A look around Birkenhead docks this morning produced the hoped for 1st winter drake Scaup that has been present the past few days. The bird was mingling with a sizable flock of Great crested grebes in the area referred to as the east float, close to the clock tower. Best viewing point was Tower road. There was no sign of the Great northern diver that was spotted later on in the afternoon while I was there, but that was fine because I'd already been to West Kirby marine lake and saw the Diver that has been there for a while. The bird was hanging around the South end of the lake near the rocks were the waders roost. I saw the bird feed twice, and in the pictures I took it appears to be eating crabs, which other birders have noted previously. There were no waders on the wader roost rocks, but there were a few Turnstones and redshanks near the Jetty's at the north end, and a very showy Red breasted merganser was also seen.
Greenfinch looking spectacular in the Morning light - a much underestimated beauty!
Well said, Paul. Some of our most common birds are the most beautiful. They are passed over merely because they are commonplace. Otherwise who would get excited at seeing a Twite?
Managed to dip on both Long Eared Owl AND Water Pipit - but really enjoyed the quiet of a sunny early morning from Neston Old Quay to the sewage works stream.
Of note were
Stonechat Merlin Short Eared Owl Marsh Harrier Linnet in numbers Plentiful Curlew Reed Bunting Greenfinch looking spectacular in the Morning light - a much underestimated beauty!
Spent an hour or so around Neston Old Quay after a morning at Burton Marsh / IMF dipping the Long Eared Owl. Of note; Water Pipit (1) - good views by the bridge over the stream that runs down from Neston sewage works Twite (1) - in same area as above - flew over calling and landed in tree giving good views. Short eared owl (1) Marsh Harrier (1)
Had a cracking day up and down the Wirral with my friend Paul Morris yesterday, starting at the crack of dawn at West Kirby and ending it at Burton before dusk. I wasn't on a bird race, we were simply pottering about ad-hoc and looking out for birds on the way as I visited some old haunts - but we ended the day with 80 species, several of which were notable, so a good day in the field. Pretty cold though and when I kitted up for the stroll over to Hilbre and realised my hat, snood and gloves were on the table at home it was chilly start, with some frozen fingers whilst sea watching for an hour on Hilbre!?
The following were notable sightings throughout the day:
West Kirby - Marina (08:30)
Great Northern Diver - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 6
GC Grebe 8
Hilbre Island (09:30)
Scaup - 1 fem
Common Scoter - 30-40 distant
Purple Sandpiper - only 3
Sanderling - 1
Lots of Oystercatcher (1,000 +), some Dunlin (10+), Turnstone (50+), Redshank (100+) Grey Plover (5+), Bar-tailed godwit (50+), Curlew (200+), GC Grebe (20+), Little Egret (2), Pintail 1, Wigeon 8. What was notable was a complete lack of Brent Geese anywhere on three islands or Tansky rocks, perhaps taking a day trip to North Wales!? Either way it was a first for me not to encounter any Pale Bellies here!?
Thurstatson (11:30)
Pintail - 100+
Knot 5,000+
Dunlin 1,000+
Also plenty of Shelduck (50+), Redshank (200+), Curlew (200+), Lapwing (1,000+), Little Egret (2) and other waders/wildfowl.
Heswall (12:00)
Chiffchaff - 2
No sign of any Pallas's Leaf Warbler or even a Goldcrest, but was extremely cold down there!?!?
Gayton Sands (12:30)
Merlin - 1 (distant female/1st winter male)
Buzzard - 2
Little Egret - 8
Marsh Harrier - 2 (both female types)
Pink-footed Goose 500+
Parkgate 13:00
Marsh Harrier - 1 (both female types)
Hen Harrier - 2 (both ringtails)
Little Egret - 4
Raven - 1
Denhall Lane (or more towards the cyclists cafe - that is closed until the end of the month unfortunately) 13:30
Short-eared Owl - 2 (very close flying and perched)
Great White Egret - 1 (brief and poor view)
Marsh Harrier - 1 (female type)
Burton Mere Wetlands 14:00
Peregrine - 2 (1 male & 1 female)
Marsh Harrier - 1 (female type - perhaps we witnessed one individual multiple times flying from Gayton Sands to Burton, where it went in to roost??)
