Poynton, Moore N.R, & Little Neston. 17/2/2018

    With my football team being involved in the FA Cup with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, a Saturday trip was sorted. Went on my own leaving around 10am and reaching the leafy suburbs of Poynton in reasonable weather around 11am. The Waxwing was soon located and a couple of poor snaps were made of the bird. There are not many Waxwings in the country this winter, so it was worth a trip to see it.

   My next stop (after negotiating the multiple roadworks around Manchester Airport) was at Moore nature reserve near Widnes. Always worth a visit around this time of year to see & hear the various woodpeckers that are in the wooded areas. It took me around two hours to see the three types that are in the area, but well worth the effort & patience. Lots of Treecreeper, Nuthatch & various tits made it a rather nice area to visit.

  Next and final stop was at Neston Old Quay on the Wirral, adjacent to The Harp public house. Again I didn`t have a beer due to driving! The sun was now shining as I set up my telescope and started to scan the area for the various birds of prey that can be found. It wasn`t long before I found a Merlin sat on a fence post, then a Marsh Harrier showed really well. Lots of other birders arrived to enjoy the spectacle that followed. Now two Short eared Owls appeared out of the vegetation and flew around hunting at 50 yards distance, what an opportunity to take some pictures I thought, camera in the car, whoops! I was joined by another birder from the Greater Manchester area who dashed back to his car for his camera, I stayed put and just enjoyed the birds. Another Short eared Owl was seen then a female Hen Harrier flew past us. Along with lots of Pink footed Geese, Curlew, Mallard, Teal, Redshank this made it yet another memorable trip to this area and it was sunny!

Dave O.

My last day off before the Focalpoint move, so decided to try the high tide today on the Wirral.

First port of call was Heswall, which I prefer to Parkgate as it's a lot quieter and I can look for my own stuff and then follow the tide down as it goes towards Parkgate, thus getting the best of both worlds! I arrived well before high tide and was greeted by biting icy cold, very strong winds blowing straight down the River Dee. Last time I experienced these conditions the water never came up over the marsh as the wind pushed it directly upriver without allowing it to move sideways as much, so I feared a poor tide. A short while later I picked up my first of four Marsh Harriers, all cream-crowns. Lots of Pink-footed Geese were moving over the marsh, as well as a few Pintails. Two Peregrines, probably immature males from the size, played in the wind close in over the marsh, ignoring all the prey that they were spooking, but just seemingly enjoying tumbling about in the strong winds. A walk towards Parkgate allowed me to scope further down the marsh where a single ringtail Hen Harrier was picked up in the distance. As high tide time came and passed my fears were realised with a really poor tide over the marshes, hardly any water was on the inner marsh at all from Parkgate to Heswall.

Leaving Heswall behind I popped down to Neston where the marshes were flooded much more and I started to think that that's where I should have been over high tide instead. A birding pal already there had had a ringtail Hen Harrier, but when I picked up a grey male Hen Harrier ghosting its way towards us it made our day. The bird floated past not far out and then dropped onto the marsh. Further scanning revealed two Great White Egrets on Burton Marsh, but the cold had finally beaten me and I gave up! On a 9.9m tide like today I suppose the results were a tad disappointing, but it was an enjoyable day nonetheless.

New Brighton Marine Lake at high tide, In very squally conditions

Purple Sandpiper 6
Turnstone 11
Dunlin 21
Redshank c80

Sat 6th Jan. pm.

With Ian Lyth.

Little Neston. From Harp Inn and a walk to sewage works.

Hen Harrier. Grey male + ringtail.
Marsh Harrier. At least 5 ... had 3 in one scope view dropping into roost.
Peregrine Falcon.
Merlin. 2
Sparrowhawk. (M+F)
Kestrel.
Raven.
Short-eared Owl. At least 3.
Great White Egret. At least 4.
Little Egret.
Masses of waders Curlew, Godwit, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Dunlin.
Pink-footed Goose.
Redwing.
Chiffchaff.
Goldcrest.

Roger.





