Inner Marsh Farm & Burton Wetlands RSPB

Rob Smith · Status: Offline

Inner Marsh Farm & Burton Wetlands RSPB

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

I popped into here very briefly late morning, whilst dropping something off, and was lucky to watch a ringtail Hen Harrier float over the reeds from the visitor centre spooking all the Lapwings and Dunlin out there. The distant swan flock on Shotwick Fields was scopable for ID purposes, but I popped round into Flintshire for better views (see separate thread).

Curt Whitby · Status: Offline

Saw a long eared owl today a couple of hundred yards from the imf hide. It was perfectly and deeply concealed within thick bushes and im thankful to a kind lady who stopped us and asked if we would like to see a long eared owl, of course the answer was YEs!! Never seen on before.

David Ousey · Status: Offline

A trip to a place that I always enjoy visiting was on the cards now that the major autumn rush has finally ended. It was to be a solo trip, as the rest of the A team seem to have mothballed their binoculars for the year. A late starting time of 8-30am on a cold, but pleasant (for late November) morning had me at Burton Mere on the Dee estuary by 10-00am. A large group of Whooper Swans were feeding in the distance, but no sign of the almost resident Cattle Egrets. In the reserve centre, news of the Water Pipits was positive so, after meeting up with Kevin Hughes, Bill & Marie from Macclesfield, we made our way out to see them. On the way there a female Hen Harrier was seen and a close Little Egret, good start to the mornings birding. We were soon enjoying views of about 6 Water Pipits in the company of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. They kept us entertained, as did Kevin who began speaking welsh when another birding pal Ian Evans from Denbigh walked into the hide. A few old birders tails came out and we all had a good laugh. Myself & Ian walked out up to the old fort lookout over the Dee estuary, by now it was a little cooler but visibility was great with Point of Ayr, Hilbre Island clearly visible. Up to 3 Marsh Harriers, 2 female Hen Harriers, Great White Egret and finally after about 30 minutes, a hunting Short eared Owl, great birds to watch at any time!

We headed back to the reserve centre for a warm up and then I went back to my car to try to find the location of a female Smew on Newchurch Common near Sandiway. It looked a little awkward so I decided to go down onto Denhall Lane and continue watching the Dee estuary. In about an hour, as it was getting cooler as I left, I saw: - 3 Short eared Owl, 1 Buzzard, 3 Marsh Harrier, 2 female Hen Harrier (missed the male Hen Harrier that had been present) 2 Kestrel, missed a perched Merlin. There was a lot of Little Egret`s around, I counted around 20 birds. Headed for home around 3pm enjoying my cars heater all the way!!

David Ousey.

Julian Winstanley · Status: Offline

Wonderful morning at Burton Mere on Sunday, omitting the huge list of the more commonbirds, those generating excitment included a green Sandpiper, a couple of Water Pipits, the sight of a Ringtail Hen Harrier seemingly working alongside a male Marsh Harrier to quarter for food, them towards noon the sight of a male Hen Harrier, a lifetime tick for me. Even more exciting was the subsequent sight of the male hen harrier having a small altercation with the male Marsh Harrier!

We went up to Parkgate for the afternoon Raptorwatch with only moderate success - several marsh harriers (mostly female or juvenile), one buzzard, a peregrine who spent most of the afternoon preening on a post without moving, and one ringtail hen harroer

Chris Harper · Status: Offline

Super day spent at Burton Mere and Denhall Lane today with High Peak RSPB group . Highlights :

5 Cattle Egret , 2 Short Eared Owl , ringtail Hen Harrier, Peregrine Falcon , Cettis Warbler , Pintail, 4 Great White Egret , 3 Black Swan , 20 Whooper Swan, 100's of Pink Footed Geese, 30 Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Raven, 4 Meadow Pipit, Green Sandpiper , 2 Marsh Harrier , 20 Stock Dove, Stonechat, Great Spotted Woodpecker , 4 Goldcrest, Linnet, 30 Fieldfare.