Long-eared Owl - 1
Kingfisher - 1
Water Rail - 1
Golden Plover 100+ (with Lapwing flocks)
Lapwing (distant flocks of several thousand)
Pink-footed Goose - 40+
Some distant swans - mostly a mixture of Whooper & Mute.
-- Edited by Sean Sweeney on Monday 18th of January 2016 01:11:42 PM
Neston Old Baths (wellies or properly waterproof boots needed - unlike mine). Cold enough to freeze a Chough's chuff
1 probably 2 Water Pipits, initially spooked by a male Merlin, eventually returned with 1 showing briefly on a bush. Very elusive; flight call very like Rock Pipit, mostly white underside, large super, decent double wing bars helped with identification - no chance of seeing leg colour.
Also, 2 ringtail Hen Harriers close up, 1 Great White Egret briefly, 2 Marsh Harriers (fem ad, fem near-ad ?) interacting nicely nearby, very distant Peregrine along tideline briefly
Sadly, no Short-Eared Owls on rising tide, though other birders had seen them earlier
parkgate... 3 possibly 4 marsh harrier, 2 ringtail hen harrier, 1 great white egret, 2 kestrel,
west Kirby marine lake... 1 great northern diver, 2 red breasted merganser, 1 great crested grebe, 30+ redshank, 1 oystercatcher.
new brighton... got here as the high tide was in hoping for lots of waders on the pontoons & nothing it was probably due to the boat that was water testing. best I could do was 60+ sanderling, 2 turnstone, 6 oystercatcher around perch rock & 2 teal on the sea.
Back over to the Wirral today, primarily to see the Pallas's Warbler which, after a wait of around one hour, showed extremely briefly at 1pm. I stayed for another 45 minutes to try and get better views but no luck. Also there Goldcrest (c.20) and Chiffchaff (c.6). I had started the day at West Kirby Marine Lake and after getting a view of the Pallas's Warbler continued down to Burton Marsh. Heavy rain at 3.30pm brought an end to the proceedings! Amongst others :-
West Kirby Marine Lake
Great northern Diver (1) Great crested Grebe (1) Goldeneye (1) Red breasted Merganser (15) Oystercatcher Grey Plover (2) Dunlin (1000) Turnstone (c.20)
Burton Marsh
Little Egret (c.20) Great white Egret (1) Mute Swan (48) Black Swan (2) Pink footed Goose (c.25) Marsh Harrier (1f Hen Harrier (1-2 r/t) Buzzard (1) Kestrel (1) Peregrine (1 juv) Short eared Owl (3)
A very enjoyable day and, hopefully, should have got some decent photos of the Great northern Diver which, at times, was quite confiding.
With High Peak RSPB group from Thurstaston to Heswall 9.15-12.15.
One member a briefest glimpse of Pallas's Warbler at 11.30 from Target Road in Heswall. With Chiffchaff and Goldcrests.
Walk along Wirral Way and Dee shoreline produced 10 Little Egret, 100's of Pink Footed Geese, Lapwing and Oystercatcher, 2 Red Breasted Merganser, many Shellduck and Pintail, single Common Snipe, 7 Skylark, 80 Curlew, Treecreeper, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch and Peregrine Falcon
Another great day spent on the Wirral, in less than great weather conditions. Highlights
Burton Marsh 8.15 - 11.30am
Great White Egret Little Egret 9 Pink footed Goose 33 grazing on the marsh and c300 over s Short eared Owl Peregrine 3, 2 hurting together Raven over Stonechat 2 4 species of Swan in a huge herd 63 birds in total, Whooper 21, Bewick 3, Black 2 and Mute 37
Heswall Sewarage works 12.00 - 13.00pm Pallas's Warbler, Reasonably good views of the bird flitting about the shrubs and trees to the left of the treatment tank after a 55 minute no show Goldcrest 12 Chiffchaff 4
West Kirby Marine Lake and Shore 13.15- 14.15pm Red breasted Merganser 3, 1m , 2f Knot c2000 Dunlin c3000 Oystercatcher c1000 Redshank c300 Grey Plover c50 Turnstone 1
I saw the pallas's warbler several times between 2:30-3:00 today, but I was the only one who saw it this point. I saw it 3 times in this period in the hedges, but the combination of how active it was and the number of other birds in the area meant that my attempts to get other borders on it were unsuccessful. Following these sightings, there was a quiet period where only chiffchaffs, goldcrests and long tailed tits showed, when finally, the bird appeared again, and this time it was only about 5 metres away, allowing all the birders to get good views, though the sheer dull weather made photography hard. The bird stayed very close to us for about a minute before a goldcrest moved it on.
