Just testing...

...my new digiscoping camera!

Ruff

Redshanks

IMF Pool 2

IMF

Greenshank

Curlew Sandpiper - very distant

Black-tailed Godwit

Marshside & Inner Marsh Farm

Long-billed Dowitchers, Inner Marsh Farm

Barnacle Geese, Marshside

Golden Plovers, Marshside

Greenshank, Marshside

Black-tailed Godwit, Marshside

Odd looking Wigeon - certainly in more advanced state of moult than the others plus lighter head and dark eye patch!

Saturday morning found me heading for Marshside – partly because I wanted to see the Long-billed Dowitcher, a species I have seen only once before, and partly because I couldn’t think of anywhere else I could be bothered to go. When I found the road shut just past Weld Rd and lots of Police around I assumed there had been an accident – I was completely unaware it was airshow day!
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I started off at Junction Pool – approx 200 sleeping Black-tailed Godwits including a ringed bird and a Snipe – not a lot else. It was also curious that hardly any other birders were around – I probably saw less than a dozen birders here all morning. I headed off down to Nell’s where there more Blackwits and a couple more Snipe plus a few ducks. A few minutes later while fiddling with my phone I suddenly looked up to see a Barn Owl drift right past the hide window – the bird was no more than three feet away from me – bloody awesome! I could have reached out and touched it. Shortly after a few other birders arrived – one of them found a Greenshank which had just dropped in.
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I left Nell’s and headed back up the road towards the sand plant. A Merlin dashed low across the marsh – I quickly found another one perched on a nearby fencepost. I decided to walk Billy up towards Crossen’s Marsh – by the time I arrived at Crossens Outer Marsh I had counted 35 Little Egrets! A Peregrine was on the ground out on the marsh with a Great Black-backed Gull in attendance hoping to steal some scraps from the falcon’s breakfast. Five Kestrels were in the air and around 50+ Golden Plovers and a couple of Ruff by the flash. I scanned Crossens Inner Marsh next – this place was lifting with approx 1200 Wigeon with 3000+ Pink-footed Geese and 250+ Greylag Geese. I eventually found four Barnacle Geese in with the pinks.
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There was no sign of the Long-billed Dowitcher on any of the pools (or any birders looking for it) – I then got news that one had appeared at Inner Marsh Farm. So that’s where the little bugger was! The traffic was getting a little silly by this point with queues of people trying to get a prime spot for the airshow so I headed back to the car and home.
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This morning I woke up before it came light to hear the Tawny Owl calling in the garden. I spent some time watching MOTD before I got fed up and decided on a brief trip to Inner Marsh Farm (I didn’t have much time to spare). I arrived at 8-45 to find no one there – trudging down the hill I met the warden and one of his assistants coming back up. They confirmed the LBD was showing well in front of the hide. I walked into the hide to find another birder in the corner – he simply pointed at what I though was a clump of reeds. I took this to mean the LBD had gone behind it so I scanned the rest of the pool before finally spotting the LBD well away from where the guy had pointed. By this point three other birders had followed me in.
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As I started scoping the Dowitcher a second wader drifted into scope view – it was a second Dowitcher. I looked up to see if anyone else was watching this – no one commented. I starte doubting myself and went back to the birds – they were both surely Dowitchers. The guy next to me then said “ what’s the wader with the Dowitcher?” He was obviously thinking the same thing as me – I replied it was a second bird. All of a sudden everyone was scanning the birds, recalling ID, doubting ourselves and checking that we were watching Dowitchers. Ultimately we all conceded there were two birds feeding side by side – absolutely superb!
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All of a sudden every bird on the water shot up and away – a ring-tailed Hen Harrier then appeared and gave stunning views right in front of the hide. Fortunately everything settled down afterwards though the two LBD’s were now feeding further away. Also present were 16 Pintail, 120+ Shoveler, 3 Snipe, 24 Black-tailed Godwits and a couple of Dunlins. All too soon time ran out and I headed back up the hill to the car. When I reached the car park, Colin the warden was there with his assistant – I broke into a big grin and said “now’t like being greedy having two Dowitchers is it”. I could tell by the look on his face that he was completely unaware of the second bird and he soon shot off down the hill. From our brief discussion it was clear that yesterdays LBD was not the Marshside bird – presumably the second bird this morning is. Or are there three Dowitchers in the NW at the moment? That would be something!

