Saturday 22 August 2009

Lancashire Holiday

I have just got back from Lancashire today. We stayed in Riddlesdale Park in one of the lodges. It wasn't a birding holiday but we were planning on doing a little bit of birding! On Tuesday, we went to Martin Mere WWT. We had read about some recent sightings and we wanted to see a spotted redshank and a wood sandpiper - wishful thinking! However, we did see a spotted redshank - from the Ron Barker Hide which we were very happy about as it was my first ever spotshank. It was with 2 greenshank, a few duniln and loads of lapwing. I digiscoped it with the greenshank, then we moved on. The only other things of note at Martin Mere were 4 whooper swans in the field in front of us. We left Martin Mere and went a mile down the road to Mere Sands Wood to see if we could find the kingfisher. We walked round and into the redwing hide. After a while, we saw the kingfisher fly across the lake to the right so we went to the next hide - the rufford hide. When we arrived, we met a man called Brian Rafferty who puts his photos of birdguides. When we went in he told us to be quiet and when we looked out, we saw the kingfisher sitting on the branch in front of the hide! After about 30 minutes of photos, it flew off and we left happy! The only other thing of note of this holiday was a goose at Fountains Abbey in East Yorkshire. At first I thought it was a white-fronted goose, but now I'm not so sure. Anyone know?
White Fronted Goose??2 Greenshank with lapwing
Spotshank with 3 lapwing Whooper Swans Common Kingfisher

3 comments:

  1. Hi Jack, that goose is a farmyard hybrid, with nothing left of its wild ancestors in there...

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  2. Thanks Stewart.

    My dad thought that was what it was but I wasn't sure!

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  3. Jack. Glad you arrived home safely from your holiday in Lancs. Enjoyed reading your blog and looking at your pics.Thanks for the mention, you make me sound like your schoolteacher, who tells you to be quiet.Your friend Stewart is right about the goose.Keep up the good work with the camera and enjoy your birdwatching. Keep in touch.

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