Bloody Glauc!

Photos:

Juvenile Glaucous Gull, Southport

Tundra Bean Geese, Lytham Moss

25th December

This morning I took Bill to HGF for a quick mooch before visting my parents. I forgot my bins and scope – well that was clever! Not surprising really – a series of high pressure jobs and loads of travelling up ad down the country have left me mentally knackered. Christmas I suspect is going to be quiet.

A Buzzard was seen and yesterdays two Mute Swans were still there. In Delph Lane was a flock of 15 Redwings. 31 Tree Sparrows, 3 Yellowhammers and 5 Grey Partridges were at the feeding station while 8 Redwings, 41 Goldfinches and a Coal Tit were seen in the garden.

26th December

Spent a bit more time at HGF this morning as opposed to my usual brief early morning appearances with Bill. Lots more going on too on a sunny but windy day. Overnight there seems to have been a small influx of ducks with 68 Tufties and 16 Pochards present plus 76 Mallard. A Cormorant and the usual Lapwing flock were both noted while there was also a build up of gulls. Out of habit I trawled through the 420+ Black-headed Gulls present but didn’t come up with a hoped for Med. A single Great Black-backed Gull and 3 Herring Gulls joined 9 Common Gulls in the line up.

A Fieldfare and 15 Redwings were in the garden today. Most of the latter moved on, however a single Redwing was present all day. While driving along Golborne Rd (running parallel to Waterworks Lane) later on I spotted a raptor perched in a field north of the road. I stopped for a look and realised it was a female Merlin. The little falcon flew off towards Hermitage Green.

33 Tree Sparrows and a Yellowhammer were at the feeding station today and a Sparrowhawk flew over the nearby field.

27th December

In the garden today there were 9 Blackbirds out of the roost and 9 Redwings also appeared which included the lone individual which appeared to stay all day again. A Great Spotted Woodpecker also appeared and 30+ Goldfinches squabbled (with Greenfinches) on the feeders.

Mid morning I headed up to Lytham with Bill to go look for the Bean Geese. On arrival the fair weather we had left behind had turned into heavy rain. Consequently I could see six geese in the field but couldn’t tell what they were. I headed off to find some breakfast and then came back an hour or so later when the weather had cleared. The five Bean Geese (tundra race) all showed well with a single Pink-footed Goose providing good comparison.

I had intended to go elsewhere in the Fylde, however on the spur of the moment I decided to go to Southport and look for the Glaucous Gull there. I arrived and set up my scope and began trawling through hundreds of gulls without finding the target bird. Pete Kinsella and Tim Vaughan also arrived – they had tried for the bird earlier but no joy. Another birder then turned up and commented he had been watching the gull around a mile down the beach towards Ainsdale which was, coincidentally, where Tim and Pete had just come from!

Tim had to go but Pete, another birder, Bill and myself trogged the mile down the beach. On arrival I noticed two birders watching something – one of them being a guy called John who I used to see at Moore quite regularly. John commented he was watching the gull so I put my bins up and began scanning round. Nothing! I could see lots of gulls on the strand line but no Glauc. I then asked John if he was still on the gull – he responded yes so I tried again and still nothing. By now John was grinning at me and then the penny dropped. I had been scanning gulls a hundred yards away – the Glauc was right in front on its own no more than 15 yards away. Doh!

The Glauc was a cracking first winter bird, very pale and appeared to have a bad leg. It had been gorging on a dead Cormorant and its beak was covered in gore. It had settled down onto a tussock as though it was too stuffed to move. We stood and watched for a while, hoping it would stand up for better snaps. Pete noticed a woman walking towards it and we got ready in expectation of the bird flushing. Although she passed within 5 feet of the gull, it completely ignored her! I spent a bit longer watching it and then headed off.

I didn’t really take note of much else except for a flock of around 1200 Bar-tailed Godwits on the beach.

28th December

This morning was sunny and windy. A single Golden Plover was present with 56 Lapwings on HGF – otherwise not much change. I also nipped over to Newton Lake where, by good fortune, most of the Teal were out in the open instead of roosting under tree roots. I counted 133 ducks – also present was the Mute Swan CT6 and a Little Grebe.

26 Tree Sparrows, 3 Yellowhammers and 5 Grey Partridges at the feeding station today while in the garden were 2 Redwings (one stayed all day again), a Reed Bunting, a Sparrowhawk and a Coal Tit.

