WIRRAL
Heswall Shore
1135 Lapwing,72 Golden Plover,2500 Oystercatcher,13000 Knot,800 Dunlin,940 Redshank,2 Greenshank, 360 Bar-tailed Godwit,230 Black-tailed Godwit and 660 Curlew.
West Kirby
Report of a Red Kite by A540 heading towards Caldy cross-roads.
Hilbre
6 Eider and 6 Purple Sandpiper.
Burton RSPB
Whooper Swan x4 Flew Over Main Scrape
Grey Wagtail Ditch Left Of Big Barn
Marsh Harrier x2 Over Wet Grassland
Green Woodpecker Field Right Of House
Fieldfare As Above
Redwing As Above
Siskin x15 Alders By Garden
Snipe X3 On Left Going In To Marsh Covert Hide
Pintail x1 Bridge Screen Pool
Peregrine Over Main Scrape
Water Rail Marsh Covert Hide
Kingfisher Reedbed Screen
Bewick's Swan x2 Main Scrape
Neston Marsh
2 Great White Egrets
CHESHIRE
Cuddington
Hawfinch-1 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Sandbach Flashes
Juvenile Iceland Gull,Juvenile Glaucous Gull,Great White egret and Long Eared owl-Groby flash.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-2 still and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker-Old hall site.
Frodsham Marshes
Great White egret and Water Pipit.
12.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 12TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
Neston Old Quay
3 Marsh Harrier and 3 Great White Egrets flew into roost.
CHESHIRE
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site.
Sandbach Flashes
Glaucous Gull-Juvenile on Elton Hall Flash
Hilbre
6 Eider and 4 Purple Sandpiper.Neston Old Quay
3 Marsh Harrier and 3 Great White Egrets flew into roost.
CHESHIRE
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site.
Sandbach Flashes
Glaucous Gull-Juvenile on Elton Hall Flash
11.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 11TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
Little Neston-Denhall Quay
Hen Harrier-Male and 4 Short eared owls.
Burton RSPB
Marsh Harrier x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Bewick`s Swan x6 As Above
Bullfinch x5 By Railway Bridge
Water Rail Copse To IMF
Siskin x10 Alders By Garden
Kingfisher Reception Pool
Coal Tit By Reception Pool
Little Owl x1 Tree Right Of Farm
Fieldfare x30 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x70+ As Above
Whooper Swan x5 Field Behind D Barn
CHESHIRE
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-6 still-Old hall site.
Little Neston-Denhall Quay
Hen Harrier-Male and 4 Short eared owls.
Burton RSPB
Marsh Harrier x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Bewick`s Swan x6 As Above
Bullfinch x5 By Railway Bridge
Water Rail Copse To IMF
Siskin x10 Alders By Garden
Kingfisher Reception Pool
Coal Tit By Reception Pool
Little Owl x1 Tree Right Of Farm
Fieldfare x30 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x70+ As Above
Whooper Swan x5 Field Behind D Barn
CHESHIRE
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-6 still-Old hall site.
10.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 10TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
Neston Marsh
2 Short-eared Owl.
Burton RSPB
Whooper Swan x4 Field Behind D Barn
Little Owl x2 Tree Right Farm Barn (Sorry Pic Of L-Owl Not Very Good)
Fieldfare Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x100+ As Above
Goldcrest By Reception
Siskin x13 Alders By Garden
Nuthatch Marsh Covert Wood
Reed Bunting x2 By Birdcrop Field
Water Rail Copse To IMF
Green Woodpecker Burton Point
Great Egret x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Marsh Harrier x2 As Above
Bewick`s Swan x7 As Above
Grey Wagtail Flew By Reception
Parkgate
Hen harrier-2 Ringtails and 5 Great White egrets.
CHESHIRE
Sandbach Flashes-Pumphouse Flash
Juvenile Iceland Gull
Cuddington
Hawfinch-2 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Newchurch Common
Female Smew of unknown origin still present and good numbers of Brambling in surrounding fields.
Neston Marsh
2 Short-eared Owl.
Burton RSPB
Whooper Swan x4 Field Behind D Barn
Little Owl x2 Tree Right Farm Barn (Sorry Pic Of L-Owl Not Very Good)
Fieldfare Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x100+ As Above
Goldcrest By Reception
Siskin x13 Alders By Garden
Nuthatch Marsh Covert Wood
Reed Bunting x2 By Birdcrop Field
Water Rail Copse To IMF
Green Woodpecker Burton Point
Great Egret x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Marsh Harrier x2 As Above
Bewick`s Swan x7 As Above
Grey Wagtail Flew By Reception
Parkgate
Hen harrier-2 Ringtails and 5 Great White egrets.
