[nick patel]

hi this is nick patel, i live in preston, in lancashire. are there any lancs birders on, or anyone who has ever been to lancashire birding, as i'd like to know your views of lancashire's bird life and the places you can visit!

[Osprey_watcher]

Originally Posted by nick patel

hi this is nick patel, i live in preston, in lancashire. are there any lancs birders on, or anyone who has ever been to lancashire birding, as i'd like to know your views of lancashire's bird life and the places you can visit!

In Preston you are not far from Leighton Moss RSPB reserve or reserve on the Ribble estuary (can't remember the name).

[nick patel]

yeah i've been to leighton moss quite a bit, and it is brilliant, and the reserve on the ribble is called marshside, and that is amazing, i think it is even better than leighton moss!

[nick patel]

if there are any people viewing this thread now, and are currently regular visitors to rspb marshside in southport, could you please tell me why nel's hide is closed till september.

[johnnyoxygen]

Originally Posted by nick patel

if there are any people viewing this thread now, and are currently regular visitors to rspb marshside in southport, could you please tell me why nel's hide is closed till september.

i was at marshside two weeks ago nick and the pools were very dry,ihave to disagree with you about leighton moss as far as i'm concerned it's one of the best birding sites in the country.you should try pennington flash near leigh,theres about six hides all with different species,my favourite is the bunting hide with all the feeders,cheers john.

[nick patel]

Originally Posted by johnnyoxygen

i was at marshside two weeks ago nick and the pools were very dry,ihave to disagree with you about leighton moss as far as i'm concerned it's one of the best birding sites in the country.you should try pennington flash near leigh,theres about six hides all with different species,my favourite is the bunting hide with all the feeders,cheers john.

well i've been to pennington flash twice and i think it is ibrilliant too, and yes the bunting hide is good, but you know how you can see bullfinches quite well from that hide, well in my garden in preston, i get better views of 2 pairs of them, each day!

[Jaff]

Have a look in here

http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=176

Jaff

[SiG]

Originally Posted by nick patel

if there are any people viewing this thread now, and are currently regular visitors to rspb marshside in southport, could you please tell me why nel's hide is closed till september.

Hi. I'm a regular at Marshside (although in Sweden at the moment.) Nels is closed because there's no water, and no water = no birds. It closed a bit later this year than last.

A good site to keep an eye on for Marshside news is John Dempsey's Blog


I spout some nonsense and post my pics from Marshside/Southport on this thread

[Steve Jones]

Hi Nick, I noticed your Bullfinch pics on Fylde Bird Club website. Do you live in Fulwood?
I'm in Ingol and have had Bullfinch in my garden in the past (most memorable being a male hotly pursued by several sparrows, making a hasty exit).
There's quite a few decent local spots around the north of Preston, handy for patch watching if you dont want to travel any distance. Some of these places have turned up good birds from time to time (as do many when watched enough), e.g.
Brockholes Quarry, Myerscough Quarry, Bartle Pools, Lightfoot Green, Light Ash, Preston Docks, Freckleton Naze, Warton Bank etc.



If you want any further details PM me.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Nick,

For my efforts at the end of the (short) M55 check out:

http://starrgate.blogspot.com/

Regards,

Stephen.

[nick patel]

Originally Posted by Steve Jones

Hi Nick, I noticed your Bullfinch pics on Fylde Bird Club website. Do you live in Fulwood?
I'm in Ingol and have had Bullfinch in my garden in the past (most memorable being a male hotly pursued by several sparrows, making a hasty exit).
There's quite a few decent local spots around the north of Preston, handy for patch watching if you dont want to travel any distance. Some of these places have turned up good birds from time to time (as do many when watched enough), e.g.
Brockholes Quarry, Myerscough Quarry, Bartle Pools, Lightfoot Green, Light Ash, Preston Docks, Freckleton Naze, Warton Bank etc.



If you want any further details PM me.

those areas you mentioned, i've been to brockholes quarry, myerscough quarry, lightfoot green, preston docks, freckleton naze and warton bank, but i haven't been to bartle pools and light ash. by the way where are bartle pools and light ash. i know that lightfoot green is really good for me as it is just down the road from me, and it has a lot of potential and already hosts a number of birds there. i only went to brockholes 2 days ago, but i thought that was amazing. myerscough quarry is also a good place i've been a bout 3 times. freckleton naze and warton bank are also great, especially the naze point because you can get right up to the river and see loads of birds!
by the way, nice picture of the ringed plover on fylde bird club!

[Steve Jones]

Originally Posted by nick patel

those areas you mentioned, i've been to brockholes quarry, myerscough quarry, lightfoot green, preston docks, freckleton naze and warton bank, but i haven't been to bartle pools and light ash. by the way where are bartle pools and light ash. i know that lightfoot green is really good for me as it is just down the road from me, and it has a lot of potential and already hosts a number of birds there. i only went to brockholes 2 days ago, but i thought that was amazing. myerscough quarry is also a good place i've been a bout 3 times. freckleton naze and warton bank are also great, especially the naze point because you can get right up to the river and see loads of birds!
by the way, nice picture of the ringed plover on fylde bird club!

Thanks Nick.

