IF you are planning a winter birdwatch why not wait for the day after a wet and windy period, when things have calmed down, and set off to the coast?

One of my favourite walks is around Fairhaven Lake at Lytham St Annes. This provides shelter for wildfowl and beyond the wall the state of the tide determines what can be seen.

At high tide, birds such as goldeneye, pintail and the occasional scoter can be seen. When the tide is out the exposed areas of sand and especially mud provides food for sanderling, lapwing, dunlin knot and lots of curlew can be seen.

Local people love this lake and they bring food for the birds every day and which is much appreciated by mute swans, Canada geese, an assortment of gulls and the usual mass of mallards.

Look out for the shrubs which include hawthorn and sea buckthorn. The fruit from these trees attract birds such as fieldfare and redwing plus song thrushes and blackbirds.

All this proves that Fairhaven is a place which birdwatchers should not miss in winter.

Curlew's staying alive

WITH a size of 50-60 centimetres (20-24 inches) the curlew is the largest European wader. The long curved bill is diagnostic.

The curlew is very much a British dominated species and about 40,000 pairs breed with us. The total European population (excluding Russia) is around 125,000 pairs.

Many species of wader have declined from around 1920 but the curlew is the exception. Why should this be? The curlew has proved to be very adaptable and has reacted to some upland habitat loss by moving downhill and nesting in damp valleys.

Our East Lancashire moorlands are ideal for breeding curlews especially around Pendle and Bowland whilst our coastal areas are ideal wintering habitat.

ANY keen birdwatcher has to study books as well as spending time out in the open-air whatever the state of the weather. Bird books tend to be expensive but the Shire Natural History series is a cheap and informative series.

Gerry Cotter has based his study of curlews around Morecambe Bay and on the Bowland Hills. The photographs and diagrams are good and relevant to the text. The latter is divided into habitat, voice, breeding, good and feeding, migration and predators.

Whilst watching birds on the Lancashire coast in winter the migration of the curlew is of interest. It seems that the birds which breed on our hills just travel down to the coast in winter. They are, however, joined by curlews migrating hundreds of miles from Scandinavia and as far away as Russia.

All this information is packed into 24 pages. Details of the Natural History series can be found by logging on to: ww.shirebooks.co.uk