-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Saturday 6th of January 2018 08:14:44 PM

Originally posted today by Ian Campbell:

Parkgate over today's high tide

today with Malcolm, very high tide right upto the wall, excellent birding with lots of birders present, best was 2 Merlin, 4 Short-eared Owl, 2 Hen Harrier and the supporting cast of waders, totally spectacular. Cheers Ian

4/12. After viewing the Snow Buntings at Leasowe my friend  and I made a quick stop at Denhall Quay (Harp inn) arriving at 1.40pm. We had  to leave at 2.00pm  for a school run. After eating our lunch in the car viewing out of the windscreen we made our way into the tree area at about 1.55. I was advised by the sole birder there, that nothing was showing. He then spotted a male Hen harrier. After watching this for a few minutes a female came into view, both visible in the same binocular view. A Short Eared Owl then showed flying low and close to them and almost immediataly it was mobbed by a Peregrine. All 4 birds was then visible for a short time in the same patch of sky with the Short Eared Owl climbing high into the sky and almost hovering up there (as if trying to get away from the others). At that point in a state of disbelief we had to leave, and consolling ourselves with the fact it couldnt get any better than that.

I visited a couple of Wirral sites yesterday afternoon. First Leasowe for the Snow Buntings then Denhall Quay, which produced a selection of raptors but no Hen Harriers.

Leasowe Bay:
Snow Buntings 2

Denhall Quay:
Marsh Harrier 2
Short-eared Owl 3
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel

Cheers, John

 

 

Wirral Wanderings 19/11/2017

    A full team met at the reasonable time of 8am with myself at the wheel. The weather was freezing in Rochdale but as we got onto the Wirral it was a balmy 7 degrees, maybe the sea air helped. We stopped at a new spot near Heswall and most of the team managed to see a passing female Hen Harrier. At Parkgate old baths we enjoyed the tide coming in and a couple of Marsh Harriers and Water Pipit`s were seen. Chris B also saw a wintering Chiffchaff in a field that had lots of birds feeding in it namely: - Song Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Robin, and Great Spotted Woodpecker. After a spot of lunch, a lady informed us that a good place to watch from was The Harp Inn in Neston overlooking the marsh from mid-afternoon till dusk.

    We headed up towards Hoylake & New Brighton and called at a couple of the places were Leach`s Petrel have been seen by us. A lot of waders were seen: - Oystercatcher, Redshank, Dunlin, Knot, Bar Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Golden Plover but the real star was a Peregrine Falcon with an unrecognisable prey item in its talons. On the sea a few Common Scoter and the more regular species of gull were seen. At Perch Rock, New Brighton (an area that really tested by rock climbing ability whilst watching a Laughing Gull) the hoped for Purple Sandpipers did not materialise but views over the Mersey more than made up for that.

   At The Harp Inn, Neston we quickly made camp on one of the picnic tables outside the pub and all the boys decided to have a pint, except myself off course as I was driving! A small crowd of birders watched the marsh and were soon rewarded when a full adult male Hen Harrier was seen at around 150 yards distance, what a cracking bird, only problem was it didnt stay around long enough. Also seen: - 4 Marsh Harriers, female Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon and last but not least up to 5 Short Eared Owl`s, that seemed to be on view for most of the time we spent there. As the gloom descended we made our way home and all really enjoyed the spectacle on the Wirral.

Dave O.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 21st of November 2017 01:23:29 PM

Brief stop at Pakgate from 14:00-14:50:

2 Marsh Harrier,  Great White Egret,  Peregrine Falcon,  5 Fieldfare, 4 Little Egret were the highlights 

Denhall Quay:

2 Short Eared Owl, 2 Stonechat, 5 Little Egret, male Hen Harrier reported yesterday

New Brighton - Sea watch from lifeguard shelter 11.00 - 12.15 (high tide 11.29)

7 Leach's Petrels (+ 3 more just before I arrived)
1 Guillemot
1 Bar-tailed Godwit
12 Sanderlings

... and very little else.

Cheers John

Post for sunday 1st October. Harp inn, denhall quay, 5.45-7pm.