CHESHIRE
Sandbach Flashes-Pumphouse Flash
Juvenile Iceland Gull
Cuddington
Hawfinch-2 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Newchurch Common
Female Smew of unknown origin still present and good numbers of Brambling in surrounding fields.
MORNINGS BIRDING AT NEWCHURCH COMMON
I spent this morning birding at Newchurch Common, and it didn't take long to find my first bramblings of the year. 4 were seen feeding on the alders as I was walking north to the set aside field, where over a hundred were seen. Views were terrible as the sun was shining down on them, so there could have been more, with 450 birds reported yesterday in the whole area. Moving on to the east side of the reserve, I soon picked up the long-staying Smew of unknown origin that has been present on and off on this site since December 2014.
FEMALE SMEW SLEEPING IN EAST BAY
The stubble fields beyond the east bay had good numbers of Chaffinch in them, and at least twenty Brambling were amongst them. They were always distant, but I did manage to get a male bird sitting out in a tree.
Moving on from here, due to time, I called in at Cuddington on the way home and connected with two Hawfinches that have been present since mid-December. The birds were very elusive and only showed for a few seconds at the top of the trees before flying.I did manage to get photos of them, but they were crap, as you can see, due to light and them flying off.
9.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 9TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
West Kirby Marine Lake
Goldeneye male,Goosander and 3 Great Crested Grebe.
Heswall
1,800 Pink-footed Geese roosted on marsh over night and flew inland at first light.
Hilbre
6 Eider, 92 Common Scoter and 280 Brent Geese.
Parkgate
3 Marsh Harrier and 2 Hen Harrier (ringtail and male).
Burton RSPB
White-Fronted Goose Wet Grassland IMF
Kingfisher IMF
Siskin x8 Alder`s By Garden
Fieldfare x20 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x15 As Above
Grey Wagtail As Above
Mistle Thrush x2 As Above
Little Owl Right-Hand Tree Right Of Farm Barn
Sparrowhawk Far End Boardwalk
Pink-Footed Geese x100 Flew Over
Whooper Swan x4 Flew Over
CHESHIRE
Newchurch Common
Female Smew of unknown origin still present and 450 Brambling still in surrounding fields.
Rostherne Mere
Hawfinch-1 female still by cricket pitch.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site
West Kirby Marine Lake
Goldeneye male,Goosander and 3 Great Crested Grebe.
Heswall
1,800 Pink-footed Geese roosted on marsh over night and flew inland at first light.
Hilbre
6 Eider, 92 Common Scoter and 280 Brent Geese.
Parkgate
3 Marsh Harrier and 2 Hen Harrier (ringtail and male).
Burton RSPB
White-Fronted Goose Wet Grassland IMF
Kingfisher IMF
Siskin x8 Alder`s By Garden
Fieldfare x20 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x15 As Above
Grey Wagtail As Above
Mistle Thrush x2 As Above
Little Owl Right-Hand Tree Right Of Farm Barn
Sparrowhawk Far End Boardwalk
Pink-Footed Geese x100 Flew Over
Whooper Swan x4 Flew Over
CHESHIRE
Newchurch Common
Female Smew of unknown origin still present and 450 Brambling still in surrounding fields.
Rostherne Mere
Hawfinch-1 female still by cricket pitch.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site
8.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 8TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
Burton RSPB
White-Fronted Goose Wet Grassland IMF
Kingfisher IMF
Siskin x8 Alder`s By Garden
Fieldfare x20 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x15 As Above
Grey Wagtail As Above
Mistle Thrush x2 As Above
Little Owl Right-Hand Tree Right Of Farm Barn
Sparrowhawk Far End Boardwalk
Pink-Footed Geese x100 Flew Over
Whooper Swan x4 Flew Over
Parkgate
2 Great White Egret,4 Marsh Harrier,Hen Harrier (grey male) and 2 Stonechat.
Burton Marsh to Parkgate
Adult male Hen Harrier+ringtail,3 Marsh Harriers,2 Great White Egrets and Little Owl.
Heswall/Thurstaston
975 Pinkfeet flew inland from roost,Marsh Harrier,Peregrine,156 Golden Plover,840 Lapwing,4600 Knot,Greenshank and 790 Black-tailed Godwit.
CHESHIRE
Sandbach-Maw Green Tip and Railway Flash
Juvenile-Glaucous Gull,2 Great White Egrets and Long eared Owl.
Sandbach Flashes-Pumphouse Flash
Juvenile Iceland Gull
Cuddington
Hawfinch-2 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-3 still-Old hall site
Rostherne Mere
Hawfinch-1 in trees left of footpath between Natural England car park and Observatory.
Burton RSPB
White-Fronted Goose Wet Grassland IMF
Kingfisher IMF
Siskin x8 Alder`s By Garden
Fieldfare x20 Field Left Bunker Entrance
Redwing x15 As Above
Grey Wagtail As Above
Mistle Thrush x2 As Above
Little Owl Right-Hand Tree Right Of Farm Barn
Sparrowhawk Far End Boardwalk
Pink-Footed Geese x100 Flew Over
Whooper Swan x4 Flew Over
Parkgate
2 Great White Egret,4 Marsh Harrier,Hen Harrier (grey male) and 2 Stonechat.
Burton Marsh to Parkgate
Adult male Hen Harrier+ringtail,3 Marsh Harriers,2 Great White Egrets and Little Owl.
Heswall/Thurstaston
975 Pinkfeet flew inland from roost,Marsh Harrier,Peregrine,156 Golden Plover,840 Lapwing,4600 Knot,Greenshank and 790 Black-tailed Godwit.
CHESHIRE
Sandbach-Maw Green Tip and Railway Flash
Juvenile-Glaucous Gull,2 Great White Egrets and Long eared Owl.
Sandbach Flashes-Pumphouse Flash
Juvenile Iceland Gull
Cuddington
Hawfinch-2 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-3 still-Old hall site
Rostherne Mere
Hawfinch-1 in trees left of footpath between Natural England car park and Observatory.
MY BIRDING YEAR 2017
The year started off with me visiting Venus pools in Shropshire on the 3rd of January to see a female pine bunting, where I connected with my first life tick of the year. A tarts tick. I have missed so many over the years, but it was nice to get this bird on my list. The bird itself hardly set the world alight being a female, but I did get good views of it.
It was turning out to be a tremendous winter for Waxwings throughout the UK, and Cheshire and Wirral hadn't gone without seeing good numbers being recorded during this influx. I was lucky on the 4th of January when I was driving through my home town of Ellesmere Port that I found five feeding on berries.
Not content with the previous Bunting back in January, luckily enough another Pine Bunting hung around at Dunnington, just east of York, so I visited in late February and saw a cracking male.
At the end of October, a Hippolais Warbler was found at Leasowe on the Wirral, which was eventually identified as a melodious warbler late afternoon, but the news was put out to late for any birders to see this mega bird for the Wirral. The next morning, the bird had gone!
A quiet year really, but I added six new birds to my life list and dipped Yellow Warbler and Amur Falcon. Hopefully 2018 will see me hit the magic 500!
Early March was spent with my partner Dianne in north Norfolk, where we spent a few days birding. A good variety of species were seen, and the holiday was finished with cracking views of a juvenile pallid harrier and a Great Grey Shrike found at Frodsham marshes, which we called in to see on our way home.
Winter soon passed and spring migration started to warm up, and on the morning of the 23rd, whilst at home gardening, an osprey flew over, which was a nice surprise.
All was quiet then until the end of April, when a red-winged blackbird, a first for Britain, was found on North Ronaldsay, Orkney. The usual crew of me, Fred Fearne, Malcolm Curtin, and Simon Slade twitched it, and we all got good views of the bird.
On the 3rd of May, I visited the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire with my partner Dianne, and we got stunning views of male Pallid Harrier, which had taken up residence there over the last few weeks.
Cheshire had a good month in May, with a Shorelark being found on Hilbre Island and a buff-breasted sandpiper at Burton RSPB. I managed to see both of the birds, but they weren't county ticks for me, but they were still nice to see. Cattle egrets also bred for the first time in the county at Burton RSPB.
On the 1st of June, Cheshire came up trumps again with an Iberian chiffchaff being found at Kelsall. I managed to get great views of the bird, but again, no tick for me!
The biggest kick in the teeth this year was an Amur Falcon, which was found on the 6th of July in Cornwall. I was at a funeral, and news of the bird didn't break till late evening, at which point I was very intoxicated. Setting off later in the morning, I made it down to Cornwall for just after 10.00am. The bird flew whilst I was driving through Penzance, never to be seen again until the 17th of July, when it appeared again. Another trip down to Cornwall and no sign the next morning! Harsh, annoying, but hey, THEY'LL BE ANOTHER! Late July I visited East Leake in Nottinghamshire to see one of my favourite birds, the Bee Eater. Seven of these beautiful birds had resided on a gravel pit, so I called in to see them whilst on a visit to see my Nan in nearby Leicester.
