Birding Winwick!

Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow at my feeding station in Waterworks Lane.

Yellowhammer. The feeding station is difficult to photograph for me as I don't have a lens with sufficient range for the DSLR and to digiscope means getting out of the car with the result that the birds bugger off! I did, however, manage some shots before they scarpered.

Tree Sparrow

Corn Buntings on the wires over Waterworks Lane

Raven on pylon, Winwick. The pair had been perched on the pylon next to the feeding station - they subsequently moved to a more distant perch when I got the scope out!

Female Brambling on the feeders in the garden - shot through the window on a grey and miserably wet day!

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden - a relatively frequent visitor this week!

Water Pipit, Blacktoft Sands RSPB. Three birds were present during my brief visit - all remained distant.

Juvenile Red-necked Phalarope, Far Ings NR

Leucistic Black-headed Gull, Moore NR

Gulls on Birchwood Pool, Moore

Great Black-backed Gull, Moore (third winter) - look at the size of that bill!

Scruffy looking Lesser Black-backed Gull, Moore.

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I have just spent the last week laid up while recovering from an operation - as a consequence I have spent quite a bit of time watching the garden birds but little else. This afternoon for the first time in over a week I managed to get out for an hour or so and walk in sunshine. It was only Waterworks Lane with Billy but it felt superb and there was lots to see!

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At the feeding station were approx 70 Tree Sparrows, all chattering away and flitting around in the bracken-filled hedge. At the far end of this hedge were 9 Yellowhammers and 2 Reed Buntings while a pair of Ravens cronked from nearby pylons. A covey of at least 7 Grey Partridges also appeared while in the field opposite a covey of 16 birds scurried around. The Buzzard was perched on its usual fenceline and a Ketrel was on another pylon - I hadn't even walked anywhere yet!

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Up by the farm 12 Skylarks flew over and 4 Corn Buntings perched on the wires. I looked across the field to Golbourne Road and spotted a flock of around 65 Linnets flying over the field. Four Stock Doves were briefly present and Starlings and Woodpigeons seemed to be everywhere. Two Jays were feeding at the far end of the lane while back down at the bottom of the lane 19 Chaffinches were in the trees at the corner of the treatment works. This was another of those really enjoyable walks, made doubly so by my recent confinement.

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This week I have at least managed to watch the garden closely. The star of the week was a female Brambling which spent a couple of hours on the feeders on Thursday afternoon. A male Bullfinch was also on the feeders yesterday, a Yellowhammer was in one of the trees and there was plenty of other activity all week. A female Great Spotted Woodpecker has been a regular visitor while this morning I found single Redwing and Fieldfare perched in shrubs - a Fieldfare was also present in a bush outside the conservatory earlier in the week.

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The Sparrowhawks have shown well with the male visiting every day, sometimes two or three times, while the female has been present twice - and giving superb views on both occasions. A flock of Woodpigeons numbering around 200 birds has been feeding all week in the field behind the garden - up to 60 birds would rest in the Ash Trees in the garden. Blackbirds have numbered up to 11 birds with up to 14 Chaffinches also feeding here. It seemed this week that something was happening during virtually every minute of daylight!

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I'll not bother with all the local sighting prior to my op - I can't remember and to be honest can't be bothered. I did manage a couple of trips elsewhere though which I had almost forgotten about. One of these was a trip to Moore to check up on the gull situation. Approx 3-4000 birds were present between Birchwood Pool and the tip - the only gull of interest was a leucistic Black-headed Gull. The Tawny Owl was showing spectacularly well outside its roost - typically my camera battery ran out when I tried to photograph it.

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The other trip of note was a brief sojourn into Yorkshire where I managed to call in at Far Ings NR and Blacktoft Sands. The former gives me the impression that it could be a superb migrant trap and a decent reserve - however aside from the visiting star (juvenile Red-necked Phalarope) it was almost eerily quiet. The phalarope showed spectacularly well though, walking past me to a distance of approx 6 feet! At BS the water levels are all very high and this place too was very quiet. Three Water Pipits showing distantly were the main highlight with up to 6 Marsh Harriers (2 females, 4 juveniles) and a large flock of Golden Plover being the only other birds of note.

