Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

I HAVE often written about where to watch birds.

This piece, however, is more about when to watch birds.

October and November, especially after periods of high winds and rain, are the months to watch migrating birds.

In mid-October for example a very windswept-looking hoopoe was recorded on the banks of the River Lune not far from Lancaster.

One of my favourite haunts is along the towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and as I strolled around the area of Barrowford Locks the last of the swallows were twittering away while feeding over the water.

I would not have thought that the stone walls of the canal locks would be a good habitat for birds but I was wrong. The cracks between the masonry provided anchorage for liverworts, mosses and ferns.

A swan and its cygnet stretched out their necks and grabbed at the vegetation with obvious enjoyment.

Walking around the canals in the area around Nelson and Colne has an extra advantage. It is here that the canal reaches its summit and lots of water is needed to operate the locks.

Each time a lock is operated up to 75,000 gallons of water is needed.

To provide this water, a number of reservoirs were constructed, one of which is alongside the staircase of locks at Barrowford.

I walked around the edge of the reservoir and on the water I watched a great crested grebe and some tufted duck, pochard, mallard and coot.

On the margin of the reservoir I watched a heron, while on the wet fields were flocks of feeding lapwing, golden plover, meadow pipits and a single but very colourful yellow hammer.

Between now and the beginning of May walks along the canals and reservoirs of Lancashire are likely to be full of interest.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.