July passed and at last it was September I'm not one for wishing my life away but
September and October are my two favourite months, and it wasn't long before the mega alert was sounding off! AMERICAN REDSTART-Barra-Outer Hebrides!TWITCH ON!I drove up with the usual crew and had two great days in Scotland. We had the bird feeding in front of us, showing down to a few feet. Amazing!
On the 19th of September, I visited Norfolk to see a Pallas's grasshopper warbler that had been found at Burnham Overy staines. The bird was very elusive, but I got good views in the end, perched up in the bottom of a ditch.
At the end of September, I visited Shetland on my annual birding pilgrimage and ended up staying for three weeks. I missed a Siberian Thrush again but did gain Yellow-breasted Bunting to my life list, and our group found a Pallas's grasshopper warbler, the first for mainland Shetland since 2004! I did miss a first for the Wirral while away when a pallid harrier showed up on the Dee estuary, which gripped me off!
Whilst coming back from Shetland on the 8th of October, the bird of all birders dreams was found at North Ronaldsay bird observatory—a SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN! I got home shattered after three weeks away around midnight and headed straight to York with the crew to get a charter on news the next morning.The morning was spent on the airfield!NO SIGN!
An influx of Hawfinches scattered Britain in the first two weeks of October, and Cheshire and Wirral birders started to see their fair share of this scarce species. I managed to catch up with four birds at St Oswalds church in Brereton
On the 18th of October, a Two Barred Greenish Warbler was found in Dorset, which I needed after not being bothered with seeing the Filey Bird in 2006 as it was only a subspecies of Greenish Warbler, but with the BOU changing over to IOC after the new year, the Two Barred Warbler will have full specific species status.
7.1.18
CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 7TH JANUARY 2018
WIRRAL
Hilbre
9 Whooper Swan landed west side of island,335 Pink-footed Geese flew over east,4 Eider and 310+ Brent Geese.
Parkgate
7 Little Grebe on the donkey stand flash,2 Great White Egret,3-4 Marsh Harrier and a grey male Hen Harrier.
West Kirby Marine Lake
1 Goosander (fem).
Burton RSPB
Little Owl Tree Right Of Farm
Mistle Thrush x2 Field Left Bunker
Siskin x2 By Garden
Nuthatch By Garden
Goldcrest By Woodland Mere
Kingfisher Ditch Near Reedbed Screen
Marsh Harrier Over Reedbed
Hen Harrier (RT) Field Near D Barn Burton Point
Great Egret x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Whooper Swan x4 As Above
Golden Plover x3 Field Left Of D Barn
CHESHIRE
Cuddington
Hawfinch-7 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site
Frodsham Marshes
Great White egret-3
MEGAS IN BRITAIN
ITALIAN SPARROW-Possible (or hybrid sparrow sp.) in gardens on Wynards Road and Cadbury Gardens (present several days); park in car park off Hayes Lane or on B3178 at Oak Hill (c.SY067847)-East Budleigh-Devon.
Hilbre
9 Whooper Swan landed west side of island,335 Pink-footed Geese flew over east,4 Eider and 310+ Brent Geese.
Parkgate
7 Little Grebe on the donkey stand flash,2 Great White Egret,3-4 Marsh Harrier and a grey male Hen Harrier.
West Kirby Marine Lake
1 Goosander (fem).
Burton RSPB
Little Owl Tree Right Of Farm
Mistle Thrush x2 Field Left Bunker
Siskin x2 By Garden
Nuthatch By Garden
Goldcrest By Woodland Mere
Kingfisher Ditch Near Reedbed Screen
Marsh Harrier Over Reedbed
Hen Harrier (RT) Field Near D Barn Burton Point
Great Egret x2 Burton Marsh From Point
Whooper Swan x4 As Above
Golden Plover x3 Field Left Of D Barn
CHESHIRE
Cuddington
Hawfinch-7 still at Delamere Park at corner of Westrees.
Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-1 still-Old hall site
Frodsham Marshes
Great White egret-3
MEGAS IN BRITAIN
ITALIAN SPARROW-Possible (or hybrid sparrow sp.) in gardens on Wynards Road and Cadbury Gardens (present several days); park in car park off Hayes Lane or on B3178 at Oak Hill (c.SY067847)-East Budleigh-Devon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)