December the ninth 2009 is a special day for Alan as it is twenty years to the day that he, and Ted Abraham and John Gregory, started Birdline North West. This telephone information service for birders covers North Wales and North-West England from western Gwynedd right round to northern Cumbria. The pre-recorded message is updated many times each day as bird news comes in. The information covers all interesting species across the region, migrants, scarce and rare birds and anything else birders might be interested in seeing.
Twenty years ago Alan had found a Wilson’s Phalarope on the Conwy Estuary in September and amazingly this vagrant from North America had stayed into December the longest ever staying Wilson’s Phalarope in British birding history! So imagine our disappointment when on day one of Birdline North West there was no sign of the Wilson’s Phalarope at Conwy! The first day it had not been seen for over three months! Luckily this bad luck was short lived and the information service has gone on to inform birders about thousands of sightings helping many people see these wonderful birds.
The memories come flooding back today! An American Bittern at Marton Mere LNR Lancashire on a bitter winter’s day, Alan lay face down in the snow to see it! A Gyr Falcon on Anglesey – a dream bird, and of course the Black Lark at South Stack also on Anglesey. Song Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow at Seaforth LWT reserve Merseyside. Greater Yellowlegs on the River Eden in Cumbria, my 400th British bird. Then there was the adult Ivory Gull at Black Rock beach, Gwynedd that thankfully stayed long enough for thousands of people to see. This year of course was the Royal Tern which ended up outside our window in Llandudno bay! All these and so many more birds reported on Birdline North West so anyone could have access to the information, 09068 700249 (charged at 60p per minute). Here’s to the next 20 years!