Adult Yellow-legged Gull at Houghton Green Flash
13th October
Nice morning today. I quite enjoyed my short walk to HGF. In the south field was a single covey of 34 Grey Partridges and five Skylarks were also skimming over the stubble. The Wigeon flock has increased to 8. What was interesting today is that there were only 9 Great Crested Grebes present on the pool (I looked carefully), half the number of yesterday. I had a quick look at the pool later on and the number was back to 18!
Had a quick look at Moat Lane pools this afternoon. JP4 and friend had been joined by a couple of Tufted Ducks and a Jay screamed in the trees by the edge of the pool. There were 10 Teal on the pool at the base of the tip while a flock of 30+ Linnets was seen further up the lane. 4 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels also seen over the mosses.
Lots of finches in the garden today -30+ Goldfinches and 10 Greenfinches. At the feeding station were 40+ House Sparrows and 18 Tree Sparrows. Three Buzzards and 17 Skylarks were in Waterworks Lane and a covey of 11 Grey Partridges was seen in a field off Golborne Rd.
Late afternoon I walked down Barrow Lane in stunning sunshine. The highlight were two Merlins in what was the oat field - a male and a female perched side by side. The male seemed to pester the female before flying off – the latter didn’t move for a good while. There were quite a few Linnets buzzing around and eventually I counted 199 (70, 65, 2, 15, 11, 34 and 2) and all the birds flew from the direction of Highfield Moss and over in the direction of Highfield Lane, Winwick. Other birds were also moving through including 29 Redwings (my first of the autumn), 13 Skylarks, 6 Pied Wagtails and 8 Swallows. Three Buzzards and a Kestrel completed the raptor line up and two coveys of Grey Partridges were seen.
I rounded off a day of bits and bats but thoroughly enjoyable birding with a quick look at Newton Lake late evening. 53 Teal were present along with 4 Tufties, 4 Little Grebes, a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher which flew over the back of the pool.
14th October
A late evening visit to HGF. The Wigeon flock is up to 12 and a couple of Pochard were present. Two coveys of Grey Partridges in Waterworks Lane this evening and a Fieldfare flew over the garden.
15th October
This morning I took Bill to Barrow Lane at first light. It was one of those clear, still mornings that was extremely enjoyable to be out and about in and quite a few birds moved through in the first hour, after which it was very quiet. The birds seen in that hour were:
2 Buzzard
15 Fieldfare
59 Grey Partridge
14 Herring Gull
10 House Sparrow
5 Lapwing
36 Lesser Black-backed Gull
3 Meadow Pipit
6 Pied Wagtail
141 Redwing
1 Skylark
2 Snipe
400+ Starling
13 Tree Sparrow
450+ Woodpigeon
A mid morning visit to HGF started with a covey of 32 Grey Partridges in the field opposite the kennels. 9 Skylarks and 13 Fieldfare were in the south field. Pretty much as was on the water.
In the garden this morning were 12 Redwing, a Coal Tit, 20+ Goldfinches and 35+ Greenfinches. Around the corner at the feeding station were 21 Tree Sparrows.
This afternoon I headed over to Rixton. On the way through Culcheth 3 Corn Buntings were on the wires on Holcroft Lane. Moat Lane pools were quiet apart from a fly over female Sparrowhawk so I decided to check out the pool at the side of the landfill site. This was a bit busier with 27 Teal, 9 Tufties, 4 Gadwall and a Little Grebe being the highlights. I then wandered down the footpath at the end of Moss Side Lane.
A Willow Tit was the first decent bird and quite a few Redwings and Fieldfares were flitting around. At the end near the reedbed I flushed a juvenile Grey Heron from the dyke – it flew into the dead tree nearby. While I was trying to digiscope it a Golden Plover flew over, calling. A male Sparrowhawk then appeared followed by a Kestrel and 3 Buzzards. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Jays were also seen. Back around the mosses I picked up another Buzzard and five more Kestrels.
Late evening I walked Bill back down Barrow Lane and spotted 10 Golden Plovers in a field near the aircraft strip – presumably the same birds visited Pennington the next day.
16th October
A late afternoon visit to HGF on a windy day. On arrival at the south bank I could see plenty of gulls on the water and quickly sifting through them I spotted a Yellow-legged Gull candidate. I watched the bird drifting around at the back of the gull flock and torn between YLG and an argentatus Herring Gull. At times it resembled the latter because the primaries hadn’t fully re-grown yet, giving it a squat and bulky appearance plus in the prevailing light it didn’t look dark enough for YLG. Other features though were consistent with YLG.
I then noticed John Tymon who came over and queried the bird and suggested YLG. We watched it drift way over the far side and then it took off and showed its yellow legs. I shouted at John to photograph the bird in flight (he did but forgot to change from manual focus I think so all the shots were blurred) and I watched it flying round the pool. I was sure I could see a bar on P5 when it briefly circled over us and I thought John’s photos would confirm this. All they did confirm was a large black wedge on the primaries consistent with YLG.
At home I studied some highly zoomed digiscoped shots I took in a brief interlude of dull light (which I couldn’t see at the time because I have broken the LCD on my camera!). These confirmed that the head shape, bill structure, gonys spot, mantle shade, fine streaking, red eye ring etc were all present and correct. The zoom on my digiscoping camera paid dividends today. A first for me here!
There were six gull species here today as an adult Great Black-backed Gull dropped in late on while a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over John’s head as he walked away. Seven Little Grebes were on the water along with six Mute Swan cygnets. A female Sparrowhawk flew over the feeding station so I didn’t see any sparrows during my brief visit there.
17th October
This morning dawned overcast and windy. At HGF few gulls and no swans. A couple of Redwings flew through. I had a quick walk down Barrow Lane this afternoon. 137 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 60+ Linnets and a Kestrel were seen.
