Doc Brewster wrote:

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Decided on a quick half hour before the storm hit today, just in case anything was pushed in on the front edge of it

Just time to have a walk down the main track where Redpoll, Bullfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch were all seen. Then a couple of visits to Big Pool from the 'Beach' and the 'Spit' as well as a look at Small Pool too. The female Smew was sheltering in West Bay off the spit as is usual in rougher weather, bit of a softie!! Hardier ducks included a drake Goosander and three (2 drake) Pochards out in the middle of Sandiway Big Lake. Rest of the supporting cast as usual. I left as the winds were getting a lot stronger and the rain was getting heavier, wonder what they will bring in?

 

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Tuesday 26th of January 2016 11:00:47 AM

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After a couple of work days it was a chance to get back down on patch again today with Carys

The female Smew was favouring West Bay area of Sandiway Big Pool again, a bit further out than usual though. Three Goosander (1 drake) flew over us whilst we were near Small Pool but were relocated on Big Pool. Five Shovelers (2 drakes) and over 20 Teal were also on Big Pool, all the ducks seeming very twitchy & restless for some reason. There were lots more fishermen than usual so maybe they felt that all the edges of the pool were not approachable and being out in the middle they felt a bit exposed. Still over 50 Wigeon and 20+Gadwall present. A Kingfisher showed really well on Small Pool and a Great Spotted Woodpecker 'chicked' from the top of a nearby tree. A single Snipe was still on Big Pool in its usual place but so well tucked down I am amazed that I found it!!

North of Big Pool I managed a new bird for the patch in the shape of a beautiful male Yellowhammer which posed long enough for photographs! Whilst watching him a flock of 32 Lapwings flew over, never a common bird hereabouts and at over 60 Fieldfares were moving around the arable fields with just a single Redwing seen. Near the 'Novia Scotia' entrance two Redpolls were still in the trees by the main track as well as a stunning male Bullfinch.

Most unusual sighting of the day were two Harris's Hawks being flown by a visiting falconer, who looked like he was after Rabbits given the terrier he also had with him!! Good to have a chat with mate John Spottiswood who visited today and to say hi to several birders dropping in to see the Smew, it's going to be strange when she's gone!!

Having a rare Monday off and having a couple of hours before lunch after an appointment locally, I popped down to see what I could see!

The best bird by far was another knew bird for my patch for me and again probably related to the cold weather - a Woodcock, seen on the north side of my recording area. One Snipe was still present in one of the areas I saw it yesterday, looking wierd stood on a branch over deep water, as good a place as any to roost though! The female Smew remains on Sandiway Big Pool and remains very mobile, around noon I saw in loafing about in east bay, but know it could be anywhere on any visit!! Three Shovelers (1 drake) were on the big pool as well as the usual waterfowl.

Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were again present as well as Nuthatches, a Fieldfare and a handful of Redwings.

Back spasm relapsed so popped down mid morning for a few hours with just my bins rather than a scope.

Female Smew showing close to shore in East Bay viewed from 'The Beach' with the long staying very rich plumaged drake Goosander in the same area. 8 more Goosanders were on small pool, 3 adult drakes, 4 immature drakes and 2 adult females, making a highest ever site count of this species for me of 9 birds in all  Totals of Wigeon were well over 50 birds, with 30+ on Sandiway Small Pool alone and 30+ Gadwall too. At least 4 Little Grebes were on Sandiway Big Pool as well as a Kingfisher.

Two Green Woodpeckers were seen, one showing well on the ground in the paddocks, not being spooked at all as it tried to feed on the icy hard ground in the sun, the other in fields by the pine belt. Several Nuthatches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were present too. A Goldcrest showed down to 3 feet in a scrubby area south of the main track. At least 4 Song Thrushes were feeding in the horse paddocks but only a single Redwing.

Again over 40 species, happy with that with just my bins

here from 3pm, looked on the big pool first from a couple of areas but no sign of the smew, checked on the smaller pool & no signs on there, then back on to the big pool (in the rain) viewing from east side/the beach & finally found the smew on the far west side, views were not great as the light was fading & the smew then swam to the south of the pool & out of view.

other birds around... 90+ tufted duck, 34 gadwall, 28 wigeon, 1 pochard, 1 teal, 2 shoveler, 7 goosander, 2 little grebe, 8 great crested grebe, 1 green woodpecker flew from the ground around the small pool, 1 treecreeper, few siskin heard over, kingfisher heard, lots of gulls around & over.