Plus all the usual species.

steven burke · Status: Offline

afternoon visit.

when I first arrived 3 cattle egret were seen in the far field with cattle, 1 on a cow. later on all 5 were in front of reception hide.
1 marsh harrier
1 sparrowhawk
1 garganey
1 cettis warbler, seen briefly
only 1 snipe seen hmm

1 ruff
black tailed godwit
lapwing
teal
shoveler
gadwall
wigeon
tufted duck
lots of pink footed geese moving around.
plus usuals.

1 stonechat

-- Edited by steven burke on Sunday 30th of October 2016 09:24:52 PM

David Morris · Status: Offline

5 Cattle Egret still present today (lifer for me), giving great views at one point- all five were stood on one of the islands with a Grey Heron in the middle, looking like the leader of the group! Also got to see where the name Cattle Egret comes from, on two separate occasions one was spotted on top of the grazing cows.

Other species of note:
Green Sandpiper
Marsh Harrier (two up at once, at one point having a go at each other by the look of things)
Ruff

John Williams · Status: Offline

11.00-15.00

5 Cattle Egrets and a single Grey Heron were following the cattle around. 2 of the egrets were seen to catch frogs.

Also seen here today: 2 Green Sandpipers, 2 Dunlin (+ a flock of around 50 flew low across the reserve), 2 Snipe, 1 Peregrine, 5 Buzzards and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

1 female Marsh Harrier was seen hunting the nearby salt marsh. Several skeins of Pink Footed Geese passed over the reserve and out onto the estuary.

Mark Jarrett · Status: Online

Five Cattle Egret present late morning together with one Great White Egret and two Marsh Harrier, amongst others.

steven burke · Status: Offline

11.30-6pm a good day in the rain, but i had my brolley with me.

3 little stint
2 curlew sandpiper
2 greenshank
5 ruff
60+ black-tailed godwit
at one point I counted 103 snipe but there was still a good amount of them all around.
15+ dunlin
1 cattle egret
1 great white egret
6 black swan
lots of teal, pintail, shoveler & lapwings around
1 marsh harrier
1 peregrine falcon
2 sparrowhawk
1 raven
200+ pink footed goose
1 cettis warbler, another 2 heard
3 chiffchaff
2 great spotted woodpecker
3 treecreeper
3 goldcrest
few swallow & house martin
plus all usuals around

from the viewpoint... 2 great white egret, 1 merlin.

smile

Andy Voisey · Status: Offline

Nev, at least one has overwintered the past 2 years on Burton Marsh, you usually see it towards the Flint Bridge. It usually arrives with the northern swans as far as I can tell.

Nev Wright · Status: Offline

Amazed to see 6 Black Swans today at Burton RSPB .... not sure if I'm pleased or not. confuse

Little Stint and Cattle Egret notables smile

Ian Campbell · Status: Offline

Friday 23rd with Malcolm, Cattle Egret still present, also; 1 Little Stint, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Marsh Harrier, 4 Ruff, 3 Greenshank plus many Pintail, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Snipe, Teal.
Cheers Ian
We also had a Great White Egret at the Old Baths.

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

I just noticed that there hadn't been any mention previously of the Cattle Egret at Burton Mere Wetlands, and I just mentioned it in passing, sorry. I realise not everyone is on an information service so here's an update:

The bird is present again today, viewed from the Reception building. It is not the same bird as the one at Marshside RSPB as both were present at their respective sites yesterday! The bird has been present since the 13th September and as I say is still present so well worth a look smile

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 21st of September 2016 10:47:48 AM

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

Very fleeting visit today utilising a few hours free. Good to bump into lots of friendly folk, too many to mention, but nice to chat at length to Tim & Phil especially. A nip round to the Inner Marsh Farm Hide brought rewards despite meeting returning birders who had only had four Dunlin there. Birds were moving and by the time I got there, on my own in the hide at first, a group of 17 Dunlin was evident. I then picked up a Curlew Sandpiper on its own on the far shore, later to come closer and show very well. Then when a few Teal moved they revealed at first 2, then 3, Little Stints that had been roosting behind the ducks! It was great to show some visiting birders there two passage wader species as they were lifers for them.

