The first birding group outing in April was to Marshside where we had a good day, with fair weather (but still impossibly windy) and managed to get two good “year ticks” in the shape of a pair of Mediterranean Gulls and a large flock of Golden Plover.
As we approached Marshside we could see large numbers of Pink-footed Geese all over the marsh and as I walked down towards the main “Sandgrousers Hide” I saw a bird of prey fly overhead and into the distance where it circled. This was apparently a Peregrine that had been patrolling the site all morning.
At the hide we had pointed out to us a pair of Mediterranean Gulls which eventually managed to show themselves quite well. There was a fair smattering of ducks including Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Shelduck and a pair of Pintail. The whole area was dominated by Black-headed Gulls but a particularly nice treat was a pair of Avocets on a scrape right outside the window. Closer inspections showed that the female was sitting on an egg and she got up from it from time to time giving us quite good views of the well camouflaged egg.
As we walked down to Nels Hide we stopped at the viewing blind and saw a large group of swirling birds. At first we though Starling but they were too big for that and it soon became clear that it was a rather nervous flock of Golden Plover; presumably nervous about the Peregrine lurking about. We could also see a large flock of Black-tailed Godwit further away but they were less nervous. The Golden Plover were particularly attractive because many of them were nearly in their breeding plumage.
Down at Nel’s Hide we got More Avocets and mixed among the roosting birds were smatterings of Redshank and a single Ruff.
We took a walk around the coastal side of the road around the dumps but we only managed to get Skylark and Meadow Pipit.
After Marshside we went to the Hesketh Arms for lunch and a planning session for the next term. We followed this up with a walk around Mere Sands Woods but unfortunately, for me anyway, there wasn’t anything unusual to see there. I don’t seem to have much luck at this site apart from the occasional glimpse of a Water Rail.
Bird Sightings : Marshside
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Avocet | 20 |
| Black-headed Gull | 200 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 250 |
| Canada Goose | 60 |
| Coot | 10 |
| Gadwall | 4 |
| Golden Plover | 150 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 1 |
| Herring Gull | 2 |
| Jackdaw | 10 |
| Lapwing | 30 |
| Little Egret | 1 |
| Little Grebe | 2 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Meadow Pipit | 6 |
| Mediterranean Gull | 2 |
| Mute Swan | 6 |
| Peregrine | 1 |
| Pink-footed Goose | 200 |
| Pintail | 2 |
| Redshank | 20 |
| Ruff | 1 |
| Shelduck | 20 |
| Shoveler | 24 |
| Skylark | 4 |
| Starling | 20 |
| Teal | 30 |
| Wren | 1 |
Bird Sightings : Mere Sands Woods
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Blue Tit | 6 |
| Chiffchaff | 2 |
| Cormorant | 16 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 1 |
| Long-tailed Tit | 2 |
| Shelduck | 30 |
| Shoveler | 12 |
| Tufted Duck | 20 |