Red Bank is literally slipping away into the River Ribble - a large new landslip appeared in the last few days.
A TOTAL OF 58 WAS MY SECOND HIGHEST COUNT so far on my local bird walk and included an adult Mediterranean Gull and the wintering Little Egret as well as some other interesting local birds like Green Woodpecker and Raven. A total of 14 curlews and 24 lapwings flew upstream as they return to their breeding grounds and oystercatchers numbered 27. A pair of lapwings has already returned to the field below Parsonage Farm, which I think is pretty early. A flock of 10 Skylarks flew west but there were also still plenty of winter visitors around like the two Little Grebes on the river at Red Bank, 90 Fieldfares, 9 Redwings and 520 starlings. However, the most notable sight was the large landslip that has occurred on Red Bank, where a large patch of woodland has slumped, with an even larger area around it showing disturbing cracks in the ground and presumably soon to follow. I've noticed quite a few landslips this winter. Margaret Breaks commented that 'it hasn't rained like this for eight months before'. We have got more water than we need and the land is literally slipping away, taking some nice trees with it along the riverbank.