One of my favourite places in winter is outside Next at Robin Park in Wigan. Here, in a tree you will find up to 500 pied wagtails. Until I discovered this flock, warming itself on the neon lights of the clothing store, I had only seen pairs or single pied wagtails walking jauntily along the ground, tails wagging (as per their name) or flying in swoops, up and down through the air.
These gorgeous birds are a mixture of black and white. In summer, males have a white forehead, cheeks and belly with a black mantle, head, throat and breast and a grey back. But, now in the colder months, they get darker and their throat feathers turn white. Females tend to be darker in colour.
Pied wagtails eat insects, but will feed on seeds and scavenge through rubbish in winter. They flock together at warm roost sites like reedbeds and sewage works or trees and bushes in city and town centres, as at the shopping centre.
This story is from the December 2019 edition of Lancashire Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2019 edition of Lancashire Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Shopper's Paradise
‘Anything is possible’ is the boast of a famous Knightsbridge shop and it could equally apply to Clitheroe, where shoppers come eager to pick up something just that little bit different, especially in the run-up to Christmas
Back from the brink?
There are signs hedgehog numbers might be recovering, and we can all do our bit to help them, says Alan Wright of Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Memories of a LANCASHIRE CHILDHOOD
Blackburn-born Sara Foster has had a string of bestsellers on the other side of the world. With her latest novel now out, she reflects on her Lancashire roots
The tale of BEATRIX'S VALLEY
Land once owned by Beatrix Potter is at the heart of a noisy row over how we enjoy the Lake District
Liverpool's pyramid scheme
We’ve seen the shape of things to come – and it’s a pyramid. But are you ready to spend the afterlife piled high with 34,591 other people in Toxteth?
Around the world in 2000 paintings
Preston artist Martyn Hanks has spent 60 years globetrotting with his paints and brushes
WALKING THE BORDER
This glorious walk in the hills around Earby takes a peek over the county line
We will remember them
For a hundred years the Cenotaph has been the focal point for a nation’s grief, but few know its connection to Kirkby Lonsdale
A pawfect day out
The grounds of Holker Hall at Cartmel are a favourite with human and canine visitors
A LEGACY of LOVE
An unusual war memorial in Lancaster is a haven for wildlife and young people from the city