Anotherplace birding

RBG and old-timer Med Gull.

2012-01-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday 28th January 2012,
sunny, calm.
Today started with some fairly casual birding on the Wirral.At the new RSPB Burton Mere Wetland a distant group of 7 Eurasian White-fronted Geese were seen.Other stuff here included; a Ruff, a Little Egret and loads of Wigeon,Teal and Pintail etc.A Nuthatch was calling loudly in the trees here and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming too.
A check of the Gulls at the beach at Hoylake produced two adult Yellow-legged Gulls roosting amongst a big raft of Larids on the flat sea.Further out several Common Scoter zoomed around whilst many Great crested Grebes were dotted about.Further scrutiny produced c10 Goldeneye and four Red-breasted Mergansers.
Back on the north side of the Mersey, an afternoon check of the Gulls on the beach at Crosby was very productive.The regular adult Ring-billed Gull dropped onto the beach at 3.19pm, although once again was flushed on at least four occasions by dogwalkers.Further sifting of the Gulls flocks here produced a German colour-ringed Common Gull, last seen here in November.A great moment soon after was finding the one-legged, Dutch colour-ringed Med Gull.This is a real veteran, originally ringed in Arnhem in June 1990, and is now one of the longest surviving ringed Med Gulls in Europe....great to see it again.Another, unringed, adult Med Gull was also present.

North Wirral Gullage

2012-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Sunday 22nd January 2012,
cloudy, WNW 5

A check of the big Gull flocks currently residing on the North Wirral shore was made today.Up to 15,000 Gulls have been in the Hoylake/Meols area, so there must be a chance of a white-winger with them?
Very blustery conditions made for extremely difficult viewing at times, as did most of the Gulls facing away.A slight change of angle made the difference and I soon picked out an adult Yellow-legged Gull.Further scrutiny revealed a leggy adult Gull that was continually preening.It showed a white tip to P10, long tongues eating into the black on the primaries and a nice band on P5.It was difficult to see anything of the head and bill at first, which were hidden behind its wing, but once or twice I glimpsed a very white head( although care is needed as many argenteus have white heads even this early in the season) and crucially a small ,dark ,beady eye and a long, slim,greeny-yellow bill with a small red gonys spot.Finally for a few seconds it rested from preening and my initial thoughts were confirmed, a Caspian Gull.Despite very watery eyes and the scope shaking in the wind, I tried to get a record shot...but failed.There was just too much scope/camera shake.It really shows how lucky we are down at Richmond Bank with the views of the Gulls, allowing for some photo opportunities.With Casp records being at a premium this winter at Richmond Bank, it was great to see a coastal one.I guess this could even be the bird form Seaforth earlier this winter( and last) and that it could be forced to the coast on Sundays when the tip isn`t working.
It was soon flushed by the almost obligatory dog-walkers and I watched as it headed further out towards the now receding tide-line.
Repositioning myself behind the lifeboat station, I was finally out of the wind and soon afterwards picked up another adult Yellow-legged Gull( managed to get a less blurred pic of this, above).An adult Med Gull was further out and a superb first winter Kittiwake flew overhead, heading west along the promenade.
Looking east towards the Mersey, the freshly exposed beach was white with many thousands of Gulls, but it was just too blustery to check them.

Drenched with a Glauc

2012-01-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Friday 20th January 2012,
heavy rain, W 4

Very poor weather conditions ,which produced another soaking, cut short another trip up to Ainsdale beach today.However before it became almost impossible to watch through binoculars( horizontal rain!), I managed to see the 2ndw Glaucous Gull that appeared here a few days ago.It has apparently been tempted by bread into the car park here, but when I watched it today ,it was further out on the beach.A nice faded looking bird, with a hint of a couple of grey feathers in the mantle and a pale bill tip, faded bill band and a pale iris.Good to see two Glaucous Gulls in Lancs already this year.

Not too far away

2012-01-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

The multi colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull wasn`t ringed from that far away.It was ringed at Walney Island, Cumbria on 19th May 2002, although this is the first report of it since then.

Tough Gulling

2012-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday 12th January 2012,
sunny, NW 3-4

An afternoons Gulling along Crosby beach today was hampered by both the bright sunshine ( although it made a welcome change from the recent gloom) and by the constant flushing of the roosts by dog walkers.
The regular wintering Ring-billed Gull that has been seen at Seaforth recently was located at 3pm amongst hundreds of Common and Black-headed Gulls dropping onto the beach from the docks and inland.I then lost and refound it several times as it moved north along the beach ( only obtaining a very poor pic as it roosted distantly).
Four adult Med Gulls were also picked out.
Some decent colour-ring reading was done with three Norwegian Common Gulls found.All three of these have been seen here before ,during the last three winters.
A Dutch ringed Black-headed Gull was also picked out and again I`ve seen this bird here during the last two winters.
Two Walney Island Herring Gulls were seen, but most interesting was a multi colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull.
A Peregrine flew down river and 20 Pink-footed Geese headed towards the Wirral.

Iceland Gull fest

2012-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 10th January 2012,
overcast, S 1-2.

A visit to Richmond Bank today in lovely overcast conditions for Gulling! About three hours spent sifting through the 8000 or so birds present produced six Iceland Gulls( thought there might be a few with the national influx of this species this winter).Best was a 4thw bird but a 3rdw was also seen along with two 2ndw and two juvs.Five of these birds were present in the middle hour of my visit and were jammed in on by JT who`d just arrived at that point.There may well be more birds present here this Winter, but it might be tricky to keep tabs on all the individuals.For example two of the younger birds looked identical today and it was only that they were present in the flock at the same time that it could be confirmed that two individuals were present.
Just a single adult Yellow-legged Gull and an adult Med Gull added to the day.
A summer plumaged Little Grebe swimming on the river amongst the Gulls seemed out of place.

First week condensed

2012-01-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

Friday 6th January 2012,
light cloud, SW 2.

The first few days of the year saw very strong winds with lots of rain, so the birding done so far was in fits and starts and often ending up in a soaking.However a reasonable start to the year with a few decent birds seen( mainly hanging on from last year).The juv/1stw Glaucous Gull was once again watched up at Birkdale, although was flushed again by dog walkers.At least 80 Twite were zooming around and an adult Med Gull was also there.Up at Marshside RSPB, despite the horizontal rain, 15+ Eurasian White-fronted Geese were noted as were 10+ Barnacles( not too sure of their provenance though).No sign of the GW Egret when I was there but a Merlin and a Marsh Harrier added to the mix of many duck and waders.
Locally a few checks through the Pink-feet have drawn a blank on other species but a few Corn Buntings, Grey Partridges and unusually for Little Crosby, two Whooper Swans were noted.

End of year Icelands

2011-12-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday 31st December 2011,
light cloud, WSW 1-2

A couple of hours spent checking through the Gulls at Richmond Bank seemed a good way to end the years birding.Huge numbers of Gulls were present, c15,000+ on the exposed bank and many more swirling over the tip opposite.
Within seconds a fresh looking juv Iceland Gull was picked out.This then remained for most of the session, getting gradually closer.Four Yellow-legged Gulls were picked out over the next couple of hours, two adults,2ndw and 1stw.
the vast majority of the Gull present were adult Herring Gulls and c800+ of those were argentatus birds.
Finally just before leaving a very creamy, worn looking Iceland Gull appeared at the front of the flock.This bird had obvioulsy worn secondaries and had no dark vermiculations on its upperparts at all.Thoughts of it being a 2ndw bird were checked by the lack of grey on the mantle and it having a seemingly all dark iris.So maybe its a juv which has got very advanced wear? an interesting bird none the less.

Fylde Goose Chase

2011-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

Friday 30th December 2011,
heavy rain, W 2.

A trip to the north of the Ribble today to check out the various scarce Geese currently present there amongst the Pinkfeet.
At Lytham Moss in torrential rain, the five Tundra Bean Geese were located quietly feeding in flooded fields along a muddy track near to Ripala Cottage on Division Lane.A single Pink-footed Goose was with them, looking almost silvery-grey compared with the darker, browner Beans.One of the rossicus had much more orange on the bill than the others.
A check around the Fleetwood/Rossall area produced several hundred Pinkfeet but not the Todd`s Canada Goose that has been amongst them here for a while.With the downpour getting heavier, making looking through a `scope impossible, a strategic retreat to the south took place.

Back for seconds

2011-12-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 27th December 2011,
light cloud, SW 2

A return visit to Birkdale today for further views of the Glaucous Gull and another sift through the other Larids.Far fewer Gulls present today( maybe they`ve gone back to the tips?) but the Glauc eventually showed really well during the afternoon.It had been feeding on a Cormorant (one of several washed up), about a mile south of the Weld Rd car park.It spent much of its time lying down presumably digesting this, although when it did stand it had a rather bad limp.Later it bathed in a small stream flowing onto the beach, then headed off north.
The only other Gulls of note today were several argentatus Herring Gulls and a few Ribble colour-ringed Gulls.
A flock of c50 Twite were very mobile across the marsh and a Jack Snipe was put up out of the marsh too.

Boxing Day Glauc

2011-12-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

Monday 26th December 2011,
light cloud, W 4-5.

With news of a juv Glaucous Gull having been seen up the coast at Birkdale over the last couple of days, it was good to get away from the festive indulgences and go Gulling.
A very stiff onshore wind made viewing tricky on occasions but several thousand Gulls were present and after a bit of scanning the Glauc was located.Quite a pale looking juv, lacking the biscuity wash on the underparts that some have but still having the intricate vermiculations on the upperparts.Also not a particularly massive individual I thought, but still broad winged and with a decent sized bill.Always a good bird to see in Lancashire, although it was much more regular back in the 1980`s and 90`s, especially at Seaforth.About half of all the Lancashire Glaucous Gull records have been at Seaforth and memorable occurrences included five birds present there on 29th March 1990.
Further scanning today produced an adult Yellow-legged Gull, several Argentatus Herring Gulls and two adult Mediterranean Gulls.This site definitely warrants more visits during the forthcoming Gulling Season.
Also here today were a Peregrine and a mixed Twite/Linnet flock which called overhead , flying north towards Southport.

Coastal blast

2011-12-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 13th December 2011,
light cloud, showery, WSW 8

Back to the coast and back to very strong onshore winds.The good thing about this were lots of Gulls sheltering and roosting ahead and over the high tide.The strength of the wind and the low pressure brought the tide surging up from the Alt estuary down to Seaforth/Crosby marina.
An adult Med Gull was roosting at the Alt Estuary and a few Argentatus Herring Gulls were scattered along the coast to the south of there.At Crosby beach, an adult Little Gull fed just offshore behind the breakers with a large flock of Black-headed Gulls, all picking small food items off the surface of the sea.As the flock grew, four Kittiwakes joined the throng, including a 1stw bird.
Looking through the fence into Seaforth NR, I could see a large Gull flock roosting at the nearest end of the causeway, consisting of mainly Herring Gulls.Hoping that maybe a white-winged Gull might be among them I began `scoping the flock and after working my way though about half the birds I came across a 1stw Caspian Gull.Immediately obvious was long dark bill, beady eye set against a white head, nape shawl and pale edges to both greater and median coverts which gave the bird a double winged barred look.Closer inspection revealed very dark tertials with just pale tips, some thin anchor marked mantle and scapular feathers and when it flapped, very white underwing and highly contrasting white based, black-banded tail.Despite the bird being more horizontal than usual as it battled to stay upright in the gale, I could also see it`s long spindly legs and "disposable nappy" bulge behind the legs.
After a few minutes viewing the flock was flushed by a Peregrine and most of the birds headed out towards the river.
Also visible through the fence, albeit distantly were two Scaup.
Retracing my steps back up the beach towards home, I came across a single Turnstone amongst a roosting flock of c130 Sanderlings.

Distant Geese still produce

2011-12-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Monday 12th December 2011,
light cloud, W 2.

A much calmer and rainless day allowed for a check of the Pink-footed Goose flocks in the Little Crosby/Ince Blundell area.A superb flock of c3000 birds was soon located and scrutinised for about an hour( before they were flushed by a farm vehicle driven straight across a ploughed field towards the flock!).A Tundra Bean Goose was again found with them although remained in the most distant part of the flock at all times.New here though was a cracking adult Greenland White-fronted Goose which was marginally closer( but still needs the arrow to point it out in the pic!).This was a very dark looking bird, peat coloured from a distance with strong belly barring.This is only the second flavirostris I`ve seen in these fields.There was no sign of the Eurasian White-fronts that were present here recently but further checking of the flock produced a neck collared Pink-foot "IZU".This is a bird I`ve seen here on several occasions over the last few winters.
The usual weedy field was checked and contained 44 Skylarks and three Corn Buntings.

Clangula

2011-12-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 7th December 2011,
cloudy, showery, WNW 8

A slight break in the incessant rain today allowed for a check of the beach and Crosby marina.Still very difficult viewing conditions with the gale but it was worthwhile when a fem/imm Long-tailed Duck was located with 14 Goldeneyes and a female Red-breasted Merganser on the marine lake.The LTD was constantly diving in the middle of the lake and was hard to keep tabs on in the waves.A fairly drab looking thing with a brown breast band contrasting with a dirty white "face" and a dark cheek patch, it`s less than annual at this site.
Five adult Little Gulls were also amongst the waves here for a while, then flew out towards the river mouth as the tide receded.
Two Turnstones fed with c20 Redshanks on a small flooded area adjacent to the boating lake.

Cach is back

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday 3rd December 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain showers, WNW 6-7

A check of the coastal strip at Crosby was hampered by atrocious weather conditions at times today with horizontal rain and the strong winds whipping up the sand at the beach.However this weather normally concentrates the Gulls down here and sure enough there were plenty around to check through.Two adult Med Gulls were initially found on the beach and later one of the same birds was roosting on the grass near to the boating lake, both birds were unringed.Better still were two adult Little Gulls that briefly joined the roost on the beach before heading south along the tideline towards Seaforth, possibly to roost at the reserve.Little Gulls are no longer the regular winter occurence they one were and even strong onshore winds don`t guarantee sightings anymore, so it was great to see these.One of the regular wintering Norwegian ringed Common Gulls was amongst good numbers of its congeners.Good numbers of Herring Gulls were present and whilst scanning through these I picked up a very white headed Gull riding out the waves on the marine lake.Zooming in I was pleased to see it was an adult Caspian Gull.The long greenish-yellow bill and small dark beady eye were obvious , as was a nice band on P5 when it flapped, when it also showed an all white tip to P10 and some nice pale tongues eating into the black primaries.After ten minutes or so it took off, showing its long spindly, greyish legs, with a few other Gulls and headed towards the docks.I`m sure this must be the same adult that I saw here on several occasions last winter ( 1st and 8th December 2010), and even the same bird I saw here on 6th January 2010.
A 1stw male Red-breasted Merganser and 3 Goldeneyes were on the marina early on but had left later when the boats etc came out.

Searching for Ansers

2011-12-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Friday 2nd December 2011,
cloudy, showery, WSW 5.

A few hours spent looking for Pink-footed Goose flocks today.It was hard work locating the flocks which always seemed to be distant and half-hidden but after some ditch hopping a flock of c1200 Pinks was `scoped.The first scan produced five adult Eurasian White-fronted Geese and another change of viewing angle then produced 16 birds!These were 11 adults and five juveniles, loosely gathered together at one end of the Pinkfoot flock, excellent stuff.A few more scans through the flock produced little else until a pair of orange legs could be seen walking through part of the flock emerging from a reedy hollow in the field.A long, snouty bill with a very broad orange flash which extended back towards the bill base was now visible and the dark highly contrasting mantle and tertials clearly indicated a Bean Goose...but which flavour? Unfortunately at this moment two farmer types arrived at the far side of the field in a 4x4 and flushed the lot.Fairly sure it was Tundra but would have liked to have had another view, but the flock flew miles away.
The usual Corn Buntings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were in the weedy fields and a roost of c150 Gulls included a white darvic ringed Common Gull. The ring code just couldn`t be fully read but the first digit was "J" which indicates a Norwegian bird.

Snow Bunt again and colour-ringed Gulls

2011-11-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

Friday 18th November 2011,
light cloud, S 1-2.

A check of the entire stretch of beach at Crosby today produced another fly-by Snow Bunting sighting, so it looks like there is one hanging around.Massive disturbance here from heavy plant removing the sand dunes didn`t help when trying to relocate it though.Good numbers of Gulls were roosting on the beach, including c400 Common Gulls.These were well scrutinised and although there wasn`t a delawarensis hidden amongst them , there were a couple of colour-ringed birds.One was a regularly wintering Norwegian ringed bird and the other may well be German or Eastern European( indeed the bird with the red darvic was ringed at Ostholstein,Germany on 6.4.2006).Also found was a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull and a Gloucestershire ringed Lesser-Black-backed Gull.

RLB

2011-11-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday 17th November 2011,
light cloud, E 1-2.

Having been told about a probable Rough-legged Buzzard which had been seen up the coast at the Alt estuary, I ambled along expecting it to be a pale Common Buzzard or even one of the Short-eared Owls that are hovering over the dunes here at the moment...surely not the latter.I checked the rocky shoreline and dunes here as I walked north with little to show, just a few Linnets.Scanning across the estuary I first picked up a Short-eared Owl bounding rather elastically over the rifle range dunes.Then a Buteo flew up from the ground and flashed a white tail but disappeared from sight.Changing position to try and refind it I flushed another Short-eared, much closer, which drifted off over the dunes.Scanning again I located a Buteo perched up on a fence post.At 200m through bins it looked interesting, even more so when I got the `scope onto it.The white tail with a dark subterminal band could be seen between the folded primaries and the rather pale head contrasted with a dark belly...this looked very good for a Rough-leg.I got a couple of very long-range digiscoping efforts.The wing-coverts were streaked buff and the creamy coloured breast had a few fine streaks.I was trying to see any leg feathering(!) when it took off again , giving great views of the tail pattern and both the pale primary bases on the upperwing and the dark carpal "lozenges" on the underwing, as well as the dark belly contrasting with the pale breast and head..A further 30 minutes scanning proved fruitless and I began to head back through the dunes, but as I walked back I could hear loud Corvid calls and looked around to see the Rough-leg flying almost overhead trailed by Crows and Magpies.I managed to get a couple of pics before it headed off high to the North-east.On the way back one of the Short-eared Owls was now hunting over the dunes.

Richard`s Pipit at Leasowe.

2011-11-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 16th November 2011,
dull and overcast, E 2.

A visit over to Leasowe today to look for the Richard`s Pipit found a couple of day`s ago.Initially I had it in flight, calling loudly, having come out of a very weedy field inland of the horse paddocks.It then repeated this a short while later, then dropped into the horse paddock where it was visible on the deck for a few minutes.Quite a smallish individual for a Richard`s with a smallish bill and a horizontal stance but the call was classic Richard`s, a loud "schreep".
Other birds seen here included six Reed Buntings, five Meadow Pipits and a Peregrine.

Miles away at Marshside

2011-11-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 15th November 2011,
cloudy, E 1.

A day spent up the coast at Southport Marshside RSPB and Crossens Marsh etc. Nice flat light today with little sun, so was able to check through the massive Wigeon and Teal flocks in comfort.As usual thousands of birds here but unfortunately as is often the case here, the best birds were absolutely miles away...real Hubble telescope range.The Great White Egret was seen very distantly at Crossens outer marsh, its orangey bill visible at over a mile range..in fact I think this bird was actually officially on the Fylde it was so far away!At least 16 Little Egrets were seen between here and the sandplant area.
The male Green-winged Teal was found after a while, very distant down one of the channels again at Crossens.Continuing the distant theme, four adult Eurasian White-fronted Geese were with c350 Pinkfeet in the long vegetation here.Several presumably Scandinavian Rock Pipits were also in the muddy channels, calling in flight occasionally.
Thankfully two Marsh Harriers were showing at close range, a very dark, chocolatey toned juv and a 3cy type male( or conceivably an old female).This latter bird has a rufous tail with light grey central feathers and grey primary bases on the underwing.Other raptors seen were a male Peregrine, fem/imm Merlin and three Kestrels.The highlight of the day however was a superb Short-eared Owl hunting a close range near to the Crossens sluice.

Over my head

2011-11-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

Monday 14th November 2011,
cloudy, murky, E2.

A check of the local fields and coast down to Crosby marina was again productive today, although it was one of those days when everything seemed to be flying away over my head! Up at Little Crosby this morning a calling Brambling flew over the sycamores at the southern edge of the woods and 15 Red-legged Partridges were in the usual "partridge field", except the Partridges usually here are Grey ones, wonder if they`ve been usurped( or shot)?
Hitting the coast at Hall Road ,I headed south as the tide receded, decent numbers of Sanderlings and Barwits on the shore but nothing amongst the scattered Gull flocks.A familiar trilling call had me looking up to see a Snow Bunting fly past.It appeared to land further south at the marina , but a thorough search revealed nothing, so it may have just carried on.
Little else appeared to be here, with no sign of the recent Corn Bunting in the dunes, so I headed back north again.Within minutes an almighty chorus of angst from the nearby Herring Gulls had me searching for a raptor, likely to be a Peregrine I thought.But no, instead a massive Falcon hoved into view.Really broad winged and brown looking, with very dark underwing coverts and a dark rear belly.It had an obvious pale forehead and a thin moustache... and it was actually just bigger than the Herring Gulls, both in body size and wingspan.I could only think of it being a Saker( although of course , horrible falconers hybrids have to be considered). It was so big I even managed to get a pic of it with my point and press before it lumbered off north.I`ve seen quite a few hybrid type Falcons here over the years( and a few Sakers abroad) but this one was easily the most like a Saker and certainly the largest...a monster.

Local quality at the Alt Estuary

2011-11-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Sunday 13th November 2011,
sunny, SE 1-2

A check of the coastal scrub up at the Alt Estuary at Hightown today led to a decent haul of local quality.A male Black Redstart was flitting around the fenced off heavy plant compound near the Yacht Club.A superb bird, despite lacking any hint of an orange belly!Two Short-eared Owls floated lazily over the dunes here, with one bird making a couple of forays over the receding tideline.A check of the high tide Gull roost drew a blank but an immature Spoonbill was feeding in the river channel.Good numbers of Mallards were congregated at the estuary with 268 counted along with a couple of Wigeon.A further bonus was a 1stw Pale-bellied Brent Goose feeding on the seaweed strewn foreshore.A nice selection of local scarcities.

Upriver Gulls

2011-11-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Thursday 10th November 2011,
light cloud, SE 2-3.

My first visit of the Gulling season to Richmond Bank today and a new and different vantage point was tried.Many thousands of Gulls were in the area and a cloud of Larus could be seen above the working tip on occasion.It was slow going at first but a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls( ad and 1stw) appeared, then a nice adult Caspian Gull was picked up in flight before settling on the mud.Very white-headed with a classical structure of high chest and hanging rear belly, the wing-tip pattern was textbook.This bird disappeared after a while but the high turnover of Gulls produced two more adult Yellow-leggeds and then a lovely 1stw Caspian was picked out but took off almost immediately and headed back towards the tip.This was a really crisp white headed looking individual with well defined pale edges to the coverts giving an obvious wing-barred effect.Very white on the underwing with a highly contrasting tail pattern, hopefully this will hang around this winter because its a corker.
Other stuff today included good numbers of argentatus Herring Gulls and a few colour-ringed Gulls.A good opening sesh of the season.

Beach stuff

2011-11-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Monday 7th November 2011,
clear start, then overcast, NE 2.( -2 overnight).

A frosty walk along Crosby beach this morning produced a few odds and ends.A check though the scattered Gulls produced an adult Yellow-legged and an adult Med, along with a few argentatus Herring Gulls.
A Little Egret flew NE over Seaforth NR and headed inland and a few Skylarks and Redwings headed south.Five Reed Buntings calling and moving south together were noteworthy.
A large roosting wader flock on the tide edge was scrutinised.It held 780 Sanderlings, 310 Dunlin, 270 Bar-tailed Godwits, 50 Ringed Plovers and 5 Grey Plovers.One of the Sanderlings was colour-ringed, with a green flag over two red rings on its right tarsus.

A Bean

2011-11-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

Sunday 6th November 2011,
sunny, calm.

A check of the Pink-footed Geese in the local fields was made early this morning.Over 15,000 had roosted at the Alt Estuary and several flocks arrived at the fields at Little Crosby shortly after dawn.Working my way through a group of c850 birds I was delighted to pick out an adult Tundra Bean Goose.It was c150m away and constantly feeding but it gave fair views until the flock dispersed off to the north after 10 minutes.I had seen a similar looking individual with the Pinks in the very same field last Winter, could it be the same bird?
Further scrutiny of other, more distant flocks only revealed a neck-collared bird "LXX".
Two Corn Buntings were in full song in the hedges and a couple of Goldcrests were with a Titflock in Sniggery Wood.

AGP

2011-11-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday 5th November 2011,
light cloud, NE 1

A journey up to Cockersands today to see another North American wader found by Stuart "Solitary" Piner.The juv American Golden Plover was on view immediately upon arrival at c120m range.Good `scope views were obtained as it fed on the rocky shoreline.Head on it was very pale faced, with the dark cap and white supercilliun contrasting nicely.The white thraot stood out from the grey-brown underparts and the long primary projection and long legs( the tibia especially) were all noted.It streched its wings on a couple of occasions showing the lead grey underwing.It was keeping loose company with several Knot and Dunlin.
Quite a birdy place here with a Little Egret and several male Eiders on the shoreline and hundreds of Pintails and Wigeons too.At least two Rock Pipits called as they flew over the beach.
A stop at Southport Marshside RSPB on the way home produced a 3cy-type male Marsh Harrier, two Barnacle Geese( feral?) with a couple of hundred Pink-feet, 4 Whooper Swans and at least seven Little Egrets.

That`s one small Steppe....

2011-11-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 2nd November 2011,
cloudy, S 3-4

A trip to Shropshire to day to see the Steppe( Saxaul) Grey Shrike near Telford.After a short walk across rather anonymous farmland the birds favoured hedgerow was found and after a few minutes the Shrike appeared.Very distant(180m) views were then had over the next hour or so.Reasonable views through the `scope showed the paler lores, large white patch at the base of the primaries and obvious grey greater covert bar.It flicked almost continually along the hedge, rarely settling for more than a few seconds at a time, looking very pale when it did.Almost a complete contrast to the views of the other one I`ve seen in Britain, which showed down to a few feet in Lincolnshire in 2008.
Whilst watching the Shrike two male Crossbills noisily made ther presence known as they passed low overhead and a Yellowhammer called nearby.

Beach Gulling

2011-11-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 1st November 2011,
sunny, SW 1, mild.

A check of the Gulls along Crosby beach today produced two adult Med Gulls and a Ribble ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull.This bird was ringed at the Ribble colony in July 2002 and the only other sighting has been in Spain in November 2009.Little else of note here save for c200 Sanderlings on the waters edge and a few Skylarks heading south.
Still a few butterflies in the mild conditions with 2 Small Tortoiseshells and several Red Admirals on the wing.

Late Wheatear and streaky-headed YLG

2011-10-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday 30th October 2011,
sunny, SE 1

Further coastal checking took place this morning, with likely Sycamore and Willow copses searched for Phylloscs but only producing a few Coal Tits and Goldcrests.
A late Wheatear was feeding on the strandline at Crosby beach, the seaweed etc. left at the top of the beach by the very high tides over the last couple of days.Several Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails fed here as well and a Rock Pipit called as it headed over going south.The single Corn Bunting was still in the dunes here.
A scan of the roosting Gulls on the beach produced an adult Mediterranean Gull and an intriguing looking, dark-mantled large Gull with heavy head streaking.This bird moved off when the tide came in but was relocated on the small boating lake at the marina.It had bright yellow legs but also very heavy head streaking , giving the bird an almost hooded appearance.The bill was large with some black sub-terminal markings and a some red at the gonys.In flight there was a clear dark band on P5 and a large dark spot, not a band on P4 as well as a white mirror on P10.A very bulky bird too.Could this be a hybrid or just a heavily marked Yellow-legged Gull?

Coastal Whoopers and inland Merlin.

2011-10-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

Friday 28th October 2011,
sunny, SW 1-2.

A bit of vis-mig at Crosby marina this morning was highlighted by 7 Whooper Swans which flew across from the Wirral and headed NE.Other stuff noted; Jackdaw 109, Skylark 84, Meadow Pipit 28, Redwing 12, Chaffinch 71.
Later a decent check of coastal Sycamore copses was made along with the fields towards Little Crosby.A fem/imm Merlin dashed through at Dibb Lane and headed south over Crosby, clearly a migrant.Five Common Buzzards were in the air together over the woods and both Sparrowhawk and Kestrel headed high south.
One particular field( which held a singing Quail in the Summer) contained c160 Skylarks, 40 Meadow Pipits and 6 Corn Buntings.
A small flock of Pink-footed Geese was also here, c440 birds, nothing else was noted amongst them, but a Stoat running around the flock caused some rather comical chasing and general uproar.
A flock of c200 Gulls were roosting in a peaty field and a perusal of these produced an adult Mediterranean Gull.

Jewel in the Sycamores

2011-10-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday 27th October 2011,
cloudy, SE 2.

A check of my local woods was in order today.There was some vis going on over Little Crosby this morning with 60 Redwings, 80 Fieldfares and 27 Skylarks going south, no doubt much more was moving right along the coast.Three Tree Sparrows were in the first fields I checked and at least 7 Grey Partridge scuttled into cover here too.
Lots of activity in the southern section of Little Crosby woods with plenty of Robins ticking away and Coal tits and Goldcrest calling.Checking through the titflocks in the edge of the sycamores( stripey Phylloscs being the main hope) I put my bins on a stunning male Firecrest, flicking acrobatically in the remnant foliage.A really bright looking thing with a bronze shoulder flash and really intense green upperparts..brilliant stuff.This is exactly the same spot where I saw Firecrest last November.

Change of scene and a mystery.

2011-10-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 26th October 2011,
cloudy, SSE 1-2.
A break from the immediate local area today with a visit over to the Dee estuary at Parkgate.I`d visited here recently and saw a very rufousy ringtail Hen Harrier which I wanted to look at again.I saw two ringtails this time , neither being the rufousy bird, but always great to see these birds.One of the regular Great White Egrets hanging around the Dee was feeding in a distant creek, dwarfing the nearby Little Egrets and showing its snaky neck and eggyolk coloured bill above the vegetation.
Surprisingly I coudn`t see any Short-eared Owls given the high numbers in the country at the moment, but a male Peregrine showed well.
Several Scandinavian Rock Pipits called over the marsh and other passerines along the path included Bullfinch and a calling ( swee-oo) Chiffchaff.
Perplexing moment of the day occurred when a couple walking along the path stopped and told me they had just been watching a Hobby at close range just further ahead.Thinking that perhaps it was actually the Peregrine I`d seen earlier , I thanked them and carried on walking.Just a couple of minutes later a very long-winged, long-tailed Falcon appeared heading my way. Head-on I did initially think Hobby but as the bird began hawking overhead, legs dangling and circled down lower I could see it wasn`t a subbuteo.The central tail feathers were longer than the rest , giving the tail a pointed, wedge-shaped look and the underwing coverts were blackish, contrasting sharply with the paler flight feathers.The throat was whitish which stood out from the peachy/rufousy breast and belly....intriguing. It then headed south along the marsh edge with deep, elastic wing-beats....pesky raptors.

Light vis and Wheatears

2011-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Monday 24th October 2011,
cloudy,SE 3.
The run of south-easterlies continues.Two late-ish Wheatears were on the long bank area of Seaforth NR with another at Crosby marina.Some light vis-mig occurred;

Vis 8.30-11.30

Redwing- 116
Fieldfare- 54
Blackbird- 4
Song Thrush- 2
Starling-360
Chaffinch- 121
Brambling- 2+( more heard calling within Chaffinch flocks)
Redpoll-2
Reed Bunting-3
Mipit-27

Squally Poms

2011-10-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 18th October 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain squalls, W 7-8

A look offshore this afternoon was in order with the very strong overnight winds continuing today.Two Pomarine Skuas were in the river mouth, an adult and a juv.The adult a pale phase with broken/messy spoons and the juv a really beefy pale bird too.
A Red-throated Diver flew out of the river and a Rock Pipit was heard calling at Crosby marina.

Lancs YBW and Cheshire Bluetail.

2011-10-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday 16th October 2011,
cloudy, sunny later, SE/SW1-2

Today was one of those very rare ones here on the North-West coast when you felt there must be decent Eastern passerines about and indeed there were! The recent spell of south-easterlies just about continued overnight and some drizzle first thing looked promising.Ignoring any overhead movement, I first checked the two Sycamore laden parks in my local area and then later shortly after arriving at the "Key" Park (so called because access is only allowed to subscibers who each have a key for the suitably ornate entrance gates) in Blundellsands, I heard the fantastically evocative "tsweet" call of a Yellow-browed Warbler.I located the sprite in the trees along the perimeter fenceline on Warren Road.It wasn`t a particularly vocal bird, calling only a few times during an hour and only showing for a minute or so during that time also. But it was an inornatus! excellent value.Two Crossbills calling overhead here were an added bonus.
News then began to filter through of a Red-flanked Bluetail on Hilbre! Now ,the rarity value of this once near-mythical species has diminished considerably over the last few years with multiple arrivals on the East coast now expected given the right weather conditions.But over here it is still a monster rarity so the palpatations began.The high tide prevented an immediate visit but leaving West Kirby at 3.40pm, I was on the island shortly after 4pm to the news that the bird had trapped itself in the Heligoland trap(it had already been trapped and ringed earlier).Shortly afterwards this eastern gem was shown to the small gathering of visitors before being released back to its favoured area at the East of the island.In the hand the small pale tips to the greater coverts could be seen, indicating a 1stW bird and no real blue tones could be seen in the wing-coverts indicating a female perhaps.
A real bonus was a return back to the mainland in a Landrover, expertly driven over the slippery rocks and through the still watery sandflats.

A classic

2011-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday 15th October 2011,
clear, SSE 1.

An excellent mornings vis-mig at Crosby marina, good steady overhead movement;

Ring-necked Parakeet-2 SE over Waterloo amongst the Thrushes!!
Fieldfare- 963
Redwing-670
Blackbird-15
Chaffinch-524
Skylark-170
Meadow Pipit-155
Tree Sparrow-8
Reed Bunting-5
Brambling-13
Greenfinch-52
Linnet-82
Siskin-5
Goldfinch-44
Swallow-6
Starling-275
Woodpigeon-160
Pied Wagtail-16
Grey Wagtail-2
Rook-17
Jackdaw-211
Common Buzzard-1
Sparrowhawk-2
Kestrel-2
Redpoll-2

Kentish surprise

2011-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Friday 14th October 2011,
light cloud, SE 1-2.

An evening check of the beach at Crosby for the umpteenth time this Autumn finally paid off when a Kentish Plover was found out towards the low water mark.There was a slightly panicky moment when trying to get a pic whilst balancing the `scope on the shoulder of one of Mr.Gormley`s "Iron men" statues and even more so when inevitably the KP and the two Ringed Plovers were flushed by dog-walkers.The three birds flew towards the docks and appeared to drop into Seaforth NR.After some scanning through the perimeter fence they were relocated on the edge of the saltwater pool, the Kentish looking very pale, head on, even at 250m+.
Earlier this morning it was Vis-mig time again, a good mix of species were logged;

Lapland Bunting-1 south at 9.50am
Crossbill-2
Redwing-422
Fieldfare-161
Skylark-61
Meadow Pipit-129
Rock Pipit-6
Chaffinch-195
Brambling-2
Great Spotted Woodpecker-1
Pied Wagtail-14
Grey Wagtail-3
Reed Bunting-12
Goldfinch-62
Greenfinch-11
Pink-footed Goose-26 flew s.w towards Wirral.
Jackdaw-32

At Seaforth NR, a check of the bushes revealed just a single Goldcrest, 2 Song Thrushes and at least 20 Robins.
Fewer Gulls than yesterday, with just two adult Med Gulls present.

Very Autumnal.

2011-10-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Thursday 13th October 2011,
cloudy, SE 1-2.

Excellent weather conditions for vis-mig this morning, with the low cloud base keeping stuff down.

08.00-12.30

Swallow-17
Skylark- 278
Meadow Pipit- 607
Rock Pipit- 3
Chaffinch- 126
Reed Bunting- 43
Redpoll-2
Siskin-3
Yellowhammer-1
Greenfinch-27
Linnet-70
Goldfinch-29
Pied Wagtail-56
Grey Wagtail- 2
Rook- 11
Woodpigeon-130

Two Ravens were again on the long bank and also rummaging amongst the tideline on Crosby beach.A flock of 17 Long-tailed Tits dropped in from high into the visitor centre bushes where there was also a Chiffchaff.
A massive female Peregrine spent some time perched up on one of the dock sheds before launching an attack and knocking a hapless Mallard out of the sky.The duck repeatedly dived underwater and managed to survive.
The first Goldeneye of the season was on the freshwater pool along with 15 Shovelers and c100 Teal.
High Gull numbers were on the reserve over the high tide.These included 720 Black-headed Gulls and an impressive 161 Great Black-backed Gulls.
Scrutiny of the Larids produced 8 Mediterranean Gulls, seven adults including the one-legged Dutch veteran and the Yorkshire ringed 2ndw.At least 20 Argentatus Herring Gulls were amongst the big stuff.
A bit of warmth during the afternoon encouraged some insect activity with a Small Copper and several Red Admirals on the wing and a Migrant Hawker was still by the reedbed.

Lingering leucorhoa

2011-10-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 11th October 2011,
cloudy, drizzly, W 5

Further staring out to sea today produced at least five Leach`s Petrels in the river mouth.These must be totally exhausted by now and just can`t leave the bay because the wind wasn`t that strong today, although visibilty was poor at times.
Five Pale-bellied Brent Geese that flew across the bay towards the Wirral were presumably bound for Hilbre, always good to see any Brents from this side though.
A Rock Pipit was on the sea wall here too.

Unexpected seawatching reprise.

2011-10-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

Monday 10th October 2011,
cloudy, SW 6-7.

A surprising sight at Crosby beach this morning was a Leach`s Petrel pattering over the beach, not really expected in the South-westerlies experienced at the moment.A look offshore produced another , slowly working its way out of the river and after an hour at least 3 Leach`s had been seen, although they may be simply circulating at the river mouth, especially if they are exhausted birds from last weeks gale.
The highlight by far and away was a superb pale juvenile Long-tailed Skua which spent over an hour lingering just offshore.A really pale headed bird,much paler than last weeks bird, which was pale enough.It was dipping down to the surface of the river with Black-headed Gulls, picking off small items from the water.Not a great deal in difference in body size between the Skua and the BHGs, although the Long-tailed was noticeably longer winged.
A nice little flock of 67 Sanderling roosted on the beach, with one bird carrying a yellow ring on its left leg.

Leftovers

2011-10-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

Friday 7th October 2011,
cloudy, showery, WNW 6-7

Despite the overnight gales only a trickle of birds at the mouth of the Mersey this morning.A juv Sabines Gull flew out of the river at 9.45 and just one Leach`s Petrel was seen.An exhausted looking Fulmar and a Guillemot also left the river, whilst a Bonxie was further out.
A Rock Pipit was around the radar tower area and a Peregrine flew over.Eight Grey Plovers were on Crosby beach.
Another look offshore this evening in much calmer conditions actually scored better, with 2 juv Sabines Gulls together flying out of the river and 5 Leachs Petrels over the tideline/beach.Top value was a monster juv Pomarine Skua which was chasing Herring Gulls offshore, a real brute, showing the double white wing flash on the underwing and the barred undertail and coverts well.

Balearic highlight.

2011-10-06T03:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday 6th October 2011,
cloudy, WNW 8-9

A raging overnight gale with squally showers looked good , so an early morning seawatch was in order as the high tide was early on.
Highlight by far was a Balearic Shearwater which lingered in the Mersey mouth for over an hour.Often sat on the water at 100m range, it occasionally tried to battle out of the river, only to be blown back in.Very brown looking with a nice dark vent and undertail, dusky flanks and underwing noted, with the rather squat, pot-bellied body shape also obvious.Good to see this with a few Manxies also in the river which look really black-and white by comparison.A superb pale juvenile Long-tailed Skua flew out of the river, a really cream and grey bird, with a tiny head and bill, 4 Arctic Skuas which also flew out looked brutish by comparison.A juv Sabine`s Gull flew into the river at 9.50am, continuing the good autumn for the species here.
Only 4 Leach`s Petrels were seen, all battling out of the river.Interesting that so few have been seen this Autumn, despite in what appear to be good conditions for pushing them inshore.

Ravens

2011-10-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 4th October 2011,
light cloud, WSW 6.

Two Ravens flew over Seaforth NR this afternoon heading west, they briefly touched down on the long bank, but were dive-bombed by a male Peregrine and quickly left, pursued by a posse of Magpies.
A Rock Pipit was also on the long bank.
Six Mediterranean Gulls dropped in during the afternoon, five adults and the Irish-ringed 2ndw.

Solitary

2011-10-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday 2nd October 2011,
cloudy, rain later, S2

Still Meadow Pipits streaming south over Crosby marina this morning.Two and a half hours producing 912 birds.A single Rock Pipit dropped in to the long bank area of Seaforth NR and a Wheatear was here too.
A late morning journey was made up to Nateby in Lancashire after news broke of the finding of a first for the county...a Solitary Sandpiper.
This was an excellent find by Stuart Piner, especially considering the distance involved, the bird was over 300m away( check out the few pixels in the image above!).Interesting how rather pale brown the bird looked against the blackish muddy scrape upon which it fed.It was seen to wing-stretch a couple of times and flicked around , showing the dark central area to the rump.A Common Snipe and a Common Buzzard were also noted here.

Big wave

2011-10-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday 1st October 2011,
light cloud, SE 1-2, warm.

An impressive four hours of Vis-mig this morning was dominated by a big wave of migrating Meadow Pipits with a good mix of other stuff to keep the concentration levels up( all birds going south);
Lapland Bunting 1 south at 9.35, Crossbill 3 over at 10.05, Tree Sparrow 3,Yellow Wagtail 1, Meadow Pipit 1737, Skylark 121,Reed Bunting 27, Siskin 116, Redpoll 24, Linnet 261, Chaffinch 178, Alba Wagtail 73, Swallow 10,Grey Wagtail 3.
All of the above were following the promenade dunes at the marina, before flying over the causeway and saltwater pool at Seaforth Nature Reserve( the above pic shows the viewpoing looking north, with Crosby beach on the left and the marina on the right with the migrant corridor of the dunes in the centre).Grounded birds here included three Wheatears, two Coal Tits and the Corn Bunting still.
The sunny warm weather also produced a few insects with Small Copper, several Red Admirals and a Migrant Hawker all noted.

Osprey and mipits.

2011-09-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 28th September 2011,
sunny, SSE-1, warm (25C).

Another early morning look at the vis-mig taking place at the coast.Not as much time put in skywatching as yesterday, but still 168 Meadow Pipits counted in 1 1/2 hours.Again Chaffinches, Skylarks and Linnets were passing over, with a few Siskins and Redpolls too. Eight Wheatears were in the dune edge along with two Reed Buntings and the Corn Bunting still.
As the morning began to heat up, a Common Buzzard drifted over, then shortly afterwards the loud calling of a Herring Gull alerted me to the sight of a really low-flying Osprey, heading West, out to sea, a pristine juvenile bird.

Movement overhead.

2011-09-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 27th September 2011,
light cloud, SSE-1, warm.

With high pressure seemingly settled for the near future it looks like visible migration will be the thing to do for a while.
A good southerly movement was counted this morning from the southern end of Crosby marina/Seaforth NR perimeter fence.Nothing out of the ordinary, but a constant throughput of birds overhead;

Meadow Pipit-403 , Siskin-16 , Sparrowhawk- fem,
Chaffinch-167 , Redpoll-1 , Rook-2,
Skylark-72 , Swallow-6 ,
Reed Bunting-8 , House Martin-2 ,
Linnet-87 , Jackdaw-7 ,
Goldfinch-68 , Grey Wagtail-3 ,
Greenfinch-6 , Alba Wagtail-33 ,

Not much grounded here today, but 2 Wheatears, 2 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest noted.

Some Vis and colour-rings.

2011-09-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday 25th September 2011,
light cloud, SSW 2.

A fair bit of visible migration over Crosby marina this morning.The bulk of the birds heading over were Meadow Pipits, with 684 counted in 4 hours.Many of these birds were heading south over the dunes at the promenade, before sharply heading out over the beach and across the mouth of the Mersey towards Wirral.The highlight of the skywatch was a male Yellowhammer which flew past low calling and headed over the saltwater pool at adjacent Seaforth NR.Other stuff counted were;3 Rock Pipits, 37 Skylarks, 8 Reed Buntings, 12 Swallows and 4 Grey Wagtails.
Three Wheatears were grounded here, as were 2 Chiffchaffs.
A check of the beach produced good wader numbers( which was a surprise given the massive amount of human disturbance here today); 276 Sanderlings( including a yellow colour ringed bird), 18 Ringed Plovers and 45 Dunlin.
Six Sandwich Terns were again roosting here along with three Common Terns.Yesterdays colour-ringed Sandwich Tern was amongst them and enquiries have revealed that this is a Dutch ringed bird.
The Lithuanian ringed Black-headed Gull seen recently over the fence at Seaforth NR was amongst the Gull roost as the tide receded.

Flighty

2011-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday 24th September 2011,
cloudy, S 1-2.

Another flighty wader was present at Seaforth NR today, a Green Sandpiper.This is a very scarce species here , not annual.Apparently first seen on the Hide A scrape it was seen to tower off high to the south.However it dropped back in to the pool before once again towering off high to the north, calling.A juv Curlew Sandpiper was also present here today.
Several Sandwich Terns flew around the reserve today and eight were roosting on Crosby beach.These included a colour-ringed bird.A single Common Tern was also present.Three adult Med Gulls dropped in( including a red colour-ringed bird) and an adult Yellow-legged Gull was also seen( different to yesterdays bird).
Little in the way of passerines, although 40+ Meadow Pipits were grounded at Seaforth.Two Wheatears were at the marina with a single at Seaforth.A White Wagtail was with c20 Pieds on the long bank.

Buffy

2011-09-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Friday 23rd September 2011,
light cloud, warm, SW 2.

Not long after a `phone call this morning from the Seaforth rarity finding phenomena that is Chris Sharratt( White-crowned Sparrow, Blackpoll Warbler,Pied Wheatear etc, etc.) I managed to connect with a Buff-breasted Sandpiper flying along the grassy long bank of the reserve, first one way, then back again at close range, calling even, a low, dry rattle "prrrrp".The tiny size, short bill, white underwing with prominent dark carpal "comma" and uniformly dark rump all noted as was the oversized looking eye set in a plain face...excellent stuff.Despite searching it could not be refound, but the previous record here back in October 1996 was horribly elusive too, will search again tomorrow.
Other stuff today included ; a Corn Bunting back at the wintering site in Crosby marina dunes.Sadly these dunes are to be( the work already started) removed over the next few months and the sand dumped further up the coast.Six Wheatears also there with a few Swallows moving south.An adult Yellow-legged Gull was roosting on Crosby beach early afternoon.

A dip in Sussex

2011-09-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday 22nd September,
sunny, warm, SW2.

A long journey south in an attempt to see the week long staying, but only latterly identified Long-toed Stint at Weir Wood Resevoir, East Sussex, proved fruitless with the overnight departure of the bird...ouch! two Green Sandpipers, a few Dunlins and Ringed plovers and a Greenshank were on the mud here and a Kingfisher flew through.Disappointing.
Some recompense was had with a journey into West Sussex to the excellently named hamlet of Burpham.After some searching and waiting the superb juv Pallid Harrier was watched at point blank range over the stubble fields here.Plenty of raptor activity here with a male Hen Harrier, two Red Kites, two Hobbies, a male Peregrine and many Common Buzzards and Kestrels being noted.Other sightings included a Raven and a Yellow Wagtail along with hundreds of Hirundines passing along the chalk escarpment heading south.

Average

2011-09-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

Monday 19th September 2011,
cloudy, W1.

A very average day at Seaforth NR today.No sign of yesterdays Citrine Wag nor of any Curlew Sandpipers.Six Med Gull dropped in( 5 adults and the Yorkshire ringed 2ndw).Further scrutiny of the Gulls produced 2 Yellow-legged Gulls( adult and 2ndw), an adult Little Gull and an adult Kittiwake.
Six Common Terns were on the causeway.
A scattering of migrants were found; a Yellow Wagtail, six Wheatears and a Chiffchaff.Three Grey Wagtails also dropped in.
Six Swallows and ten House Martins flew south.

Another day, another citreola

2011-09-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday 18th September 2011,
light cloud,showery, calm, then N2.

Seaforth NR can have the habit of pulling out the odd surprise rarity-wise and today it did just that.Except today it was yet another individual of what is becoming a familiar sight there this Autumn, a Citrine Wagtail!.Yet another 1stw dropped in with Albas, a single Yellow Wagtail and several Meadow Pipits at 2.40pm.It fed rather distantly in front of Hide C on the Long Bank, before the flock headed off west towards the radar tower.It called several times, the increasingly familiar "tizzp".No gorget spots were present, as would be expected I suppose, now the autumn is advancing, but a greyish wash was present on the chest sides.Its sixteen days since the last sighting, so I think this maybe a different bird.Great birds, but can we have something else now please?
Earlier a decent bit of vis-mig took place with 330 Meadow Pipits, 225 Swallows, 20 Chaffinch, five Skylarks and two Grey Wagtails heading south.A few Chiffchaffs were in the bushes and three Wheatears were also seen.
A welcome wader arrival had occurred with four juv Curlew Sandpipers and a Ruff being the highlights, but a few Dunlin were also seen, the latter being very scarce here recently.
Four Mediterranean Gulls dropped in, three 2ndw and an adult.Each of the 2nd winters was colour-ringed, their origins being Ireland,Hungary and Holland.An adult Little Gull and an adult Kittiwake were also seen.

less than expected

2011-09-16T11:45:00.001-07:00

Friday 16th September 2011,
cloudy, showery, SE 2-3

Fewer grounded migrants at Seaforth NR than expected today, in what seemed like good conditions for a fall.
At the adjacent Crosby marina, a juv Whinchat and 11 Wheatears started the day well.
At Seaforth just a few Chiffchaffs were in the bushes, along with a noticeable increase in Robins.At least two White Wagtails were on the long bank.Overhead 220 Swallows moved south, whilst a Sand Martin fed with c40 House Martins over the pool.
Three Redpolls and a Siskin flew south calling as did a few Meadow Pipits.
A juv Ruff performed well on the long bank as did a juv Black-tailed Godwit, although the latter has an injured leg.
A juv Peregrine caused mayhem at one stage but failed to catch anything.
Six Mediterranean Gulls dropped in including the 21 year old, one legged veteran.
Two juv Arctic Terns joined the few Common Terns remaining.

south-easterly pulse.

2011-09-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday 15th September 2011,
sunny, ESE 1

A change to winds from an easterly vector produced a few bits and pieces at Seaforth NR today.A Redstart and three Chiffchaffs were in the bushes and a lightish movement of Meadow Pipits and Swallows took place.
Five adult Med Gulls were picked out of the good numbers of small Gulls that were present today.
A few Migrant Hawker dragonflies were on the wing in the pleasant Autumn sunshine.

More Xema

2011-09-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 14th September 2011,
light cloud, W 7, then decreasing during the day.

Further seawatching at the Mersey river mouth this morning produced more views of at least one juvenile Sabines Gull.First seen leaving the river at 10am, another couple of views followed over the next hour, until it or another bird again flew out of the river, heading NW strongly at 11.05am.Two Fulmars entered the river during the morning, rather scarce birds here nowadays.Three Gannets, a single Manx Shearwater and a pale juv Arctic Skua also headed up river.
Later at Seaforth NR it was rather quiet.Three adult Med Gulls and a single adult Little Gull dropped in, as did three adult Kittiwakes.Eighty Common Terns roosted on the causeway and the Cormorant roost numbered 340.A check of the latter produced four colour-ringed birds, all from North Wales.
Three Yellow Wagtails were on the long bank along with 4 White Wagtails amongst 40 Pieds.Four Wheatears were here too.At least one Goldcrest was in the the visitor centre bushes, hopefully to be followed by many more this Autumn.
A coconut was found washed up on Crosby beach, could this be a genuine, storm-driven ,trans-atlantic piece of flotsam?

Sabine`s elevate mundane seawatch.

2011-09-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 13th September 2011,
cloudy, WSW 7-8

With the wind still strong but from the wrong direction for ideal seawatching conditions at the mouth of the Mersey, the sea was always going to look more impressive than the birds it produced.
However, a juv Sabine`s Gull that flew along Crosby beach at 8.30am this morning was not to be sniffed at.A truly superb bird as ever it headed towards the river mouth after a flypast of 30m.The rest of the day up to 2.30pm was hard work with just 2 Leach`s Storm-petrels, three Manx Shearwaters, three Arctic Skuas and three juv Arctic Terns the highlights.Then at 2.30pm a juv Sabine`s Gull (quite probably a new bird ) was picked up at long range initially, heading into the river from the north, eventually passing beneath the radar tower at the river mouth.
Other than that, a few Kittiwakes were seen, including a juv( nice to see that virtually alongside one of the Sab`s at one stage).North-westerlies would have been so much better!

Breezy

2011-09-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Monday 12th September 2011,
light cloud, SW 7-8

The strong onshore winds brought good numbers of birds onto Seaforth NR over the high tide today.
The Tern roost contained 366 Common, 4 juv Arctic and three Sandwich Terns, these were joined by at least two juv Black Terns.A single juv flew through at 9.30am this morning, then two juvs appeared over the pool at 4pm then roosted on the causeway.
Three Med Gulls dropped in, two 2ndw( including the dutch ringed bird) and an adult.An adult Little Gull was also seen on the pool.
A big wader roost didn`t contain anything scarce but held 1012 Redshanks, 117 Black-tailed and 21 Bar-tailed Godwits, 81 Knot, 4 Turnstones, 3 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover.
The first big Cormorant roost of the Autumn numbered 513 birds.
Not surprisingly given the weather conditions , passerines were keeping a low profile but 4 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears were noted.

v. average

2011-09-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday 11th September 2011,
cloudy, SW 3-4, showery.

A very average day at Seaforth NR with seemingly little movement occurring.
Two adult Mediterranean and a 3rds/4thw Yellow-legged Gull were amongst the rather low Larid numbers.A juv Arctic Tern was with the small roost of 30 Common Terns on the causeway.
Four Yellow Wagtails were on the long bank along with 37 Pied and 1 White Wagtail.
A Swift hawked over the freshwater pool with c40 House Martins, 6 Swallows and a single Sand Martin.
A Wheatear was near hide A.

A few migrants

2011-09-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Friday 9th September 2011,
light cloud, Sw 1-2, warm afternoon.

A few migrants had dropped in early morning at Seaforth NR in the drizzly,humid conditions.A Garden Warbler,Great Spotted Woodpecker,Chiffchaff and Whitethroat were in the bushes and three Wheatears nearby.At least seven Yellow Wagtails continued the great Autumn for this species at the reserve.Twenty Meadow Pipits had been grounded along with three Grey Wagtails.Three Swifts hawked over the pool.
Nine adult Mediterranean Gulls dropped in during today and included seven in a roosting flock of c100 small Gulls on the saltwater pool.Two adult Yellow-legged Gulls and two Kittiwakes were also seen.
There was no sign of the Black Tern today but the juv Arctic Tern remained.
Three juv Curlew Sandpipers were feeding with five Dunlin on the saltwater pool and other waders here included 7 Golden Plover, 120 Black-tailed Godwits and 36 Curlew.
The warm afternoon produced insect activity which included several butterflies including Small Copper and Dragonflies including an Emperor and a couple of Migrant Hawkers.

Pom again.

2011-09-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8th September 2011,
cloudy, W 6-7, showery.

An early morning seawatch off Crosby marina as the tide came in produced further views of the adult Pomarine Skua first seen yesterday.Two Bonxies and 5+ Arctic Skuas were also seen.A Manx Shearwater flew out of the river and four Pintail flew in.
At Seaforth NR similar stuff as yesterday with the juv Black and Arctic Terns still feeding over the pool.A juv male Ruff was new in and two Common Sandpipers, five Turnstones and 120 Black-tailed Godwits were also here.
An adult Gannet flew north over the marina, viewed from Hide A.
A large build up of smaller Gulls developed late afternoon, with several hundred Black-headed Gulls dropping in.Careful scrutiny of these, particularly in the roost infront of Hide C, produced 11 Mediterranean Gulls( 8 adults and 3 2ndw).None of these birds carried any rings.Also in the roost was a superb adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Kittiwake and colour-ringed Black-headed and LBB Gulls.An adult Little Gull was also seen today.The colour-ringed Black-headed Gull, black "P475" was ringed in Lithuania in March 2010 and interestingly was seen 50 miles north of here on The Fylde in February 2011.The ringed LBB, blue "HVD" was ringed in Gloucestershire in 2009 and has spent the last 10 months in the Seaforth area( I`ve seen it on at least ten occasions during that time.)
Three Swifts were still present and a Sand Martin fed with the House Martins and Swallows over the pool.Four Yellow Wagtails were on the long bank and three Wheatears( including one with metal ring on its right leg) were present.

A bit of seawatching

2011-09-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 7th September 2011,
cloudy, showery, W 7

Still not ideal north-westerlies but a morning seawatch from Crosby marina produced a few bits and pieces.Highlight by far was a superb light phase adult Pomarine Skua which headed north out of the river.The spoony tail projections on this bird were some of the longest, and spooniest!,I`ve seen on a Pom.A great bird.Two Leach`s Petrels were also seen at mid-river range, battling out towards the open sea.At least three Arctics Skuas were seen along with a couple of Manx Shearwaters.Not a bad start to the seawatching season here, but NW winds are needed to really produce.
Seaforth NR was rather quiet today with just a single juvenile Black Tern remaining, still feeding over the pool with a juv Arctic Tern.Two Med Gulls dropped in, an adult and the Dutch-ringed 2ndW.
Other birds seen here today included a juv Common Sandpiper, three Swifts and two Yellow Wagtails.

Curlew Sand at last!

2011-09-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 6th September 2011,
cloudy, WSW 7, squally.

A juv Curlew Sandpiper finally arrived at Seaforth NR today, feeding on the saltwater pool with Redshank.A juv Greenshank also dropped in to feed there.
Three Black Terns were present today, yesterdays adult and juv were joined by another juv.Two juvenile Little Gulls and three juvenile Arctic Terns all fed with the Black Terns over the freshwater pool at one stage.
Five Yellow-legged Gulls( 2 adults, 3rdw, 2ndw and 1stw) and two adult Med Gulls were also present.
A sinesis race Cormorant was amongst the roost of 220 carbo birds, two of which were green ringed birds from North Wales.
A Swift was once again over the pools and two Wheatears sheltered from the gale behind Hide A.

Mixed bag

2011-09-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Monday 5th September 2011,
cloudy, squally, W 6-7

A freshening wind and heavy squally showers at Seaforth NR today.The highlight was a juvenile Hobby which arrived from the west and after a few twists and turns when chasing a House Martin, continued heading East.Still a difficult bird to connect with here, just about annual.
Two Black Terns arrived during the day, a moulting adult and a juvenile.Another build up of Common Terns totalled 340 birds.A juv Arctic Tern roosted with them on the causeway.
Three Yellow-legged Gulls( 2 adults and 2ndw) and a yellow-ringed(Old Moor, Barnsley) 2ndw Med Gull were also seen.
A juvenile Whimbrel was the best of the waders present.Also seen were 180 Black-tailed Godwits and two Turnstones.
A Swift hawked over the pool and a Yellow Wagtail and a Wheatear fed near Hide A.
An evening look offshore from Crosby marina produced a Bonxie and two Arctic Skuas

More Flavas moving.

2011-09-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday 4th September 2011,
sunny, SW 1-2

Some vis-mig at Seaforth NR this morning with c20 Flava Wagtails moving south( at least 7 were still on the long bank), a Tree Pipit and c20 Meadow Pipits.Swallows were moving through with c80 counted by midday.Three Swifts were still lingering over the reserve.
A few Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were in the bushes along with at least 2 Whitethroats.Ten Wheatears were also counted.
An adult Med Gull dropped in to bathe and two Snipe and 65 Teal were noted.

Downpour

2011-09-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday 3rd September 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain, SW 2

Very poor weather conditions hampered birding( especially looking at Wagtails) at Seaforth NR today, with most of the attention being focused on the Gulls.
Four Yellow-legged Gulls( 2 ad, 4thw and 2ndw) and five Med Gulls( 1stw, 2ndw and three adults) and an adult Little Gull and adult Kittiwake were picked out through the rain.
The Arctic Skua made another apperance, giving grandstand views flying around the pool and landing again on one of the Tern rafts, much to the chagrin of the remaining Terns.A juv Arctic and an adult Sandwich Tern were amongst the dwindling numbers of Common Terns.
Still low numbers of smaller waders occurring but a few small flocks of mixed Dunlins and Ringed Plovers dropped in, which is promising.
Three Swifts were still feeding over the pool with c90 House Martins and 20 Swallows.

Groundhog Day

2011-09-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Friday 2nd September 2011,
light cloud, SE 1/ WNW 2

It was very much a Bill Murray moment this morning at 9.30am ,when a Citrine Wagtail dropped in calling on the near causeway as I was sat in Hide A.It was with three Yellow Wagtails and what was immediately clear was that it was a different bird to that here a few days ago.
It was a much cleaner looking bird with no gorget spotting or smudging on the breast sides and the head pattern was even stronger than the last bird with much more contrast.It continued to call "tizzp" as it fed along the shoreline.
It remained on the reserve until 3.40pm at least, the last view I had of it was perched on the perimeter fence with a Yellow Wagtail.However it was elusive during the day and most birders had views at c150m range, hence the poor image above.
Up to 12 Yellow wagtails were present along with a few Whites amongst c40 Pieds.
Carrying on with the slightly strange theme here at the moment was the light pahse adult Arctic Skua which was perched on one of the Tern rafts this morning.
Five adult Mediterranean and two adult Yellow-legged Gulls were also here today.
Other sightings today included the first Siskin of the Autumn flying south, three Swifts and c120 Swallows moving south.
Three colour-ringed Cormorants were seen today, namely an Abberton Reservoir,Essex bird and two North Wales ringed birds.

Jaeger and Curlew Sands

2011-09-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday 1st September 2011,
sunny, warm, SE 1.

A light phase adult Arctic Skua which dropped in to bathe with the Gulls briefly today( it was also here yesterday ), was a rare event at Seaforth NR.Despite the presence of Arctic Skuas offshore , in variable numbers, during the Summer and Autumn, they never come into the reserve proper, despite the large Tern colony/roost.In fact this is only the fourth time I`ve seen a Skua actually on the reserve, but amazingly it`s the fourth species of Skua that I`ve seen on the reserve( following a Foula ringed Bonxie in Sept-Oct 1983, a sub-adult Pomarine in May 1987 and a juv Long-tailed in Sept 1988).There have been a few flyovers and many offshore of course.
Five Mediterranean Gulls( 4adw and 1stw) and three Yellow-legged Gulls also dropped in, as did an adult Little Gull.Several Argentatus Herring Gulls were also present amongst large numbers of big Gulls today.At least six juv Common Gulls were also here.
Nine Sandwich Terns joined the roost of 150 Commons on the causeway.
Nine Golden Plovers, two Turnstones and 150 Black-tailed Godwits were the pick of the waders.
At least nine Yellow wagtails were on the reserve and a few Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler were in the bushes.Five Wheatears were also seen.
Earlier at Crosby beach, a superb flock of 11 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers fed in a muddy area, they were the only waders present! In the nearby dunes, a juv Whinchat and c20 Wheatears flicked about.A Reed Warbler was a good find in the bushes here.

End of season Roseate

2011-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 30th August 2011,
cloudy, NW 4, cold.

A spike in Common Tern numbers today with 530 counted on the causeway over the high tide.Close scrutiny of these produced an unexpected, rather late adult Roseate Tern.Ringed on both legs, this bird had a dull brownish bill base and highly contrasing inner and outer primaries.A juv Arctic Tern was also in the roost along with three adult Sandwich Terns.
Three adult Med Gulls and an adult Little Gull provided the Larid interest.
Good numbers of roosting waders over the high tide included 145 Black-tailed Godwits and 600 Redshanks.Another Snipe was seen, feedng around the edge of the saltmarsh.
Six Yellow Wagtails were present along with ten White and 30 Pied Wagtails.
Five Wheatears and 20 Meadow Pipits were scattered around the reserve.

Back to quiet

2011-08-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Monday 29th August 2011,
cloudy, showery, NW 6

No sign of the Citrine Wagtail at Seaforth NR this morning, but still a few Yellow and White Wags amongst c60 Pieds.No sign either of the Black Tern, with just a juv Arctic Tern providing interest.
A few Wheatears scudded about in the strong wind and a Willow warbler was in the bushes.
Three Swifts were over the freshwater pool along with 60 House Martins( including a very dusky juv with a tiny white rump), six Swallows and a Sand Martin.

Now that`s a Citrine!

2011-08-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday 28th August 2011,
sunny intervals, NW 5.

A rather unusual day, to say the least, at Seaforth NR today.I saw the mystery "Citrine-type" Wagtail early on at the perimeter fence from the Crosby marina side, so informed the other regulars.After grilling the Pieds, Whites and a few Yellow Wagtails we could not relocate the bird.However, a Citrine Wagtail was heard calling at the Eastern end of the reserve just before midday, but amazingly when the bird was located on the ground it was a pristine juvenile, not the original bird!
This really was a textbook individual with broad, white wing-bars, a noticeable ear-covert surround( ironically not as stand-out as the original bird), broad white tertial edges and a slight gorget of dark spots.It called frequently, a rather loud " rizzp".This is only the second record for Lancashire, the other being a Spring female back in May 1997.
A juvenile Black Tern was overshadowed today but performed well feeding over the freshwater pool.A juv Arctic Tern was amomgst the 200+ Commons present.
At least 15 Wheatears and six Yellow Wagtails were also noted along with a few Swallows, a Sand Martin and three Swifts.

Which Wagtail?

2011-08-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

This intriguing Flava type Wagtail has been at Seaforth NR/Crosby Marina since Friday evening , although is very elusive.Clearly showing a Citrine-like head pattern( nice ear-covert surround, pale lores, dark edge to upper supercillium etc), it has rather thin, weak wing bars more in tune with a Yellow Wagtail.The broad white edge to the inner tertial is interesting as are the white undertail coverts.Its quite vocal and the call sounds just like a Citrine.Further attempts to pin it down are ongoing, a recording of its call would be helpful.Could it be a hybrid?

Rainy

2011-08-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday 27th August 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain showers, NW 3-4

Difficult weather conditions at Seaforth NR today with most birds keeping a low profile.At least seven Yellow Wagtails and 15 Wheatears were around the reserve today, along with a few White Wagtails amongst the Pieds.
Six Mediterranean Gulls( 3adw and three 2ndw) were seen during the day and two adult Kittiwakes also dropped in.

Swallows move.

2011-08-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Friday 26th August 2011,
cloudy, NE-2

A decent Hirundine passage at Seaforth NR today with c450 Swallows moving south.Also heading that way were 90 House Martins,11 Sand Martins and 6 Swifts.
The Garden Warbler was still gorging on the Elderberries, but little else was in the bushes.
The passage of Yellow Wagtails continues with c20 in the area along with c60 Pieds and 7 White Wagtails.Six Wheatears were also seen.
Five Mediterranean Gulls dropped in during the day, three adults and two 2nd winters, including the yellow-ringed bird and a new white-ringed individual.This new bird originates from Holland and was noted last by me at Seaforth just over one year ago.A 1stW Yellow-legged Gull was also present.
The first two Golden Plovers of the Autumn were with 145 Black-tailed Godwits on the saltwater pool.
A check of Crosby beach later produced an adult Little Gull.

More Yellow Wags

2011-08-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday 25th August 2011,
sunny, SE 1.

At least 9 Yellow Wagtails and 5 White Wagtails were with a flock of c50 Pied wagtails on the long bank at Seaforth NR today.A Tree Pipit moved south and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Willow Warblers were in the willow scrub.
Thirty-five Swifts fed over the freshwater pool with 40 House Martins and 100+ Swallows and 10 Sand Martins flew south
Two juv female Ruff and 224 Black-tailed Godwits kept the wader interest up.
A moulting adult Yellow-legged Gull dropped in, confusingly looking like it had an all white tip to P10, but this was actually P8 ,its outer primaries being still growing tiny stubs.A different( unringed) 2Cy Med Gull to Tuesdays bird was also seen.Less than 100 Common Terns remain on site.

We love South-Easterlies

2011-08-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 23rd August 2011,
cloud early a.m then sunny later, SE 1-2.

The magic South-Easterlies worked today with a decent scattering of migrants at Seaforth NR.At least three Spotted Flycatchers in the visitor centre bushes were a most welcome addition to the reserve year list.A Garden Warbler was also here, feeding avidly on the early crop of Elderberries.A Goldcrest, three Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat were also in the scrub.Six Wheatears flicked around the Eastern end of the reserve.A real highlight was the obvious movement of Yellow Wagtails with 14+ recorded, at least three of which dropped into the reserve, the others moved over south.A Grey Wagtail, two White Wagtails and c30 Pieds also dropped in.
A good passage of Hirundines took place with c120 Swallows, 7 Sand Martins and 30 House Martins moving through, along with 15 Swifts.
A Common Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk both flew south during the day.
A juv male Ruff was new in and the Black-tailed Godwit count was 169.
Five Mediterranean Gulls were present during the day, four adults and a colour-ringed 2CY.This Med was ringed in July 2009 at Old Moor RSPB near Barnsley, Yorkshire.

"Wow! a Snipe!"

2011-08-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday 21st August 2011,
cloudy, showery, NW 2-3.

Still hard work birding at Seaforth NR at the moment, with just a trickle of new migrants.
The exclamation in the title was made when a Common Snipe dropped in from high early afternoon.Incredibly this is only the second individual seen here this year, the record low temperatures of last winter forcing the species to move away from here.
Seven juveniles were amongst a 113 strong flock of Black-tailed Godwits, an Icelandic colour-ringed bird was with them too.Other waders included a Ringed Plover, a Turnstone and 250 Redshanks.
Four Mediterranean Gulls( 3 adw and 2ndw) were present as was a juv Yellow-legged Gull.The first juvenile Common Gull of the autumn was on the freshwater pool during the afternoon.
A Yellow Wagtail was with c40 Alba Wagtails on the long bank.This flock also contained the first White Wagtail of the Autumn.
Thirty Swifts hawked over the reserve early morning and c25 Swallows and a Sand Martin flew south.
A single Willow Warbler was the only migrant found in the bushes.

Still slow

2011-08-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday 18th August 2011,
cloudy, SE 1 then sea breeze NW 2.

Still pretty slow going at Seaforth NR.There seems to have been a real clear out of the Common Terns with just 140 or so left on the reserve.Three Yellow-legged Gulls( ad, 3cy and juv) and two adult Med Gulls dropped in.
Wader numbers were rather low too, with 196 Black-tailed Godwits and 300 Redshanks being the bulk of the birds present.
Teal numbers had increased to 27 and five Little Grebes were also on the freshwater pool.
A light Hirundine passage took place with 56 Swallows and 5 Sand Martins heading south along with a single Swift.

Bucolic

2011-08-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 17th August 2011,
light cloud,calm.

A very still, cool morning up in the fields at Little Crosby.A Quail was calling from a rather distant field beyond Sniggery Wood and a flyover Tree Pipit "buzzed" loudly as it headed south.Then another Quail began calling, but this one was really close in the wheat field adjacent to my viewpoint.It was that close that I could hear the wheezy note at the end of its call that is normally inaudible in more distant birds.Most remarkably the bird then appeared at the edge of the crop and called again, its tiny head stretched upward.It then rather comically sped across the dirt track into a potato field..excellent value.
A flock of 12 Corn Buntings fed in a newly cut field and another was still singing from the horse paddocks, these birds seem to sing here all year round.
A flock of 60 Curlews fed on the deserted sports field and a single Swift joined a few Swallows hawking over the wheat.
A Wheatear flicked along the track, my first of the Autumn.

A bit better

2011-08-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday 14th August 2011,
sunny spells, WNW 3.

A juvenile Little Gull dropped in mid-morning at Seaforth NR, a superb bird, although it was continually chased by the increasingly fractious Common Terns.
Two juvenile and a 3cy Yellow-legged Gull were also present.
A check of the high tide wader roost on the saltwater pool produced 209 Black-tailed Godwits but only 36 Dunlin and 120 Knot.A bonus however was a flighty juv Ruff which appeared late morning but was flushed off by a juvenile Peregrine.
The Scaup was still present and 13 Teal were on the causeway.
A few Swifts hawked over the pool and four Swallows headed south.
The bushes were checked and appeared devoid of birds until a Tree Pipit was flushed out of the visitor centre willows, it "buzzed" several times overhead before dropping back into the scrub.Hopefully the forerunner of some decent migrants here this Autumn.

Soporific

2011-08-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday 13th August 2011,
cloudy,SW 1.

Even quieter at Seaforth NR today with low numbers of everything.Yesterdays Scaup was still present.An adult Med Gull was on the warehouse roof behind the hide and an adult Little Gull bathed in the freshwater pool.

Scaup

2011-08-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Friday 12th August 2011,
cloudy, humid, SE 1

A juvenile Scaup was new in today at Seaforth NR, dozing amongst the c120 Tufted Ducks present on the freshwater pool.
Four Mediterranean Gulls( three adults and 2cy) were present and two Yellow-legged Gulls were picked out of the low number of Larids present.
Five Sandwich Terns joined the 250 Commons on the causeway.
Wader numbers were also reduced but 156 Black-tailed Godwits included another colour-ringed bird.
The south-easterly brought the first Yellow Wagtail of the Autumn to the long bank and a Willow Warbler was in the scrub, occasionally breaking into full song.
Fifty Swallows and thirty Swifts flew south during the day.

Less

2011-08-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday 11th August 2011,
cloudy, W 3.

Far quieter weather and birdwise today at Seaforth NR.The Roseate Tern was again present, calling frequently and giving good flight views across the pool.Reduced Common Terns numbers of c250 were joined by two adult Sandwich Terns.An adult Med Gull was seen as was yesterdays adult Little Gull.A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was on the causeway.

waders and terns

2011-08-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 10th August 2011,
cloudy, SW 6, heavy rain.

Atrocious weather conditions at Seaforth NR today but lots of birds roosting on site.The summering Roseate Tern was again present amongst 700 Common Terns on the causeway.Also noted were three juvenile Arctic Terns and five Sandwich Terns.
Six Yellow-legged Gulls( three juvs and three adults) were picked out of c600 large Gulls.An adult Little Gull and five Kittiwakes sheltered from the weather on the causeway.
1010 Knot included the first 14 juveniles of the year and three juvenile Black-tailed Godwits were part of a 124 strong flock.Dunlins numbered 110 and a juvenile Turnstone was also present.

A quiet day.

2011-08-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday 7th August 2011,
cloudy, NW 4.

Easily the quietest day at Seaforth NR this summer so far.Very few Gulls were present, with just two 2cy Kittiwakes noted.
Reduced wader numbers, due to the low tides no doubt, with a metal-ringed adult Greenshank the highlight.Other waders included 132 Black-taled Godwits, 120 Dunlin, 200 Redshank and three Common Sandpipers.
Forty House Martins fed over the freshwater pool and were joined by single Sand Martin and Swallow and ten Swifts.
The recent green ringed adult Mediterranean Gull "381"( pictured above) was a French bird, ringed as a nestling at Oye Plage, Pas-de-Calais on 25.6.07

Upriver Gulling

2011-08-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6th August 2011,
cloudy, NW-1.
The overcast sky and flat light stimulated a visit to Richmond Bank today, somewhere I normally only visit in Nov-Mar,but it looked good for some "early Autumn" Gulling.
About 2,500 Gulls were congregated on the bank upon arrival and these were scanned for the next three hours.
Highlight was an adult/ 4ths Caspian Gull which showed well for a few minutes before heading towards the tip.Seven Yellow-legged Gulls were also picked out, two Juveniles,2nds, 3rds and three adults.An adult Intermedius LBB and a 4ths Argentatus Herring Gull were also seen.The rings on seven Colour-ringed birds were read and these included birds ringed at Walney Island, the Ribble and Gloucestershire.
Also here were 3+ Ravens, a briefly singing Grasshopper Warbler and two Willow Warblers.

Not dissimilar

2011-08-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Friday 5th August 2011,
cloudy then clearing skies,NW-3.

Very samey at Seaforth NR today with good numbers of large Gulls dropping in and a large wader roost on the saltwater pool.
Five Yellow-legged Gulls were picked out, two Juvs, a 3cy and two Adults.Just a single 2cy Mediterranean Gull was present.
Over 400 Dunlin and similar numbers of Redshanks were roosting along with 112 Black-tailed Godwits.Five Common Sandpipers fed along the freshwater pool shoreline.
A Juv Peregrine sparked mayhem on several occasions during the day.

More Dunlin

2011-08-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 3rd August 2011,
sunny, E-1/NW-3.

More Dunlin had arrived at Seaforth NR today with 566 feeding on the saltwater pool at low tide.They were joined by a Whimbrel, 88 Black-tailed Godwits and 340 Redshank.
The 9.4m high tide brought c1000 large Gulls into the reserve, with several hundred roosting on the warehouse roof behing Hide A.Four Yellow-legged Gulls( juv, 2nds and two adults) were picked out.Five Med Gulls( juv, 2nds and three adults) were also present.
The first juv Arctic Tern of the Autumn was amongst c400 Common Terns on the causeway and were joined by 5 Sandwich Terns.
Six Willow Warblers were in the visitor centre bushes and 30 Swallows and three Sand Martins headed SE.

