Down to the river and back at lunch today. First Lesser Redpoll of the autumn and three Bullfinch were highlights.

At the river 11 Grey Heron, 224 Lapwing, 30 Curlew (later seen flying into fields at UMS as the tide will have risen), seven Shelduck, 30 Canada Geese, one Little Egret, 124 Black-headed Gulls, one Great-black Backed Gull. four Herring and seven Lesser Black -backed Gulls.

Single Redwing, beautiful Mistle Thrush in the sun and a Jack Snipe (first of the year at Moore for me) flushed from path from Tree Sparrow feeder to Norton Marsh hide.

(At the weekend a fellow birder said when one is counting bids absolutely - rather than by block estimate - an easy trick is to count from the back of the flock forwards and it did seem easier to keep place as birds moved about)!

Flyover Hawfinch at Halfway House early morning (patch first for me). 343 Black-headed Gulls, 82 Curlew on the river with three Grey Heron and four Grey Heron, lots of Long-tailed Tits, noticeable flock of 34 Chaffinch, many Magpies.

Influx of Mallard, 37 down the river including two Black Duck style (feral, seen last winter, where does the flock go though?) and 16 at Lapwing Lane.

Other than that pairs of Shovelers and Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Wigeon and Tufted Duck on Lapwing Lane Pool.

Highlights from WEBS count on Norton Marsh /  Halfway House. 14 Redshank (my highest ever patch count), 7 Curlew, 210+ Shelduck, 494 Black-headed Gulls, adult Caspian Gull (patch year tick), 14 Herring Gulls, three Great Black-backed Gulls, 97 (70 adult, 27 imm) Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 6 Snipe, one Kingfisher, 32 Mallard, 34 Teal, seven Wigeon, three Cormorant and one Little Egret and Grey Heron with 24 Mallard and one Great Crested Grebe.

A distinct lack of Common Gull this autumn would have expected them to be increasing by now from past data.

Kingfisher showing well at Lapwing Lane Pool. Belated news from others there of a Bittern present for around three hours on Thursday.

Pink-footed Geese were the highlight with seven skeins over, 126, 118, 142, 46 and three uncountable due to being in the depths of the woods when they passed. All the visible flocks came from the North of Fiddlers and turned SE as they passed Fiddlers to head to Cheshire. (Lancashire, Martin Mere? birds rather than Dee birds).

29 Lapwing and 142 Black-headed Gulls at the river with a single Great Black-backed Gull.

52 Starlings on the wires.

Despite putting feelers out with fellow birders since last Thursday for Yellow-browed Warbler none have turned up this yet , despite now seemingly all over the NW including one I found 50yrs North of patch at Gatewarth (see North of Mersey thread). Still time as it was 26th Oct last year I had one on patch.

Pumphouse was the main interest of a wander round the Eastern end, 17 Pochard, three Grey Heron, two Mute Swan, one Little Grebe 80 Coot, one Swallow (my latest at Moore by 7 days), 41 Tufted Duck and then 102 Canada Geese at Birchwood Pool.

Cracking lunchtime walk via Hillcrest Quarry, the woods and the MSC to Round Cherval and back.

49 Pink-footed Goose as I opened the car door set the day off as a good one, followed shortly by six Mistle Thrush and then Peregrines again on Stobart's warehouse south of the MSC.

Three Ravens were having a bad time hassled by Magpies - up to four.

A Cetti's Warbler was singing in full throttle by Sedge Viewpoint with I presume its juv protégé that only managed two notes from the characteristic explosive song.

17 Goldfinch in a charm was nice but I've not seen Greenfinch or Bullfinch again for a good while....

Got my tides wrong again so no Bars or Banks at Round Cherval (might have been all the rain holding the river high anyway; the Ship Canal was flowing as fast as the Mersey river). Smattering of Black-headed Gull, two Lesser Black-backed a single Great Black Backed and a couples of Little Egret and one Teal, three Gadwall.

Jays everywhere!!!!

Decent number of swallows both yesterday (13) and today (22) going south.

