Photos:
Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls at Newton Lake
Common Tern, Corn Bunting and Little Ringed Plover at Rixton
Dodgy record shot of Green-winged Teal at Sandbach Flashes
Drake Garganey at Summer Leys NR
Common Sandpiper at HGF
Ring-necked Duck on the Mersey nr Woolsten Eyes
A very pale (leucistic?) Great Crested Grebe at Paxton Pits
Monday 18th April
There were no Black-necked Grebes at HGF this morning. No swans, no Coots and not much of anything – the place seemed deserted! I also found a male Yellow Wagtail in the south field. I was working nr Crewe today so I called in at Sandbach Flashes on the way past and had a look at the Green-winged Teal. The sun is always against you in the morning here so viewing conditions were poor. A few Blackwits, a couple of Wigeon and a Common Sandpiper were the only other birds of note. I only had 20 minutes or so to spare anyway.
After work today I visited Paxton Pits (working away again). The pick as usual were 4 Nightingales, 3 singing (one seen well) plus a fourth bird which flew across a clearing. To be honest the place seemed much quieter than my previous visits. Lots of Willow Warblers, Chiffers and Blackcaps singing away plus a couple of Whitethroats. 11 Common Terns were feeding over Heron Lake and a Cuckoo called briefly.
Tuesday 19th April
On the way home from working away I decided to explore a nature reserve not far from the M1 called Summer Leys. I have monitored the sightings here for a while but never got round to visiting. Today was very hot. The reserve consists of a few small, shallow lakes with a few hides. It looks good for anything to turn up. The best birds during my brief visit were a drake Garganey and a singing Garden Warbler.
I called in at Rixton on the way past. A male Yellow Wagtail was the pick in the ploughed field off Holly Bush Lane. 3 Wheatears were also here and 2 more were in Prospect Lane. A couple of Redshanks were on the tip pool as were the two Shelducks. Moat Lane pools were deserted with the exception of Mute Swan JP4 and his pal due to people deciding the pools are OK for fishing. HGF this evening had 3 Black-necked Grebes.
Wednesday 20th April
HGF this morning had 3 Black-necked Grebes and a Common Sandpiper. 4 Tree Sparrows were in the garden. This evening I wandered through Rixton and was chuffed to find a pair of Common Terns on Moat Lane pool 2 where they bred last year. Fantastic to see them back. Also on this pool was a pair of Oystercatchers, a pair of Redshanks, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a sub-adult Ringed Plover. Plenty of warblers and Swallows around too. On the tip pool was the Shelduck pair while on the mosses were 4 Yellow Wagtails (3 males), 3 Wheatears, 4 Grey Partridges, 16 Linnets and a Corn Bunting!
There were no Black-necked Grebes at HGF this morning. No swans, no Coots and not much of anything – the place seemed deserted! I also found a male Yellow Wagtail in the south field. I was working nr Crewe today so I called in at Sandbach Flashes on the way past and had a look at the Green-winged Teal. The sun is always against you in the morning here so viewing conditions were poor. A few Blackwits, a couple of Wigeon and a Common Sandpiper were the only other birds of note. I only had 20 minutes or so to spare anyway.
After work today I visited Paxton Pits (working away again). The pick as usual were 4 Nightingales, 3 singing (one seen well) plus a fourth bird which flew across a clearing. To be honest the place seemed much quieter than my previous visits. Lots of Willow Warblers, Chiffers and Blackcaps singing away plus a couple of Whitethroats. 11 Common Terns were feeding over Heron Lake and a Cuckoo called briefly.
Tuesday 19th April
On the way home from working away I decided to explore a nature reserve not far from the M1 called Summer Leys. I have monitored the sightings here for a while but never got round to visiting. Today was very hot. The reserve consists of a few small, shallow lakes with a few hides. It looks good for anything to turn up. The best birds during my brief visit were a drake Garganey and a singing Garden Warbler.
I called in at Rixton on the way past. A male Yellow Wagtail was the pick in the ploughed field off Holly Bush Lane. 3 Wheatears were also here and 2 more were in Prospect Lane. A couple of Redshanks were on the tip pool as were the two Shelducks. Moat Lane pools were deserted with the exception of Mute Swan JP4 and his pal due to people deciding the pools are OK for fishing. HGF this evening had 3 Black-necked Grebes.
Wednesday 20th April
HGF this morning had 3 Black-necked Grebes and a Common Sandpiper. 4 Tree Sparrows were in the garden. This evening I wandered through Rixton and was chuffed to find a pair of Common Terns on Moat Lane pool 2 where they bred last year. Fantastic to see them back. Also on this pool was a pair of Oystercatchers, a pair of Redshanks, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and a sub-adult Ringed Plover. Plenty of warblers and Swallows around too. On the tip pool was the Shelduck pair while on the mosses were 4 Yellow Wagtails (3 males), 3 Wheatears, 4 Grey Partridges, 16 Linnets and a Corn Bunting!
Thursday 21st April
First thing this morning I popped round to the Mersey at Woolsten Eyes. On the weir pool was the drake Ring-necked Duck that was reported yesterday. Nice to have a really good bird just on the doorstep - I was in France when presumably the same bird turned up at Penny! A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling from the bank and a pair of Kestrels were enaged incourtship flights. Predictably the RND soon fell asleep.
At Rixton today the Common Terns and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers were on Moat Lane pool 1. Nothing much else around with the tip pool empty and just three Wheatears on the mosses.
I arrived home today to find murder in process in the front garden. A Magpie had grabbed one of the young Blackbirds from the nest in our garden. It flew with the nestling to the roof of the house across the road where mobbing by the parents caused the maggie to drop the bird. I rushed over, found it was still alive and rescued it. I out the bird in a box for a while to see if it would survive - it did. I then placed it under a bush near the nest - it immediately started calling and from a distance I watched the male Blackbird fly down to it. Hope it does well! By the way - I hate maggies!
On the subject of maggies, the cat went and stood under the tree the maggies are using for nesting in our back garden. The maggies went bersek and started ranting at the cat in maggie speak while also summoning relatives and other assistance. Eventually 8 maggies, 2 Crows, a Rook and a Jackdaw were perched in the tree above the cat and making a racket!
HGF this evening quiet - 9 Great Crested Grebes, a Coot, a Tufted Duck and a Common Sandpiper. Had a brief mooch to Newton Lake this afternoon too - not much there so I contented myself with photographing the Tufties and Gadwalls.
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