Couple of hours around the reserve 32 species seen some highlights 1 goldcrest 1 treecreeper 3 meadow pipits  1pr great crested grebe 1pr gadwall 1 kingfisher 

22 Gadwall were on Pumphouse Pool with a Grey Heron and a Pied Wagtail.

Three Buzzards were over Colins Field.

Birchwood Pool held four Herring Gull, 49 Black-headed Gull, one Great Crested Grebe, one Kingfisher, 19 Coot, 17 (9m,8f) Pochard, 14 Tufted Duck, one fem Goldeneye.

Cettis singing in the Eastern Reedbed.

36 Wigeon on Lapwing Lane main and side pools. One Teal, male Pochard, Coot, Mallard and a Gadwall present.

Feeding station held at any one time three Chaffinch, seven Great Tits and five Blue Tits whilst six Long-tailed Tits passed by in the trees behind.

Quiet around the farm fields. A few Ravens and one Rook, seven Pheasant.

From ex-Norton Marsh hide watching over the River Mersey a Tractor going round the bund wall on Fiddlers Ferry lagoons put up a flock of 600-700 Lapwings, which were soon minus 1 as the resident Peregrine swooped down from the Power Station Stack through the flock (patch and year tick for me - probably for the Lapwing as well).

34 Canada Geese were on the Mersey which was running a high tide just below the level of the Marsh. One Jack Snipe was flushed off the old wader scrape and a Reed Bunting (m, then another pair m+f) gave me my third patch and year ticks (with the JS). Skylark were starting bursts of song in the air. Six Shelduck drifted up river on the tide. (Patch year tick)

Slightly off patch there were 17 Grey Heron next to Oxmoor NR on the South bank of the Ship Canal. 26 Tufted Duck were rafted in the area.

In the Horse field by the Ship Canal at Stobart's Warehouse there were five Redwing (patch year tick). Buzzards (3) (inc one very dark morph) and Kestrel (1) and Sparrowhawk (1) (the large almost Goshawk sized female that lives around the west end of the patch) all showed. Passerines were two Goldfinch and a Cetti's Warbler singing.

Two Great Crested Grebe started to do the snake dance mating display on the Ship Canal, quite ambitious on the waves that were blowing about on the Canal. One Great Black-backed Gull was by the western dock, poking about with a strange animal skeleton; flew off as I approached. I can't id the skeleton, so have put a photo here to see if anyone could tell me what it was scavenging on. White feathers were on the ground adjacent but I think there is / was two separate corpses? I'll put in the other Wildlife thread as well if Mods want to delete from here.

Anglers Pool held one Common Gull, one Cormorant, seven Coot and three Siskin. 32 more Tufted Duck rafted around the Moore Swing Bridge.

A dawn walk to the river at Halfway House. As per 50% of the time I got the tide wrong and the river was full! A few Canada Geese were on the Northern Bank but noting else visible. At 7:32 am a passage of Black-headed Gulls started upriver, by 7:49am totaling 1,034 peaking at 81/minute. 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in the fray with three Herring Gulls and two Great Black-backed Gulls.

An Owl was quartering Norton Marsh, twice it flew within six feet of me, once pausing on a post then seeing my ugly mug it got scared off. I'd forgotten how utterly silent Owls are in flight. Pure Patch magic!

Skylarks were singing over the Capped Tip as dawn broke. 2 Pink-footed Geese flew South over the tip at 8:34am, following at 8:44am by 72 heading SE. 20 Lapwing flew North over the Capped Tip at 8:49am.

Pumphouse Pool held 40 Teal and six Gadwall.

Birchwood Pool held one female Goldeneye, 12 Tufted Duck, 7 Pochard (6m, 1f), Coot, Mallard, single Teal and four Canada Geese.

Been a great year patching #biglocalyear - 132 visits in total.

135 species including four patch lifers (ringtail Harrier on passage down the Mersey, Quail (heard only), Ruddy Shelduck, Great White Egret - Harrier seen WHILST looking the Ruddy Shelduck how spawny is that two patch firsts in one scope view). 124 different species in the first six months of the year, 122 different species in the second six months of the year.

948.8 miles walked on patch. 449hrs 42minutes spent walking. 27 miles cycled as well and 26 miles Kayaked up / down the Mersey, but by far the most productive mode of motion was walking and waiting.

Due to a backlog of DIY and gardening I have been officially banned from doing a #biglocalyear 2023 Moore year list. 

However, as I write my own rules this "year" I'm doing a Winter solstice 2022 - Winter solstice 2023 #patch year instead  and I'm already six visits, 32.2 miles walking and 54 species in! 