Sorry Paul about the confusing report  that must of been me though how it read new pool I dont no!!!  I would of corrected it had I noticed

Found the Red head, Smew close to the north north east bank, looking across from fishing peg 18

Other birds of note 8 Wigeon, Drake Goosander, 12 Gadwall, at least 10 Great Crested Grebes,  loads of Coots 100+, C40 Tufted  Ducks, and a Water Rail in waters edge among sallow branches was a surprise find along a path through willow birch wood opposite island on track side of lake.  

John Watson wrote:

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We were there Paul yesterday (Sun 10 Jan) late pm, though didn't see any other birders. We'd have said hello !

Anyway, Smew was scooting about near "The Beach"; also 2 Goosander flying around.

Also, 4-6 Redpoll by access gate. Relatively pale, but definitely just Lesser Redpoll.

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 Yeah it definitely wasn't you John lol I know that you would have said hi, as we always do, glad you yearticked her, will be a bit wierd when she leaves & I see no other birders on site again!!

First visit back for about a week due to being crocked with a back spasm

Female Smew still present on Sandiway Big Pool, initially in West Bay and then pretty soon afterwards over on the east side near 'The Beach', that bird can't half shift quickly when its little legs get going!! Two drake Goosanders showed briefly around the spit area. The overwhelming feeling was of a decrease in duck numbers, Wigeon were down from pre-Chritmas peaks of around 100 to c.40, Gadwall numbers were also down to c.30 and the Tufted Duck flock was smaller with not a single Pochard in with them. At least 7 Teal were seen with one group of four drakes chasing a female. Great Crested Grebes were displaying too. The paddocks still hold large numbers of winter thrushes, Redwings, Fieldfares & Mistle Thrushes.

Showed the Smew to 3 Environment Agengy Fisheries officers who were calling to check rod licences, amazed to see them all togged up in stab vests and looking almost military, but I suppose you can't be too careful these days, nice guys too

Nothing too out of the ordinary today, but a couple of not so friendly birders coming on at 1pm could have said hello, ah well it takes all sorts

Good to meet you Richard & glad you got the birds Because of parties this is a late posting But nipped down on Dec 31st to confirm that the Smew was there, then on to 2016!

Started off at dawn at Newchurch Common, with much frozen water around on paths & in fields but not on the lakes. We diverted to Sandiway Small Pool first and amazingly found the female Smew on there (first time on this pond all winter) as well as a superb count of 1 drake & 3 female Goosanders. Later the Goosanders took flight and at least 2(1drk) popped over to Big Pool as did the Smew (but didn't see this actually leave the small pool). Two drake Pochards, a couple of Shovelers and a couple of Teal provided rarer duck action. Two Kingfishers were seen, 1 on each pool. The expected rest of the cast were all present.

Gulls were well represented with a post-dawn passage over of big numbers of large gulls including Herring, Great & Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Common and Black-headed Gulls were on the lakes. Buzzards flew over and a Green Woodpecker was predictably in the paddocks. In other paddocks over a hundred Redwings fed with a single Fieldfare, another 4 of the latter were elsewhere on site. 10+Bullfinches and 30 Goldfinches made for a colourful morning. Several Siskins were also nice to see. Nuthatches, a Treecreeper, several Goldcrests and a lone Collared Dove were welcome list additions for the 2016 Patch List.

Probably the most unexpected bird all day was a Patch Lifer in the shape of a Grey Wagtail, hanging around with a Pied Wagtail on a frozen flood in a field, both were gone later after the water had thawed out, a great start to my 2016 visits.

All day was spent at the common as per my 'new' low mileage resolution for 2016. Great to meet so many birders popping in for the Smew and accompanying goodies and great that I could put each one I met onto the trilogy of Smew, Goosander & Pochard for their fledgling yearlists!! A record Patch day total for me with 54 species seen, I will keep all up to date as usual on here, especially after the New Year whirl of ticking dies down a bit and I have the site back to myself 

Probably my final visit until after Christmas this morning.

As we approach the 2016 List the female Smew is still present, favouring West Bay of Sandiway Big Pool still and on my last few visits she has been lurking near the edge under the overhanging branches before coming out & showing better later. Other highlights were 2 drake Pochards, possibly new ones as yesterday an extensive search revealed no Pochard. An increased number of Common Gulls were in, many more gulls in total being seen on the lake this morning.

