Lesser influx at Sandbach

  

Photos:

Full moon over Winwick, Yellow-legged Gull and long-billed Herring Gull at Sandbach Flashes and Green Sandpiper at Rixton

6^th March

Driving back up the M6 this evening on my way home from work, traffic again piled up nr the Sandbach exit so I nipped over to the flashed rather than queue. There were no white-wingers this evening, and again no birders. What was interesting was the build up of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I counted 540 of these compared to 480 Herring Gulls and around a dozen Great Black-backed Gulls. The best birds were two adult Yellow-legged Gulls and also an interesting Herring Gull with the longest bill on one of these birds I have ever seen.

7^th March

Today was a day of two halves. This morning when I turned up at HGF, it was cold, wet and windy. Birds seen where:

Coot                            2

Great Crested Grebe   14

Grey Partridge            3

Oystercatcher              2

Redshank                    1

Tufted Duck               21

Wigeon                      42

At the feeding station when I went past were 41 Tree Sparrows, 8 Yellowhammers and a single Grey Partridge. At lunch I escaped from work for an hour because the sun was now out and it was a very nice day. I headed over to Rixton and found the Green Sandpiper on Moat Lane pools. On the mosses, the local Lapwings are back in strength with 75+ birds present today. Along Prospect lane a flock of 20+ Pied Wagtails was busy feeding and at the end of the lane 9 Stock Doves followed suit.

Late evening I made a visit to Newton Lake with Bill. Two Shelducks were present – good birds for this place – along with 50 Teal, 13 Tufted Duck and a drake Gadwall. The immature Mute Swan, CT6, seems to be permanently ensconced here now. A Nuthatch and a Grey Wagtail were also picked up.