The cold November rain!

Female / immature Black Redstart, Longridge

River Lune at Crook O' Lune

Sleeping Wigeon at HGF

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Birding has been sporadic in the last week or so due to work commitments and also the appalling weather. November is my least favourite month of the year and generally I can’t wait for it to end. Wind, rain and going home in the dark seems to be the sum total of a typical November day – Axel Rose got it spot on! To be fair though there has been the odd bright spell in the last week.
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HGF has remained relatively quiet though this morning the Wigeon flock had crept up to 27 birds and also a second wintering Redshank appeared this morning. The main plus point has been the reappearance of the Linnet flock with up to 120 birds hanging around on the wires near Midhops. Up to 21 Meadow Pipits have been in the south field with at least four Skylarks while on Thursday 24 Fieldfares were flying around here too. Odd Jays, Grey Wagtails & Herons have also been present.
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Winwick has been a bit more interesting. I have made several visits to the feeding station but have so far failed to find longer than ten minutes to stay there. The Tree Sparrow flock, when seen, has numbered between 35 and 45 birds. I say see because on several occasions I have rolled up to listen to lots of birds chattering away but have failed to see a single one so dense is the bracken in the hedge! On one morning I stared at the hedge for ten minutes and heard not a peep. When I got out of the car to out some seed down at least 45 birds suddenly erupted out of the hedge!
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A few Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches have been around plus over flying Skylarks. The usual covey of 8 Grey Partridges has been joined by a pair of Pheasants with an additional covey of at least ten Grey Partridges up by the farm. On Sunday morning while watching a flock of around 110 Pink-footed Geese flew over heading north. The Sparrowhawks have also been regular visitors – male and female were seen here on Saturday while the male perched on the post by the car one morning – he looked magnificent!
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In the garden the Collared Dove flock has increased to 25 birds with up to 15 Woodpigeons also around. A Great Spotted Woodpecker visited the feeders on Saturday and finches and tits have been common including a gang of 15 Long-tailed Tits on Saturday. This particular morning was very interesting. Karen was sat in front of the window overlooking the back garden while she put on her makeup. A Collared Dove and a female Sparrowhawk both flew into the window right in front of her and frightened her to death! The hawk quickly recovered and grabbed the dove – I arrived just in time to see her fly away with her prey. The male made three visits to the garden after the female left – on the last one he simply bombed past the feeders at lightning speed while the Long-tailed Tits were present. It happened so fast I didn’t see clearly but I think he took a LTT in mid-air. The tit flock didn’t start alarm calling until after he had gone.
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On Saturday evening, on my way home from the vets, I diverted down Lady Lane and watched a Little Owl in its usual tree. Typically as soon as the owl came out the rain started bucketing down. A few Corn Buntings have been seen on the wires along Holcroft Lane in Culcheth this week while up to four Buzzards are regularly seen walking around fields in Glazebrook. Saturday I also made a brief visit to Newton Lake where the water level was higher than I can remember seeing it. The usual pairs of Mute Swan and Canada Goose were joined by 9 Tufted Ducks and at least 85 Teals. The latter were all hidden in the roots of trees at the back of the pool and would have remained out of sight if something hadn't spooked them into flying out in a panic. The something turned into a large brown lump in the trees - it was eventually flushed by corvids and turned out to be a Buzzard rather than the Harris' Hawk I was expecting.
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On Sunday we spent most of the day in Caton and birding opportunities were restricted to a couple of hours after lunch. I consequently decided to have a look at the Longridge Black Redstarts. I arrived at 1-30 to see Bill Aspin and another birding (just leaving) there with the news that the female type had been last seen at 1pm. As no one was around to look for it I decided to wander down Berry Lane checking the roofs. Sure enough I soon found the female type perched on the roof of a converted church. We watched the bird for around 20 minutes before an aggressive Robin decided enough was enough and had a pop – the Black Redstart then disappeared!

Local birding perks up a bit!

Shore Lark, Southport

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A run down of the last week:

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Tuesday 3rd – as usual I headed off to HGF early morning with Billy. It was, as usual, quiet though it was nice to have a sunny interlude in the heavy rain experienced in recent days. As I prepared to leave with nothing much to show I got a patch tick in the shape of a male Yellowhammer which had been skulking in the south hedge. Almost immediately after 140+ Pink-footed Geese flew over very low, heading east. Nothing much at the feeding station – I could hear Tree Sparrows chattering away but couldn’t see any. I suspect this is one of the main draws of this site – a hedge full of dead bracken which could hide a Rhinoceros! The usual Buzzard was perched nearby on its usual fence line.
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Wednesday 4th - nothing to report from HGF. At the feeding station around 10 Tree Sparrows showed themselves with 3 Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting and a couple of Chaffinches. It is nice to see other species are now starting to discover the feeding station. A covey of eight Grey Partridges were also present and the Buzzard was where I saw it yesterday.
Thursday 5th – 22 Tree Sparrows at the feeding station with a Reed Bunting and 2 Chaffinches, Buzzard again and 125 Pink-footed Geese flew over heading south.

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Friday 6th – a misty early morning at HGF. A mixed flock of winter thrushes flew out of the south hedge – I estimated 12+ Redwings and 80+ Fieldfares. A flock of 15 Long-tailed Tits and 2 Blue Tits made their way noisily along the south hedge, on the water was a Ruddy Duck and a single drake Pochard. In the garden this morning were 15 Collared Doves and 42 Tree Sparrows and the covey of eight Grey Partridges were at the feeding station. A Sparrowhawk dashed across Moss Lane in Rixton this morning. On the way to work a single Corn Bunting was on the wires outside Holcroft Hall Farm in Culcheth.
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Saturday 7th - HGF was sunnier this morning with no rain or mist. A mixed thrush flock was feeding on the lawn in the south field – 12 Blackbirds plus 6 Redwings and a Song Thrush. A Buzzard also flew out of the south hedge and 43 Lapwings wheeled over the pool. In the garden a few tits were busy on the feeders along with 14 Goldfinches – 8 Blackbirds roosted in the garden overnight. A couple of Rooks also came in – autumn and winter traditionally see Crows, Rooks and Jackdaws as regular visitors to the garden but virtually never seen through the rest of the year. At least 35 Tree Sparrows at the feeding station plus other buntings and finches.
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Sunday 8th – this morning I woke up early despite being knackered and run down so I crawled out of my pit and did a bit of garden watching. Nine Blackbirds and three unidentified larger thrushes were kicking up a stink – a male Sparrowhawk promptly turned up, zoomed through and then glided away across the field over to the feeding station. I then went out and parked up near the feeding station while I decided what to do. Last night I had been thinking of a trip out to Hilbre with a few hours in the afternoon at Parkgate. Trouble was, it was grey, cold and raining and I didn’t have the energy to walk over to Hilbre. Even the Tree Sparrows didn’t seem keen on venturing out this morning so I headed off with Billy to Southport, partly in the hope that the Shore Lark was still there and partly because I wouldn’t have to expend too much energy to see good birds. The only Shore Lark I had previously seen was on a landfill site on a hill above Halifax, one bitterly cold and windy day.
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On arrival at Weld Rd car park I checked Birdguides to find that the Shore Lark had done a bunk. I immediately spotted a large finch flock though and wondered whether the Twite had returned. Having gone wandering with Billy, I spotted several birders a few hundred yards away intent on something. I walked over to find Sid Ashton had re-found the Shore Lark – nice one Sid! The bird was a little flighty – trouble was it kept getting disturbed by walkers who would look at the assembled birders with puzzlement and then walk straight at the lark! Good views were had though, especially when the sun came out and it was nice to stop and have a chat with a number of familiar faces.
