Was there at same time as John, (5 - 7pm) dodging the downpours, and saw same stuff plus pair of Blackcap, 6 Oystercatchers on grass behind Ramsdale , 5 Snipe from Horrocks Hide, and Sparrowhawk. 2 female Goosdander and 7 Goldeneye among the waterfowl. No sign of L E O.
I counted at least 8 Swallows and 3 House Martins amongst the masses of Sand Martins (several hundred) flying low over the flash - wonderful sight!

SAT 5.04.08 1-5pm -SAND MARTIN-500+,SWALLOW-2,HOUSE MARTIN-1,WIGEON-1M,BRAMBLING-1M,L,R,PLOVER-3,REDSHANK-6,WILLOW WARBLER-2,CHIFF CHAFF-3,PLUS ALL THE NORMAL STUFF

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON at 17:43, 2008-04-05

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON at 21:28, 2008-04-05

The Long-eared Owl was showing well this evening from New Hide. I had cleverly locked myself out and had to decamp somewhere until my husband got home! Where better than the Flash - Blackcaps, Willow Warblers all singing nicely.

19:30 - 20:00

Swallow over lake
Willow Warbler at new scrape
Blackcap at new hide
Common Sandpiper on the spit

also a Fox being mobbed by lapwings near rammies

Willow warb still there late afternoon{4.30} along with a couple of black caps and chif chaf.

Common Sandpiper this morning (per John Beardsmore) and Long-eared Owl showing from New Hide at the bottom of it's usual tree.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

Willow Warbler singing behind New Scrape this morning.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

LEO present this evening - slightly right of usual spot and deeper in bushes - very difficult to see.

Plus female Brambling and all the usual stuff.

On a wet Friday afternoon - 6 Sand Martins on Ramsdale Flash all in good shape.

Brambling (male) at Bunting Hide

Whooper Swans flew north from Pennington at 11:35am

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

5 adult Whooper Swans at Pennington this am, out on the main water originally then even made it into Rammies new scrape !

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

First place i went to check out the facts Ian

You're gonna need a new graph now

What do you mean you've not had time to do it yet

Don't know how you do it but i'm glad you do

Cheers Dean.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Judith Smith wrote:

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. I haven't got time to check all the reports 1986-2001 but no doubt Paul Heaton will!
.

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Does anyone really bother with all the time I spend on the website (I know some do ), check out all the facts you'd ever need to know about county Brent Geese on the Systematic List section of the website.

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Good stuff Ian been waiting for the details for sightings for some time.

Judith Smith wrote:

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. I haven't got time to check all the reports 1986-2001 but no doubt Paul Heaton will!
.

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Does anyone really bother with all the time I spend on the website (I know some do ), check out all the facts you'd ever need to know about county Brent Geese on the Systematic List section of the website.

female Common Scoter present until at least 7pm tonight

Dean Macdonald wrote:

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Well done to the young man who found it. I don't think i've ever met a more enthusiastic 10 yr old birder.
Had a good chat with him and his dad. He's had some crackin Gulls at Moore NR. They were off to look for Black Grouse later in the week. The future is bright

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Bumped into this pair at Moore this lunchtime, adding more Moore Gulls to their lists - as you say - good to see a keen youngster.

Our largest flock of Brent Geese before yesterday (on the database which goes back to 1992) was 11 at Castleshaw Resrs 13th Nov 2005. I haven't got time to check all the reports 1986-2001 but no doubt Paul Heaton will!
Definitely dark-bellied as several rose out of the water to have a good wing flap. Disorientated, as were the divers, which presumably came up the Mersey estuary instead of the Solway, in the mist and drizzle.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Dark-bellied as are all our previously assigned-to-a-race birds .....

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Interesting. I wonder where they were from and where they were going. 28 is a decent number, it's not just a single lost goose. Dark-bellied Brents breed in Arctic Russia and in the UK winter on the south and east coast of England (not Scotland), so the majority of them would not be expected to fly over Pennington Flash on migration, unless they were from the extreme south west of England (not sure how far SW they go). Even then it seems a bit out of their way. Being esturine geese, I suppose the mere fact that they landed at the flash is proof that they were disorientated.