Mid afternoon I nipped over to Culcheth and had a walk up the path from the large metal gates. I could see a large flock of birds somewhere between Frank’s Farm and Handing Birch Farm so I followed the dirt track at the top which runs back towards Franks. A Merlin was briefly seen flying over the field and then a Kestrel and then a Buzzard. 50+ Fieldfares and some finches which disappeared before I could get close enough to identify them were also there. In the field in front of Holcroft Hall Farm were 50+ Lapwings and 2 coveys of Grey Partridges (11 + 8).

29th December

Sparrowhawk flew over next doors garden today. 35+ Goldfinches on the feeders. 25 Tree Sparrows and 3 Yellowhammers at the feeding station. Nothing much at HGF.

30th December

A significant increase in Goldfinches in the garden – 56 were seen perched up waiting for access to the feeders. 26 Collared Doves also perched in the large Ash tree waiting for food. Same as yesterday at HGF and the feeding station.

31st December

Stayed with my brother-in-law in the SW. No birding today.

Return to Albert Village

Photos:

Adult Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls, Albert Village Lake

19th December

Day started with an early morning trip to HGF. The Tufty numbers have increased slightly to 41 (11 Pochards also) and the sole Little Grebe and long-staying Goldeneye were both there. A flock of around 50 Lapwings was wheeling over the pool.

26 Tree Sparrows were present at the feeding station (had a quick look on my way past when I went to work) with the usual Buzzard and Kestrel further up the lane.

At lunch I managed to escape the office and get over to Rixton for an hour. Moat Lane pools were quiet though three Cormorants were drying themselves on a little mud bar. Previously rare on these pools, a group of up to five birds seems to have been present quite regularly for the last month or so.

The tip pool and tip were quiet – few Starlings and no gulls. I then wandered up Holly Bush Lane and noticed a flock of birds feeding in the pumpkin patch near the top so I stopped to watch. Around 21 Fieldfares were there – they quickly disappeared. There was also a decent mixed flock of finches and buntings etc which all perched up in the nearby hedge. There were around 40 Chaffinches, 25 Yellowhammers, 9 Reed Buntings and 6 Tree Sparrows. Not a bad haul for this place!

Later in the afternoon while on an errand I stopped briefly at the entrance to Barrow Lane to scan the turnip / swede field opposite. No finches or thrushes as last time, however a couple of Bullfinches more than made up for it.

Late afternoon I made my way to Risley Moss for a lock in session. A male Bullfinch was hanging around on the feeders, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers passed through and while walking up the path a male Sparrowhawk had dashed across in front of me. A Kestrel was also hunting over the moss. Jonathan then appeared so we had a natter while birding. Another Sparrowhawk and then possibly a third appeared and, when the light was getting really bad, a couple of Short-eared Owls got up. 13 Snipe and 5 Woodcock also flew past in the gloom.

20th and 21st December

No birding.

22nd December

Travelling again so I managed a quick hour at Albert Village Lake, again hoping to see the nr adult Glaucous Gull. Lots of gulls were around and before long I latched onto a good candidate for a Caspian Gull. It seemed to tick all of the boxes except for seeing the underwings so I now had a dilemma. It was cruising around one side of the lake and was highly mobile – the Glauc usually drops in on the other side. I decided to stick with the Casp hoping it would show me its wings and in doing so maybe I would miss the Glauc doing a splash and dash (apparently it never stays long on the pool). It took 25 minutes before I could confirm the Caspian Gull. I also found an adult Yellow-legged Gull but no Glauc. I later bumped into Steve Lister – the local gull enthusiast and also country recorder for Leicestershire and Rutland. I was surprised to find Steve had seen four Caspians that day (on the tip though) and up to six different birds had been visiting the lake recently. The Glauc had been present on the tip all day.

23rd December

No change at HGF this morning. Lone Little Grebe and Goldeneye still present. 8 Tree Sparrows and 3 Yellowhammers were at my feeding station later on. A very brief look at Moat Lane pools later on didn’t produce much – 6 Gadwall being the pick. The Mute Swan JP4 is still there though.

24th December

Well the Goldeneye that has been present since 13th November did one overnight. Six weeks is a very long stay for a Goldeneye on HGF. A couple of Mute Swans were new. 9 Grey Partridges were at the feeding station (no sparrows) with the covey of five hogging the better feeding spot. 10 Blackbirds emerged from the roost in the garden today and 35 Goldfinches were on the feeders.

