Friday, 3rd May, am visit.

Black-necked Grebe 10+
Mediterranean Gull 2 from the first screen.
Little Ringed Plover 2
Redshank 1
Sand Martin 2
Buzzard 1
Willow Tit 1 singing.
Teal 2
Pochards
Shovelers
Tufted Ducks
Gadwalls
Shelduck 2
Sedge/Reed/Willow Warblers
Whitethroats
Chiffchaffs
Blackcaps
etc.

26 Black-necked Grebes at the moment - highest count for several years!

Cheers David

2 Wood Sandpipers and 2 Little Ringed Plovers on the north bank from John Morgan Hide this morning. Male House Sparrow on south bank by Sybil Hogg hide! Lesser Whitethroat singing by weir footbridge.

Nice to meet you too Sid.

I caught up with the warblers in the end and the sun came out.

This afternoon, minimum 12 Black-necked Grebe of which 2 pairs were displaying.

Also of interest Blackcap, Whitethroat and singing Reed Warbler as well as one Pete Astles, nice to meet you Pete.

At last some respite from the strong cold winds, No3 Dusk:
12 Pied Wagtails
1 White Wagtail
1 Yellow Wagtail
13 BN Grebes

Plus 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling form the sw corner of No2

Al Warford and I covered Nos.2 and 3 beds on a sunny morning with a cool north-easterly wind. Highlights from No.3 bed were: 2 Swifts, 21 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Redshanks, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Sedge Warblers, 7 Reed Warblers and 1 Water Rail.

A CBC on No.2 bed produced the following in song: Willow Warbler 7, Chiffchaff 9, Blackcap 12, Reed Warbler 2, Whitethroat 8, Blackbird 3, Wren 8, Robin 1, Song Thrush 1, Greenfinch 3, Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 2, Dunnock 6 andChaffinch 2.

Other sightings of interest were: 45 Teal on No.2 bed, 28 Shelduck on both beds, 16 Common Buzzards soaring (10 visible from The Morgan Hide), 1 Peregrine on No.1 bed, 70 Tufted Duck on the Weir Pool, 70 Swallows, 35 House Martins and 45 Sand Martins, mainly over No.3 bed and a House Sparrow (Woolston scarcity!) near the No.3 bed Car park as I was leaving.

Cheers David

Hi Dave,
Yes I had to leave just before you got there - appreciate the info on the water levels etc. I wasn't sure if the water levels were set at this time of year by the sluice gates to avoid flooding of nests already started or if they could be set at all to keep the level at this 'ideal'. Always good to add a few waders to the days list but it seems to be also more productive with Wagtails at the moment. I'll settle for the Jack Snipe in the short term - it seems to keep slipping through the net.

Cheers, Kev

Hi Kev, by Woolston standards it is proving to be an excellent spring for waders. I must have just missed you. Got down at 4.00 pm and the Common Sandpiper was still present and the Dunlin had gone up to four. Still a dozen or so Black-necked Grebes showing plus loads of hirundines.

As far as the water levels are concerned, its probably twenty years since we had such low levels in spring - a combination of draining the bed to allow the contractor to get on and the very dry early spring weather. The level is currently 57 cm, compared with an "ideal" level of 70 cm and an all time high of 90 cm (measured on the guage/stick in front of the Morgan Hide). We think 70 cm will best suit breeding Black-necked Grebes, based on past experience but we don't really know! It'll be interesting to see how the Grebes get on at these lower water levels. Like you, I think the bed is most attractive to a wider range of species at these lower levels. Whatever, the plan is now to annually lower the water levels when the grebe/wildfowl broods have safely hatched, probably in July, to attract waders and because it also helps the reed bed to thrive. So, could be interesting for autumn passage - just need guys like you to keep getting down and finding stuff - might even get back to those past glory days when we found White-rumped Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Wilson's Palarope etc !!

Cheers David

Thursday pm No3 Bed:
2 Dunlin (Linley)
1 Common Sandpiper (Rotary)
10-11 BN Grebes
1 Buzzard

Does anyone know if the water is going to be kept at this level? It seems to be more appealing to waders this year.

