A Little Egret paid a brief visit to No.3 bed today before flying off west

More of today’s Whooper Swans

Another Marsh Harrier picture!

The Marsh Harrier which has been present since the 19th October

We had the company of Mathew Fairhurst’s walking group this late morning to the No3 Bed who were delighted to see the female Marsh Harrier from the screen along the south bank. Other sighting were 2 Sparrowhawk, 3 Buzzard, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Snipe, plenty of Teal but the highlight was 3 Whooper Swans dropping in around lunchtime, showing really well from the John Morgan Hide. The photos were taken by Brian Daniels, one of the visiting group. Les Jones.

Teal (Anas crecca) from the John Morgan Hide

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) from the John Morgan Hide

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) from the John Morgan Hide

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - from footbridge

Some of the most enjoyable mornings on the Reserve stem from our Visible Migration sessions on Butchersfield Tip, at the eastern end of the Reserve. We do these monthly from September to December and would be happy if anyone wanted to come and join us for future sessions. This morning we met at 7.15 am in order to be ensconced at our viewpoint by first light. While the skies were initially overcast, with a cool north-westerly wind blowing, the day slowly morphed into one of blue skies and warm sunshine. The bird variety was excellent, with the canal adjacent to the tip producing early records of 2 Goosanders and 2 Goldeneyes, along with many commoner waterbirds. The main movements were of: 2,400 Pink-footed Geese, in 12 skeins, heading for the east coast; 1 Brambling; 18 Siskins; 68 Redwings; 41 Fieldfares; 39 Skylarks and 43 Meadow Pipits. More local sightings included: 3 Ravens; 1 Kingfisher; 7 Yellowhammers; 535 Woodpigeons; 70 Stock Doves; 1 Peregrine, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Grey Wagtails; c.4,000 Starlings feeding on Rixton Tip to the north and 25 Buzzards, including a group of 20, all searching for invertebrate prey on an adjacent arable field. The photo is of the view north from Butchersfield Tip Cheers David Bowman (with Dave Steel and David Spencer)

There was a more autumnal feel to the day with cloud and a blustery wind all day. The Green Sandpiper seen last week was on the west pool of No.1 bed and one of the resident Peregrines was on the viaduct. On the fields to the north of No.1 bed was a flock of 400 Lapwing and about a hundred Starlings. A Nuthatch was calling in the wood to the north of Butchersfield Tip. On No.3 bed were 46 Shoveler, 17 Black-tailed Godwit, 12 Wigeon and 2 female Pintail. Reserve totals included 340 Teal and 161 Tufted Duck. Robins were few in number compared with last week and only about twenty were heard.

The Yellow-browed Warbler on No.3 bed

Yesterday’s highlights included 2 Great White Egrets, 1 Stonechat briefly from the John Morgan Hide, a juvenile Marsh Harrier, 250 Pink-footed Geese flying SE, 42 Redwing and 4 Fieldfare. Today Kieran Foster caught a Yellow-browed Warbler, the first to be ringed on No.3 bed.

Late entry for the 13th October WeBS count. The conditions were difficult thanks to Storm Callum with severe gale force winds and at times heavy rain. The figures obtained were as follows:- little Grebe 14, Cormorant 8, Mute Swan 12, Grey Heron 5, Pink footed Goose 34, Canada Goose 92, Wigeon 3, Gadwall 14, Teal 265, Mallard 188, Pintail 3, Shoveler 91, Tufted Duck 89, Water Rail 3, Moorhen 22, Coot 13, Lapwing 220, Black tailed Godwit 34, Snipe 4, Kingfisher 1, Black headed Gull 50,Sparrowhawk 1, Peregrine falcon 3. The flock of Pink-footed Geese were on land just to the south of the Ship Canal and are normally only recorded over flying Woolston.

A dawn till near-dusk day, with a very productive four hour habitat development meeting sandwiched between two birding sessions. It was nice to host our visitors from Ramboll, Natural England/Carbon Landscape and the RSPB and to make such good progress in terms of our ideas for improving the Reserve. The birding was as good as ever, with Black-tailed Godwits, Snipe, Water Rails, Kingfisher, Redwings, Willow Tits, Wigeon, Pintails, Peregrine, Sparrowhawks, nearly 200 finches and buntings (100 Greenfinches, 40 Chaffinches, 30 Linnets and 14 Reed Buntings) plus over 1,000 Woodpigeons leaving a roost at dawn.

