Photos:
Whooper Swans on Halsall Moss
Mistle Thrush and Bean Geese, Plex Moss
Various gulls at Birkdale including juvenile Glaucous, adult Herring (one a Ribble marshes ringed bird) and what I consider to be a striking second winter argentatus Herring Gull
22nd January
Today was very, very windy. According to the BBC, the winds from yesterday were supposed to disappear overnight. In fact they got very much stronger. I started with Bill at Ainsdale in the morning where there was a large gull roost. I couldn’t see much though, we were both being blown sideways. John Dempsey told me I had just missed a Med and a nice flock of Sanderlings passed through but that was about it.
I then headed up to Birkdale where there was a large gull roost and one of the first seen was the usual juvenile Glaucous Gull. This bird was having a bath, mainly with its back to me and soon flew off. A mixed Twite / Linnet flock numbering around 90 birds also buzzed the dunes. I spent some time sifting through the gull flock - I estimated around 4400 Herring Gulls were present and the vast majority were adults. I did find two Yellow-legged Gulls (adults) with them. Lots of argentatus birds too and I found a Ribble marshes ringed argenteus Herring Gull which was over 5yrs old.
I then headed off to the mosses and, starting on Halsall Moss I found a flock of around 80 Whooper Swans and a few Red-legged Partridges. Driving back down Plex Moss I spotted a flock of around 800 Pink-footed Geese and trawling through them I found three tundra Bean Geese. An old couple who parked in behind me were chuffed to see the Bean Geese through my scope. There were also a couple of really pale, fawn colored Pinks. A large flock of 270+ Linnets was also nearby. On Downholland Moss there were just a couple of hundred Pinks scattered around in small groups. I did find a family party of six Ravens and a few Kestrels and Buzzards.
On my way home I decided to nip over to Crosby Coastguards. Not many gulls around but a nice flock of mixed waders including Knot, Ringed Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits. Unfortunately they were soon flushed by dog walkers.
On my way back home I spotted a gull flock in some flooded fields at the bottom of Delph Lane (Winwick, not Houghton Green) and scanned through to see if there was anything interesting. Around 800+ Black-headed Gulls were there plus small numbers of Common and Lesser Black-backed but nothing more interesting. Back at home a Reed Bunting was feeding in the garden.
Today was very, very windy. According to the BBC, the winds from yesterday were supposed to disappear overnight. In fact they got very much stronger. I started with Bill at Ainsdale in the morning where there was a large gull roost. I couldn’t see much though, we were both being blown sideways. John Dempsey told me I had just missed a Med and a nice flock of Sanderlings passed through but that was about it.
I then headed up to Birkdale where there was a large gull roost and one of the first seen was the usual juvenile Glaucous Gull. This bird was having a bath, mainly with its back to me and soon flew off. A mixed Twite / Linnet flock numbering around 90 birds also buzzed the dunes. I spent some time sifting through the gull flock - I estimated around 4400 Herring Gulls were present and the vast majority were adults. I did find two Yellow-legged Gulls (adults) with them. Lots of argentatus birds too and I found a Ribble marshes ringed argenteus Herring Gull which was over 5yrs old.
I then headed off to the mosses and, starting on Halsall Moss I found a flock of around 80 Whooper Swans and a few Red-legged Partridges. Driving back down Plex Moss I spotted a flock of around 800 Pink-footed Geese and trawling through them I found three tundra Bean Geese. An old couple who parked in behind me were chuffed to see the Bean Geese through my scope. There were also a couple of really pale, fawn colored Pinks. A large flock of 270+ Linnets was also nearby. On Downholland Moss there were just a couple of hundred Pinks scattered around in small groups. I did find a family party of six Ravens and a few Kestrels and Buzzards.
On my way home I decided to nip over to Crosby Coastguards. Not many gulls around but a nice flock of mixed waders including Knot, Ringed Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits. Unfortunately they were soon flushed by dog walkers.
On my way back home I spotted a gull flock in some flooded fields at the bottom of Delph Lane (Winwick, not Houghton Green) and scanned through to see if there was anything interesting. Around 800+ Black-headed Gulls were there plus small numbers of Common and Lesser Black-backed but nothing more interesting. Back at home a Reed Bunting was feeding in the garden.
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