Spring is in the air and it’s time for all creatures great and small to start doing what the birds and the bees do best – yes – it’s time for some good old fashioned sex. Everywhere you look at this time of year you can see all types of fauna paired up and ready to make whoopie. During the past few days I’ve made the most of the weather and spent a fair amount of time wondering round Queens [... read rest of post]
It looks like Winter has had his final fling as the winds die down a bit in Lancashire this week although Scotland is still getting a bit of Snow. There are definite signs of Spring as I found my first lot of Frogspawn for 2011 during my lunchtime walk through Queens Park in Bolton today – 9 days later than last year although not surprising considering the sub-zero Winter we’ve just had. I also spotted a Peregrine Falcon hunting Pigeons [... read rest of post]
It seems to be that time of year when everything mother nature has to offer is gearing up for that final push into spring. Walking through the local parks and even just to the shops you can almost feel the plants starting to reach up to the sun and the amount of bird activity has dramatically increased these past two weeks with birds of sizes great and small flying around looking for suitable nest sites. The trees in Queens Park [... read rest of post]
As the weather has been a little bit kinder to us recently I’ve started doing my daily walk through Queens Park in Bolton once again where it was great to see bulbs of wild Garlic starting to show some shoots. Not much unusual in the way of birdlife although I’ve seen the Kingfisher a few times this week flying up and down the River Croal, hopefully looking for suitable nesting sites, and on Monday I saw a Teal on the [... read rest of post]
Thankfully the weather hasn’t been too extreme here in Lancashire these past couple of weeks although we have had some very cold days which without the snow feels a bit like we’ve been ripped off. Last Monday was a case in point where it was so cold the fog was freezing in the air and you could see ice crystals suspended in front of your face. It did look great once I got out of the car in Bolton but [... read rest of post]
The weather this past week has been truly miserable so we haven’t done any type of fishing, indeed it’s been so bad that even getting lunch has been a pre-winter test of my waterproofs. I managed to get out yesterday without getting soaked and during my usual walk round Queens Park I came across this extreme case of pond dipping. I remember using a net to catch things out of a pond but this seems a little overkill… What they’re [... read rest of post]
If there’s one thing we know how to do well in this country it’s the nature documentary – hasn’t BBC Springwatch been great and we’re only into week one. Needless to say, with the beautiful weather we’ve been having and being a bit inspired by Springwatch I ventured out to Queens Park in Bolton during my lunch hour to see what mini beasts I could snap. There were tiny metallic green beetles on all the Dock along the edge of [... read rest of post]
On Thursday I was doing my usual lunchtime walk round Queens Park, Bolton when I came across this, a strange, but probably easier, way to catch the fish i thought… What is actually happening is that the park has been granted some money from the lottery fund and part of the re-development is tidying up the ponds (inside and on the banks) and making them more accessible for everyone, anglers included. So first they have to move the fish out [... read rest of post]
The weather here in Lancashire has been a little unpredictable to say the least over this past week. We’ve had torrential rain, blazing sun, light breezes and almost gale force winds so it’s been one of those weeks where getting out to enjoy the abundance of wildlife the area has to offer has been a bit touch and go. Most of the migrants such as Swallows are starting to head south but still the insect life continues to flourish. One [... read rest of post]
It looks like Spring is in the air up here in Lancashire as I spotted this clump of frog spawn in a small pond while walking through Queens Park, Bolton, during lunch time today. Not many birds visible but you could hear them calling in the trees. The weather forecast is for a drop in temperature in the next few days but the signs are there for all to see – spring is on the way.