Catching up

Just a catch up on local birds seen over the last 10 days or so:
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Tuesday 15th
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Another Wigeon appeared at HGF – six Meadow Pipits in the south field. At Frodsham three Yellow Wagtails and half a dozen Wigeon plus a few hundred Teal. Ten Curlews were in the flooded field at the western end. At Waterworks Lane at dusk four coveys of Grey Partridges were detected with at least 18 birds seen – 2 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels also present.
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Wednesday 16th
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First thing this morning two Goldcrests flitting around in the tree outside the conservatory. The second Wigeon was still at HGF with Swallow and House Martin also present. On the wires was a group of 19 Mistle Thrushes.
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Friday 18th
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A male Sparrowhawk flew through the garden a couple of times this evening. Around 21 Goldfinches were also flitting around the road. At least 230 Linnets were on the wires off Parkside Road.
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Sunday 20th
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A male Sparrowhawk visited the garden a couple of times this evening. A Chiffchaff was singing in the east hedge at HGF.
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Tuesday 22nd
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Three Buzzards hanging in the wind over the east side of HGF this morning.A Sparrowhawk flew through the garden this evening – a Tawny Owl arrived in the garden at around 9pm and stayed, calling, for over an hour. Four coveys of Grey Partridges on Waterworks Lane again.
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Wednesday 23rd
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Little Owl in hollow of usual tree on Lady Lane this evening – a Jay was nearby. At the Rixton mosses, 6 Swallows, 3 Buzzards, a Yellowhammer and 33 Lapwings. By the claypits and Moat Lane pool were 5 Jays, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Nuthatch.
Thursday 24th
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Newton Pool this evening held a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, 74 Teal, 105 Mallard, 10 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebes, 16 Moorhens, 5 Coots, 2 Mute Swans and 2 Canada Geese. On the wires off Parkside Road were 40+ Linnets.
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Friday 25th
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Seaforth this morning – juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and a few Dunlin, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit – otherwise very quiet. Little Owl in hollow of usual tree in Lady Lane with Sparrowhawk nearby.

Spurn 2009

Juvenile Woodchat Shrike, Sammy's Point.