No sign of the Avocet at 4.00 pm today but 2 Wheatears and a Little Ringed Plover on No.3 bed, along with 14 Black-necked Grebes.

Cheers David

Just had a phone call to say there is an Avocet on No 3 bed ( permit only ) this morning showing well from the Tower Hide. Its the first record for years!

On No.3 bed this morning: 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Garden Warbler, 4 Reed Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 5 Black-necked Grebes, 6 Snipe, 2 Redshanks, 1 Kingfisher plus a few of all three species of hirundines and Blackcaps and loads of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. On No.2 bed 1 Goldcrest and on No.1 bed (per Dave Riley) 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Bramblings.

Cheers David

-- Edited by DavidBowman on Monday 22nd of April 2013 01:58:23 PM

3 Redshank this afternoon including 1 bird performing a display flight. Also 4 Common Snipe, 8 Black-necked Grebes, 1 Pied Wagtail and 1 Yellow Wagtail (both wagtails in front of the Frank Linlay hide). Reed Warbler singing and 4 Whitethroat

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 21st of April 2013 06:30:47 PM

Hi Jason,
Yes, good to meet up with you. Kev

Kev was it you I met who mentioned the fox?

Cheers
Jason

A beautiful evening and sunset tonight on No3:-

1 Grasshopper Warbler giving very close views at 15 ft, skulking in the undergrowth between the footbridge and the first hide.
1 Sedge Warbler singing (Rotary)
2 White Wagtail
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 Tawny Owl
1 Sparrowhawk
2-3 Whitethroat
2 Blackcap (males)
1 Redshank
Only 2 BN Grebes showing?!

Hi Dave - sounds like a good morning for both of us! Even better, Alan Rustell had a Bittern booming half a dozen time this morning not far from your Ringing Station !!

Cheers David

Ringing session on No.1 bed this morning, caught 4 Willow Warblers (including 3 returning birds, they may have had a good winter*), 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Bramblings amongst others. Sightings included 5 Buzzards, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Snipe, 2 Water Rails, 9 Teal, 70+ Sand Martins, 20+ Swallows, 2 House Martins (the hirundines were feeding over the bed all morning, so may have been different to the birds on No. 2 bed), 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaffs, 14 Willow Warblers also 1 Whitethroat by the palisade gates (not sure if you saw that one Dave).

cheers,

Dave

* A friend of mine, who has been doing some survey work in Burkina Faso and Ghana, told me the rains had been really good there and will probably have helped the birds that winter in the area or pass through it, so hopefully we will get a good number of migrants back.

This morning, on Nos.2 and 3 beds, totals included: 3 Whitethroats, 1 Dunlin, 9 Black-necked Grebes (plus 3 at Houghton Green Pool on my way home), 4 Blackcaps, 20 Chiffchaffs, 1 Kingfisher, 13 Willow Warblers, 53 Sand Martins, 40 House Martins, 35 Swallows, 6 Buzzards and 1 Kestrel.

Cheers David

-- Edited by DavidBowman on Friday 19th of April 2013 01:02:29 PM

A mixture of squally showers and sunshine late this afternoon, on No.3 bed, brought in singles of Arctic Tern, Dunlin and White Wagtail. A pair of adult Mediterranean Gulls was in the early stages of display, while 15 Black-necked Grebes were present. Scores of Sand Martins, House Martins and Swallows were feeding actively over the bed.

Cheers David (along with Alan Patterson et al)

4 Mediterranean Gulls this morning and 9 Black-necked Grebes

Rhys Richards wrote:

---

Have sent off for a permit today. Im looking forward to visit the site!!! Have been a couple of times but that was a few years ago now, visiting with MWT bird group. Remember having to climb up a ladder to view the BNGrebes from the hide that was fun!!!!

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 17th of April 2013 11:36:19 AM

---

Hi Rhys, You will be pleseantly surprised at the changes if you had to climb the ladder to the Tower Hide on your last visit. As Jon says we have a mark 2 version with proper stairs and a new large elevated centre John Morgan hide that seats about 24 peop;le. You will also notice a big differnace in the views as lots of scrub has been cleared this year and new pools and channels created so there is more open water to give better views of the birds.

