Single Swallow

2009-03-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Telegraph Magazine has printed a chapter from Horatio Clare's new book, A Single Swallow. It's an absorbing read both about the writer and the people he meets as he journeys overland from South Africa to Wales following migrating swallows. I'm seriously interested in buying this book. (Chatto & Windus ISBN: 9780701183127 /0701183128 )

Influential Writers / Books

2009-03-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Crafty Green Poet recently asked me to list twenty five writers who have influenced me. I haven't completed the list but have made a start. I'm not sure whether I should restrict myself to writing or whether attitudes and values can also be included. Anyway below is the list.

Kahill Gibran - The Prophet. (I've also read the Bible cover to cover and that has influenced me to differing degrees over the years.)
There's a whole raft of female poets I admire and am happy to be influenced by. They include Polly Clark, Pascale Petit, Penelope Shuttle & Jo Shapcott.
I have a copy of Waiting for H5N1 by Jane Routh which I wouldn't want to loose and there's a lot to be admired in Susan Richardson's Creatures of the Intertidal Zone.
As for male writers: Hopkins for the way he distorts words to bring out multiple meanings. Heaney for the way he creates layers of meaning by using lexical groupings. Hughes and Pound for selecting words for their associations. Cris Cheek and others for their positioning of words on the page. And Hughes (again) for remembering to place creatures in their habitats.

I also admire Colin Simms for his precise images of wildlife movement, innovative use of language, his joy of sound and the sheer excitement and enthusiasm which pervades his work. Idris Caffrey has influenced me so much I could put a collection together called The Idris Effect.

I'm always influenced by the novel I'm currently reading although how much stays with me afterwards varies. I do unashamedly confess to thoroughly enjoying all of Jane Austen's novels although I'm not aware of any direct influence.

And let's not forget Sam Smith who provided immense encouragement by being instrumental in getting From The Field Book published.

So who has influenced you?

Coy Mistress Dipper

2009-03-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

The dippers were still 'together' today on Black Brook. Not singing, not feeding, not preening - just sitting. One on a rock by the water's edge staring at the other on a rock in the middle of the stream. The latter was blissfully ignoring the stares, or was she? I did notice a couple of sly sideways glances.... The grey wagtails were much more together, flying around as a pair.

Up on the moor the birds were keeping undercover sheltering from the wind and snow. But I enjoyed the exhilaration of the elements.
And what a treat on my return to White Coppice: several very clear views of a good-sized weasel carrying a small rodent. It's long, upright neck was constantly looking out for me. I had to hide several times so I could see it.

Photo of dipper copied from www.wildliferanger.com
Weasel copied from http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk

Crossbills at Mere Sands Woods

2009-03-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

I visited Mere Sands Wood today to, hopefully, cross off an item from my expanding 'Fings to do before I'm Fifty' list - see a crossbill.

The best way to find one, I think, is to take a blanket and lie down - it saves an aching neck but unfortunately causes too much attention from passing humans!

Thanks to friend, I knew exactly where to look so decided to risk the aching neck. I thought I saw some movement high in the pine canopy but couldn't be sure ... then I met another birder also looking for the crossbills. Two pairs of eyes being better than one, we walked and chatted ... and an hour later he spotted some movement and found a male crossbill, then we saw another, and another... then a male that was showing well began stripping a cone so we were able to watch the whole procedure. A minute later a male and female were spotted preening at the top of a pine - again great views. We saw movement below so thought there was another one there but after a sudden noise they all flew off - all six of them.

Photo of male crossbill by Neil Smith see www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk

Love is in the air?

2009-03-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to White Coppice and was greeted by the sound of the many birds now singing. Not sure how much love was in the air though...

I saw a pair of dippers by the nesting site they used last year; one was proudly presenting nesting material to a very unimpressed partner! Over Stronstrey Bank the ravens were showing solidarity when mobbing a buzzard. Up on Heapey Moor two skylarks were singing and displaying; a couple of male stonechat were perching on top of last years bracken, claiming terrotiry; and a curlew flew off as I approached to his patch;

This photo of a dipper is by Mike Atkinson - follow the link in the sidebar to many more great shots.

