Inner Marsh Farm & Burton Wetlands RSPB

M Gannon · Status: Offline

Inner Marsh Farm & Burton Wetlands RSPB

Geoff Walton · Status: Offline

Still 4 Spoonbill today in the trees. It was also a joy to see them flying around.

Not a lot around, but the Avocet and chicks were nice to see, as was also a Wood Warbler.

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

It was me that reported their departure at 1.20pm Mark. One of the birds was billing the other on the wing so possible pairing activity. Someone said there were '5' around and this could be as our birds were in a tight group and it would be odd if just one split off to Decca Pools when you caught up with it

-- Edited by Tim Wilcox on Wednesday 25th of May 2016 10:07:17 PM

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

I arrived at BMW shortly after midday and initially saw two of the four Spoonbill that were in the area described. Very distant from the reception hide but the birds were out of sight when I tried to get better and closer views later on. I then found out that all four birds had departed at 13.20 hrs, so I tried my luck down on the marsh, working my way up to the Decca Pools area. There is a red flag flying by the pathway a few hundred yards past Net's Cafe with a fairly large pool to its left. Here I found a lone Spoonbill showing characteristics of a mainly juvenile bird but also those of a non breeding adult. Spent half an hour watching the bird in both hazy sunshine and lightly falling rain. I am assuming this bird was one of the four. I couldn't see the other three but, to be honest, I didn't venture on any further.

Tony Darby · Status: Offline

After hearing about 4 Spoonbills at BMW Tim Wilcox and I decided to take a punt, especially as the weather on the Wirral was supposed to be
drier than GM. We struck lucky: Tim spotted the birds in the air over the Little Egret's nesting area, they then circled over us and headed over
towards Decca Pools.
Other highlights were lots of Avocet chicks and Spotted Flycatchers nest building above the car park.

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Three and a half hours visit from 10.50, weather pleasant, sunny and fairly warm. Amongst others :-

Little Egret
Buzzard (2)
Hobby (1)
Oystercatcher
Avocet
Lapwing
Curlew Sandpiper (1)
Dunlin (1)
Black-tailed Godwit
Redshank
Pied Flycatcher (1)
Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Whitethroat
Cetti's Warbler (3)

Stunning Curlew Sandpiper in summer finery on the Reception Scrape. Unfortunately the two Buzzard put everything up at around 11.30 and the Curlew Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit in particular retreated to the field behind the main reedbed. Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler were also around but not seen or heard by me.

steven burke · Status: Offline

late post for 1st may 4-8.30pm.

1 pied flycatcher, showed on my second search for it around the pools only for a couple of minutes before disappearing again.
70+ avocet
300+ black tailed godwit
80+ redshank
1 whimbrel
lots of lapwings around inc 2 chicks
1 common tern, over
2 barnacle geese
several shelducks
little egrets scattered around
1 yellow wagtail
1 marsh harrier
2 buzzard
1 raven
1 great spotted woodpecker
1 nuthatch
2 treecreeper
1 cettis warbler, others heard
1 grasshopper warbler heard
chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat & sedge warbler all around.
swallow, sand martin, house martin & swifts whizzing around.

viewed from the viewing point over burton marsh...

2 great white egret
lots of little egret
1 short eared owl
grasshopper warbler heard

smile

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Afternoon on the reserve from 12 until 4pm. Cool and blustery although remained dry with the sun coming out a fair bit. Amongst others :-

Little Egret (1)
Great White Egret (1)
Barnacle Goose (1)
Avocet (c.65)
Dunlin (7)
Ruff (2)
Black-tailed Godwit (c.300)
Spotted Redshank (8)
Stock Dove (1)
Skylark (1)
White Wagtail (1)
Cetti's Warbler (2)
Grasshopper Warbler (1)
Sedge Warbler (1)
Reed Warbler (c.6)
Whitethroat (2)
Blackcap (c.6)

There during the morning but not seen in the afternoon were Mandarin, Yellow Wagtail, Knot and Greenshank. Interestingly and just before I left, a guy called in after receiving a call regarding a rumoured Marsh Sandpiper seen at some point during the morning. Whilst the Sandpiper had not been reported to the RSPB staff (nor seen since) other than size it is not too dissimilar to Greenshank.

steven burke · Status: Offline

late post for yesterday 16th aft/eve.

