Author's posts
Jun 09 2015
Birding Group Visit to WWT Martin Mere : 9th June 2015
Birding Group Visit to WWT Martin Mere : 9th June 2015
Our birding group visit to Martin Mere perhaps disappointed some people because the sheer numbers that you see there in winter were not present. However, I think it is a bit much to complain when you see some over-summering Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans and see a total of forty-six species in a few hours. Additionally there were some cute Avocet and Shelduck chicks so I was quite happy even though we didn’t see the Little Stint or Red-necked Phalarope that had been see there recently.
Jun 07 2015
Corncrake at Carr Lane, Hale : 7th June 2015
Corncrake at Carr Lane, Hale : 7th June 2015
I had been watching reports on Rare Bird Alert of a Corncrake singing in a field off Carr Lane near Hale, Merseyside. I had heard of this site before because the pools on the lane often have reports of good birds. When the reports were still coming in a week later and with a lovely sunny evening due, we decided to make the forty minute drive over there to take a look. At least we hoped that we could hear the bird if not see it but we were to be rewarded in a spectacular way.
Jun 05 2015
Moore Nature Reserve : 5th June 2015
Moore Nature Reserve : 5th June 2015
The weather forecast was good for a limited number of areas for the day and Moore Nature Reserve was one of them. My target birds were Yellowhammer and Grey Partridge. Unfortunately we saw neither but we had a nice long walk on a hot and humid morning where we still managed to get forty-one species of birds.
Jun 02 2015
Red-necked Phalarope at Burton Mere Wetlands : 2nd June 2015
Red-necked Phalarope at Burton Mere Wetlands : 2nd June 2015
Our birding group day out today was supposed to be to either Neumann’s Flash or Brockholes. Since the weather forecast was poor we decided on a familiar fall-back – Burton Mere Wetlands. The weather forecast was a bit better here and although not entirely dry it wasn’t too bad; very windy though. We did get a lovely bird, though, but just before we were leaving. The best was kept to last.
May 31 2015
Summary : May 2015
Summary : May 2015
New Species added to 2015 Year List in May= 16
Running Total for the 2015 UK So Far = 128
New UK Life List Birds In March = 1 (Wood Warbler)
Our Garden
The Starlings have been coming to the bird feeders with their new young many times a day and food lasts mere seconds. A pair of Stock Doves comes often as do the usual Woodpigeons. A Dunnock or two are ever present and there are a few Goldfinches but no Greenfinches. Blue Tits are frequent, though Great Tits less so. House Sparrows come for a bath and there are a lot of Blackbirds around. Soon they will all fall quiet but for now there is a wonderful evening chorus of Blackbirds.
May 26 2015
Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley : 26th May 2015
Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley : 26th May 2015
Although I had been to the Goyt Valley the Thursday before, I was still keen to try again for the two species we would normally hope to see there that we did not get on Thursday; Tree Pipit and Redstart. Not only did we fill these missing gaps but we also got another three “year ticks” making a total of five “year ticks” in a few hours.
May 21 2015
Goyt Valley and Cat and Fiddle : 21 May 2015
Goyt Valley and Cat and Fiddle : 21 May 2015
Tuesday outing for the birding group was scheduled for the Goyt Valley but was changed to Pennington because of poor weather. I was keen that this particular venue should not disappear off the schedule if the following Tuesday’s weather was also poor so we decided to go on the Thursday. The weather that day was a little more promising and, indeed, it did not rain until the moment we were about to leave. This just gave us an excuse to have lunch at the Cat and Fiddle and discuss our successes including a “life tick”.
May 19 2015
Birding Group Visit to Pennington Flash 19th May 2015
Birding Group Visit to Pennington Flash 19th May 2015
We were scheduled to go to the Goyt Valley today but the weather forecast was so poor we decided to divert to Pennington Flash. There had been some rain overnight and the water level seemed a little high. The main attractions of the day were Common Terns and a Cetti’s Warbler but really that was about it. This sounds very disappointing but it didn’t feel like that; we kept our of the rain mostly and did see 37 species so we could not complain.
May 12 2015
Birding Group Visit to Macclesfield Forest : 12th May 2015
Birding Group Visit to Macclesfield Forest : 12th May 2015
I looked up last years trip to Macclesfield Forest and it wasn’t that brilliant. This was a bit similar though it wasn’t as windy as then. The weather was a mixture of dry spells and rainy spells. We started out at the car park where I thought I saw a retreating Pied Flycatcher (first of the year in UK) but that was one of the highlights of a rather frustrating day.