On Patch am and back to it being pretty quiet. Dull weather but mild again.
Best on the pools were 2(1 drake) Goosander on Small Pool, the drake being a stunning fully white male with a pink flush.
A total of 25 Redwings consisted of 24 in a tree near Small Pool and 1 in Gull Pool Wood. A Great Spotted Woodpecker showed well in Gull Pool Wood too.
A return to have a more complete walk than yesterday, still very dull and murky with poor visibility still, one consolation was no wind and it was mild!
A cracking day on the pools with two really scarce species here dropping in briefly today. The first that I picked up were 3(1drake) Pintail, in west bay from the main spit. These were quite wary and kept close order together, and I discovered later it was my second sighting of Pintail this year here, for a species that is not always annual! The previous sighting was on January 16th and coincidentally was a drake with two females too. Moving round to 'Tony's Peg' I scanned the rest of Big Pool and was amazed to see 2 Shelducks on the far side.This was only my third sighting of Shelduck in nine years here so even rarer ducks than the Pintails. On returning later with digiscoping equipment only the Pintail remained and then they flew off as more fishermen appeared with bait boats off the spit where the Pintail favoured. Also seen on Big Pool were 12 Wigeon, with at least 16 Gadwall on the two main pools. As I arrived I heard geese and within the next 15mins two skeins totalling 200 Pink-footed Geese passed over heading south. one of 155 at 9.15am and one of 45 at 9.30am. There were 5 Cormorants still present and a more accurate count of 25 Lapwings due to them taking to the air as one flock.
A Stock Dove was noted in the field east of the Pine Belt and 6 Starlings flew over west of Big Pool.
The discovery of the ducks curtailed my walk again as I had to go back to my car to get digiscoping kit and then go round to various vantage points searching for the ducks after they had gone missing! Record shots of the Pintail were all that I managed!
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Monday 4th of November 2024 04:03:02 PM
My first November pop onto patch and it was dull and dreary weather.
On Big Pool a pair of Goosanders consisted of a female and an eclipse drake. Also on Big Pool were 2(1drk) Shoveler and 2(1drk) Wigeon. A season high of 5 Cormorants loafed around on the willow spit on Big Pool. There were 20 Lapwings in the field east of the Pine Belt.
Two Mistle Thrushes were in the former leek field which looks like it's been planted with winter wheat.
Very quick nip onto patch to check Big Pool. The Black Tern was reported as present yesterday but I had really bad stomach cramps and had to stay in. Today however there was no sign at all. The Kingfisher showed really well on Big Pool twice and a flock of 4 Bullfinches flew over quite high, an unusual sight.
In morning all there was to report was a male Sparrowhawk over the main track near the Big Pool SW Glade.
In the afternoon, even though it wasn't present am the juvenile Black Tern unexpectedly returned! Black-headed Gull numbers am was 3, pm around 20 with 10 Common Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull over. So the assumption is that it came in with the gulls. It was present from 2.15pm until 3.35pm when coincidentally there was an exodus of gulls. A Kingfisher showed a few times on Big Pool too.
A morning visit to Newchurch Common with dank overcast weather not looking great but ........ a fab day
The headline bird was a patch lifer a juvenile Black Tern on Big Pool found around 11.30am by fellow patcher Dave. It was a lifer for him and as a less experienced birder he didn't really have any idea what he had seen, only that it was not anything he'd encountered before. He phoned me and I hot-footed it to 'spit peg' with the news that he'd lost his mystery bird and hadn't seen it for a few minutes. I scanned and then pretty high in the sky picked up an obvious marsh tern. I checked features such as saddle and rump colour and wing pattern and knew that it was a juvenile Black Tern. I rang Dave to tell him and then joined him to enjoy watching a Patch Lifer for me and a Lifer for him. We moved around the pool but with no buoys or posts the bird was airborn all the time, mostly high up above the pool and seen to be catching flies, I had seen lots of caddisflies earlier so these may have been its quarry! I did the best I could with record phone pictures and then left to hopefully return with better photo equipment later but about 15mins after leaving Dave texted to say it had flown off high around 1.15pm. I did still return in the afternoon but there was no sign of it, the tern had moved through.
