First winter Glaucous Gull, Pumphouse flash, Sandbach Flashes
First winter Iceland Gull, Pumphouse Flash
This bird was called a Yellow-legged Gull by another birder. Granted it is much paler than the LBBG's around it but structurally it looks exactly like a LBBG to me - it didn't feel right for YLG or argentatus Herring Gull.
Yellow-legged Gull, Pumphouse Pool, Moore
Arctic Redpoll, Bedford
Corn Buntings, Culcheth. Crap photo taken through the bins!xxxxx
Bit of a running around week.
Xxxxx
Managed a lunch time trip to Rixton on Monday. Nothing much on the mosses (2 pairs of Buzzards, pair of Kestrels and some Mistle Thrushes) and just the usual on Moat Lane pools i.e. Tufted Ducks and the Mute Swan JP4. The tip pool was more interesting – it has been largely drained and was essentially a large patch of wet mud with a small stream running through the middle. No surprise to find the 2 Green Sandpipers had relocated here. Also present were 7 Teal. It looks superb for waders at the moment, however I haven’t had a chance to go near it since.
Xxxxxx
On the way home after work I spotted some birds flitting into a field at the edge of Holcroft Hall Farm. I found a footpath here which I never knew existed – hard work to get with nowhere to park, no footpath and traffic doing 50+ around the bend! I got there though and found 22+ Corn Buntings in the trees here. There were possibly more further down – this place needs more exploration!
Xxxxx
Since I have stopped putting food down at the feeding station the few remaining birds have drifted into the garden. It’s been several weeks since I saw significant numbers of Tree Sparrows at either location. On Monday there were 14 in the garden and 18 this morning. 2 Yellowhammers have also been present, however best of all was a pair of Grey Partridges. For the first five years we lived here we had a large covey of these birds present almost every day. Last winter they disappeared and only appeared half a dozen times later on – this winter nothing until this week.
Xxxxx
HGF follows a pattern at this time of year with Coots slowly disappearing onto breeding territories, Tufted Duck and Wigeon numbers fluctuating daily as they start to exercise their wings following a winter of relative inactivity and grebes building up – 7 Great Crested at the moment. The usual pair of Oystercatchers and single Redshank remain daily.
Xxxxx
Worked away during the week and had an opportunity to go and see an Arctic Redpoll of the Scandinavian race (Coues’). I arrived at the place the bird was showing to find two birders with that usually fateful comment – it buggered off that way five minutes ago, followed by the equally fateful – don’t worry, it’ll come back! They left and I watched for 40 minutes before a small flock of redpolls arrived and fortunately they included the Arctic bird and also a Mealy Redpoll for a nice comparison. I don’t think I appreciated how chunky looking an Arctic Redpoll is. I later spent dusk at nearby Stewartby Lake looking at the gulls. Nothing interesting and I couldn’t be bothered sifting through several thousand Black-headed Gulls looking for the usual Meds.
Xxxxx
Yesterday I managed a pit stop at Sandbach Flashes on the way home. This was just a spur of the moment thing and having been away I was completely oblivious to the possible presence of a first winter American Herring Gull there. I certainly didn’t see anything fitting that description. I soon picked out a faded first winter Iceland Gull on Pumphouse Flash. It eventually flew off so I moved to Elton Hall flash. A large flock of Stock Doves was feeding in a stubble field on the far side of the flash and a few Blackwits and Ruff were feeding around the water’s edge. I wandered back to Pumphouse where I first found the returned Iceland Gull and shortly after the pale first winter Glaucous Gull. Later I called in briefly at Moore for a look-see to find Birchwood Pool empty and a few hundred large gulls, mainly LBBG’s, on Pumphouse Pool. A single Yellow-legged Gull was with them.
Xxxxx
Managed a lunch time trip to Rixton on Monday. Nothing much on the mosses (2 pairs of Buzzards, pair of Kestrels and some Mistle Thrushes) and just the usual on Moat Lane pools i.e. Tufted Ducks and the Mute Swan JP4. The tip pool was more interesting – it has been largely drained and was essentially a large patch of wet mud with a small stream running through the middle. No surprise to find the 2 Green Sandpipers had relocated here. Also present were 7 Teal. It looks superb for waders at the moment, however I haven’t had a chance to go near it since.
Xxxxxx
On the way home after work I spotted some birds flitting into a field at the edge of Holcroft Hall Farm. I found a footpath here which I never knew existed – hard work to get with nowhere to park, no footpath and traffic doing 50+ around the bend! I got there though and found 22+ Corn Buntings in the trees here. There were possibly more further down – this place needs more exploration!
Xxxxx
Since I have stopped putting food down at the feeding station the few remaining birds have drifted into the garden. It’s been several weeks since I saw significant numbers of Tree Sparrows at either location. On Monday there were 14 in the garden and 18 this morning. 2 Yellowhammers have also been present, however best of all was a pair of Grey Partridges. For the first five years we lived here we had a large covey of these birds present almost every day. Last winter they disappeared and only appeared half a dozen times later on – this winter nothing until this week.
Xxxxx
HGF follows a pattern at this time of year with Coots slowly disappearing onto breeding territories, Tufted Duck and Wigeon numbers fluctuating daily as they start to exercise their wings following a winter of relative inactivity and grebes building up – 7 Great Crested at the moment. The usual pair of Oystercatchers and single Redshank remain daily.
Xxxxx
Worked away during the week and had an opportunity to go and see an Arctic Redpoll of the Scandinavian race (Coues’). I arrived at the place the bird was showing to find two birders with that usually fateful comment – it buggered off that way five minutes ago, followed by the equally fateful – don’t worry, it’ll come back! They left and I watched for 40 minutes before a small flock of redpolls arrived and fortunately they included the Arctic bird and also a Mealy Redpoll for a nice comparison. I don’t think I appreciated how chunky looking an Arctic Redpoll is. I later spent dusk at nearby Stewartby Lake looking at the gulls. Nothing interesting and I couldn’t be bothered sifting through several thousand Black-headed Gulls looking for the usual Meds.
Xxxxx
Yesterday I managed a pit stop at Sandbach Flashes on the way home. This was just a spur of the moment thing and having been away I was completely oblivious to the possible presence of a first winter American Herring Gull there. I certainly didn’t see anything fitting that description. I soon picked out a faded first winter Iceland Gull on Pumphouse Flash. It eventually flew off so I moved to Elton Hall flash. A large flock of Stock Doves was feeding in a stubble field on the far side of the flash and a few Blackwits and Ruff were feeding around the water’s edge. I wandered back to Pumphouse where I first found the returned Iceland Gull and shortly after the pale first winter Glaucous Gull. Later I called in briefly at Moore for a look-see to find Birchwood Pool empty and a few hundred large gulls, mainly LBBG’s, on Pumphouse Pool. A single Yellow-legged Gull was with them.
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