71 avocet
4 ruff
4 snipe
several black tailed godwit & redshank
plenty of lapwings around
shoveler
teal
tufted duck
4 little grebe
1 barnacle goose with Canada geese
3 yellow wagtail plus one with a blue/grey head
1 water pipit with meadow pipits & wagtails
2 nuthatch
plenty of sand martins & swallows, few house martins
several chiffchaff, willow warbler & blackcap around
2 sedge warbler, heard only
water rail & green woodpecker also heard only
cracking views of a cettis warbler along the path near the pools, I managed a couple of ok pictures.

-- Edited by steven burke on Sunday 17th of April 2016 11:27:08 PM

Rob Creek · Status: Offline

A late post for a late visit with Simon Gough yesterday.

Of note...
- Avocet plenty around
- Redshank ...
- Black-tailed Godwit ...
- Ruff 4
- Lapwing
- Oystercatcher
- Shoveler
- Kestrel
- Chiffchaff
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Swallow and Sand Martin through

stuart lewis-gough · Status: Offline

Have been informed of a spoonbill at Burton mere. Seen today by my brother and others.

M Gannon · Status: Offline

Late post from yesterday morning: 1 ringtail hen harrier 1 Cetti's warbler showing pretty well from reedbed screen, with another heard 1 spotted redshank 1 sparrowhawk 2 kestrel 5 Reed bunting 8 chiffchaffs 2 great spotted woodpecker 1 little ringed plover 1 blackcap

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

An excellent and unexpected visit today for me, thanks to Alan and Beryl Turner giving me a lift over from Parkgate (and then back to Manchester!). Within a few minutes of arriving we'd been put onto a drake Green-winged Teal showing pretty well on the main scrape. This was a lifer for me and not a sighting I thought I'd pick up from this winter. Presumably a re-find of the one seen there some weeks back, but who knows?

Besides this the main hubbub was related to migrants; Yellow Wagtail and Redstart. I headed over to Burton Point and saw the Redstart, a lovely male. There were also some truly spanking Wheatears on the same field, 3 birds, 2 were grey males and the other I think was also a male but possibly not having worn through to the grey-blue colour. They all had vivid eye-stripes and 'masks'.

I saw Jonathan Platt and he found the Yellow Wagtail. It was also a smart male, and of note it was feeding amongst a good number of White Wagtails, certainly double figures. I have only seen an 'Alba' once before so I was pretty chuffed about that too. This was on the grass in front of the Bunker Screen. No sign of the Little Owl over that way, or Water Pipit, but you can't have everything. On the scrape were all the usual species, there was one Spotted Redshank and a few Ruff lingering. Nice numbers of Avocet, also first House Martins of the year, and plenty of Swallows. Heard only were Cetti's Warbler and Green Woodpecker.

So a great visit from a birding perspective and also a really nice friendly and good-spirited day out. Thanks so much to Alan and Beryl, I really appreciate your kindness. I also love the gang of RSPB guys at Burton Mere, they do a great job.

Simon Johnson · Status: Offline

Quick visit this afternoon

Female Merlin perched on top of trees at the visitor centre giving some superb views
3 Great white Egret on Burton Marsh
1000+ Pink-footed Geese on the marsh
3 Spotted Redshank
3 Ruff
30 Black tailed Godwit
Plenty Avocet
6 Goldeneye

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Around four hours on both the reserve and the estuary today in dull and dismal weather, light rain and quite blustery. Not too bad but certainly been busier, amongst others :-

Little Grebe (1)
Little Egret (c.50)
Great White Egret (1)
Pink footed Goose (c.30)
Greylag Goose
Wigeon
Gadwall
Teal
Shoveler
Hen Harrier (2 r/t)
Buzzard
Kestrel
Oystercatcher
Avocet (51)
Black tailed Godwit (37)
Lapwing
Skylark
Wheatear (3)
Cetti's Warbler (1)
Chiffchaff (2)
Reed Bunting

