Hale Lighthouse
Preamble (pun intended)
This shortish (approx. 2 miles) walk takes in a range of habitats – hedgerows, farmland including wheat and vegetable fields, estuary and mud flats, shore and scrub – and a lighthouse, and can be extended into Hale Park woods and back past the attractive cottages and the statue of John Middleton, the Childe of Hale, on Church Road. Continue reading
Sparrowhawk clearing July 2022
Although the three young sparrowhawks have fledged, the whole family still visits the area around the nest site, so I do, too. It’s also a lovely spot for a quiet, mindful sit – as Claire Thompson describes in her beautifully written and designed book, The Art of Mindful Birdwatching: Reflections on Freedom and Being (2017). Continue reading
House martins flying around Liverpool Sailing Club 22072022
This morning, the hedgerows around Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve are bouncing with life, with adult goldfinches being chased by and feeding hungry pale-faced fledglings, and whitethroats skulking amidst blackberry thorns, muttering their scratchy call. Continue reading
The buzzards’ favourite perch
As I walk through the wood, an adult buzzard flies off low among the trees from its perch on the large broken tree trunk that guards the way to the sparrowhawk nest. It is soon circling higher up, calling constantly. Its mate joins in, heard but unseen. There must be a nest nearby. Continue reading
Male yellowhammer – photo by Klg76, licence free on Pixabbay.com
This post begins with a note of caution: if a friend asks you to go on a ‘twitch’ (birder term for looking for a locally scare bird that’s been reported in the area) to a woodland that neither of you know at all – it’s probably best to say “No!” Continue reading
The garden early in the morning 14052022
Thinking about those swifts hawking around Speke Hall meadow in June reminded me of my first swift encounter this year, in mid-May. Continue reading
Fluffy juvenile sparrowhawk – photo taken 26062022 by Birder Jack
Two juvenile sparrowhawks –
photo taken 06072022 by Birder Jack
(Photos taken at a distance using a very long lens.)
This evening, there is activity in the nest: one juvenile is pulling at a small corpse held in its powerful yellow talons, tearing off chunks of red meat with its sharp beak and gulping them down. Continue reading
Sparrowhawk nest site in the distance
Half a mile from ‘civilisation’ and yet one could be in the middle of a huge forest. I have learned to find my own way to a ‘sit spot’ at a respectful distance from this nest site, Continue reading
Looking over the allotment gate
It’s noisy on the allotment: there’s a charm of goldfinch tinkling away, some from my plot and some from next door’s. I’m having a siesta at the back of the plot, and I’m surrounded by liquid runs of notes; the birds have forgotten about my presence enough to go about their usual business. Continue reading
Swifts hawking over Speke Hall meadows
It’s mid-June and the birds are thin on the ground: migrants have arrived, set up territories and found mates, getting down to the serious business of breeding; and the resident birds are also quiet – run off their feet feeding demanding young. Continue reading
