A beautiful bird of prey — an Osprey — has been seen around the flash over the last few weeks. A few lucky people have even watched it fishing, though I haven’t managed to spot it myself just yet.
Ospreys are still considered rare breeding birds in the UK, with an estimated 300–400 breeding pairs nationwide.
There have also been reports of Cuckoos in the area. I’ve heard their call, though I’ve not caught sight of one so far.
Still, it’s hard to feel disappointed when simply being out in the fresh air, watching the new goslings and ducklings, is such a rewarding way to spend time.
Every morning recently we have found our bird feeder somewhere in our garden, we decided to put up a trail camera to catch the culprit and this is what we found.
A great evening walk around Orrell Water Park organised by the Billinge Bat Rescue Team, thanks to an informative talk by H, Mike and Amber. More info on the Bat Hospital etc can be found on Facebook > (20+) Billinge Bat Rescue | Facebook
Bats seen and heard:
Soprano Pipistrelle 55kHz
Common Pipistrelle 45kHz
Noctule 22kHz
Dabenton's 45kHz (flying close to the water surface)
Nathusius Pipistrelle 39kHz
Orrell Water Park
A video showing one of the bats the team had brought with them and then some of the bats over the lake along with bat detector sounds
A short walk from home around Nevison's Flash which is part of the Bickershaw Country Park, an area being reclaimed by nature now that its former life as a colliery has finished.
There was a lot of bird chatter so you had to keep your ears open to distinguish the bird calls and identify them, the Merlin Bird App also helps.