M Gannon · Status: Offline

Highlights from 14:00-16:45 this afternoon

1 short eared owl (from imf hide around 16:00
1 great white egret on marsh from burton point
1 marsh harrier
1 barnacle goose from reception hide
25 avocets
600 black tailed godwits
2 buzzard
2 kestrel

Mark Burgess · Status: Offline

10.00 till 12.00 Highlights,

Spotted Redshank 3
Redshank 11
Black Tailed Godwit c25
Dunlin 9
Pintail single drake, First one I've seen this year usually a lot more about the Wirrel
Water Rail
Wigeon c50
Kingfisher, perched high up in tall reeds
Nuthatch 2

Paul Richardson · Status: Offline

Lovely light this morning on the Wirral but the Long Eared Owl had gone AWOL and was not to be seen - at least in the morning.

Otherwise was nice to get a fairly close view of quite a few Golden Plover in among the Lapwing from the main hide.

Sean Sweeney · Status: Offline

Thanks for the replies John and Simon, I was by no means criticising the management of the entire reserve, as it has always been and will into the future be an excellent place for all manner of birds for birders from beginners and old hats too!? I was also present at the reserve about an hour prior to high tide on Sunday, so it certainly does not correlate with your own suggestion of birds being out on the Marsh either (though some may have been no doubt). I was merely offering an observation and trying to ascertain through discussion what the reasons might be for the older part of the reserve, which is the original set of pools/scrapes (not the new pools/scrapes near the centre), experiencing far less bird activity in the last few years. I don't think I am alone in thinking that that area seems to be far less attractive to waders and waterfowl alike, as it used to be where most of the activity was, as my previous e-mail explained. Perhaps it might be different this weekend after a spell of cold weather, but I'm not convinced, as most of the islands and shoreline around the pools is now vegetated and not as appealing to waders, whilst I can only imagine that perhaps the pools themselves have silted up, so less diving birds??

Maybe best to catch up with Colin himself and ask him heh!?

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

I can see both sides of this discussion, as I had thought the main pools down at Inner Marsh were a bit quiet on the last couple of visits, but equally the reserve as a whole is in rude health. Thanks Jonathan for the tip, I will do that next time I'm over there I think.

John Watson · Status: Offline

Apologies, of course it's Colin Wells !! I've corrected the original

Jonathan Platt · Status: Offline

However, there is a big area away to the right of the Hide, beyond the end of the path, which seems less manicured to me. I have no idea what is over there but I have a feeling it was more visible some time ago, by looking out of the hide from the narrow side, if that makes sense? I have only been visiting for a couple of years so I don't know if you could ever push on to explore that bit of the reserve or not? I have seen swans and geese over there in the past but they are distant and the view is not clear due to lots of vegetation.

That's the Border Pool Simon. The path ends at IMF hide, there's no access beyond. To go any further would disturb all the birds on that side of the reserve. If you want to view Border Pool and the fields beyond the main scrape walk along the footpath/cycle track from Denhall Lane - well worth the short walk.

I think Sean's correct, the old IMF site has been poor for birds for several months. I'm sure this isn't a deliberate ploy however - why would it be so? I'm sure matters are in hand.

There were 22 Bewick's swans way out on Burton Marsh on Sunday (not really visible from Burton Point), highest count I've had this winter.

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

John Watson wrote:

Sean, the site is extremely well managed by Colin Davies & his team.

That's why previous reports listed good numbers of waders & duck species, appropriate for the time of year.

It looks like you visited late morning at low tide, when most birds are out on the marshes.

The recent couple of months of unseasonally mild & very wet weather will have made this site (and other NW sites) "problematic" to manage

I thought Colin Wells was the Site Manager for Burton Mere and the Dee reserves. I was also a bit unclear about which area Sean was referring to in his post. I know there is tangible management work done on the area right in front of the Inner Marsh Farm hide, because last year there were Water Rails showing well in the gaps that had been deliberately made in the reeds around the main pool. However, there is a big area away to the right of the Hide, beyond the end of the path, which seems less manicured to me. I have no idea what is over there but I have a feeling it was more visible some time ago, by looking out of the hide from the narrow side, if that makes sense? I have only been visiting for a couple of years so I don't know if you could ever push on to explore that bit of the reserve or not? I have seen swans and geese over there in the past but they are distant and the view is not clear due to lots of vegetation.

