Bird ID Help Needed

Stephen Tebbott from Horwich in Bolton has sent us two photos of a bird he'd like identifying.  I assume it has been seen locally, but I'm not sure.

If anyone can help please write your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of this post, or email me at leighos.webmaster@gmail.com.

Update:

The general consensus from the comments is that it is an albino House Sparrow - I for one have never seen one of these before!

Little Woolden Moss to become nature reserve

Further to our recent post on peat extraction being refused on Chat Moss, an area of peat-extraction damaged mossland in Salford is now being turned into a nature reserve. This article is from the BBC Website:

Little Woolden Moss is part of Chat Moss, a larger area of peat bog land - (c) BBC

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has bought the 100 hectare (247 acre) site at Little Woolden Moss, near Cadishead.  The trust has used grants totalling around £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to buy the land and fund the conservation work.

By filling in the ditches, the Trust hopes cotton-grass and carpets of sphagnum mosses can be grown. The mosses store carbon, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.

This will obviously have a great impact on the birds and other wildlife in the area.

Read more about it from the BBC Website here: Little Woolden Moss to become nature reserve

Martyn's Live NestCam Video

Snapshot from 15 February 2013

I've currently got a Blue Tit roosting overnight in one of my nestboxes with a video camera.  I'm now streaming the live video on my blog so you can have a look. Click here to go to my blog to see the live video.

The bird comes into roost at dusk between 5pm and 6pm every night and leaves between 6:30am and 7:30am in the morning when it's light.

Not much happens whilst it is roosting, but if you leave the video on screen for a while you will see the occasional flutter and bit of preening.

The video is obviously taken in the dark with an infra-red camera so don't expect any colour or much detail.  It's much better during the daylight hours, but the bird isn't there for long at the moment.  I'm hoping it will eventually find a mate and nest here in the spring.

To watch the video you need to have Java installed and running on your computer.  You may need to update this but it's free and safe to do so.  If any 'pop-up' windows appear you can safely click OK to install or update Java or to 'accept a connection' to my camera.

It would be great to see some feedback in the comments underneath the video on my blog.

Pauline and Ian Greenhalgh - A Shot at Wild Life Images 2011

Kingfisher at Pennington Flash

Well, I've just got back from an L.O.S. Friday night indoor presentation by Pauline and Ian Greenhalgh entitled 'A Shot a Wildlife Images 2011' and I feel like giving up bird photography now!  Pauline has been a photographer for over 40 years and all that experience certainly shows in the quality and diversity of her and husband Ian's photographs.

From highly detailed close-up bird and animal shots, through multi-coloured fungi to breathtaking landscapes, Pauline's and Ian's photos were a simply stunning collection of wildlife images that would grace the pages of any book or magazine.

Short-eared Owl

Pauline had been coaxed out of 'presentation retirement' and was a little nervous before the start of the show - she needn't have been, as her photos did the talking for her.  The audience could be heard to sigh with delight as each superb photograph appeared on screen season by season.

As well as iconic birds such as Kingfishers, Short-eared Owls, Red Kites and Capercaille, we saw animals such as Pine Martens and Badgers, lots of fungi and wild flowers and many beautiful landscapes from the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and Scotland.

At the end of the presentation Charlie Owen, another local well-respected birder and photographer and lifelong friend, did the honours of thanking Pauline and Ian and capped it all by saying that he was now going to sell his camera!  You can view Pauline and Ian's photos online here: Pauline and Ian's Wildlife Images.

This truly splendid evening was enjoyed by everyone who attended and we're now all looking forward to the 2012 version next year! 

Martyn Jones

Big Garden Birdwatch event at Pennington Flash - 27th January 2013

(c) Shannon Shaw

On Sunday 27 January, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust (WLCT) held another birding event at Pennington Flash to coincide with the RSPB's 'Big Garden Birdwatch' weekend.

The event began at 11am on a bitterly cold and windy day, but that didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the volunteers and families too much.  There were still some remnants of the previous day's snowfall in some parts of the Country Park, but nothing that proved too much of a problem for access.

Eagle Owl (c) Alan Flavell

The RSPB had a stall to attract new members as well as selling a variety of bird books and related items and WLCT staff were on hand making fat feeders.

Matt Holker from the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit shared a stall with the L.O.S. and was engaging young people in birding and nature quiz games as well as asking their parents to complete a short survey.

Great Grey Owl - (c) Alan Flavell

Nestboxes could be bought and many families were seen later going home with youngsters carrying them. There was also a craft stall selling hand-made products, but for many the main attraction was the display of several stunning birds of prey by Vicky Jolley.

On display was an Eagle Owl, Barn Owl, Scops Owl, Great Grey Owl and Harris Hawk and the public could have their photograph taken holding one of the birds for a small charge.

(c) Shannon Shaw

Dave Wilson very kindly offered to take interested adults on a walk around the north western side of the Flash - as this would take an hour or so it was more suitable for adults and older children and a party set off around 11:30am.

(c) Shannon Shaw

Joan Disley and Jeff Hurst were based in Bunting Hide feeding station where the youngsters and families enjoyed looking at the smaller woodland birds such as Willow Tits, Bullfinches, Reed Buntings as well as the more common Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Dunnocks and Robins.