Doing Something Different

2009-02-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a change of scene for inspiration so I went to Harrogate for the weekend. The beautiful old buildings give the town a real sense of place. We went to see Strictly Strauss at the Royal Hall directed by Charles Stewart and his violin bow. The Johann Strauss Orchestra and Dancers and Victoria Joyce (soprano) were a delight. Go see the gala when it's near you - well worth it. I have to say that the Royal Hall is a stunning venue.

Meandering home, we visited Richmond and took as pleasant stroll along the River Swale to Easby Abbey. And on the way home we stopped off at Sedbergh, England's Booktown in the Yorkshire Dales, and I hopefully one of the shops there will very soon be selling copies of from the field book which is pleasing.

Fings to do before I'm Fifty

2009-02-16T05:16:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Wendy Webb's recent Facebook note about 'Eighty things I may or may not have done before I'm sixty', I thought I'd write my own 'Fings to do before I'm Fifty' list. Bearing in mind I've only just under eight months to go, I started the list yesterday and am delighted to report that I have unexpectedly achieved item one this morning, thanks to Rick Spence's post on Chorley NATS website.1. Find a waxwing
2. Fells and Peaks - walk to the summit of Scar Fell (any offers?)
3. Fells and Peaks - walk to the summit of Coniston Old Man
4. Fells and Peaks - walk to the summit of Snowden
5. Fitness - swim 30 lengths each week (I'd die of boredom if I made it 5o!)
6. Fin at fifty - loose five pounds
7. Finner at fifty - loose an extra two pounds!
8. Find a spring - find one marked on an OS map and drink from it
9. Five more bird calls - learn to identify
10. Find a publisher for my children's story
11. Finalist - enter a poetry competition and be a listed finalist
12. Family - visit at least once a week and find something interesting to say
13. Fiction - write a short story and get it published in an anthology
14. Feet - have a foot spa
15. Fingers - have a manicure in a beauty salon
16. Funny Book - read Three Men in a Boat
17. Flexibility - be able to touch my toes and stay there! Legs straight, of course
18. Flat stomach - start pilates
19. Fungi - identify a wild one and eat it!
20. Fly - other than in a plane (done that already)
21. Fun - have a big birthday party! Folk dancing.
22. Fire - light a fire with one match and cook a fish on it (a throw back to my days as a Guide leader)
23. Feat - still working on what it will be
24. Fens - visit Norfolk
25. Fishnets - buy a pair then find an opportunity to wear them!
26. Firecrest - find one
27. Flycatcher - spot a spotted flycatcher
28. Foxgloves - grow some
29. Fall in a fountain / similar then pull my friends in too...

There's my list so far and I'm open to other ideas from you guys. But I've only got until October 4th to achieve.

Waxwing photo by Tony Dun

Singing Ice

2009-02-08T02:14:00.000-08:00

Ice sings - but I only heard it for the first time yesterday. Looking out over the mostly frozen Pennington Flashes and watching the geese and ducks, I heard not quite a wind, not quite a wigeon whistle but a tuneful wail sweeping round from some indistinct point. It was the ice - singing. I'd no idea it did.Is it created by the movement of wildfowl on ice? A Google search tells me that ice-skate blades can cause it - like rubbing the top of a wine glass and causing molecules to move. But I'm not so sure.... To me it sounds more like the movement of air (as in a wind instrument). As the ice moves and water laps it must cause the air trapped between the two to move, resulting in a whistle as is it is forced out along the melting edges and any other gaps. (And is consequently sucked in again.) Well that's my theory. What's yours?

A poem is slowly forming in the gaps.
Photo by Tony Dunn - see link in side bar.

