Ben Dickinson
Well-known member
I've just come back from one of the most satisfying days birding in a long while. I hadn't been to Childwall Woods in quite a while, and I'm glad I decided to pick today for an early morning walk...
Not knowing quite where any of the trails lead to, I just picked a random trail and started following it! Straight away I saw the obligatory Woodpigeon, Robin, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and then as I entered a clearing a Jay bolted from a low branch up high into the tree out of sight and I could hear a Chiffchaff singing in the distance. A piece of wood on a tree ahead suddenly started moving - Treecreeper! I could watch these all day. At least I could if they'd stay still... 4 trees later I'd had enough my neck was killing!
A few minutes later I was approaching the end of the woodland, just as I got there I spotted another Jay, this time perched no more than 15 metres away. I whipped out the binos to take a closer look. What a bird. Suddenly, close by I could hear the distinctive rapping of a woodpecker! I expected it to be a Great Spotted, but I'd heard rumours of Lesser Spotted in these woods too so, feeling I couldn't lose, a few minutes later of "spot-a-blob-moving-at-the-top-of-the-tree" I could see it... a lovely Great Spotted Woodpecker hopping about underneath a branch of an Oak apparantly defying gravity. A small party of Long-tailed Tits are always a welcome sight, one seemed to be doing some kind of courtship dance. In the distance I thought I heard what sounded like baby blue tits, but surely it'd be too early? I couldn't seem to find them anyway so maybe they were maybe they weren't.
I pushed onto the beginning of a scrubland area at the end of the park which, until getting there I didn't even know existed! Bramble bushes littered the horizon and the odd clump of trees dotted randomly.and almost immediately was hit by a cacophony of bird song. Chiffchaff! Willow Warbler! Things were getting interesting.
I frustratingly couldn't get a good look at any of the 3 Chiffchaff and a couple of Willow Warblers in the large mini-copse infront of me, so I pushed on following the gravel trail when I heard a distinctive song 10 or so metres in front of me from a bush that took me a while to recognise it... Whitethroat! Made up. I've always had a special place in my heart for Whitethroats - they used to be my bogey bird about 5 years back (when I was more of a beginner really), then one summer I saw a batch of them and ever since I've thought fondly of them! This particular one, however was being an annoying git and skulking in a bramble bush like he'd never skulked before! All I wanted was a good look at him, but he was having none of it, and flew off further up the trail. "Right you big turd" I followed him determinedly.
Up ahead was another clearing and my word what a sight as I scanned the brambles bushes and listened - Whitethroats! All over the place! And this time they were showing well! I watched for a good 10 minutes bamboozled by the sheer numbers of them. In this one particular patch of scrubland there were at least 6 or 7 - I've never found them commonly in any of Liverpools parks I visit, so this was a really lovely surprise. I got distracted temporarily as 5 Linnet flew over my head - another great city tick - the only place I've found them reliably has been on the disused factories and scrubland on the docks, but they landed and seemed at home here. I hope I see them again next time I come. I pushed on along the trail, which I'd began to noitce, was curling back around in a circle to the beginning of the scrubland trail where I'd started when suddenly I flushed a brown job from a bush I was just walking past. It made a single note call as it flew into a bigger bush ahead which was intriguing - I didn't recognise it, and judging it's size against the usual suspects - Robin and Wren, it seemed to be Robin sized but streaky.
And then almost immediately it began a song which... I'm not even sure could be a song it was more of a chatter. It was a Grasshopper Warbler! I could only definitely make sure 10 minutes later when it eventually showed well enough to get my binos on it - couldn't believe it. I've never seen one of these before in anywhere in the city and only 10 minutes away from my house! Absolutely made up! After another 10 minutes I left and thought to myself it couldn't get better surely... I look up a moment later and 2 Swallows are bobbing majestically over. I was half way up a hill at this point the trail had turned rather bizarrely vertical but it was no mistaking them and I saw em for a good 10 seconds before they disappeared behind a tree. The Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were everywhere at this point - the noise was amazing! It really felt like summer was here (ignoring the rather brisk morning breeze of course!).
And then, to cap it off right at the end of the trail I heard that distinctive song again - another Grasshopper Warbler! And showing well this time. What a lovely bird. Streaked colours of browns and bright red legs. What a bird. What a find! I strode off shortly after, having to go back through the wood again to get to the exit. I saw another Treecreeper, and another Song Thrush - that was about the 15th of the day - glad to see somewhere they're doing well. Didn't see any Coal Tits I noticed but not many conifers around - can't win em all I guess. And a few more Jays more than made up for it!
Then, just as I reached the exit to the wood I looked up at pretty much the last tree on the trail and there was a gorgeous Nuthatch just sitting on a semi-hole of the tree and appeared to be ripping tiny bits of bark off it. Not sure what it was doing - it wasn't big enough to nest in or anything, but it was a real gem. Along with Treecreepers and Woodpeckers, you can never really guarantee you'll see them on a visit to a wood so to see all 3 is always a bonus. A second Nuthatch joined the first, but watched from a branch afar giving great views. Both flew off into the wood as I went the other way and out.