Other birds seen in the short visit included a Cattle Egret on the island in the visitor centre lagoon, asleep as usual! Also a Sparrowhawk, several Black-tailed Godwits, hundreds of Teal & Pintail, and a calling Greenshank heard only. A Cetti's Warbler was at first heard and then seen when I had to stop to take a phonecall, the bird popped out whilst I was stood trying to get a signal!!

John Williams · Status: Offline

09.30-14.00

1 young female Sparrowhawk had caught a Woodpigeon on the entrance track and was very unhappy when passing cars drove her off her kill.

Also on the reserve : 12 Spoonbills, 6 Curlew Sandpipers, 1 Little Stint, 2 Greenshanks,1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Ruff, 4 Black Tailed Godwits,

5 Snipe, 1 female Marsh Harrier, 1 Kestrel, 1 Barnacle Goose, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 male Blackcap.

A steady stream of Chiffchaffs and a few Willow Warblers were moving through the bushes by the railway and edging South.

Roger Baker 3 · Status: Offline

full of alien characters
...............................................

I know a few pubs like that Tim !

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

Make that 12 species - I forgot the 4 Greenshank and 10 plus Ruff. NB post edited function has gone all weird - full of alien characters

-- Edited by Tim Wilcox on Thursday 8th of September 2016 03:11:56 PM

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

Bumper day for waders today with Tony Darby 11.00am - 3.00pm - 10 species present

Curlew Sandpiper 6 (though 8 were on the board)
Little Stint 1
Dunlin 20
Snipe 3
Black-tailed Godwit c.6
Avocet 1 (it has a deformed leg and has apparently been named 'Lindy"!)
Ringed Plover 1 juv.
Common Sandpiper 1
Green Sandpiper 1
Lapwings 100s

Also Spoonbill 12 still present on the Bridge Pool
Buzzard 2
Sparrowhawk 1
Kestrel 1

Speculating with Tony as to when we had a similar wader-fest at Burton Mere Wetlands/IMF which included a Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Stints, Spotted Redshanks and Curlew Sandpiper along with a Red-necked Phalarope, I checked my notebooks and it turned out to be exactly two years ago to the day on Sunday 7 Sept 2014 in similarly warm, sunny weather!

Craig Higson · Status: Offline

12 Spoonbills still present. 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 5 Greenshank and a Little Stint were also present today.

-- Edited by Craig Higson on Saturday 3rd of September 2016 05:58:35 PM

Ian Boote · Status: Offline

12 Spoonbills in front of main hide, at least one Marsh Harrier, 2 Buzzard, Kestrel, pointed out Little Stint, Greenshank, Dunlin, Redshank and Ruff.

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

With an afternoon off & the weather being dull I decided to pop to BMW to drop off some stuff I'd promised them and say hi to folk. Whilst there I had a short time to bird too.

Joined a few mates in the 'bunker' hide and we saw the juvenile Spotted Crake a few times, once at length and probably 3 Water Rails, all youngsters of varying ages. Once annual both at Marbury No.1 Tank (now Haydn's Pool) and Inner Marsh Farm (Spotted Crake that is) it is nice to see them breeding locally too. We all discussed just how many Cheshire sites we had seen Spotted Crake at in the past and between us it was between 6 and 8 locations!

The 9 Spoonbills were present but had flown up into the heronry trees when a Peregrine flew through, allopreening was again taking place. A female Marsh Harrier was seen. A handful of Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits were on the lagoons. A Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper were on the very small pool by the main centre. Little Egrets were everywhere, the biggest number on the lagoon past Marsh Covert Hide where there were several young Grey Herons too. Finally a Spotted Flycatcher was seen near the centre.

A pleasant short stroll as usual here.

steven burke · Status: Offline

A few photos from myself of the spotted crake.

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

Rob Creek wrote:

Highlights...
- Spotted Crake 2, ad+juv seen quite a few times, we were happy with the juvenile so the other one we saw had to be the adult.

Just to be clear, I'm not claiming to have seen an adult Spotted Crake yesterday, I am only recording the juvenile bird as a definite ID. I think Rob's scope goes to x60 zoom so he sometimes gets better views than my x50 when we are watching distant birds.

Rob Creek · Status: Offline

Sunday 31st July with Steve Burke and Simon Gough.

A full day around the reserve with some 72 species racked up.

Highlights...
- Spotted Crake 2, ad+juv seen quite a few times, we were happy with the juvenile so the other one we saw had to be the adult. As Simon says, it was good to see the spots on the plumage
- Water Rail 4, ad (1 had a longish red bill) , 1 juv, 1 younger juv, and a chick
- Spoonbill 9 together...fantastic! 2 were preening one another.
- Great White Egret 1 from Burton Point
- Little Egrets
- Grey Heron
- Spotted Redshank 2
- Redshank 1
- Knot 70
- Black-tailed Godwit 700??
- Dunlin 10
- Green Sandpiper 1
- Common Sandpiper 2
- Ruff 3
- Common Snipe 9 at least
- Lapwing
- Little Ringed Plover 1
- Oystercatcher 1
- Little Grebe 2
- Black Swan 2
- Shelduck
- Shoveler
- Gadwall
- Teal
- Peregrine 1
- Sparrowhawk 1
- Marsh Harrier 2
- Common Buzzard 4
- Common Gull 1 adult on the scrape
- Spotted Flycatcher 4, 1 ad feeding 3 juv
- Blackcap 2, fem/imm male??
- Whitethroat 2
- Willow Warbler 2
- Chiffchaff 3
- Sedge Warbler 1 poss juv, bit unstable moving through the reeds
- Reed Warbler with chasing fledglings
- Goldcrest 2
- Song Thrush 1
- Treecreeper 2 incl 1 imm
- Nuthatch 1
- Great Spotted Woodpecker 2
- Blue, Great, and Long-tailed Tit families moving around
- House Martin 1
- Swallow and Sand Martin around
- Linnet 2
- Goldfinch 2 or 3 large family groups flying around
- Stock Doves around
- Plus lots of usuals associated with the reserve

Images show Spoonbill's, Spotted Flycatcher's, and I think just enough of the Spotted Crake including the upright buff under tail, greenish legs and I managed a brief flight view too!

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

Steve Burke, Rob Creek and myself had a top day here yesterday (Sunday 31st July) from about 9am till 7pm or so, primarily to look at the Spotted Crake. In morning light from the bunker screen we had some great views of the juvenile bird. We also saw 3 different juvenile Water Rails, at different ages. One looked recently hatched and downy, another was older but still growing, with a short bill and the potential to confuse as a result, and a third was a similar sandy-brown base colour to the Crake, and needed some separating when they showed together. We also had a tantalizing couple of views of a darker bird that looked a possible for adult Crake, but we never nailed it. Still, ageing the bird we did see properly was a step forward from the week before. In the evening we had more views of it tussling with a juvenile Water Rail. I think we ended up seeing at least 4 Water Rails through the day, not one of which was an adult. This was excellent in itself. The Crake was rather attractive when it stood still, with a lovely pattern of white spots and marks on its flanks and chest. A well-named species in fairness... smile

I got 68 species on my day list, as we noted a brilliant variety of other birds wandering around. There were 9 Spoonbills present, which was awesome, especially when a couple preened each other for a few minutes. Steve picked out a Great White Egret from Burton Point, and probably best of all in some ways, we got onto some Spotted Flycatchers around the trees by the car park, and spent a superb hour or so watching various small birds feeding. There were at least 4 Spotted Flycatchers, and with them some busy Treecreepers, Nuthatch, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Blackcap and Blue Tits. We also saw a family party of Reed Warblers really well in the bushes along that path round to the far part of the reserve. Also 2 Marsh Harriers, the slightly scruffy immature male bird (I think) that we saw the week before and then a bigger clean juvenile later on.