As far as I know, all of the west coast brents are Pale-bellied and most winter in Ireland and breed in Greenland / Canada. Again, completey the wrong direction for Pennington. In recent years there have been up to 150 Brents on Hilbre, but these are all (with the odd exception) Pale-bellied and at least one of these is known to have bred in Canada.

There's also a population of about 2000 Brents which winter on Lindisfarne and breed on Svalbard, but these are also Pale-bellied. Brent Goose must just about be one of the least likely birds at Pennington Flash, especially a flock of this size.

Is this the largest flock recorded at the flash?

Colin





-- Edited by colin davies at 09:23, 2008-03-27

-- Edited by colin davies at 09:25, 2008-03-27

Dark-bellied as are all our previously assigned-to-a-race birds and involved 13 juveniles and 15 adults, for those boring enough to age them all (that just me then ), also checked for Black Brant...well, you never know do you

Were the Brents Pale-bellied or Dark-bellied?

I was one of the lucky ones who saw the Diver on the water. I noticed the upturned bill and head stance and a lot of white showing on the neck. If i'd been alone, i think i would have had it as a Red Throated but not with 100% confidence. Thanks to other GM birders on sight,namely Jimmy Meadows and Tim Wilcox, who seemed to id it with confidence. Shame it was so distant and poor light, so no good pics.
Well done to the young man who found it. I don't think i've ever met a more enthusiastic 10 yr old birder.
Had a good chat with him and his dad. He's had some crackin Gulls at Moore NR. They were off to look for Black Grouse later in the week. The future is bright

Met a lot of GM birders today, so Hi to you all

Diver, Brent Geese a great day and i'm on holiday

Cheers Dean.

Adult Iceland Gull in the roost tonight, plus 1st summer Mediterranean Gull, 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and smaller numbers of the other large gulls.

A nice end to a great day at Pennington!

All info thanks to Andy Isherwood.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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supported by the fact that 3 unidentified divers circled high over Pennington around dinner time (very vague times as my phone hasn't stopped all morning and I've lost track) but never landed and flew off again. Whilst they're much more likely to be Red-throated, given this mornings bird filled skies they could well have been rarer!

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The two observers of the 3 fly-overs were Barry Hulme and John Lyons, Barry found the Brents and is a very capable birder but unfortunately even he couldn't identify them off his views ands quite commendably refrained from identifying them just because they were most likely to be Red-throated.

After the superb show of Brent geese this morning I stayed around a while and on emerging from the loo and about to leave spoke to a birder and his son to point them to the geese (which they had already seen out in the middle of the Flash). Suddenly as we were speaking the lad called out 'diver flying in'. He had seen it fly to the far corner of the Flash beyond the sailing club at 10.30. The 3 of us dashed to Horrock's to find that it had luckily doubled back and landed. Between us we ID' it as a Red-Throated Diver (probably juvenile I would say looking at my notes) which I then passed on via Judith. A number of lucky birders came back for dessert! Ian Woosey and I watched it circle the Flash from about 11.20 gaining height until it was lost in the murk flying NW at 11.30. I have taken field notes to be submitted.

Thanks to Geoff Morris of Northwich, Cheshire and above all his son, Ian (age 10).

Two birders not know to me told me they saw 3 more diver sps. fly over head shortly after. To my knowledge no one else has confirmed this or any ID.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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The clock on the forum is an hour out something else to sort out

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The clocks been an hour out since the last BST change in October. It'll sort itself out on Saturday night when the clocks go forward.

Paul Heaton wrote:

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Due to the brilliance of Gm Birders I was lucky enough to see all the goodies on offer today,
so thank you, and goes to show points are out there.
Keep birding

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well done but what about that poor wet cat you left stuck up a telegraph pole in the process

I know how you feel craig.

