Hoylake Bird Observatory (1 Viewer)

Jane Turner · Apr 11, 2004

Swift said:
Jane, do you tend to go about or did you with a tall gangly scouse gentleman?

er no not usually. I was flocking briefly with Mark Garner on Friday...who could be described as tall, arguably gangly and is in possession of a regional accent!

Jane Turner · Apr 11, 2004

Added Whimbrel today...tomorrow I think I'll do a day list. It seems that we were about 50 miles or 4 hours off a mjor fall today - >1000 Willow Warblers on Bardsey. I'm expecting a nice flush of migrants in the morning. I didn't try and find the Hoopoe today - and it seems it was not reported by anyone. I bet it just moved fields again.

Jane Turner · Apr 12, 2004

I feel slightly cheated - someone around here will have had a fall, but it not here. Just a couple of Goldcrests feeding avidly on insects on the newly sprouting Rowan and a Blackcap moved through the front.

Compensation however came in the form of a Great Spotted Woodpecker which flew East high. I'm a long way from any mature woodland so GSW is strictly a dispersal species and not a common one at that. My 6th ever and first spring record. 79 for the year

Jane Turner · Apr 12, 2004

At last... an Osprey going up the tide edge towards Seaforth!

Rob Smallwood · Apr 12, 2004

Well done - not even a Mipit over Timperley this morning!

Jane Turner · Apr 12, 2004

350 plus over here and Willow warblers, Wheatears and Goldcrests are still coming in off the sea.

Stephen Dunstan · Apr 12, 2004

Jane,

No Osprey on this bit of coast but 3 Shovelers over the sea, which I couldn't see on your year list on a quick scan. They actually pitched down before they got to South Pier to the north.

Stephen.

Jane Turner · Apr 15, 2004

Shoveler is a bit of a mega here! 6 records in 25 years! Velvet Scoter and Long tailed Duck are much more common!

Jane Turner · Apr 15, 2004

For reasons that make no sense whatsoever, the sea is a hive of activity just now. The wind is in the wrong direction and there is no tide!

So far I have seen a summer plumage BT diver, Razorbill, Arctic and Common tern, both new for the year Scoter, Gannets, loads of Sandwich Terns and an early Manxie. Have some accounts to finish then I'll be staring at the sea again!

Also though I saw a Puffin, but it ditched before I got enough on it. Might have a chance of a small grebe later on the tide

83 for the year!

Jane Turner · Apr 16, 2004

Added two new species this morning, Merlin and Tree Pipit. (85 for year) There have been a few Siskins bathing in the stream, and like last night the beach is awash with White Wagtails. I'm just charging up the camera battery and will have a crack at photographing them shortly. The light is not good, but watch this space

Jane Turner · Apr 16, 2004

OK..here goes. It was windy, dull and these things are like clockwork mice on speed. I didn't get one decent shot without them moving and you wouldn't believe the number of pin sharp shots of bare sand I have! There are 75 or more out there now, but still no Yellow Wagtails.

Some have quite silvery-grey flanks, but they all sound like Whites. Once again I was stuck by how much more energetic and prone to losing control of their tails White Wags are compared to the resident Pieds. Has anyone else notice this?

edenwatcher · Apr 16, 2004

Hi Jane,
Just joined and thought I would make my first post on your thread. We too have a wonderful garden for birds, though not up to your sort of totals yet. We overlook the inner Eden estuary in Fife (hence the username) and the list stands at 126 since 29/11/02. I think our year total is 84 so I'd better find something new tonight to catch up with you.
Highlights in no particular order include:
smew, water pipit (Scottish rarity!), med. gull, 6 goose spp. including brent, barnacle and white-fronted, long-tailed duck, osprey, little stint, jack snipe, spotted redshank, little tern, kingfisher, waxwing ...
Recent star addition - 4 avocets which hung around for 10 days.
Most gutting dip - Fife's first American golden plover which was seen while we were away last September.

Anyway I enjoy reading about your sightings, might start a thread of my own ...

Rob

Jane Turner · Apr 16, 2004

Go for it... we can have a race to 100

I love the Eden Estaury!

edenwatcher · Apr 16, 2004

I think you'd win!
Open sea is a long way away (though have managed gannet and common scoter) and we don't get many passerine migrants ...

alan_rymer · Apr 16, 2004

Jane Turner said:
OK..here goes. It was windy, dull and these things are like clockwork mice on speed. I didn't get one decent shot without them moving and you wouldn't believe the number of pin sharp shots of bare sand I have! There are 75 or more out there now, but still no Yellow Wagtails.

?

Yellow Wags are the same, Seen them 3 times in the last week. Think I've got some cracking shots and , just grass, or a yellow blur, or a tail just going out of shot, or, it stays in the frame, its out of focus. Tonight I got a couple of reasonable shots at about 40 yards.

Jane Turner · Apr 16, 2004

Nice Yellow Wags... it funny they are pretty scarce here and we get a disproportionate number of "other" races.

More mobile White Wags - this time from a video!

alan_rymer · Apr 16, 2004

The Yellow Wags pass thru my patch each spring, Last year I saw none, this year so far 8. Six of them at one time! didn't know where to look first!. I get plenty of Pied Wags, there were 16 of them with this Yellow. We had one white Wag with the Pieds last year but not seen any this year so far. Regularly get Greys down near the stream and occaisionally in this field after heavy rain.
You are one lucky lady to have all of that on your doorstep" so to speak".

Jane Turner · Apr 16, 2004

I know it... I count my blessings every day!

Jane Turner · Apr 17, 2004

41 species so far this morning. There are at least 100 White Wagtails about - earlier I had 75 on the beach at Red Rocks (towards West Kirby) and 30+ in front of the house. Just done a sweep and there are currently 89 +/- a few in front of the house. Still no Yellow Wagtails, but Tree Pipit over, a Whimbrel calling away and both Mute Swan and Mediterranean Gull (smart summer adult) new for the year. 87 so far!

Oh and of the 8 or so Wheatears I can see, a couple of the males are looking big and brown - the first Greenlandish ones of the year. Perhaps they are bound for Iceland?

Jane Turner · Apr 17, 2004

88... and most unexpected! I was idling ,looking at the sea and thought I'd picked up a Leach's Petrel ... a dark long winged bird surface feeding off the buoy. A mad dash upstairs to the open window and a better scope revealed that it was a summer plumage Black Tern! How early is that!

There are 100+ White Wags here and a similar number at Seaforth...and presumably all points in between.

Hoylake Bird Observatory (1 Viewer)

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Registered User

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread