A really enjoyable day at on No.3 bed, where the rain held off till we were leaving after lunchtime. We didn’t manage to re-find the Firecrest reported yesterday afternoon by Kieran Foster but found plenty of other stuff. Most spectacular were the 30+ Bramblings, with 25 feeding under the Morgan Hide feeders, along with 9 Lesser Redpolls feeding on Mugwort right in front of the hide. There has been a significant influx of finches recently with totals today of 140 Linnets, 200 Chaffinches, 20 Goldfinches and 100 Greenfinches alongside the Bramblings, Redpolls and the odd Siskin. Other sightings included: 1 Water Rail, 3 Pintails, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Willow Tits, 2 Coal Tits (ringed by K. Foster), 4 Fieldfare, 7 Redwings, 200 Teal, 10 Shovelers, 16 Gadwall, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Buzzards and 350 Starlings from the roost at dawn.

Here’s a photo of one of the Lesser Redpolls

Cheers David (with Alan Warford, David Spencer, Brian Baird, Paul Hazlehurst, Helen Allan, Kelly Ainsworth, Diane Shepherd, George Dunbar and Les Jones)

A mid-morning visit to No.3 bed failed to produce further sightings of the Hen Harrier which as been around for the past three days. Records of note included 1 Brambling, 2 Siskins, 4 Snipe, 1 Kingfisher, 350 Teal, 1 Willow Tit and 1 Grey Wagtail.

The link is to a video clip of the Hen Harrier from yesterday.

Click here to watch Dave’s video of yesterday’s Hen Harrier or cut and paste the link below into your browser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpioem8Hou4

Cheers David (with Al Warford, Diane Shepherd and Pete Astles)

For the first time this month I was able to cover the whole reserve as the threatened rain failed to materialize. The Hen Harrier was still present on No.3 bed and gave good views as it was flushed out of the reeds by a Buzzard. About 250 Chaffinch were on the north meadow. A waterlogged area at the east of No.3 bed held 2 Jack Snipe and 1 Common Snipe. A Green Sandpiper was on the flooded fields to the north of No.2 bed and has been present for over a week.

The ring-tail Hen Harrier was still present this morning along with 2 Wigeon, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Snipe, c300 Teal and 1 Cetti’s Warbler (heard). A SD card was found in the John Morgan hide recently, contact Brian Martin (telephone number on permit) if you have lost one.

Here’s a photo of the ringtail Hen Harrier, taken on No.3 bed today by David Humphries, after being found by Anthony Oldfield.

Cheers David

These Bramblings were photographed from the Morgan Hide today by David Humphries

Cheers David

Teal (Anas crécha)from John Morgan Hide, No3 Bed.

Teal (Anas crecca)from John Morgan Hide, No3 Bed.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nidus)- No3 Bed

Late entry for 14th November Wildfowl Count

Little Grebe 12, Great Crested Grebe 1, Cormorant 14, Mute Swan 34, Grey Heron 4, Greylag Goose 6, Canada Goose 32, Shelduck 2, Wigeon 5, Gadwall 34, Teal 325, Mallard 54, Shoveler 22, Tufted Duck 33, Moorhen 26, Coot 17, Green Sandpiper 2, Black headed Gull 50.

In bright sunshine but a biting northerly wind, we spent the morning on No.3 bed largely making counts of the local birds and looking out for any hard weather movements. 24 Golden Plover, flying west, were a very unusual sighting for the bed and the 2 female Goldeneye in front of the Morgan Hide were also unexpected. The latter are more usually found at Woolston Weir or at Bollin Point. Other records of interest were: 6 Bramblings, 300 Pink-footed Geese, 390 Lapwings, 2 Kingfishers, 55 Fieldfares, 750 Starlings from a roost at dawn, 9 Redwings, 200 Teal, 5 Sparrowhawks, 5 Buzzards and finally, a Peregrine hunting low over the bed.

Cheers David (with Dave Steel, David Spencer, Alan Warford, Brian Baird, Paul Hazlehurst, Helen Allan, Sue Haddock and George Dunbar)

Spent a squally afternoon dodging the rainstorms on No.3 bed this afternoon. Despite the conditions I managed to catch up with a good variety of birds, starting with a Woodcock, flushed from underfoot, then a nice male Brambling in with 100 Chaffinches and 48 Linnets on the north meadow. From the Morgan hide, 8 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Snipe, 1 Mistle Thrush, 3 Wigeon, 225 Teal, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher, 65 Greenfinches, 2 Willow Tits, 2 Little Grebes, 65 Tufted Ducks and 1 Sparrowhawk were the highlights. With the light almost gone, 750 Starlings came in to roost, hopefully harbingers of another massive winter roost. .

Cheers David

The morning was dry for once and I was able to cover Nos. 1,2 and 3 beds before the rain set in. 2 Pied Wagtail were at the locks and 4 Great-crested Grebe on the canal. A Willow Tit was part of a mixed flock on the south bank of No.2 bed. To the east of Bollin Point was a flock of about 200 Tufted Duck and a Sparrowhawk drifted over. A Mistle Thrush and small numbers of Fieldfare were on Butchersfield Tip. With the recent rains the water level on No.2 bed has risen and about 200 Teal were on the water. To the north of the river a Green Sandpiper was on the flooded fields. Finishing on No.3 bed 8 Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in front of the Rotary Hide and 2 Shelduck were present. About a hundred Lapwing flew west in three groups.

A bit of ringing and maintenance work on No1 bed was accompanied by a few sightings of interest, 70+ Fieldfares flew south, a Cetti’s Warbler sang in the reed bed, 2 Woodcock were accidentally flushed and 2 Water Rails were heard.

Despite an adverse forecast the rain held off while we did the monthly wildfowl count today. Covering from No.3 bed to Bollin Point at the eastern end of the reserve, we picked up a decent variety of birds including: 2 Green Sandpipers,1 Snipe, 3 Goldcrests, 1 Peregrine, 5 Wigeon, 155 Teal, 40 Gadwall, 6 Little Grebes, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 34 Fieldfares, 21 Redwings, 35 Blackbirds, 3 Shelducks, 5 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels and 3 Grey Wagtails. Then, with things quietening down by mid-morning, most of us treated ourselves to a quick dash to see the Smew at Marton, where several Green Woodpeckers also gave close views.

Cheers David (with David Spencer, Alan Warford?, Brian Baird, Paul Hazlehurst?, Helen Allan?, Kelly Ainsworth? and George Dunbar?)

Another good morning?, starting on No.3 bed in torrential rain and ending up in sunshine. As usual, there was a good variety of birds, with singles of Brambling (ringed by Kieran Foster), Siskin, Pintail, Kingfisher, Water Rail, Grey Wagtail and Willow Tit, along with 2 Wigeon, 250 Pink-footed Geese, 90 Fieldfares, 40 Redwings, 60 Chaffinches, 80 Teal, 55 Greenfinches, 2 Little Grebes, 5 Snipe, 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 200 Lapwings and 3 Song Thrushes. The highlight, though, was wandering down to Woolston Weir to watch three Salmon leaping, no doubt triggered by the Mersey being in spate due to the recent heavy rain. Here’s a link to a brief clip of the Grey Wagtail in front of the Morgan Hide.

Click here to watch Dave’s video of Grey Wagtail or cut and paste the link below into your browser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3s8kFTZU1A&feature=youtube_gdata

Cheers David (with David Spencer, Alan Warford?, Brian Baird, Helen Allan?, Diane Shepherd?, Les Jones and George Dunbar?)

63 Snipe were viewable from the tower hide this morning. 1 male Go1deneye was amongst the Tufted Duck upstream of the weir guard and at least 4 Wigeon were on the old river. Also Derek Britch saw 2 Treecreepers, 1 on No.4 bed and 1 along the bank of No.2 bed.