Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris: Something for the weekend

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris

Hi all and welcome to Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris - Thanks for looking in on us.

This was an idea me and my mate, Haddy, had to take folk out to look at and enjoy the wildlife in Lancashire and Lakeland; brilliant places for wildlife. Our 'Outback' !
But the price of fuel shot thro' the roof and the 'credit crunch' crunched so we have gone virtual instead. Keeps food in Haddy's kid's mouths and (more importantly) my wife's jewelery supply trickling on!

I live in Blackpool - not normally noted for its 'natural' wildlife but believe me we have plenty from the sea itself with its fish, seals and porpoises, to the beach and its starfish, shrimps and shells, all the way back through the town centre and the nesting Peregrine Falcons to the marvelous Marton Mere nature reserve. Smaller than its almost namesake Martin Mere south of the Ribble but no less important.

I try not to travel too far these days, but within an hour or so's drive there is wildlife aplenty. Deer, Otters, Badgers, more birds than you can shake a stick at, brilliant butterflies and more - all you have to do is learn to look.

So what's my best wildlife sighting, Leopard in the Sinai Desert, Orang Utans in Borneo, Bilbies in Western Australia? No - none of these! Possibly a Redstart on my mum's washing line when I was a kid in Liverpool, or perhaps a Merlin mobbing a Kestrel mobbing a Peregrine at Marton Mere. But most probably almost standing on a Corncrake at Marton Mere, or watching a Bittern standing at the top of the reeds catching Starlings as they flew in to roost at Marton Mere. Then again in my garden pond I have a tiny little fly that does a dance on the Lily leaves, it sits there flicking its wings to attract its mates and ward off rivals. I like nothing better than to sit on the bench with an ice cream watching these little fellas go about their business - one day I'll find out what species they are! Now we know they are Poecilobothrus nobilitatus.

What do I hope my next new sighting will be? A Basking Shark off the prom would be nice, but better would be a Storm Petrel, one of the few of Britain's regular breeding birds I haven't seen yet.

Keep looking and watching ---- most of all have fun and enjoy.
Let us know what you've seen in your 'outback'. Remember the common and familiar are far more exciting than 'ordinary'!

My patch list as from end of April 2023

Fylde ticks in caps, Lifers in Bold Caps: 1-Whooper swan (f/o), 2-Mute swan, 3-Pink-footed Goose (f/o), 4-Canada Goose (f/o), 5-Grey-lag Goose (f/0) (b), 6-Shelduck (f/o), 7-Mallard (b), 8-Pintail (f/o), 9-Wigeon (f/o), 10-Scaup, 11-Eider, 12-Common Scoter, 13-Red-breasted Merganser (f/o), 14-Red-throated Diver, 15-Great-crested Grebe, 16-Fulmar (f/o), 17-Manx Shearwater (f/o), 18-Leach's petrel (f/o), 19-Gannet, 20-Cormorant, 21-Shag, 22-Little Egret, 23-Grey Heron, 24-Buzzard (f/o), 25-Sparrowhawk, 26-Kestrel, 27-Peregrine (f/o), 28-Oystercatcher, 29-Ringed Plover, 30-Golden Plover (f/o), 31-Knot (f/o), 32-Sanderling, 33-Turnstone, 34-Dunlin, 35-Redshank, 36-Greenshank (h), 37-Curlew, 38-Whimbrel (f/o), 39-Great Skua (f/o), 40-Arctic Skua (f/o), 41-Black-headed Gull, 42-Common Gull, 43-Mediterranean Gull, 44-Herring Gull, 45-Lesser Black-backed Gull, 46-Great Black-backed Gull, 47-Kittiwake, 48-Little Gull (f/o), 49-Sandwich Tern, 50-Common Tern (f/o), 51-Guillemot, 52-Feral Pigeon, 53- Wood Pigeon, 54-Collared Dove, 55-Short-eared owl (f/o), 56-Swift (f/o), 57-Skylark, 58-Sand Martin (f/o), 59-House Martin (f/o), 60-Swallow (f/o), 61-Meadow PIpit, 62-Rock Pipit, 63-Pied Wagtail, 64-Grey Wagatial, 65-Dunnock, 66-Robin, 67-Wheatear, 68-Stonechat, 69-Song Thrush, 70-Blackbird, 71-Redwing (f/o), 72-Chiffchaff, 73-Goldcrest, 74-Wren, 75-Great Tit, 76-Coal Tit 77-Blue Tit, 78-Magpie, 79-Jackdaw (f/o), 80-Raven, 81-Carrion Crow, 82-Starling, 83-House Sparrow, 84-Chaffinch (f/o), 85-Linnet, 86-Lesser Redpoll (f/o), 87-Goldfinch, 88-Siskin, 89-Reed Bunting (f/o), 90-Snow Bunting, 91-?

Top ten most memorable wildlife moments

"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." David Attenborough
8 Bitterns together, Marton Mere, Blackpool
Bilby in Western Australian desert
Bittern trying to catch Starlings, Marton Mere, Blackpool
Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Blackpool
Corncrake at Marton Mere, Blackpool
Dugite (one of the worlds most deadly snakes) on my foot - YIKES - Perth, WA
Elvers climbing the spillway at Marton Mere, Blackpool
Grass Snake whilst fishing, Hampshire
Hermit Crab swapping shells, Sabah, Borneo
Leopard in Sinai Desert
Minke Whale, Blackpool
My first Long tailed Tit, Leighton Moss, Lancashire
My own 'Lily Flies'
New born Gerbilus henleyi
Numbat at Maroo Wildlife Refuge
Otter, Loch Morlich, Scotland
Peregrine on church tower regularly from my office window, Blackpool
Peregrine taking Teal at Marton Mere, Blackpool
Peregrine, Kestrel and Merlin together at Marton Mere, Blackpool
Pygmy Squirrel, Sabah, Borneo
Red Deer, Findorn valley - the Seregeti of the Highlands
Redstart in garden, Gt Crosby, Liverpool
Swallows nests in barn, farm, Liverpool
Tawny Owl, Woodwell, Lancashire
Watching a diving Shag whilst snorkelling in Menorca
White Tipped Reef Sharks and other 'scary' stuff on my first scuba dive, Ras Mohammad
Yes I know there's more than 10 on this list
Yes there are many more besides these

Friday, 31 January 2014

Something for the weekend

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Marton Mere Nature Reserve