A Green Woodpecker and a Nuthatch were present but more rare were 2 Treecreepers at the edge of The Paddocks houses. Finches seen included Siskin, Bullfinch and numerous Chaffinches but no Bramblings were seen in a lengthy search through the flock. Several Redwings were now feeding amongst the leaf litter in a wooded area.

I will pop back to check everything before New Year. Just a thought, after chatting with the fisherman throughout this winter, if you visit for the Smew in the early New Year please be courteous to the fishermen. They own the pool and have always welcomed me watching from pegs they are not using. If a peg is occupied please go to another area to watch. Standing around talking loudly will probably annoy them so please be quiet, it's good fieldcraft anyway! The fishermen have a bit of a conflict with many local dogwalkers who let the dogs swim in the lakes despite them being 'private' fishing pools, we birders have a good relationship with them so please let's keep it that way, thanks

Popped in for a brief visit this morning. Overcast and occasionally spitting with light rain, but so, so mild (at home the strawberries have come into flower in pots in the garden )

Had a fantastic visit, adding two new species to my Newchurch Common Patch list. The first of these was very unexpected, especially in the location that I found them. Looking across the paddocks at the edge of the gardens of the housing development that is called 'The Paddocks' (confusing!!) I saw a group of small passerines in a tree which when scoped turned out to be a group of 10 Meadow Pipits! In a tree in someones garden!! They just sat in the tree for ages, suggesting that they had alighted there whilst passing through. I never saw then drop down to feed, but left them sitting in the tree as I wanted to get onto the patch to check for anything else.

My next new bird was one that I had expected at some time but was a tad scarcer on a UK scale than Meadow Pipit, namely a Mediterranean Gull. A wnter-plumaged adult Med Gull sat amongst the Black-headed Gulls out on Sandiway Big Pool, distant but I did get some digiscoped record shots. With then breeding nearby on Blakemere Moss in Delamere Forest I had been expecting to find it at some time, but it is always nice to find this scarce species.

The female Smew was still on the south side of Big Pool, a wee bit more elusive today, head tucked in & resting under bankside vegetation. The drake Goosander and one drake Pochard still remained on the pool. A Kingfisher flashed across the pool on the north shore too.

A nice mixture of passerines with a Goldcrest, a Siskin, male & female Bullfinches and the usual mix of commoner species. It may have been a drizzly overcast morning but the birding certainly brightened my day up

Brief visit early afternoon, can't do long visits in the afternoons at the moment as the nights are drawing in so fast everything goes to roost very very early!

Female Smew still on Sandiway Big Pool in West Bay showing very well. Near north shore of Big Pool was a stunning drake Goosander, a good bird in the Northwich area, following on from my 2 females a few weeks ago' The 5 drake Pochards were still in with the Tufted Ducks. Redwings and a few Fieldfares were again present and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen. Two Great Black-backed Gulls flew over again with a single Lesser Black-backed Gull with them giving a nice size comparison.

Late post for yesterday.

Popped down early afternoon in drizzly weather which brightened later. The female Smew remained on Sandiway Big Pool but distant over near north shore for a change. There were now 5 drake Pochards on this pool too, and Wigeon numbers are pushing the three figure mark. The Green Woodpecker was again seen near the paddocks as well as a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch. A patch first for me in the shape of 2 Great Black-backed Gulls flew over, probably as a result of Storm Desmond, they languidly flapped over so low I could see their pale pink legs!! After seeing my first patch Collared Doves the other day I had another, on the wires at Daleford Farm viewed from near Kennel Lane, just like buses eh!!

Underfoot it is getting more and more cut up away from the main track so wellies advised if you are going to have a good wander around. Sorry to have missed you, Frank, if I hadn't have been working I could have met you & given you a lift to & from Cuddington, maybe next time. Anyone popping down please do let me know & if I have a day off I would love to show you round 

A while since I was down at the 'Common' so popped down for a morning today, a bit dreicht, but braved the conditions & got a full mornings birding in

I added two new species to my new patch list, the easy ones keep falling but I know it will get more difficult! These easy ones were Collared Dove, surprisingly scarce here, and Herring Gull (3 flew over). The female Smew still lurked in West Bay of Sandiway Big Pool where 4 drake Pochard were a new addition. These birds were pretty skittish though, moving between Big Pool & Small Pool a couple of times. A pair of Shovelers were on Big Pool, a species I don't always see here. I refound a large flock of Chaffinches after I hadn't seen any significant numbers for a while, but they were out in the middle of the stubble field on the N.side of Big Pool, so no chance of checking for Bramblings. Large numbers of Redwings were feeding on holly berries in the horse paddocks along with a few Fieldfares. My second ever sighting of Coal Tit here came near Sandiway Small Pool.