Eight Curlew the only interest at the river apart from a Great Egret which now seems pretty regular on the river / Norton Marsh. I only saw my first for the patch two years ago, which I think was only the patch second, now seen on around of 50% of visits to the river / Marsh or Northern Pools.

https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/news/mersey-tidal-power-scheme-reaches-two-major-milestones

Public consultation opening on 1st Oct for the tidal barrage between Birkenhead and Liverpool - will reduce tidal ranges in the Mersey estuary, mudflat expanse etc and provide a physical barrier for birds flying low to come up the estuary.

Have your say before it is too late!

Pleasant trip round all the pools today.

Black-fields Pools almost waterless and totally birdless.

Pumphouse Pool: 18 Pochard, 75 Coot, 65 Tufted Duck, one Shoveler, one Gadwall, one Mute Swan, three Moorhen, two Little Grebe, 19 Black-headed Gulls.

Birchwood Pool, a few Coot, four Great crested Grebe, three Black-headed Gull.

Lapwing Lane Pool: 35 Coot, seven Tufted Duck, eight Gadwall, two Moorhen, three Little Grebe, Kingfisher.

Millbrook Pool: One Gadwall, one Grey Heron.

Eastern Reedbed: Two Cetti's Warblers, two Tufted Duck, one Wigeon.

Buzzard, 19 Jays, Coal Tit, singing Chiffchaff, two Nuthatch, one Treecreeper and singing Coal Tit best of the non-waterbirds.

Lunch wanders both yesterday and today. First Wigeon back, but on Birchwood Pool rather than the usual haunt of Lapwing Lane Pool. Yesterday an Osprey flew West over Lapwing Lane Pool, 35 Coot, 10 Little Grebe being other highlights. Walking to Birchwood Pool a mixed Tit etc flock was moving along the edge of the tip drain and included Goldcrest, Treecreeper and a Nuthatch joined in briefly. A couple of Swallows and singles of House and Sand Martin flew over Birdwood Pool.

Today the river end, an ad+juv Peregrine was a nice treat on the Stobarts warehouse South of the Ship Canal. 238 Canada Geese at the river with 30 Lapwing, 105 Black-headed Gull, four Little Egret, four Cormorant, one Common Gull, 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, eight Herring Gulls. On the way back up the Ship Canal a freighter disturbed from the Northern bank of the Ship Canal a pair of Common Sandpiper that the flew down the canal ahead of the freighter which was a nice treat.

One of those days that make patching all worthwhile,even the death by clegs experience that Upper Moss Side can be.

Lapwing Lane a Grey Heron flew along the length to get harangued by a buzzard near Moss Farm. Two Curlew in the fields, Jay but otherwise apart from3 Blackbirds very quiet to Norton Marsh ex-hide. On the marsh fences posts was a beautiful female Whinchat (first  for a while; 2- 3 years for me here) and just a Wren and another Buzzard over. A lot of gull movement over the river and Fiddlers Lagoons, so I set back to Halfway House (path from Tree Sparrow feeder to Ethelyene Station is almost fully overgrown in places, got a few bramble scars for my efforts going that way) as the tides should be falling and the Bars and Banks emerging.

What a treat awaited, a count of birds on the Bar and Banks from Round Cherval gave 294 Canada Geese, 1 Great Egret, 3 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 125 Lapwing, 274 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (50:50 ad/sub-ad), 1850 Black-headed Gull, 16 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 7 Herring Gulls. More and more birds were arriving over time (at between 5 - 50 birds a minute over the two hours I watched), there must have including 200-300 birds circling over Fiddlers Ferry been over 4,000 gulls present.

I started looking at non Gulls, 22 Cormorant, 2 Gadwall, Mallard, 12 Tufted Duck fly-by, two Buzzards, one Kestrel, Stock Dove and plenty Woodpigeon over, 59 Curlew, three Ruff, one Godwit, one Greenshank, 11 Redshank and four Oystercatchers.

Cetti's Warblers starting to sing again at three points on the ship canal which included Coot, more Tufted Duck, Little Grebe and Great crested Grebe.

Photo attached of just a quarter of the Banks and Bars covered with Gulls for those who reminisce for gulling at Moore. 

