Weekend Away Day 1

Posted on March 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

A weekend in Lincolnshire and the first port of call was back to RSPB Frampton Marsh, Why? unfinished business with a certain American bird that has been there most of the winter, the Lesser Yellowlegs. See the video HERE

As I turned into the car park, I could see the Lesser Yellowlegs in the near by field, adjacent to the car park, panic set in, so close, was it going to take flight before I had chance to view it. I parked up got the gear together in double quick time. I soon got to the view the Lesser Yellowlegs and got a few shots off before the bird wandered off to be too distant, arrived just in time. Other birds here were Ruff, Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal, Pied Wagtail.

I now went and got the rest of the gear I needed and set off onto the reserve, I decided on doing today a different way to the one I usually do and headed off down around the back of the Visitor Centre with Corn Bunting in mind. Mute Swans and Greylag Geese were close in, with a pair of Marsh Harriers in the air, doing their display flight, other birds nearby were Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Collard Dove and a single Chiffchaff, nice to get a migrant on this years list. There were few other birds around as I walked the path, just picking up Great Crested Grebe and Greylag Geese, and no Corn Bunting. On then to the 360° hide and here I saw Pied Wagtails, lots of Avocets, Common Snipe, Dunlin, Redshank, Black tailed Godwit, Ruff.

After dinner, I grapped the scope, thought I’d need this to try and see the other two birds I wanted to see today, these were last seen down towards the Salt Marsh, off I went. Took me a while to find the first bird amongst the Black headed Gulls but once located it stood out like a sore thumb, a Mediterranean Gull, nice to catch up with this one, apparently there were six on site. I put a passing birder onto the Med Gull and it return they found my last target bird, the Green winged Teal, distant, glad I got the scope. The view was all but brief before the Teal flock took flight, hence losing the bird, but fortunately I soon relocated it and obtained better views.

I then ventured down to the Marsh where I saw very little, but looking back over the reserve I picked out a Great White Egret and Cattle Egret, now it was coffee and cake time.

After the coffee break, I was again looking for the Corn Bunting, it gave itself up eventually but briefly. The weather had now turned for the worse, so I headed to the East Hide and settled in to watch Ruff, Redshank, Avocet, Oystercatchers and Ringed Plover

It was now getting late so I decided on calling it a day, I arrived back at the car park to more views of the Lesser Yellowlegs before it was spooked and flying away, I managed some footage before it departed, which can be seen HERE

I finally saw 60 species for the day, my best count for a day at RSPB Frampton Marsh, beating the previous best of 57 in 2018

Bird List : Avocet, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Greenfinch, green winged tEal, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Lesser Yellowlegs, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (60)

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Ruff

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RSPB Frampton Marsh

Posted on March 4, 2024 | Leave a comment

Arrived at 8:30am after a 2 1/2 hour drive down to the sound of Geese and whistling Wigeon, the field adjacent to the car park was full of water, hence the large congregation of wildfowl here. I sat in the car and scanned the field picking out Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail, Little Egret, Ruffs, Lapwing, Golden Plover, I eventually tore myself away and got my gear together.

I initially stayed near the car park looking thru various waders hoping to see the long staying Lesser Yellowlegs, wasn’t to be my day, and I never connected with the bird at all that day, I did see a Peregrine for my efforts, and great photo opportunities with the Ruffs. I moved on eventually tearing myself away and headed over to the visitor centre to check in, and to find out what had been seen so far, only reports were of Scaup (2♂, 1♀), so my next target were these birds.

It wasn’t long before I got to see the Scaup, soon finding them from the pathway, they were distant, hanging out at the back of the Marsh up against the far reeds, other birds here were Pochard, Tufted Duck, Black headed Gull, Brent Geese, after getting some record shots of the Scaup, I headed out towards the 360° hide, stopping on route to view a group of Goldeneye, these birds were actively displaying to the females present.

Arriving at the 360° hide, I missed out the Reedbed hide as there didn’t seem to be many birds present, there was a lot more happening here, plenty of Avocets, Dunlin, Ruff, Black tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Redshank, Brent Geese, Lapwing and Golden Plover. I eventually moved on to the east Hide, around this area were more Dunlin, Little Egret, Whooper Swan (1), Reed Bunting.