No signs of the pallid harrier for me.
1 hen harrier
2 short-eared owls
1 merlin
3+ marsh harriers
Several kestrels
3 great-white egrets
Plenty of little egrets
1 stonechat
Plus usuals around.

Are you sure it's called the Denhall Gutter Sid?

Phil Woollen wrote:

---

 

For info where the bird was being watched near the Harp is Denhall Quay. Neston Old Quay is near the sewage works further north.

---

Ta Phil, yep, I agree Neston Old Quay is N.of here as I said in the post below (quote "(as opposed to Neston Old Quay further north)")   Lots of folk at the promontory Saturday & some calling it Neston Quay as in my post, but not Old Quay as I say. I'd never heard it called Neston Quay either, I'm confused too!! Denhall Quay it will be for me now 

 

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Monday 2nd of October 2017 01:58:52 PM

Hearing news of a probable Pallid Harrier on the Wirral and reading that it was a first for Cheshire, I ventured down the motorway to have a look on Saturday afternoon.

As the weather was pretty horrendous as I approached the Dee Marshes area I decided to divert first to Burton Mere Wetlands to sit the torrential rain out, that visit is posted in the appropriate thread! As the weather cleared a little I decided that the best vantage point would be the promontory of land near the Harp Inn, Neston, I see it is being called Neston Quay by some locals (as opposed to Neston Old Quay further north). On arrival I could see a crowd of birders gathered and on asking the first one I met was told the bird was out on the marsh but down in the grass. At first I expected it to be out of view but when directed to where it was I could see it was sat up and showing as well as can be expected given that it was almost in Wales  By zooming up over 50x the views weren't bad and the head markings were obvious. The bird had a pronounced collar and distinctive contrasting face markings. Even with these limited views it looked good for Pallid. As it sat in the grass at least one Short-eared Owl passed over it and a Great White Egret landed in a dyke behind it. These species were seen without moving the scope off the harrier, they just flew into view! Eventually after a long wait the bird took to the air and was watched floating effortlessly over the saltmarsh with Connah's Quay Power Station as the backdrop. It came close enough to afford good scoped views and I was surprised that the bird was more brown than rusty coloured on the underparts as it had been reported as a juvenile and all juvs that I have seen have been noticeably rusty underneath. I assumed that someone had had better views than I and had nailed other features to determine age but later a discussion online and close up pictures led to the bird being aged as a female. This I am happier with. All the jizz and the facial pattern pointed were great for Pallid (although a hybrid was mentioned in some circles before better pictures emerged) and so a first for Cheshire had been seen  The bird headed off at speed northwards and dropped in the distance so I took that as a cue to leave. News came out later that it had roosted off Parkgate Old Baths car park so signs are that it may stay all winter, which is excellent news. There is an immature Hen Harrier on the marshes too, which also roosted here.

Hi Phil,
like I stated in my post and like Simon reiterates, we were in no way doubting the Greater Yellowlegs sighting and we were happy with ours being Greenshank as the white rumps did indeed extend up the back.
The report came when high tide was in full flow anyway so the bird was already on Hilbre and we had 2 Greenshank in our sights around the Leasowe groyne.
Cheers

Rob Creek wrote:

---

Of note...
1 of the Greenshank we saw on the groyne was very different to the other and had very yellowish legs as opposed to the greenish grey legs of the other bird. I'm in no way doubting the Greater Yellowlegs sighting but it was just an observation that could've been overlooked, ours were definitely Greenshank though!

---

 Rob.

Observer reports Greater Yellowlegs seen on Hilbre had square white rump rather than extending up back which rules out Greenshank. He's very conscious of the pitfalls of aberrant greenshank given there was a Greater Yellowlegs reported a few years ago at an inland reservoir that was later re-identifed as a Greenshank.

Cheers

Had a pleasant couple of hours on the beach at New Brighton this morning  (c.08.15 - 10.15) until the rain came in on the ebbing tide. During that time had views of just 4 Leach's Petrels over the river and one giving us a close up flying display over the sand. Also of note, among the many gulls a sparkling Great Black-backed, a lone Gannet and many Oystercatchers over the water.