Little Terns

2011-08-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Monday 1st August 2011,
cloudy, rain showers, S-1/NW-1

A very dark, storm threatening sort of day at Seaforth NR, but with a decent high tide in the middle of the day, lots of activity birdwise.
The highlight was the flock of 24 Little Terns that flew in at midday, a superb sight as they appeared in front of the hide.At least four juveniles were amongst them.The summering female Roseate Tern put in another appearance, its right wing not as droopy as last time.Twelve Sandwich Terns also joined the c400 Common Terns on the causeway.
Seven Mediterranean Gulls(5 adults and two 2cys) were picked out, including the 21 year old veteran.An adult Yellow-legged Gull was also seen.An adult Little Gull and three Kittiwakes were also on the pool.
Good numbers of waders again with 424 Dunlin, 89 Black-tailed Godwits and 4 Common Sandpipers being the pick.

Michs and Meds

2011-07-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday 31st July 2011,
cloudy, S-1, humid.

Far fewer waders about today at Seaforth NR, so the Gulls were concentrated upon.About 600 large Gulls dropped in during the day, six Yellow-legged Gulls( 3cy and 5 ads) being picked out.The first juv Great Black-backed Gull of the season was also present today, as was a Spanish colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Eight Mediterranean Gulls( 7 ads-w and a 2cy) were amongst c400 Black-headed and Common Gulls.Three of the adult Meds were colour-ringed birds, green, white and red rings respectively.
The depleted wader roost comprised of 1230 Knot, 64 Dunlin and 119 Black-tailed Godwits.
Forty Swallows and two Sand Martins flew south.

Pec at last

2011-07-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Friday 29th July 2011,
cloudy, E-1.

One of the many things that we Seaforth regulars drone on about is the big gap in the reserve list around the Pectoral Sandpiper area.For a reserve with a 250+ species list and situated on a West coast estuary, its amazing that we haven`t had one.Every year other North-west sites such as Martin Mere and Inner Marsh Farm get them and we just scan the Dunlin longingly.
This all changed today.
Small groups of Dunlin were dropping in regularly, landing on the causeway and were checked accordingly.One group of c20 birds flew in low over the freshwater pool and it was immediately clear that a slightly larger bird was amongst them.It seemed to have a white belly and a sharply demarcated gorget...it landed c60m away.
It was indeed an adult Pec, lovely pointy lower edge to its gorget and yellowy legs...at last! Just got the camera on it and the flock was up!...Sparrowhawk zoomed through.Fortunately it dropped onto the saltwater pool c150m away... managed a couple of distant shots and the flock moved again...picked it up again..then lost.
Despite searching it didn`t reappear, but most of the waders headed away when the Sparrowhawk flew through.
The Dunlin count numbered 464 birds and the Knot total was 4,500, really impressive.A colour-ringed Knot was picked out( red flag above white ring above blue ring on left leg and red ring above white ring on right).Other waders included 162 Black-tailed Godwits, 117 Bar-tailed Godwits, 360 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, a juv LRP and 5 Common Sandpipers.
Rather low Gull numbers today, but an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a 2cy Med Gull were present.
Two Willow Warblers were in the visitor centre bushes.

Meds galore

2011-07-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 27th July 2011,
sunny, NW2.

A warm day at Seaforth NR and lots of smaller Gulls were feeding on a flying ant emergence over nearby Waterloo.As hoped, most of these dropped into the reserve to bathe and roost and were grilled.Eight Mediterranean Gulls( six adults, 2cy and juv) were picked out.The juvenile was a different bird to that seen on 23rd July, being paler headed and far more advanced in moult.Four Yellow-legged Gulls( three adults and 2cy) were amongst rather low numbers of the larger Larids.Two Kittiwakes( ad and 2cy) were also seen.
The summering female Roseate Tern flew in at 1.30pm, but was only present for 5 minutes, there being very few other Terns present for it to join( all out feeding during the low tide).
Two Whimbrels were the wader highlight, others noted were; 75 Dunlin, 89 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Common Sandpipers.
Two Shovelers, 119 Tufted Ducks and three Little Grebes were on the freshwater pool.
A Comma and several Peacocks added a splash of colour to the area around Hide A.

Black Tern again

2011-07-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday 24th July 2011,
sunny, Nw2-3.

The first-summer Black Tern dropped into Seaforth NR again today, although was difficult to watch as the Common Terns were very flighty, almost continually `dreading`.An adult Sandwich Tern was also present.
Three adult Mediterranean Gulls were amongst rather low Gull numbers generally today.
Seventy-four Black-tailed Godwits included another new colour-ringed bird.Two Common Sandpipers( ad and juv) and 84 Dunlin were also counted.

Juv Meds

2011-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday 23rd July 2011,
sunny, NW-2.

A juvenile Mediterranean Gull was present at Crosby marina this morning, but little else was noted other than a few Swallows heading south.A bit of deja vu further up the coast at Southport marina later, when another juv Med was seen amongst a small flock of roosting Black-headed Gulls.
Much larger aerial distractions were occurring here with excellent views of P-51 Mustang, Fairey Swordfish, Avro Lancaster and a brace of Supermarine Spitfires.Pride of place however went to the mega that is the Avro Vulcan.

Rather Juvenile

2011-07-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Friday 22nd July 2011,
sunny, N2.

A juvenile Little Egret was a typically short stayer at Seaforth NR today.It flew in from the west, roosted on the causeway for 15 minutes then headed off north.Only the second record of the year of this surprisingly rare bird here.
A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was the pick of the Larids.Three adult Mediterranean Gull and two 2Cy Kittiwakes also being noted.
Very few Common Terns in today, due no doubt to the very low tide cycle.Two Sandwich Terns were the only other Terns seen.
Good numbers of waders again included 164 Dunlin( inc 1 juv),710 Knot and 17 Turnstones.Ninety-eight Black-tailed Godwits included another colour-ringed bird.This is the fourth such colour-ringed bird seen here over the last fortnight, all one day birds,evidence that there is a continual movement of Blackwits through Seaforth at the moment.

Adult Casp tops good day.

2011-07-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 20th July 2011,
sunny, NW1-2.

A typically busy late July day at Seaforth NR with large numbers of Gulls, Terns and waders crammed into the site.
Highlight was an adult Caspian Gull in the Gull roost on the long bank.Although somewhat distant, good views through the `scope were had of the long snouty head shape, small dark eye,long thin "dead flesh" toned legs, white tip to P10 and the long pale tongues on the underside of the primaries.This bird was very reminiscent of one of the wintering birds from last winter down the river at Richmond Bank.
Three Yellow-legged Gulls( 2adS and 2ndS) were also picked out of the flock which also held 10+ juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Five Mediterranean Gulls(4ads and a 1stS) dropped in, including the twenty-one year old, one-legged ,colour-ringed bird.Ten Kittiwakes were perhaps a hang-over from the storm earlier in the week.One adult Kittiwake foolishly tried to roost on one of the Tern rafts and was viciously attacked.
The 1st summer Black Tern dropped in again, bathing briefly at the causeway edge before heading back out to the river.
The regular female Roseate Tern was once again on the causeway, still drooping its right wing.Also amongst the Common Tern roost were an adult Arctic Tern and three Sandwich Terns.
An increase in Dunlin numbers was noted, with 248 counted on the saltwater pool.This included a colour-ringed bird; green flag over red ring on right leg, lime-green over dark-green on left leg.A flock of 58 Turnstones dropped in over the high-tide, a good number for July here.This flock also held a colour-ringed bird; lime green over red on left leg.
Other waders included 89 Black-tailed Godwits and a Common Sandpiper.
A juvenile Willow Warbler was in the scrub near the visitor centre.

Stormy weather

2011-07-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Monday 18th July 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain squalls, NW 7-8.

With the gale continuing overnight and this morning, conditions looked promising for some Storm Petrel action offshore.So it proved when after only a few minutes scanning the crashing waves at the mouth of the Mersey, the diminutive, bat-like shape of a Storm Petrel hove into view.Only a few yards off the seawall, it zoomed into the river, followed over the next 30 minutes by two others.Five Manx Shearwaters also headed upriver and a Guillemot floated past.
Nearby Seaforth NR was heaving with birds sheltering from the gale over the high tide.A 1stS-type Black Tern was most unexpected on the causeway.This is only the third time that a Black Tern of this age group has been seen here.
The newly paired-up Roseate Terns were also amongst the 1500+ Common Tern flock along with two Arctic Terns( ad and 1sts) and two Sandwich Terns( ad and juv).
Four Yellow-legged Gulls( four adults and 4thS) were present on the causeway and two Mediterranean Gulls ( ad and 1stS) were also here.Five Little Gulls( four adults and 2ndS) and seven Kittiwakes( 3 adults and four 1stS) sheltered near Hide A.
The causeway also held a big wader roost today.Highlights were a Whimbrel, 17 Turnstones, 80 Dunlins. 106 Black-tailed and 148 Bar-tailed Godwits.A 600 strong flock of Knot contained a colour-ringed bird( black over metal on left tarsus and "double" yellow on right tarsus).

Gale force

2011-07-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday 17th July 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain showers, NW 6-8.

Very squally conditions pushed in massive numbers of Common Terns into Seaforth NR today.The causeway flock numbered 2200 over the high tide period and careful checking of these produced some interest.Three Roseate Terns were picked out; the summering, droopy winged female, a "double-ringed" black-billed bird with just P10 and P9 dark and a similarly double ringed bird with no dark primaries at all.Most interestingly the regular female was paired up with one of the new birds and was seen to copulate with it on a couple of occasions.This of course following on from copulating with a Common Tern yesterday...all very complicated!
Two Arctic Terns( 1stS and 2ndS) and an adult Sandwich Tern were the only other Sterna in the flock.
Four Yellow-legged Gulls( 3AdS and a 2ndS) and six Med Gulls( two 1stS and four AdS) were present during the afternoon.Six Little Gulls( 4 adults and two 2ndS) were also present, rather unusually for July.Five Kittiwakes added to the mix.
Lots of roosting waders were present over the tide with the highlight being two Greenshanks.Five Turnstones and 40 Dunlin were also here.

Rosy again

2011-07-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday 16th July 2011,
cloudy, heavy rain a.m, sunny later, W2-3.

The regular female Roseate Tern was present at Seaforth NR today.Calling frequently and displaying with a Common Tern.It appears to have damaged its right wing which was held drooped and trailed as it walked around the causeway.It seemed to be able to fly well enough though.A single adult Arctic Tern and six Sandwich Terns were also with the 680 Common Terns roosting on the causeway.
Three Yellow-legged Gulls were picked out, an adult and two 2nd summers.Two adult Mediterranean Gulls and two adult Kittiwakes were also present.

Dunlins increasing.

2011-07-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday 14th July 2011,
Sunny, NW 2.

A marked increase in Dunlin numbers today at Seaforth NR with 139 feeding on the saltwater pool.Also here 1080 Knot, 148 Bar-tailed and 62 Black-tailed Godwits.
The summering female Roseate Tern dropped in at 1.20pm and stayed for 20 minutes.The red bill base is now very obvious.Three juvenile Common Terns were on the causeway, these birds aren`t from the colony here( all our birds are still unfledged).An adult and 1stS Arctic Tern were amongst c1100 Common Terns here too.
An adult Yellow-legged Gull and four adult Med gulls were present during the afternoon.The first juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull of the season also appeared on the pool.