Down the river again, male Yellowhammer on the Norton Hide path so still hanging on somewhere round here (wouldn't be surprised if displaced from near Creamfields back to the old badlands of Upper Moss Side which are getting increasingly unkempt and briary) was a nice treat.

30 Curlew at Halfway House, one Redshank, Great Black-backed Gull, six Shelduck, 35 Canada Geese, four Mallard and the black Muscovy / Mallard hybrid that hangs around the Ship Canal with them. Two Grey Herons, 16 Cormorants. No Little Egrets for a change. Swallows and Swifts over the estuary southwards. 416 Black-headed Gulls, one odd looking gull, I think from body shape and size a Common Gull but minimal black in the primaries. Seven Herring Gulls and thirty one Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Couple of Buzzards over Fidlers Ferry. Not seen the Peregrines there since early Spring, wonder if they have moved to a new home with the decom of the power station.

Best bird of the day a Spotted Flycatcher (patch year tick) on the old canal path back to Lapwing Lane, where the old Forestry Screen used to look over the Snipe fields.

Couple of ploughed fields coming into the reserve held good numbers of Gulls (00s near Mos Lane 99% Black-headed) wonder if the bass beat from Creamfields fools the worms to the surface as that is what most seemed to feed on despite it being dry, Wood Pigeon and three more Curlew but no small passerines - have had Wheatear around this time of year on some of the ploughed fields.

Eastern End yesterday (Reedbed, Lagoon, Pumphouse Pool and the forlorn Black-fields no pool).

Couple of juv Reed Bunting and a Reed Warbler at the Reedbed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls over. Five Gadwall and one Coot.

juv Treecreeper (a beauty) near the Lagoon and lots of Long-tailed Tits families (at least seven groups of between 7-9).

Snipe and juv Stonechat on Factory Marsh. Grey Wagtails seen on the South bank of the Ship Canal, I suspect their home is the Waste Water Treatment works there as never see them further into the reserve than Colins Hide (~200m distance).

Pumphouse Pool had 47 Coot, seven Gadwall, three Little Grebe, seven Tufted Duck, four Mallard.

A racket from the sky at Colins hide and above were four House Martins and a juv Buzzard in a tussle. Not quite sure who was annoying who more, but another couple of Long-tailed Tits families went into alarm.

Starlings gathering on the wires at the pylons at Arpley (~55).

This morning (0:530 - 07:00) down the East two Greenshank at Colins Hide on Pumphouse Pool and a very brief fly in then of three Black-tailed Godwits which flew around the pool a few times but seeing no suitable grounds flew to the Black-fields Pools and came pretty quick back from there (filled in now) and left high over the WCML Bridge. Juv Kingfisher sat on the fence that goes into the pool for a long time and a juv Kestrel was trying desperately to hover over the tip to the west but was very unsteady on its wings. Redshank and Oystercatcher heard calling over towards Richmond Bank.

Snipe flushed on Factory Marsh.

Woods very quiet even clegs have been low in numbers this year, not worn DEET once (not sure that is a welcome sign of diminished insect numbers or not...). Juvs of Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tits about, with Blackbird young and Thrushes also.

Common Gull on Birchwood Pool and four Great-crested Grebe with two young.

Curlew at Moss Lane and Swallows much diminished in numbers since a couple weeks ago, single House Martin.

Late post for Sunday 28th. First visit for a while. I walked down Lapwing lane and all the way to the Mersey where the old forestry commission hide was. Birds of note seen on the route included:

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Little Owl

Peregrine

Kestrel

Common Whitethroat 

Wader numbers being the main interest again this week...Thirteen Redshank at Round Cherval Thursday just gone (25th July) is my new highest path record.

Lapwings between 45-90 on each on three visits.

A Whimbrel like bird in with the Curlews today finally gave up its identity with a curleewee call so I'm going juv Curlew on that bird. There were 27 Curlew today, peak was 41 on Weds (24th).

11 Oystercatchers still a good number and the first returning Common Gull.

Back to Moss Lane, 37 Swallows (18 + juvs) on the telegraph line, God'speed yee birds South for the winter.

