10.2.17
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 10TH FEB 2017
WIRRAL
Hilbre Island-3 Scaup off shore.
CHESHIRE
Astbury Mere-Female Long Tailed Duck.
Lapwing Hall Pool-Black Necked Grebe.
Sandbach Flashes-Adult Mediterranean gull-Elton Hall flash and 2 Mandarin duck over.Adult Glaucous gull-Maw Green tip.Great White egret-Railway flash.
MEGAS IN BRITAIN
EASTERN BLACK REDSTART-1st Winter Male still on the rocks north side of the jetty-Skinningrove-Cleveland.
PACIFIC DIVER-1st-winter-on North pool-Druridge Bay-Northumberland.
BLUE ROCK THRUSH-adult male-at Fisher Close.Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.
DUSKY THRUSH Still,Pig Lane, Beeley, 5mls NNW of Matlock, Derbyshire.
Hilbre Island-3 Scaup off shore.
CHESHIRE
Astbury Mere-Female Long Tailed Duck.
Lapwing Hall Pool-Black Necked Grebe.
Sandbach Flashes-Adult Mediterranean gull-Elton Hall flash and 2 Mandarin duck over.Adult Glaucous gull-Maw Green tip.Great White egret-Railway flash.
MEGAS IN BRITAIN
EASTERN BLACK REDSTART-1st Winter Male still on the rocks north side of the jetty-Skinningrove-Cleveland.
PACIFIC DIVER-1st-winter-on North pool-Druridge Bay-Northumberland.
BLUE ROCK THRUSH-adult male-at Fisher Close.Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.
DUSKY THRUSH Still,Pig Lane, Beeley, 5mls NNW of Matlock, Derbyshire.
9.2.17
AFTERNOONS BIRDING IN CHESHIRE
I spent this afternoon at Gowy landfill site which is close to Ellesmere port.My target bird was a Juvenile Glaucous gull which has been seen regular over the last couple of days.I eventually got onto the the bird after a good hours search of hundreds of gulls dropping down off the nearby tip and landing in the fields.An adult Yellow legged gull was also picked out during my visit.
THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF GULLS AROUND THIS AFTERNOON
Moving on from here I called in at Kelsall where I soon found 18 Waxwings happily feeding on berries in someones garden.
It has been a great winter for Waxwings in Cheshire with numerous sightings across the county.After getting great views of these stunning birds I moved on to Newchurch common where I found the Red crested pochard at the north end of the pool but there was no sign of the female Smew.
RED CRESTED POCHARD
Other good birds of note were a Kingfisher,4 Gadwall,8 Goosanders and 24 Sisken.
GADWALL
KINGFISHER
GOOSANDER
SISKEN
A good afternoons birding which was topped off with a Barn Owl which I saw whist driving down the A50 towards Holmes chapel.
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER SIGHTINGS URGENTLY SOUGHT
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker numbers have declined considerably across Britain in recent years, and the species is now Red Listed. The reasons for this decline are not fully understood, but RSPB research has suggested that the birds have not been breeding successfully but it is not clear whether this is a widespread problem.CLICK ON LINK
8.2.17
LUNCHTIME BIRDING
Whilst working today I called in at Lapwing Hall pool on my dinner hour and saw a good variety of birds.The Black necked grebe was still present on the pool along with good numbers of Teal and Wigeon.
THIS BLACK NECKED GREBE HAS BEEN PRESENT SINCE NOVEMBER
64 WIGEON WERE ON THE POOL
Other birds of note on the pool were 6 Little grebe,2 Mute swan,4 Goldeneye,8 Tufted duck,27 Coot and 4 Moorhen.A Kingfisher was present on the sucken posts at the far end of the pool and 2 Snipe were flushed close to the waters edge.
Moving on to Acre Nook sand quarry there were plenty of Fieldfares and Redwings around in the fields.
REDWINGS WERE IN GOOD NUMBERS
2 Tree Sparrows were seen in the nearby hedgerows but flew back towards Lapwing Hall pool.Arriving at Acre Nook there were good numbers of Black Headed gulls and Lapwings around.
ACRE NOOK SAND QUARRY
4 Shoveler,8 Shelduck,6 Mandarin and 27 Teal were present and 12 Goosander were on the far quarry.A good hours birding and nice to be back on day shifts after four long months on nights.
BIRD FLU CASE AT MARTIN MERE RESERVE NEAR ORMSKIRK
A single case of bird flu has been confirmed at the popular tourist attraction, Martin Mere.CLICK ON LINK
7.2.17
SOLWAY FIRTH RESERVE EXPANDED AFTER SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC CAMPAIGN
RSPB Scotland has announced that a critical site on the Solway Firth has been secured for nature, thanks to public generosity.CLICK ON LINK
6.2.17
AFTERNOON WALK ON THE NORTH WIRRAL COAST
I was off work today so I parked the car at Meols and walked along the coast towards Red Rocks in search of a single Snow Bunting that had been showing well over the weekend.Reaching Red Rocks slipway there was no sign of the Snow Bunting so I carried on walking and headed over to Hilbre Island.Reaching Middle eye I soon connected with some Atlantic Grey seals and a few hundred Brent geese.
GREY SEALS
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 306 BRENT GEESE AROUND THE ISLANDS WHICH IS A RECORD FOR THIS SPECIES
LOOKING BACK FROM MIDDLE EYE TOWARDS WEST KIRBY
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO BE ON HILBRE
Walking towards the sea hide I soon picked up 4 Scaup on the sea which were then flushed by a lifeboat bombing past the Islands.
THE SEA HIDE ON HILBRE
There wasen't many birds around on Hilbre but there were good numbers of Knot,Dunlin,Turnstone and Brent geese.On the sea there were 6 Great Crested grebes and good numbers of Common Scoter,
BRENT GEESE
TURNSTONE
CORMORANT
COMMON SCOTER
I had a good look round the Island for a Purple sandpiper but couldn't find any.News then came through to me that the Snow Bunting had turned up again around the slipway so I headed back.On arrival there was no sign of the Snow Bunting but this probably due to all the dog walkers.With the light starting to fade I gave up on the Bunting and headed back to the car after a lovely afternoons walk.
A FEW PHOTOS OF THE NORTH WIRRAL COAST AS I WAS WALKING BACK TO THE CAR
5.2.17
FAT BIRD OF THE BARLEY STABILISES IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND
The number of Corn Buntings has stabilised in Aberdeenshire and Moray, according to a Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) report published on 1 February.CLICK ON LINK
GOVERNMENT MUST GET TOUGH ON RAPTOR PERSECUTION
Illegal persecution of birds of prey is still happening all too regularly in the UK countryside according to the RSPB's Birdcrime 2015 report, published on 3 February, and the organisation has called for the Government to act tougher in light of the news that another Hen Harrier has been found illegally shot in Northumberland.CLICK ON LINK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)