Valley of the Post Bird

I had half an hour or so to spare this morning on my way to see a client in Slaidburn in the Forest of Bowland, so I decided to have a short walk up the valley of Langden Brook. Almost immediately I had a pair of Post Birds or Spotted Flycatchers to you and me. They were incredibly close and if I had had my camera with me I could have got some shots like the one below that I borrowed from the web!


I noticed that one of the birds was carrying food and the other bird was 'fly catching like mad' and completely ignoring me. I watched the first bird move off and located the nest with small young; so that was a nice bit of proof of breeding for the atlas.

I continued up the valley but I didn't get very far due to my time constraints. In my short walk I had 4 Willow Warblers, 2 Goldcrests, Garden Warbler, Dipper and Lesser Redpoll. It was then time to turn back and see my client.

Driving back to the office at lunchtime along the Marshaw Road I flushed two Common Sandpipers from the side of the road, which I thought was unusual.