After purchasing the scope on Friday we were eager to try it out on something a little more challenging. There had been sightings during the previous month of a very rare bird to the UK so flasks were packed and like proper birders off we went in search of our quarry. The destination was Fluke Hall, Pilling on the Southern side of Morecambe Bay. The weather was, once again, very windy and just to make it worse, showers were frequent [... read rest of post]
I took a few days off work at the end of last week to do a bit of sea fishing but the weather once again had different ideas. A little wind we want but 45 mph gust onto the shore is a bit much by anyones standards. Fell walking was out of the question so where to go? As Martin Mere is only a few miles from our front door we decided to pay another visit to this fantastic bird [... read rest of post]
The weather forecast yesterday was horrific with almost 40mph winds and heavy rain so we cancelled our sea fishing trip and hence didn’t get any bait. Imagine my frustration on waking this morning to a light breeze and glorious sunshine – oh well, British weather, what can you do? Not wanting to waste the fine weather I went walking around the Marshside RSPB reserve, near Southport, Merseyside. The drive took about 15 minutes and as I approached the car park [... read rest of post]
The tides were not suitable for sea fishing at any of our favorite marks last weekend so after a lazy Saturday we woke on Sunday to glorious sunshine. After having a quick look at the days weather forecast we decided to brave the crowds and go and give the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust reserve of Martin Mere a visit. This is where last months BBC programme, Autumn Watch was broadcast from and as it’s only a short journey from our [... read rest of post]
As BBC’s Autumn Watch came to an end last week, and what a fantastic series it was, I trawled through the internet to find a few relevant websites. WWT, The Wildlife and Wetlands Trust The UK’s only specialist wetland conservation charity and home of Martin Mere, the location of Autumn Watch. The RSPB, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Working to secure a healthy environment for birds and wildlife which helps create a better world for us all. [... read rest of post]
With the forecast for a very warm day for this time of the year we decided to go and have a look round the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss, Lancashire, just north of Carnforth. As promised it was a fantastic day and we spent the morning wandering in and out of the hides watching the many species of wetland birds that visit the reserve in the Autumn and Winter. The reserve is famous for having the most northerly breeding Bitterns [... read rest of post]
I was determined to get out for a walk on Sunday even though the weather was a bit overcast so I paid a long over due visit to one of our local nature reserves, Mere Sands Wood, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. This reserve has always been a favourite of mine, not only because it’s almost on our doorstep, but due the the huge variety of flora and fauna that can be [... read rest of post]
I’ve had a little time on my hands today so I’ve gathered together a few links to websites that support some of the previous articles. Visit Lancashire The rambling section of Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board with many interesting walks. Bird blog A blog about birdwatching on Merseyside and the Lancashire shoreline.. Wirral Globe Rescue Story Last weekend a brother and sister were rescued by the RNLI from Crosby beach – less than 10 miles from where we fished! The [... read rest of post]
Well we’ve got back from our two week jaunt to Anglesey and I’m splitting this blog into two bits, walking and fishing. The weather was ‘interesting’ during the first week with west featuring predominantly in the wind direction which made fishing difficult so rather than stay inside on these blustery days we went out and explored the wonderful coastline that surrounds anglesey. The first photograph is of the cliffs around the South Stack area where we had a quick look [... read rest of post]
At last it seems that we’re getting a bit of spring sun in Lancashire, although last weekend it rained almost constantly and flooded the garden once more. The picture is of one of the first cherry trees in our street, looking out of my front upstairs window. It won’t be long now until we can get some proper walking and sea fishing done. Sea fishing in the rain isn’t really a problem but fell walking in the mud isn’t much [... read rest of post]