After the East Hide I decided on making my way back to the Visitor Centre, along the back path, hoping for corn Bunting but only came across a singing Skylark. After a quick snack at the café (coffee and cake) and once again enjoying the Ruff, near the car park area, alas still no Lesser Yellowlegs, I headed off down towards the salt marsh, I had a good scan thru the Teal looking for Green winged but to no avail. At the marsh were Redshank, Meadow Pipit, Little Egret and finally a Marsh Harrier ends the day.

Video of the Day press HERE

Bird List : Avocet, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Ruff, Scaup, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Wren (51)

Ruff
Ruff
Dunlin
Dunlin

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RSPB Fairburn Ings

Posted on February 25, 2024 | Leave a comment

The attraction of Fairburn Ings today was just simply to get out with the camera and binoculars , and Fairburn gave me a second chance of catching up with the Cattle Egret and Willow Tit, hopefully.

Anyway on arriving at Fairburn, I decided on having a bit of time at the Visitor Centre feeders first, here I saw Coal Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Long tailed Tit, and Wren. After the photo session here, I headed around to the other feeders close by, in the hope of the Willow Tit, but due to the noise level and dogs running the feeding area I gave up and decided on moving down to the Lin Dyke area, I would be quieter down there, hopefully.

Walking around Lin Dyke , it was quieter, I spotted Great White Egret, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Pochard, Shovelers, Wigeon, Cormorants and Black headed Gulls and finally a pair of distant Cattle Egret.

I then got talking to someone who was looking for the Lin Dyke feeders, where the Willow Tit had been seen, now I didn’t think there were any feeders down this end of the reserve, but it transpired there was, and they were located on the entrance to the car park, this is where the Willow Tit has been seen, this guy eventually saw it, after waiting thirty mins, then came and found me, told me all about, so I finished my day at said feeders waiting for thirty mins also, until 5:30pm when the light was fading, no Willow Tit for me but plenty of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit.

I called it a day, I was heading back towards the visitor centre, thinking a Barn Owl would be nice now, just going over the road. I got to the visitor centre and turned onto Back Newton Lane, when I saw a bird shadow in the distance, thinking Buzzard, it wasn’t till I got nearer that it turned out to be a Barn Owl, well that made up for missing the Willow Tit

Short Video of the Visit Press THIS

Bird List : Barn Owl, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cattle Egret, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Jackdaw, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pochard, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (43) (YTD 110)

Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
Wren
Wren

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Cromwell Bottom

Posted on February 10, 2024 | Leave a comment

A nice steady morning down at the local Nature Reserve, Cromwell Bottom, first sightings were around the car park with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Grey Herons, Blackbirds, Magpies and Woodpigeons.

On down at the canal were the usual Mallards but no Mute Swans this morning. On at the Visitor Centre feeders were more Stock Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Nuthatch and Robins, with a single Grey Wagtail in the staff car park.

After about 30mins i moved on and headed towards the weir, down here i encountered a few Robins, heard a few Song Thrush, always proving difficult to get a photo of unlike the Robins, who to want photos taken.

On down at the large feeding area there seemed to be a bit more action, but this time I didn’t enter in to the seating area put stopped around the periphery were I saw Reed Buntings, Dunnocks, Blue Tit, Great Tits, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Long tailed Tit, and of course Robins, with Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldfinch being heard.

I walked a bit further on and towards the Old Canal area alas no Kingfisher was sighted but I did manage to see a single Goldcrest. On then to view the Ski Lake area where there were plenty of Gulls to go thru these were, Black headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black backed Gulls, wildfowl on here were Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen and a few Goldeneye, Cormorants were plenty as well.

I then worked my way back to the viewing platform overlooking the lagoon area where I saw a single Male Teal along with a Little Grebe. Walking back to the Visitor Centre, I finally managed to get a photo of a singing Song Thrush.