From the Ship Canal looking S, five Buzzards were very high up over Oxmoor with another bird I just could get with the Binos but looked possibly Osprey, as the whiter bird went South the Buzzards all dropped back down.

But the rarest sighting I had today was another birder at Round Cherval / Halfway House. I haven't had one there for my patch list since 2019! Welcome Zilo if you join this forum!

Down to the bend in the River for the tides coming in, Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank seen for the first time this "autumn". 67 Lapwing, two Oystercatchers, one Common Sandpiper, seven Little Egret, four Grey Herons, 246 Black-headed Gulls, two Great Black-backed Gulls and seven Herring Gulls, but no Lesser Black-backed Gulls - very odd. There did seem in the distance a lot more gulls than usual towards Astmoor / Widness Warth and all the Shelduck were well down the river in that direction.

Lunchtime visit around the pools today very quiet apart from really being bitten badly by clegs. Birchwood Pool held a Pochard brood and a couple of Coot. A nice Goldcrest displayed well on the path back to the ex-feeding station and Lapwing Lane Pool held 34 Gadwall inc juv and 34 Mallard inc juv plus Great Crested Grebe and eight Little Grebe.

Monday lunch a walk to the Marsh produced Grasshopper Warbler still reeling away by the ex-Tree Sparrow feeder location. 23 Curlew and 64 Lapwing were on the river bars and Gull numbers building up with 146 Black-headed Gull, four Great Black-backed Gulls, 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 11 Herring Gulls being the first of the 'autiumn'. Still a few Reed Warbers, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing away along the Ship Canal and west end of Lapwing Lane.

I think this is my highest species day list of 74 species (and missed an Owl that was roosting near the car park).

Visit over whole reserve from 07:00-14:00. (dumb copy of EBird (paste special/no format) would be nice to format as list + localation but doesn't seem to)

Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, 4 Bullfinch inc juv, 3 Buzzard, 21 Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, 2 Cetti's Warbler, Chaffinch, 13 Chiffchaff, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Collared Dove, 1 Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, 19 Curlew at the river, Dunnock,  Feral Pigeon, Gadwall, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Goldfinch,  Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, 2 Kestrel, 2 Kingfisher, 87 Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lesser Whitethroat, 11 Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen,  Mute Swan, 5 Oystercatcher, 3 Pheasant, Pied Wagtail,5 Pochard, 5 Raven, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Rook, Sand Martin,  Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, 11 Starling, juv Stonechat,  Swallow, 11 Swift,  Teal,  Tufted Duck,  Water Rail, Whitethroat, 3 Willow Tit inc juv, Willow Warbler,  Woodpigeon,  Wren, 3 Yellowhammer

Quiet on patch the last few visits but todays loop around Lapwing Lane and Pool was pure gruntling serenity. 41 species, nothing out the ordinary but juvs and first sign of return passage.

Two juv Pochard with Ads on the side pool to Lapwing Lane Pool - where did they breed?

Juvs of Coot, Little and Great Crested Grebe on Lapwing Lane Main Pool, Water Rail in Reedbed to right of hide, plus Gadwall young.

Three Curlew by Moss Lanewhen I left; start of the return passage? Could see Lapwing moving from the River to Fiddlers Ferry at High tide at 5:30pm-ish but not countable due to treeline.

WEBS Count on Upper Moss Side yesterday - quietest I've ever seen that part of the patch - 11 Canada Geese (7 gos), 1 Gadwall (m), 10 Mallard (all m), one male Teal, one Coot, single flypast Oystercatcher and Cormorants, 61 Lapwing flushed off Fiddlers Ferry Lagoons but never settled onto the river and 12 (6 pr) Shelduck. Three each of Lesser Black-backed, great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls and one Buzzard, one Reed Bunting and two Skylark.

The walk in / out via the Tree Sparrow feeders though had a family of four Stonechat present on almost adjacent fence posts, Cetti's, Reed, Sedge and Grasshopper Warblers singing with Common Whitethroat at the Snipe Fields by Lapwing Lane. All four Corvids present grubbing on farm fields with Sparrowhawk over and pleasant numbers of Titmouse flitting about.

Chaffinch and Greenfinch at Moss Farm, Bullfinch at the start of the path into Upper Moss Side, Great Spotted Woodpecker at Lapwing Lane and Mallard, Moorhen, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Coot, Great Crested and Little Grebe on Lapwing Lane Pool.

Pleasant couple trips around Moore today, one early avo to take a friend to the patch and then picked them up early eve to take them home as they don't drive. On the way home out of Moore to Sandymoor we checked a `flooded field that has good numbers of Wagtails hoping for a Yellow.......only to see a Western Cattle Egret in there!!! Now I know the patch rule is if your feet are on the patch and you can see the bird off-patch it counts......................but what about if the bird could see the patch from where it was..... Umpire disqualified the bird for Moore patch!

But all was not lost on patch listing. Tree Sparrow male + juv at Big Hand Ranch, plus 19 Swallows was a great start. 

Everything after that was until the WCE a bit of a lower buzz, Canadas with 7 juv, 32 Shelduck at the river, no waders , plenty juv Titmouse, no raptors (not even Buzzard on the Marsh), Gulls almost all Lesser Black-backed at the river and overhead (around 65 in total but could be double counting overheads).

Three Cetti's Warblers, very few Chiffchaffs (time of day), couple of half hearted Willow Warbler, one Garden Warbler, two Reed and one Sedge on the walk to the River. 12 Grey Heron visible from Halfway House including seven juv.

Stock Dove on Moss Farm roof and friend whilst doing a second lap whilst I'd gone home had Little Owl on one of the farm buildings off Lapwing Lane which I haven't seen this year.

Three family groups of Greenfinch from Lapwing Lane - the Ethylene Station they seem to be recovering at Moore and juvenile Starling at Ethylene Station.

(The pipeline through Moore that runs along the ship canal via the two Ethylene stations and out at Eastford Road is possibly due to be upgraded as part of the HYNET green Hydrogen work - wonder what changes that may bring).

Finally for the year, Common Swift (2) over Lapwing Lane Pool in front of the weather this afternoon. Three Coot Broods (4,3,2), 2 juv Great Crested Grebe, 2 juv Little Grebe. Possible juv Reed Warbler to left of hide - seems early considering the Warblers arrived late this year.

The river was quiet at low tide, three Oystercatcher were the only waders and Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gulls loafed back and forth.

An interesting sight was a patch of sprats of some sort that were in a river wye isolated by the falling tide. An Otter came over from Fiddlers Ferry and made short work of a few of them with Corvids coming in to clean up remnant left as the tide further dropped.

Greenfinch were seen in three new places on the walk - they seem to have had a good couple of years. Little else over the farmland or Horse fields.

6-8am after Oxmoor down to the river at Moore from Bens Bridge. Greenfinch + Juv at Etheylene Station with family parties of Titmouse including juvenille - Long-tail, Blue and Geart. In addition four Cetti's Warblers on the way down, one Reed Warbler between Halfway House and Round Cherval and towards Randles tip an observable Chiffchaff going 'Chaff-chiff'. Even when close Cornell did not identify the audio! In total three Tufted Duck, five Gadwall and two Great- Crested Grebe on the Ship canal with two Cormorant. Lots of Magpie inc juv (40+) in Stobrats Horse Paddocks.

River on the falling tide held two Whimbrel, four Shelduck, three Canada Geese, 44 Lesser Black Backed Gulls (all sub Ad), and two Mallard. Curlew calling to the North of the river but not visible. An Osprey came from Fiddlers Ferry direction, made a couple of half hearted swoops / dives towards the river but then rose high and carried on South - surely wrong direction! But birds of the day (and I suspect will be bird of the year for me here) was a patch lifer I've long awaited - three Avocet flew East up the Mersey.

Four separate Swallow on the way back via the back path to Norton Marsh, Mistle and Song thrush singing, Lesser Whitethroat in the usual spot near the Tree Sparrow feeders and a House Martin over Lawing Lane.