Bunting hide rarely disappoints even the most casual birdwatcher!

Joan said the youngsters really enjoyed identifying the birds and ticking them off on the checklist, and some of the adults did too!

Inside Bunting Hide (c) Martyn Jones

Inside Bunting Hide (c) Martyn Jones

Scoping from Horrocks Hide (c) Shannon Shaw

George Pike, Brian Fawcett and Eric Munro were based in Horrocks Hide with a spotting scope overlooking the spit. The prospects weren't too good as the cold wind was blowing in through the hide windows and the birds were all taking shelter amongst the vegetation on the edges of the water. However they did manage to see some Goosanders, Cormorants, Teal, Coots, Moorhens, Black-headed Gulls and they were treated to a brief flypast by three Pintails.  Once again the youngsters who visited the hide enjoyed identifying the birds using the photo sheets and checklists.

Keeping a checklist at Bunting Hide (c) Martyn Jones

A couple of days earlier, Roy Rhodes had very kindly pre-seeded the two bird tables sited just off the paths on the way to Horrocks and Ramsdales hides to ensure some birds along the way, and based himself at the Ramsdale's Hide end of the path.

The aim was to take people round to the reedbeds where it was presumed most of the water fowl would be sheltering from the harsh wind.  However, the poor weather conditions meant that very little birdlife was in view here.

The L.O.S. Stall (c) Martyn Jones

Back on the stall Jim Disley did a sterling job of advertising the L.O.S. and handing out flyers and information sheets whilst Martyn Jones was busy moving about between the hides and the stalls checking that everything was going as smoothly as possible.

Some of the pupils from our recent visits to local primary schools turned up and took part and even one of the teachers brought her family, which was very nice to see.

(C) Shannon Shaw

On the whole it was a successful start for the L.O.S. Young Birders' Club and we hope to follow it up with another event soon, where we will take youngsters on a longer walk round the hides here with hopefully more waterfowl in view!

Thanks to all the L.O.S. members for turning out on such a cold and windy day when they could have stayed in bed - at least the snow had gone as quickly as it had arrived yesterday. And thanks must also go to Michelle and the WLCT staff team for organising the day and putting up the stalls in the wind, but most importantly for the tea and biscuits which were very well received!

See you all next year!

Did you see it ? (c) Shannon Shaw

Martyn Jones

Please click on the word 'Comments' below and leave a message as 'Anonymous' - thanks

L.O.S. Young Birders' Club visits St.Thomas C.E. Primary School

The L.O.S. Young Birders' Club team paid a visit to St. Thomas' C.E. Primary School in Leigh last Wednesday to give some more presentations about birding to young people, with the aim of raising their awareness of the natural world around them.

We worked with two Year 4 classes and, building on the experience gained from our first session, the team offered a modified version of the initial presentation deciding to concentrate on just one practical activity with each class.

George introduced our presentation to the first class and covered such topics as why we need to feed the birds throughout the winter and spring and what sort of birds we are likely to see in our gardens.

There were a lot of questions and feedback from the children - as you can see from the photographs, they were very keen and enthusiastic and clearly interested in the subject.

Tony then demonstrated how to build a bird feeder out of a recycled clear plastic water bottle, some garden wire and a couple of sticks. 

The children worked well in pairs to make the feeders and seemed to really like this activity.  After the bottles were filled with seed they couldn't wait to hang them up and see what birds they attracted.

Finally the children did a word search about bird names to finish off the practical session, before Martyn told them about the L.O.S. Young Birders' Club and the 'Big Garden Birdwatch' event at Pennington Flash on Sunday 27 January.

He also mentioned the competition for designing a new logo for the L.O.S. Young Birders' Club, the details of which are on the website.

After the presentation had been given to the second class, the children worked in pairs to make some bird ID dials. Each person cut out a circular dial and then fastened it to their partner's dial.

When completed, the children used the ID dials to identify some birds from a colour photographs. There was also a slightly harder set of photographs  showing only small parts of birds to ID for those who had finished.

Following a discussion with class teacher Mrs. S. Grant at the end of the session, we also volunteered to accompany the children on a fieldtrip to Lilford Park in Leigh, where they are looking at what impact the proposed guided busway from Leigh to Manchester will have on birds, wildlife and habitat in the area.

This is exactly the sort of project with which the L.O.S. is hoping to get involved in the future.

At the end of each session the class was presented with a metal bird feeder filled with either fat balls or seed for being such a great audience. Our thanks go out to the staff and pupils of St. Thomas' for making us feel so welcome and for working so well on this project - we hope to see you again soon.

Future primary schools lined up for our presentations include Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School in Leigh, St. Richards R.C. Primary School in Atherton and St. Catherine's Catholic Primary School in Lowton.

Big Garden Birdwatch Event at Pennington Flash

This weekend sees the start of the Big Garden Birdwatch organised by the RSPB and to coincide with this, Wigan Leisure and Cultural Trust (WLCT) are holding their own special event at Pennington Flash, on Sunday 27 January.  The event runs from 11am to 3pm.

