Lancashire Birding

I took an early morning trip to the North West coast near Southport recently, as there were a number of good birds in the area, and there are always good numbers of geese and swans to see here too. I started at RSPB Hesketh Outmarsh, where I had good views of many Tree Sparrows in the hedges, and Whooper Swans in the fields. Then I had a Merlin overhead trying to catch another bird. Moving on to RSPB Marshside where I was looking for a Smew that wasn't there. I did find a Scaup though, which is not very common here, so that was a bonus. 

There were hundreds of Lapwings and Geese on the Marsh. These were mainly Pink-footed, but there were lots of Canada and Greylags too. Oystercatchers, Black-tailed Godwits, Tufted Ducks, Wigeon and Shelduck made for a good supporting cast.

I moved on to Southport where I was fortunate enough to watch a flock of 30 or so Twite. This is a bird that I've really struggled to find over the years, but was in the right place at the right time. So that concluded a very good morning. 

You can see more of my trip here:

Grey Heron

Pink-footed Goose

Pintail

Poor, distant images of the Scaup

Shelduck

Distant possible Snow Goose

Whooper Swans

Norfolk Coast part 2

Day 2 of the Norfolk trip included a terrific little bird that had been around since before Christmas, and was high on my list of birds to see. Sheringham has a good record of over-wintering Black Redstarts, but this year they had one that that was of Eastern race that is usually found in Asia, rather than Europe.

It had been a very wet day, and you can tell by the state of the poor thing. Really bedraggled and looking rather sorry for itself. That said, it was feeding well and no worse off for the soaking it had endured. A great bird to eventually see.

Click here to see my vlog of day 2 of my trip:

Eastern Black Redstart (rather wet)

Little Egret

Meadow Pipit

Oystercatcher

Norfolk Coast

We had a good weekend in Norfolk with my parents recently. There were plenty of birds to see and lots to add to the 2026 year list. Cley is always where I gravitate towards and there is always something to see at all times of the year. From the thousands of geese overhead and in the fields to wintering wildfowl and waders. This trip was no different, and we even had the pleasure of the sun joining us, although it was bitterly cold.

Highlights on day one were really good views of a Common Snipe and Redshank from Bishop's hide. Avocets had returned from their wintering grounds and were resting up. Hundreds if not thousands of Lapwings were across the marsh, and Marsh Harriers were doing their usual fly-bys to put everything up in the air. It was a great start to the weekend, and day 2 was just as fruitful. Part 2 to follow.

Click here to see my vlog of day 1 of my trip:

Avocets in a line, with a Lapwing in flight (left) and also a Black-tailed Godwit in the group.

Brent Geese

Common Redshank

Common Snipe keeping a look out before dozing off again.

Burton Mere Wetlands

On what was yet another cold grey and overcast day. Lisa and I brightened the mood by visiting RSPB Burton Mere for our winter fix of water birds. There was a good variety as always here, and we were greeted in the car park by the sound of overflying Pink-footed Geese. There was lots around and some good birds added to the Year List, with the likes of Knot, Curlew, Green Sandpiper and Dunlin.

The highlight was a Great White Egret dropping just metres away from us while standing at the Bridge Screen.

You can see more of our visit here:

Great White Egret

Dunlin

Knot and Black-tailed Godwit

Redshank

Long-tailed Tit

Mallard

Teal

Redesmere WeBS Count

On a grey and murky day at Redesmere I carried out the WeBS monthly bird count. It was a pretty quiet affair to be honest, with the usual suspects of mainly Canada Geese, Mallards and Coots. Sprinkled in were a fly over Great White Egret, a Little Egret, some Goldeneye and a few species of gulls. The majority of the gulls were Black-headed, but there was one Common Gull and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Always nice to see something not so common here.

You can see more of my sightings and here:

Common Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Martin Mere

A week or so ago, I went to Martin Mere to see the Whooper Swans and Pink-footed Geese. There were a couple of bonus birds too though, in the shape of a Glossy Ibis and a Ring-necked Duck. It was a lovely cold, frosty and sunny morning and we got quite lucky with the amount of birds we saw. We managed all 3 Egrets, with 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Cattle Egrets and a Little Egret to complete the set. Plenty of ducks and some Snipe on the water, while the usual woodland birds were hanging around the feeders. Over the marsh, there were Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and 2 Marsh Harriers. All in all it was a great way to spend a Saturday.

You can see more of my visit here, on my YouTube channel: My YouTube Channel

Black-tailed Godwit

Glossy Ibis

Ring-necked Duck

Moorhen on ice

Pheasant

Tree Sparrows in the Frost

A nice cold frosty morning meant that the weekend got off to a great start. I had a target bird in mind to get on the 2026 Year List, and that was the Tree Sparrow. Not a common bird anymore unfortunately, but I know of a site locally that holds a good number. 

The sun was out and thankfully it was in the right position to shine good light on my subject. It's not an easy task to get a bird that you want to photograph to sit nicely on a branch or to be free of leaves and clutter, and the Tree Sparrow more often than not likes to stay inside bushes. I got lucky just a couple of times, and these are my efforts.

If you'd like to see what else I saw on my walk, click on the link below and you can come with me. 😀 If you like it, subscrube to see me on more of my birding walks.

My You Tube video  

Tree Sparrow