Raptors et al

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Frodsham Marsh

Buzzard, Rixton moss

Buzzard, Houghton Green Flash

Sparrowhawk (juvenile), Glazebrook. This bird was in a field north of Dam Head Lane and was constantly calling.

Very ropey shot of a Black Tern, Seaforth

Juvenile Red-necked Grebe, Pennington Flash, courtesy of John Tymon

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HGF this week has been relatively quiet this week. A Shoveler early in the week was a welcome visitor for a single day. On Monday a Chiffchaff was singing in the south hedge – the next day two were present. I wonder why they start singing again – odd given that they don’t breed here either. Virtually all my Chiffer records are from March, April, August and September – hardly any in the summer. Three Little Grebes were present this week, a single Common Sandpiper on Tuesday and around 130+ Linnets. The water birds gradually declined in number during the week.
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Moat Lane pools (Rixton) remain fairly quiet. I had 2 Green Sandpipers one evening which flew off number 2 pool and headed towards the tip pool – I later found them there. Having been present on pool 1 since mid-March, the Mute Swan JP4 flitted over to pool 2 on Wednesday. The water levels are so low I have observed dog walkers on the various islands – possibly hence his move. On Thursday he flitted over to the tip pool (possibly because other dog walkers were sending dogs into pool 2 now) – here he was harassed by the resident pair from the fishing pools. Friday he was back on pool 2 again. A few Jays and a Sparrowhawk on Woodend Lane were present around the mosses – otherwise very quiet.
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On Friday afternoon I took Tom Jones, a colleague and also as it happens a birder, to Rixton Mosses. There we encountered the local falconer (he put on a free display in Hollins Green recently) – he had with him a young female Gyr and an older female Peregrine. We stopped for a natter and watched the falcons put through their paces – amazing to watch. The Gyr was a bit suspicious of us and gave us a couple of high speed passes no more than 10-15 feet away – awesome! Being a young bird she tired quickly – I still can’t get over the size of this bird.
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I had a brief visit to Seaforth during the week – Black Tern, Black-necked Grebe, Med Gull and a wide range of waders including a Greenshank and 3 Common Sandpipers. It looked like one of those interesting days when anything could turn up and I was a bit miffed I had only around 40 minutes on site. A visit to Frodsham on Friday morning more than made up for it with a superb juvenile Red-backed Shrike. The bird showed well eating various insects and flitting around the small quarry area near the farm – cracking bird.
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A trip to Pennington (again flying visit) during the week produced a juvenile Red-necked Grebe, a Black Tern and a couple of Goldeneye. I thought I could see John Tymon’s Yellow-legged Gull on a distant buoy, however I didn’t have time to walk around to the far side to check it. In Winwick this week just odds and sods – I saw a female Sparrowhawk on Waterworks Lane and the following day a Collared Dove was murdered in the garden. A covey of 8 Grey Partridges are in the field behind our house and an uncommon visitor was a Jay on Highfield Lane.

Halton & Caton & Glasson

Yellow-legged Gull, Glasson

YLG with escort flock of Golden Plovers!

It's checking to see if it still has a bar on P5!

Spotted Redshanks, Glasson

Distant adult Med Gull, Glasson

Small Tortoiseshell, Halton

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Quiet weekend. I had a calling Tawny Owl in the tree next to the van at COL HP on Friday night. Both Saturday and Sunday morning were spent a) lying in bed as long as possible and b) walking along the Lune at Halton Mills Weir with Karen and Billy. On both days a pair of Dipper and at least four Grey Wagtails, a couple of Goosanders and a Kingfisher were present. The budleia along the bank of the river were full of Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals and Peacocks plus some Large Whites. To be fair we spent most of the time staring at the river and watching the fish jumping - trying to see the biggest one. I saw a trout which I would guess would have been 4-5lb.

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Over the HP at least 4 Buzzards were soaring on both days - yesterday a Kestrel was also resident. The feeders were generally ignored yesterday - today a large tit flock moved through and produced a brief blizzard of activity as the birds took advantage of the food. Around 15+ Blue Tits plus 7-8 Great Tits, 5 Coal Tits and a Nuthatch with a single Siskin also seen.

