Mar 03 2014

Rostherne Mere : 3rd March 2014

Rostherne Mere : 3rd March 2014

On a lovely sunny Monday morning we had the idea to go to Tatton Park and walk through the woods there looking for Woodpeckers – hopefully (very hopefully) all three species. Unfortunately we forgot that out of season Tatton Park is closed on Mondays. Because we were near Rostherne Mere and because we had not been there for a while we decided to head off there instead. As we walked across the fields to the car park we saw two Kestrels in the trees, one chasing the other. We walked down to the observatory and let ourselves in. Initially we were the only people there but after a bit a chap came in who I think I recognised from a previous visit as one of the recorders for the observatory. We got talking and he proved to be a most interesting, informative and friendly individual. It was he who pointed out to us two Goosanders (the first for the year) at the far end of the mere, unfortunately always trying to keep just out of sight.
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Mar 02 2014

High Tide at Hoylake, New Brighton, Parkgate and Burton Mere : 2nd March 2014

High Tide at Hoylake, New Brighton, Parkgate and Burton Mere : 2nd March 2014
On the 2nd of March decided to go to Hoylake and possibly New Brighton for the high tide, due that day for 11.42 at a great height – 10.1 metres. We got to Hoylake for around 10.45am and to our complete amazement the water was all the way in already and half way up the promenade wall. We had never even seen all the sand covered before and clearly there was going to be no chance of seeing any birds.

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Feb 28 2014

Summary February 2014

Summary : February 2014

Garden

A very quiet month in the garden. Lots of rain although not as much as the record-breaking flooding in the south of England ! This is going to damage a large number of nature reserves in Somerset at Devon and other areas afflicted by the flooding.

Birding Days Out

On the 2nd of February We went, again, to Parkgate for a high tide and again we had good views of Merlin, Short-eared Owls, Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel.

 

The first birding group outing of the month was to RSPB Conwy where we had good views of Red Breasted Merganser and Scaup. We had planned on going to Llanddulas after Conwy but I suggested a change and that we should go to Pensarn instead, mainly because of the elevated view you get over the water. We were not disappointed on the sea-watching front as we good views of Red-throated Divers and rather more distant views of a very large number of Common Scoter. A special highlight was the spotting of at least one Surf Scoter amongst them which was a life tick for me and, indeed, for most of the group.

We missed the next birding group outing but they did see Lesser-spotted Woodpecker.

On the 18th February the group went to Marbury Park on a lovely sunny day with birds singing loudly including many Song Thrushes. We got views of a Kingfisher from the reedbed hide and we also saw a good variety of the usual birds but in good numbers and all starting to look rather smart.

On the 24th we went to Carsington Water which was a first for me. Another first for me was the great views of a Great Northern Diver – well worth the very long drive to get there.

Feb 25 2014

Birding Group Visit to Carsington Water : 25th February 2014

Birding Group Visit to Carsington Water : 25th February 2014

Carsington Water was a first for me although the birding group have been there before. On the down side, although the distance isn’t too great, the roads are so slow that it took us two hours to get there. As it happens it was well worth the travel as we managed to get a life tick in the shape of a Great Northern Diver !

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Feb 18 2014

Birding Group Visit to Marbury Park 18th February 2014

Birding Group Visit to Marbury Park : 18th February 2014

We missed the previous weeks birding group visit which was supposed to be to Neumann’s Flash but I believe the weather and a few other cancellations led to the few remaining people able to go, calling it off after sitting in a car for fifteen minutes looking at the rain. Today was much better, though, and it was a lovely warm spring-like day. As if also fooled by a false spring morning, a lot of birds were out singing and we had quite a good morning birding.

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Feb 04 2014

Birding Group Visit to Pensarn : 4th February 2014

Birding Group Visit to Pensarn : 4th February 2014

After the birding group visit to RSPB Conwy we were going to go to Llandullas but I suggested that Pensarn might be a better place to go. This was perhaps not the best choice for those without scopes because we ended up mainly sea watching even though there was plenty of beach to walk along had the non-scopers wished. In any case we all shared our scopes and it pretty certain that a few of the group saw birds they had never seen before. In fact I got two life ticks myself.

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Feb 04 2014

Birding Group Visit to RSPB Conwy : 4th February 2014

Birding Group Visit to RSPB Conwy : 4th February 2014

 

The birding group date this week was for a full-ish day at RSPB Conwy. We met up in the cafe at 10.30am and after a quick cup of tea we were off. It was a fairly pleasant day with some bright sunny periods. Initial views from the first hides showed Canada Geese, Shelduck, Mallard and a single female Goldeneye.  At the far side of one of the islands we could just see the heads of a dozen Snipe.  We stopped for a while on the bridge over the pond where we tried to find the Firecrest that we were told had been seen there quick often. Just as with our previous visit here, when there were lots of birders looking for Firecrests, we found nothing except Blue Tits, Chaffinches and House Sparrows. However as we got round to the river side of the site we started to see more birds.

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Feb 02 2014

High Tide at Parkgate : 2nd February 2014

High Tide at Parkgate : 2nd February 2014

Whenever we can we try to get to Parkgate for a high tide. This was a Sunday, the highest tide of the period and also a nice day – a guarantee that the place would be heaving with people and indeed it was. Despite getting there two and a half hours before the high tide, we were still lucky to get a parking spot on the ramp leading up to the old baths. A rough and ready estimate would be around 500 people. They ran the entire length of the promenade and all along the old baths car park and continued along the coastal path ! They weren’t disappointed.

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Jan 31 2014

Summary : January 2014

Summary : January 2014

Garden

The start of the year saw some improvement in the number of birds int he garden and we started to see small numbers of Goldfinch, Blue, Great and Coal Tits; a single Dunnock and Robin, some Blackbirds and some House Sparrows. A particular pleasure was the presence of a flock of around 50 – 60 Redwing on the street feeding off a Rowan tree opposite our house for several weeks until the tree was bare. On the 10th we saw a male Blackcap – the first this winter.

Birding Days Out

After the glories of the tail end of December 2013 – Ross’ Goose, Long-tailed Duck, Two-barred and Common Crossbill, Hoopoe, American Buff-bellied Pipit and Siberian Chiffchaff it was going to be hard to beat that in the new year but with a new year comes a new Year List and a chance to see those common birds in a new light. Our first birding day out of the year gave us a chance to do this and to get some very good year ticks when we went to Parkgate and RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands and got Merlin, Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk and Short-eared Owl and Great White Egret all in one day. It was another great, and different, high tide experience at Parkgate. If I have any problem with going to Parkgate for high tide it is just that you can’t also do Hoylake at the same time !

Birding Group

The first two birding group mornings of the term were to Moore on the 14th and Tatton Park on 21st, both of which we missed because we were on holiday in Lanzarote.

 

Jan 28 2014

Birding Group Visit : Pennington Flash : 28th January 2014

Birding Group Visit : Pennington Flash : 28th January 2014

The first birding group date of the year that I could turn out for was the visit to Pennington Flash. It had been scheduled to be Redesmere but, as ever with Redesmere, it was changed to Pennington due to the wet weather. However, a new year begins a new year list so I was keen to get all the regulars that Pennington is reliable for. An unusual feature of this visit was the presence of large numbers of Goosander on the various bodies of water and a very brief glimpse of a small flock of Lesser Redpolls. There were lots of Snipe and Quite a few Pochard and the generally pleasant winter light made the various ducks look very splendid as they start smartening up for the breeding season.

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