-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
A very odd weekend at Marshside/Southport. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SiG
- Start date
SiG
Well-known member
A lot of Grey Heron around today, being dive-bombed by Lapwing and Avocet; herons cover a lot of ground but there were at least four adult birds on the marsh today. Plenty of Reed Bunting. The water levels dropped a bit today and there was a lot of newly exposed mud - cue a feeding frenzy for the Dunlin, Redshank, Avocet and the one Little Stint, the Curlew Sandpipers and a decent number, perhaps 30, Ringed Plover.
Pied Wagtail, several sightings of Linnet, on the outer marsh both Dunlin and Redshank stood on fence-posts. Drake Garganey; a pair of Wigeon; Gadwall; large numbers of Mallard and Shelduck; large numbers of Black-Headed Gulls (plenty up Crossens Sluice); all six Little Gulls back in the lagoon at Marshside 2. Four Barnacle Geese; Greylag and Canada abundant. A Kestrel. Swifts, Sand Martins and Swallows. Several Common Whitethroat. Sedge Warblers. Black-tailed Godwit. Coot with young; some still nesting. Moorhen. Carrion Crow, and maybe a Raven? It was distant as I arrived and I wasn't convinced, but heard a rumour later on from someone else too. At least five pairs of Shoveler. Approximately 1000 starlings. Several hundred Woodpigeon. Dozens of Robins. Swans on Marshside 2.
Saw the Barn Owl again too. I didn't think I would, as I was half an hour earlier heading home as I wanted to take the embankment along Crossens Sluice to see if I could find a warbler in the reeds that I thought I'd glimpsed on Tuesday. The Barn Owl distracted me from that, and I watched it hunting along the embankment and over the fields towards banks.
A few more dodgyscoped pics from today:
Pied Wagtail, several sightings of Linnet, on the outer marsh both Dunlin and Redshank stood on fence-posts. Drake Garganey; a pair of Wigeon; Gadwall; large numbers of Mallard and Shelduck; large numbers of Black-Headed Gulls (plenty up Crossens Sluice); all six Little Gulls back in the lagoon at Marshside 2. Four Barnacle Geese; Greylag and Canada abundant. A Kestrel. Swifts, Sand Martins and Swallows. Several Common Whitethroat. Sedge Warblers. Black-tailed Godwit. Coot with young; some still nesting. Moorhen. Carrion Crow, and maybe a Raven? It was distant as I arrived and I wasn't convinced, but heard a rumour later on from someone else too. At least five pairs of Shoveler. Approximately 1000 starlings. Several hundred Woodpigeon. Dozens of Robins. Swans on Marshside 2.
Saw the Barn Owl again too. I didn't think I would, as I was half an hour earlier heading home as I wanted to take the embankment along Crossens Sluice to see if I could find a warbler in the reeds that I thought I'd glimpsed on Tuesday. The Barn Owl distracted me from that, and I watched it hunting along the embankment and over the fields towards banks.
A few more dodgyscoped pics from today:
Attachments
Last edited:
SiG
Well-known member
Ah well. I've actually been at work by 9am the last 2 mornings, and didn't get home til after 10 last night (early) so of course I've MISSED THE RED KITE! Only just heard about it, will be long gone now.
Might have to chip off early though, just in case. I have to prepare for my "appraisal" (i.e. annual b*ll*cking) tomorrow anyway ... no finer way than a few hours on the marsh, methinks
Might have to chip off early though, just in case. I have to prepare for my "appraisal" (i.e. annual b*ll*cking) tomorrow anyway ... no finer way than a few hours on the marsh, methinks
SiG
Well-known member
Hardly any Dunlin around tonight, and few ringed plover. Garganey, 60 odd Avocet, a pair of Wigeon and two Little Gull, plus a hundred-odd Blackwits were the highligts from Nel's. Cute Coots too. Hares as usual.
Attachments
Last edited:
SiG
Well-known member
No sign of the Garganey tonight.
Highlights included several juvenile Pied Wagtail, four Little Gull, 10 drake Teal, a single Dunlin, a single Turnstone, a pair of Wigeon, another of Barnacle Geese, and large numbers of Blackwit, Lapwing, Avocet and Redshank, Gadwall, Mallard, plus Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Linnet round the sand plant. Huge numbers of Woodpigeon and Starling, on the scapres on the shore side of the Coastal Road, presumably just wanting to be near water. Peak temperature on the marsh today was around 29 celsius. Water levels were slightly lower in Nels lagoon; certainly all the dribbly mud so beloved of the Dunlin had solidified - this had the effect of concentrating the Blackwits and Avocets in front of the hide, so showing was excellent.
A colour ringed Redshank in front of Sandgrounders is, I think, the same bird referred to earlier in the thread; the colours are the same. It was ringed at a reserve near the Gironde estuary on the west coast of France.
I also noted a colour-ringed Blackwit - orange lower band (but above knee) on BOTH legs, with one white ring, and one luminous green/yellow.
Some snaps from tonight:
Highlights included several juvenile Pied Wagtail, four Little Gull, 10 drake Teal, a single Dunlin, a single Turnstone, a pair of Wigeon, another of Barnacle Geese, and large numbers of Blackwit, Lapwing, Avocet and Redshank, Gadwall, Mallard, plus Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Linnet round the sand plant. Huge numbers of Woodpigeon and Starling, on the scapres on the shore side of the Coastal Road, presumably just wanting to be near water. Peak temperature on the marsh today was around 29 celsius. Water levels were slightly lower in Nels lagoon; certainly all the dribbly mud so beloved of the Dunlin had solidified - this had the effect of concentrating the Blackwits and Avocets in front of the hide, so showing was excellent.
A colour ringed Redshank in front of Sandgrounders is, I think, the same bird referred to earlier in the thread; the colours are the same. It was ringed at a reserve near the Gironde estuary on the west coast of France.
I also noted a colour-ringed Blackwit - orange lower band (but above knee) on BOTH legs, with one white ring, and one luminous green/yellow.
Some snaps from tonight:
Attachments
SiG
Well-known member
Continuing my conversation with myself ...
Popped out around 3pm. First call Sandgrounders Hide, then a trawl around the sandworks. I climbed the banks for once, had a close encounter with a kestrel, and scanned out to sea. Then I walked to Nel's, amused by the redshank perched on top of the new traffic sign. A few hours in Nel's.
Drier again than yesterday, and much more of the same. I counted over 70 avocet including young, 148 blackwit, probably 300+ redshank, similar numbers of lapwing, the solitary turnstone, 2 barnacles, 30 pinkfeet, a couple of greylag, 12 canada geese, 1000 starlings, swallow, swift, house martin, mute swan (one ringed), 50+ coot, a little grebe, teal, wigeon, mallard, shelduck, gadwall, shoveller, ruddy duck, tufted duck and a single drake garganey. Plenty of black-headed gull, the occasional lesser black-back, and two little gull.
The walk back to Sandgrounders and beyond brought four sedge warblers, three whitethroat. Seeing 5 grey heron almost together (I counted 9 in total) I paused at the new bench and scanned the scrape at the back of Marshside 2 - some avocet, blackwit and a good number of black-headed gull, but also around a dozen dunlin. I thought I might be onto a stint or some kind of sandpiper as I got a glimpse of something dunlin sized without the black belly so I set up the scope again when John Bannon appeared so I asked his opinion, him being far more knowledgeable than I. He said it was a dunlin that had failed to gain its summer plumage, due to an injury to its leg. This rang true, as I recalled the bird that had spent a couple of days in front of Sandgrounders in late March, which was white bellied and had a leg hanging off - those observing it that day had assumed it would die as it was expending huge amounts of energy trying to stay upright. It's obviously mastered the art and survives; and looking again I saw the bird had just one leg. How had I failed to notice that before? I'd noted the one-legged Blackwit the day before.
A couple of Ruff were in the scrape, and the walk to Crossens brought a very bizarre black-headed gull that was almost entirely white but just tinged with darker plumage where its chocolate-brown face mask should be. Plus lots more Linnet around 7a/b.
No sign of my Barn Owl, and the path along the embankment by Crossen Sluice is still taped off and guarded by police in an incident control room aftyer the finding of a body there on Thursday. There's police tape strewn around the trees too - I hope they tidy up after themselves.
It was the pair of heron flying over as I got off the bus at the foot of our road that brought the total to 9.
Some snaps, anyway:
Popped out around 3pm. First call Sandgrounders Hide, then a trawl around the sandworks. I climbed the banks for once, had a close encounter with a kestrel, and scanned out to sea. Then I walked to Nel's, amused by the redshank perched on top of the new traffic sign. A few hours in Nel's.
Drier again than yesterday, and much more of the same. I counted over 70 avocet including young, 148 blackwit, probably 300+ redshank, similar numbers of lapwing, the solitary turnstone, 2 barnacles, 30 pinkfeet, a couple of greylag, 12 canada geese, 1000 starlings, swallow, swift, house martin, mute swan (one ringed), 50+ coot, a little grebe, teal, wigeon, mallard, shelduck, gadwall, shoveller, ruddy duck, tufted duck and a single drake garganey. Plenty of black-headed gull, the occasional lesser black-back, and two little gull.
The walk back to Sandgrounders and beyond brought four sedge warblers, three whitethroat. Seeing 5 grey heron almost together (I counted 9 in total) I paused at the new bench and scanned the scrape at the back of Marshside 2 - some avocet, blackwit and a good number of black-headed gull, but also around a dozen dunlin. I thought I might be onto a stint or some kind of sandpiper as I got a glimpse of something dunlin sized without the black belly so I set up the scope again when John Bannon appeared so I asked his opinion, him being far more knowledgeable than I. He said it was a dunlin that had failed to gain its summer plumage, due to an injury to its leg. This rang true, as I recalled the bird that had spent a couple of days in front of Sandgrounders in late March, which was white bellied and had a leg hanging off - those observing it that day had assumed it would die as it was expending huge amounts of energy trying to stay upright. It's obviously mastered the art and survives; and looking again I saw the bird had just one leg. How had I failed to notice that before? I'd noted the one-legged Blackwit the day before.