Overnight the number of Black necked Grebes has increased to 15 and with a further 2 at Pennigton Flash, so you should have no trouble seing them. Keep an eye out for a pair of full summer plummage Med Gul'sl that have been seen several times including today from your favourite tower Hide. Warblers will be building up to , all I have seen are Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler but others will be in soon.

Rhys, it's more a metal staircase now but it' still fun and well worth it. It really is a gem of a site

Rhys Richards wrote:

---

Have sent off for a permit today. Im looking forward to visit the site!!! Have been a couple of times but that was a few years ago now, visiting with MWT bird group. Remember having to climb up a ladder to view the BNGrebes from the hide that was fun!!!!

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 17th of April 2013 11:36:19 AM

---

Have sent off for a permit today. Im looking forward to visit the site!!! Have been a couple of times but that was a few years ago now, visiting with MWT bird group. Remember having to climb up a ladder to view the BNGrebes from the hide that was fun!!!!

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 17th of April 2013 11:36:19 AM

Tues, No3 Bed, Dusk:
1 Common Sandpiper
7 BN Grebes
10+ Pied Wagtail
approx 400+ Sand Martin

plus 1 Willow Warbler singing from No2 Bed

Kieran Foster reported two adult Mediterranean Gulls flying out of No.3 bed this evening.

Cheers David

8 Black-necked Grebes this morning, also 1 Arctic Tern and 1 Redshank. A drake Mandarin was also seen from the footbridge by other birders

-- Edited by David Spencer on Tuesday 16th of April 2013 01:31:31 PM

An evening visit to No.3 bed at 7.00 pm, to see what was moving through on these south-westerlies, proved productive. The male Pied Flycatcher was still on the footbridge, 11 White Wagtails dropped in, with three in front of the Morgan Hide and 8 moving to the north-east corner, where I could see them "fly-catching" till the light was gone. Hirundines were present in abundance with an estimated 380 Sand Martins, 160 Swallows and 20 House Martins feeding actively over the bed. The latter eventually moved on but the rest went to roost in the reed-bed. Three Snipe and 1 Jack Snipe were in front of the Linley Hide and a single Pipistrelle bat was over the south bank at dusk.

Cheers David

A very smart looking male Pied Flycatcher was sitting on the rail of the footbridge to No.3 bed this morning at 9.45 am. It moved into the trees to the right of the bridge and was looking settled when I went off to help sow the seed for this year's winter feed crop. A quick glance from the Morgan Hide as I was leaving showed that House Martins, Sand Martins and Swallows were all passing through.

Cheers David

One Jack Snipe from the Tower Hide showing very well c. 15:00 hrs

Sunday pm No3 Bed:

2 House Martin
1 Swallow
4 Sand Martin
1 Kingfisher (Linley Hide)
3 BN Grebes (Rotary Hide)
2-3 Brambling
2 Buzzard
3-4 Chiffchaff

Nice to meet Jon Bowen this afternoon.

Almost exactly the sightings as I toured the reserve with Jon.
Male Blackcap with a Robin doing a spot of 'Flycatching' just below the footbridge as I entered the reserve.
The Marsh Harrier was showing very well and the Yellow Wagtail was a nice surprise.
Chiffchaff seen near the footbridge on leaving.

2 things of note: I hope the person being cut out of their car on the A57 near Glazebrook / Warburton is ok. I took a detour over Glazebrook Lane to go to Pennington, a Little Owl was in the middle of the road lay down as if just been stunned by a car. I did a U turn at 1st opportunity as I had cars behind me but it had gone so I'm assuming it was only stunned.