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Three and a half hours on the reserve from mid day, weather dry, cloudy, fine and quite cold. Primarily went for the Long eared Owl which, as it turned out, had decided to 'do one' for the day, so no sightings of it at all despite some searching. Spent half an hour at the watch point overlooking Burton Marsh. Amongst others :-

Little Egret
Great White Egret (1)
Bewick's Swan (3)
Greylag Goose
Wigeon (c.50)
Teal ('000s)
Pintail (1)
Shoveler (c.35)
Marsh Harrier (2)
Kestrel (1)
Water Rail (1)
Golden Plover (c.12)
Dunlin (c.200)
Black tailed Godwit (c.20)
Redshank (c.50)
Green Woodpecker (1)

John Watson · Status: Offline

Sean, the site is extremely well managed by Colin Wells & his team.

That's why previous reports listed good numbers of waders & duck species, appropriate for the time of year.

It looks like you visited late morning at low tide, when most birds are out on the marshes.

The recent couple of months of unseasonally mild & very wet weather will have made this site (and other NW sites) "problematic" to manage (edited to correct site manager as Colin Wells)

-- Edited by John Watson on Wednesday 20th of January 2016 07:54:57 AM

Sean Sweeney · Status: Offline

Popped in late in the day myself after pottering elsewhere all day. Beautiful viewing of the Long-eared Owl here as described in posts below, magic really and the best I've seen it here since it returned.

Other birds I noted late in the afternoon were a Water Rail close in, Marsh Harrier over the reeds, a pair of Peregrine chasing about together and four Ruff on the scrape in front of the hide.

On visiting the reserve on a more regular basis now since moving back to Chester it is notable that there is a void of birds on the pools and vegetated land that were once the old inner marsh farm site. I'm not sure if the land is being deliberately managed to reduce the number of waders and waterfowl, but there were no waders at all and only two mallard on the entire site!? This is in complete contrast to the site prior to the new centre opening up, when waders, geese, dabbling ducks and diving ducks alike were common place?! I would be interested in knowing what has happened here and if there are any plans on managing the site at all (i.e. to create scrapes again?) or just simply leaving it to silt up and re-vegetate!?

steven burke · Status: Offline

after not seeing the long eared owl on my last visit took a chance today & paid of very nicely indeed, just like marc says the long eared owl was giving brilliant views, plenty of pics taken smile

100+ black tailed godwit, 13 redshank, 2 dunlin, 1 snipe, lots of teal around, wigeon, shoveler, 2 gadwall, 4 tufted duck, 1 little grebe, hundreds of lapwings with several golden plover amongst them.

1 great spotted woodpecker, 1 nuthatch, 2 treecreeper, 1 sparrowhawk, 11 linnet, 19 siskin giving very close views, water rail heard.

burton marsh I counted 97 swans... 7 bewick swan, 48 whooper swan, 41 mute swan, 1 black swan. 2 hen harrier ringtail, 1 great white egret.

M Gannon · Status: Offline

By counting the times I went last year, I have gone to Burton mere for the roosting Long eared owl 3 times in the past, but on none of those occasions did it show well. Last time it was just a view of it flying from one tree to another, and the other two it was well hidden and could just about be seen. Today though, the bird was giving brilliant views, more or less right out in the open, in a tree near the bridge on the path to the Inner marsh farm hide. Because it was finally showing well, I was finally able to get the views and pictures I've always wanted from this species. smile

Also around:

A large flock of swans on Burton marsh from the viewpoint that contained 3 Bewick's, 20 Whooper, 40 Mute and 1 Black swan
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Great white egret on Burton marsh
30 Siskin
2 Ruff
60 Golden plover
2 Dunlin
2 Stonechat

Doc Brewster · Status: Offline

With a sunyy afternoon at last coinciding with a day off I popped down & got some nice pics of the Long-eared Owl. It was tucked low & deeper in the bush than I had hoped with plenty of bits of vegetation between me & it, but with a bit of manoeuvring (me not the owl!!) I managed a passable few shots! As the first there since everyone else had left I managed to relocate it pretty quickly & show at least a dozen folk, who arrived later, the owl in the scope smile

A Great White Egret was showing from the visitor centre too but with viewing directly into the sun the views were not the best in the world. Still, not a bad hours nip out in the courtesy car whilst mine is being mended wink

Chris Harper · Status: Offline

Highlights of trip with High Peak rspb group from 1-3

Excellent views of the Long Eared Owl including it preening at one poin( track to Inner Marsh Farm hide).

