Another of those really special autumn days spent doing the Migration watch from Butchersfield Tip. Right from the off it had the feel of birds moving, with Brambling, Lesser Redpolls and Siskins calling as we wended our way up the steep track to the top of the tip (well, some of us anyway) loaded down like sherpas. An early highlight was a Short-eared Owl, picked up coming in high from the north-west before drifting eastwards. There was also an excellent movement of Fieldfares, with lesser numbers of Redwings. Selected totals were: 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Crossbill, 1 Raven, 2 Yellowhammers, 200 Pink-footed Geese, 9 Siskins, 1 Brambling, 6 Lesser Redpolls, 1,890 Fieldfares, 214 Redwings, 16 Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes, 4 Mistle Thrushes, 1,178 Starlings, 1,956 Woodpigeons, 143 Skylarks, 34 Meadow Pipits, 23 Bullfinches and 330 Teal. Cheers David (with Dave Steel, David Spencer, Alan Warford, Brian Baird, Paul Hazlehurst, Helen Allan, Kelly Ainsworth, Diane Shepherd and Les Jones)

A shorter walk than usual today with a late start due to early rain. On No.3 bed were about 50 Snipe, 2 Grey Wagtail and a female Pintail which has been in the same area for over a week. A Raven flew over the bed with a Sparrowhawk in close attendance. The west pool on No.1 bed is proving attractive to Gadwall and about 70 were present there whilst a Cetti’s Warbler was heard near the east pool. At Bollin Point were 70 Tufted Duck and a single Pochard. A total of 44 Robins was counted, excluding No.4 bed.

Photo of a Common Buzzard, No.3 bed

Photo of a Kingfisher in front of John Morgan Hide, No.3 bed today (12.10pm)

Another pleasant morning, with brilliant sunshine, plenty of birds and a few butterflies and dragonflies. On No.3 bed, 3 Bramblings, 2 Siskins, 50 Redwings, 10 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Snipe, 2 Water Rails, 1 Coal Tit, 180 Teal and 120 Lapwings were the pick of the bunch. Then onto No.4 bed with John Langley to plan the clearance of the shingle islands, to get them ready for, hopefully, some breeding terns and waders next year. A pair of Common Darters were ovipositing on the Loop of the bed and 3 Red Admirals were nice, too.

Photo of a Grey Heron from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Grey Heron from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a stooping Kestrel from No.4 bed today.

Cheers David

With heavy rain forecast at The Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve? this morning, we decided to defer our Migration Watch from Butchersfield Tip till next week. Instead we did our counts from the Morgan Hide on No.3 bed, followed by a survey of the centre of the bed and a jaunt to the Loop of No.4 bed. Counts of interest included: Cetti’s Warbler 1 (the first for No.4 bed), Green Sandpipers 2, Snipe 57, Black-tailed Godwits 35, Siskins 2, Lesser Redpolls 3, Coal Tit 1, Wigeon 3, Tawny Owl 1, Redwing 150, Teal 304, Kingfisher 1, Water Rail 2, Greenfinch 85, Grey Wagtail 1, Sparrowhawk 2, Long-tailed Tit 25.

Cheers David (with Dave Steel?, David Spencer, Alan Warford?, Paul Hazlehurst?, Brian Baird, Helen Allan?, Diane Shepherd? and Les Jones)

A blustery day, at times feeling quite warm but at others the wind was really chilly! 32 Mute Swans were on the river and canal including a brood of 7 juveniles. A Peregrine was sitting on the viaduct and was still there over an hour later on my return. About 200 Jackdaws were over Butchersfield Tip and moved between the tip and the fields to the south. At Bollin Point I counted about 200 Black-headed Gulls in the distance. Walking along the river to the north of No.2 bed 2 Green Sandpipers got up from the flooded fields to the north and a late Comma was basking on brambles. On No.3 bed a Red Admiral was on the south bank whilst in the centre lagoons were large numbers of Lapwing. A count produced a total of 765, together with 250 Teal, 14 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Shelduck. At least 60 more Teal were on the Loop of No.4 bed.

A really good autumn morning, with thrushes pouring through. We completed the monthly wildfowl count, covering from No.3 bed as far as Rixton Paddocks, with a steady flow of Redwings over-head. Totals of interest were: 1,050 Redwings, 38 Fieldfares, 10 Song Thrushes, 18 Blackbirds, 2 Lesser Redpolls, 2 Siskins, 14 Skylarks,1 Peregrine, 13 Snipe and 8 Black-tailed Godwits. Kieran Foster also had a good morning’s ringing on No.3 bed, with the 11th Cetti’s Warbler of the year ringed, along with a record 50+ Redwings.

Photo of a male Sparrowhakk, ringed by Kieran Foster.

Cheers David (with Dave Spencer, Paul Hazlehurst, Diane Shepherd and Kelly Ainsworth)

A very pleasant morning on No1 bed with John Blundell and Phil Guest ringing, good numbers of Redwings were moving over, a minimum of 350, also 2 Fieldfares were amongst them and 2 Mistle Thrushes. An enormous female Sparrowhawk was ringed along with good numbers of Lesser Redpolls and a female Blackcap

On an overcast day with a light easterly wind, there was some evidence of migration over No.3 bed this morning. A total of 630 Pink-footed Geese moved west, while 11 Song Thrushes dropped in to join 20 which were already feeding around the bed. These were followed by 5 Redwings, which seem to be arriving in dribs and drabs at the moment. Three Redpolls and the odd Meadow Pipit also flew south. Out on the water and muddy edges, wader numbers were reduced today, with just 23 Snipe, 22 Black-tailed Godwits and 261 Lapwings, along with 1 Widgeon, 1 Pintail and 261 Teal.

Photo of a Black-tailed Godwit

Cheers David

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Greylag Goose (Anser anser)flying in, taken from the John Morgan Hide.

It was one of those special mornings on No.3 bed today, with autumn migration really starting to kick in. Migrants included 3 late Swallows, which dropped in briefly, 1,000 Woodpigeons heading south, 400 Pink-footed Geese moving west towards the Lancashire mosses, a small arrival of Song Thrushes with a sprinkling of Redwings among them, 36 Jays passing across the bed, as well as a few southbound Lesser Redpolls, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. The resident birds also held their end up, with 1 Cetti’s Warbler flitting in front of the Morgan Hide and another (or maybe the same one) caught and ringed, the Snipe flock increasing to 90, the Lapwing flock to c.600, along with 80 Chaffinches, 50 Greenfinches, 1 Willow Tit, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Grey Wagtails, 5 Pied Wagtails and a Nuthatch. as well as masses of the more common species.

Photo of a few of the c.70 Canada Geese on No.3 bed today.

Cheers David (with Alan Warford?, Paul Hazlehurst?, Helen Allan?, Diane Shepherd? and George Dunbar?)

A beautiful, autumnal day on No.3 bed, with plenty of good birds and a good sprinkling of butterflies and dragonflies. Highlights were: 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Pintail, 1 Water Rail, 54 Snipe, 34 Black-tailed Godwits, 263 Teal and 538 Lapwings.

Photo of a Black-tailed Godwit.

Cheers David

Photo of a Black-tailed Godwit from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a group of Mallards from NO.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a lapwing from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

A pleasant morning on No.3 bed, with plenty of waders to go through. Highlights were: 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Pintail, 3 Water Rails, 38 Black-tailed Godwits, 42 Snipe, 176 Teal and 387 Lapwings. We’ll soon be starting to raise the water levels again, ready for the wintering wildfowl, so get down and enjoy those waders while they’re still here!

Photo of a Lapwing

Cheers David

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) from the John Morgan Hide