Bird list : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, jay, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Reed Bunting, Robin, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren (37)

Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
Song Thrush
Song Thrush

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Day Out

Posted on February 4, 2024 | Leave a comment

Wykeham Forest and the Raptor view point was our first stop of the day with Goshawk in mind. We arrived at about 9am to an empty car park, we got our gear together to the call of Crossbills overhead and eventually settling in the nearby trees, a great start. Setting off then to the nearby raptor viewpoint, a short walk. We were soon joined by more Crossbill, giving off there distinctive calls, along with the Crossbills were Siskins, although the Crossbill were nice to see we were here for raptors, so we started watching the skies.

We soon picked up some raptors over the far ridge, these turned out to be Common Buzzards, along with them however were a couple of Goshawk, bingo. It was more of the same for the next hour with no ground breaking views of Goshawk all staying distant, the Crossbills however were different.

After an hour or so we moved off and headed towards the coast, for the reported Snow Buntings and Shorelarks. We stopped off at Filey Country Park first, in rain and wind, in the search of the Slavonian Grebe. Viewing from the Brigg we picked up Great Northern and Red Throated Divers, Gannets off shore, and a dark looking Rock Pipit at our feet, we eventually picked out the Slavonian Grebe, it was closer in shore than we expected. On the Country Park field were Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Turnstone, and Black tailed Godwits.

Our last port of call was Thornwick Bay Caravan Park, near Thornwick pools, after blots of walking we finally found the field were the Snow Buntings were, very distant, you could make out they were Snow Buntings, but too far to make out any Shorelarks, a pair of Stonechat on the way back to the car was a nice sight

No photos today due to weather but here a short video of a Male Crossbill, press THIS

Todays Bird List : Bat tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Buzzard, Crow, Chaffinch, Common Crossbill, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Fulmar, Gannet, Goshawk, Great Crested Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Red Kite, Redshank, Shag, Siskin, Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Turnstone, Woodpigeon (39)

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St Aidan’s and Fairburn Ings

Posted on January 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

Big day out on a vlog day hitting RSPB St Aidan’s and RSPB Fairburn Ings, St Aidan’s was first, hoping for Glossy Ibis, Stonechat and Little Owl.

I arrived at St Aidan’s at about 8:30am, got the gear together, then headed out to the dragline in search of the little Owl, which unfortunately was a no show, it wasn’t out on the sleepers around the back of the dragline, Stock Dove were about, so were Robin and Blue Tit in the nearby bushes.

Moving on then, I headed down onto the reserve and headed out towards the area I knew the Glossy Ibis and been hanging around in. I saw Kestrel, Red Kites, and Common Buzzards over the hill, on the lower slopes were a Male and Female Roe Deer. Arriving then at the Ibis location, I found out it hadn’t been seen for about a week now, so you say it had moved on, there were Moorhen, Canada Geese, Mallards, Shelduck, Cormorants in the area.

I walked on then down towards Lemonroyd and Main Lakes passing the eastern Reedbed. As I was passing the reedbed area, I had a quick look along the bottom of the reed edge and to my surprise I found a Water Rail, working its way along the edge, made up for the Ibis moving on. Other birds here were Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Teal, Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, Greylag Geese, Mute Swans and Cormorants.

I moved on then hoping for Stonechat or linnets on the gorse bushes, alas not this time, down at the lakes I found a few Goldeneye Male and Female with many Black headed Gulls and a couple of Common Gulls, over on Lemonroyd Lake were Herring Gulls and Lapwings being the difference, I was surprised there were no Egret Species down here.

I made my way back up to the Glossy Ibis area again where there were more Common Buzzards over the hill, I took a seat to watch the Buzzards and in doing so a flock of Long tailed Tits came thru, then a pair of Stonechat popped up along the fence line. As I was walking back to café area, someone told me there had been two Short eared Owls seen that morning on the hill at about 8am, I missed that showing, but i may return later in the day around dusk time, they may come back.

Back up at the dragline the Little Owl had been located , apparently in one of its favourite hawthorn bushes, giving bad views, as it was right at the back of the area and it was obscured by all the branches, it was now coffee and cake time. I decided on sitting outside near the feeders watching Goldfinch, reed Bunting, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbirds, Woodpigeon, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Greenfinch, it was time now to move onto Fairburn Ings.