Nice morning today. I quite enjoyed my short walk to HGF. In the south field was a single covey of 34 Grey Partridges and five Skylarks were also skimming over the stubble. The Wigeon flock has increased to 8. What was interesting today is that there were only 9 Great Crested Grebes present on the pool (I looked carefully), half the number of yesterday. I had a quick look at the pool later on and the number was back to 18!
Had a quick look at Moat Lane pools this afternoon. JP4 and friend had been joined by a couple of Tufted Ducks and a Jay screamed in the trees by the edge of the pool. There were 10 Teal on the pool at the base of the tip while a flock of 30+ Linnets was seen further up the lane. 4 Buzzards and 3 Kestrels also seen over the mosses.
Lots of finches in the garden today -30+ Goldfinches and 10 Greenfinches. At the feeding station were 40+ House Sparrows and 18 Tree Sparrows. Three Buzzards and 17 Skylarks were in Waterworks Lane and a covey of 11 Grey Partridges was seen in a field off Golborne Rd.
Late afternoon I walked down Barrow Lane in stunning sunshine. The highlight were two Merlins in what was the oat field - a male and a female perched side by side. The male seemed to pester the female before flying off – the latter didn’t move for a good while. There were quite a few Linnets buzzing around and eventually I counted 199 (70, 65, 2, 15, 11, 34 and 2) and all the birds flew from the direction of Highfield Moss and over in the direction of Highfield Lane, Winwick. Other birds were also moving through including 29 Redwings (my first of the autumn), 13 Skylarks, 6 Pied Wagtails and 8 Swallows. Three Buzzards and a Kestrel completed the raptor line up and two coveys of Grey Partridges were seen.
I rounded off a day of bits and bats but thoroughly enjoyable birding with a quick look at Newton Lake late evening. 53 Teal were present along with 4 Tufties, 4 Little Grebes, a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher which flew over the back of the pool.
14th October
A late evening visit to HGF. The Wigeon flock is up to 12 and a couple of Pochard were present. Two coveys of Grey Partridges in Waterworks Lane this evening and a Fieldfare flew over the garden.
15th October
This morning I took Bill to Barrow Lane at first light. It was one of those clear, still mornings that was extremely enjoyable to be out and about in and quite a few birds moved through in the first hour, after which it was very quiet. The birds seen in that hour were:
2 Buzzard
15 Fieldfare
59 Grey Partridge
14 Herring Gull
10 House Sparrow
5 Lapwing
36 Lesser Black-backed Gull
3 Meadow Pipit
6 Pied Wagtail
141 Redwing
1 Skylark
2 Snipe
400+ Starling
13 Tree Sparrow
450+ Woodpigeon
A mid morning visit to HGF started with a covey of 32 Grey Partridges in the field opposite the kennels. 9 Skylarks and 13 Fieldfare were in the south field. Pretty much as was on the water.
In the garden this morning were 12 Redwing, a Coal Tit, 20+ Goldfinches and 35+ Greenfinches. Around the corner at the feeding station were 21 Tree Sparrows.
This afternoon I headed over to Rixton. On the way through Culcheth 3 Corn Buntings were on the wires on Holcroft Lane. Moat Lane pools were quiet apart from a fly over female Sparrowhawk so I decided to check out the pool at the side of the landfill site. This was a bit busier with 27 Teal, 9 Tufties, 4 Gadwall and a Little Grebe being the highlights. I then wandered down the footpath at the end of Moss Side Lane.
A Willow Tit was the first decent bird and quite a few Redwings and Fieldfares were flitting around. At the end near the reedbed I flushed a juvenile Grey Heron from the dyke – it flew into the dead tree nearby. While I was trying to digiscope it a Golden Plover flew over, calling. A male Sparrowhawk then appeared followed by a Kestrel and 3 Buzzards. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Jays were also seen. Back around the mosses I picked up another Buzzard and five more Kestrels.
Late evening I walked Bill back down Barrow Lane and spotted 10 Golden Plovers in a field near the aircraft strip – presumably the same birds visited Pennington the next day.
16th October
A late afternoon visit to HGF on a windy day. On arrival at the south bank I could see plenty of gulls on the water and quickly sifting through them I spotted a Yellow-legged Gull candidate. I watched the bird drifting around at the back of the gull flock and torn between YLG and an argentatus Herring Gull. At times it resembled the latter because the primaries hadn’t fully re-grown yet, giving it a squat and bulky appearance plus in the prevailing light it didn’t look dark enough for YLG. Other features though were consistent with YLG.
I then noticed John Tymon who came over and queried the bird and suggested YLG. We watched it drift way over the far side and then it took off and showed its yellow legs. I shouted at John to photograph the bird in flight (he did but forgot to change from manual focus I think so all the shots were blurred) and I watched it flying round the pool. I was sure I could see a bar on P5 when it briefly circled over us and I thought John’s photos would confirm this. All they did confirm was a large black wedge on the primaries consistent with YLG.
At home I studied some highly zoomed digiscoped shots I took in a brief interlude of dull light (which I couldn’t see at the time because I have broken the LCD on my camera!). These confirmed that the head shape, bill structure, gonys spot, mantle shade, fine streaking, red eye ring etc were all present and correct. The zoom on my digiscoping camera paid dividends today. A first for me here!
There were six gull species here today as an adult Great Black-backed Gull dropped in late on while a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over John’s head as he walked away. Seven Little Grebes were on the water along with six Mute Swan cygnets. A female Sparrowhawk flew over the feeding station so I didn’t see any sparrows during my brief visit there.
17th October
This morning dawned overcast and windy. At HGF few gulls and no swans. A couple of Redwings flew through. I had a quick walk down Barrow Lane this afternoon. 137 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 60+ Linnets and a Kestrel were seen.
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