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 29th of December 2022 10:52:37 AM

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 29th of December 2022 12:47:44 PM

Two Redshank and one Curlew at Halfway House made up the waders.

A few Black-headed Gulls (40 or so), two Great Black-backed and one Herring Gull drifted by on the tide.

Buzzards and a Kestrel provided the raptors.

Two Siskin in Alders by crossroads at Lapwing Lane.

18 Wigeon on Lapwing Lane Pool plus Little Grebe and Gadwall.

33 Wigeon on Lapwing Lane Pool were a nice treat, must have moved in from elsewhere as usually there are 12 at Moore. 42 Mallard, two Moorhen, 17 Coot and two Gadwall and a single juv Mute Swan made up the rest of the cast.

As everywhere has been frozen of late a trip to the river at low tide beckoned post dawn. Even parts of the Ship Canal were frozen on the way down. The river mud looked frosted / frozen but no way was I walking out on it to find out.

Most productive from Round Cherval - Four Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Eight Great Black-backed Gulls, 42 Herring Gull, four Common Gull, 293 Black-headed Gull, one Curlew, two Redshank, seven Shelduck, two (m+f) Pintail (patch life tick!), 19 Cormorant, two Grey Heron, one Buzzard, 17 Mallard. Two Great Crested Grebe were on an open patch of canal with 72 Tufted duck and two female Goldeneye.

A few Bullfinch about on the field path and one Woodcock flush from the capped tip drain as I walked over. 

Returning to the car park I set eyes on a Treecreeper I'd been listening to for five minutes, 1st one in the second half of the year so a half-year tick was gained as well this visit.

Of course "Sino" and all that! I'll blame my 14 year old daughter and GCSE revision......she is doing trig that takes me back 40 years and is frying my mind.

Adding a few other highlights from today (before I was rudely dragged off to help DD with her online maths).

27 Curlew on Moss Lane and not surprisingly with the cold weather, I got my personal best "10 in 10" (sitting at the feeders waiting for ten minutes, seeing if you see ten species).......Carrion Crow, Coot, Moorhen, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robin, Great..Blue..Coal Tits, Nuthatch, Jay.....13 species in 6 minutes 22 seconds. By which point I was numb with cold and paranoid about not making the school run if the swing bridge shut so an early dart was called for.

Photo of the Curlew attached, they must have been starving and desperate to be in one of the few defrosting patches of farmland, only 8 - 12 feet away from the road...taken through the car window so a bit shakey focus.

Terry, that could well be a good shout re the Gulls. Need to see them a bit further along to see if they are going out to roost when they disappear from view or just their path down river makes them look like they are landing.

All pools frozen today. Two Carrion Crow, one Mallard on Lapwing Lane Pool and six Mallard on Birchwood Pool.

Got a bit nervous staying on the reserve too long to watch dusk flyovers today as at the Xroads as they were doing maintenance work on the Swing Bridge, after Stockton Heath's bridge froze and jammed open for 20 minutes. I don't mind staying overnight on Norton Marsh in the summer but II'll pass a night in Colin's Hide in this weather.

The Ship Canal held the Wigeon, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Great and Little Grebe, Sinenesis Cormorant with some whitish head with gular angle over 90 degrees right under the bridge, couldn't tell any others on the canal. (Does the sine come from trigonometry in the Latin name anyone know?).

Anglers Pool also held a good number of ducks, as per the Canal and a flyover Sparrowhawk.

Trying to track down where Gulls overflying Moore at dusk are roosting I decided an afternoon at Halfway House watching the Mersey and Ship Canal.

As the tide dropped and revealed Penketh Bar two groups of small waders flew in 16 + 13 Knot. Very unusual here - last record I can find November 2016. Eventually as tide dropped further nine Redshank came in also (might be about my highest number for one group on patch) and two Curlew and a single Black-tailed Godwit and a single Green Sandpiper (from the direction of Fiddlers Ferry lagoons).

A few Black-headed Gulls were loafing as the tide fell, a single Common Gull and one Great Black-backed Gull also joined the waders. Gulls were generally as dusk fell flying from where I'd seen them in the East of the reserve and passing over towards Wigg Island and dropping out of sight behind Randles tip (roosting on the new Bar building up under the central column of the Mersey Gateway Bridge?).

A couple of Shelduck were all that was on the river otherwise. Five Grey Heron along the Ship Canal and a few Coot on the walk in and Fieldfare and Redwing in the Stobrats Horse Paddocks. Two Goldcrest were amongst Tit flocks near Owens Wood.

