The Ribble at Ribchester - waving goodbye to blue skies and Altocumulus clouds for the next week or so.
THE RIBBLE WAS QUIET AT RIBCHESTER TODAY with generally few birds around and nothing of any real interest. Three Goosanders and three Common Oystercatchers were disturbed by a couple of canoeists that paddled slowly downstream flushing every single waterbird as they went, I hope this hobby does not catch on here! There were also three Northern Lapwings at the school bend and I heard a kingfisher downstream from the Boat House. A Common Buzzard floated slowly across the valley, right over the village and a lone Fieldfare was competing for hawthorn berries with blackbirds in the lane next to the tennis courts. A Grey Wagtail brightened up the dairy farm and there were also Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail here. I didn't manage to find a tree sparrow today or a Reed Bunting and many of the hedges have been manicured recently to match the green concrete that surrounds them. There were even fewer birds in the early afternoon with a Little Grebe and a sparrowhawk of note but the best sighting of the day was from the spare room window - a flock of c.75 Pink-footed Geese west over the village, calling, on their way to the coast.