Busy Friday

Bird song walk

I was up early on Friday to attend this bird song ID event run by the greater Manchester local record centre.
I'd never been to this area before but found my way and spotted the group with all the binoculars out! The ranger from the Salford area told us about how they were regenerating the canal area and then we set off for our meander. I've been wanting to learn to recognise birds by their song for ages but find it difficult to stop and listen quietly when I have all the children with me so it was a lovely treat to have a few hours out for myself with like minded nature lovers.

Steve, the group leader was the same man we had met on our mammal trapping adventure. Birds are his area of expertise and we heard and saw a good range of birds on our short ramble. The most exciting was a pair of willow tits which we would probably not have seen if he hadn't recognised their call and we stopped to try and spot.

Willow tits have been declining and are on the RSPB's red list so it was lovely to see a pair of them here. Jill, the ranger, told us they were hoping to do some work on making suitable habitats for willow tits to nest in. Their nests are positioned less than a metre above the ground in rotten stumps and it is thought the loss of this type of habitat is the reason for their decline in numbers.

Here is a link to the map and birds we saw present.

Three interesting facts I learned:

• It is only the male bird that sings - to attract a mate and to defend its territory
• Magpies build nests with a roof over them
• Kestrels have ultra violet vision that enables them to see urine trails of their prey (mice and voles)

I have to say I'm not sure I am much more confident at identifying birds by their song but I had a very enjoyable morning!

Food Festival

I returned home for about 11.30 and we set off to the great british food festival at Stonyhurst college near Clitheroe.

It was turning into a lovely sunny day but Amy was a little chilly without her cardigan!

We had a little wander but decided it was picnic time first. In the main marquee there were plenty of goodies to try - the favourite being fudge and chutney.

Outside there was snail racing and vegetable throwing!

 

Inside the hall were some craft stalls. Its a very impressive building.

We finished off the afternoon with an ice cream, some balancing along the wall and daisy chain making.

A lovely day out and we came home with some fudge too ;)