Photos:
Male Blackcap at Rixton Clay Pits
Little Ringed Plover, HGF
Pectoral Sandpiper & Little Egret, Inner Marsh Farm RSPB
Redshank, mud bathing Woodpigeon and juvenile Pied Wagtail, Pennington Flash
Brief summary of the last few days following scrupulous checks of the photos in order to avoid a repeat of a recent aberration....
HGF remains relatively quiet though there are 16 Great Crested Grebes in residence. One is still incubating and is pushing its look just a few feet from the water’s edge. Over the weekend two more pairs started building nests – both in dodgy locations. Yesterday I turned up in the morning to find one of these nests well built and then in the evening it had virtually disappeared before being rebuilt this morning and flattened again this evening. A bit of theft of nesting material or dogs?
Also this morning there was a grebe lying flat out on the bank with head and neck pointed forward and laid out on the sand. It looked like it was dead and its mate was swimming around nearby. I walked towards it and the grebe suddenly got up and waddled back to the water before swimming off! I also met a bloke and his son with a pit bull type dog who admitted throwing things at the incubating grebe because he thought the funny duck was caught in some branches and he was trying to free it....A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were present this evening.
A Shelduck was still present on Newton Lake on Saturday. A local had seen two swans there flying off – perhaps the old Pen has found herself a new mate? Nine Gadwalls plus Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Buzzards seen.
Saturday afternoon I wandered over to Astley / Chat Mosses to see the Quails. For over two hours I listened to three birds singing with several other birders. Suddenly a presumed fourth bird exploded from cover just ten feet away and flew off down the field edge. Nice one – I didn’t really expect to see one. Lots of Yellow Wagtail sightings too. Later a brief sojourn to Risley Moss produced Hobby (buggering off), Sparrowhawk, three Buzzards and a Cuckoo. It was too hot and it fried my head!
Sunday afternoon I headed off down the M56 and ended up at Inner Marsh Farm. On arrival a warden told me about a Pec Sand so I shot off down the path stuffing my face with a chicken butty. I thought I heard a Cuckoo calling but it was very distant. There were lots of Little Egrets flying round though. In the hide I walked past Jonathan without realising he was there and concentrated on photographing and then watching the Pectoral Sandpiper. The good wader run continues! I then saw what I am sure was a Cuckoo flying distantly over a field while a pair of Avocets, a Dunlin and 48 Black-tailed Godwits provided variation.
Jonathan and I left and headed back to Pennington where a Little Stint had been reported but re-identified as a Sanderling by the time we arrived. That’s birding for you. A pair of Black-necked Grebes were loitering and we then heard a Cuckoo calling and watched as a pair of them flew over the hide, across the water and landed in trees by the ruck. That was worth the trip to Penny by itself.
Yesterday I noticed the Common Terns back, this time on Moat Lane pool 1. The female (presumably) appeared to be sitting on a nest site on the large island here while the male fished the clay pits pools and fed her. A pair of Shovelers were on pool 2 and by the clay pits I watched a male Blackcap feeding 2 juveniles. Today both Common Terns were just loitering around the pool so my earlier optimism has faded a little. A Shelduck was on what was left of the tip pool along with a Little Ringed Plover and the tip had over 200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying around it.
HGF remains relatively quiet though there are 16 Great Crested Grebes in residence. One is still incubating and is pushing its look just a few feet from the water’s edge. Over the weekend two more pairs started building nests – both in dodgy locations. Yesterday I turned up in the morning to find one of these nests well built and then in the evening it had virtually disappeared before being rebuilt this morning and flattened again this evening. A bit of theft of nesting material or dogs?
Also this morning there was a grebe lying flat out on the bank with head and neck pointed forward and laid out on the sand. It looked like it was dead and its mate was swimming around nearby. I walked towards it and the grebe suddenly got up and waddled back to the water before swimming off! I also met a bloke and his son with a pit bull type dog who admitted throwing things at the incubating grebe because he thought the funny duck was caught in some branches and he was trying to free it....A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were present this evening.
A Shelduck was still present on Newton Lake on Saturday. A local had seen two swans there flying off – perhaps the old Pen has found herself a new mate? Nine Gadwalls plus Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Buzzards seen.
Saturday afternoon I wandered over to Astley / Chat Mosses to see the Quails. For over two hours I listened to three birds singing with several other birders. Suddenly a presumed fourth bird exploded from cover just ten feet away and flew off down the field edge. Nice one – I didn’t really expect to see one. Lots of Yellow Wagtail sightings too. Later a brief sojourn to Risley Moss produced Hobby (buggering off), Sparrowhawk, three Buzzards and a Cuckoo. It was too hot and it fried my head!
Sunday afternoon I headed off down the M56 and ended up at Inner Marsh Farm. On arrival a warden told me about a Pec Sand so I shot off down the path stuffing my face with a chicken butty. I thought I heard a Cuckoo calling but it was very distant. There were lots of Little Egrets flying round though. In the hide I walked past Jonathan without realising he was there and concentrated on photographing and then watching the Pectoral Sandpiper. The good wader run continues! I then saw what I am sure was a Cuckoo flying distantly over a field while a pair of Avocets, a Dunlin and 48 Black-tailed Godwits provided variation.
Jonathan and I left and headed back to Pennington where a Little Stint had been reported but re-identified as a Sanderling by the time we arrived. That’s birding for you. A pair of Black-necked Grebes were loitering and we then heard a Cuckoo calling and watched as a pair of them flew over the hide, across the water and landed in trees by the ruck. That was worth the trip to Penny by itself.
Yesterday I noticed the Common Terns back, this time on Moat Lane pool 1. The female (presumably) appeared to be sitting on a nest site on the large island here while the male fished the clay pits pools and fed her. A pair of Shovelers were on pool 2 and by the clay pits I watched a male Blackcap feeding 2 juveniles. Today both Common Terns were just loitering around the pool so my earlier optimism has faded a little. A Shelduck was on what was left of the tip pool along with a Little Ringed Plover and the tip had over 200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying around it.
No comments:
Post a Comment