Wow I'm really sorry that was a huge post but I just had a lovely morning. Only saw 1 other person - with a dog and apart from that it was just me and nature. Magic.
Not knowing quite where any of the trails lead to, I just picked a random trail and started following it! Straight away I saw the obligatory Woodpigeon, Robin, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and then as I entered a clearing a Jay bolted from a low branch up high into the tree out of sight and I could hear a Chiffchaff singing in the distance. A piece of wood on a tree ahead suddenly started moving - Treecreeper! I could watch these all day. At least I could if they'd stay still... 4 trees later I'd had enough my neck was killing!
A few minutes later I was approaching the end of the woodland, just as I got there I spotted another Jay, this time perched no more than 15 metres away. I whipped out the binos to take a closer look. What a bird. Suddenly, close by I could hear the distinctive rapping of a woodpecker! I expected it to be a Great Spotted, but I'd heard rumours of Lesser Spotted in these woods too so, feeling I couldn't lose, a few minutes later of "spot-a-blob-moving-at-the-top-of-the-tree" I could see it... a lovely Great Spotted Woodpecker hopping about underneath a branch of an Oak apparantly defying gravity. A small party of Long-tailed Tits are always a welcome sight, one seemed to be doing some kind of courtship dance. In the distance I thought I heard what sounded like baby blue tits, but surely it'd be too early? I couldn't seem to find them anyway so maybe they were maybe they weren't.
I pushed onto the beginning of a scrubland area at the end of the park which, until getting there I didn't even know existed! Bramble bushes littered the horizon and the odd clump of trees dotted randomly.and almost immediately was hit by a cacophony of bird song. Chiffchaff! Willow Warbler! Things were getting interesting.
I frustratingly couldn't get a good look at any of the 3 Chiffchaff and a couple of Willow Warblers in the large mini-copse infront of me, so I pushed on following the gravel trail when I heard a distinctive song 10 or so metres in front of me from a bush that took me a while to recognise it... Whitethroat! Made up. I've always had a special place in my heart for Whitethroats - they used to be my bogey bird about 5 years back (when I was more of a beginner really), then one summer I saw a batch of them and ever since I've thought fondly of them! This particular one, however was being an annoying git and skulking in a bramble bush like he'd never skulked before! All I wanted was a good look at him, but he was having none of it, and flew off further up the trail. "Right you big turd" I followed him determinedly.
Up ahead was another clearing and my word what a sight as I scanned the brambles bushes and listened - Whitethroats! All over the place! And this time they were showing well! I watched for a good 10 minutes bamboozled by the sheer numbers of them. In this one particular patch of scrubland there were at least 6 or 7 - I've never found them commonly in any of Liverpools parks I visit, so this was a really lovely surprise. I got distracted temporarily as 5 Linnet flew over my head - another great city tick - the only place I've found them reliably has been on the disused factories and scrubland on the docks, but they landed and seemed at home here. I hope I see them again next time I come. I pushed on along the trail, which I'd began to noitce, was curling back around in a circle to the beginning of the scrubland trail where I'd started when suddenly I flushed a brown job from a bush I was just walking past. It made a single note call as it flew into a bigger bush ahead which was intriguing - I didn't recognise it, and judging it's size against the usual suspects - Robin and Wren, it seemed to be Robin sized but streaky.
And then almost immediately it began a song which... I'm not even sure could be a song it was more of a chatter. It was a Grasshopper Warbler! I could only definitely make sure 10 minutes later when it eventually showed well enough to get my binos on it - couldn't believe it. I've never seen one of these before in anywhere in the city and only 10 minutes away from my house! Absolutely made up! After another 10 minutes I left and thought to myself it couldn't get better surely... I look up a moment later and 2 Swallows are bobbing majestically over. I was half way up a hill at this point the trail had turned rather bizarrely vertical but it was no mistaking them and I saw em for a good 10 seconds before they disappeared behind a tree. The Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were everywhere at this point - the noise was amazing! It really felt like summer was here (ignoring the rather brisk morning breeze of course!).
And then, to cap it off right at the end of the trail I heard that distinctive song again - another Grasshopper Warbler! And showing well this time. What a lovely bird. Streaked colours of browns and bright red legs. What a bird. What a find! I strode off shortly after, having to go back through the wood again to get to the exit. I saw another Treecreeper, and another Song Thrush - that was about the 15th of the day - glad to see somewhere they're doing well. Didn't see any Coal Tits I noticed but not many conifers around - can't win em all I guess. And a few more Jays more than made up for it!
Then, just as I reached the exit to the wood I looked up at pretty much the last tree on the trail and there was a gorgeous Nuthatch just sitting on a semi-hole of the tree and appeared to be ripping tiny bits of bark off it. Not sure what it was doing - it wasn't big enough to nest in or anything, but it was a real gem. Along with Treecreepers and Woodpeckers, you can never really guarantee you'll see them on a visit to a wood so to see all 3 is always a bonus. A second Nuthatch joined the first, but watched from a branch afar giving great views. Both flew off into the wood as I went the other way and out.
Wow I'm really sorry that was a huge post but I just had a lovely morning. Only saw 1 other person - with a dog and apart from that it was just me and nature. Magic.
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