Other than the tern the bird news was pretty average with around 6 Gadwall on Small Pool and a Cormorant was on Big Pool. At least 100 Lapwings were in potato fields being harvested east of the Pine Belt along with over 160 Black-headed Gulls.
A nice winter feeding flock was found by Small Pool which included Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and best of all a female Siskin. Nearby a Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the bankside trees calling.
A longer morning walk on Patch, concentrating on the Shemmy Moss area. Overcast and mild again with sunny intervals.
A big surprise was a nearly complete Mallard eggshell, looked as if predated, but didn't look more than a couple of weeks old, could have been an egg dump by a female Mallard. A flock of 18 Lapwings flew east over Shemmy Moss.
Again a Raven was on the mosses calling. At least 4 Jays were heard calling from oak trees.
There was a join up today with all 9(3drk) Goosanders on Small Pool. On Big Pool a group of 6 Wigeon were seen. A new record count of 240 Greylag Geese on Big Pool, including a leucistic bird. The Greylags easily outnumbered the Canada Geese today.
A morning walk on Newchurch, overcast but mild & dry.
There were 9 Goosanders in total, a first-winter drake on Big Pool and 3 drakes and 5 females on Small Pool. On the two pools a total of 8 Gadwall was seen but I suspect more. A Kingfisher was also on Small Pool.
Near Common Farm a release meant that there were 16 Pheasants seen. Also here were 8 Collared Doves, a huge number for one walk 'on Patch'.
Just 9 Fieldfares and 1 Redwing over Big Pool today for winter thrush sightings, the big numbers obviously moved straight through.
A morning walk on patch, mild and overcast with sunny intervals.
On Big Pool 3 Goosander included 2 eclipse drakes and a female. There were also 8 Wigeon in a distant flock and at least 8 Gadwall. A huge number of geese were on the pool and surprisingly these were made up of 140 Greylag Geese and 140 Canada Geese. This could be an all time high Greylag count.
There were 12 Redwings on rowans in Gull Pool Wood with 2 Nutchatches in the same area.
An interesting morning on my Newchurch Patch, overcast and cool.
There were 2 female Goosanders on Nunsmere, visible from the extreme western edge of my Patch. Whilst in Gull Pool Wood I heard 1+Wigeon fly over, I've never had them here before. A Cormorant flew over the mosslands.
The most striking feature of today was the huge influx of winter thrushes. The totals seen over the mosslands and in Gull Pool Wood (on Rowans) were estimated at 175 Redwings and 45 Fieldfares, with double figures of presumed migrant Blackbirds with them and c.6 Song Thrushes and 2 Mistle Thrushes. dding in birds going as I walked to my patch boundary from where I parked on the A49 the numbers were 245 Redwings and 80 Fieldfares. There was also a small movement of Woodpigeons noted with around 75 birds flying through. Winter feeding flocks of passerines were also evident and included 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 on Shemmy Moss and 1 in Gull Pool Wood. These flocks also contained Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tits as well as the more usual Great and Blue Tits.
Two walks today to take advantage of good weather at last. Sunny but cold all day.
On Big Pool the best sighting was 3(1 eclipse drk) Goosander, but these were mobile and diving constantly so really hard to keep track of. Also on here were 3(1drk) Gadwall. An immature Lesser Black-backed Gull circled low over the pool.
A male Kestrel was hunting over the Beetle Bank north of the Pine Belt. The former Leek field has now been ploughed and 2 Mistle Thrushes were feeding in it.
On Big Pool a slight increase in wildfowl with 4(2drk) Wigeon, 2(1drk) Shoveler and 7(5drk) Gadwall as well as good numbers of Tufted Ducks. Three skeins totalling 320 Pink-footed Geese flew over, all heading east and all over the mosslands area. Also over Shemmy Moss were 60 Canada Geese and a single Greylag Goose. I accidentally flushed 9 Snipe from Shemmy Moss in one group.