Another after work visit to the Wirral with Simon Gough yesterday and we met up with Chris Chandler later on.

Hoylake...we didn't stay long, only Gulls and a few distant Curlew and Cormorant.

Leasowe Gunsite (approx 30 mins here)
- 7 Leach's Storm Petrel (2 in same bins view)
- 1 Manx Shearwater
- 1 Great Skua harassing the Gulls

...and another large Skua seen doing the same out towards New Brighton, probably a Great Skua but difficult to tell I always think given that juv Pomarine's are quite large and Arctic's can appear large in the right light conditions.

Also a Kestrel hovering right above us at Leasowe and a cracking Hobby flew right infront of us across the M53 on our way there.

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Thursday 14th of September 2017 03:30:45 PM

Rather than New Brighton I chose to go to the gun site near leasowe after work. I had 8 Leach's between 4.40 and 5.40 and then a further 16 in the next 45 minutes before the movement seemed to die off completely. 24 in 2hrs felt quite good. Some birds very close in whilst others were very distant.

Other birds of note were few and far between - singles of Kittiwake, Fulmar and a Guillemot sat on the sea were just about it.

A kite surfer stopped on his way past to ask what the small black and white birds hovering on the sea were. He was amazed something so small could survive at sea. Frankly I always am too.

A fantastic show of 44 Leach's Storm Petrels at New Brighton today plus
Little Gull 2
Sandwich Tern

Yes, excellent time y'day early afternoon (Mon 11th) for 2+ hours from Wallasey Lifeguards; good company too

1 Sabine's Gull ~3 miles away (!) in shipping channel in front of Crosby, presumably the same as seen from New Brighton an hour earlier; classic 3-tone wing markings, more buoyant jizz & clearly different from the many Kittiwakes (and confirmed by others!)
~40 Leach's Petrels, some very close
1-2 Arctic Skuas
1-5 Gannet
~5 Manx Shearwater along shoreline
1 Sanderling
100 Oystercatcher
1 Fulmar along shoreline
~10 Tern sp

Interesting point (noted y'day & previously) that the rarer species sometimes prefer the deeper water, ie the shipping channel - though not exclusively of course; the Leachs are less fussy

Unfortunately, I didn't see the Wilson's Petrel (wow!), Storm Petrel, Grey Phalaropes, Black Terns observed by others along the peninsular

Well worth keeping an eye on the weather for the next few days, as there could be repeat performances; high tide will be late afternoon

Rob Creek and I raced over to Hoylake after work and over 30 mins or so were thrilled to see 5 Leach's Petrels battling the wind to cross the sands on the falling tide. This was a spanking lifer for both of us and a really big sighting for me, a regional speciality that I was wondering when I would ever see, after a series of barren autumns for the right combination of weather and bird passage.

The overall environment was stunning, a setting sun shining brightly on the shallow pools on the beach, with a thrashing line of breakers in the background and gulls wheeling around all over the place, while waders and Shelducks were dotted about. Rob also saw a Sabine's Gull and Arctic Skua in the background while I was jammed on one of the petrels, refusing to be distracted. The birds were moving so slowly across the beach, it was amazing to think they were probably in the middle of the Atlantic a few days ago. I had a really beautiful view of one, showing its plumage features and pattering flight clearly.

We relocated to Leasowe to see if the viewing was better there, and noted another 2 Leach's, again doggedly battling westwards. They were fractionally closer but the light was going. We saw a couple of distant Skuas here, probably Arctics.

All in all 7 birds in an hour was a pretty decent return, we were like little kids at a birthday party! I can't wait to see some more now!

About 3 hours at New Brighton with Chris Sutton

Good numbers of Leach's Petrel including 2 very good close in views!
1 Sabine's gull (bird of the day)
1 Sandwich Tern
10-15 redshank
2 Sanderling
1 Mediterranean Gull
A few Oystercatchers and Turnstones

Plus the usuals

Originally posted today by Kevin Forde

 

Denhall Quay:

 

Goldfinch Marsh harrier Short eared owl Kestrel Raven Carrion crow Little egret Buzzard Meadow pipit