Feb 02 2016
The first birding group morning was to Neumann’s Flash. The weather was good to us considering the recent heavy rain and we had a nice enough walk althouhg we did not see much special. The highlight of an otherwise unremarkable morning was watching two Great Spotter Woodpeckers obviously starting to feel the effects of an anticipated Spring. We got good, prolonged, views of these and a nice view of a Buzzard but that was about it.
Jan 31 2016
Species this month = 83
New Species added to 2016 Year List in January= 83
Running Total for the 2016 UK So Far = 83
New UK Life List Birds In January= 0
Jan 26 2016
The birding group morning this week was to Tatton Park which turned out to be a total waste of time and quite exhausting. Due to the threated (but not materialising) high winds the authorities had decided to close Dog Wood which was a shame beacause my only reason for going there (rather than to the Wales which was my preferred option to get pelagic birds) was to get some woodland birds for my year list and I felt sure that I could get Nuthatch and Treecreeper at least. It wasn’t to be and the morning was a long hard slog instead.
Jan 24 2016
I wanted to add to my 2016 list by going to Martin Mere where I was guaranteed to get Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Geese and Marsh Harrier. An additional advantage was that we managed to get a, very obscured, view of one of the roosting Tawny Owls and a bonus Ross’s Goose from the Rains Observatory. On the minus side, we didn’t see the Barn Owl that had been showing very well from the Ron Barker Hide recently and it was probably the busiest day ever. With the expansion of the playground and the new heated hide near the shop, Martin Mere is staring to become more of a theme park and petting zoo than a nature reserve as is usually understood. No doubt they will say that raising the interest of young people and fund raising are crucial to their conservation aims but they would say that wouldn’t they ?
Jan 22 2016
Although there had been a high tide on the Dee Estuary, it wasn’t particularly high (8.8m) and it had been at 9.48am and we didn’t get to our first stop until around 10.30am. Be that as it may we wanted a day out and I suggested a round trip of some of our regular haunts : New Brighton, Hoylake, West Kirby and Burton Mere Wetlands. It was interesting to visit these sites at a relatively low (and receding) tide but we were not sure if it was going to be a bit of a wash-out or not. As it happened we had some nice additions to our new year list.
Jan 19 2016
The second birding group outing of the term, and the year, was to RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands where I hoped to add a fair number of species to my 2016 year list. I wasn’t to be disappointed and, although we did not see the Long-eared Owl that has been roosting down the path to the Inner Marsh Farm hide, we did manage to get long and wonderful views of a Short-eared Owl quartering the marsh from Burton Point. Other nice birds were a small flock of Golden Plover on the Scrape and a Kingfisher from the Marsh Covert Hide as well as Siskin, Linnets, Fieldfare and Redwing in the sky and among the trees around the site. We also got a good number of ducks and some waders adding up to 43 species for the day but – incredibly for Burton – no Black-tailed Godwits ! Who knows where they have gone.
Jan 12 2016
The first birding group morning of the new year was to Pennington Flash. The weather held out and although it was overcast at the outset, the sun eventually came out before the rain started again around mid-day. We managed to stay dry, though and had a great start to our year with some forty-three species including great views of a mixed flock of Siskin and Lesser Redpolls, two Kingfishers, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and even a Water Rail !
Jan 09 2016
With Christmas and New Year dominated by bad colds and illness, it was a pleasure to open the year’s birding campaign with a woderful bird; the easiest Great Northern Diver I’m ever likely to get.
Dec 31 2015
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Avocet | Recurvirostra avosetta |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | Limosa lapponica |
| Bearded Tit | Panurus biarmicus |
| Bewick’s Swan | Cygnus columbianus |
| Black Redstart | Phoenicurus ochruros |
| Black Swan | Cygnus atratus |
| Blackbird | Turdus merula |
| Blackcap | Sylvia atricapilla |
| Black-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus |
| Black-necked Grebe | Podiceps nigricollis |
| Black-tailed Godwit | Limosa limosa |
| Blue Tit | Cyanistes caeruleus |
| Brambling | Fringilla montifringilla |
| Brent Goose | Branta bernicla |
| Bullfinch | Pyrrhula pyrrhula |
| Buzzard | Buteo buteo |
| Carrion Crow | Corvus corone |
| Cetti’s Warbler | Cettia cetti |
| Chaffinch | Fringilla coelebs |
| Chiffchaff | Phylloscopus collybita |
| Coal Tit | Periparus ater |
| Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto |
| Common Gull | Larus canus |
| Common Sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos |
| Common Scoter | Melanitta nigra |
| Common Tern | Sterna hirundo |
| Coot | Fulica atra |
| Cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo |
| Corncrake | Crex crex |
| Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus |
| Curlew | Numenius arquata |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea |
| Dunlin | Calidris alpina |
| Dunnock | Prunella modularis |
| Fieldfare | Turdus pilaris |
| Fulmar | Fulmarus glacialis |
| Gadwall | Anas strepera |
| Gannet | Morus bassanus |
| Garden Warbler | Sylvia borin |
| Goldcrest | Regulus regulus |
| Goldeneye | Bucephala clangula |
| Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis |
| Goosander | Mergus merganser |
| Grasshopper Warbler | Locustella naevia |
| Great Black-backed Gull | Larus marinus |
| Great Crested Grebe | Podiceps cristatus |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Dendrocopos major |
| Great Tit | Parus major |
| Great White Egret | Ardea alba |
| Greater Canada Goose | Branta canadensis |
| Green Sandpiper | Tringa ochropus |
| Green Woodpecker | Picus viridis |
| Greenfinch | Chloris chloris |
| Greenshank | Tringa nebularia |
| Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea |
| Grey Partridge | Perdix perdix |
| Grey Plover | Pluvialis squatarola |
| Grey Wagtail | Motacilla cinerea |
| Greylag Goose | Anser anser |
| Guillemot | Uria aalge |
| Hawfinch | Coccothraustes coccothraustes |
| Hen Harrier | Circus cyaneus |
| Herring Gull | Larus argentatus |
| Hobby | Falco subbuteo |
| House Martin | Delichon urbicum |
| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
| Jackdaw | Corvus monedula |
| Jay | Garrulus glandarius |
| Kestrel | Falco tinnunculus |
| Kingfisher | Alcedo atthis |
| Kittiwake | Rissa tridactyla |
| Knot | Calidris canutus |
| Lapwing | Vanellus vanellus |
| Laughing Gull | Larus atricilla |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Larus fuscus |
| Lesser Redpoll | Carduelis cabaret |
| Lesser Whitethroat | Sylvia curruca |
| Linnet | Carduelis cannabina |
| Little Egret | Egretta garzetta |
| Little Grebe | Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Little Ringed Plover | Charadrius dubius |
| Little Stint | Calidris minuta |
| Little Tern | Sternula albifrons |
| Long-eared Owl | Asio otus |
| Long-tailed Tit | Aegithalos caudatus |
| Magpie | Pica pica |
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos |
| Marsh Harrier | Circus aeruginosus |
| Meadow Pipit | Anthus pratensis |
| Mediterranean Gull | Larus melanocephalus |
| Merlin | Falco columbarius |
| Mistle Thrush | Turdus viscivorus |
| Montagu’s Harrier | Circus pygargus |
| Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus |
| Mute Swan | Cygnus olor |
| Nuthatch | Sitta europaea |
| Oystercatcher | Haematopus ostralegus |
| Peregrine | Falco peregrinus |
| Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus |
| Pied Flycatcher | Ficedula hypoleuca |
| Pied Wagtail | Motacilla alba |
| Pink-footed Goose | Anser brachyrhynchus |
| Pintail | Anas acuta |
| Pochard | Aythya ferina |
| Puffin | Fratercula arctica |
| Purple Sandpiper | Calidris maritima |
| Raven | Corvus corax |
| Razorbill | Alca torda |
| Red Grouse | Lagopus lagopus |
| Red Kite | Milvus milvus |
| Red-breasted Merganser | Mergus serrator |
| Red-footed Falcon | Falco vespertinus |
| Red-necked Phalarope | Phalaropus lobatus |
| Redshank | Tringa totanus |
| Redstart | Phoenicurus phoenicurus |
| Red-throated Diver | Gavia stellata |
| Redwing | Turdus iliacus |
| Reed Bunting | Emberiza schoeniclus |
| Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus scirpaceus |
| Ring Ouzel | Turdus torquatus |
| Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula |
| Robin | Erithacus rubecula |
| Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon | Columba livia |
| Rock Pipit | Anthus petrosus |
| Rook | Corvus frugilegus |
| Ruddy Duck | Oxyura jamaicensis |
| Ruff | Philomachus pugnax |
| Sabine’s Gull | Xema sabini |
| Sand Martin | Riparia riparia |
| Sanderling | Calidris alba |
| Sandwich Tern | Sterna sandvicensis |
| Sedge Warbler | Acrocephalus schoenobaenus |
| Shag | Phalacrocorax aristotelis |
| Shelduck | Tadorna tadorna |
| Short-eared Owl | Asio flammeus |
| Shoveler | Anas clypeata |
| Siskin | Carduelis spinus |
| Skylark | Alauda arvensis |
| Snipe | Gallinago gallinago |
| Song Thrush | Turdus philomelos |
| Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus |
| Spoonbill | Platalea leucorodia |
| Spotted Flycatcher | Muscicapa striata |
| Spotted Redshank | Tringa erythropus |
| Starling | Sturnus vulgaris |
| Stock Dove | Columba oenas |
| Stonechat | Saxicola torquatus |
| Swallow | Hirundo rustica |
| Swift | Apus apus |
| Teal | Anas crecca |
| Tree Pipit | Anthus trivialis |
| Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus |
| Treecreeper | Certhia familiaris |
| Tufted Duck | Aythya fuligula |
| Turnstone | Arenaria interpres |
| Water Rail | Rallus aquaticus |
| Wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe |
| Whitethroat | Sylvia communis |
| Whooper Swan | Cygnus cygnus |
| Wigeon | Anas penelope |
| Willow Tit | Poecile montana |
| Willow Warbler | Phylloscopus trochilus |
| Wood Warbler | Phylloscopus sibilatrix |
| Woodpigeon | Columba palumbus |
| Wren | Troglodytes troglodytes |
Dec 31 2015
Species this month = 53
New Species added to 2015 Year List in December= 0
Running Total for the 2015 UK So Far = 165
New UK Life List Birds In December= 0