ACRE NOOK AND LAPWING HALL POOL BIRD SIGHTINGS LATE JULY

Lapwing Hall pool bird sightings:

On the 23rd, I was walking around the pool when a Redstart flew in front of me and landed in some bushes. I couldn't believe it, but it was just a reward for the amount of hours I have put in this year.

Redstart, a new bird for the patch

The Tree sparrows are still showing each time I visit and now have young.

Tree Sparrow

On the 24th, a Common Scoter arrived, which stayed until the 26th and another Black-necked Grebe was found on the same day, which was still around on the 30th.

Common Scoter, another first for the patch

Pochards are still on the move, and numbers vary from day to day. There were three at the pool on the 27th. The number of Tufted ducks reached over 50 by the 28th, along with 9 Great Crested Grebes.

Pochard

Acre Nook Sightings:

Another Mediterranean gull was found with large numbers of gulls on the 25th, along with 3 Black tailed godwits. Numbers of Curlew reached 40 plus by the 20th, along with over 100 Lapwing by the 28th.

Black Tailed godwit

A good number of birds are dropping into Acre Nook

A Common Sandpiper dropped in on the 21st. Teal numbers have reached 12, along with 8 Mandarin Ducks. A Hobby flew over during my dinner hour on the 26th.

Common Sandpiper

AFTERNOONS BIRDING AT BURTON RSPB-SPOTTED CRAKE

An afternoon visit to Burton RSPB was rewarded almost immediately with views of the juvenile Spotted Crake that has been present throughout the week. On arrival, I met site warden Colin Wells, who promptly directed me to the bird. It emerged briefly from the reeds, showing well for a few seconds before slipping back into cover. Given that some observers had waited for hours, I was fortunate to connect with it so quickly.

Elsewhere on the reserve, nine Spoonbills were showing well in front of the reception hide, accompanied by an impressive gathering of around 200 Black-tailed Godwits and two Spotted Redshanks, rounding off an excellent visit.

9 Spoonbills

Spotted Redshank

GLOSSY IBIS GIVES PATCHERS THE RUN AROUND AND THEN GIVES IT SELF UP!

A tweet from @marburypatch early this morning set pulses racing when news broke of a Glossy Ibis at Neumann’s Flash, Northwich — my former patch and a long-standing omission from my patch list. With the species still needed as a patch tick, I quickly rang Malc Curtin, who was already en route.

The bird had been found by local patch regular Greg Baker, who was watching a Little Egret on Stilt Island when the ibis was flushed by the egret and flew across to Ashton’s Flash. I headed straight over to Northwich, but on arrival, the news was discouraging: the bird had not been seen again.

I met up with Malc and his wife, and we walked a full circuit of Ashton’s Flash without success. As birders began to drift away and we were heading back to our cars, Malc received a call from another local patcher, Mark Taylor, who had successfully relocated the bird — back at Neumann’s Flash. We immediately made our way there, where the Glossy Ibis was showing well, feeding calmly around the reed margins.

Glossy Ibis

This record represents only the second Glossy Ibis for the patch. The previous bird roosted at Neumann’s Flash from 30 September to 2 October 1992, before being watched feeding in a field near Marston Flash on 3 October. That individual constituted the first accepted record for Cheshire and Wirral.

An earlier record cited by T. Hedley Bell in The Birds of Cheshire — a bird present on Burton Marshes from 16 September to 6 October 1959 — was subsequently accepted by BBRC as Flintshire only.

ACRE NOOK AND LAPWING HALL POOL-JULY SIGHTINGS

Acre Nook Sand Quarry bird sightings:

The month started off relatively slowly and was hard birding. 6 Teal turned up on the 5th along with 7 Mandarin. A flock of 14 Linnets were around on the 6th.

Teal

Mandarin Duck

Linnet

Numbers of Gulls continue to rise as the month proceeds, with all the usual species being seen.47 Curlew and 9 Oystercatchers were present on the 8th, along with a Little ringed plover. 9 Pochards were present on the 10th, along with 84 Curlew and 17 Oystercatchers. Lapwing numbers are continuing to rise as well, with well over 50 present by the 10th.2 Great spotted woodpeckers showed well on the 11th but flew before I could get any photos. On the evening of the 10th, an adult Mediterranean Gull was picked out among at least 200 gulls that are now coming in off he fields at night to roost. A Redshank was a surprise find on the 10th as well, with 2 Gadwall also feeding near the far reedbed.

Mediterranean Gull 

Redshank

Lapwing Hall Pool bird sightings:

A Black necked grebe was found on the 4th and was still around on the 10th. A single Mandarin on the 6th. 8 Pochard on the 8th, along with a female Wigeon. Tufted ducks have now reached over 40 by the 10th. 6 Little Grebes were around on the 8th.

Black-necked Grebe

 Pochard

Mandarin Duck

Wigeon

On the 9th, I was walking down the lane towards Lapwing Hall pool, and a Spotted flycatcher appeared near the kissing gate.

 Spotted Flycatcher