Migration at last! With the change in wind direction, an overnight arrival of mgrants was augmented by a further steady northward trickle. Chief among these were 1 Hobby (speeding north over No.1 bed), 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Blackcaps, 8 Willow Warblers, 21 Chiffchaffs, 26 Swallows and 12 Sand Martins. Additional sightings of interest were:
1 Kingfisher at the Weir Pool plus 1 Curlew, 2 Oystertcatchers, 12 Fieldfares, 20 Bramblings, 2 Black-necked Grebes and 1 Willow Tit, all in No.3 bed. A less rewarding sighting was of a large Mink sitting on-top of a nest-box, on No.1 bed, which usually holds breeding Stock Doves, with a cloud of feathers on the ground below. It sat tight and allowed an approach to within a few feet before disappearing. Signs of approaching summer were the four Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, 3 on No.3 bed and 1 on No.1 bed. Altogether, an excellent morning.

Cheers David (along with Dave Steel, Brian Baird and Al Warford)

Visit this afternoon where met up with Rob Creek
3 Black Necked Grebes
1 Marsh Harrier
1 fly over yellow wagtail
constant stream of House Martin, Sand Martin and Swallow est 200 birds through in an 1 hrs
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Still good numbers of ducks ( shoveler, gadwall, Tufted, Shelduck)
5 Buzzards soaring (3 +2)
4 Little Grebe


-- Edited by Jon Bowen on Saturday 13th of April 2013 05:26:54 PM

14.30-16.30

No. 3 Bed

3 Black Necked Grebes, 5 Little Grebes and 2 prs Great Crested Grebes.

Also 2 Brambling with around 50 mixed finches and 6 Redwings by the seeded area, 10 Shelduck, 6 Herring Gulls, a pair of Pintail, 2 Goldcrests plus a female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

1 Grey Heron.

I regret I did'nt count the Tufted Duck etc, on the bed. There were however lots of Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Shoveler still around though.

At one point I did notice 6 drake Shovelers in pursuit of a single female, and upto 5 resplendent drake Pochard displaying to bemused looking female.

No sign of hirundines, and the only raptor was a single Buzzard resting near the weir.

Old River

50 Tufted Duck, 2 prs of Great Crested Grebes and a single Cormorant.

Weir Pool

1 pair of Great Crested Grebes, 67 Tufted Duck and 10 Pochard.

High Lights from number 3 bed 10-1:
3+ Black Necked Grebes
2 Brambling(one in ringers bag)
3+ Chiffchaff
1+ Sparrowhawk
Redwing
1+ Common Buzzard
Lesser Redpoll(also in bag(a different one!))
Numerous Gadwall, Shoveler, Shellduck, Teal, Great Crested Grebe
Water Rail heard

Very pleasant evening with spring like weather on No3 Bed.:-

1 Adult Med Gull
1 Tawny Owl
1 Pair Pintail
2 BN Grebes
1 Redshank
7 L Redpoll
2-3 Chiffchaff
3 Sand Martin
1 Buzzard
2 Redwing
1 Kingfisher (ship canal near footbridge)

Great day out to Woolston Eyes with Leigh Ornithological Society. The highlights were:

2 Black-necked Grebes in full breeding plumage
1 Water Rail
2 Pintails (M+F)
1 Kingfisher
2 Little Grebes
2 Reed Buntings
Lots of Great Crested Grebes
2 Buzzards, one of which was flying very low over the Mersey
3 Redwings
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Jay
1 Grey Heron (looked like a juvenile especially as it was having no luck catching fish)
Lots of Pochards

Also Shelduck, Shovelers, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, most of the Tits and other usuals

A Brambling was also seen on the feeders by another birder.

Two Sand Martins were struggling north over the No.3 bed footbridge at 10.30 am this morning, despite the icy east wind. From the Morgan Hide 2 Snipe, 2 Pintails, c.800 Black-headed Gulls, 38 Herring Gulls, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Common Gulls, 1 Peregrine and 1 Grey Wagtail were the highlights.

Cheers David

Long tailed duck still present at 6.30pm tonight but hard to pin down.didn't see it on the walk up to biffa then found it on the way back.very easy to miss as you don't get clear views all the way along.

