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| Chris' superb study of a Leach's Petrel fluttering over the Mersey |
ESPECIALLY at migration times, uncommon birds can turn up in the most unlikely of places.
Who, for instance, could ever expect to see a Wryneck feeding on the edge of a footpath leading to a Tesco hypermarket in Bolton, Lancashire?
Or a juvenile Dotterel resting on a seaside promenade and apparently oblivious to passers-by including joggers and pram-pushers?
These were among absorbing experiences shared in an illustrated presentation to Grimsby RSPB by high-profile birder Chris Galvin, a photographer and tour guide whose global travels have taken him all over Britain, continental Europe, the United States, Asia and beyond.
He is also regional accounts manager for binoculars and scopes manufacturer Opticron (oh yes, and, like The Prime Minister, he supports Everton FC).
Even his own modest-sized garden in urban Liverpool once attracted no fewer than four over-wintering Blackcaps, which were happy to feed on pyracantha berries.
Meanwhile, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Mistle Thrushes, Fieldfares and Redwings are regularly attracted on snowy days in winter by windfalls from his apple tree.
And from this time of year until November, skeins of migrating Pink-footed Geese are regularly to be seen and heard overhead as he steps out of his front door.
One species Chris reckons he can "never get enough of" is the Waxwing which he has occasionally seen - sometimes dozens at a time - in a car park at B&Q store not far from home.
One such bird he snapped in October 2004 had a colour ring on its left leg, attached after having been trapped following its flight from Scandinavia across the North Sea to Aberdeenshire.
Later that winter, this same bird was to be spotted again - first In Exeter, Devon, then in Arras in northern France.
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| Chris Galvin - lover of Waxwings |
Some birders in the north-west lament that that their patch of the UK seldom shares the benefits of drift migration that regularly brings vagrant passerines to the East Coast of Britain.
But are their woes justified? Not based on Chris' portfolio which includes fabulous shots of such rarities as Woodchat Shrike, Bluethroat, Rose-coloured Starling, Pallas' Warbler (the so-called "seven-striped sprite") and Booted Warbler, all seen within relatively short driving distance from his home.
Another highlight of Chris' long birding career, which began in his early teens, was one spring visit to Seaforth Nature Reserve where, feeding alongside Dunlin, was none other than a breeding-plumaged Wilson's Phalarope which, in normal circumstances, should have been on some wetland in Texas.
Three days later at the same spot, what should turn up but an even rarer White-tailed Lapwing that, by rights, probably should have been in Kazakhstan!
"How much better than that could things be!" enthused Chris who, to this day, gets as much pleasure as birding his own patch as he does travelling to more exotic overseas locations.
Chris revealed that he had once been paid as much as £3,000 for one of his photographs - a Common Tern feeding a small fish to its mate. This more than justified his expenditure of £2,000, just a few days earlier, on the high-definition lens with which he had captured the shot.
Yet he seemed even more proud of his flight study of a Leach's Petrel which editor Roger Riddington put on the front cover of the November 2008 edition of the prestigious monthly journal, British Birds
Leach's Petrel is something of an autumn migration speciality at the mouth of the Mersey but you have to be prepared to face Force 8 north-west squalls for the best prospects of sightings of the birds as they are blown towards shore.
Chris is a super-knowledgeable and observes birds, including common ones, in closest detail - but he wears his expertise lightly.
Among the most intriguing sections of his presentation were those where he explored the finer plumage details of birds such as Lesser Scaup and five gulls species - Little, Mediterranean, Sabine's, Laughing and Ross's.
Are there any downsides to birding?
Chris was not best impressed when he came across birders feeding scraps of stale bread to an Iceland Gull at one beachside location, nor when he discovered that fellow-photographers (who should have known better) had caused a pair of Long-tailed Tits to desert after they had cut away an ivy branch to enhance the view of their nest.
"That made my blood boil," said Chris who said he seldom took nest shots for fear of sparking similarly unhappy consequences.
As you would expect from a Liverpudlian, Chris peppered his talk with humour - not infrequently at his own expense.
Early is his talk, he recalled one slightly discomforting Sunday-morning encounter with a couple of traffic bobbies after he had pulled up on double yellow lines on a dual carriageway near home for the purpose of photographing feeding Fieldfares.
After a somewhat frosty 8.30am exchange of words, he agreed best to move on - after all, he had no wish to spend the rest of the weekend in police custody (nor longer term in Strangeways prison).
In the question-and-answer at the end of his talk, he described one unforgettably miserable May morning experience when he climbed Pendle Hill in Lancashire in what proved to be fruitless quest to find a trip of resting Dotterel.
A heavy raid-laden mist engulfed him, such that he was totally drenched from head to toe by the time he returned to his car.
"I stripped off all my clothing, turned the heater on full blast and drove the whole way home just wearing my boxer shorts," he recalled with a rueful chuckle.
This was the 40th birthday meeting of the RSPB and the evening also included a video message of congratulation from TV wildlife presenter Iolo Williams, a roll call of early officers of the group, some of whom were present, and the distribution of slices of a birthday cake ceremonially cut by Malcolm Crawford, the group's first treasurer.
To conclude, RSPB Grimsby Group leader Martin Francis thanked the 50 or so present for a most enjoyable evening.
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