Photos:
Oystercatchers and Knot at Morecambe
Snow Geese at Leighton Moss
13th January
Late afternoon I finished work early (on The Wirral today) and headed over to Parkgate for the last hour or so of daylight. It was cold and not particularly brilliant on the lighting front, however some good birds soon started to turn up. A ring-tail Hen Harrier was first up, flying around opposite the car park. Soon afterwards I picked out another ring-tail – watching this bird it flushed a female Merlin which moved out of the way and perched up. A single Short-eared Owl got up and moved off towards Burton Marsh, a few Little Egrets moved through and several flocks of Pink-footed Geese did likewise.
Eventually the two ring-tails came back and were soon joined by a third – good to see all three in the air together. The female Merlin reappeared and began following one of the harriers but neither raptor flushed anything. A Raven also appeared and for no apparent reason took a dislike to one of the harriers and began mobbing it. A very entertaining end to the day.
14th January
Nothing much doing at HGF today. The Wigeon flock now numbers 66 ducks. A Reed Bunting was feeding in the garden again.
Mid morning Karen and I headed off to Morecambe for a day out and a picnic (withdrawal symptoms I guess from not having been to the van for a while). Nice sunny day and we started by having a walk from the Battery up to the Stone Jetty (after, I should say, a thorough scan of the gulls out near the Battery). A few Knot were hanging around the gulls.
On arrival at SJ, around high tide from memory, I watched a Guillemot fishing off the end of the jetty. A couple of Eiders and 3 Goldeneyes also floated past plus a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers. A flock of 40+ Pink-footed Geese also flew over, heading down towards Heysham. More Knot and some Turnstones also appeared.
Later on we decided to go to Leighton Moss – mainly because Karen wanted to avail herself of the cafe and have a cup of tea and a bun. Driving past Barrow Scout I could see the Glossy Ibis without bins or needing to get out of the car. LM was rammed and there were no parking spaces (they are going to have to do something about this, I wonder how many people just leave because they can’t get a space) and so we left. I had a quick look at the Snow Geese before we left. Very nice day out though never intended as a birding session.
Late afternoon I finished work early (on The Wirral today) and headed over to Parkgate for the last hour or so of daylight. It was cold and not particularly brilliant on the lighting front, however some good birds soon started to turn up. A ring-tail Hen Harrier was first up, flying around opposite the car park. Soon afterwards I picked out another ring-tail – watching this bird it flushed a female Merlin which moved out of the way and perched up. A single Short-eared Owl got up and moved off towards Burton Marsh, a few Little Egrets moved through and several flocks of Pink-footed Geese did likewise.
Eventually the two ring-tails came back and were soon joined by a third – good to see all three in the air together. The female Merlin reappeared and began following one of the harriers but neither raptor flushed anything. A Raven also appeared and for no apparent reason took a dislike to one of the harriers and began mobbing it. A very entertaining end to the day.
14th January
Nothing much doing at HGF today. The Wigeon flock now numbers 66 ducks. A Reed Bunting was feeding in the garden again.
Mid morning Karen and I headed off to Morecambe for a day out and a picnic (withdrawal symptoms I guess from not having been to the van for a while). Nice sunny day and we started by having a walk from the Battery up to the Stone Jetty (after, I should say, a thorough scan of the gulls out near the Battery). A few Knot were hanging around the gulls.
On arrival at SJ, around high tide from memory, I watched a Guillemot fishing off the end of the jetty. A couple of Eiders and 3 Goldeneyes also floated past plus a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers. A flock of 40+ Pink-footed Geese also flew over, heading down towards Heysham. More Knot and some Turnstones also appeared.
Later on we decided to go to Leighton Moss – mainly because Karen wanted to avail herself of the cafe and have a cup of tea and a bun. Driving past Barrow Scout I could see the Glossy Ibis without bins or needing to get out of the car. LM was rammed and there were no parking spaces (they are going to have to do something about this, I wonder how many people just leave because they can’t get a space) and so we left. I had a quick look at the Snow Geese before we left. Very nice day out though never intended as a birding session.
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