Early arrivals gather to descend on the pier
Like holidaymakers
flocking to Blackpool in its heyday
Dramatic skies set the scene
Birds tumble from the sky
like iron filings
At the end of the pier thousands jostle
to find a safe roost
Then it’s all over until tomorrow
A spectacular event
enhanced by a spectacular sunset
Camera suffered a nasty tumble at Hadrian’s Wall a couple of years back and has been struggling ever since. A recent accident in the muddy Ribble Estuary sent it to its untimely death.
Decision time – to buy a new camera or get the old one repaired?
Panasonic recommended DKAVS so I packed it up and sent it for an estimate.
The repair = £120.
A new camera = £600.
A no-brainer.
Cannot recommend DKAVS highly enough.
Several outings later, pleased to report camera up and running.
In these times of economy and eco-friendliness – glad to have had my camera repaired.
(Just need to make sure it’s strapped firmly round my neck so it doesn’t suffer any other operator mishaps!)
Lytham Hall has become our go-to when we feel the need to poddle along muddy footpaths, smell decaying leaves, and hear sweet birdsong ripple through bare winter branches.
Winter is a good time for listening and watching. There’s no leafy canopy for cover. Today’s bird count totalled 21 different species, all with their own distinctive voice.
It was like band practice: on vocals and lead guitar, Robin; on bass guitar, Jay; on keyboards, Jenny; on drums, Woody; with a full ensemble of backing singers. Glorious.
Out on the open farmland mistle thrushes and redwings search for grubs; little egrets stab for snacks; herons pose like statues. Over the treetops a crow and buzzard play chase.
Not all our feathered friends are close enough or stay still for a snapshot. This one obliged.
Lytham Hall is a ten-minute walk from Lytham Square; five-minutes from the station. For us it’s an energising 7-mile circular walk from our front door.
Snapshot gallery – clockwise:
animal hub – nosy goat ; Curtains Pond; Fughi;
animal hub – piggy’s siesta;
rhododendron in flower – in January;
Lily Pond
Our sightings 18/01/2022
Blackbird, Blue tit, Buzzard, Coot, Crow, Goldcrest, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Heron, Jay, Little egret, Long-tailed tit, Mallard, Mistle thrush, Nuthatch, Redwing, Robin, Sparrowhawk, Teal, Wood pigeon, Wren
Blackpool’s glitzy mirror ball lost its shine and many of its 47,000 mirror tiles after being pelted by thrashing seas and howling gales over the years. It was removed from Blackpool’s South Promenade in November 2020 for renovation.
It’s on its way back.
The mirror ball was installed in 2002. It was created by artist Michael Trainor who was inspired by the mirror ball featured in Sydney Pollack’s Oscar-winning 1969 film, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”. It’s reputedly the world’s biggest mirror ball and is one of many other commissioned artworks known as “The Great Promenade Show”. Some of these, sadly, have fallen by the wayside.
But the mirror ball will soon be glittering again, reflecting the sea and sky and all who pass by.
As an aside: I remember south prom back in the day – a bit before Sydney Pollack’s film! We played in sunken gardens, sailed wooden lolly sticks in the boating pool, and quite often spent all day in the magnificent open-air swimming pool. All long gone – demolished for better things.
In these days
of doing the same old (delightful) walk
there are only so many snapshots
one can take of seabirds, big skies,
wide expanses of sea and sand,
and Mr Pool,
usually a dot in the distance
I’ve decided to embark
on a bit of self-education
These little squiggles
are dotted all over the beach
They’re lugworm casts
Never far from one of these squiggles
is a shallow depression
So what’s going on?
Each lugworm lives
in the bottom of a u-shaped burrow
Periodically the lugworm
wriggles backwards
to expel the indigestibles
that form those familiar casts
Earthworms do much the same
on garden lawns
Both animals swallow sand or earth,
digest the food material and eject the rest
New tides wash away the old casts
and deposit fresh sand, food and water
into the u-bend
where the lugworm can live for weeks
– unless Mr Fisherman digs him up for bait!
A bitterly cold, bright day
Perfect conditions for a walk
to shake off the sluggishness
Black headed gulls looked cold and hungry
Happened to have a few bird nuggets
so chucked them in the air
They descended in a frenzy
A little puddle of redshank
sheltering in the saltmarsh
As soon as they sense an intruder
off they go
making a noisy teu-heu-heu alarm call
Even if we’re unable to venture far,
more often than not
there’s something on the doorstep
to cheer us up
A rare sight –
a settling of snow on the beach
Wintry sky over
St Annes Beach Huts and St Annes Pier
The edge of the saltmarsh
Ghostly footprints in the snow
That same old walk never looks the same
from one day to the next
I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Chasing the tide
Invigorating walk
on the last day of 2020
Icy puddles on the beach
Rain heading this way
Burst of sunlight
Murmuration
Top bird of 2020
Just another day
chasing the tide
High tides and choppy seas
offer perfect conditions
for adrenaline junkies
A high tide leaves behind
wood, saltmarsh reeds,
plastic, other detritus,
and …
… Twirly, sister of Swirly
(research courtesy of the www!)
Washed-up and
looking worse for wear
she’s now clean and sparkling
and at home with her new friends!
The natural life never ceases to amaze
whatever the weather
Jackdaws
bustle about on the ground
searching for seeds and insects
Sanderling
I love to watch these little waders
scuttle along the sea edge
on the hunt for tasty morsels
left by the tide
Identifying fact:
they have forward-pointing toes
and no back toe
Knot
Now is a good time to spot Knot
Wearing summer breeding plumage
their little fat bellies are the colour of Accrington Brick*
The pales ones are juveniles
(*incidentally, Accrington bricks,
renowned for being strong,
form the foundations of Blackpool Tower)
Knot flock in vast numbers
On the beach they shuffle and jostle
for the same space
then they’re up and away
Thousands of tiny beating wings
whoosh overhead
Twisting and turning
they perform a dramatic aerial display
as if a giant magnet
is pulling little iron filings
across the sky
They land and shuffle into a huddle
Until they do it all over again
After moult, Knot don their winter gear
Their plumage changes
to a streaky ghostly grey
and we won’t see
that lovely Accrington Brick colour
until next year’s breeding season
mybpool 