Took a visit today to where the "Sea-watching Hide" overlooking Richmond Bank is proposed to be built if Peel Ports get their way and the current Moore NR is concreted over, and the Capped Tip turned into a "Country and wildlife (aka Dog walker paradise) Park"). If anyone wants to see the plans which Warrington BC snuck out very quietly during Covid as part of the Local Plan update / consultations when we couldn't go and view plans...search for 'The Environment Partnership document ref 6929.01.037" on Google and you should be able to get a redacted PDF of the plans / biodiversity assessment.

Anyway, important stuff, the birds. One Great spotted Woodpecker calling in the wood on the way to the Capped Tip. Buzzard and Sparrowhawk on the Capped Tip. One Redshank, 486 Lapwing on Richmond Bank, with a supporting cast of two Great Black-backed Gulls, 47 Herring Gulls, 186 Black-headed Gulls, seven Common Gull, one Raven, 22 Cormorant. Two Snipe flushed walking along the bund to Norton Marsh. Woods and fields otherwise very quite.

Two female Goldeneye on Birchwood Pool and a Little Grebe were the best there. Pumphouse Pool devoid of birds since the wader heydays of autumn.

Usually a morning birder, evening Dad, but the last couple of nights I've been down the area from mid afternoon until after dark, primarily looking for and failing to detect any owls!

Yesterday went to the Eastern end of the Reserve to have a look, with the default "thermal image" App on an iPad Pro. Pretty crap quantitatively (definitely was not -17 degC on the water) but qualitatively pretty good at highlighting objects of different temperature / (I think it works on emissivity / reflectivity rather than being true FLIR as I'm sure you'd need a different lens to the default on on the iPad). A test a few days prior in the day it picked up four Snipe I was about to flush at a distance of 15 yards. On the Black-fields Pools you could tell the shape of Teal vs. Gadwall and spot roosting Corvids and Grey Heron. At the NW side of the back small pool, something was moving in the edge of the reeds towards the back, when it came into the open it had a profile revealing a female Pheasant, too fat and not snake enough neck liked to be anything else. Hundreds of Corvids came up off the Capped Tip and went towards Birch Wood to roost. Couldn't see to count due to the treeline in the way, but for ten minutes the cacophony of noise was spectacular. A few flocks of tens or low hundreds of Starlings flew in as I was walking off the Reserve, I couldn't triangulate if they were going to the Capped Tip Reedbed (CTRB) or the Eastern Reedbed (ERB).

Today a more traditional walk around the lanes and farmland using the Mk1 ears and eyes. 147 Herring Gulls in small groups went West down the Ship Canal. 126 Pink-footed Geese flew over heading NNW over Norton Marsh, so looked more like heading for Lancashire Mosses than Dee? I got to the S-bends on Lapwing Lane and in the dusk my eyes pick up a bright Blue Jack Snipe that was heading through the bends zig-zagging up the centre of the road at a metre height. Hold on, that can't be right.....Kingfisher of course, but strange to see one on a landlocked route equidistant from the Mersey and the Ship Canal. Better view of the Corvid roost, at least 900 Jackaw and Carrion Crow, including the "White Winged Carrion Crow" present last Winter (and 2015-2016) - does a good impression of a Hoodie in the twilight. Groups of Starlings could be seen from the field by the car park heading toward the ERB or CTRB and around 2,000 joined and did a couple minutes bunching and grouping as if to go into full scale Mumurations but they started to fragment and small groups dropped out of sight. 64 Cormorant were roosting on Lapwing Lane Lake trees.

Insomnia..so having shut my car door in the dark at Moore last night I find myself opening the door before first light. A much better day - 140 Tufted ducks were roosting on Pumphouse and as day broke flew off SE in pairs, threes and fours (to the Ship Canal?).

37 Siskin in one flock by the hide on Lapwing Lane. One Pochard. Four more Tufted Duck on the lake and two Wigeon.

Woodcock flushed on the wet field / building raft to east of Recovery Wharf - the idiot left it until I nearly stood on it and came straight up at me. I don't know who got the bigger shock I had a brief vision of its bill piercing my heart and me hanging up my binoculars on the way to the great observatory in the sky, felt the wing tips / air brush my cheek as it went past my head.

And to top the day off, all three Woodpecker species were seen, usual spots; Green over Capped Tip, Great Spotted over Pumphouse Pool and the other from Lapwing Lane fields in the adjacent trees.

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Wednesday 30th of November 2022 04:12:22 PM

Female Goldeneye back on Birchwood Pool, three Pochard, Little and Great Crested Grebe, four Tufted Duck 17 Black-headed Gulls, Jay, Carrion Crow and Buzzard.

Willow Tit on path to Pumphouse Pool, where there were six Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, 54 Teal, being stalked by a dog Fox, resplendent colours shining in the early morning sun. Generally good numbers of Tit flocks flitting about but nothing other than Blue, Coal, Great and Long-tailed Tits, no crests.