From Burton Point: Great White Egret, 2 Short Eared Owl, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon , Merlin, 2 Black Swan(Whooper and Bewicks seen earlier in day by a member doing Webs count).

From main hide were usual waders with Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing. Put up regularly by 2 Peregrine Falcon over at same time.

Elsewhere on reserve many Fieldfare and Redwing, Great Spotted Woodpecker,14 Little Egret in same field and a Little Grebe.

steven burke · Status: Offline

had a visit here from around 2.30pm

no sign of the long eared owl in its usual tree & could not find it elsewhere.

1 marsh harrier, 9 little egret, 5 snipe, 1 little grebe, 2 nuthatch, 1 treecreeper.

plenty of lapwing around, several black tailed godwit & few redshank

teal were spread out in different areas, the ones I did look through did not have the green-winged teal with them.

3 water rails, one in flight near the screen, one swimming across the water at the screen, another feeding at inner marsh hide.

distant whooper swans, light was poor to find a bewicks.

Mark Burgess · Status: Offline

A very wet couple of hours spent at the reserve, Highlights

Long-eared Owl, In a similar spot to last year
Marsh Harrier
Linnet flock c60
Stonechat
Good numbers of Black tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe, Wigeon and Teal

M Gannon · Status: Offline

1 green winged teal (I was near the inner marsh hide when another birder appeared and asked me whether I had seen the green winged teal that had just showed up at the reception hide. Encouraged by the fact that there was practically nothing at the IMF hide I hurried back to reception to see it. The bird had gone missing before I arrived and a sparrowhawk passing by meant that I couldn't just scan the area it had last been seen as all the ducks flew up. However, someone refound the bird in a different part of the scrape. I managed to see the bird well through the scope for ten minutes. A lifer for me.
1 long eared owl (the bird had apparently disappeared further into the trees before I arrived, and no one was able to see it. However, to my surprise, the bird suddenly flew out of the tree and moved into a different tree, once again hiding where it couldn't be seen

2 marsh harrier
1 water rail
1 green sandpiper
4 ruff
3 snipe
1 kestrel
200 black tailed godwit

steven burke · Status: Offline

long eared owl showed well in the usual spot.
water rail from the screen
2 kingfisher
3 little egret, one of them feeding in the brook below the owl.
several teal, wigeon & shoveler
2 Egyptian geese flew in as I arrived.
cettis warbler heard.

Hazel Rothwell · Status: Offline

Monday 7th Dec.2015 9am - 2.30pm bright day, little wind till mid afternoon

main highlight being the Long-eared owl showing reasonably well on way to IMF hide (same area as last season - several metres after the wooden bridge, railway side)

Bridge Pool screen: single Curlew
Marsh Covert Hide area: Kestrel (m) 2 x Snipe, Buzzard, GSWoodpecker, 1 x Cetti's Warbler (heard), Little Egret in flight, Marsh Harrier quartering and later perched on metal farm gate far field (seen from Reception area)
Crop field: Flock of 100+ Linnet over crop field, Rooks, 5 Bullfinch, lesser Redpoll, usual Dunnock, Robins, Blackbirds
Hill fort area: 5 Pied Wagtails, 2 Mistle Thrush, B.H.Gulls, Starling flock, Rook x 2
Burton Mere: 2 Kingfishers , 3 Cormorant, Mallards, Coot, Moorhen
Reception area: 4 Black Swans
Bunker Hide: pair of Stonechat in reed mace, another sighting of the Marsh Harrier (distant) Water Rail on far bank
Barn feeders: mainly Greenfinch, Goldfinch but no sign of the Brambling

Andy Voisey · Status: Offline

Quick visit friday after trip to west kirby marine lake to see the red-throated diver.
Highlights were :-
Long eared Owl in bushes about 100 m from Inner Marsh Farm Hide.
2 x Kingfisher
Water rail.

Called in to Woolston Eyes on way home to see brambling at Morgan Hide.

All in all a good day out adding 4 birds to the year list

-- Edited by Andy Voisey on Saturday 5th of December 2015 09:33:14 AM

John Williams · Status: Offline

10.30-14.00

1f Marsh Harrier, 1m Sparrowhawk, 1m Kestrel, 1 Barn Owl.

On the specially seeded field at Inner Marsh Farm were a flock of 100+ Linnets.

Hazel Rothwell · Status: Offline

9.00am - 12.30pm

Main highlights today ....

Inner Marsh Farm: 1 x Merlin, 1 x Curlew Sandpiper, 1 x Common Buzzard, mix of Lapwing, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, etc.

Hill Fort area: 15 + Pied Wagtails on the pasture, 1 x Jay, flock of Linnets (another reliable birder told me he saw 3 x Black Swans towards the Estuary)

Bridge Pool area: 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 male Kestrel, Single Wigeon mixed with Shelducks, Shovelers and Teal.

The sad news was hearing that a Short-eared Owl that frequented the screen near bridge pool area was found dead yesterday, rspb staff thought probably due to starvation. I had photographed this Owl three days ago (on Monday 16th Nov) at the same spot it was found dead and also where it tended to roost. Link to photos I took on Monday for anyone interested: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128754406@N03/

Burton Mere: 1 Little Egret on the lilypads, 2 x Cormorant in trees behind the Mere, flock of Long Tailed Tits, a male Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Reception hide: 1 x Peregrine, 1 x Merlin, 1 Water Rail

-- Edited by Hazel Rothwell on Thursday 19th of November 2015 08:29:34 PM

Lawrence Hindley · Status: Offline

1.00-3.30pm today

2 Short Eared Owls (superb views at very close quarters)
1 Brambling
1 Marsh Harrier (f)
50+ Linnet
3 Redshank
3 Ruff

Vicky Harper · Status: Offline

9.15-11.15 with High Peak RSPB

3+ Marsh Harrier
Curlew Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Great White Egret
7 Knot
5 Little Egret
Great Spotted Woodpecker
20+ Black-tailed Godwit
7 Snipe
7 Golden Plover
2 Raven
Peregrine
30 Linnet
6 Whooper Swan
Cettis Warbler calling.

-- Edited by Vicky Sumner on Sunday 8th of November 2015 07:54:17 PM

Phil Hampson · Status: Offline

1 Jack Snipe again from the reedbed screen, plus 2 common Snipe. Was very difficult indeed though, scope needed.

1 male Brambling feeding below the feeders nearest the VC.

Phil

Simon Gough · Status: Offline

Don't forget Paul, 2 more for that year-list too! Well done!

Paul Richardson · Status: Offline

A short drop-in to this reserve in relatively dense fog this morning gave me TWO very satisfying lifetime ticks - the Jack Snipe at the reedbed screen (thanks to the helpful scope owners!) and a Curlew Sandpiper from the visitor centre. There was a very active Marsh Harrier hunting in the mist - difficult conditions for it and for us birders!

Good call though! smile

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

Originally posted today by Dave Ousey:

I had been keeping my eyes on the birds that have been occurring at Burton Mere Reserve, Wirral throughout the week. It`s only a good hour from Rochdale and with having no football to go to (Dale@ Southend) decided that a trip was needed. Just a solo effort was made and I arrived at 11am on a very nice autumn day. After speaking to the very helpful staff at the reserve a walk down to a screened off area was made and a nice Jack Snipe was eventually located. It put its head up and had a "bob" around for a short while, I did not see the other Jack Snipe or Goshawk that had been seen earlier. Back at the reserve headquarters a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper had come out of hiding and showed fairly well mixed in with Black tailed Godwits and some Knot. Its 2 years since I have seen a Curlew Sandpiper ,so, I spent a good 20 minutes admiring it. There were around 5000 Teal on the reserve also Pintail, Shoveler and Mallard. A flock of 300+ Pink Footed Geese were also seen and reminded me of the approach of winter! Three Black Swan`s then flew from the estuary area and landed on the reserve, really nice birds to watch in flight. The reserve has transformed access to all area`s including Inner Marsh Farm and is well worth a visit. I was told of a good vantage point to look out over the Dee Estuary for birds of prey etc. It is called Hillfort and is reached over the railway bridge that we used to pass on the way down to the hide at Inner Marsh Farm. The view over the estuary was quite good and further improved as the sun came out. Three ringtail Hen Harrier`s were seen first, all having a right go at a Marsh Harrier, good for size comparison. About 3 Short Eared Owl`s were also out hunting the still fairly well flooded marsh area after two recent high tides, always nice to watch these graceful birds. A Great White Egret along with 2 Little Egret`s, 4 Whooper and 3 Bewick`s Swan`s were also on the marsh. A Green Sandpiper was first heard then seen and along with Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel made up a good hour at a new vantage point. I could have stayed a little longer it was so nice, but like we say all good things have to end. Got home by 4pm.

Dave O.

Mark Burgess · Status: Offline

Fleeting visit Sat 24th, Highlights,

Merlin
Peregrine
Curlew Sandpiper 1 juvinile
Ruff 5
Golden Plover 4
Snipe 8

M Gannon · Status: Offline

No sign of the spotted crake at burton mere today despite spending an hour and a half at the reedbed screen. It was apparently very elusive today, but still quite disappointing not to see it cry

. Didn't see the pectoral sandpiper either, though that wasn't as disappointed since I saw it a couple of weeks ago

Best sighting was of a bird related to the crake, a water rail. While I was watching the reedbed screen for the crake, the water rail walked only yards in front of the hide, in plain view. An absolutely fantastic view of the species that (almost) consoles me after missing the crake smile

Full roundup:

1 water rail
2 Cetti's warbler (also at reedbed screen while looking for the crake, gave some pretty decent views and sung almost constantly)
1 marsh harrier
2 sparrow hawk
2 little stint
35 golden Plover
3 ruff
1 kestrel
2 treecreeper
3 reed bunting
1 whooper swan (flew along back of reedbed
1500 pink footed geese
3 lesser redpoll

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Another visit today as the Pectoral Sandpiper was still in residence. It was proving elusive but we finally came up trumps on our second visit of the day to the Reception Hide. The bird showed a bit of activity for ten or fifteen minutes close to the vegetation at the far right hand side. Amongst others :-

Pectoral Sandpiper (1), Ruff (1), Little Stint (2), Golden Plover, Black tailed Godwit (c.50), Snipe, Lapwing, Water Rail (1), Cetti's Warbler (1-2), Teal, Pintail, Pink footed Goose (c.500), Greylag Goose, Marsh Harrier (2).

No luck with the Spotted Crake unfortunately after a couple of separate viewings by the screen. It had been seen early morning but that appeared to be it.

-- Edited by Mark Jarrett on Friday 16th of October 2015 08:29:54 AM

John Watson · Status: Offline

Yesterday (Sat), no sign of Spotted Crake at screen looking left, last seen ~2pm. Someone pointed out that it favours having a little wander early afternoon most days, so that might be the best chance.

However, a brief Kingfisher there was nice, and another heard from the ramp near the pools; also Water Rail heard there.

Little Stint from reception, asleep (reported as the Pectoral Sand, which is mobile & elusive)

One observer had a Yellow-Browed Warbler above the car park at 11am, not seen since but there's a report of it being heard from the screen later, with the large flock of Goldcrests & various Tits - couldn't find it myself despite a hard search

-- Edited by John Watson on Sunday 11th of October 2015 10:17:47 AM

Mark Burgess · Status: Offline

9.30-12.00 Highlights

Pectoral Sandpiper
Little Stint 5
Golden Plover 32
Ruff 4
Black Tailed Godwit c80
Common Snipe c25
Cettis Warbler, heard only
Marsh Harrier

Keith Williams · Status: Offline

7th - Spotted Crake showing very well at reed bed screen, rubbish light for a photo. 2 x little Stint at IMF and Great White Egret in the fields in front of the main hide.