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This afternoon I dragged myself out for a couple of hours late afternoon. Conder Creek had a few Redshanks and 2 Ruffs (one still summer plumaged) - I also had a brief glance on a small wader on the pool which interested me - unfortunately it disappeared. At Glasson virtually the first thing I saw was a different adult Yellow-legged Gull and one that posed reasonably close and in good light for a change. Around 102 Golden Plovers were on the mud flats and I found a distant adult Med Gull with the BHG's. The Redshanks were all roosting on a rocky bar - at least 5 Spotted Redshanks were present with them.

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I met a nice lady from Blackburn Bird Club who had been watching a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper with the Dunlins - it had dropped underneath the near bank shortly before I arrived. I set to waiting for it to reappear when all the birds on the estuary went up. Shortly after we were treated to superb views of an adult Peregrine straight over our heads. The Dunlins evenutally settled back down, however before I could pin down the Curlew Sandpiper three blokes went out into the channel cockle picking (or something) and flushed all the waders. The lot flew straight out of the estuary. Bloody marvellous. And with that I went home.

John Tymon at Houghton Green Flash

A few photographs from the master - John Tymon at Houghton Green Flash. Juvenile Black-necked Grebes and a cracker - juvenile Kittiwake found by John last weekend!

North Cheshire - North Lancs

Kittiwake, Seaforth

Med Gull, Seaforth

Little Gull, Seaforth

Common Tern, Seaforth

Juvenile Kittiwake, Houghton Green Flash

Long-tailed Tit, Halton

Curlew, Heysham

Little Egrets, Conder Creek

Greenshank, Conder Creek

Spotted Redshank, Conder Creek

Yellow-legged Gull, Glasson

Oystercatcher at Heysham with fishing line around both legs. The bird was often limping.

Oystercatchers on the helipad roost

Lesser Black-backed Gull at Heysham with a crab. It was hassled by a juvenile and had to work hard to keep its prize.