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The combined Linnet/Twite flock made several appearances with approx 40 birds of each species present. They didn’t settle though. As usual I can only stare at a bird doing nothing but feeding for so long, consequently I started scanning around. Although it was some way from high tide I watched the distant sea and observed around 140 Common Scoters passing through and heading up the coast. I then took Billy for a walk out onto the sands – there were some distant waders with Sanderling, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Knot all present together, however the main flocks were miles away so I headed back to the car and off to the Wirral for the afternoon.
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I called in briefly at New Brighton over high tide hoping to see Purple Sandpipers on the pontoon in the marina, Instead I got just four Turnstones and squadrons of Black-headed Gulls. Next stop was Parkgate where it was very warm and sunny and surprisingly devoid of birders. One young guy was watching the marsh with a scope – as soon as I got out he approached me and told me that a previous birder had pointed out a Peregrine perched on dead wood way out on the marsh. I got the impression that he couldn’t pick it up due to his scope not being the best in the world – I put my scope on it, confirmed it was a Peregrine and let him have a look. I zoomed out slightly and found a Merlin perched on a tussock near the Peregrine which I showed the guy – as we were looking a Short-eared Owl flew over both Merlin and Peregrine! Promising start.
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The guy left but other birders began to arrive. By then I had found another Peregrine, another Merlin, three Kestrels, 12 Little Egrets and a couple of Stonechats. There was no sign of a Spoonbill and no mention of it by anyone present while I was there, nevertheless one was later reported. I wonder if this was by the Decca pools earlier on? The owls were up and about frequently and had a few tussles – at one point two tangled and as they separated one of the Merlins shot through the space between them. At least two Ringtail Hen Harriers showed and at one point landed next to each other on the marsh. It was difficult to keep track of how many harriers there were. They would drop into cover, I would get distracted by a SEO and then a harrier would suddenly appear again – same one or a different bird? Eventually I managed to see three Ringtails up in the air at the same time in addition to 5 SEO’s. Late on a Barn Owl appeared hunting opposite the car park and quickly caught a vole which it flew off with. A very pleasant couple of hours.
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This morning a trip to HGF produced increases in some birds. Present this morning were:
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54 Coot
2 Mute Swans
22+ Mallard
1 Pochard (female)
18 Tufted Duck
3 Little Grebes
1 Great Crested Grebe
15 Wigeon
104 Black-headed Gulls
2 Common Gulls
4 Meadow Pipits
1 Redshank
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In the garden this morning14 Woodpigeons were loitering with the usual Collared Doves. At the feeding station were eight Grey Partridges (a female Pheasant was here yesterday) but no other birds. Mid morning I passed through again after spending the morning “parked” on the M6 – lots of birds were flitting in the bushes just further up the lane. As I approached the bushes emptied and I counted 85+ (eighty five) Tree Sparrows plus 8 Greenfinches, 4 Yellowhammers and some Chaffies. This confirms to a degree a theory I have. I have noticed that Tree Sparrows will come down for a feed and then will disappear, often into the water treatment works. I think that only part of the flock is present at the feeding station at any one time – when they have topped up they rotate back out to a safer place to lie up. Presumably this may be due to increased raptor presence which will almost certainly happen when so many birds are feeding here.
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Lunch today (sunny and warm) and a quick mooch to Moat Lane pool. Numbers here are starting to build up a little – 52 Coot plus 18 Tufted Ducks, 8 Gadwall, 6 Mallard, 3 Little Grebes and a Heron. A Sparrowhawk floated lazily overhead and a Jay screamed nearby. On the mosses were 4 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels but little else.

An interesting visitor to the garden!

Starling flock at Leighton Moss

Great White Egret in the roost at Leighton Moss. This is the ringed bird that has toured the area - Bill Aspin's blog contains a good run down of its movements!