Short-toed Lark, Spurn point

Spotted Flycatcher, Sammy's Point

Redstart, Sammy's Point

Male Redstart with Spot Fly

Red-backed Shrike, Spurn point

Female Pied Flycatcher, Kilnsea

Lesser Whitethroat, Kilnsea

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Saturday morning, 6am, and I am pounding along the M62 heading for Flamborough Head. On arrival I was excited, wondering what was going to turn up. Given the rarities that had been appearing for the last few days, surely something good would be there. As it turned out, Flamborough was a disappointment. Nice weather conditions – just short on good birds. Even the regulars were going around with that “you should have been here yesterday” attitude.
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In the end I spent a couple of hours staring at a large bowl-shaped patch of brambles. At least 14 Stonechats (mostly juveniles) were flitting around the place with a Whitethroat and 2 Lesser Whitethroats. Plenty of hirundines and Meadow Pipits and a flock of around 200 Linnets ensured at least common species were around. Out at sea the numerous Gannets and odd Fulmar were joined by a couple of Red-throated Divers, a Shag and two Little Gulls. A mist prevented viewing of any sort of distance. A Barred Warbler had been reported in the brambles just before I got there so I was soon joined by other birders. After a couple of hours the finder turned up again and directed us to a distant patch of brambles several hundred yards away – nowhere near the reported spot. In typically Barred Warbler fashion it was spending most of its time skulking out of sight. I then decided sod this for a game of soldiers and headed off to Spurn.
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On arrival at Spurn I found that an Icterine Warbler had been trapped and was due to be released at the point. I’m not a fan of in-the-hand ticks, however I have never seen an Icky so I headed off hoping to at least get some ID tips. Typically I arrived just as the assembled birders were heading away and with the Icky safely tucked out of sight in some bushes. At that point Lee Evans (didn’t know who he was at the time) gave me some tips including the presence of a Short-toed Lark. I headed off to the beach and found a group of birders already watching the lark. It was showing nicely though a little distant – everyone was being careful not to flush the bird. It was difficult to digiscope the bird as it was constantly on the move and kept disappearing behind tufts of grass or the assorted detritus on the beach. Suddenly it was up, high and away, and off out to sea. I felt sorry for the next group of birders that were trudging along the beach towards us.
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If I found one thing this weekend it is that, at Spurn, timing and luck are extremely important. Anyway I headed back towards the bushes around the heliogoland trap hoping to pick up something interesting. I spotted a few birds on top of the trap, as did some other birders and we quickly focussed on the Lapland Bunting and a couple of Linnets. The longspur was present only for about a minute or so before again flying off high. I then spent the next hour or so wandering around these bushes and not seeing much – certainly fewer birds than I saw here with Jonathan last year. I then walked around a bend and found some birders watching the Red-backed Shrike.
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The shrike was showing very well and I was bloody annoyed that my digiscoping camera decided to start playing up with the focussing – I never really got it sorted again for the next day or so. The shrike was doing the vertical launches at insects typical of the species – eventually it flew towards me and perched in the back side of a bush right in front of me! Problem was I couldn’t see it and couldn’t move without flushing it. Eventually it flew out and disappeared. After another quiet wander around with just a Spotted Flycatcher of note and then I left the point.