WFG at Caton

Photos:

Adult Mediterranean Gull, Caton

Adult and juvenile Kittiwakes, adult Mediterranean Gull, juvenile Shags and juvenile Glaucous Gull, Heysham

European White-fronted Geese with Greylag Geese at Caton

18th December

I started off at Heysham for another go at the Glaucous Gull this morning. Fortunately it was showing slightly better, perched on the corrugated roof on the far side of the harbour. After 20 minutes or so it flew towards the wooden jetty again. The two adult Med Gulls were again present plus two Little Gulls (adult and 1cy) plus Shags and Kittiwakes again.

This afternoon I wandered over to Bull Beck where, trawling through the Greylags, I found at least 35 European White-fronted Geese (43 were seen later in the day). I followed the path towards the river to get better views and nearly came a cropper. A narrow ditch cut across the field so I strode over it. When my left leg planted down on the far side, the whole banking gave way and collapsed. I fell forward, my tripod jammed into the ground the panning handle for the tripod struck the side of my head and snapped in two. My head was somewhat sore for a while afterwards.

Aside from the geese, most of which were hiding at the back of the 280+ Greylags were 640 Lapwings and a couple of Goldeneyes in the river. In the field behind the van later a flock of around 130 Common Gulls arrived. More were arriving as we left the van for the winter.

We got back home in decent time so I had a few quick visits to local patches. The Goldeneye is still on HGF with Wigeon numbers up to 59 now. On Newton Lake there were 2 Little Grebes, the juvenile Mute Swan, CT6 and 59 Teal. At the feeding station were 5 Grey Partridges and 5 Tree Sparrows.

Ibis

Photos:

First winter Glaucous Gull in the late afternoon sun at Heysham

Glossy Ibis at Leighton Moss

16th December

No change at HGF today. At the feeding station in Waterworks Lane were 25 Tree Sparrows plus two coveys of Grey Partridges, 4 and 5 strong.

17th December

Back at the van this weekend – unfortunately to close it down for the winter. Anyway Saturday morning started with a quick look at a small group of Black-headed Gulls in the usual fields west of the village. Two adult Meds were present, however the whole lot spooked for some reason and flew off shortly after I spotted them.

Next was a trip to Leighton Moss to have a look at the Glossy Ibis. It was feeding merrily in a small paddock near a small holding. Viewing from the road was a bit dodgy due to traffic so I didn’t stay long. I also had a quick look at the fields behind the car park for the Morecambe / Allen complex and spotted a Peregrine perched on a fence post. It soon took off, flying low towards me and then swooped down and up, crossing at the bottom of its flight path with a second larger Peregrine! The two falcons continued to fly towards me, side by side, with the female constantly making the chak chak call. They headed off over towards Warton Crag.

Next I headed off to Heysham to see the juvenile Glaucous Gull which proved to be a stick in the mud by going to sleep behind a timber on the wooden jetty. Two adult Meds were perched on the harbour wall and plenty of Kittiwakes plus three juvenile Shags were hanging around. Around 20 or so Twite were at the feeding station.

Starlings at Ham Wall

A few days on the road

Photos:

Dodgy record shots of Great Northern Diver at Stewartby Lake and Lesser Scaup at Slimbridge

Common Cranes in Somerset (the Kestrel was also there)

Great White Egret and Starlings at Ham Wall RSPB

12th December

I was travelling again today, working away tomorrow near Milton Keynes. I stopped on the way down at a place called Ditchford Gravel Pits. Some good gulls had apparently been seen here. It looks a good little reserve, however I was to find out that there are numerous patches of water in this area and most are inaccessible to the public. In the distance I could see large numbers of gulls visiting a ploughed field but then going to out of reach pools for a bath, consequently no real goodies. A single Yelloe-legged Gull (second winter) was seen late on by a pool near the road. The visit had started well with a low flying Red Kite over the car park just as I got out. A Green Woodpecker and a flock of 180+ Fieldfares were the pick of the rest.