Little Egrets in the roost. They all perched openly in the trees to start with and then headed further in and disappeared as the light fell

The River Lune at Crook O' Lune picnic site

Snow Geese at Leighton Moss

The Morecambe / Allen complex from the road above the reserve

Escaped female Harris' Hawk in the garden

Billy at HGF

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Saturday started off sunny and an early morning trip to Houghton Green Flash with Billy. Not much to report on the water though the Tufted Duck numbers had risen to the dizzying heights of 12. A snipe lifted out of the south field, as a little later did the Meadow Pipit flock which now numbers 30 birds. At least 25 Goldfinches also exited their roost in the south hedge. I then headed off home and pulled into the drive to find every bird in the garden had gone bananas. Two Crows, two Magpies, eight Goldfinches, a few Blackbirds and at least 15 Collared Doves and Woodpigeons were all mightily upset with, and in most cases dive-bombing, a large brown lump perched in the larger Ash tree.
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I immediately thought it was a Buzzard so I set my scope up on the front drive and pointed it down the side of the house to the Ash tree to find a female Harris’ Hawk perched in the garden. Awesome! She looked amazing and was clearly ignoring the mobbing crowd while eyeing up our pet rabbits in their runs. Coincidentally the owner of this bird was cruising the area at the time and had spotted me with the scope and stopped to enquire what I was watching. The hawk has been on the run since Saturday 17th October and had to date evaded a number of recapture attempts. The falconer tried to tempt her with some dead rabbit and then tried to catch her. She flitted around the garden a bit before deciding she wasn’t tolerating any more and flew off south west. The area is full of myxied rabbits at the moment so I suspect she is finding easy prey – I understand she has visited HGF a time or two! I briefly called in at my feeding station in Waterworks Lane (around 50 Tree Sparrows present) and then headed north for the weekend.
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Saturday afternoon I decided to have a mooch over to Pilling Lane Ends. Unfortunately high tide had been several hours earlier and nothing much was close in. A few Little Egrets were dotted around the salt marsh with 440 Pink-footed Geese. Out on the shoreline I found 6 Whooper Swans, 85 Pintails and several hundred Golden Plovers along with various other waders. It seemed very quiet so I drove up to Conder pool and creek where the place was full of Teal and Redshanks but not much else. I soon left.
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I then decided Leighton Moss probably wasn’t a bad bet and headed off there. I parked up on the road above the Morecambe/Allen complex and viewed the reserve here from the layby. Although it was distant, I soon picked up a Peregrine preening on a post and then the four Snow Geese, way out on the marsh. On one of the distant pools which can’t be seen from the hides I also found two red-head Goosanders. I couldn’t go onto the reserve as I had Billy in tow so I next wandered over to the layby above the pools nr the Public Hide and settled down for the evening roost. I spent the next hour or so in the enjoyable company of a local birder named Rob.
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Although we were trying to be diligent, we only confirmed two of the Great White Egrets coming into roost. We did see another bird flying around but couldn’t rule out one of the earlier birds just flitting around. While the various egrets kept flying in to the trees in ones and twos the local Starlings were also coming into roost. We would suddenly hear a whoosh sound and a few hundred sheps would fly right over our heads. As dusk descended Redwings also started flying in while the Starling flock took flight and made allsorts of shapes in the sky. I love watching this and from photos I have taken I would estimate the flock to be in excess of 20,000 birds. Rob counted 45 Little Egrets into the roost while I counted Redwings and got to 1660 before it became too dark to see any more. I also got a Woodcock (by accident) and a Sparrowhawk while a Green Woodpecker was vocal on the hill behind us. I can’t say I have enjoyed birding more at any time this year that that hour or so just before dusk! Lots of breathtaking sights and I was chilled and relaxed for a change.
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Sunday – rain and very strong winds stopped play! This morning I woke up early and headed off to Leighton Moss, arriving in the Public Hide well before dawn. The three Great White Egrets flew out of the roost together at around 06:35 – it was another 25 minutes before the first of 39 Little Egrets left the roost. There were plenty of common birds around, two Greenshanks dropped in to the island in front of the hide and the Cetti’s Warbler was singing away opposite the grit trays. A very noisy Tawny Owl was also nearby and out on the marsh beyond the flood remained the four Snow Geese.
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At lunch today I called in at HGF. The Wigeon flock has now increased to 12 birds and the first wintering Redshank is now back at the pool. The Meadow Pipit flock was absent but four Skylarks buzzed around the sky while a Buzzard and a Kestrel were also present. An adult Common Gull on the pool had a cracking band across its bill and had me excited for a few seconds. At my feeding station only four Tree Sparrows were seen.