The Short List.

Well it is a short list with little ink used for today's achievements. It was an ideal day for a visit to the Cross of Greet area primarily for checking out the Stonechat status on 2 April 2009. As it turned out the results for 5.5 hours of 'legwork' here was disappointing to say the least and the unpredictability of birds continues to amaze me. When I searched my records I discovered that I had found 12 birds here on 12 February last year and in fact found 23 Stonechats on this same date at two locations.

It has to be said, it took me almost four hours to find just two Stonechats the only consolation of which was to observe the male pursuing and displaying including song flight - which requires a certain amount of good luck to observe - to a female with as much determination as it took me to find them. Also noted 4 Red Grouse which were all at the top cattle grid, I don't ever recall seeing this bird any further down from here, 5 Buzzard sightings I reckon represented three birds, 3 male Reed Bunting, 7 Wheatear, I heard just 2 Wren, saw a single Pied Wagtail, and a Canada Goose, I see a pair of this species here every year, Meadow Pipit were well represented with at least 42 seen.

I decided on my arrival here that I would count the traffic (how sad is that) in both directions today just to give some idea of the amount of use this road to Slaidburn is put to and was quite surprised to find 62 cars/m'bikes had passed me in the 5.5 hours I was here and that seemed a lot of local traffic......or did the sun get the tourists/day trippers out ?

Well I did say I was running out of pic's and what a Laughing Gull at Marton Mere on 12 April 2006 has to do with the Forest of Bowland is beyond me!