Our fourth brood of ducks didn't last long. No sooner had we spotted chicks emerging from a bush in the front garden this morning, a cat gobbled the lot. I can't say I'm fond of cats.
A 4-day school trip to Krakow proved quite interesting for wildlife. Black Redstarts were as common as Robins, Jackdaws were different (a different race anyway) Fieldfares were approachable (incredibly tame compared to ours) and my one and only winner led me a very merry dance... Auschwitz - Birkenau Obviously, you don't come to Auschwitz to appreciate wildlife. Nevertheless, it was heartening to see that some birds were thriving here. The next morning I made my own great escape. Leaving our hotel at 6am, I took a taxi to Las Wolski Forest 25 minutes west of Krakow. I had just 2 hours of freedom to search for winners before heading back to re-join our busy schedule. This forest was home to 8 species of woodpecker, the UK has only 3. Surely I would score here?
Occasionally, but not often, you get one of those days when you cannot put a foot wrong. If I had avoided wildlife completely today, and gone to Deepdale instead, I would have seen PNE beat Reading 3-0 which would have been great. Instead though, I chose wildlife, and I'm glad I did. The Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Spark Lane Rufford this morning was, for some reason, alive with Pike... Arriving home at around noon, I went out again on a shopping errand. Just around the corner, a small group of birds caught my attention... Not finished yet, a trip to Martin Mere completed our day. Mark and I headed for the hides whilst the wives and kids perused the enclosures.
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence", or so they say. Well I reckon that's about right, no thanks to our ducks who have turned our back garden into a mud-bath.
Its good to know that even in Winter, you can still snatch a moment's fishing on the homeward commute. This place on the Leeds - Liverpool Canal sits just off junction 3 of the M65. Today I targeted Perch.
Cor! What a gorgeous beast! And the fish aint bad either! Winter needn't be grim folks, pike fishing is great this time of year. So get thi down t't' Leeds - Liverpool canal and get yer rod out.
I don't normally rave about frogs, but today deserves a special mention. On this cold and frosty Saturday morning, Eddie and I headed for the Lake District to walk the Fairfield Horseshoe. Predictably, we saw ravens and buzzards, but we never expected amphibians at this time of year, or at this altitude!
What? Yes folks, we have another brood of Mallard ducks in our back garden, the second brood of 2016. But why in the middle of winter? Global warming? Our warm hospitality? Who knows why this has happened, but I haven't noticed any ducklings anywhere else this winter, have you?
Forty Waxwings had been reported this morning on Salisbury Rd, Preston, only to dissappear completely when I arrived just minutes later. Undeterred by this, I checked the usual places: Euston Street, Victoria Street, Stocks Road, even Morrisons car park, but no joy. On my way home I called back at Salisbury Rd again: Bingo! All forty were posing in full sun. Great to see them in Preston again, but they've led me a merry dance this year.
A trip to Leighton Moss was well overdue. No otters today, but Mark and I were not complaining...
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AuthorTony Wilson. Archives
May 2019
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