Searched for the Long-tailed D this am but no joy. Did however come across a Sand Martin over the fishing pool at Swift Farm? on the River Mersey east of the viaduct. Also 28 Pochard, c. 36 Tufted, 6 Gadwall, 6 Teal.

Couldn't find any Black-necked Grebes this morning. It may be that the Woolston bird is the one which has relocated to Houghton Green Pool to wait for more birds to arrive. Sightings included: 2 Pintail, 2 Snipe, 2 Peregrines, 5 Kestrels, 7 Buzzards, 1 Water Rail, 33 Bramblings, 14 Shelducks, 4 Goldeneyes, 7 Herring Gulls and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Cheers David

A rewarding morning with 1 female Long-tailed Duck (to the north of Butchersfield Tip - see previous entry for the best place to view from), 1 Black-necked Grebe, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Water Rails, 1 Snipe, 2 Pintail, 12 redpolls, 6 Siskins and 15 Bramblings (all on No.3 bed) and 1 Raven and 2 Peregrines at the eastern end of the Reserve. Plenty of more common stuff,too.

Cheers David (with Les Jones, Brian Baird and Al Warford)

-- Edited by DavidBowman on Saturday 30th of March 2013 02:20:25 PM

Rob Creek wrote:

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Hi Alan, yeah sorry it was a bit vague, just got permit and key yesterday so up to last Saturday I wasn't a member and didn't have access to the main reserve, I parked on Weir Lane and walked over the bridge before it starts climbing, most of the Tufted Duck were on the left side of the bridge (as though following the ship canal back towards Irlam) and the Pochard were just on the right of the bridge with the 2 Shelduck. Main reason was to get a look at the female Long Tailed Duck but no joy.
Cheers.

---

When you come onto the reserve from the Weir lane end as you did the area of water on your Right as you go over the footbridge is refered to as the Weir Pool and in the winter its where we can get some realyy large groups of Tufted Duck, several hundred of them is not uncommon, it is also where we get most of the sightings of Goldeneye.

The Long Tailed Duck was spending most of its time on the river on the other side of the Thelwall Viaduct, not seen any recent sightings of it.

Hi Alan, yeah sorry it was a bit vague, just got permit and key yesterday so up to last Saturday I wasn't a member and didn't have access to the main reserve, I parked on Weir Lane and walked over the bridge before it starts climbing, most of the Tufted Duck were on the left side of the bridge (as though following the ship canal back towards Irlam) and the Pochard were just on the right of the bridge with the 2 Shelduck. Main reason was to get a look at the female Long Tailed Duck but no joy.
Cheers.

I can't remember the last time I saw one of these little fugitives on a local water.

It's sad that we have to be so secretive about them, but judging by the way they've disappeared in recent times, the Defra shooters must be ruthlessly efficient.

Are Ruddy Ducks carriers of some lethal disease that threatens mankind?.

Sightings should stay hidden in note books until the war is over.

I dread to think what species is next in the sights of the extermination squads, Badgers perhaps?.

It is the policy of this forum that no Ruddy Ducks are posted in any threads on any forums within it.

Though I delete any which appear, one or two may slip through from time to time but I have contacted most of the Woolston regulars now over the issue.

Austin Morley wrote:

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I have finally decided to become a member of this place, its sounds really good, I have met people who have all said very encouraging things about the reserve and the place has some really good birds.

---

Hi Austin, I am sure you will enjoy the reserve, in fact you will be seing the new mark 2 version as a lot of work has just been done clearing away scrub and in creating wide ditches in the reed bed. There is a lot more open water now so we hope to atract a few waders.

As well as the Black Necked Grebes to look forward to seing we also get large numbers of warblers as well, Grasshopper Warbler is another bird high on peoples wish lists. We have an excellent John Morgan Hide that seats 20+ and we even have our own eco loo. The reserve is independantly run and managed by the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group which is small group of volountary wardens.

I have finally decided to become a member of this place, its sounds really good, I have met people who have all said very encouraging things about the reserve and the place has some really good birds.

I wonder how the Barn Owl died. It's always sad to come across a dead animal - but stunning Barn Owl has to be even worse!