Merlin

A Sunday walk with Tameside ramblers on the 12th. Over 300 greylag sat Bela/Kent confluence plus a female merlin spooking the several hundred lapwings.

Alston visit

9-11 October. A late swallow through the south Tyne valley on the 9th. A few mipits and goldfinches plus siskins in the village.

Bibury Swallow

Sunday 5th October. A walk down to the trout farm to buy a paper. Cold morning with a lone swallow hunting over the trout farm buildings. 

Lamorna Cove

A splendid two days (2nd to 4th October) in a cottage overlooking lamorna cove. Hundreds of gannets passing offshore plus a few shags and kittiwakes. Rock pipits and stonechats in the cove plus kestrels and buzzards. A female whinchat on the Friday walk.

Lyme Regis

A trip to Lyme Regis on 1st October. Rock pipits on the Cobh together with a roosting ringed plover and sanderling. Several turnstones on the beach.

Another Leighton wader fest

A Saturday afternoon trip to Leighton. 27th september. Still a splendid display of waders with hundreds of black-tailed godwits, eight ruff and nine little stints. The great white egret showing well too

Pink Footed Geese

Sunday 21st Seotember. Walk over the Knott and saw first pinkfeet of the winter- a skein of 70 heading south. 

Helvellyn

18th September. Tough climb of Helvellyn via striding edge and swirrel edge. Not much birdlife aside from buzzards, ravens and a lot of mipits. 

Leighton wader bonanza

Lower water levels brought a spectacular display of waders to Lillian's hide. Hundreds of black tailed godwits plus ariund 8 ruff, 9 little stints and two pectoral sandpipers. Two great white Egrets also.

Whitstable visit

Not much seen on this trip for the weekend of 12/13 September. Flocks of swallows and house martins in evidence, a few skylarks but not much else.