Two Nuthatches dominating the feeding station.

17 Tufted Duck on Anglers Pool.

Late report from Weds 9th Nov.

Went early (5 am) looking for owls before dawn (no joy) but heard a number of Woodcock and Winter Thrushes overhead.

18 Snipe flushed on Norton Marsh. Odd Curlew and Lapwing flying along the Mersey and seven Little Egrets in view from Halfway House.

3,400+ Pink-footed Geese went East up the estuary at 7:50am.

Still very quite for woodland birds, but finally reconnected with Bullfinch, not seen any since late April.

A dismally wet start to the day and just after dawn as I was walking along the Northern path by the Eastern reedbed somewhere in the order 5 - 10,000 Starlings were climbing into the sky from the location of the Reedbed and heading North East towards Warrington town centre.

Great White Egret still on Pumphouse Pool, now seemingly friends with the Grey Heron stood side by side again.

However the day brightened up and produced four counts which for me were all my highest patch individual totals; Pochard - 35 Birchwood Pool, 12 Greenfinch in a flock at Recovery Wharf, 64 Jay (31 of which were in one field at Moss Lane), and between Birchwood Pool and the Ship Canal 182 Mallard.

353 was the single biggest skein of Pink-footed Geese I have seen on (ok, over, SE at 11:10) the patch but I've higher daily totals from multiple sightings.

27 Curlew on Moss Lane fields.

Early morn visit, 100th to the patch this year and Moore had a nice treat for me for my centennial visit!

Black Fields Pool held Snipe, Teal, Mallard, Moorhen and Cetti's warbler. A Raven flew over.

Pumphouse Pool from Colins Hide, at first in the sun there were Teal, Black-headed Gulls a single Green Sandpiper, five Little Egret and before I stated looking at the ducks a Grey Heron chasing a Grey White Egret (a patch first for me) come into view. They circled the Pool sometimes going behind the island / roosting on the island, regularly for 20 minutes or so. Then the Grey Heron again chased the Great White Egret into the NW corner and was lost to visit. I went round to the Western Screen to see if it could be reseen, again it flew past doing a circuit as I got there, to go and roost back over in the NE corner where I had just come from. Mist was dropping in by now and 35 Redwing were the last sighting of note.

Lapwing Lane Pool: Four Wigeon, 61 Coot, 21 Gadwall, Mallard, Little Grebe, Moorhen and Tufted Duck.

Lots of Tit flocks moving along the back path from the Feeding station to Birchwood Pool, including Coal, Great, Blue and Long-tailed, with a single Goldcrest and Dunnocks and two Chaffinch for company.

Birchwood Pool: Two Wigeon, 41 Black-headed Gull, Tufted Duck, two Great-Crested Grebe, one Little Grebe, Mallard, six Pochard, one Cormorant.

Ship Canal from swing bridge: Kingfisher, 21 more Coot, two Little Grebe and most out of the norm, a Water Rail on the concrete section of shore on the South side of the canal (where Oystercatchers sometimes hang out).

Must have been a "mini" fall overnight. Northern Eastern Reedbed path in 1/2 mile had 17 Goldcrest and six Chiffchaff. Loads of berries on the bushes looking good for Winter Thrushes.

One Little Grebe and 34 Teal on the Black Fields Pools. Earth moving machinery from the Landfill starting to work it's way around the BFPs, wonder how much longer they will exist? Anyway the over-wintering Green Sandpiper usually on these pools was today on Pumphouse Pool with a Greenshank, three Grey Heron, one Little Egret, 17 Cormorant, 28 Gadwall and 18 Teal.

One Buzzard and one Black-headed Gull were the only birds over the Eastern Reedbed.

Before the rains....path to Upper Moss Side two Swallows, then a minute later six Redwing, small Greenfinch flock.

Four Meadow Pipits over Norton Marsh and three more Swallows. Cetti's Warbler singing. Nine Little Egrets and six Grey Herons on the Mersey, with Comorant, Canada Geese, Shelduck, Crow, Black-headed Gull, Great and Lesser Black-backed Gull and a single Great Crested Grebe.

13 more Grey Heron along the Ship Canal back from Halfway House to Lapwing Lane, four more Swallows, 19 Tufted Duck, seven Great Crested Grebe and a Cetti's Warbler singing on the South side near Oxmoor. Sparrowhawk on wires at Lapwing Lane

Evening walk tonight and just as I was passing off a few hundred yards east of the East End at 6 - 7 pm, 550+ Starlings that had on the electricity pylons by Chester Road went and "quasi-Murmured" going off west and disappeared out of view into where the Eastern Reedbed would be.