We booked 4 nights in the Premier Inn in Caernarfon with a view to using it as a base for touring Anglesey and The Lleyn Peninsula. On our way we stopped at RSPB Conwy for a spot of lunch and a walk around the reserve. The House Martins and Swallows were flying over the water in their masses. There were also a few swifts. It was a pretty good day weather-wise so we walked all the way round the lakes and came back along the estuary side. We were told that a Water Rail had been seen but it managed to elude us. Continue reading
May 07 2011
“Watching Waterbirds with Kate Humble”
I have just read this beginners introduction to the kinds of wild birds you are likely to encounter at a WWT site. Aimed at the newcomer to waterbirds, it splits the birds into logical groups (if not exactly taxonomically correct) and in “Kate’s Top Tips” it appears to aim at provide the reader with various aides-mémoire to help in distinguishing the various species you are likely to encounter. This sounds like a great idea – even for a non-beginner – except that it has to be said that these aides may have been what originally helped Kate Humble remember the differences between species but I, for one, didn’t find them memorable at all and I can’t imagine that anyone else would either.
May 03 2011
Birding Group Visit to Moore Nature Reserve 3rd May 2011
This weeks visit of the birding group was to Moore Nature Reserve again. It was a lovely day – the weather has been very good for a while now – so we had a very pleasant stroll through the woods. Our previous visit had been on 18th January when we had quite a good morning. This time we started by walking down Lapwing Lane past the hide overlooking Lapwing Lake and then down to the feeding station which was disappointingly quiet. There were a couple of Pheasant and a Moorhen wandering around but on the feeders there was just the solitary female Reed Bunting and a couple of Grey Squirrels. Continue reading
May 01 2011
Summary of April 2011
April has been remarkably dry and warm. The Met Office described it this way –
“With high pressure influencing the weather for most of the month, it was much warmer, drier and sunnier than normal. The mean temperature was 4.0 °C above the 1971–2000 average and it was the warmest April in the series from 1910, being 0.6 °C warmer than April 2007 (now ranked second). In central England, it was the warmest April for over 350 years.”
Apr 24 2011
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Apr 21 2011
Schedule for WEA Birding Mornings 2011
The next schedule for the birding mornings has been drawn up and is as follows :
- 3 May Moore West
- 10 May Coombes Valley, Tittesworth Reservoir (near Leek) full day
- 17 May Macclesfield Forest
- 24 May Pennington Flash
- 31 May Staley Brushes (a bit over half a day)
- 7 June tbd
- 14 June Blacktoft Sands – a day out
- 21 June Rixton Clay Pits
- 28 June Goyt Valley + pub lunch to fix autumn schedule
Apr 20 2011
Day Out to Point of Ayr for a Migrants and Wader Watch 20th April 2011
Point of Ayr is the northernmost point of mainland Wales. It is situated immediately to the north of Talacre in Flintshire, at the mouth of the Dee estuary. It is the site of a RSPB nature reserve, and is part of Gronant and Talacre Dunes Site of Special Scientific Interest. This was an RSPB guided event. The high tide at Liverpool was 1pm and the height was to be 9.7m. (Enquiries were on 0151 336 7681) so we were expecting something of a spectacle as the tide rose.
We were to meet at 10.30am in the car park of the Smugglers Inn, Station Road, Talacre which was easier said than done as by the time we arrived the car park was full and none of the other holiday making type places would permit the parking of cars except for people eating in their cafes and restaurants. Neither were they too keen on people using their toilets – some cafes didn’t even have them necessitating the use of the very minimal and rather crude public toilets.
Apr 19 2011
Birding Group Visit to Marbury Country Park 19th April 2011
The weather was fantastically warm and sunny so was a real pleasure. We parked at the main entrance rather than the one at the Anderton Boat Lift which we use for a visit to Neumann’s Flash. This is a pay and display. We then walked to the hide at the edge of Budworth Mere and walked along the mere edge through the woods where we saw several Blackcaps and some of the group saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker. There were Chiffchaffs aplenty and both Song and Mistle Thrushes. On the water were at least ten Great crested Grebes, a few Tufted Ducks and in the distance Canada Geese. Continue reading
Apr 14 2011
Day Out To Etherow Country Park 14th April 2011
We were looking for somewhere to go for a walk that was quite near us but which we hadn’t been to before so we looked in “Where To Watch Birds : North West England & The Isle of Man” by Alan Conlin, Chris Sharpe, Judith Smith, J.P. Cullen Dr., et al. and came up with Etherow Country Park and Local Nature Reserve which has a web site here.
Once part of the estate of a cotton magnate, the reserve is now an interesting site that combines duck pond and sailing lake with riverine woodlands and small pools and mature woodland. The further you go into the site, the fewer people there are so whilst there are a lot of children and dog walkers etc., the further reaches are very peaceful and full of birds. Continue reading
Apr 11 2011
Birding Group Visit to Inner Marsh Farm and Parkgate 11th April 2011
Another good day our with the birding group. The weather wasn’t too good but we managed to keep dry for a while. We started off at the RSPB office and spotted a range of Finches on the feeders there. One of the group saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker but we didn’t. We walked down to the hide and en route we saw a number of birds including Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Song Thrush etc. There were quite a few of us present so when we joined the half dozen people already in the hide it was pretty full. Continue reading