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The next stop was the pub at Kilnsea – I walked into the car park and watched two female Pied Flycatchers flitting around on the wires. Again other birders were present (you can’t go anywhere in the area without bumping into birders) and suddenly the stonking Red-breasted Flycatcher appeared on the wires. He still had plenty of red on his breast – lovely bird. He showed for a minute or so, disappeared and then showed briefly again 20 minutes later in a bush. This definitely made my day though I do feel like a kid in a sweet shop at Spurn.
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I then headed back down in to Spurn and went for a wander around the back of the bushes between posts 62 and 63. Lots of birders – no birds with no sign of the Wryneck or Barred Warbler seen there earlier. I later found that the Wryneck had been flushed by some over-eager people and the Barred Warbler came out to play five minutes after I left. I did a bit of sea watching from here and picked up a Curlew Sandpiper on the beach in amongst the various waders. Nothing much else was showing around this area so I then headed back out towards Sammy’s Point around tea time.
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At Sammy’s the juvenile Woodchat Shrike was showing insanely well. Typically my camera battery now decided to pack in. At least 4 Redstarts and a very showy Spotted Flycatcher were flitting around in a nearby horse paddock. I spent an enjoyable hour watching the shrike and his supporting cast before heading off to Hull and my digs for the night.
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Early the next morning and I was back on the way to Spurn. A very pale Barn Owl flew across the road in front of me and a Roe Deer watched from the roadside. Cracking views of the deer, however there wasn’t enough light to take photos. I arrived at Spurn to slight disaster – it was high tide and the road was flooded –reserve closed for now but would re-open shortly. I got this shortly and soon spiel several times from 7am onwards – it was nearly 11am when the road was opened. I went for a wander along the canal bank at Kilnsea – plenty of common birds around. A female Blackcap, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, at least 6 Willow Warblers and several Reed Buntings and Skylarks were around.
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News came through of a Rosefinch at the end of the canal – only five minutes from me. I arrived there to find other birders already present – no one had seen the Rosefinch. A greenshank flew over calling and later I picked out a Med Gull from a flock of overflying gulls. A Sparrowhawk also flew in off the sea. I then went back to Sammy’s to have another look at the Woodchat Shrike – the Spot Fly and the Redstarts were also still there. At least three Whinchats were also flitting around on fences and a Wheatear appeared in the paddock which was, incidentally, where the shrike had moved to.
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I found that the Richard’s Pipit was feeding in a field nearby so I walked over to see around 50 birders putting up there scopes – the pipit by now high in the sky and heading for the moon! Later I had another stab at the Barred Warbler. One guy had it when I was just thirty feet away – by the time I had walked to his spot it was gone again! I then spent more time watching the beach at the back of the dunes – the following were there:
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4000+ Knot
3000+ Dunlin
45+ Bar-tailed Godwit
400+ Redshank
110+ Golden Plover
3 Grey Plover
60+ Sanderling
55+ Turnstone
4 Little Egret
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And that was that – time to go home. Overall it was very enjoyable – I had five very good birds and some good supporting ones so even though I missed a few it didn’t bother me. I also learned a lot more about the area and the different types of habitat so next time I hope to be more focused. Loved every minute of it!

