Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes 12th November 2013

Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes 12th November 2013

We had a lovely morning for the birding group visit to Sandbach Flashes. As usual we had a quick look at Pump House Flash which was pretty full of water. There were large numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls as well as Coots. There were Wigeon grazing on the grass. We walked down the lane towards the farm but the fields to the right were pretty empty. On Elton Hall Flash there were large numbers of Mallard and some Shelduck, Shovelers and Teal and as the water got deeper there were Tufted Ducks and a couple of Goosander. As we walked back up the lane a small flock of Long-tailed Tits tumbled from tree to tree.As we went round to the bird-feeder side of Elton Hall Flash we saw a small number of Tree Sparrrows, Great and Blue Tits and Chaffinches. A Robin and a Wren also showed in front of the reeds both singing loudly. In the bushes to the left where the Tree Sparrows normally congregate we saw the highly unusual sight of half a dozen Dunnocks all scouring the berry-laden trees for insects. There certainly were insects about and I even saw a Dragonfly !

On the remains of a tree that sticks up out of the water there was a small roost of eight Cormorants (although there were more in the trees on the other side of the road. On the water there were only a few birds including a couple of Mute Swans and some Coots but the fields to the left were full of birds, principally Wigeon and Canada Geese of which there were several hundreds of each. A largish flock of Lapwings were constantly rising up in a panic and wheeled around before landing back in the fields, perhaps as a result of a Buzzard that was perched atop a small tree. It didn’t seem too fussed however and we didn’t actually see it even threaten to take off.

Also among these birds there were fair numbers of Starlings, a pair of Pied Wagtails and about a dozen Curlew. After much scanning among these packed birds we eventually detected a pair of Ruff and a single Redshank. At the waters edge there was a Grey Heron and four Snipe.

We had a really pleasant morning and finished it off with a great lunch at The Bear’s Head just up the road.

Bird Sightings : Sandbach : Pump House Flash

Bird Sightings : Sandbach : Elton Hall Flash