A great advert for the reserve all in all

Sarfraz Hayat · Status: Offline

Hi John, Wondered if I talked to you yesterday about 2pm? Spotted Crake was a lifer for me. The only breeding birds of the North West of England I have yet to see are Quail, Black Grouse and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Nine Spoonbill must be a record for the North and proudly unprecedented away from the South Coast?Sarfraz

John Rayner · Status: Offline

The Spotted Crake eventually showed well bathing in a small patch of water to the right of a water cress bed. Can only just tell what it is from distant and poor phone-scoping.
Also
9 Spoonbills
c600 Black-tailed Godwits
50 Knot
2 Ruff
Common Sandpiper
2 Black Swans
Sparrowhawk
2 Marsh Harriers

Cheers, John

Richard Thew · Status: Offline

With 49 species in and around burton mere. I primary went to see the spotted crake. I kept watching the area for a few hours and alas, no show. As dedicated as I am in birding, one thing I won't do is spend an entire day waiting for one species. However I was rewarded with a juvenile yellow wagtail, 8 spoonbills that came in to land, Marsh harrier, 23 little egrets, both common and green sandpipers, 4 common terns passing, close views of a juvenile great spotted woodpecker, dunlin, spotted redshank and black tailed godwits been the key highlights. After looking around, I decided to have one last look for the spotted crake before I left and sure enough, it showed! So much so that it had the cheek to show off big time. It preened itself in full view for a while, (the warden spotted a 2nd bird at this point too) and the original bird was active for long periods on and off from 1:45pm till 3pm when I left! Somewhat distant but fantastic full views with all its details and markings seen!

Nick Hilton · Status: Offline

27/07/16 1200 - 1500;
Spotted Crake (distant but showing well circa 1430, interacting with juvenile Water Rail as mentioned by Roger below).
Little Egret (at least 50)
Spotted Redshank = 2
Spoonbill = 4
Avocet = 1
Green Sandpiper = 1
Common Sandpiper = 2
Ruff = 1
Little Ringed Plover = 1
Black-tailed Godwit = >50
Mediterranean Gull = 1 (juv)
Sedge Warbler (6), Blackcap (1), Chiffchaff (3), Willow Warbler (1), Common Whitethroat (5)
Buzzard (1), Kestrel (1)
Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch
Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Grey Heron
Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Tufted Duck
Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Roger Baker 3 · Status: Offline

Weds 27th July.

Evening visit with Ian Lyth.

2 hour wait for the Spotted Crake ... put in around 6 furtive appearances (in typical crake fashion) eventually excelling itself around 19.00 hrs by emerging to chase a juvenile Water Rail ... even managed to flap its wings a couple of times before diving back into cover !

Spotted Redshank.
Spoonbill 4.

Roger.

-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Wednesday 27th of July 2016 10:57:31 PM

Mark Jarrett · Status: Online

I saw on Birdguides that one of the Spotted Crakes had been showing mid morning today, so I nipped across for a look. After a wait of around one hour a bird was seen at the back of the scrape, behind the island, preening for a couple of minutes before running to its left and then disappearing into the vegetation behind. An adult and a juvenile have been seen and whilst it was difficult to definitely say which my bird was due to the distance and light conditions etc, I think it was the juvenile.

Five of the Spoonbill flew in for twenty minutes or so (four later refound from IMF hide) and in addition to the usuals, also around were Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Avocet and Black tailed Godwit.

Rob Creek · Status: Offline

Sunday 24th with Steve Burke and Simon Gough.

Morning visit.
- Spotted Crake 1 (Lifer for me)
Took its time to show but eventually did, briefly but then for a good 30 seconds or so.
- Spoonbill 5 on main scrape
- Water Rail 2 (1 adult 1 juv)
- Green Sandpiper 1
- Common Sandpiper 1
- Avocets
- Black-tailed Godwits
- Lapwing
- Oystercatchers
- Common Snipe 1
- Shoveler
- Gadwall
- Teal
- Tufted Duck
- Little Grebe 1
- Stock Dove
- Marsh Harrier 1 (briefly)
- Common Buzzard 1
- Sedge Warbler 3
- Reed Bunting 1
- Linnets

Evening visit after Hilbre Island.
- Spotted Crake (possibly 2 showed)
We didn't bargain on what we saw, one of the Crake's was very aggressive towards a Water Rail and kept showing on and off as it was driving the Rail away again and again. All present got good scope views of the action, too distant for any camera shots.

Also present in addition to this morning...
- Marsh Harrier showing very well hunting
- Ruff 6
- Swift over

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Monday 25th of July 2016 12:07:00 PM

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

Spoonbill 4
Little Egret 12+
Grey Heron 3
Common Sandpiper 1
Green Sandpiper 1
Ruff 3males.
Avocet 1
Black-tailed Godwits
Lapwings
Peregrine 1
Buzzard 1
Water Rail 1 heard.

Daniel Owen · Status: Offline

45+ little egrets around Marsh Covert and Inner Marsh Farm (1 bird had a largely yellow bill and upper legs resembling a great white egret)
3 spoonbills in the egret colony
1 greenshank
2-3 spotted redshank
448 black-tailed godwits
185 lapwing
1 avocet
2 oystercatcher
2 common sandpiper
1 ruff
3 knot
1 marsh harrier (female/ juvenile)
1 blackcap still singing

Also:
1 common toad
1 unidentifiable small mammal
comma, peacock, small tortoiseshell, speckled wood, meadow brown, gatekeeper, small skipper, small white, large white and a painted lady

Joel Tragen · Status: Offline

Lucky i managed to get 9 days of work experience with the warden.
4 spoonbills in the trees and later 4 seen flying towards the marsh from burton mere
1 common sandpiper
1 dunlin
100+ black-tailed godwits
several redshanks
lots of avocets about
2 buzzard
lots of little egrets
16 sedge warblers
7 reed warbler
9 whitethroats
1 green woodpecker from burton point twice
2 skylark
other wildlife
4 6 spotted burnet moths
1 wood carpet moth
2 small magpies
hemlock and bittersweet nightshade

steven burke · Status: Offline

post for yesterday 25th, 4-8pm

3 spoonbills were in front of reception & then flew into the tree tops, another 3 flew in later, but 7 were seen in flight as they flew out towards the marsh.
2 spotted redshank
1 cuckoo
1 common sandpiper
250+ black tailed godwits
several redshank around
plenty of avocets with well grown juveniles
2 common tern
2 buzzards
lots of little egrets around
no sign of the great white egret or glossy ibis for me
cettis warbler seen on a few occasions whilst it was feeding at least 3 juveniles
lots of swifts, swallows, house martins, few sand martins
still plenty of blackcaps, chiffchaffs, whitethroats & sedge warblers singing.
plus all usuals around.

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

Of interest to forum members I hope, the bird news services are reporting a White-winged Black Tern at Burton Mere Wetlands at 3.30pm smile

JOHN TYMON · Status: Offline

7 spoonbills being claimed now so probably 7

also

124 Black Tailed Godwit

3 Cetti's Warbler

lots of young Avocet

plus the usuals :)

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 4th of June 2016 06:00:17 PM

JOHN TYMON · Status: Offline

5 spoonbill up to now today

sid ashton · Status: Offline

I have been reliably informed that there have been 7 Spoonbills at BMW this morning!!!