Wheatear, Heysham

One of the adult Meds at Heysham

Second adult Med

Dusk at Caton - the Mistle Thrushed on the wires behind our van

Siskins on the feeders, Caton

Adult Goldfinch on the feeders

Juvenile Goldfinch on the feeders, Caton

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A summary of the last week or so:
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HGF has had one or two interesting points in the last week. Last Friday the Linnet flock on the wires by Midhops numbered around 200 birds – easily the biggest flock I have recorded here. The flock slowly declined through the week to just over 100 birds this morning. Typically around 140+ birds are present through the winter though they do disappear for days at a time. Given I haven’t seen any significant numbers around Rixton recently I wonder if these birds are wandering around quite a bit and are attracted to a significant food supply. In HGF this would be the spilled grain from recently cut wheat and barley fields. Anyway irrespective of the numbers I like watching them swirling around the fields and then lining up on the wires for a chill!
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On Bank Holiday Monday John Tymon found a juvenile Kittiwake at HGF. I have only recorded Kittiwakes here on two previous occasions – single adults on two dates in March a couple of years ago. Quite a rare bird for HGF – fortunately for me the bird hung around for the next day as I was unable to get around to see it on the day it was found. On Tuesday morning I scanned the water, drew a blank and then the Kittiwake drifted out of the darkest corner of the pool where it had been unobserved. It was quite confiding and just drifted right past me, picking insects off the surface of the water as it swam past.
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The Coot flock has slowly increased to a peak of 96 birds in the last week – other species peaking at:
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Pochard 8
Mute Swan 11
Tufted Duck 48
Great Crested Grebe 11
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Sporadic numbers of Swifts have continued to pass through with birds seen most days – 4 birds on the 31st were the last ones. The local Swallows have also done one though migrants continue to pass through – 21 flew through south at dusk yesterday. Last Saturday morning two Redshanks were present – I hoped they were the regular wintering birds returning, however I haven’t seen them since. On 31st as I approached the pool a Green Sandpiper flew low over the south field, calling, and disappeared off to the SE. A second bird was feeding in one of the corners. The next day a single bird was observed feeding but none since. A covey of 18 Grey Partridges ran across the lawn in the south field in single file on 1st – I always find this type of activity comical to watch!
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The garden has been quiet this last week – a single Coal Tit on the feeders and yesterday evening a large Sparrowhawk passing by being the only birds of note though I haven’t exactly been watching much. Rixton has been very quiet though I did see a Mink run across Moat Lane towards pool 1. Given the low water levels here, perhaps the presence of this predator is the reason why few waterfowl other than Mute Swan JP4 have bothered to stay. Tonight five Wheatears were present in a ploughed field off Holly Bush Lane.
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Last Saturday afternoon while at the van I noticed the wind had been howling a bit for some time and seemed to be intensifying so I headed off to Heysham in the hope that something interesting might be blown in. I had just missed high tide, however I have noticed that good birds are often seen just after high tide on the ebbing tide. Around 2500 Oystercatchers were on the helipad roost – always a spectacular sight. Jonathan was already there in his new kip-mobile – a Kangoo van. It looks quite smart and ideal for the use he puts it to. We had a quick chat and then I decided on some sea watching while Jonathan headed off to Sunderland Point.
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For around half an hour I saw absolutely nothing – then I picked out a distant pale morph Arctic Skua which seemed to be harassing something but I couldn’t tell what. The bird came a bit closer and seemed to fly in circuits for the next ten minutes before disappearing. A short while after I saw an even more distant bird – it looked stockier and seemed typical of a Bonxie in jiz, however I couldn’t get good views of the bird and quickly lost it. Around 30 minutes or so later a small flock of 22 Sandwich Terns passed through – and that was pretty much it. The usual two adult Meds turned up on the north harbour wall just before I left.
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At Caton a flock of Mistle Thrushes appeared on the wires behind the van at dusk on Saturday – there were 27 of them. On Monday night I observed 10 birds dropping into a roost site on the caravan park just before I left – clearly the birds are roosting on the site. On the feeders was a good array of birds including at least 4 Coal Tits and 5+ Siskins. Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Nuthatches were also around and two or three Buzzards were regular in the field south of the site. Also here was a Grey Wagtail perched on a fence line – a slightly unusual place for one. On the Sunday night at dusk around 230 Swallows (and three House Martins!) passed through south. I also found a dead Polecat on the road just west of Caton. Having kept ferrets for 30+ years and having a strong interest in mustelids I don’t think polecat-ferret can be ruled out. I had enough ferrets in my time that would pass for pure bred Polecats.
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On the morning of Bank Holiday Monday (gloriously sunny day though little wind) I headed out early with Bill. First stop was Conder Creek where practically the first bird seen was a Spotted Redshank. Three Little Egrets were feeding in the creek with a fourth on the pool. Four Greenshanks, at least 1 (possible 2) Common Sandpipers and a handful of Snipe created more interest. I wandered over to Glasson while it was early hoping to avoid the crowds. There was no one around except two dog walkers and there were plenty of birds on the low tide mud. I eventually found the adult Yellow-legged Gull on the mud – as soon as I found it a bloke in a canoe flushed everything and I lost it. A single Red-breasted Merganser was also swimming out along the channel.
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From here I had a quick wander over to Bank End. Driving down the lane a Red-legged Partridge had a number of goes at playing chicken with the car – it eventually flew off after the fourth near miss. The marsh had plenty of wagtails – mostly Pied but one or two looking good for White. I also eventually found a juvenile Yellow Wagtail – my target bird. A few Mipits were around but not much else. Sunderland Point was packed with people and devoid of birds so I quickly left. I then wandered over to Heysham. Little of interest though I watched one Oystercatcher struggling with fishing line wrapped around its leg – when I reviewed the photos I realised the line is wrapped around both legs. The bird seems to be in a permanent three-legged race! Sadly I don’t expect it will survive – I suspect the line will gradually cut into its legs. An adult Med was feeding off the wooden jetty with the BHG’s and one, possibly two Wheatears were on the mound.
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Wednesday I had an evening wander with Bill to Newton Lake. One Green Sandpiper was feeding on the mud on the near side of the spit – a second bird flew out of some vegetation and landed on the far side of the spit out of sight. The Teal numbers have significantly increased over the last few days – 33 birds were present. The Gadwalls had all disappeared; two Little Grebes were still there though. A flock of Magpies began hounding a large raptor perched in the Willows at the back of the pool – I never discovered whether it was a Buzzard or the escaped female Harris’ Hawk. It could have been either. Two Grey Wags were on the front of the pool.
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Thursday while working nearby I dropped in to Seaforth. It was a bit quiet – an adult Med, three Little Gulls, three Sandwich Terns, around 120 Common Terns, a starving Fox and an adult Kittiwake were the sum total (most found by Pete Kinsella and Tony Conway). Oh and a Yellow Wagtail with a second unseen calling bird. A few House Martins were feeding over the pool. To be honest I was knackered (again) and more interested in playing with the digiscoping gear.