New Brighton at high tide this morning. c200 Redshank, 20 Ruddy Turnstone, 9 Purple Sandpipers and a handful of Dunlin on the pontoons. Harassed by a juvenile Peregrine, then witnessed behaviour I've never seen before. A large proportion of the waders, particularly Redshank, jumped into the water and swam under the pontoons to avoid the Peregrine. Strangely the Peregrine didn't have a try at any of the remaining waders on the pontoon but shot off chasing Feral Pigeons (good sense that Peregrine). New behaviour for me this and also my fellow birder Martyn Stanyer. Wish I'd had a video camera. Showery and dark here. Would be interested if anyone else has seen this.
Then onto West Kirby where the Great Northern Diver was at the Morrison's end of the lake. Very dark and gloomy at this stage.
Next was Burton Mere Wetlands and the walk for the Long-eared Owl, which showed well.
Dipped on the Pallas's Warbler today. The bird had been seen this morning at 11.15 but, unfortunately, not since. We waited for around two hours from 1.45pm. 'Twas not to be. The timings meant we were then unable to get to Kirby Marine Lake to get some decent shots of the Great Northern Diver.
By 4.00pm we still hadn't had our dinner, so decided to head for Parkgate Old Baths car park and eat it there. We had some consolation in seeing 3 Marsh Harrier and a lovely, in flight Ring tailed Hen Harrier in the fading light.
I got there at first light today and had over an hours wait to get good views of the Pallas's Warbler(a lifer), did not see Firecrest though. What time where you there James?. Cheers Ian
Having a bad back & not wanting to lug my gear round Newchucrh I reckined a trip up The Wirral was in order, still staying local
I started at New Brighton where, as the tide was out, no waders were on the pontoons on the lake so back to how we used to 'do it' before it became too easy! I walked out by the Lighthouse groyne and picked out a lone Purple Sandpiper amongst the Turnstones. Then I headed down to Meols prom and soon picked out most of the target waders, with Grey Plover, Sanderling, Knot, Dunlin, Redshank and Curlew being seen.
My next call was the marine lake at West Kirby. Despite other birders not having seen the diver & no reports on the pager I managed to find it close in on the far side from the road. I then walked round & got pictures at close quarters of this confiding bird. Ten Pale-bellied Brent Geese fed on the beach right by the lake, I must admit I am more used to them being out near Hilbre Island so it was nice seeing them close in.
I called next at Heswall where within a few minutes of arriving I was watching the Pallas's Warbler in bushes near the sewage works gates. The bird showed superbly well in the open for long periods, even hovering in the sunshine, back to us, showing off its gorgeous lemon rump as it did so. lots of Goldcrests and a few Chiffchaffs here too. Next call at Burton Mere Wetlands was cut short by my back spasming & I couldn't walk round so instead I took the car to Burton Marsh and picked up Great White Egret, Merlin, Little Egret and Short-eared Owl for the day.
Painkillers now being popped like smarties (other chocolate confectionaries are available ) so that I can have a pain-free day out next time
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 6th of January 2016 10:26:25 AM
Pallas's Warbler showed fairly well in small trees around the filtration beds of the sewage works off Target Road, Heswall this morning. Also five (collybita) Chiffchaff.
Great Northern Diver still on West Kirby marine lake.
Out on the Dee Marshes, highlights included:
Three ringtail Hen Harrier Three Merlin Single Peregrine Single (second calendar year) Marsh Harrier from the Old Baths Four Great White Egret Single Kestrel and Sparrowhawk Four Short-eared Owl from Denhall Lane Plenty of Rock Pipits Herd of Whooper Swans off Denhall Lane
just like chris I also had good views on a few occasions even a scope view of the pallas's warbler after 11am, at one point it was in the tree behind me.
plenty of goldcrest & chiffchaff, I had 4 chiffchaff in one binocular view at one point. several pied wagtails on the wires in the sewage works. 5 little egret in the field & 1 bullfinch, 2 chaffinch.
had a quick look on the marsh near the car park, several pink-footed geese & 1 peregrine falcon perched up on a post.
Good if brief views of Pallas's Warbler between 10.10 and 10.20 am this morning. No show from then until i left at 11.15. From Heswall head towards sewage works on Target Road.
Also in area were 10 Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, 10 Redwing, 3 Little Egret and 30 Pied Wagtail.
-- Edited by Chris Harper on Sunday 3rd of January 2016 12:28:33 PM
Spent most of the day on the Wirral at a number of different sites, Highlights were.
Burton Marsh - Station rd/Denhall Ln Herd of Swans 53 roughly 30 mute 20 Whooper, To distant to pick out Bewicks apparently there are 2 on the marsh Stonechat 2 Linnet flock c30
Heswall Shore Rock Pipit 2 Pink footed Goose 100s Huge numbers of waders including Dunlin, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Golden Plover And two very large flocks too far out to determine presisly what species but suspect Dunlin and Knot both several thousand strong.
West Kirby Marine Lake Great Northern Diver Red breasted Merganser 3 Shag
Tues 29th Had a wander round the Wirral in fine weather to try and get a last couple of birds on the year list :-
New Brighton on incoming tide one sanderling mixed in with the oyster catchers
Leashowe high tide roost 100+ knot with about 25 lapwing and 2 redshank.
New Brighton Marine Lake at high tide Roosting on the pontoon 30+ redshank, 40+ turnstone, 2 sanderling and at least 3 purple sandpipers. Someone spooked the birds just after I arrived and they didn't return, so there could have been more sandpipers in amongst the turnstones.
Parkgate One very accommodating ring-tailed hen harrier allowing me to photograph it. Burton Mere RSPB popped in to try and get some better photos of the LE owl, but it wasn't in its usual bush. I did notice footprints in the stream in front of its bush, so it looks as if the bird had been disturbed by birders trying to get close to photograph it. Pretty poor show if that was the case.
Added sanderling and purple sandpiper to give a year total of 182, so not a completely wasted day.
Spent a couple of hours at West Kirby marine lake and Parkgate late morning/early afternoon today.
Normally West Kirby marine lake is an unproductive site for me and I see very little, but not today. Almost instantly after parking the car, I spotted the juvenile Great northern diver showing really close to the east shore of the lake, for ten minutes, it was very inactive; while it dived, it always came up in exactly the same spot, making it easy to get pictures of the bird. It became harder as the morning progressed, swimming down to the South end and then going all the way back up to the north end near the lifeguard station. However, it still stayed close to the shore and gave great views. A UK lifer for me, and only the second time I have seen any diver species in the UK, after some Red throated divers on Skye last July.
Also 4 Red breasted merganser with one female really close to shore, 3 Great crested grebe, 4 Comorant and a large flock of about 400 Dunlin on the rocks with a few dozen Turnstones and Redshank mixed in.
Parkgate was really quiet with only some gulls, Lapwings and Little egrets of interest for most of the visit, but the trip was made worthwhile right at the end when a fantastic Ringtail Hen harrier floated right past the Boathouse inn, fairly close in
great northern diver showing really well despite the weather. no sign of the red throated diver 12 red breasted merganser 4 great crested grebe redshank, dunlin & turnstone around the lake. also 7 brent geese on the sea as the tide came in.
new brighton.
6 purple sandpiper 100+ turnstone 70+ redshank 22 dunlin all on the pontoon.
Last minute decision to drive round the Wirral, late morning until dim light.
