Author's posts
Dec 09 2014
Birding Group Day Out to WWT Martin Mere : 9th December 2014
Birding Group Day Out to WWT Martin Mere : 9th December 2014
It is a little hard to believe after seeing a Tawny Owl at Moore the previous week, but on the path down to the Ron Barker hide, just before you reach the Kingfisher Hide and just before a bench we encountered a small group of birders staring up into an ivy-clad tree on the right hand side of the path. After much instructing as to which branch to follow etc, we eventually found, quite high up in the tree a cryptically coloured shape that was incredibly hard to distinguish among the iny; until, that is, it blinked and there we had it – our second Tawny Owl in eight days. This one was ever harder to distinguish from its background unless it moved which it did occasionally. I tried my hardest but I just could not get it in my scope – partly because it was too close !!
Dec 02 2014
Tawny Owl at Moore Nature Reserve : 2nd December 2014
Tawny Owl at Moore Nature Reserve : 2nd December 2014
The first birding group morning of December brought a fantastic life tick – a Tawny Owl.
Nov 30 2014
Summary : November 2014
Summary : November 2014
Birding Group Days Out
The first birding group day out of November was to Tatton Park on the 4th. It was a lovely autumn day and still quite warm. It was a bit quiet in Dog Wood but we did see GS Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Nuthatch. On the water there was a fair spread of birds with small numbers of Pochard and Wigeon and the usual Great-Crested Grebes and a Little Grebe. All in all, though, it was a little quite – a nice day for a walk though !
Our visit to Frodsham Marsh and the Weaver Bend on the 11th was notable for our first sighting of the morning – a Barn Owl !
Nov 25 2014
High Tide at Hoylake and Burton Mere Wetland: 25th November 2014
High Tide at Hoylake : 25th November 2014
The birding group visit for this week was to Hoylake for a high tide. The tide was due at 12.37 at 9.5 metres. We arrived there around 10.15am and were pleased to find that it was a lovely sunny morning with no wind which made a very pleasant change from usual but, of course, a bit of wind and (perhaps) rain is always better for a high tide. Be that as it may, Hoylake is never disappointing and today was no exception.
Nov 18 2014
Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 18th November 2014
Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 18th November 2014
Our group visit to Sandbach Flashes was on a very nice autumnal morning with crisp clear low sunlight that made for glare-free viewing of the flashes. We started off with Pump House Flash; on hte fields at the back were considerable numbers of Wigeon and Canada Geese. On the water the gulls were mainly Herring Gulls but there was a single Great Black-backed Gull and a few Black-headed Gulls.
Ducks included Tufted, Mallard, and Teal. There were lots of Coots and Moorhens and Starlings feeding on the grassland amongst the Gulls and Wigeon. In the trees there were Magpies and Carrion Crows and also the usual Cormorant roost. Smaller birds in the bushes included Great tit, Tree Sparrow, Robins and a Wren.
Nov 11 2014
Birding Group Visit to Frodsham Marsh : 11th November 2014
Birding Group Visit to Frodsham Marsh : 11th November 2014
Our visit to Frodsham Marsh could not have got off to a better start. As we collected at the parking spot and were starting to head off down the path to the River Weaver, I stopped to try to locate the source of some bird calls in the trees near to the road. As we were looking at the trees a white bird came out of them and slowly flew in the direction of the river. Our first thoughts were that it must be a gull but then it wasn’t flying in that way. Additionally there were golden brown markings on the wings. It dawned on us that we were looking at a Barn Owl.
Nov 04 2014
Birding Group Visit to Tatton Park : 4th November 2014
Birding Group Visit to Tatton Park : 4th November 2014
Our visit to Tatton Park was a very pleasant morning but it has to be said it was a bit quiet, especially in the woods, though we did see Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch and Treecreeper. On the water there was a good spread of species including Pochard and Wigeon in small numbers and the usual Tufted Ducks and Grebes. It was a lovely walk though and sometimes that just has to do.
Oct 31 2014
Summary : October 2014
Summary : October2014
Birding On Holiday
Our birding month was dominated by our holiday in Mallorca where we had some great life ticks, including Black Vulture, Booted Eagle and Eleonora’s Falcons. On the wetland front we had great views of an Osprey and life ticks of Purple Swamphen and Red-knobbed Coot. In general we visited some great sites and will most likely return one spring.