A total of 9 Jays were seen, most collecting acorns. A Raven cronked over Abbot's Moss with 2 Stock Doves over too.
A morning visit to Patch, dry, bright but cold. Then a wee pop back pm when it was sunnier and warmer!
The highlight was 9 Goosanders which dropped in to Big Pool. The swam around in the middle but it was quite busy with anglers today and they soon departed. From distance and with bins only I could see only one bird developing white in its plumage. Also on Big Pool was a Shoveler, again looking drab but a probable 1w male. There were at least 4 Gadwall seen again plus 60 Tufted Ducks. A Grey Heron flew over the main track calling.
A surprise was a large flock of hirundines low over Big Pool comprising 12 Swallows, 10 Sand Martins and 1 House Martin. An extra 2 Sand Martins and 1 Swallow were near Lymm Vale.
A Raven flew over the Pine Belt pm. There were 4 Collared Doves near Common Farm. A couple of Stock Doves were seen. A passage flock of 14 Pied Wagtails was in a horse paddock off Novia Scotia Lane.
A visit this morning due to a better forecast. Wet underfoot and a shower but mostly dry weather!
4 Gadwall included a pair on Small Pool and 2 drakes on Big Pool. 146 Canada Geese were on Big Pool. There were 7 Mute Swans in total, 5 on Big Pool, 2 on Small Pool. A total between the pools of 5 Common Gulls.
Jays are collecting acorns and one was seen to yank one from an oak tree, I always thought they preferentially collected fallen acorns.
An absolutely cracking afternoon on Patch, sunny and still.
On the pools there were 3(1drk) Shoveler and 4(2drk) Gadwall on Big Pool. Also on Big Pool were 2(1ad, 1juv) Little Grebes and 4(2ad, 2juv) Great Crested Grebes. Amongst 24 Black-headed Gulls were 4 Common Gulls.
As I skirted the northern edge of Big Pool I checked the arable fields to the north as usual and that's where all the action was. First I spotted a male Stonechat on the telegraph wires. Previously this species had only been seen on the mosslands so this was a huge surprise. I quickly headed round the hedge to get better views and entered the field with permission previously granted by the farmers brother, otherwise it is strictly private. In here I discovered a female Greenfinch in a flock of 15 House Sparrows feeding in the brambles along the edge running from Newchurch Common to Daleford Lane. Greenfinch is a patch rarity so this was an excellent find. Also in this hedge was a Meadow Pipit, a patch scarcity! Even better was a patch first but lack of access means I had to keep this quiet until I can see if I can see it from a public footpath later. Watch this space!
A probable family group of 5 Buzzards were up over Shemmy tumbling around together and mewing constantly. A Raven was cronking nearby.
At the edge of Shemmy adjoining the Whitegate Way an impressively large feeding flock of passerines moved through the oaks and conifers. Difficult to see them all but those noted were 3 Willow Warblers, 12 Chiffchaffs, 5 Goldcrests, 2 Long-tailed Tits and 3 Coal Tits.
A morning and afternoon visit today, fine and bright.
Just a few noteworthy sightings. First a female Teal was on Gull Pool and we unknowingly got within aroun5m of her and she never flushed just swam around in and out of the reeds at the edge of the pool in front of us. This could only signify that she had young there so we backed off in double quick time to leave her undisturbed. On Big Pool a count of 160 Canada Geese was a significant increase.
A flock of at least 6 Long-tailed Tits in Gull Pool Wood also contained a Chiffchaff.
Shortish walks am and pm on Patch, all on Shemmy Moss today.
A Kestrel was in the dead tree which falcons favour and a Buzzard was overhead. There were 20 Stock Doves in a cut field in the Abbot's Moss Nurseries with Wood Pigeons and a single Feral Pigeon. Also on these fields were 2(m+f) Yellowhammers.
Popped onto Patch for a very short visit pm. warm but dull.
On Big Pool there were at least 40 Tufted Ducks and this included 3 Tufted ducklings. Also present still 2(1drk) Gadwall. There were at least 8(3y) Great Crested Grebes, the young now quite well grown.
