Cheshire And Wirral Birding: Hills, Lowland and Coast (1 Viewer)

[Bananafishbones]

Danebower

Nice morning sunshine and a hope to picture the Golden Plover, alas none in sight however did yet a Life tick with the Female Ring Ouzel who was sharing the limelight along with her male partner.
Grey wagtails reeling along the river, 3 in total, with a single Curlew. Wheatears by the dozen hard to count but 20+ would be a good guess, lots of Meadow Pipits and plenty of Wrens also :eek!:

Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Blackbirds.

Raven, Kestrel and Buzzard hunting, no sign of the Red kite that was about on Wednesday :-C

Just had time to get to Macc forest to see year first Pied Flycatcher in a singing Dual with a Wood Warbler.

10 Cormorants in full veiw each gaurding a nest and what I thought was tree felling was actually cackling coming from the nests, couldnt see the young ones though.

Great morning in East Cheshire :t:

 

[Hedgeland]

Managed a little trip out this morning and managed to pick up a few new species which was nice plus good to see all the usual species and new arriavals (but technically not hard as relatively new to bird watching).

Inner marsh Farm
Spoonbill this morning.

Gilroy
Common Sandpiper

Red Rocks
4 Sandwich Tern at high tide

 

[Hedgeland]

Had a little walk along my home patch of New Brighton promenade.
Ring plover 8, redshank, herring gull, common gull, lesser black backed, shellduck, turnstone (100+).

Also, which was a little surprising was 4 dunlin in full summer plumage. Is this quite late for them to still be hanging around? the majority left weeks ago.

 

[Jane Turner]

The ones we had wintering may have moved on, but there will be passage birds right through to the end of May, though there always seems to be a lull at the end of April and the beginning of may, then another little flurry.

 

[Hedgeland]

Thanks - makes sense.

I guess this is the same for turnstone? Although i have not noticed much change in numbers yet?

 

[Bananafishbones]

Macclesfield Forest:

Trentabank reservoir, 5 male Mandarins couldnt see any females. Tufted pair, a pair of Great crested Grebe, a single Little grebe, plenty of Cormorants and Grey Heron.
In the woods beside Trentabank were Pied Flycatcher, 3 Song Thrush, Coal, Great tit chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and possible Wood Warbler was looking up into a dark canopy while bucketing it down with rain, so I gave a hasty retreat......

Enough time to see 40+ Swallows skimming the water at Bottoms reservoir

 

[MiLisCer]

Trentabank reservoir, 5 male Mandarins couldnt see any females. Tufted pair, a pair of Great crested Grebe, a single Little grebe, plenty of Cormorants and Grey Heron.
In the woods beside Trentabank were Pied Flycatcher, 3 Song Thrush, Coal, Great tit chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and possible Wood Warbler was looking up into a dark canopy while bucketing it down with rain, so I gave a hasty retreat......

Enough time to see 40+ Swallows skimming the water at Bottoms reservoir

We had a Drake and a duck Mandarin at ours yesterday (South Cheshire) they both looked very tired and were feeding in the paddock well away from our pond.

Mike

 

[Jane Turner]

A rather fabulous Stone Curlew the westernmost ploughed field, inland of the footpath between Meols and Leasowe tonight.

I'm especially happy because its a Cheshire tick and I'm cling in on the elusive 300 species in the county. I really should close some of the holes in my county list, my duck and gull phobia hasn't helped!

 

[PhilW]

Hi Jane. Good find by Mark. The first 'twitchable' Stone Curlew since 1988 or thereabouts? By the way whats BRW pending?

 

[Jane Turner]

Blyth's Reed Warbler, waiting for the BBRC to decide if it was within variation for an acceptable one. Stunning find!

 

[chris butterworth]

Westerly winds ( and work) have meant I've noted very little since belting off for the Leasowe Stone-Curlew so I thought I'd nip down to New Brighton and practise masochism (otherwise known as seawatching). It turned out a cracking tide with 12 Arctic Tern, 9 Little Tern, 2 Arctic Skua and 52 Manxies new for the year plus 29 Sandwich Tern, 50+ Common Tern, 1 ad Med Gull, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 41 Kittiwake and 7 Guillemot as well. There was plenty of "stuff" far out that I wasn't able to be sure about including what was either a very distant House Martin or just a distant Storm-Petrel.
Chris

 

[Jane Turner]

There were a lot of House Martins moving. I managed 155 Manxies, 200+ Kittiwakes, 400+ Gannet Red-throated Diver 2 c100 each of Common and Sandwich, Arctic Terns and a Little Tern and two Guillemots. I get the feeling that the seabird counts are amplified by circulation around the bay - birds were going west close in, but there was stuff going east at distance.

 

[chris butterworth]

Glad you mentioned the House Martins, Jane, it gets rid of that little, niggly thought in the back of my brain. :t:
Chris

 

[Pitvar]

Inner Marsh Farm

Spoonbill showed well today - flew up out of reeds to have flying dispute with an egret then coasted back into further reed bed. The showed at the front of the reed from the hide and clearly if distantly from the path near the gate and bench. Also three Dunlin, three Avocet and two Common Terns displaying. Looks like there's been major predation to the black headed gulls and avocets though...

 

[Hedgeland]

Chris

Where abouts are you looking from at New Brighton? Sounds like a great day you had which is a shame I was away (typical).
Straight out o sea from the sea wall by the dips?

Cheer
H

 

[Pitvar]

Chris

Where abouts are you looking from at New Brighton? Sounds like a great day you had which is a shame I was away (typical).
Straight out o sea from the sea wall by the dips?

Cheer
H

Can I ask a newbie question - I'm planning to try some sea watching but generally - and I know there will be exceptions - are the birds some hundreds of metres out [in which case I'll fetch me scope!] or do they sometimes pass nearer the shore? Thanks in anticipation

 

[deeestuary]

Can I ask a newbie question - I'm planning to try some sea watching but generally - and I know there will be exceptions - are the birds some hundreds of metres out [in which case I'll fetch me scope!] or do they sometimes pass nearer the shore? Thanks in anticipation

Hi Pitvar
usually hundreds of metres out, so you definitely need your scope!
You have to have patience as well, as you can often sweep the sea and see nothing, but after a longer look you will often be surprised how much is out there.
Although a strong west wind will bring in the most birds (on the west side of the country) sometimes a clear and dead calm day can have it's rewards as the birds are so much easier to see when you are not trying to stop your scope shaking in gale force winds.

 

[Pitvar]

Thanks very much Richard - I was watching the spoonbill at Inner Marsh at about 600m yesterday so it'll have been good practise then! Peter

 

[Rob Smallwood]

Shelter from the wind is a big help - New Brighton scores with the shelters on the prom (esp if birds are being blown in to the river mouth), Gunsite you can use your car.

 

[chris butterworth]

You have to have patience as well,

Also a certain mindset i.e be prepared to gaze at one spot of sea through your scope for hours and find that all the good stuff has flown over / below your eyeline3 . Try either Red Rocks at Hoylake, Dove Point at Meols or anywhere along the front at New Brighton.
Chris