Friday 13 February 2009

Bursting into song

Heysham Obs
You could almost do an early CBC today as the local songbirds celebrated 6ish degrees C! The rest of the birding slot was depressingly familiar; indeed 'credit crunch birding', as the deserted MFI car park offered views of a fair chunk of the by-pass PFGs (and not a hint of anything else) via two hedges. Five minutes along the north wall produced the only 'mentionables'

North harbour wall
Med Gull - Czech adult on the railings
Purple Sandpiper - one creeping about under the outer section of wooden jetty
Red-throated Diver - 2 offshore long with loads of flotsam, mainly branches
No Twite seen

Elsewhere
Greenshank photographed near the railway viaduct at Arkholme - a mega inland record in winter. Spotted Redshank reported there recently as well along with the more usual Green Sandpiper. Waxwing still Leighton Drive, Lancaster mid-afternoon. No sign of either the Aldcliffe nor Bull Beck Greylags & at least 80% of the Heysham bypass geese were scoped and were all Pinkfeet, with the only species which could possibly have been overlooked in the other binocular-scanned 20% = Tundra Bean