Tetrad Visit

2009-02-01T05:15:00.001-08:00

Today I did my late winter tetrad visit. What a difference a few months have made to this patch. No sign of the huge flocks of jackdaws and rooks. In their place are mixed flocks of redwing, fieldfare and starling. The flock numbered about one hundred and was mostly redwing.
Later on another mixed flock - this time lapwing, starlings and gulls (mostly black-headed although I did spot a common gull and greater black-backed amongst them). What a joy to see the broad black and white wings of a hundred plover taking off then re-settling nearby.

The paths through the fields are still muddy but I did get through - it was a case of set off and keep going - whatever! But the sightings were worth it. I also saw a brown hare. It laid low for a while but since it was next to the stile I had to cross I soon saw it running through the hedge and across the next field.

Photo of lapwings by Mike Atkinson. Photo of brown hare by Nigel Fairclough - see their links in the side bar.

Writing Circles

2009-01-31T09:11:00.000-08:00

Picking up a comment posted by Weaver of Grass, what is your preferred type of writing group? One that meets weekly, fortnightly or monthly? One that concentrates on inspiring new writing, critiquing or performing? A physical meeting or an online group? One for professionals, amateurs or mixed?
What's your choice? And why?

The bronze above is called Three Sisters and is by Patrick Purcell. Below is a link to more of his work.
http://www.gregoryjamesgallery.com/PurcellCurrent.htm

Do something different

2009-01-31T08:38:00.001-08:00

I saw nine long-tailed tits in my garden today - really pleasing as I don't usually see more than three together.

After the usual deep clean (boring I know....I'm sure weekends are made for more than this!) I decided I really MUST do something new so I tried a few new footpaths around Brinscall. Not far because it was already well into the afternoon but there was time enough for a steep climb to the top of Well Lane, then I took the track passed a derelict house and over rough grassland (difficult to locate the path here but there were plenty of landmarks in sight to encourage me to keep going) and then downhill to a quiet lane leading back to the lodge and swimming baths. I got a sense of achievement from going somewhere new. And guess what? I saw another flock of long-tailed tits en route.
By the way, if you ever get the chance to go to Brinscall Baths - do. It was built in 1911 and retains almost all the original art decor features - including the archaic changing facilities. It's in a charming location and has its own ghost.... Below is a photo of Brinscall Lodge which is right behind the baths.

Photo of long-tailed tit is used by the kind permission of Tony Dunn. (See link in side bar to his website). Photo of Brinscall Lodge is by Andrew Livesey.

Big Garden Birdwatch

2009-01-24T09:32:00.001-08:00

Yes - this weekend it's the Big Garden Birdwatch. So grab yourself a breakfast coffee, croissant (binocs and bird ID book if you have them) and spend an hour looking the the window. You might be surprised how many species visit your garden.

Many birds will, of course, come to your feeders if you have them. But keep scanning hedge bottoms etc for ground feeders such as the dunnock. And, if you have a lattice fence, watch that too in case a wren appears looking for spiders and tiny insects living therein. Keep your eyes roving over tree trunks for treecreepers and look along branches for nuthatch and woodpeckers. If you have pines or conifers, you might be lucky enough to find tiny goldcrest there.

Open your window to listen for calls that indicate birds you might otherwise miss. Can you hear a song thrush smashing a snail shell?

Count how many of each species you see at one time and submit your results to www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch And just as importantly - enjoy it!

Images copied from the RSPB website

Group Trust

2009-01-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

I met my new classes this week - always a pleasure. One of the many joys of being a creative writing tutor is facilitating the bonding of a group of strangers and watching group trust develop as learners participate in activities designed to do just that. A creative writing group can't flourish without every learner feeling able to trust the tutor and the group. I get a great surge of delight when I'm having to politely tell a group of a-few-minutes-ago-nervous-strangers to 'shut up!' And with a tutor like me - they always do!
That is until I set the next activity to get them sharing again...

I found this image on several sites so I'm not sure whom to credit. But whoever designed it has caught the essence of a class: all focused, all equal and each with a distinctive style and voice.

