Over four and a half hours around the flashes, this morning from 6.35, including Dairy House Meadows and Witton Brook. Fine with sunny spells, light winds, 10-17*c. Highlights :-
Eight species of warbler around the flashes, this morning, with three Garden Warbler an increase from the seven over the last few days. Fifty two species in total.
Forty seven species around the flashes, early doors this morning, also taking in Dairy House Meadows, Haydns Pool and part of Witton Brook. Sunny spells, light north westerlies, cold to start with, becoming milder. Bit of a warbler day with :-
Three hours around both flashes, this morning, and back to car park via Dairy House Meadows, Haydns Pool and Witton Brook. Weather sunny with light north westerlies, 6-8*c. Highlights :-
Slow and enjoyable walk round Neumann's Flash for three hours from 10am this morning.
Highlights;
1 female bullfinch
3 greenfinch
4 chiffchaff seen and plenty more singing
1 Reed bunting
2 song thrush
1 oystercatcher
Lots of shelduck and teal
2 wren
Nearly 4 hours around both flashes this morning from 7.20am, also taking in Dairy House Meadows and back via Witton Brook. Sunny and clear after early fog, light southerlies, 5-14*c.
Water levels remain high and much of North Island and Stilt Island are still under water. Doesnt bode well (yet again) for the wader passage. The last decent one was autumn 2018. Cettis in very good voice this morning and Chiffchaff seemed to be everywhere.
Three and a half hours this morning from 7.55 in cloudy but clear weather, 10*c, moderate southerlies. Viewed both flashes then walked up Witton Brook, spent ten minutes in the hide at Haydns Pool and back via Dairy House Meadows. Amongst others :-
Did we meet at the Eastern end of the bund between Neuman's Flash and the layby watching a pair of Bullfinches at around 12:40 - 12:50. Both of us cold from the biting wind and keen to keep walking? (I had wellies, pale blue jeans and a red coat on as I'd just come from work and hadn't my birding gear outerwear with me).
I saw a second pair of Bullfinch at the Marbury Lane end of the bund 5 minutes later so I think at least two pairs knocking about.
Also a pair Reed Bunting at the Witton Mill Feeders (bushes to the side, not on the feeders).
I returned back to Neuman's / Ashton's Flash after a mooch up to Budworth Mere (two Oystercatcher at the boating club and 17 Heron in the Heronry with a Little Egret being only things of note). 31 Curlew were settling / coming in to roosting on Aston's at around 14:55 pm.
and 1m Pochard. Water Rail heard squealing near Pods Hide.
Oddly not a single Shoveler was seen on Neumanns, and there was no waterfowl at all in the SW corner of the flash, notably around Stilt Island where
what appeared to be the freshly dead corpse of a Canada Goose lay. The dead goose had been partially plucked and lay in the water just off the island.
At one point several Canadas swam close to their dead comrade, and posed for while watching the deceased bird intensely as if waiting for it to awaken,
behaviour which I have not witnessed before. The pair of Ravens flew high over the centre of the flash, mobbed by a couple of crows. The presence of the
big corvids clearly upset and flushed the ducks, but not the Curlews, until the Buzzard arrived too.
Ashtons Flash : 66 Curlews (Probably including the 7 flushed off Neumanns), 10+ Shovelers and 1 Kestrel.
Just over two and a half hours from dawn, this morning, viewed both flashes, walked along Witton Brook and then back via Dairy House Meadows. Weather fine and cloudy, light winds, 10*c. Amongst others :-
Other than a few that dropped in to feed on berries, the Redwing and Fieldfare all moved through west and were made up of several smallish flocks. The Curlew left their Ashtons Flash roost shortly after dawn. The Greenfinch numbers are very impressive for this site, normally only seen in twos or threes, they were in a mixed finch flock on Dairy House Meadows.
Marsh Harrier (presumed juvenile )-mid day, seen briefly flying north over western side of the flash.
