Lancashire Wildlife Blogs

As a light sleeper I’m often awake early.  A look at the breaking dawn of Sunday revealed clear skies and no wind – a morning to revisit those darned Linnets that are up to their old tricks of playing hard to get. If anything the Linnets are …

If August is predictable as warblers and Swallows journey south to Africa, September is less so.  Just this week saw the first returning Pink-footed Geese when a gaggle of around 200 flew over Pilling and then to the salt marsh beyond; the geese s…

Monday was the last of our child minding for the summer holidays, so I couldn’t make it up to Oakenclough where the long drive there and back makes for half a day’s commitment. Instead I made a 15 minute drive to Gulf Lane and grabbed an hour or t…

A red sky broke over the hills to the east of Oakenclough on Thursday. It was a warning we should have heeded. But after making the effort for a 6 o’clock start and all that entails, Andy and I saw little reason not to carry on. After all, just two d…

Expectations were high this morning. Monday afternoon, evening and overnight had been clear and warm, perfect conditions for migrant birds setting out on a long journey. Or so we hoped. I met up with Andy before 0600 to a clear sky and zero wind. We …

At last, the dogged Jet Stream that brought three weeks of wind and rain has finally moved north and left things looking more settled. Saturday morning was indeed a “cracker” for birding or ringing with a clear sky, little wind, and no rain in the…

After almost two weeks of unseasonable wind and rain there was just a chance the weather might ease slightly and allow a spot of ringing.  The dark of Tuesday night and into early Wednesday saw more pouring rain and then en route to Oakenclough th…

Birding and ringing took a back seat this week as school holidays and grandparent priorities came first. Thursday was the first available morning for me so I drove to Conder Green for a catch up before the main task of the day, Gulf Lane. The wat…

The forecast was for a better morning of almost zero wind coupled with bouts of sunshine. Another 0600 start up at Oakenclough where Andy was already out of his car and ready to go.A check of the DemOn database revealed we started the new month with 1…

We were back at Oakenclough again this morning for another ringing session, hoping to catch more Blackcaps and other warblers.Here’s news of the Blackcap caught here on 24th July, an adult female that bore the BTO ring ACE2152.  Blackcap…