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Sunset over Winwick viewed from HGF

The current indian summer has produced some spectacular sunsets

Male Stonechat, Moore NR

Buzzard, Moore NR

Norton Marsh, Moore NR

Wood Pigeon, Risley Moss

Juvenile male Common Darter

Risley Moss from the tower looking towards Risley Landfill site

Wheatear, Rixton Moss

Deceased Grey Partridge, Rixton Moss

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It’s that time of year when familiar summer birds start to move on while winter visitors and vagrants turn up. So as Mr Almond use to sing - say hellow, wave goodbye. The one thing I notice at this time of year is that there is movement everywhere and lots of things to attract the attention. For someone like me with a low attention span it is the perfect time of year.
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Last Thursday in the evening I diverted once again through Rixton mosses in the evening after work. Three Yellow Wags were present by the pool at the foot of the tip – 2 males and a juvenile. Around half way up Holly Bush Lane is a pile of rubble by the road – a bird perched on here caught my eye but I was staring directly into the sun and couldn’t make it out. I got out and there proceeded a game of hide and seek before I finally twigged the bird was a Wheatear. There was also a covey of 6 Grey Partridges here – they quickly melted into the carrot field behind. Sadly in front of this rubble was a recently deceased Grey Partridge.
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Friday and a quick divert at lunch through…yes you’ve guessed it… Rixton Mosses! A single juvenile Yellow Wagtail flew over the tip and a flock of around 80 Goldfinches were feeding on the thistles on the tip face. Five Buzzards and five Kestrels constituted a good raptor turn out. I only managed to visit HGF just before dusk – the only interesting bird was a juvenile Ruddy Duck.
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Saturday morning was a cool, clear and sunny day – I like this sort of autumn weather. On arrival at HGF the first thing that struck me was the complete absence of any hirundines –same in Winwick. The Swallows and House Martins are now back on their way to Africa and in the case of the martins to places currently unknown. I still find it amazing that these small, delicate and graceful birds fly such long distances over all sorts of adverse terrain. Late afternoon I had a wander over to Risley Moss where birds were constantly on the move though granted most of these were Woodpigeons.
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At least 5 Buzzards were in the air towards the tip – a couple of Sparrowhawks were also regularly up along with a couple of Kestrels. Three Jays were making plenty of noise and a few Swallows and martins passed through. After an hour the first Hobby showed up – the adult like plumage minus the rufous vent and troos making this a first summer bird. I watched the bird hunting for a good twenty minutes before it disappeared. A browner juvenile Hobby then showed briefly for a minute or so before departing – the first summer bird then reappeared and gave a repeat performance before departing. A Tawny Owl was calling near the tower.
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On the way home through Croft a flock of finches in a stubble field was worth a look-see. The flock was made up roughly of 50 Greenfinches and 30 Goldfinches. At dusk I had a wander along Waterworks Lane and picked up 18 Grey Partridges from four different coveys plus a single bird though I couldn't see some of the birds that were probably there due to low light and vegetation. A Buzzard was also present on a pylon.
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Sunday morning and while watching the Match of the day repeat a male Sparrowhawk decided to visit the garden. He perched in the Cherry tree for a few minutes – gorgeous bird! After MOTD I headed over to Moore – I took Billy for a walk between Birchwood Pool and Norton Marsh. Nothing stupendous on the birding front, however I really enjoyed just sauntering along at my own pace with no particular expectations. I felt totally at peace for a change and very relaxed.
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I did see some decent birds including six Buzzards, four Kestrels, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Nuthatches, a Treecreeper, three Stonechats, eight Tree Sparrows, at least fourteen Jays and a host of common species. Tits were everywhere – I counted 117,613 Blue Tits along the way. It could have been 117,614 but one bird hid behind a branch and refused to show itself thus completely ruining my count! I also counted 117,613 Long-tailed Tits – how spooky is that!
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This is the first time I have followed Sid’s directions to the hide at Norton Marsh. I landed at possible the worst time i.e. low tide and not much on show. A number of birds were clearly in the mud channel directly in front of the hide but completely out of sight aside from the odd fly off and some calling. If ever a hide needed stilts or a top deck, this one is it.
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Early evening and a drive along Parkside Road produced a large Linnet flock on the wires – around 270 birds! I scoped through the flock – there were no finches from other species. At Newton Lake the Teal have increased substantially – 59 birds present with 2 Mute Swans, 2 Canada Geese, 3 Little Grebes, 3 Herons, a pair of Shovelers (nice record for here) and a Tufty. Just before dusk I walked around the back lanes again. Four Buzzards and two Kestrels were around the lanes with 18 Grey Partridges (the coveys of 11 and 6 plus the single bird which was being run off by the larger covey). Two Brown Hares were also present in the fields – one was only 30 feet away when I saw it and rather than bolt it merely flattened itself to look inconspicuous.
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This morning at HGF and as I watched a flock of corvids nr Myddleton Farm they suddenly spooked. Almost immediately a Peregrine appeared – probably a tiercel from the size. It flapped around leisurely at first and then after briefly tangling with a Crow it made several high speed bullet passes through the area before vanishing. This evening on the way home from work I drove round Rixton Moss again. The tip pool is now full again – three Grey Herons and five Teal were here with around 40 Linnets on the tip face. The Wheatear is still present perched on its pile of rubble – the other thing of note was 25 Pheasants but no Grey Partridges.