steven burke · Status: Offline

12.45-8pm

3 spoonbill were sleeping in front of reception hide when I first arrived, later on about 5pm I looked over from the field near the viewing points & there was 6 in front off reception hide, by the time I got back there they had gone.
1 spotted flycatcher along woodland trail
1 hobby flew over & spread panic amongst the black headed gulls, avocets & lapwings.
1 cettis warbler seen, more heard around
avocets seem to have done well with lots of chicks around, several of them well grown, I counted 68 in front of reception hide.
plenty of little egrets around
reed warblers, sedge warblers, whitethroats, blackcaps & chiffchaffs
2 buzzard
120+ black tailed godwit
several redshank
pair of nuthatch with 3 juveniles
1 treecreeper
2 great spotted woodpecker
plus the usuals
smile

Joel Tragen · Status: Offline

Only a quick visit. 17:15 - 18:30 yesterday.
2 spoonbills on the scrape which later departed.
1 odd male aythya on the scrape
1 whitethroat to the left of the reception hide
1 yellow wagtail on the scrape
Several tufted ducks, shoveler, avocets and black tailed godwits dotted about.

Joel Tragen · Status: Offline

Doc Brewster wrote:

sid ashton wrote:
Lovely morning on the Wirral. The 4 Spoonbills were still present in the same tree near Marsh Covert hide - never seen this species in a tree previously!!
The Spotted Flycatchers were still busy in the car park and there was lots of Warbler activity taking place. A female Marsh Harrier was around for a while and put the big flock of Black-tailed Godwits in the air when it first appeared.
This was my first visit to the reserve since July last year - mustn't leave it so long next time .
6.27pm edit:- Just had a message to say there are now 5 Spoonbills feeding on the main scrape.

-- Edited by sid ashton on Sunday 29th of May 2016 06:29:00 PM
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As a tree nesting species the only time I have seen them in trees was at the small breeding colony of them at Holkham NNR a few years ago, and that was in a Grey Heron & Little Egret colony. Let's hope that them hanging around in trees is a sign of them breeding in the NW

I was there last night and I know that where they were was the little egret colony but when I arrived there were only 2 left on the scrape and the other 4 had apparently been seen heading off high. The last 2 left a well so unles they just flew onto the Dee then it looks like they've left for good.

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

sid ashton wrote:
Lovely morning on the Wirral. The 4 Spoonbills were still present in the same tree near Marsh Covert hide - never seen this species in a tree previously!!
The Spotted Flycatchers were still busy in the car park and there was lots of Warbler activity taking place. A female Marsh Harrier was around for a while and put the big flock of Black-tailed Godwits in the air when it first appeared.
This was my first visit to the reserve since July last year - mustn't leave it so long next time .
6.27pm edit:- Just had a message to say there are now 5 Spoonbills feeding on the main scrape.

-- Edited by sid ashton on Sunday 29th of May 2016 06:29:00 PM
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As a tree nesting species the only time I have seen them in trees was at the small breeding colony of them at Holkham NNR a few years ago, and that was in a Grey Heron & Little Egret colony. Let's hope that them hanging around in trees is a sign of them breeding in the NW smile

Tony Coatsworth · Status: Offline

I only saw 4 but they were asleep most of the time.

Grasshopper Warbler showing brilliantly by the boardwalk.

sid ashton · Status: Offline

There are SIX Spoonbills reported at BMW this morning biggrin

stuart lewis-gough · Status: Offline

4 spoonbills showing well in trees, and a male garganey from inner marsh hide.

sid ashton · Status: Offline

Lovely morning on the Wirral. The 4 Spoonbills were still present in the same tree near Marsh Covert hide - never seen this species in a tree previously!!

The Spotted Flycatchers were still busy in the car park and there was lots of Warbler activity taking place. A female Marsh Harrier was around for a while and put the big flock of Black-tailed Godwits in the air when it first appeared.

This was my first visit to the reserve since July last year - mustn't leave it so long next time wink .

6.27pm edit:- Just had a message to say there are now 5 Spoonbills feeding on the main scrape.

-- Edited by sid ashton on Sunday 29th of May 2016 06:29:00 PM