Hen Harrier

Hen Harrier

I spent from early afternoon till dusk on No.3 bed, to see if the Hen Harrier was still around and to check if any roosts were building. The harrier showed well in mid-afternoon and then disappeared into the reeds and didn’t show again. Interesting information received from the RSPB indicates that this radio-tagged bird was ringed on the Isle of Man and has been roosting on the bed for the past couple of nights. Other roosts included 500 Starlings being harrassed by 3 Sparrowhawks, 40 Redwings plus a few Reed Buntings and Pied Wagtails. Other sightings included: 2 Cetti’s Warblers, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher and 10 Snipe.

Cheers David

A dawn start on Saturday produced some good records. We started and finished in No.3 bed and also visited the Loop of No.4 bed. Friday’s Hen Harrier showed well on several occasions from the Morgan Hide and other sightings of note included: 1 Little Egret, 1 Raven, 3 Cetti’s Warblers, 2 Green Sandpipers, 27 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Snipe, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Brambling, 1 Siskin, 1 Tawny Owl, 50 Lesser Redpolls, 100 Linnets, 160 Goldfinches, 5 Wigeon, 3 Sparrowhawks, 160 Teal, 61 Shoveler, 2 Willow Tits, 7 Reed Buntings, 110 Redwings and 4 Goldcrests. A late Comma and a Smooth Newt were also good additions to the list.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDN5OE8jRCg

Cheers David (with Dave Steel, Helen Wynn, Diane Shepherd, Les Jones and George Dunbar)

The “ringtail” Hen Harrier, which has been present since Friday, was showing well on No.3 bed. It got up from reeds near to the Sybil Hogg Hide and then sat preening in an area where the reeds had been cleared for at least 20 minutes. Also on no.3 bed were about 250 Teal and 50 Shoveler. A flock of 16 Long-tailed Tits was at the Locks.

The day started bright but cold (2.5C at 8a.m.)with mist rising from the canal but soon warmed up and was a beautiful autumn morning. A skein of 60 Pink-footed Geese flew south east over the viaduct. There has been a large influx of Robins, another sign of autumn and a reserve-wide total of 79 was noteworthy when compared with only 29 last week. Work was progressing with the flood defence work on the river to the north of No.2 bed. About 200 Lapwing were on the fields to the north of No.1 bed with another 60 on No.3 bed. Also on No.3 bed were 50 Chaffinch on the sunflower seeds, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Cetti’s Warbler was calling in front of the Frank Linley Hide. Another Godwit was on the Loop of No.4 bed with 3 Snipe. 7 Wigeon were on the river between Nos.2 and 3 beds together with 7 of a reserve total of 13 Little Grebes. Photo; work on the flood defence scheme.

A nice autumnal wander this morning, covering from No.3 bed and then as far as Bollin Point, at the eastern end of the Reserve, produced some nice sightings, with the pick being: 4 Cetti’s Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Dunlin, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Snipe, 1 Willow Tit, 1 Yellowhammer, 3 Sparrowhawks, 2 Grey Wagtails, 2 Peregrines, 30 Blackbirds, 3 Wigeon, 17 Goldcrests, 4 Bullfinches, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 41 Redwings, 35 Fieldfares and 115 Teal. Another count of interest, on No.1 bed, was of 74 Fly Agaric toadstools,

Photo of a Fly Agaric toadstool

Cheers David (with Dave Steel, David Spencer, Alan Warford, Sue Haddock and Les Jones)

4 Whooper Swans were found by Bert Loyd this morning, roosting in front of the John Morgan hide. These are the first to be seen this year and by my reckoning take the species count for the reserve in 2016 to 150!

In my entry for 15th October WeBS count I omitted Derek Britch from the list of counters. Sorry Derek! Derek is one of the longest serving supportors of this survey and without his contribution in counting the Weir Pool and the Mersey up to and beyond the Thelwall Viaduct we would miss out on many waterfowl visiting the Eyes.

It stayed dry for my walk around the reserve although two rainbows showed that rain was not far away! There was nothing particularly unusual but 68 Lapwing and three Green Sandpipers were on No.3 bed. Reserve totals included 65 Mallard, 27 Shoveler, 30 Snipe, 194 Teal and 29 Robins. A Red Admiral and a Comma were on No.4 bed.

The monthly WeBS count was carried out this morning and thanks to David Hackett, David Spencer and Les Jones for ensuring that all of the Eyes was covered. As many of you will know water levels on No.3 bed are low partly the result of water being let out as part of our Management Plan for the bed and also because of the lack of rain in recent weeks.From the end of this month levels should begin to rise to an agreed level. Species recorded to day are as follows:

Little Grebe 4, Mute Swan 26, Cormorant 10, Grey Heron 6, Canada Goose 3, Wigeon 5, Gadwall 48, Teal 80, Mallard 43, Shoveler 38, Tufted Duck 78, Moorhen 47, Coot 26, Water Rail 1, Lapwing 86, Snipe 26, Black tailed Godwit 18 Black-headed Gull 61, Common Gull 1, Lesser Black backed Gull 3 .

A dawn visit to No.1 bed on tuesday paid dividends, with 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, a late Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps the highlights. With a Cetti’s Warbler later on No.3 bed, along with another Chiffchaff, that made 5 species of warbler in mid-October. Can’t remember when that last occurred at Woolston. There were still a few waders on No.3 bed, including: 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Black-tailed Godwits and 17 Snipe.

Cheers David Bowman

With a light easterly blowing, there was always the prospect of a good passage of migrants for our monthly Visible Migration Watch from Butchersfield Tip. Highlights were: 3 Crossbills, a female Merlin which flew at high speed over our shoulders, 1065 Redwings, 1725 Pink-footed Geese, 112 Linnets, 43 Skylarks, 20 Redpolls, 47 Meadow Pipits, 1062 Starlings, 2 Yellowhammers and 6 Siskins. Later, on No.3 bed, counts included: 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 17 Snipe, 400 Lapwings and 4 Wigeon.

Cheers David Bowman (with Dave Steel, Helen Allen, Sue Haddock and George Dunbar)