My first stop at Fairburn was down the Lin Dyke Area where there was a few Liottle Egret along with Shelduck, Teal, Mute Swans, and Tufted Duck but not the hoped for Cattle Egret, a nice surprise was a brief view of a Jay. I then moved on down to the Visitor Centre hoping for Willow Tit, which didn’t appear. The Visitor Centre feeders held Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, and Dunnocks, the Pickup Hide feeders was the place lots of action here, with plenty of birds, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Blackbirds, Robin and Woodpigeon, no Willow Tit.

I then after spending sometime around to go back down to Lin Dyke, reports of Glossy Ibis here, after looking and failing I decided on moving back to RSPB St Aidan’s in the hope of finishing the day on some Short Eared Owls. On spending about an hour in waiting for the Owls, which didn’t show, only seeing Red Kite, Common Buzzard and Kestrel.

Video Vlog of the Day can be seen by pressing THIS

St Aidan’s Bird List : Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little Grebe, Little Owl, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pink footed Goose, Pochard, Red Kite, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Woodpigeon (45)

Fairburn Ings Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jay, Little Egret, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon (24)

Reed Bunting
Male Reed Bunting
Long tailed Tit
Long tailed Tit

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Pugneys CP

Posted on January 26, 2024 | Leave a comment

A Long tailed Duck was the draw down to Pugneys CP after the work shift, it was last seen on the main lake down near the beach area the previous day, so I was in high hopes.

After getting my gear together I bumped into a couple, birders by the looks, coming in my direction, I asked if they had seen the Long tailed Duck, but alas they hadn’t in the time they had been there, not to be deterred I set off in the direction of the beach. On the journey I saw Mute Swan, Wigeon, Black headed Gull, Common Gull, Mallards, Pied Wagtail, Canada Geese, Coots, Tufted Duck, and Lapwing.

Arriving at the beach area I scanned thro the assembled Black headed Gulls and soon enough I found the Long tailed Duck, a relatively small bird in appearance, this one looked like a winter plumage female, it was very busy diving and preening whilst I was watching it. I hung around this area for a while taking photos and video, mainly of the Black headed Gulls that were here.

After here I moved off towards the main lake hide, hoping for a Water Rail, which wasn’t to be today, but it was nice to find and watch a couple of Goldeneye from here. As I came back the same way away from the hide there were a few Blackbirds near the hedgerow. I made one last visit to the beach I watched the Long tailed Duck for a little while longer, then I hit the cafe for coffee and cake.

After the coffee and cake, I stuck around the car park area a little while longer taking photos of Pied Wagtails before setting off home.

A short video of the birds from my visit press HERE

Bird List : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Long tailed Duck, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Robin, Starling, |Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Wigeon

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Cromwell Bottom

Posted on January 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

Arrived at Cromwell for 8:30am to Grey Heron, Collared Doves, Blue Tits, Robins, Stock Dove and a fly over Great Spotted Woodpecker. It was quiet at this time with only a few cars in the car park, after getting things together I walked on down to the canal where you can usually find the usual birds hanging around, namely Mallards and Mute Swan. The feeders at the visitor were busy with Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Long tailed Tits and Chaffinch. On then down to the weir, were there was a Moorhen and a Grey Heron, I then decided on looking along the top path in this area, where I eventually found a flock of Siskin and a single Treecreeper.

On to the reserve and down the Old Canal area and dipping pond, no action down here at all, so I made my way down to the riverside pathway and again drawing a blank, things were looking a bit quiet down here, so I decided on walking along the muddy path down here, a place I don’t usually go but I did eventually find a female Goosander along the river and a Sparrowhawk took me by surprise as it flew thru.

Over on the water park were Black headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, also here were two male and one female Goldeneye, always nice to see these, and also a few Grey Herons and Cormorants. Back on the reserve and near my Common Darter bush were five Redwings perched up in the tree. At the feeders, this is where the action was, and styed for a while with camera photographing Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Reed Buntings, Dunnock and Wren.

After all that it was time for Coffee and Cake at the centre 🙂

Birds seen : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collard Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren (36)

Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
Nuthatch
Nuthatch
Wren
Wren

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Bramblings Galore

Posted on January 7, 2024 | Leave a comment

I was a little bit stuck this time for my outing, due to the water levels and the floods, so I opted for North Cave Wetlands and hopefully share in the sightings of the reported Bramblings there.

