L.O.S. Presentation - Friday 4th March 2016

If you've been enjoying the Scottish detective drama 'Shetland' on Friday nights recently, you're in for a real treat on Friday 4th March. However, you'll have to put the next programme on record as we are having our very own talk on the nature and wildlife of Shetland by David Tolliday at the same time:

Shetland
The wildlife and sights of Shetland, starting on Fair Isle and finishing with a view of Out Stack, the most northerly part of Britain. Photographs include birds, wild flowers, butterflies and mammals.
Everyone is welcome and entrance is free, although we'd really appreciate a small donation on the door in the form of buying a couple of raffle tickets.

Willow Tit Survey - Free Training

Willow Tit at Pennington Flash (c) Martyn Jones 2016
The L.O.S. recording area is a bit of a stronghold for Willow Tits and there's some free training available for surveying and recording them at Three Sisters N.R. at a new date to be arranged.

The first two dates of the 18th and 29th of February have been fully booked and so a third date is being planned depending on the interest.  Please register your interest with Cheryl Knott at the email address or telephone number below.

Willow Tits can easily be found at Pennington Flash, Three Sisters N.R. and the Wigan Flashes as well as on Astley Moss and Atherton Meadows.

The course is being run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT)in partnership with the GM Ecology Unit.
If you enjoy watching Willow Tits and would like to contribute to their conservation in Greater Manchester then this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust would like to invite you to be involved in a Willow Tit Survey Training Day which aims to standardise recording methodologies and gain habitat data from across our region. This will benefit long term planning for species recovery.
Willow Tits are suffering an alarming decline, with around 3,400 pairs remaining in the UK. The Great Manchester Wetlands Nature Improvement Area which extends across Wigan, Salford, Bolton and into Cheshire, holds around 10% of this number. We want to learn more about the population in our area. This will involve identifying suitable habitat and recording the presence or absence of Willow Tit. The aim is to build up a better picture of the region's populations. This will be done in conjunction with The Carbon Landscape Project and Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. The survey results will inform some very targeted habitat development work on existing Willow tit sites, and also be used to develop neighbouring sites, allowing populations to spread.
The training day is to be held at Three Sisters Lakeside Office, at a date still to be arranged  between 10am-3pm. You will need to bring a packed lunch, and suitable clothing for the weather on the day. 
If you are interested please contact LWT at The Lakeside office to book, on 01942 726214 or email Cheryl Knott on cknott@lancswt.org.uk

L.O.S. Open Day Video Slideshow

Just to finish off all our recent Open Day stuff, here's a video slideshow made from photographs taken by Alan Wilcox and myself: