Choices!

Spoonbills, Decca Pools, Burton Marsh

Grey Partridges dust bathing in the garden

Mating Avocets, Marshside

Buzzard, Houghton Green Flash

Billy at HGF

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There were so many places I wanted to go to today - couldn't do them all so the choice eventually came down to the Wirral or Marshside. In the end I did both!

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First thing this morning I turned up at Burton Marsh hoping to see some owls. All I got was cold, lots of mist and a single male Stonechat! I then decided to try my luck at Hoylake thinking that the mist might have grounded a migrant or two. Dead again apart from 6 Reed Warblers. Not a peep on the beach or the salt marsh though when I left I decided to check out the golf course and finally got some action. 19 White Wagtails and 30+ Linnets were on the course - a female Sparrowhawk flew over and was quickly joined by the mob!

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At Meols the mist was still down and the tide well out. Even so I picked up 13 Knot, 3 Curlew and a single Grey Plover still in winter plumage. I decided enough was enough and heading through the Mersey tunnel to Lancashire. My next port of call was Crosby - hoping for a Little Gull or two. All I got was more mist and no gulls. A quick walk down the fence side of Seaforth did produce another 16 White Wagtails, 6 more Linnets, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 25 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Goldeneye, 4 Swallows, 3 House Martins, a Chiffchaff and 2 Knot. A quick trawl around the mosses failed to produce a hoped for Whimbrel though plenty of Curlews around.

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Off then to Marshside and a camp in Nells hide. Here I picked up 19 Avocets, 11 Ruff, 340+ Black-tailed Godwits and 105 Golden Plovers - many of them in full breeding plumage and looking stunning. Then an old couple came in, sat down beside me and closed the window I was viewing from before plonking loads of gear on the window ledge. Bloody rude - they didn't even ask! Rather than have a go I decided to leave and headed off to Sandgrounders Hide. Just as I was about to sit down some old guy asked me to leave because dogs aren't allowed in the hide! Dogs are permitted right next to the hide by the viewing screens though. More stupid fuc***g rules from the RSPB. What do they think Bill is going to do - dive through the windows and savage an Avocet? There are reasons why I mostly prefer animals to people! I left quietly and stayed by the viewing screen next to the hide where I counted another 50 Avocets.

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It was getting severely crowded in Southport at this point so I thought bo**ocks and headed off back to the Wirral. I then got news of Spoonbills at the Decca pools so I headed off there to get some superb views of these two birds. They were too far out for my new EOS450D and small lens so I tried to digiscope them only for the battery to run out after one shot. I then decided I had left my spare battery in the car only to find when I got back to the car that the spare had been in my pocket all along! Also here were a drake Pintail and 10+ Little Egrets. A fox patrolled the fence on the other side of the pools with a Raven and a Buzzard overhead. I then picked up a female Marsh Harrier off down by the shooting range and 4 House Martins buzzed overhead.

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Not much else to report. Two Common Sandpipers today at HGF and 5 BNG's still present. I did have a male Wheatear here the last 2 days - didn't check for it today. On Sat I also got five Buzzards over the pool. Garden is very quiet. On Saturday I came into possession of my new camera - an EOS450D. Some nice shots so far, however I can't yet get used to the light weight compared to my old 30D. Will keep trying!