Manor House Farm on Puddington Lane near Burton Mere. In field at the entrance... - Little Egret, no less than 36 in the one field with more coming in in 1's and 2's - Common Buzzard, 2 in same field and a very pale one out on its own
Denhall Lane area... - Little Egret 3 - Grey Heron 1 - Great Black-backed Gull 1 - Black-headed Gulls, lots around - Lapwing, literally in the high 100's, amazing when they took to the air - Redshank, lots around - Curlew, 1 feeding, 3 over - Eurasian Wigeon... - Eurasian Teal...lots of both around, constant whistling from both species heard all around - Shelduck - Raven, a few picked out with the usual Carrion Crows - Fieldfare, a few over, no Redwings
Parkgate... - pretty much the same species as seen at Denhall Lane. - except for Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 adult
West Kirby Marine Lake...(lake only) - no sign of the Red-throated Diver probably due to all the sailing boats out on the lake. - Great Crested Grebe 3 - Cormorant 1 - Golden Plover, flock of around 40 over - Redshank, flock of around 20 flying around - Black-headed and Herring Gulls Nice to bump into Karl again.
Thurstaston...(Station Road area) - Common Buzzard 1 - Pink-footed Geese, hard to tell numbers, seemed to be alot feeding far out on marsh
Gayton...(Cottage Lane area) - more Pink-footed Geese out on the marsh - Little Egret, few about - Fieldfare, few over - Pied Wagtail 2 - Woodpigeon, lots feeding out on the marsh - Great Spotted Woodpecker, heard only in garden trees along Wirral Way path
Parkgate...(return trip) - Marsh Harrier 1, flying low briefly and fairly distant - Peregrine 1, again only briefly and distant
Denhall Lane...(return trip) - Stonechat 1, seen briefly in long grass at side of where I was parked, it flew up a couple of times then went back down. - Kestrel 1 on lamp-post near top of Neston Rd.
I had hoped the NW winds would keep up until today, but not to be. Still I decided to go anyway. Meols / Dove point produced the expected waders mainly Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatchers with a couple of Sanderling. Plenty Gulls loafing on the beach with all the common species. Some too far out to be worth checking for rarer species. A few Common Scoter on the sea and flying around along with at least one Great Crested Grebe and one Red-throated Diver. I carried on to Inner Marsh Farm, but saw nothing of note. Always a disappointment this reserve.
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Sunday 22nd of November 2015 10:14:13 PM
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No one on their death bed ever said they wished they'd spent more time at work. http://bitsnbirds.blogspot.co.uk
Six Leach's Petrel seen today at Leasowe. The winds die down a bit over the weekend but first thing Monday morning are around 45 mph and westerlies. Lessening to around 25 mph by midday. Hopefully still be good for a few birds being blown in.
A friend of mine (elliot Montieth) has set up a Birkenhead docks blog. Here's the link if any one wants to have a look about what's been seen down there recently: http://birdinghead.blogspot.co.uk/ Great blog with great photography. Cheers joel
Burton Marsh, Denhall Lane, first light till 9.00am (Sat 24th) Highlights
Pink footed Geese 1000+ Marsh Harrier 2, 1 quartering the marsh and 1 perched up Peregrine Merlin Kestrel 3 Short eared owl Little Egret 34 over in two flocks presumably leaving the roost Stonechat 2
A pleasant walk from Station Road to Denhall Quay along Burton Marsh this afternoon produced of interest:- Merlin, Kestrel, Hen Harrier (ringtail), four separate Marsh Harrier sightings (all female/juvenile) and a group of 5 Buzzards. Had earlier stopped briefly at Burton Mere Wetlands where a Curlew Sandpiper was showing well in front of the reception building.
Went to Burton Marsh after work last night. No sign of the reported Spoonbill, but 2 Great White Egrets present along with 4 Little Egrets. Green Woodpecker also heard but not seen
After visiting Burton Mere Wetlands then spent a productive couple of hours or so down on the estuary split between Station Road/Denhall Lane and later Parkgate in the Old Baths car park. Amongst others :- Marsh Harrier (1f, 1f/juv) Buzzard (1) Kestrel (1) Merlin (1) Barn Owl (1) Short eared Owl (2) Great white Egret (1) Little Egret (c.30) Pink footed Goose (c.750)
Very disappointing "high tide" on the Dee yesterday, didn't seem to come up much at all. I haven't tried a high tide watch here for years - does it need a strong wing up the estuary to make it flood the marsh these days? Hardly a raptor in sight, one Peregrine, one Marsh Harrier, both at ridiculous range, a few Kestrels and Buzzards. Possible Merlin, possible Sparrowhawk, both miles away in the heat haze.
Saw more raptors on the M56 driving there
Highlight was a Kingfisher
-- Edited by Richard Would on Thursday 1st of October 2015 08:40:39 AM
-- Edited by Richard Would on Thursday 1st of October 2015 08:41:38 AM
-- Edited by Richard Would on Thursday 1st of October 2015 08:43:50 AM
-- Edited by Richard Would on Thursday 1st of October 2015 08:44:15 AM
Steve Burke and I watched the marsh from Denhall Quay over the high tide. It was a theory of mine that the Short-eared Owls being seen lately might go up with the tide. This was a bad theory! We did see a nice juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting, and a couple of Great White Egret. Steve noticed 2 Raven that escaped me and also 2 Whinchat down at Station Road when he went to get some lunch at the Café! Also of note, 4 Ringed Plovers on Decca Pool, the first time I've seen them down there. It was generally a bit flat; people were saying the tidal surge was suppressed a bit by the wind. But on the plus side it was a lovely day and nice to be there in a T-shirt rather than all the winter gear.
Spent 20 minutes scanning burton marsh from burton point this evening. Very little out on the marsh; most of the interest was provided by the small birds around burton point.
2 great white egrets mingling in with 11 grey herons 1 merlin 2 snipe 4 golden plover 120 linnet 11 meadow pipit 2 stonechat 1 wheatear- very friendly, allowed me to get right up close to it. 2 buzzard
Neston - Station Road / Denhall Lane / Deca Pools and Quayside near the Harp Inn, and back, in the company of Steve Burke.
A very successful visit and difficult to put numbers to but myself and Steve weighed up the number of times some Bird species were seen, whereabouts on the marsh they were seen, and also the time span between the sightings so we think we've got it right!
Plenty of usuals including... - Black-headed Gulls - Common Gull ...1 - Lesser Black-backed Gulls ...plenty of adults around - Great Black-backed Gulls ...no adults but plenty of monstrous juveniles, I mean HUGE! - Common Teal ...sizeable numbers - Northern Shoveler ...1 female - Shelduck ...a few adults far out flying over the marsh - Tufted Duck ...surprised to see a couple of females on one of the pools - Cormorant ...1 only, flying low distantly towards the windmills - Great White Egret ...3 together at once seen from Denhall Lane - Little Egret ...well over 100 including groups of 33, 14, 11, and 10, mainly flying over - Grey Heron ...at least 10 - Short-eared Owl ...minimum 5, 2 in the air together then singles all over the marsh - Hen Harrier ...1 Ringtail, distant views - Marsh Harrier ...absolute minimum of 3, quite possibly 4 - Merlin ...minimum 4, 2 females on posts same time, 1 male, and a female bombing it chasing Hirundines nowhere near others - Peregrine ...1 female hunting distantly over far marsh - Kestrel ...3 or 4, good views of 1 on post tearing apart a small mammal - Common Buzzard ...1 only, sat on low dead tree, still there after nearly 6 hours - Lapwing ...lots around - Curlew ...good numbers incl 1 with virtually no bill flew over us twice, looked like a huge Golden Plover - Common Snipe ...3 over, 1 sat at edge of reeds at Deca Pools - Stock Dove ...1 feeding at Deca Pools edge - Common Swift ...1, surprised everybody when this one appeared - House Martin ...plenty around - Swallow ...lots of them all over the marsh - Meadow Pipit ...plenty around - Skylark ...plenty around too - Pied Wagtail ...2 over - Siskin ...2 over - Reed Bunting ...2 males, 1 on top of reeds another over calling - Starling ...various large groups around, a few 100 in one group - plenty of Corvids around including some mobbing the Short-eared Owls and the Marsh Harriers
Other things of note... -Massive flock of small Waders in distance near Hilbre -1 Wheatear and 1 Sparrowhawk reported by other birders. -Water Rail heard on numerous occasions. -More Common Snipe heard on way back to the car. -A possible 4th Great White Egret dropped into the marsh near the Harp Inn, very large -Merlin and Short-eared Owl's were seen on many occasions but we've compacted the numbers as mentioned -The bill-less Curlew, or at least a stump remaining, what a strange sight that was and we were both wondering about how it's managed to survive so it must surface feed presumably. -Plenty of small Bats around too, presumably Pipistrelle-types
A fantastic few hours here with some brilliant sightings.
a nice leisurely stroll from neston sewage works, quayside, denhall lane & back between 9-6pm. 59 species seen.