Also Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail. Kingfisher along Wincham Brook and reasonable views of a crayfish-probably Signal Crayfish-the brook is perhaps unlikely to support the UK's native species (White-clawed)
Good views of the Blue-winged Teal on Neumanns Flash this morning. Initially picked up within a group of Shoveler out in the middle of the flash. Then it swam over to Stilt Island for a snooze. Lifer for me.
Also 4-5 Cettis Warblers heard but all remained out of view even though a couple were very close to the path. 10 Snipe
-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Saturday 9th of October 2021 09:04:59 PM
Reported as present again today. Presumably easiest access is off Ollershaw Lane, ample roadside parking?
Thankyou for any info.
The layby on Ollershaw Lane plus the few bits of hard standing at the Northwich end of the layby do get full, I got in yesterday at lunchtime on a weekday with only 3 or 4 spaces left!! But also the Witton Mill car park has spaces and usually a few free there. You'd be very unlucky not to find a space over the 2 places. Blue-winged Teal seen from Pods hide looking towards the scrapyard corner this morning, but of course the flock are mobile!
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Saturday 9th of October 2021 10:51:11 AM
The last update was that it left at 1.05pm and hadn't returned by 1.35pm. It will still be in the area and just needs finding again, maybe even when/if it returns to Neumann's Flash.
Still no sign by 3pm but I am reliably informed that the flock circled and landed again on Neumann's Flash so the Blue-winged Teal may be roosing up in cover and will come out to feed eventually.
A quick lunchtime dash from work to Neumann's today for a great find by Greg Baker this morning. After a short wait the Blue-winged Teal lifted its head and swam around revealing the heavy bill and pale loral spot, as it shook a tiny patch of blue was discernible on the wing but was only in view for a second. It had been asleep for some while but showed well once it woke as all the other ducks around it had started milling around disturbing it from its slumber! As it settled to drink I had to leave but was only just back at the car when news came through that the flock had flown off, the Blue-winged Teal with them. The last update was that it left at 1.05pm and hadn't returned by 1.35pm. It will still be in the area and just needs finding again, maybe even when/if it returns to Neumann's Flash.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 8th of October 2021 01:54:04 PM
Didnt do a circuit of the two flashes, just stayed in Pods Hide at Neumanns. The Great Egret has been present since 7 August. A couple of bridge camera photos from today plus a better one from a couple of weeks ago.
Wood Sandpiper still present at 18.22 hrs today, if anyone is thinking of visiting tomorrow. Park either in the lay-by on the B5075 on the east side of the flashes, or at Witton Mill car park on Old Warrington Road. View from the bund bench in between the two flashes. The bird is on Ashtons Flash.
Four hours around the flashes this morning from 7.15 am in fine and clear weather, 9-17*c, light westerly winds. Also walked around Dairy House Meadows, on to Haydns Pool and back to the flashes via the lower section of Carey Park. Sixty two species in total.
The Wood Sandpiper was still present both first thing and at around 10.45 am. The green flag on its left leg is actually a geolocator and, together with two other rings on its legs, confirms that this bird was ringed in northern Scotland in 2016 as part of a ringing programme at that time. It is a returning bird and currently making its way back to Western Africa (Senegal/Gambia) where it will winter and is expected to arrive there by mid July. All interesting stuff and thanks to Greg Baker for this info.
Still working every day at the mo so no birding for me. But couldn't resist dropping into Ashton's Flash on the way home tonight. Earlier in the day Greg Baker had found an interesting Wood Sandpiper on Ashton's, a bird sporting a green 'flag' on its leg. A bit of digging revealed that this could be a bird from a Hungarian marking scheme, something though that I'd never seen previously. On arrival a couple of birders there said that the bird had gone missing, one had seen in just over 30mins before and the other had been there 20mins without a sighting. A bit of scanning reavealed a distant half hidden bird that looked to me like a Redshank. Then I picked up the flag-bearing Wood Sandpiper picking its way along one of the pool shorelines. I got the other two onto it and we had reasonable, if distant, scoped views. Nice to see this unusually marked bird and add it to my yearlist!