It was a beautiful bright day Monday and perfect for my very first visit to No.4 Bed (Plus a quick return to No.3 Bed). With the Penduline Tit nowhere to be seen it was nice to focus on a range of old friends from the majestic Marsh Harriers to the ever present Long Tailed Tits and many others. I learned the hard way that if you’re going to walk the long trail to the elevated lookout you really need to be wearing wellington boots. I was of course 90% of the way there when my walking shoes declined to cross the flooded path and abruptly ended my journey!! Lessons learned aside my take away from Monday’s visit was the beauty of the site and the fabulous quality of the light which lit everything up in technicolour. See photos attached which are cropped but otherwise unedited.

Marsh Harrier from the John Morgan hide.

Long-Tailed Tit from the Sybil Hogg Hide

Photo of a Cormorant of the continental race sinensis.

Cheers David

Spring arrived early this morning, with blue skies, a southerly breeze and a surprise arrival. Walking on to No.3 bed early on, we were greeted by the welcome sound of 70 raucous Black-headed Gulls back at the breeding colony. We can only hope that they have a good breeding season, after seeing the population previously decimated by bird flu. From the Morgan Hide other signs of spring came with a displaying pair of Great Crested Grebes, a male Lapwing taking up territory on the shingle island, a pair of Oystercatchers dropping in and three Marsh harriers indulging in high-soaring display. The surprise came with the arrival of a hawking Sand Martin, the earliest ever sighting for the Reserve. In the past the first Sand Martins to come in on a southerly breeze have brought with them the first returning Black-necked Grebes, so its worth keeping an eye out for them over the next few days. Other sightings on the bed included three Raven, a singing Willow Tit and several Cormorants of the continental race sinensis. Sinensis Cormorants used to be a real scarcity but are now much more common as they’ve establishes inland breeding colonies across the UK. Photo of an Oystercatcher Cheers David Bowman (with Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)

On Saturday with a cold easterly still blowing, we completed the monthly Wetland Birds Survey (WeBS). In total 2,867 ‘water-birds’ of 31 species were recorded by the wardening team. Highlights included: 1 Jack Snipe, 9 Snipe, 4 Woodcock, 11 Pintail, 4 Mandarins, 4 Goldeneye,19 Shelduck, 3 Kingfishers, 19 Little Grebes, 10 Great Crested Grebes, 17 water Rails, 144 Shoveler, 239 Gadwall, 132 Pochard, 249 Mallard, 687 Tufted Duck and 507 Teal. In addition there was a record count of 520 Stock Doves taking advantage of the Fodder Radish Crop to the south of Bollin Point. This video link shows a few of the sightings from this winter period, including the long-staying Penduline Tit. https://youtu.be/cQvRbXAN7Vg

Cheers David (with Dan Owen, Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)

A bitingly cold east wind has kept temperatures down all week at Woolston Eyes but that didn’t take the edge off some good birding. The long-staying Penduline Tit showed well on occasions, including this morning. Monday’s highlight was an early adult Mediterranean Gull, while Tuesday saw a Yellow-legged Gull on No.4 bed, along with 6 Pintail, with a couple of Bramblings visiting the Morgan Hide feeders along with the Chaffinch flock. This morning’s variety included: 1 Penduline Tit, 1 Golden Plover, 3 Egyptian Geese, 1 Oystercatcher, 4 Pintail, 4 Goldeneyes, 11 Common Gulls, 1 Snipe, 50 Redwings and 6 Marsh Harriers. The latter were particularly interesting, as two pairs were noted displaying, on different, beds, raising hopes that we could be hosting a two breeding pairs this year. Photo of a Long-tailed Tit Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

Male Bullfinch from the Sybil Hogg Hide.

My first butterfly of the year today, a Peacock on No1 bed

While most of our Saturday morning visitors were focussed on looking for the Penduline Tit on No.4 bed, we opted for a lazy morning in the Morgan Hide on No.3 bed. This turned out to be a good choice, as blue skies and sunshine, albeit with a cold breeze, triggered quite a bit of pre-breeding behaviour. A pair of Marsh Harriers were tentatively displaying throughout the morning and we are hoping for a breeding attempt on the bed this year, in addition to the well-established pair on another part of the Reserve. With around 500 wildfowl on the bed, it was no surprise when a hunting male Peregrine arrived, though the surprise of the morning came when four Egyptian Geese dropped in. Originally of African origin, they have established a feral breeding population in the UK, with around 1,800 pairs currently breeding, mainly in the south of England. They remain a very scarce visitor to the Reserve and so were nice to add to a growing year-list. Finally, a Great White Egret arrived and, as we were walking off the bed around 60 Redwings were feeding in the shelter belt, harbingers of the easterly movement which will take them back to the east coast and then on to their Fenno-Scandian breeding grounds as spring progresses. Photo of the Egyptian Geese. Cheers David Bowman (with Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)

Penduline tit from 31 Jan 25.