Greys and Yellows

Back to local birding now. HGF is worrying – the juvenile Black-necked Grebe vamooshed on Monday night, only 4 or 5 Tufted Ducks left with no Pochards and the Coot flock down by 30 to 40 birds. Even Great Crested Grebe numbers are down – what’s happening? On the plus side, a male Ruddy Duck was present on Monday and a juvenile today. A few Kestrels and Buzzards are now regular with Swallows and House Martins still feeding over the pool. This morning I counted 56 Collared Doves around the place with a Chiffchaff singing in the south hedge. I do like the cool, crisp and sunny autumn mornings – makes a change from the incessant grey skies, wind and rain of recent!
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On Monday evening on the way home from work I diverted through Rixton. Pool one was full again – 101 Canada Geese. A group of six ducks flew over – 4 Shovelers and 2 Teal. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called nearby and a Common Sandpiper was present on pool two. By the tip a Buzzard landed on the tip face right next to some dozy corvids who took exception to its presence and forced it away. Three Corn Buntings flew around a field off Woodend Lane and six Mistle Thrushes were at the top end of the lane. A covey of 17 Grey Partridges were also here in a newly ploughed field – 3 adults and 14 juveniles. The latter were very pale coloured and very conspicuous. In Winwick I stopped off on Highfield Lane and scanned the stubble field nr the mobile phone mast. A group of thrushes were present with a flock of Starlings – 8 Mistle and 2 Song. A couple of Whitethroats were buzzing around in the top of the hedge – three Buzzards were all perched on different pylons.
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Tuesday was windy in the morning – two Buzzards were hanging in the wind over the east side. On the way home from work again yesterday I drove along Holly Bush Lane – as I reached the junction with Woodend Lane I noticed loads of birds on the wires further down Woodend. Through the scope I counted 14 Yellow Wagtails (an amazing blitz of yellow) with a few Mipits and around 18 Linnets. The Yellow Wags flew off when I got my camera out and went down into a ploughed field behind the house – unfortunately out of view. I don’t think I have ever seen so many Yellow Wags at the same time. A Sparrowhawk flew low over a potatoe field, no doubt hoping to flush some finches. Three Buzzards and a couple of Kestrels constituted the rest of the raptor line up. I also found three further coveys of Grey Partridges along the lane of 14, 10 and 7. None of these were the pale birds from the day before so at least 48 Grey Partridges are currently along this lane.
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At home the usual covey of Grey Partridges has now reappeared with at least 13 birds in the field behind the garden. I also counted at least 12 in the field by the lone house on Parkside Road later on – they suddenly seem to be everywhere. Four Kestrels were hanging around Waterworks Lane area with a Sparrowhawk also circling high over. On the way back from the vets I popped down Lady Lane – one of the Little Owls was perched in the hollow of the usual tree.

Twitching Bairdii

Baird's Sandpiper, Traeth Dulas

The Baird's appeared to favour this grassy bank but was known for disappearing for several hours either side of high tide.

Adult Mediterranean Gull, Traeth Dulas

Second adult Med Gull

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Almost forgot – Saturday evening while driving through Croft I diverted down Lady Lane. One of the Little Owls was perched high up in the middle tree – near the top and almost obscured by the foliage. Also I made a quick trip to Newton Lake – a Green Sandpiper was the best bird with 10 Tufties and 11 Teal joined by 20 juvenile yobs all of whom were pissed. One of them decided to be a hero and start messing with me, telling me my dog was vicious and should be under control or he would call the Police (laughable to anyone who has seen Billy) and then demanding the use of my scope. At this point I got fed up with him and fortunately his mate dragged him away before the situation escalated. The pool had around 50 beer bottles floating in it – why can’t the little twats behave?
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On Sunday morning I decided to take Billy on a twitch and headed off to Traeth Dulas or Dulas Beach in English. The object of my attention was a juvenile Baird’s Sandpiper which had turned up on the Friday afternoon. Directions were a bit sketchy, however the many years of holidaying on Angelsey have given me reasonable local knowledge so I found it straight away.
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The place is a little like Aberlady Bay in that a stream cuts through a small area of salt marsh and the beach. The differences are that Dulas is in a small valley with sloping fields to the north and wooded hills to the south – Dulas also has more interesting birds. It was very grey and windy (bloody typical) when we arrived – a few birders were already present with the news that it showed briefly an hour ago and went walk about. There was nothing much around but gulls and nine Little Egrets at the time so I started scanning the gull flock. I soon found an adult Med Gull and when directing some adjacent birders onto it one of the birders found a second adult.
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Although there was a brief patch of fine weather – it gradually deteriorated through the morning until it started raining by late morning. The tide was flooding the marsh quite quickly and a few groups of waders were flushed and headed off somewhere inland. Curious! Half of the birders present at that point decided to call it a day – the rest of us sat in our cars waiting for the rain to stop and the tide to turn. In the middle of the channel is a long grass covered bar which had been the favourite spot for the Baird’s, so we all parked facing this and scanned through the rain. I managed a couple of Ravens, four Buzzards, a couple of Snipe and a Fulmar!
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Around 45 minutes after the tide had turned I spotted two small waders dropping in behind the grass bank – one I saw was definitely a Dunlin and the other was clearly smaller so I got out of the car and spent 20 minutes or so scanning for them but to no avail. I retreated to the car when the rain became heavier and watched through the windscreen as five Curlew Sandpipers flew past. A short time later the chap in the Land Rover next to mine wiped his windscreen and spotted a small wader on the grass directly in front of him. He got out and scanned the bird before signalling to me to come and have a look. I viewed the bird through his scope and concurred – it was the Baird’s Sandpiper!
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The bird showed well for the next hour or so although the wind and rain didn’t help matters. The first things I noticed were the scaley appearance due to the white edges to the feathers on the mantle and wing coverts. Its shape was also long and flattened – it was clearly smaller than a Dunlin and much daintier. The supercilium was obvious as were the largely unmarked white under parts though some streaking on the upper breast, a bit like a Pec Sand. The Baird’s just wandered up and down the grass bank feeding. And then it was soon time to go home again.
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In the evening I had a quick trip to HGF where lots of Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins were feeding over the pool. The adult Black-necked Grebe had left overnight.

