Having been favouring Moore this year as my local patch I was starting to get a bit guilty about not having been around Woolston for a few weeks and was planning to go soon. Well an afternoon WhatsApp was all that was needed to make me change plans for my afternoon stroll [to Halfway House at lower tide at Moore] and at 3:25 pm wandered in from West via the Manchester Ship Canal (MSC) track at Donaldson Engineering to go to the new #4 bed and within 20 minutes searching the target bird was found. Temmnick's Stint meandering about on a spit off the new Islets viewed from the western path around the bed. Cheshire lifer!
Thanks to Dan for the original message and both Dave's I saw on the way into the bed for more refined directions.
Wader species for the day included Green Sandpiper, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Oystercatcher and Snipe. No Dunlin though whilst watching the Stint at ca. 4 - 4:15 pm (or at all).
Pied Wagtail, Greylag and Canada Geese, Black-headed and Lesser-black Backed Gulls. Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Great Crested Grebe and Shovler on the pool.
Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Robin, Blackbird, Reed Warbler all provided a musical backdrop whilst scanning the bed. Single Linnets and Greenfinch (?) seen on the dryer parts of the bed.
Looks a lovely developing site, great testimony to the hard work put in by the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group and others.
Edit - Expanded MSc acronym to Manchester Ship Canal (attempt at penance for a bad habit developed after spending over 30 years in an industry excelling in TLA - Three Letter Acronyms).
-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 28th of April 2022 09:00:47 PM
Feeding station 19 bramblings probably more greenfinch chaffinch Reed buntings nuthatch 1pr great spotted woodpeckers 1pr bullfinch sparrowhawk 2 jays 9 greylag geese and all the usual wildfowl other birds seen wren goldfinch grey heron pheasant redwing song thrush robin dunnock great/blue/long tailed tits
#4 bed. 1 Cettis Warbler singing. Teal, Shovler, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Gadwall Present with Canada Geese, Black-backed Gulls, one Great Black-backed Gull and three Herring Gulls. Male and female Goosander flew in. Grey Heron skulking at the North side of the bed.
#3bed. Treecreeper (reserve first for me) at the Sybil Hogg hide. Surprisingly small Sparrowhawk flew out a bush in front of me across the fields where seed is grown for finches. Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch abundant all over the shrub around the bed. two more Cettis calling.
Lots of gulls flocks (5 - 60 birds) were flying west down the Ship Canal. I counted 52 flocks in an hour. Predominantly Black-Headed; of the three groups of Herring, one Group had two very large silver winged gulls in, wingspan 1/3rd greater than the rest of the Herring Gulls - Argentatus spp?
-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 16th of December 2021 11:33:09 PM
-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 16th of December 2021 11:33:42 PM
Lovely to see the Black-necked Grebes again with twelve being observed. One female Brambling the feeders. Lots of Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff.
Black- headed Gull in big numbers.
A few Sand Martin around and one Swallow through.
Our first visit in over two years a fabulous reserve.
One Red Kite was seen this morning. Initially it was seen flying south, low over No.2 bed and was thought to have flown south. However it reappeared circling high with two Buzzards over the SE corner of No.3 bed. Also present was one female/imm. Marsh Harrier (a different individual to the one seen on Saturday). Two adult Mediterranean Gulls were again seen in the Black-headed Gull colony.Of interest last weeks colour ringed 1st summer Mediterranean Gull(red PRY6) )was ringed in Poland as a nestling on 20th June 2015. Also last week, the adult summer Mediterranean Gull with a white darvic ring, E718, is a Dutch bird ringed as a nestling in June 2012. Since then it has been seen in Germany and Ireland; the last report was on 21st January2016 at Bray Harbour, Wicklow.
Cheers David (with D Bowman, B Lloyd and J Verdon)
-- Edited by David Spencer on Monday 25th of April 2016 02:41:00 PM
I've just been doing some digging around on the internet and it turns out this Mediterranean gull that has turned up at Elton Reservoir this week was first seen here in 2016 .
The following has been put out on Facebook by Woolston Eyes NR:
Keeping ourselves in line with national policy, we have now decided to close Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve until further notice. I will provide further updates, as and when the situation changes. Stay safe
Visible Migration watch from the eastern edge of the Reserve..with Dave Bowman..Les Jones..Dave Spencer..Alan Warford..Helen Allen...0630-1200...Highlights