Hopefully going back tomorrow with the intention of checking out Whitegate Station Cafe & its home made cakes and hot chocolate

Bit of a gap since my last visit due to work & weather!

The female Smew is still in residence on Sandiway Big Pool, and a new bird in for me was a female Pochard in amongst the Tufted Ducks. As a change I decided to do the south end of the common, that's the Whitegate Way side S.of Sandiway Small Pool. Ravens were present as well as a flock of Redwings and a Song Thrush in the horse paddocks. Also here was a large flock of House Sparrows, scarce elsewhere on this patch and a Greenfinch, also a patch first for me (but I have only just formally started recording on here!!). Other birds not seen on every visit included a Kingfisher, a Pied Wagtail and a couple of Nuthatches.

Latest installment in the Newchurch Common saga:

Afternoon visit started with a cracking close Green Woodpecker in the paddocks near the parking area on Nova Scotia Lane along with several Redwings. Then on to the lakes, the female Smew was back in West Bay on Sandiway Big Pool, a bit more sheltered given the blustery conditions of late. Later we picked out a pair of Goldeneye over on the east side of the lake, the drake looking splendid in the golden rays of the setting sun. Again it was great to show visiting birders the Smew, on my last visit it was a fisherman who showed an interest and watched it for ages through my scope A Goldcrest and several Siskins were again seen but the Chaffinch flock was well out on the maize field and in the fading light was hard to observe.

Just a note, as a local mentioned this to me, could visitors if possible pull up in the usual parking spots (you are able to get two wheels off the road) on the RHS as you get to near the fishermans gate on Novia Scotia Lane, and not turn left and park on the road to the estate past the paddocks as this blocks half the road and horse boxes use this road, cheers

Again given a small weather window in which to get out on my day off I decided, that seeing as I would only have 1.5hrs at the most, to nip to Newchurch Common again. So it was I started at 9am walking onto site to see what I could see today!

Given the recent habits of a sizeable chunk of the Aythya flock I headed first to the West Bay of Sandiway Big Pool where, true to form, the female Smew was loafing amongst around 30 Tufted Ducks. The whole pool was again checked and again Wigeon & Gadwall numbered over 30 apiece. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull was present, otherwise all as normal. No Goosanders were seen at all, as with most unusual sightings at this site they only seemed to have stayed for a single day!

The best sighting passerine-wise was seeing at least 3 (but almost certainly more) Bramblings in the large Chaffinch flock, which was favouring a newly cut maize field just west of Sandiway Small Pool. The Bramblings showed well enough for record digiscoped shots, showing far better than when I saw the first Brambling last week. At one point I had the great sight of one Brambling (along with Chaffinches) mobbing a female Sparrowhawk, which flew lazily over the trees in which the finch flock were perching up. A single Siskin was seen and a couple of stunning male Bullfinches were also present.

All too soon the rain started so I headed off back home for a cuppa & to warm up

A wet and windy day and I luckily spent it in the dry and relative warmth at work at Focalpoint Optics, but still got news of the female Smew courtesy of Dave Bowman and his birding group who called in early afternoon. They had been watching the Smew and had good views in East Bay on Sandiway Big Pool. Hopefully I will get the chance to pop down pre-rain (as per the BBC Forecast) tomorrow  Great to see everyone and have a chat, hopefully I'll bump into many of you again  

A quick update to keep all informed. A very quick visit today due to inclement weather, but couldn't stay inside all day so just had to nip out

The female Smew was still on Sandiway Big Pool, favouring the West Bay where it was tucked away in a sheltered corner with quite a large proportion of the lakes Tufted Ducks. Well over 30 Wigeon now on the two lakes as well as an increase in Great Crested Grebes (10+) and Cormorants (7). Passerines were notable by their absence in the cold, blustery, wet conditions, just a few tit flocks and finch groups favouring the deep hedgerows.

Sunday.   Nov 1st.        12.30 - 14.00 hrs.

Smew. Good views  but it did have a giddy 20 mins of constant diving before resuming loafing about.

Wigeon.

Gadwall.

Jay.

Great spotted woodpecker.

Roger.

In a short visit this afternoon we saw the Smew yet again in the centre of the Big Pool N.of the main track and also had the first Goldeneye of this years end, a female bird on the Big Pool also. A flock of 20 Stock Doves was a great sight in the adjacent farm fields. Other than that it was all the usuals