Windy Wirral!

Juvenile Sabine's Gull, Hoylake

The gull remained semi-distant and the windy conditions and poor lighting didn't help. Typically in the afternoon when the proper photographers turned up the sun came out and the Sab's Gull decided to parade past saying cheese and giving slow fly pasts!

Sandwich Terns, Hoylake Beach

Gulls can be confusing - take these two. The front one is clearly much smaller than the adult Black-headed Gull behind. It has different colour legs - orange versus pink. The tertials are white rather than grey and the mantle appears paler. Two different species? If the front one had darker mantle I would be seriously thinking Bonaparte's Gull - in fact it is just a first winter Black-headed Gull and the features described are just typical variations between age groups. Gulls can be confusing!

Second winter Great Black-backed Gull asleep with its backing group - the Bar-tailed Four!

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Thursday afternoon and back home – not exactly where I wanted or expected to be. Oh well… sod’s law. Thursday evening and a trip to HGF in grey and orrible conditions. Nice to see both Black-necked Grebes still present and a Common Sandpiper was patrolling the usual eastern stretch. Other numbers of birds appear to be falling slightly though.
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On Friday morning I wanted to go to New Brighton as I knew the winds would be northwesterly and I also knew the winds on Saturday were due to veer to the SW – not good for sea watching. Events conspired against me so I had to make do with a visit to HGF in the morning. It was nice to see over 40 House Martins and a few Sand Martins whizzing around the pool. The other main attraction was a sub-adult Common Tern which was fishing on the east side. I could hardly call it a juvenile as it had approx three quarters adult plumage. A Buzzard drifted over and most of the usual suspects were there – the fields around Midhops were deserted though and have been since.
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In the afternoon I finally got a couple of hours to kill and shot off to New Brighton and plonked myself at the side of Perch Rock Fort. I didn’t see any other birders and I got that sinking feeling that says all the goodies have gone and so have the birders. I knew what had been seen earlier in the day – Balearic and Sooty Shearwaters, all four skuas and Sabine’s Gull. Bollocks!
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I started scanning the sea and the river mouth just in case and was rewarded after five minutes with a Black Tern which was drifting up river. A distant Gannet showed as did several Common and Sandwich Terns – then an Arctic Tern landed on the beach! At this point I was joined by another birder who had been watching me from the car – he soon struck gold with an adult Sabine’s Gull flying along the far side of the river. Superb! A few other birders joined us and we watched the bird for around an hour though it remained distant. Sab’s gulls are striking birds and wonderful to see – this one kept flitting around and then landing on the water for a rest. I don’t blame it – although it was sunny the wind was very strong. A Little Gull briefly appeared on the beach and before I knew it, I had to go home again.
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In the evening a Sparrowhawk appeared briefly in the garden – I then took Billy out for a late evening walk. I was driving along Golbourne Road past the church in Winwick and I stopped when I saw some birds in the first field on the left. I got out and saw at least 31 Grey Partridges! I have been wandering the usual lanes for weeks since the fields started dropping and seen nothing. I have since been back to this field a few times at dusk and again seen nothing – I wonder where they are all hiding?
