A brisk morning at Sandbach Flashes saw a rather small birding group party – just six people including us three ! As usual, though, you can expect a nice range of birds. We didn’t do too well on waders but there was an attractive mixed group of Fieldfare and Redwing feeding on the grassy slopes at the left of Elton Hall Flash. With them were a couple of Pied Wagtails and a single Song Thrush.<\/p>\n
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On the other side from Elton Hall Flash there was a large group of Gulls – mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls but also a mix of Wigeon, Tufted Ducks, Shelduck and such. On the Elton Hall Flash side of the road opposite there were plenty of Tufted Ducks and Shelduck but also a nice pair of Goosander.<\/p>\n
On the Flash were the usual large numbers of Canada Geese and quite a few Wigeon and Tufted Duck and Teal. At the feeders we got great views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Tree Sparrows and lots of Tits. There was a fairly large flock of Lapwings moving around the area. Wader-wise there was a single Snipe and a single Redshank.<\/p>\n
Walking up the road a little we got a couple of Goldcrest in the fir trees in the garden of the farm house.<\/p>\n
| Species<\/th>\n | Count<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|
| Canada Goose<\/td>\n | 40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mute Swan<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Shelduck<\/td>\n | 25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eurasian Wigeon<\/td>\n | 60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mallard<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Teal<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tufted Duck<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Goosander<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Cormorant<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Moorhen<\/td>\n | 12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Coot<\/td>\n | 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Northern Lapwing<\/td>\n | 40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Redshank<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Snipe<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Black-headed Gull<\/td>\n | 80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Herring Gull<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull<\/td>\n | 150<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Wood Pigeon<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eurasian Magpie<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carrion Crow<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Tit<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eurasian Blue Tit<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Long-tailed Tit<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Goldcrest<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| European Robin<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eurasian Blackbird<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fieldfare<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Redwing<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Song Thrush<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Starling<\/td>\n | 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dunnock<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pied Wagtail<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Chaffinch<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 3rd March 2014 A brisk morning at Sandbach Flashes saw a rather small birding group party – just six people including us three ! As usual, though, you can expect a nice range of birds. We didn’t do too well on waders but there was an attractive mixed … <\/p>\n |