Bartle Pools is off Sandy Lane, Lower Bartle. Its really a 'winter flood' location (If you go there now all you'll see is cows eating grass), but once it floods later in the year it stays that way into the following summer. The surrounding fields are maize and after the crop has gone there are extensive stubble fields attracting stock doves etc.
Birds seen there include Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper,lots of Ducks, Whimbrel and last Spring literally hundreds (3-400 per night) of Black-Tailed Godwit in their spring finery.
Light Ash is a farm area at Myerscough (and a good 'bolt-on' to a visit to Myerscough Quarry), again with maize fields and the river brock flowing through the middle. There's Kingfishers and Dippers on the river, and the fields hold Grey & Red-Legged Partridge, Lapwings, Larks, Yellowhammers etc..
The winter habitat here is again stubble fields, plus a good winter flood area that attacts Golden Plover, Shelduck and the like.

[nick patel]

cheers steve!

[nick patel]

i was wondering, does anyone know if any of the following places are worth going to and if so, how do i get to them and what dorts of birds they give host to?
inner marsh farm, frampton marsh, sandbach flashes.

also if there are any fylde bird club users, or anyone who lives in the fylde or goes to the fylde frequently, where is the best place for barn owls in the fylde, because i have tried looking for them in the places where they have been seen on fylde bird club, e.g. higher/lower ballam, peel, warton bank, etc. but have had no luck so far.

also does anyone who uses fylde bird club, know where abouts in mythop the green sandpipers are found, i know there are 2 ponds in the area, one little one on a farm, which i checked and saw several snipe and other birds, and there is a much bigger pond also on a farm but more enclosed, just off the road, which i haven't checked yet, can anyone help me with this?

[nick patel]

Originally Posted by nick patel

those areas you mentioned, i've been to brockholes quarry, myerscough quarry, lightfoot green, preston docks, freckleton naze and warton bank, but i haven't been to bartle pools and light ash. by the way where are bartle pools and light ash. i know that lightfoot green is really good for me as it is just down the road from me, and it has a lot of potential and already hosts a number of birds there. i only went to brockholes 2 days ago, but i thought that was amazing. myerscough quarry is also a good place i've been a bout 3 times. freckleton naze and warton bank are also great, especially the naze point because you can get right up to the river and see loads of birds!
by the way, nice picture of the ringed plover on fylde bird club!

steve was it you who put down the reports once, a few weeks ago on fylde bird club, that said 3 bullfinches on ingol golf course and a kingfisher at haslam park, and if so where abouts was the kingfisher on haslam park. also just something you may want to know, just after ingol golf course, there is a dip in a road just before a railwa, called walker lane (which soon after becomes boys lane) and this goes down it towards fulwood, on the right of the road leads to tulketh, and on the left is a little area of scrub, in this scrub i have seen sparrowhawk, blackcap, chiffchaff, and other common birds. just some info i thought you might like to know. also is it you who puts in some of the lightfoot green reports (other than me!).

[Stephen Dunstan]

Nick,

Keep plugging away at Warton Bank or try Over Wyre for owls.

Forget Mythop unless it rains again, try Newton Marsh perhaps for Green Sands.

Stephen.

[nick patel]

thanks stephen, i'll try your suggestions.

[HokkaidoStu]

Hi Nick. I was raised in Penwortham and spent my formative birding years on the south bank of the Ribble between Penwortham and Longton. I'm sure you've already been down there. If you haven't just drive to the bottom of Howick Cross Lane in Higher Penwortham (or cross the river at Broadgate and walk downstream for about an hour or so). It was my local patch when I was at secondary school (1982 to 1987) and also for the various occasions I ended back in Preston between jobs in later life. Of course it's nowhere near as good as Marshside but I still managed over 130 species there.

I hear the Ribble is going to be "developed" in the Broadgate area. Hope this won't impact too much on the birding further downstream. That ghastly newish motorcycling srambling course on the north side of the river (just west of the docks) can't help much either.

The birds have changed quite a lot since my early birding days in the 80's. There used to be lots of Waders and Terns...........in more recent years when I've had chance to revisit my old haunts there didn't seem to be anywhere near as many. Ditto Tree Sparrow, Willow Tit and Corn Bunting. Mind you we never used to have Little Egret which I started seeing in the late 90's. Is the Sand Martin colony still there?

My favourite birding sites around Lancashire used to be the aforementioned Marshside, Fleetwood (for waders and seawatching), Seaforth Dock pools (which may have been closed for public access but was a great place for Gulls and Terns) and South Walney (for migrants, seabirds and waders). The Hodder valley is also worth a visit.

[nick patel]

thanks for all this great information. in actual fact i was just about to go down to the south bank area to see what it held, just the other day but couldn't, but it sure does sound like one not to miss! i've already been to places like marshside, warton bank, freckleton naze, lytham and places like that, but never this place, so i must check it out.
i've been to fleetwood once, didn't see much, but it was raining at that time, so it may be worth checking again. i have not been to seaforth, but even though it is closed off, apparentely you can still see a few things! South walney is great, i've been twice and absolutely loved it, saw quite a few lifers there! and hodder valley i have been to many a time, because i regularly visit the forest of bowland, and also saw some great birds there. once again thanks for the information stu.

[Stephen Dunstan]

To try and broaden this out given the Lancashire Birding title of the thread Blackpool Council are hosting nine whale and dolphin sessions from tomorrow to next Sunday, details on the Council website. Might be a good way for novice birders to get some seabird experience.

Stephen.

[nick patel]

thanks steve.

[Stephen Dunstan]

Nick,

For info a Barn Owl showing very well tonight Naze Point.

Stephen.

[nick patel]

thanks steve

[nick patel]

can anyone help me? i was wondering if anyone can help me by telling where they think is the best place for autumn migrants in lancashire, passerines especially, waders, seabirds, etc. i was thinking of walney island, any comments?

[nick patel]

also does anyone know where the best place is for twite is in lancashire, as i'd love to see one!