Burton Mere Wetlands and Parkgate : 21 April 2015

Burton Mere Wetlands and Parkgate : 21 April 2015

We missed the first birding group outing of this term as a result of heavy colds and building work on the house so we were particularly pleased to eventually get out of the house and into the country. We had missed the birding group visit to Moore the previous week but here we had a gloriously sunny day in which to catch up on all those spring migrants we had not been able to catch up with until now. We could not have picked a better day to catch up on these birds because the warmth and sun seemed to have brought them all out singing and displaying.

We started out at the reception hide where a Song Thrush met us on the path to the hide. On the scrape there were large numbers of Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank with a group of four Spotted Redshanks adding interest. A single Little Ringed Plover was spotted and a rather lonely single Wigeon looked rather forlorn. On one of the islands a couple of Ruff appeared from the foliage occasionally. There was a smattering  of Shelduck, Shovelers and Teal.

We moved on and had a look for the Little OWl which has been seen recently in the usual oak tree by the nissan hut barn. We had high hopes that it would be doing a bit of sun bathing but we didn’t have any luck. Apparently the Long-eared Owl down by Inner Marsh Farm has moved on.

By far the best birding was to be had just waking around the environs. First up was on the path to the marsh covert hide where at the start of the reeds at least one Sedge Warbler was singing loudly and rising up from the reeds before parachuting back down. Over the bridge towards Inner Marsh Farm hide and a Reed Bunting was displaying. A little further on we got a Whitethroat in the scope as it sang, its throat rippling as it sang. Up where the old meadow was, was now a cleared area of dry dusty field on which three Wheatear foraged for food. On the margin of that and the field or rape where there is some grassland we could hear a Grasshopper Warbler “reeling” but despite many eyes looking for it, no one could locate it.

A little further up the rise and we came across a Willow Warlbler and, although it was not singing, we had a chance to make a direct comparison with a Chiffchaff quite close to it. Up at the point it was actually quite quiet and there was such a heat haze that it was difficult to use a scope effectively. We finished off by a visit down to the Inner Marsh Farm hide. En route we spotted a pair of Blackcap to add to our warbler list. Down at the hide there were the usual large numbers of Black-tailed Godwit but mixed in with them was a small flock of Knot and a few stray Ruff.

A quick visit to the Marsh Covert Hide on the way back gave us another Little Ringed Plover and three Ringed Plover. The mixed Little Egret / Grey Heron roost in the trees near here was impressive with around twenty Little Egrets on nests – or at least roosting.

It was  getting near time for lunch so we returned to the reception hide and just off the car park we were able to add Mistle Thrush.

We went to Parkgate for lunch at the Boathouse and this gave us even more Little Egrets, some Swallows and a lovely view of a Kestrel just a few feet from us. A pait of Skylarks displayed just on the marsh finiching off a great spring morning. Next it was off to Mallorca for a fortnight so we would miss the next couple of weeks of the birding group outings.

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Reception Hide

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Environs

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Inner Marsh Farm

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Marsh Covert Hide

Bird Sightings : Parkgate