Scoter present at 13 45, why is horrocks hide locked up?

Common scoter still present at 2.30pm, also little egret still and one common tern. 

Two common sandpipers on the spit at 8.30am.

 

Pair of Mediterranean Gulls present around the spit again this morning, two Common Terns and 660+ Swifts.

Juvenile ringed plover at the sailing club this morning during a brief visit. 

First bird of the autumn return migration? I hope you all enjoyed summer 

 

-- Edited by colin davies on Tuesday 11th of June 2024 11:34:00 AM

Hopefully this is the correct thread, it's certainly close; yesterday around 11:50am driving up the Atherleigh Way (A579) near the Flash (between St Helens Road and the Sports Village), hundreds of swifts overhead.

This morning's highlights:

First summer Arctic Tern, appeared over the flash early morning (not present first thing) and still present at 10am

Four adult Common Terns (only one present first thing in the morning)

Three Ringed Plovers flew in from the W/NW early morning and flew low across the flash, alighting only very briefly on the sailing club shore

Three Redshanks on Ramsdales Scrape

Four drake Shovelers on Ramsdales Scrape

Male Cuckoo singing from the south side again throughout the morning

Swift numbers remain high, with just over 800 over the eastern side pre 7am, birds then spreading across a wider area before the onset of rain around 8:30 when two large feeding flocks over the eastern side numbered 1150

c70 House Martins

Two adult Great Black-backed Gulls

This early morning’s highlights:

Male Cuckoo still singing in the East Bay area

830 Swifts feeding over trees at the eastern end of the site in an impressive flock, dispersing slightly later on over the south side and some over the water too

34 Swallows at the western end

3 Common Terns

Plenty of warblers now feeding fledged young

This evening saw highlights of, six drake Pochard, a Redshank, Little Egret flew SW, two Oystercatchers and 144 Swifts.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Male Cuckoo on the south side this morning, also two Common Terns and at least 80 Swifts.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

Full circuit mid-afternoon for me today, partly in a vain attempt to see Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat (or at least hear to know more precisely where to look) - no joy

Warblers - a reasonable selection:

• Willow Warbler - loads singing away
• Chiffchaff - quite a few singing - managed to spot one but only because it was sitting at the top of a semi-dead tree, not worth trying with full leaf cover
• Blackcap - loads singing all over the place, managed to (separately) spot both a male and a female
• Whitethroat - only a few singing - got a brief view of one, they seemed to be skulking (a la Blackcap) rather than singing from prominences
• Reed Warbler - actually got a good view of one singing away (from the "bench viewpoint" on the other side from the carpark - East Bay "hide"?), first time I've had a good view at Pennington rather than the usual song but no sight or fleeting sightings, I think it was also feeding a juvenile
• Cetti's Warbler - heard several but just as I got close to the Tom Edmonson hide one "exploded" and I managed to see it fly through the trees before it "exploded" again

Most places I'm familiar with seem to have Sedge Warbler environment between the Reed Warblers and the woodland warblers - Pennington Flash seems to be missing that kind of terrain.

Waterfowl, etc:

• Obviously Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, GC Grebe, Mute Swans, Cormorants and Canada geese - some Mallards and Canada Geese with young
• Gadwall - lots some with ducklings
• Tufted Duck - only a few
• Shovelor - a few, saw one pair displaying - not seen that before
• Little Grebe - in more than one place but what looked like a pair from the Tom Edmonson hide with one feeding a juvenile
• Mandarin Duck - the male's still on the canal in the little Ackers Fold inlet - no sign of a female

Tits - at Bunting hide:

• Willow Tit - kept on coming back
• Coal Tit - at least 2
• Great Tit - eventually
• No Blue, no Long-tailed - funny to have the least common first and some of the others not even there

Some of the Black-headed Gulls have got big, dumpy, fluffy chicks

Several other species, but nothing of particular interest

 

Fairly quiet look about this morning, highlights being singing Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat at the western end, 3 Little egret in trees at the west end and 3 Shoveler around Ramsdales

Cuckoo calling this morning c.6.30 on the South side of the flash and then heard just after 8 on the north side of canal from the rucks Only other bits of note were 2 freshly fledged Grey Wagtail on the sailing club shore, a pair of Greylag geese with at least one Gosling also here. Singing Lesser Whitethroat again along Slag Lane in bushes around the Borehole.

Cuckoo singing from around the nature reserve area this morning.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

This morning, 

2 sanderling on the sailing club shore with a single dunlin.

1 common tern

1 goosander, female on the spit

2 adult great black-backed gulls

 

This morning,

14 dunlin on the sailing club shore, flushed by dog walker and may have left. All summer plumage birds.

4 turnstones on the spit

1 cuckoo calling on the ruck

1 common tern

150 swifts

100 house martins

 

This evening, a rufous (hepatic) female Cuckoo perched briefly by Ramsdales scrape (photo on the website) and a female Pochard was resting on the spit.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes 

This morning, Cuckoo singing, 2 Common Terns, Little Egret and 21 Swifts.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

This morning, single Dunlin on Ramsdales Scrape, adult Great Black-backed Gull, singing Garden Warbler at the western end, adult Little Egret.

This evening, Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpiper, Redshank, 2 Common Terns and 39 Swifts.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Wood Warbler has relocated to the wood at the western end, at the very western end of the bridlepath over the rucks near the low metal gate with rollers on.

Sound recordings (only made with iPhone and no external microphone) now on the website. Rudimentary sonogram attached, note the lower frequency more 'messy' (and louder) Whitethroat also caught in the recording!

Wood Warbler singing from Ramsdales Ruck at 8am, near the main bridleway south of the locks monument.

Also, Lesser Whitethroat singing at the western end, a pair of Mediterranean Gulls (one of which was a first summer), four Great Black-backed Gulls, male Goosander and a single Common Sandpiper.

Greenshank briefly on the sailing club shore first thing this morning.

Single Common Sandpiper and Common Tern (the latter flew off west with a fish), three Goosanders and pair of Greylags with two small young.

Whimbrel over very early this morning, also two drake Goosanders present.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme