Bill Neil

We managed to fit in the last birding group trip of June which was to Marbury Park followed by a planning session for the next term (and lunch) at the Spinner and Bergamot pub. We started out, as usual, by going down to the screen that overlooks the lake and reed bed. We could see a cloud of Sand Martins flying over the water and a few Swallows were also hawking around. The usual large numbers of Coots were on the water but fewer Great Crested Grebes were there than one might have expected. A Reed Warbler was singing fromt he reed bed. After a while, I decided to have a look behind us at the bushed where I could hear Blackcaps singing but also something else.

The first birding group outing of June was to Burton Mere Wetlands where we had a dry and mild day. Largely, we saw the usual suspects but we did manage to get one rarity for the site and a pair ducks in less frequently seen breeding plumage.

The last birding group outing of May was to Wigan Flashes. We had hoped to see Willow Tit there (a local speciality) but, with the feeders all empty and it being post-breeding time, we were disappointed. However, it was a very sunny day and a nice walk with the added appeal of a couple of year ticks.

The birding group had a day out to Burton Mere Wetlands on 9^th May and it turned out to be a fine, warm day. On the scrape, right at the back, there were a few small birds causing much identification mayhem. More than one person thought they saw a Little Stint (including me) but the RSPB had it for a Ruff. There was less doubt about at least one Green Sandpiper but they were all a long way away.

Having learnt about the opening of the new bed 4 loop at Woolston Eyes on our recent visit there when we did not have time to do that as well as the main site, we decided to return a few days later to check it out.