The Goosanders (2) were both male green headed; one seen from Teal hide (asleep on the "island", at a quick glance you'd assume just another Shoveler - sneaky), the other from Ramsdale hide; no females seen
Little Grebe - a couple visible from Teal hide
1 Little Egret at the car park end of the spit quite near the hide
A few (<15) Redwings flying across and one sharing a tree by the canal with a solitary Fieldfare
Quite a few Great Black-backed gull; didn't actually count them but I'd say between 10-15 in adult or near adult plumage
Plenty of Lapwing, Cormorants and Great Crested Grebe
Sparrowhawk - 2 both female although could have been the same one because they were over an hour apart
Long-tailed Tits - little flocks all over the place, with one flock going off into loads of alarm calls when a Sparrowhawk blasted through - don't think it got one
Snipe on the spit - none - but was that none there or me missing them, easily done.
Comparatively small gull roost tonight, 358 Herring Gulls which isn't bad but smaller number of everything else, even the Jackdaw roost was significantly smaller than it has been.
12 Pochard (2 females)
27 Goldeneye
4 Goosander
1 Raven flew west at 3pm
Cetti's Warbler singing from the shore by Sorrow Cow Farm
Bittern 1 flew in front of Ramsdales reedbed at 11:30
Scaup 1 female still at western end at 9am but the tufted duck flock constantly flushed this morning by a canoe from the boat club which went right into the bay almost up to the reeds on several occasions, putting everything up and most of the tufted ducks and probably the scaup landed in Ramsdales.
Pochard 13 including 10 males and 2 females off the car park and another male at the western end.
An exciting visit this morning in heavy drizzle, mist and murk. 8:15am - 11:15am.
A very dark, almost black juvenile marsh harrier flew over Mossley Hall farm at about 9am. Unlike the hen harrier on Friday which was high and powered through east, this harrier appeared from the west at just over tree height and then lazily disappeared north. It didn't look like it was simply moving through, more like it was hunting the local area, so perhaps it will return in the coming days. Other birds today included:
Woodcock 2 on the south side
Greater scaup 1 1st winter. The less obvious bird was apparently missing, but the weather was pretty grim and it could easily have been overlooked.
Goosander 8 including 2 drakes
Goldeneye 20+
Pochard 7 off the car park, including 6 drakes
-- Edited by colin davies on Sunday 19th of November 2023 04:13:50 PM
This morning I didn't see a single snipe on the spit from Horrock's hide despite being there at around the same time that Ian was watching 48 snipe and a jack snipe from the point of the ruck . Even when the lapwing flushed no snipe flew up.
However, this afternoon, 13:30 - 15:30 from the point.
Jack snipe still present on the spit and frequently bobbing
Snipe 40+
Just shows it's worth viewing the spit from several different angles
Cattle egret 2 flew low over Sandy Lane at 8:30. They didn't appear to have come from or be going to the flash and judging by their flight it appeared to be a local movement rather than just passing over, almost as if they were just jumping the road. I walked the fields between Sorrowcow farm and Liptrot farm but could find no further sign of them during the duration of my visit.
Dunlin 2 flew over the flooded horse field at Mossley Hall farm and appeared to be heading for the boat club shore but there was disturbance there from dogs and people so presumably they just carried on since there is currently no other shoreline anywhere at the flash.
Chiffchaff 1 singing male in the woods behind East Bay reedbed. Quite a strong song, not just a feeble effort as is sometimes the case at this time of year.
Egyptian geese family party of 4 still on flooded field at Mossley Hall farm.
5340 Pink-footed Geese were seen from Ramsdales Ruck from 07:25 up to 09:44 in a total of 41 skeins, with the usual two flight lines, west/east from/to the Mersey which fly just south of the flash and NW/SE from/to the Ribble which fly just to the north or directly over the flash, continuing to be patently visible. 2237 birds flew east in seven skeins; 1918 west in 20 skeins; 963 flew NW in 10 skeins; 222 SE in four skeins.
2264 Fieldfares over W/SW in 13 flocks, with a largest flock of 680 west at 08:18 and another 120 which flew in from the west and dropped into trees along Byrom Lane.
385 Redwings over W/SW in 12 flocks.
8060 Woodpigeons flew S/SE in 89 flocks, three of which just exceeded 500 strong.
34 Whooper Swans low SE at 07:47.
46 Chaffinches over south mainly as singles.
26 Meadow Pipits actually down on Ramsdales Ruck, along with four Skylarks.
5 Raven over, with one east at 07:10 and four together north at 07:57.
A flock of 9 female/immature Goldeneyes in Ramsdales.
174 Tufted Ducks
9 Goosanders, with two drakes north at first light, flooded later by another two drakes north, two females in from the NE dropping in around the Ramsdales/nature reserve area and three (one drake) at the very western end (inflow area).
Male Cetti's Warbler singing on his usual territory at the very western end.
2 Kingfishers.
A small (but significant) flock of six Coal Tits making their way east through the trees on the top of Ramsdales Ruck.
31 Cormorants.
2 singing Mistle Thrushes, one in the south side and one around Ramsdales.
(a few record shots of geese skeins and Fieldfares)
I'm not sure that this is exactly the right place to put this record, but pink-footed geese that fly south of the flash go right over my back garden and if you were on the ruck they'd be seen from there and recorded as Pennington Flash. So just for interest, a flock of about 50 birds was heard over the house at 5.10am today and seemed to be going east.
Yesterday, 1 kingfisher from ramsdales, approx 400 pinkfooted goose westward bound,at least 40 cormorant on the spit,5 goldeneye, several great crested grebe on the Flash ,2 muscovy duck and 1 oystercatcher in the car park area.
-- Edited by David Hughes on Saturday 4th of November 2023 11:54:02 AM