Texas Tour Report 18th September – 30th September Day 1 Saturday 18th September Met Dave and Ken at 5am at Manchester Airport for the flight to Houston via Paris. First class flight to Paris was brought back to earth with economy to Houston. A long delay in Houston meant that we lost 3 hrs on the ground in USA leaving us with little day light after booking in at Conroe. First birds from airport where white ibis and cattle egret and at Conroe scissor tailed flycatcher was the star bird with mockingbird, American Crow and cardinal starting the ball rolling. Day2 Sunday 19th September Jones state Park gave us 5 species of woodpecker even though we covered the area behind the park’s office and
In 2010 my ‘Solway’ book came out covering the whole of Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It was one of a series done by Buckingham Press called ‘Best Birdwatching Sites’ guide. It was really great to do as I visited so many new locations but returned to many that I already knew. Mike Henry did the front cover and inside sketches continuing his great work with me over the years. The editor and owner of Buckingham Press, Dave Cromack, was someone I had done a lot of work for in the past when he was editor for the monthly magazine ‘Bird Watching’. Things were going well for him at the time and he asked if I would do the ‘Lancashire’ book! As many of you know I was born and bred in Yorkshire s
This is the second time that I have done a lecture at the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown on Spey and did I enjoy coming back to an area where I was the 'Osprey' Warden for the RSPB at Loch Garten. This was way back in 1980 with a few months before the birds arrived and a few afterwards working with Stuart Taylor who managed the reserve which comprised of just the Loch Garten area not Abernethy which came later. The area is well known in the birding circles as a 'mega' spot for several species including Crested Tit, Capercaillie and 'Scottish' Crossbill. This Crossbill is now thought to be the only bird found in Britain and no where else in the world! But the American birders have 34 varieties
Published by Langford Press Hard back ISBN 978 1 904078 51 9 Pages 274 Price £50.00 This is a mouth-watering book to delve into with the county having such a great reputation clamming 440 species of bird seen in its boundary making up 73% of the birds seen around the UK. Its wide areas of habitats add the numbers with over ½ million wintering birds and some amazing breeding birds making it a 12 month of the year location to enjoy them. Chapters cover all these mixed habitats with even a chapter on harriers which I know will encourage many to buy the book alone! The paintings by James McCallum just make you want to visit straight away and see many of these species yourselves especially the ge
