Bewick's Swans, Shotwick Fields
Part of the Linnet flock at Burton Marsh
Pochard, Newton Lake
Brambling in our gardenxxxxxx
The first bird of 2011 was a Woodpigeon feeding opposite my brother-in-law’s house. The first good bird of 2011 was a Red Kite found just 20 minutes later being mobbed by corvids just outside the village. It’s a long way from any of the reintroduction schemes here in this part of Wiltshire, however I later found out that the odd Red Kite has been seen this far down the M4 corridor over the last year or so – clearly the birds from High Wycombe are spreading some distance.
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My first real birding session was on Monday (3rd) when I decided to take Bill over to the Wirral. My first stop was Shotwick fields where a sizeable flock of mixed swans had built up. In all I counted 120 Bewick’s Swans plus 54 Whooper Swans and 76 Mute Swans. Interestingly there were only 14 juvenile Bewick’s present (7 Whoopers) which mirrors what I saw at Slimbridge i.e. very few juveniles. I can’t claim to be any sort of expert but I wonder if the reproduction rate of these birds is declining? Also on the deck here was a flock of 1520 Pink-footed Geese – the largest flock I have seen on the deck around here.
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Next I wandered up by Burton Marsh towards the Decca Pools. The first raptors were Buzzards – I eventually counted four of them, all perched on various posts. At the pools I decided to just stand and watch for a bit. The pools were still mostly frozen and not much was about there though a few Little Egrets flitted past. I soon found a distant ring-tail Hen Harrier – it was motoring up towards Parkgate. I then spotted a Merlin chasing something – it eventually gave up and perched up! I eventually found four of these little falcons perched on various posts – 3 females and a male. I had spotted small flocks of Linnets heading from off the marsh and into a stubble field opposite the pools – around an hour later there were at least 430 Linnets in this field. A pair of Peregrines then arrived and perched up just behind the pools – clearly a falcon and a tiercel. I later found 2 more Peregrines perched way out on the marsh and off towards Parkgate – I needed the scope on 60x zoom just to see these birds. They looked very brownish through the scope so maybe they were first winters? All in all there were plenty of raptors but all of them just perching and not doing much. Back by the car park a male Stonechat was a welcome find.
Xxxxxx
Not had much chance to view the feeding station though yesterday I counted 60+ Tree Sparrows in the garden and then immediately afterwards 30+ at the feeding station. I’m not sure why they frequent the garden so much at the moment. Yesterday there was fresh seed at the feeding station and hardly anything in the garden but they still preferred it. Maybe it is a bit more sheltered or maybe it’s the warmth? The vent from our boiler puts lots of hot air out towards the back of the garden. I also has a smart male Brambling in the garden – it seemed to be hanging around with a small flock of Goldfinches.
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Sunday I had a quick mooch to Newton Lake. The pool was still 80% frozen and all the birds were concentrated in small stretches of water. A drake Goosander was the highlight with drake Pochard and Tufted Duck also present. The pen Mute Swan still remains on her own – the Teal count was 103.
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This afternoon I managed to escape at lunch towards Rixton. The pools are still completely frozen and are dead. I wandered over to where I kept picking up Willow Tits before Christmas and sure enough I heard some again. This time I managed to watch three of them chasing around some trees. A Treecreeper was also observed nearby.
Xxxxx
A couple of asides. For the last 2 months a guy has been shooting woodies in Waterworks Lane with the result that the place is often deserted. On one occasion I saw him wing a Crow which started to flap away. He then walked over to put the bird out of its misery. He stopped well short of where I would have shot from and took three further shots to kill the bird. I’m not a huge fan of Crows and I understand that not all shots will kill outright but FOUR attempts to kill a bird? Bloody irresponsible. I also noticed on a recent trip to Preston a number of dead gulls on the ice at the docks. In all I counted 17 dead birds and I didn’t try particularly hard. I wonder if this winter is having a very significant effect on bird populations or is this the normal attrition rate and it is just more visible as a result of the ice?
Xxxxxx
My first real birding session was on Monday (3rd) when I decided to take Bill over to the Wirral. My first stop was Shotwick fields where a sizeable flock of mixed swans had built up. In all I counted 120 Bewick’s Swans plus 54 Whooper Swans and 76 Mute Swans. Interestingly there were only 14 juvenile Bewick’s present (7 Whoopers) which mirrors what I saw at Slimbridge i.e. very few juveniles. I can’t claim to be any sort of expert but I wonder if the reproduction rate of these birds is declining? Also on the deck here was a flock of 1520 Pink-footed Geese – the largest flock I have seen on the deck around here.
Xxxxx
Next I wandered up by Burton Marsh towards the Decca Pools. The first raptors were Buzzards – I eventually counted four of them, all perched on various posts. At the pools I decided to just stand and watch for a bit. The pools were still mostly frozen and not much was about there though a few Little Egrets flitted past. I soon found a distant ring-tail Hen Harrier – it was motoring up towards Parkgate. I then spotted a Merlin chasing something – it eventually gave up and perched up! I eventually found four of these little falcons perched on various posts – 3 females and a male. I had spotted small flocks of Linnets heading from off the marsh and into a stubble field opposite the pools – around an hour later there were at least 430 Linnets in this field. A pair of Peregrines then arrived and perched up just behind the pools – clearly a falcon and a tiercel. I later found 2 more Peregrines perched way out on the marsh and off towards Parkgate – I needed the scope on 60x zoom just to see these birds. They looked very brownish through the scope so maybe they were first winters? All in all there were plenty of raptors but all of them just perching and not doing much. Back by the car park a male Stonechat was a welcome find.
Xxxxxx
Not had much chance to view the feeding station though yesterday I counted 60+ Tree Sparrows in the garden and then immediately afterwards 30+ at the feeding station. I’m not sure why they frequent the garden so much at the moment. Yesterday there was fresh seed at the feeding station and hardly anything in the garden but they still preferred it. Maybe it is a bit more sheltered or maybe it’s the warmth? The vent from our boiler puts lots of hot air out towards the back of the garden. I also has a smart male Brambling in the garden – it seemed to be hanging around with a small flock of Goldfinches.
Xxxxx
Sunday I had a quick mooch to Newton Lake. The pool was still 80% frozen and all the birds were concentrated in small stretches of water. A drake Goosander was the highlight with drake Pochard and Tufted Duck also present. The pen Mute Swan still remains on her own – the Teal count was 103.
xxxxx
This afternoon I managed to escape at lunch towards Rixton. The pools are still completely frozen and are dead. I wandered over to where I kept picking up Willow Tits before Christmas and sure enough I heard some again. This time I managed to watch three of them chasing around some trees. A Treecreeper was also observed nearby.
Xxxxx
A couple of asides. For the last 2 months a guy has been shooting woodies in Waterworks Lane with the result that the place is often deserted. On one occasion I saw him wing a Crow which started to flap away. He then walked over to put the bird out of its misery. He stopped well short of where I would have shot from and took three further shots to kill the bird. I’m not a huge fan of Crows and I understand that not all shots will kill outright but FOUR attempts to kill a bird? Bloody irresponsible. I also noticed on a recent trip to Preston a number of dead gulls on the ice at the docks. In all I counted 17 dead birds and I didn’t try particularly hard. I wonder if this winter is having a very significant effect on bird populations or is this the normal attrition rate and it is just more visible as a result of the ice?
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