#LOCAL BIG YEAR

28th March

News came out this morning that a female Ring-necked Duck had been found at Acre Nook Sand Quarry, so a quick detour on my way to my mam's in Holmes Chapel, and the bird was on. Not in my radius, but nice to see and a great find by the observer. A male has turned up now with the female on the 14th of April

Ring-Necked Duck

April 9th

A quick detour whilst out shopping and a Whimbrel was seen on the Wallasey coastline, probably the overwintering bird from Seaforth.

April 10th

News came out first thing that 2 male Ring ouzels were at Hoylake Langfields. On arrival, the two birds showed really well in a ploughed field.

After cracking views of these stonking birds, I spent a few hours at Leasowe, where I saw my first Sand martin of the year.

April 11th

This morning, Graham Connolly had found a male Pied flycatcher by the roadside in Moreton.

Pied Flycatcher

(C)Graham Connolly

I arrived on site, but there was no further sign of the bird. Then I rang Jane Turner as she thought she mightn't have an Iberian Chiffchaff in her garden. Jane had already caught the bird and done all the recordings, but the bird was in a bad way, so she had released it. The bird had no fat on it whatsoever, so after a good feed in Jane's garden, the bird turned up again, happily feeding around her conservatory. I soon got on the bird on arrival, and it looked pretty good for an Iberian after belting views. A poo sample was gathered, and sound recordings were taken, so we will wait and see on this one! Fingers crossed.

April 12th

I spent the morning at Hale looking for migrant birds this morning and connected with my first Willow warbler and Swallow of the year at Pickering's pasture. A Water pipit put in a brief but showy appearance, and 2 Barnacle geese and a Greenshank were on Hale Marsh.3 Little Ringed plovers,2 Avocets and a Common sandpiper were on Carr Lane pools, and a flyover House martin headed towards the Mersey.

2 Barnacle geese were on Hale Marsh

The evening was spent at Leasowe, where I saw my first male Redstart of the year and another two Ring Ouzels

April 14th

Spent the morning at Coastguards for high tide in Wallasey. I connected with 37 Sandwich terns and had 2 Swallows flying overhead.

First Sandwich terns of the year

After high tide, I headed for Leasowe, where I saw my first Reed warbler of the year and 2 sedge warblers. Good numbers of Blackcaps, Willow warblers, and Chiffchaffs were about, along with a male Ring Ouzel from yesterday.

Up to 14 Blackcaps were seen throughout the area

They're back! 2 sedge warblers were back in the small pond, along with a Water Rail calling

Moving on from Leasowe, I called in at Hoylake, where 73 White Wagtails had been reported from Red Rocks to Kings Gap; it didn't take long to relocate the birds.

White Wagtail

A visit to Red Rocks after this produced my first Grasshopper warbler of the year and a Whitethroat in full song. Another Reed Warbler was calling, and a male Sparrowhawk flew over low towards the golf course

Whitethroat

Red Rocks Nature Reserve

After leaving here, it came out on the Wirral's WhatsApp group that an Osprey had flown over Leasowe and was heading for Hoylake. I drove towards Kings Gap and looked to the skies. News then came out that the bird had landed at Dove Point on the beach and was eating a fish. I met Chris Williams on arrival, who put me straight on the bird! What a bird! I had been looking up at the skies for the last two weeks, and here was one sitting out in the afternoon sun.

The view I got of the Osprey on arrival

Over the next hour, the bird just sat on the beach eating a fish.

Walking further down the beach, the Osprey eventually took off after being attacked by Herring Gulls and flew straight over us and headed south towards the fields.

The Osprey looked injured in flight, with damage to its outer primary feathers. The bird was found sitting in some willows off Park Lane, which wasn't that far away and unbelievably stayed there until sunset and roosted.

A fantastic day's birding on the North Wirral coast and some quality birds added to the list!