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On Saturday morning I headed for Burton Marsh and walked Billy up to the Decca Pools. Along the way a Whitethroat showed nicely in a bush by the path, a single Little Egret flew past and a male Merlin was perched on a distant fence post. Two Buzzards and a few Kestrels also flew over. On reaching the pool I scanned along towards Neston and was rewarded with a smart ring tailed Hen Harrier performing some amazing aerobatics. It had to – the bird was being oined by some corvids. On the pool was a Ruff and plenty of Teal but not much else. I then spotted a fox approaching the far side of the pool. It caught and ate a vole and then loitered around the pool edge. Nothing seemed to be bothered by its presence – the Teal practically ignored it.
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While walking by Burton Marsh it was so calm I had almost decided that there was no wind today and gone home. Fortunately some instinct took me to Leasowe Gunsite instead – it was bloody windy there! Around a dozen birders were scanning the water so I parked my car, got out my scope and sat on the boot lip to start sea watching. After fifteen minutes of nothing I spotted a juvenile Sabine’s Gull just east of the wind farm. I watched it for around 10 minutes before it dropped on the water and I lost it. I later learned other birders had watched it flying through the wind farm before I arrived.
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A short while later and a Bonxie seemed to just bomb from height into the water with an almighty splash – quite close in too. Two Red-throated Divers buzzed past, again quite close in and I also saw at least three Artic Skuas. Lots more birds were obviously moving through in the distance – I couldn’t make out what they were and was content to record what I could positively ID.
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I had been joined by a couple of birders during the morning – one of them announced his pager had flagged up Wilson’s Petrel from Seaforth and also a juvenile Sab’s Gull on the beach at Hoylake. The three of us got our heads together and discussed options as everything seemed to have stopped coming through at the gunsite. The guy with the pager had seen Wilson’s on pelagics – his view was that it would need to be pretty close to positively ID it and the chances of seeing it were slim. Consequently we shot off towards Hoylake with me acting as guide – I was the only one that knew where the coastguard station was. We arrived and I parked up well short of the coastguard station as I had thought that it was double yellows all the way along. I was wrong and got some stick for it – however as soon as we started the trek along the road one of the birders with me casually glanced at a small group of Dunlin and found a Curlew Sandpiper leading it! Fortunately we all got onto the Curlew Sand before it disappeared.
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The beach was full of waders and gulls – we didn’t stop to sift through them though as we saw some birders in the distance watching something with interest. We arrived to see the juvenile Sabine’s Gull (maybe the one I saw at Leasowe?) feeding along the water’s edge. It was there for around fifteen minutes before it took flight and headed back down the beach to where we had parked – it disappeared into a large group of waders.
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I walked back slowly scanning the birds on the beach. I estimated the following numbers (couldn’t be bothered with the gulls):
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8000+ Dunlin
4500+ Oystercatcher
1000+ Knot
45+ Grey Plover
30+ Sanderling
15+ Bar-tailed Godwit
20+ Curlew
13 Sandwich Terns
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At one point I dropped onto a small group of Dunlin and spotted one bird with its bill up its arse! It was larger than the Dunlin and turned round to reveal a nice supercilium – was this the same Curlew Sand we had seen earlier or another one? It showed nicely though briefly before flying off. We didn’t relocate the Sabine’s Gull (although it turned up again late afternoon and showed much closer) so I headed home – well satisfied!!!