Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

IT HARDLY seems to be a year ago that I set down my highlights of the East Lancashire countryscene in 1998.

Doesn't time fly when your having fun!

1999 for me was the year of the wildfowl and birds of prey.

In February I spent a day exploring the wildlife around Sunderland Point, situated on the River Lune and over the causeway to Overton.

Here, following a wet and windy day, the sun shone and as the tide went out I watched more than 10,000 pink-footed geese settling down to roost on the marshes.

In August I returned to Sunderland Point and on a flowing tide I watched a female red breasted merganser with 14 chicks in tow.

She looked like a proud galleon in full sail. Gawthorpe Woods in June was also a highlight because here I watched a female sparrowhawk feeding her young.

Close by, but at a discreet distance, the male had killed a woodpigeon and had taken it to a special place deep in the cover of the woods.

There he stripped off the feathers and delivered pieces to the female, who then fed the young.

The birds are clever enough to ensure that they do not leave feathers lying about around the nest.

This would advertise the presence of the breeding site.

In early July I watched a redstart carrying young to its nest within the cavity of a stone wall near Blacko.

This species is common in some parts of England but is less common in East Lancashire.

This was, therefore, a highlight to me.

These are just a few of my highlights of 1999.

If you have a special sighting from 1999 why not drop me a line here at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph?

This column relies heavily on readers' contributions.

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