I accept that it was 1^st April, and all that that implies, but there was no doubt that the bird perched in a neighbour's tree, squawking merrily, was a parrot of some sort. The bird eventually flew off northwards, never to be seen again, unless it turned up in your garden? A little bit of research told me that it was probably a Monk Parakeet, of which there is apparently a feral population in Europe. However, I imagine that this bird would have been an escape.

 Back to the serious stuff. April sees an increase in the momentum of the arrival of summer migrants. For the sake of completeness the following table of first arrivals includes March arrivals as well:-

In addition to the above Ring Ouzels were seen at Grey Heights and at Black Coppice, both on the 3^rd, and again at Black Coppice on the 13^th.

Highlight of the month, however, and, as far as I know a first for the area, was the pair of Avocets which dropped in at Belmont on 24^th April. Possibly the same pair was seen later in the evening at Rumworth Lodge in the Bolton area.

Of the winter visitors, a flock of Fieldfares was still in the Lock Lane area of Bretheton on the 14^th. Goldeneye were still on the reservoirs on the 21^st, and a Goosander was on the River Darwen at Hoghton, also on the 21^st.

It was a good month for waders starting with 4 Common Sandpiper on Upper Rivington reservoir on the 1^st, and three at Belmont on the 5^th. Also on Upper Rivington reservoir were Oystercatcher (1^st) and two pairs of Little Ringed Plovers (5^th) with at least one pair still there on the 18^th. Waders on passage at Withnell Fold included Whimbrel (5^th) and Wood Sandpiper (15^th). Birds in residence included good numbers of Lapwing, up to 5 Redshank and a pair of Oystercatcher. A pair of Lapwing had produced three chicks by the 5^th, and on the 21^st a pair of Redshank was seen with two chicks. A Woodcock was regularly seen roding over a member's garden in the Heapey area.

Other records of breeding included two Sand Martin colonies at Hoghton Bottoms, which apparently had the downside of frustrating a breeding attempt by Kingfishers. At Birkacre, two pairs of Great Crested Grebes had each produced three young by the 16^th. The resident pair of Mute Swans managed 6 cygnets this year (21^st), the best for a few years. A pair of second summer Mute Swans had been seen on Lower Rivington reservoir on the 4^th.

Seed eaters tend to be later breeders than other species, and this was confirmed by the presence of Linnets still in a flock of 15 birds by Heapey No. 2 lodge on the 5^th. On the same day a female Siskin was still visiting a garden feeding station close by, and pairs of Bullfinches were still visiting feeding stations at two or three gardens in the area.

A pair of Wood Duck was seen on the River Yarrow at Croston (14^th), and a Buzzard was over Back Lane, Bretherton on the 4^th and 12^th.

Star birds for June were seen, as is often the case, at Belmont. First of all, on the 10^th, a female Marsh Harrier spent a considerable part of the day there. Then on the 28^th a party of four Black-necked Grebes was reported at the site.

Birds in the White Coppice and Anglezarke area on the 1^st included Linnet, Redpoll, Reed Bunting, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Garden Warbler, Dipper and Cuckoo.

On the 4^th, in the Eyes Lane area of Bretherton, good numbers of Skylark, Linnet and Tree Sparrow were noted. These are all birds of conservation concern, so it is gratifying to note that they all appear to be prospering in at least one part of our area.

In the Eccleston / Croston area, the sand Martin colony on the River Yarrow was noted to contain at least 20 nests (6^th). In the same area, resident waders included several pairs of Curlew and Lapwing and a pair of Oystercatcher. Pairs of both Grey Partridge (6^th) and Red-legged Partridge (12^th) were noted on the outskirts of Croston. Several singing Yellowhammer were noted in the locality, and reports of the species were also received from Bretherton, Blainscough and Hic Bibi.

At Withnell Fold, where Lapwing and Redshank continued to raise their young, a pair of Shelduck finally produced five chicks (15^th).

At Birkacre, a Buzzard was seen low over Burgh hall Road on the 16^th, being mobbed by Crows. Good numbers of Skylark, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat were resident at Lower Burgh meadow. However, negative news from the site concerned the young of one of the pairs of Great Crested Grebes, which were allegedly killed by the other pair of adults.

Thanks to the following for submitting records without which the compilation of this report would not be possible:-

D.Beattie, J.Burgoine, B.Derbyshire, R.Hoyle, C.Johnson, P.Kirk, S.Martin, M.Moss, A.Porter, C.Rae, J.Riley, P.Ross, J.Sharples, N.Southworth, A.Stott, N.West, G.Wolstenholm and to Jean Southworth for her original drawings.

Please continue to submit your records to the editor.