Fell Walking for Mental Health

2009-01-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

Today's I decided to walk for health more than bird watching so I went up the hill from White Coppice and on towards Heapey Moor. I find walking is good for relaxation. The exercise gets oxygen flowing. I listen to my breath and my feet fall into its rhythms: quick, short steps synchronise with short, shallow breaths. It puts you at one with yourself (body and mind).

The rhythms let words and thoughts flow. I don't hinder them but observe them and let them flow like wind through hair. It's the place where poems and lesson plans begin.

It's also a cathartic place. I recall falling into step with strangers and hearing their life stories as they walk up hills and across the fells. When all is said, I subtly take another path and leave them wondering why they've been induced to say so much to a total stranger. It's not me - it's the exercise that releases the toxins in the mind so we can let them fall away towards any willing ear - and there is a place for that.

However, walking at its best should leave folks refreshed. So when folks find themselves falling into a downward spiral of negative thoughts, I find the most helpful exercise to do is 'grounding'. By that I mean control your thoughts. Instead of concentrating on the negative, listen to your breath, feel the muscles in your calves - and listen some more. Listen out for the scrape of boot on rock, listen for the burbling of streams, the rushes rustling, and pinpoint the direction of bird calls, scan sky and bracken tops for them and revel in the pleasure of being one with the moor.

Top photo is the edge of Heapey Moor by me. Bottom photo is a juvenile stonechat by Richard Spence.

Brown hare

2009-01-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

A few more photos from this morning - thanks to Chris Ray. First up was a song thrush.

And secondly a well camouflaged brown hare.

Bretherton Eyes

2009-01-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

A magical name - and we were all eyes as we assembled at a very frosty 9am watching thousands of woodpigeon depart the woods fanning the icy breeze. (If you click on the photo, you'll see we all had a dozen layers on!)Fieldfare, redwing, song thrush, nuthatch and many more fluttered around the wooded lane. When we reached the Mean High Water embankment, we looked down on flat, open fields (many of them deeply ploughed) and threw up flocks of singing larks, meadow pipits, a few lapwings, heron, kestrels hunting and more. A kingfisher perched in the grass by a water channel.

Into Back Lane, we were greeted by Dartmoor(?) ponies. Gary pointed out a brown lying low with ears down well camouflaged in a field. A small flock of yellow hammers flitted over and obligingly perched in a nearby hedge along with some goldfinch.

Back in Eyes Lane, some beaters returned and a dozen red-legged partridge ran into the safety of an off-limits field just as the shots began...

Thanks to Nigel Faiclough for this morning's photos. See link for more of his landscape and wildlife photography.

Below is a photo of Bank Hall which is also in this area. It opens during February for 'Snowdrop Sundays'. Find out more at http://www.bankhall.org.uk/html/intro.htmlI wrote this last year. Just let it resurface today. It still needs some editing but here it is so far:

SNOWDROP SUNDAYS
Bank Hall 2008

Her carriageway has known no carriage
for years. She twisted an ankle,
tripped over time, sat ageing and aching,
slates slipping from her head.
Emptiness has flaked her,
wrung its hands across the lawn,
shook out bouquets of snowdrops,
unveiling her unrequited love.

Frozen Reservoir

2009-01-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Upper Rivington reservoir was 95% frozen over this afternoon. It must be the lie of the land and the tilt of the sun since both Anglezarke and Lower Rivington (on either of it) remained mostly ice free. Strange too that the gulls and ducks chose to congregate on the frozen reservoir (on the thinnest ice by the unfrozen centre). Maybe they felt safest there?

Below is a poem that didn't make from the field book.

GULL ROOST, LOWER RIVINGTON
In their threes, fives and sixes, they land.
Shake. Expand the flotilla.
From time to time the whole congregation rises,
reels, reshuffles as the sun drags more small parties down
to roost.

Pushing deep into my armchair,
squeezing a Horlicks mug,
I wonder how they cope
as ice crawls from its hiding place,
encircles their legs,
traps them as they rest
with eyes under wings,
sheltered by nothing but themselves.