13th December

Finishing work early I popped over to Caldecotte Lake which is around 2 miles from where I regularly work. A juvenile Great Northern Diver had been seen here. The western half of the lake is fairly accessible, however a good grilling of this section failed to produce the diver. I assumed it had probably swum under the road and into the eastern half where, frankly, it could have been anywhere. Fortunately for me I picked it up swimming under the bridge back into the western half just as I was about to leave. Nice bird! It was a bitterly cold and windy afternoon though.

I then headed over to Stewartby Lake for the gull roost. I had noticed that nothing much was being reported here this winter and soon found out why – there were hardly any big gulls on the lake though I guess 5-6000 Black-headed Gulls were present. I stood there in the gloom feeling a bit miffed when a shape glided across the lake in front of me – another Great Northern Diver! Well I can’t complain at two of these in the same afternoon.

14th December

Travelled into Somerset where I am working tomorrow. I decided to pay a visit to the released Cranes that were down in this part of the world. When I arrived I found the local river had flooded and large parts of the area were under water. Fortunately access to the bridge over the river and the footpath on the far banking were still OK.

First thing I noticed was the Starlings – thousands of then all over the place. Walking further down I used my bins and spotted two distant cranes in a paddock and a much more distant group so I headed for the nearest birds only to find out when I got in range that they were dummies, placed there to attract Cranes back to the area!

I then focussed on the distant group and began to watch. The 34 released birds (18 2cy birds and 16 1cy birds) were all present and correct and accompanied by the wild adult bird which had been hanging around for a while. A couple of birders then rolled up and suddenly one claimed a Great White Egret. This turned out to be another dummy which was reflecting sunlight back!

As I drove past Greylake RSPB I could swear that the world’s supply of Lapwings was in the fields along the road – thousands and thousands of them.

I then headed off to Ham Wall for dusk, arriving around an hour before dusk. First thing spotted was a male Marsh Harrier which quartered the marsh opposite the viewing platform. Then on the marsh behind I spotted two Great White Egrets, one near bird skulking in reeds (and then flew off) and a very distant bird flying over the back of the marsh. Some nearby Alders held some Siskins and Lesser Redpolls.

It went quiet for a short while and then a second male Marsh Harrier appeared on a different section of marsh. This was followed by the appearance in quick succession of three more Great White Egrets, all from the reeds behind the platform and all followed the first bird. Nice to see all five birds still around. A Bittern then showed spectacularly well, flying low across the front of the viewing platform and a second dropped into reeds further out on the marsh. According to the RSPB volunteer, there were 21 booming males on the Avalon Marshes this year which apparently makes this the highest density of Bitterns in Europe. Three Cetti’s Warblers were heard singing, only one was seen.

The first Starlings then started to arrive, closely followed by others and soon hundreds of thousands of birds were flying around. They put on a superb show tonight, swirling around in the sky and constantly moving from one reed bed to another. The only raptor seen having a pop was a Sparrowhawk. Numbers were not at last winters levels when apparently 4-5 million peaked. A very rough guess was that around 2 million were present tonight and boy did I enjoy the display!!!!

15th December

I started and finished work early today in Somerset and headed back north. The M5 was pretty clogged though so rather than sit in queues, I diverted to Slimbridge, arriving around 30 minutes before dusk. I popped into the observatory to look for the female Lesser Scaup. Quite a few birders were already there looking for her but no one had seen her. I eventually picked her up in the trap, fairly distant views before she disappeared out of sight. I also had a quick look at the fields from the Hide. 79 Bewick’s Swans and 139 European White-fronted Geese were there, however it was rapidly getting too dark to see so I called it a day and headed back to the traffic jam.

Local stuff

1st December

A Skylark was present in the south field at HGF this morning – the first for a while. Five Grey Partridges and a Fieldfare were also feeding here. The Goldeneye remains on the pool.

2nd December

A couple of Mistle Thrushes in the garden this morning started the birding day. Yet another look at the feeding station bore fruit in the form of two Tree Sparrows – the first birds here since 82 birds were present on 5th November. I decided to put some fresh food down to see if this would attract anything.

No change at HGF. On the way to work I noted a lone Corn Bunting on the usual wires in Culcheth.

Late afternoon I had a wander round Rixton. On Moat Lane pools a Green Sandpiper was present along with a couple of Wigeon and 6 Mute Swans. Around 4000 Starlings were on the tip and 5 Kestrels and 4 Grey Partridges were on the mosses. Around 40 Pink-footed Geese flew over, heading NE again. At dusk I hung around to see if the Short-eared Owl was still around. Very late on when the light was very poor, the owl flew up from its roost site and simply motored off over the mosses.