I arrived on site at about 8:30am to a nice sunrise, so a dry day might be in favour. Got the gear together and set off down the East path towards the maize field feeders, but stopped off at the East Hide first, to very little excitement, Mute Swans, Teal and Mallards being of note. Carrying on then down to the feeders, and hopefully the target bird. On arrival I picked up straight away, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Tree Sparrow, Robin, Blackbird and Dunnock, no Brambling, so I waited, the feeders are near the road, so I thought that this may have sent the Bramblings elsewhere, but I needn’t have worried, ten minutes and the Bramblings showed up, and in good numbers too, a number I hadn’t seen for a long time.

After the spectacle of the Bramblings, I called in at the Turret Hide and hopefully a Bittern. The Bittern wasn’t to be today only Sheep, a Highland Cow, Dunnock and a Wren. So moving swiftly on and down towards the Reedbed and Far Lakes seeing Rooks, Crows, and Jackdaws for my trouble of negotiating the very muddy pathway, only birds seen down here from the hide were battling Coots. Moving on again and towards the Far Lake, I picked up on a Goldcrest moving along the nearby hedgerow, I stopped once again at the seat down here and the nearby feeders to enjoy Long tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch and Greenfinch.

A small crowd had gathered half way down the path, I pulled up to and started to watch more Bramblings, it was enjoyable here as the birds were more in their natural habitat, rather than around feeders. Moving on again I stopped down at the corner, where you can look over Crossland Lake, here I found Lapwing and an Egyptian Goose. Carp Lake held a good number of wildfowl namely, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal. it was dinner time.

After dinner I decided on walking down Dryham Lane and towards the new workings, Cell 1a and Cell 2a. I found a few new bird species for the day along here, Pochard, Shelduck. Little Egret, Marsh Harrier ♀, Kestrel and Bullfinch.

Video of the Day can be seen by pressing THIS

Bird List for the Day : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greylag Goose, Kestrel, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pochard, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren (42)

Dunnock
Dunnock
Brambling
Brambling
Greenfinch
Greenfinch ♂

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West Coast Tour

Posted on January 1, 2024 | Leave a comment

I know, unusual for me to head west, but a new year and a new list, it had to be done, but the draw of some good birds, I had to overlook it. So it was the West Coast near Liverpool, our first call was to RSPB Marshside. First port of call on arrival was the hide, we were overwhelmed by the sight of so many Pintail present, other highlights were great numbers of Black tailed Godwits, Golden Plovers, Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, were also present, a fly over flock of Curlew, but also a single bird on the ground, but distant, a pair of Little Grebe seen close to the hide with a few Little Egret also distant. Gulls seen were Black headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black backed Gulls and Common Gulls, other birds seen were Redshank giving off their distinctive calls, and a few Ruff also distant and also a distant Marsh Harrier hunting the saltmarsh, with eruptions of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks as it passed over.

The news broke of the Black throated Diver down Crosby Marine Lake, we all pilled into the car and we were soon down at Crosby Marine looking for the Diver, it was still present we just needed to find it. Cormorants, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Little Egret, where was the diver, conditions were difficult with the choppy waters, but eventually the call went up and we were soon onto it, however it proved difficult getting good views due to it diving and the choppy waters. The location of the Diver was distant but it appeared to be making its way towards us, continually diving and popping up closer and closer, it eventually popped up close by giving good views but briefly.

RSPB Burton Mere was our next reserve to drop into, busy here, we were here mainly for some woodland species. Burton Mere gave us Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Great Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Long tailed Tit, with fly over Pink footed Geese.

Our final call of the day was down to Parkgate for the Raptor Roost. We found our place to stand and stated watching, Marsh Harriers were plenty with a close by Stonechat, of which I didn’t see, Little and Great White Egrets. The stars of the show and the birds we had come to see eventually came in, the first being the Male, a grey bird flew straight across our field of view, Hen Harriers, very much and sadly one of the most persecuted birds in the UK, it took a while before the females showed, but all three birds gave us great views and it was fantastic to see such splendid birds in action.

Bird List for the Day : Blackbird, Black headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Black throated Diver, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Great Black backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Hen Harrier, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink footed Goose, Pintail, Redshank, Robin, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon (52)

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