-- Edited by Simon Warford at 18:32, 2008-03-26

Due to the brilliance of Gm Birders I was lucky enough to see all the goodies on offer today,
so thank you, and goes to show points are out there.
Keep birding

Gutted!! Two Pennington ticks and two GM ticks and I'm stuck in the office when the phone goes.

The clock on the forum is an hour out something else to sort out

The Brent Geese have just flown north-east at 13:10

Brents still present at 1pm, I would have put it out sooner but had to rush out of the house when I was informed by the finder Barry Hulme and have only just got in (Birdnet pagers were of course informed immediately being sponsors of this forum, well worth that small monthly sum to have one for the biggy!)

Also present late morning was a single Red-throated Diver, almost certainly not there early am so had presumably dropped in, supported by the fact that 3 unidentified divers circled high over Pennington around dinner time (very vague times as my phone hasn't stopped all morning and I've lost track) but never landed and flew off again. Whilst they're much more likely to be Red-throated, given this mornings bird filled skies they could well have been rarer!

Now who needs a coastline!

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 14:27, 2008-03-26

still present from horrocks hide at 9am

Birdguides are reporting 28 Brent Geese from Horrocks Hide this morning at 7.45

adult med gull present again 5.30pm

med gull flew from point 4pm,not re-found.2 chiff chaff also plank lane end

Adult Med Gull 12:20 from Horrocks Hide.
Also 2 Oystercatcher and 2 Redshank here.

1 bedraggled Sand Martin

LE Owl showing well trying to get a sun tan I think.

ColinD wrote:

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Geoff Walton wrote:

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"We three" saw the LEO at noon today from New Hide. If anyone else was there then, it was me that looked through your Swar. 'scope near the door.

Geoff

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Hi Geoff,
It was my scope you looked through. I was made-up with the LEO. Best I've seen for a while.

Colin

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Hi Colin, thanks, nice to meet you. First LEO I have seen Our "expert" was the one with the scope.

Geoff

Did my usual trick of recogniosing the birds better than the birders again today, Dean was a lifer so could be excused but failed miserably with Paul despite previous meetings and him even remembering my sister!

Good to see the LEO, any chance of someone doing some pruning soon?!

Yeh nice to meet you Paul and Rob. I assume Karl was the other guy who's name i didn't catch.

Cheers Dean.

as others but a pleasure to meet dean macdonald taking a break from the bolton peregrines and see rob smallwood again, and meet karl mercer hoping to get a shot of the leo when it flies, prolly about now - good luck that man!

12 redshank,1 chiff chaff,leo,shellduck-3,all the usual stuffpm

Geoff Walton wrote:

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"We three" saw the LEO at noon today from New Hide. If anyone else was there then, it was me that looked through your Swar. 'scope near the door.

Geoff

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Hi Geoff,
It was my scope you looked through. I was made-up with the LEO. Best I've seen for a while.

Colin

LE Owl was catching the sun this morning from the new hide.
12 Goldeneye
9 Snipe
3 Redshank
10 Oystercatchers
4 Sand martins
1 Chiffchaff

At least four Chiffchaff singing at Pennington yesterday (Friday)

my pleasure john, great chatting with you again - spent another hour with neil 'cattle egret' dowson nice to meet you neil. the leo actually opened it's eyes for us a couple of times.

best pich i could manage with scope and nokia phone C&P below link...

http://homepage.mac.com/skiddo/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/leo.jpg

paul-thanks for sharing your scopethat leo is a cracker-pity my cameras not got a 1000mmlensa few sand martins today also.

leo still showing well when i left at 6pm. cracking!

"We three" saw the LEO at noon today from New Hide. If anyone else was there then, it was me that looked through your Swar. 'scope near the door.

Geoff

Drake Common Scoter present late this afternoon, just off Horrock's hide and braving the terrible weather (just like the finder, cheers Rob!)

Info thanks to Rob Thorpe

19/3/08 (09.00-11.30)

single Dunlin, 6 Redshank, and 14 Snipe on the scrapes in front of Horrocks Hide.
8 Oystercatchers on the spit.
4 Shelduck round the new scrapes.
up to 5 or 6 Goosanders on the flash.