No.4 bed - Ferruginous Ducks are mobile, moved from the Loop to the east cell then flew in the direction of No.3 bed this morning. Currently being looked for on the wetland. Sedge Warbler singing on east cell, Little Ringed Plover. 3 Curlew , 2 Mediterranean Gull and adult Little Gull flew through.

No.3 bed - Garganey pair still from South Screen, 3 Brambling by feeders, Adult Mediterranean Gull, Oystercatcher, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Marsh harrier

Adult Little Gull in fields on south-side of Canal opposite Butchersfield.

Ferruginous and Ruddy Duck viewing -

The Reserve will be open again to non-permit holders from 10:30 to 13:30 hours on Sunday 31st March with two wardens prepared to man the entrances and advise on current status of the ducks. A donation of £5 is being asked to help with Reserve management.

Well, that was a really memorable morning, as we opened the Reserve to non-permit holders who were keen to see the drake Ruddy Duck, which has been around for a few days. We had approaching a hundred people turn up, a mix of permit holders and day visitors and made more than £200 in donations for the Reserve. So, thanks to all those who graciously made donations. The gods of weather and birding shone on us, too, as the spring sunshine was warm and, while everyone else was focussed on the Ruddy Duck, one of our visitors found a pair of Ferruginous Ducks in front of the Loop Hide. These diminutive, declining diving ducks breed mainly in Eastern Europe and are rare visitors to the UK, so to see a pair is really something. Intriguingly, a pair bred in Avon back in the early 2000s, so its not impossible that they could repeat that feat, given the suitable habitat on the Reserve. To add to the theme of rare/uncommon ducks, a pair of Garganey was showing in front of the South Screen on No.3 bed. All we needed was the Lesser Scaup from earlier in the week to show its face to cap a remarkable day. Other notable sightings included 17 Black-necked Grebes, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Swallows and a passage of 450 Sand Martins. The link is to a video showing the morning’s star birds.

Click here to watch David’s video or copy the link below into your browser.

https://youtu.be/dUuy_dCl_2g Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen, Helen Wynn and Brian Martin)

No.4 bed - Ruddy Duck, 2 Ferruginous Duck - The entrance barrier and No.4 bed gate are being manned and opened for visitors, small donation being asked, to see the two species until 13:00 hrs.

No.4 bed - Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup

No.3 bed - 2 Garganey

No.4 bed - Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, 11+ Black-necked Grebe present

No.3 bed - c1000 Sand Martin roost, 2 Garganey

No.2 bed - Adult Iceland Gull over flying south

No.3 bed - Ruddy Duck still present at 16:15hrs Frank Linley hide, also Swallow and House Martin amongst Sand Martin flock.

No.4 bed - 2 House Martin, 3 Blackcap, 11 Cetti’s Warbler and 101 Chiffchaff.

With hazy spring sunshine and a cool easterly breeze today, it always seemed likely that something interesting would turn up. Initially, the focus was on of early returning migrants including 1 Swallow, 4 Blackcaps and 3 House Martins, alongside 115 Chiffchaffs and 280 Sand Martins. As ever at this time of year our Black-necked Grebes are coming and going before finally settling to breed and just 7 were located. The surprise, though, came when we reached the Morgan Hide on No.3 bed to be met with a drake Ruddy Duck, our first for two years. As most people will be aware, this beautiful little duck is an American species which escaped from captivity in the UK and established itself as a breeding species. Back in the day, Woolston was one of the main sites for the species, with 20 breeding pairs and a winter peak of 170 birds. Unfortunately, some of the rapidly growing UK population began to migrate and interbreed with the rare, declining and closely related White-headed Duck in Southern Spain. A controversial, government-sponsored culling programme was initiated, which has now almost eradicated the species in the UK. The link is to a short video showing the Ruddy Duck, along with some of our other birds from the past couple of days.

To watch David’s video, click here… or cut & paste the link below into your browser.

https://youtu.be/zEsC057l2d8 Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

No.3 bed - This morning, Sparrowhawk, 3 Shelduck, 31 Pochard, 200+ Sand Martin passed through. Marsh Harrier, Willow Tit, 3 Brambling, Moorhen C54

No.4 bed - This morning, 2 Black-necked Grebe, 50 Chiffchaff

Despite the cold, blustery westerly wind, which brought intermittent icy showers this morning, migrants continued to struggle through. We started on No,4 bed, where two pairs of Marsh Harrier were active. The males were carrying food and interacting with their respective females, which is usually a prelude to display, which typically involves food passes. A single Willow Warbler was in song, in defiance of the conditions, along with an impressive 87 Chiffchaffs scattered around the bed, while just a dozen Sand Martins passed over. At the moment, all of our Black-necked Grebes are on this bed, with 12 noted. Waders were represented by 2 Black-tailed Godwits, which flew through, a single Snipe and 2 pairs of Lapwings which were displaying on the breeding islands. With squalls approaching from the west, we then hurriedly decamped to the shelter of the Morgan Hide in No.3 bed, where the highlights were the 3 Little Ringed Plovers which flew through, with 300 Sand Martins beating into the wind over three hours and 5 Bramblings under the feeders. A note of concern remains about the dearth of Black-headed Gulls on the bed, with just 40 present. Our breeding colony was devastated by bird flu last year and so far, it’s hard to be optimistic about the prospect of a recovery. Photo of a 1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen and Helen Wynn)

No.3 bed - Lesser Scaup from Rotary Hide at 11:12 hrs still present at 13:24, 2 Brambling under Morgan Hide feeders. The Lesser Scaup was not relocated on 23rd March.

With a light, cool southerly breeze, it was a morning with plenty of crossover between late-staying winter species and arriving summer migrants. Among the former were 2 Goldeneyes, 2 Bramblings, 12 Redwings, 5 Fieldfares, 4 Siskins and 25 Lesser Redpolls. Among the latter was an interestingly pale individual, which we chased around for a while without getting any conclusive views, as it was very mobile and feeding high in the tree tops. Summer visitors were well represented by 9 Black-necked Grebes, 100+ Sand Martins and 40 Chiffchaffs just on part of No.4 bed. Bird of the day, though, was the Red Kite which drifted east over No.4 bed. While Red Kites are now annual visitors to the Reserve, its always nice to get the first one of the year. Also unexpected was the flock of 39 Wigeon which dropped onto No.4 bed, briefly, before flushing and flying strongly to the north. With another 11 settled on No.3 bed, the total of 50 is an excellent count by our standards. Photo of a Black-necked Grebe moulting into summer plumage Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

No.3 bed - Sandwich Tern on raft 09:30 flew north 09:50, 3 Mediterranean Gull

No.4 bed - 15 Black-necked Grebe, Greenshank NE along Mersey, Little Egret flew west, 34 Sand Martin north by 10:30, Brambling south of west cell, Mallard brood

No.3 bed - Lesser Scaup

Influx of Chiffchaff, 36 on walk to Bollin Point

No.4 bed - 6 Black-necked Grebe, Dunlin, 3 Snipe, 3 female Goldeneye, several Orange Underwing moth

No.3 bed - 39 Pochard, 2 Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Snipe, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Sparrowhawk, 41 Sand Martin, 3 Marsh harrier, 2 Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen (ring C70)

No.4 bed this morning, 21 Sand Martins flew north, green Sandpiper, flew west, White Wagtail showing, 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull dropped in, 2 Willow Tit and influx of Black-necked Grebe, Chiffchaff and Pochard. 6 Black-necked Grebe, 13 Chiffchaff, Peacock butterfly

Latchford Locks, 2 Great Black-backed Gull

No.1 bed this morning, 2 Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper

No.4 bed, 2 Barnacle Goose flew SE, Curlew flyover, 2 Goldeneye

No.1 bed am, 3 singing Chiffchaffs, 2 Shelduck, 3 Curlew

No.3 bed am, 2 Buzzard, 41 Redwing, 2 Oystercatcher, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Little Grebe, 3 Water Rail, Shelduck, 23 Pochard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen

WeBS count record

260 Canada Goose, 15 Greylag Goose, 28 Mute Swan, 22 Shelduck, 130 Shoveler, 209 Gadwall, 98 Mallard, 60 Teal, 63 Pochard, 524 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 180 Coot, 14 Moorhen, 2 Water Rail, 21 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Black-necked Grebe, 16 Little Grebe, 11 Oystercatcher, 4 Lapwing, 260 Black-headed Gull, 2 Herring Gull, 86 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 11 Cormorant, 7 Grey Heron

Recap of the week;

Monday 4th, 2 Black-necked Grebe No.4 bed, different birds from the previous week.

Tuesday 5th, Lesser Scaup west cell of No.4 bed appears to be the same bird which visited mid-February and Ring-necked Parakeet calling south of the Canal by No.3 bed car park.

Wednesday 6th, No sign of the Lesser Scaup but 3 Black-necked Grebe on No.4 bed, Stonechat, White, Pied and Grey Wagtail No.1 bed.

Friday 8th, 2 Black-necked Grebe No.3 bed.