A sort afternoon walk on Shemmy Moss, fine and dry and warm.
On arrival an adult Hobby was feeding over Shemmy Moss, it then headed over to Gull Pool where it circled for a while before heading off east following the Whitegate Way.
Out early from c.7.40am (well early for me), warming up, getting sunny & pleasantly warm instead of sweltering!
On Gull Pool a female Teal was acting like she had a nest or even young in a reedbed nearby so I backed off. Also on Gull Pool a female Tufted Duck was seen with 2 tiny ducklings.
On Sandy Lane there were 4 House Martins, 2 Swallows and a Sand Martin together on overhead wires, far too early for them to be grouping up pre-migration so may have been attracted by an abundance of insects, such as flying ants.
A Green Woodpecker called several times on the east side of Shemmy Moss. Nearby 2 Stock Doves fed with Woodpigeons in a harvested field in the Abbot's Moss Nursery.
Morning on Newchurch, warming up as the day went on.
The pools were still quite busy with the 8 Mute Swans still on Big Pool. A flock of 41 Lapwings was down in the former Leek Field. A Grey Heron was by Big Pool.
Spent separate visits am & pm on my patch. Sunny & hot.
There were 43 Tufted Ducks on Big Pool, an increase over recent days. A marked increase in Coot was noted too with over 30 birds on Big Pool. There were 9 Mute Swans on Big Pool too, many more than the norm. A dead Canada Goose to add to the dead Mute Swan, both out on Big Pool wasn't good news, a mystery as to what is happening.
A Kestrel was on a dead tree on Abbot's Moss and a Raven flew over.
At last a bird to be chuffed with, all day on patch so deserved it! Sunny and hot.
Picked up a mega patch bird, a Common Sandpiper on Gorse Point fishing peg on Big Pool and then relocated it on Beach Peg when patch mate Dave came down to try to see it. With out complete lack of wader habitat this is only the second patch record ever! Always nice though when every 'patcher' connects! Whilst digi-binning the sandpiper I picked up a female Tufted Duck with 2 young, the first breeding of this species on patch this year and a rare patch breeder to boot! A total of 5 Mute Swans were on Big Pool, 2 pairs and the resident male. There were 3 Great Crested Grebe chicks on Big Pool, 1 new small one and 2 larger older ones. A larger one was also on Nunsmere. A flock of 14 Lapwings flew over Big Pool to make it a rare two-wader day! A Cormorant flew over Shemmy Moss in the afternoon. A Grey Heron was on willow spit on Big Pool.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 19th of July 2024 10:43:38 PM
Afternoon on Shemmy Moss with overcast mild conditions.
A patch mega was seen in the shape of a Green Woodpecker, heard first then seen and digi-binned atop the tall trees on the west side of the moss. This was once a common breeding species on patch but has declined dramatically now. A Hobby was seen perched on a dead tree and then hunting over South Moss watched form the nursery approach road, also on here was a Buzzard on another tree. A Sparrowhawk was thermalling over Shemmy Moss too.
A Little Grebe has 2 chicks on Gull Pool where a Water Rail was heard calling. Two Oystercatchers flew over Big Pool calling am.
A Raven was over the mosslands. Lots of fledgling activity with young Garden Warblers, Great Tits, Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits. Also a discarded Linneteggshell, looked succesfully hatched and removed by a parent bird.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 21st of June 2024 03:38:26 PM
Nearby a small loose party flew over including 4 Swifts, 4 Sand Martins and 5 House Martins. Garden Warblers were still feeding young and a family party of Chiffchaffs was also seen.
An afternoon long walk on patch, sunny but some cloud too.
A Little Grebe had 2 chicks on Gull Pool, the first I've seen this year, good news. In the field by Lymm Vale a large flock of Canada Geese had a creche of 18 mixed aged goslings.
A Swift was north of Big Pool. A group of 5 Garden Warblers near Big Pool consisted of 2 adults and 3 young showing well. The adults were seen to feed 2 damselflies to the young, an adult Common Blue and a teneral one.