Photo of the meeting attendees!

Cheers David Bowman

A pleasant autumn day with plenty of interesting sightings. On No.1 bed were 2 Cetti’s Warblers and a Green Sandpiper whilst a Peregrine was in its usual spot on the viaduct. 61 of a reserve total of 62 Shoveler were on No.3 bed together with 4 female Pintail, 2 female Wigeon and about 20 each of Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit. Reserve-wide totals included 113 Tufted Duck, 84 Mallard, 25 Moorhen and 11 Grey Heron. At the locks were a pair of Pied Wagtails and a single Grey Wagtail. Robin numbers totalled 78 with 25 Magpies counted. A single Speckled Wood was on the river to the north of No.2 bed.

A productive morning showing Jim Wardill, Northern Regional Director for the RSPB, around the Reserve, in company with Jane Birch. Brian Martin, David Spencer and Ashley Radford. Managed to squeeze in a bit of birding along the way with highlights of: 1 Swallow, 1 Redshank, 34 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher, 16 Redwings, 1 Willow Tit, 2 Pintails, 7 Wigeon and a juvenile Peregrine which made its daily appearance to beat up the godwit flock. I also enjoyed watching a Kestrel which spent the whole morning on the Morgan Hide scrape , initially trying unsuccessfully to catch Greenfinches at the feeding station, then fluttering around the scrape looking for insect prey before perching on the frame of the feeders and waiting, patiently, for a small mammal to wander past.

Photo of this morning’s Kestrel

Cheers David Bowman

Well, that was a really nice morning, with the weather moving from drizzly to squally to sunny and with plenty of birds found during the monthly BTO Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). We started at dawn on No.3 bed , with the pick of the birds being Water Rail, Kingfisher and 33 Black-tailed Godwits. Then a walk through No.1 bed and down to Bollin Point produced: 2 adult Peregrines, 34 Pink-footed Geese feeding on a field near Lymm Golf Club, one Chiffchaff, 25 Redwings, 5 Mistle Thrushes and a single Snipe. We fortunately made it back to No.3 bed before the first of the heavy squalls hit and from the Morgan Hide added 4 Snipe, 2 Wigeon and 3 Pintail to the count. The main wildfowl totals were: 155 Mallard, 80 Shoveler, 250 Teal, 23 Tufted Duck, 92 Canada Geese, 34 Pink-footed Geese, 8 Mute Swans and 25 Teal. The final few hours were spent scanning for movement, picking up a couple of Ravens and a few hundred Woodpigeons. Finally, we were treated to a flying display by the third Peregrine of the morning, a juvenile male which made several unsuccessful stoops at the Godwit flock. Cheers David Bowman (with George Dunbar, Helen Wynn, Kelly Ainsworth and David Spencer)

A nice mid-morning to late afternoon wander round Nos.1,2 and 3 beds today. On No.3 bed birds of note included: 8 Redwings, 3 Goldcrests, 1 Pintail, 2 Wigeon, 34 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Common Snipe, 220 Lapwings, 4 Cetti’s Warblers, 1 Water Rail and 1 Kingfisher. On the Mersey, alongside Nos.1 and 2 beds, 112 Tufted Duck, 10 Gadwall and a couple each of Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe were looking settled. In the riverside trees three more Redwings, two more Goldcrests and a Nuthatch were moving through, while, out on a ploughed field to the north of No.1 bed, 70 Linnets, 6 Mistle Thrushes, 12 Pied Wagtails and 150 Lapwings were feeding. Cheers David Bowman

Nice to be back on No.3 bed this morning, with good species variety and a crossover between departing summer migrants and incoming winter visitors. Highlights were: 3 Redwings, 1 Pintail, 4 Swallows, 5 Cetti’s Warblers, 140 Pink-footed Geese, 61 Black-tailed Godwits, 12 Snipe, 18 Reed Buntings, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Water Rail, 1 Kingfisher, 81 Shoveler, 1 Willow Tit, 1 Kingfisher and 510 Lapwings.

Photo of some of the Godwits from this morning.

Cheers David Bowman (with Helen Wynn, Dave Steel, Alan Warford and Les Jones)