Members of our Society will be present to hold the inaugural meeting of our L.O.S. Young Birders' Club, where we shall be taking young people on an number of guided walks around the bird hides and giving tips and information about simple bird identification.

This is part of our campaign to get more young people interested in birding and nature, which we have started by giving presentation at local primary schools.  A page on the website has been set up for youngsters to record their sightings seen on the walks or in their local area and they can also send photographs, written reports and even artwork for inclusion on the website to leighos.webmaster@gmail.com.

As well as the guided walks, the following activities will also taking place:

Snowy Owl from last year's event

• Bird of Prey demonstration
• Nestbox building and for sale
• Willow weaving demonstration
• Making apple juice with a press
• Making recycled bird feeders and fat peckers
• RSPB's Roger Hayes will be in attendance

We do hope that as many L.O.S. members as possible will be able to attend and help generate interest in the Society as well as the new L.O.S. Young Birders' Club.

Martyn Jones

A successful start to the L.O.S. Young Birders' Club Campaign

George's introduction

On Friday 12 January, Tony Bishop, George Pike and Martyn Jones began the L.O.S. Young Birders' Club campaign at Gilded Hollins Community Primary School in Leigh. 

Our first presentation was to a Year 4 class of pupils all aged between 8 and 9 years old and the main focus of the session was to tell the pupils about our Society, what we do and how we can all help birds and wildlife in general.

Tony loses his bottle

The presentation was introduced by George with Martyn operating a PowerPoint slideshow and this led into a demonstration by Tony of how to make a simple bird feeder out of a recycled plastic bottle (full details of which are here).

Then it was the pupils turn to make the feeders - the class was divided into five groups of six pupils who each had a tray with all the materials to make one birder feeder between two children.

Fortunately the children listened very carefully and there was only one slight accident with the seed!

Here are some photos of the construction process:

Inserting the perches

Filling the feeder

The finished product

Unfortunately we didn't have time to make the Bird ID Dials as planned with the Year 4 class, and so we left them with the materials and quiz to do so at a later time.  The class teacher seemed very keen to do this and carry on the work we had started.

The first session was finished with Martyn giving a short presentation about the LOS Young Birders' Club which is planning to give a guided tour around the bird hides at Pennington Flash at the Big Garden Birdwatch event being held there on Sunday 27 January, more details about which will follow in a later post.  

Martyn also showed the pupils the new LOS Young Birders' Club Website where they can add their own bird sightings, as well as send in photographs, artwork and nature reports by email for publication on the web.

In the next session we gave a revised version of the presentation to a Year 5 class of pupils aged 9 and 10.

This time we had a little longer to deliver the materials and so after George had done the introduction, Tony showed the class how to make the Bird ID Dial.

The pupils paired up and had no difficulty in cutting out the dials and assembling them with the fastener. To the left is a photo of the finished product.



Tony then demonstrated how to make the bird feeder and again the pupils were very enthusiastic and skilled in making their feeders. Here are some of the results:


At the end of the session the Society donated a metal bird feeder with fat balls for the Year 4 class and a metal and plastic seed feeder to the Year 5 class as a thank-you for their hard work during the sessions. We were made to feel very welcome by all the staff and pupils at Gilded Hollins and they seemed to enjoy the activities as much as we did.  On our way out we noticed that some of the feeders had already been hung up in the trees outside the Year 4 classroom.

Hopefully we will manage to visit a lot more schools and organisations in the area to encourage bird and nature watching and conservation. Our next presentation will be given to St. Thomas' Primary School in Leigh on Wednesday 23 January, and we are hoping to visit Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School next month.

If anyone reading this has any contacts with primary schools in the Wigan and Leigh area we'd like to hear from you so that we might arrange to give them our presentation and encourage membership of L.O.S. Young Birders' Club events.

Martyn Jones

Mink Recording

Following two appearances today by our Conservation Officer Roy Rhodes on BBC North West Today and BBC North West Tonight, we have received 14 new records of mink in the area, bringing the total to 27 records.

If you missed the video reports on BBC TV, they will appear here in the new few days and if you would like to report a mink sighting please do so here, rather than on our normal contact page.

Save wildlife habitat at Worlaby in Lincs

Hi everyone.

Below is a request from Pauline Greenhalgh, asking us all to sign the Government Petition, I would be obliged if you would do this to help save a fantastic bird haunt.

Regards
David Shallcross, Chairman.

P.S. would you also circulate to your own contacts.

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43941

This could do with signing by as many folks as we can get it round to. Its been begun by David Newby to try and stop the land at Worlaby in Lincs returning to agriculture and thus losing the short eared owl winter population, not to mention killing all the voles in the process ... 

We have visited on several occasions to take photos as you know and while there have counted 6-8 owls flying and the count has been up to 16 Short-eared Owls some years. We've also seen Barn Owls and Hen Harries hunting over the area. I would say its a Nationally Important feeding place for raptors ...

Perhaps David you could circulate this round the LOS email group? Only a few hundred signatures is hardly going to sway anyone - they need many more folk to sign - this is important for the population of shorties in the whole country - not just a little problem in a corner of Lincolnshire!

Regards

Pauline