1 hen harrier, ringtail 1 marsh harrier 1 peregrine falcon 3 short eared owls 1 merlin on one occasion I had a peregrine sat on a branch, hen harrier had a little go at the peregrine & a merlin had a little go at the hen harrier all in one scope view. then a bit later a short eared owl jumped up off the ground & had a go at a marsh harrier, nice. 2 kestrel 1 sparrowhawk 9+ buzzard 3 great white egret 8+ little egret 10+ grey heron 2 wheatear 1 kingfisher 4 raven 2 snipe 2 great spotted woodpecker 5 blackcap 7+ chiffchaff 2 willow warbler lots of swallows around mostly around the sewage works also few house martin & sand martin. plus the usuals around
I also like mark did not get to see the osprey.
-- Edited by steven burke on Saturday 19th of September 2015 10:21:43 PM
Great White Egret 2 inflight and 1 feeding Little Egret many Hen Harrier 2 Ring tails Peregrine 1 perched on a fence post Raven 2 over Wheatear 6, 2(Greenland) notably bigger and plumper
Chris Dorney and I spent a surprisingly skua-filled high tide at Dove Point yesterday evening. We ended up with 16, only counting birds obviously on passage heading west - apart from three which spent their time out on the sea mugging passing terns (from the frequency of the attacks we estimated there were probably double that number, but three was the most we had in the sky at one time). All birds appeared to be Arctics, many were distant however. Four birds - two dark-phase and single pale-phase adults, and a dark juv - even spent 15 minutes on the beach at one point. I see Hilbre Obs are only reporting three Arctics over the high tide, so exactly where they went after passing the wind farm is a mystery?
Just got back from my late showing at Park Lane area of Meols.
Planned to go early afternoon after work but unfortunately got stuck in the mayhem on the M56 caused by one person who managed to bring half of Greater Manchester to a standstill from 9.15am until teatime. Still, I made it in the end.
- Juvenile Red-backed Shrike
A Lifer for me in the form of a juvenile, having only ever seen a brief view of an adult male in Hammamet, Tunisia, whilst I was on a Camel ride so didn't get a good look, got better view of the lizard it had caught and hung up to dry on a thorny bush. This one wasn't showing at first and there was just me and 1 other birder, but we noticed another birder with a camera stood on presumably a path that was parallel to us looking at same trees we were. Sure enough it was showing really well but on the blind side of the Hawthorn Tree. Amazing views down to around 30-40ft, it caught what looked like a Bee, and caught a few other things too. It relocated to a Bramble bush after a while and then a dead head of what looked like Hogweed, and in the process was actually a little bit closer to us at one point. Absolutely belting bird to watch going about its business.
Other birds of note... - Black-tailed Godwits ...some dropped in onto one of the flooded Horse paddocks - plenty of Teal, Mallard, and female Shoveler flew over - Sedge Warbler ...heard only in the tall boggy grass - 1 Little Egret over - lots of Gulls, mainly Black-headed - lots of Swallows - 1 Linnet - and a Robin producing the most fantastic melodic call right at the caravan park entrance
-- Edited by Rob Creek on Saturday 5th of September 2015 09:27:47 PM
Juvenile red-backed shrike showing well opposite the entrance to wirral beach caravan park on the flooded field down to around 50-60 yards. Also very showy kingfisher, sedge warbler.
other birds to add to todays visit around the park lane area, paddocks & beach at leasowe...
1 spotted flycatcher 19 black tailed godwit 5 ruff 1 snipe 2 grey heron 4 buzzard 1 kestrel 1 sparrowhawk 1 great spotted woodpecker 7 chiffchaff 300+ flock of mostly goldfinch & linnet in paddocks several swallows around 5 little egret 1 sandwich tern 1 gannet 1 bar tailed godwit curlew, dunlin, sanderling, redshank, ringed plover & turnstone.
-- Edited by steven burke on Saturday 5th of September 2015 10:33:09 PM