3rd December

No birding today

4th December

No birding today

5th December

An interesting bird at HGF this morning following a night of very high winds was a juvenile Whooper Swan. The bird flew a circuit around the pool and was calling all the time. Eventually the bird flew off NW. I would assume it somehow got separated from its family group in the bad weather. I hope it finds its family. A drake Shoveler was also a welcome addition to the pool.

6th December

An adult Goldeneye had joined the usual immature drake at HGF this morning. There was no sign of yesterday’s Shoveler though. 27 Lapwings lined the edge of the pool.

A wander round Rixton was enjoyable this afternoon. The Green Sandpiper was on Moat Lane pools again with several Tufties, a Pochard and six Gadwall. Past the tip I noticed that there were quite a few large gulls loafing about in a field behind the tip. Eventually I managed to get some views and trawl through the flock. Nothing spectacular, however there were 70+ Great Black-backed Gulls, 180+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 140+ Herring Gulls. In one of the fields off the A57 were 200+ Fieldfares while Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Grey Partridges and 5 Kestrels were also observed on the mosses.

Late afternoon I decided on the spur of the moment to go to Risley Moss. Lots of little brown jobs were dropping suddenly into roost – these included 5 Yellowhammers and 4 Reed Buntings. A tit flock passed through and tagging along at the rear where 3 Goldcrests with a fourth seen later. Eventually two Short-eared Owls flew up though very late and began flying around, dodging the numerous corvids. They then flew up high and off towards Rixton whereupon I found a third bird still hunting the moss. 12 Snipe and 5 Woodcock also flew off and the usual Tawny Owl started calling.

7th December

A brief look at the feeding station late afternoon – nothing. Four Grey Partridges were in a nearby field and Buzzard and Kestrel were both seen.

8th December

The immature drake Goldeneye still remains at HGF. A single Canada Goose was new in today.

9th December

No birding today.

10th December

Another Saturday when I was just too knackered to go and do some serious birding so I stayed local today and had several brief visits to various places. This started at Newton Lake after dropping Karen off at the hairdressers. The lake had flooded and a lot of the Teal were hiding at the back under the tree roots again. Nevertheless I counted 89 Teal floating on the water. A single Little Grebe, 31 Canadas, a handful of Tufties and a ringed, juvenile, Mute Swan were also spotted. The latter bird is CT6 and was ringed earlier this year at Crompton Lodge in Bolton.

After dropping Karen off at home I then took Bill for a wander around HGF. The Goldeneye is still there, Buzzard and Kestrel observed hunting and a flock of 36 Lapwings lounging about on the eastern side. The Wigeon flock varies daily but today numbered 48 – well down on what it should be at this time of year.

For a change the feeding station had picked up a bit today with the star visitors being 5 Corn Buntings which just about pipped another rare visitor in the form of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. 17 Tree Sparrows (good to see them back from wherever they have been) and 2 Yellowhammers plus various other commoner species were also around. It was enjoyable watching the place which has been like a morgue for 5 weeks.

In the garden today were a Coal Tit, a few Goldfinches and 16 Collared Doves. Eight Blackbirds had come out of the roost earlier.

Later on this afternoon I visited Rixton. The Green Sandpiper was still on Moat Lane pools, as were 2 Pochard, 49 Tufted Ducks, 4 Cormorants, a pair of Gadwall and 6 Mute Swans. A handful of Redwings flew over. Around 5000 Starlings were again on the tip but no gulls today. I stayed around for dusk and again observed the Short-eared Owl emerge from its roost and speed off over the mosses.

11th December

The Lapwing flock at HGF is steadily increasing and numbered 46 birds this morning. The Goldeneye is still there and four Great Black-backed Gulls floated on the water. There have been relatively few large gulls in the last couple of winters – a few years ago I was recording large gulls in their hundreds at times on here. A few more Great Crested Grebes have popped in.

18 Chaffinches and 10 Tree Sparrows were at Waterworks Lane feeding station today while in nearby Highfield Lane a flock of 230+ Fieldfares was having lunch. Late afternoon I paid a visit to Highfield Moss. 33 Redwings and 6 Fieldfares came into roost in nearby trees while 7 Snipe and 3 Jays plus a Kestrel were also seen. Unfortunately no owls.