A couple of Ruff were in the scrape, and the walk to Crossens brought a very bizarre black-headed gull that was almost entirely white but just tinged with darker plumage where its chocolate-brown face mask should be. Plus lots more Linnet around 7a/b.
No sign of my Barn Owl, and the path along the embankment by Crossen Sluice is still taped off and guarded by police in an incident control room aftyer the finding of a body there on Thursday. There's police tape strewn around the trees too - I hope they tidy up after themselves.
It was the pair of heron flying over as I got off the bus at the foot of our road that brought the total to 9.
Some snaps, anyway:
Attachments
SiG
Well-known member
Oh, I can't resist posting these couple of the Little Grebe too.
Three muppets on powered paragliders insisted on overflying the marsh and the reserve which put everything in the air and off the nest a few times. I think I might take an airgun out with me next time. Of course I'm joking. Of course I am.
Three muppets on powered paragliders insisted on overflying the marsh and the reserve which put everything in the air and off the nest a few times. I think I might take an airgun out with me next time. Of course I'm joking. Of course I am.
Attachments
Last edited:
SiG
Well-known member
Looking back at my notes on the weekend's visits, I realise several omissions - Oystercatcher, Skylark, Greenfinch, Meadow Pipit, Shelduck ... I don't take notes or keep lists, but the failings of my memory are becoming obvious to me. Maybe I need to drink more.
Early dart looking possible today (the annual b*ll*cking was rescheduled til tomorrow) so I might get out there tonight with a bit of luck.
Early dart looking possible today (the annual b*ll*cking was rescheduled til tomorrow) so I might get out there tonight with a bit of luck.
Last edited:
Marcus Conway - ebirder
Well-known member
SiG said:
Great stuff as per my earlier posts Marshside used to be my local. Have you picked up a copy of Barry Mcarthy's 'Birds of Marshside' yet. Very good history of the site and in depth account of sightings down there?
Also you can improve your (already excellent) digiscoped images by using adobe photoshope - there are some excellent guides on the web (let me know if you need poiting in the right direction).
Good luck birding down there. Hopefully the garganeys may stay to breed
SiG
Well-known member
jimmy2faces said:
Thanks Marcus. I'm lucky it's my local; and as a novice, such as I've learned has largely been learned in that context.
I have indeed got a well-thumbed copy of Barry's book on the table in front of me even as you wrote. I think I met Barry once on site, and he's "corrected" me on matters elsewhere on the net - and it seems I met his publisher yesterday evening whilst trying to id the winter plumage one-legged dunlin at 500m! It's a great book. In its preface and introduction the "baseline" nature of it as a work, published in 2001, are stated. So compare my 70+ avocet of Saturday (17 breeding pairs, a few other adults, plus fledglings and chicks) with the entry in the book: Avocet ~ one on Crossens Channel on 9 September 1972 is the only record. And the only previous Red Necked Phalarope to the late May bird was a dead one in 1974!
Barry's book, in conjunction with the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside, and the Lancashire Bird Reports (I have only the three most recent) are my essential references. Having met John B last night though I re-read his "brief history" in the introduction to Barry's book, which talks about the social context of the site. On this matter I recently bought a book called something like Don' E Wan Any Srimp? a hardback published by a local history society which is an excellent account of the sea fishing, cockling and shrimping industry locally, and its effects and influences on this territory. This is interesting background because I think there'll be a political struggle in the next decade or so to confront the piss-poor expectations of local social development.
I'm not sure the Garganey will breed: I've seen two drakes, no ducks. I've jokingly referred to them as the Gay Garganey :h?: But who know ...
I'm really very fond of Marshside. I think I'll pop down there now!
Last edited:
kmonty1950
Well-known member
Hi SiG,
Great read, I know what you're going through with the ciggies - I gave 'em up 12 years ago when I watched my mother succumb to lung cancer. Still on the nicorette though. Did you know it gives you really bad flatulence? So my mates tell me anyway.
All the best
Ken.
Great read, I know what you're going through with the ciggies - I gave 'em up 12 years ago when I watched my mother succumb to lung cancer. Still on the nicorette though. Did you know it gives you really bad flatulence? So my mates tell me anyway.
All the best
Ken.
Marcus Conway - ebirder
Well-known member
SiG said:
Great stuff - I am very jealous as I now live in Leeds - black tailed godwit or ruff down at Rodley NR would send me crashing throough the door!!!
One tip - always walk the 'peninsula' around the sand plant. In days gone by many species ahve stopped here to a while. Myslef and Chris Fyles found a Tawny Pipit down there as well as Restart and Pied Fly in falls of migrants. Marshside's gloriouos male Montagu's harrier was also first identified from that point. Ususllay there's wheatear and tree pipit, but you never know, it's a really workable size, and even on my shortest trip wold make the effort to walk this area.
There wasn't hides in my day so you thought more baout were you were going to look and why, and now when I go there I only go to the hide's in passing - they are not my focus.
Keep up the blog...
