Sunday 31 August 2014
Glenbeigh campsite, Kerry
Saturday 30 August 2014
Holyhead to Dublin ferry
Mediterranean gull 1 1st winter near Dublin harbour
Arctic skua 2 ads
Manx shearwater 500
Gannet 500
Common tern 10
Common scoter 1 male
Guillemots
Razorbills
Kittiwakes
Fulmars
Thursday 28 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Spotted flycatcher 1 on edge of woods along stream
Teal 4
Tufted duck 10
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 6 (ad & 5 cygnets)
Teal 4
Tufted duck 10
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 6 (ad & 5 cygnets)
Wednesday 27 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Black tern 1 moulting adult
Mute swan 6 (ad & 5 cygnets)
Kingfisher 1
Eccleston Mere has a good record for turning up black terns, this was my 20th record of the species at the mere and my second record this year.
Mute swan 6 (ad & 5 cygnets)
Kingfisher 1
Eccleston Mere has a good record for turning up black terns, this was my 20th record of the species at the mere and my second record this year.
Appleton Reservoir
Shoveler 3
Gadwall 2
Mute swan 2 adults
Dragonflies: Migrant hawkers, emperors, brown hawkers, common darters
Common darter
Migrant hawker
Gadwall 2
Mute swan 2 adults
Dragonflies: Migrant hawkers, emperors, brown hawkers, common darters
Migrant hawker
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Common sandpiper 4
Yellow wagtail 8
Swift 1
Tufted duck 14
Little grebe 2 (ad & juv.)
Lapwing 30
Grey heron 2
Swallows getting ready to go.
Yellow wagtail 8
Swift 1
Tufted duck 14
Little grebe 2 (ad & juv.)
Lapwing 30
Grey heron 2
Swallows getting ready to go.
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Common sandpiper 4
Yellow wagtail 8
Swift 2
Lapwing 13
Tufted duck 18
Little grebe 2
Sand martin 10
Appleton Reservoir
Mediterranean gull 1 juv.
Teal 8 (eclipse males and females)
Gadwall 3 (eclipse male & 2 females)
Tufted duck 10
Mute swan 2 adults
Teal 8 (eclipse males and females)
Gadwall 3 (eclipse male & 2 females)
Tufted duck 10
Mute swan 2 adults
Monday 25 August 2014
Flamborough Head
Barred warbler 2 juveniles
Long-tailed skua 3
Arctic skua 6
Manx shearwater 25
Gannet 500
Kittiwake 500
Fulmar 100
Whimbrel 1 heard
Garden warbler 1
Blackcap 1
Year: 273 (Barred warbler)
My first Barred wobbler for 28 years and the first time I've seen more than one. Both birds were seen together in a patch of bramble, which also contained garden warbler and blackcap.
Long-tailed skua 3
Arctic skua 6
Manx shearwater 25
Gannet 500
Kittiwake 500
Fulmar 100
Whimbrel 1 heard
Garden warbler 1
Blackcap 1
Year: 273 (Barred warbler)
My first Barred wobbler for 28 years and the first time I've seen more than one. Both birds were seen together in a patch of bramble, which also contained garden warbler and blackcap.
Sunday 24 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Spotted flycatcher 2
Goosander 1 imm (male?)
Willow tit 1
Kingfisher 1
Buzzard 2
Chiffchaff 1 singing
Coot 130
Mute swan 6 (adult & 5 cygnets)
At last the sleepy mere awakes from its slumbers and realises that summer is almost over.
The spotted flycatchers were in the dead wood at the southern end of the mere and were right on schedule, I could almost set my watch by them! They're almost annual in August / September in this very woodland, and I watched them flycatching for 30 minutes or so. They seemed to be uncomfortably associating with Chaffinches and Goldfinches, some of which were also flycatching in their own cumbersome way.
The goosander on the otherhand was completely unprecedented. All of my previous 48 records of Goosander at the mere have been in winter, between the middle of October and the end of April. This is my first summer record, and it didn't stay long. I watched it fly in harassed by gulls. It landed for about 30 seconds before taking off again, still with it's entourage of gulls and disappeared to the south west. I don't know why the gulls had such a downer on it, I've never seen goosanders treated like this before.
The predictability and uncertainty of birding summed up in 20 minutes at the mere!
Goosander 1 imm (male?)
Willow tit 1
Kingfisher 1
Buzzard 2
Chiffchaff 1 singing
Coot 130
Mute swan 6 (adult & 5 cygnets)
At last the sleepy mere awakes from its slumbers and realises that summer is almost over.
The spotted flycatchers were in the dead wood at the southern end of the mere and were right on schedule, I could almost set my watch by them! They're almost annual in August / September in this very woodland, and I watched them flycatching for 30 minutes or so. They seemed to be uncomfortably associating with Chaffinches and Goldfinches, some of which were also flycatching in their own cumbersome way.
The goosander on the otherhand was completely unprecedented. All of my previous 48 records of Goosander at the mere have been in winter, between the middle of October and the end of April. This is my first summer record, and it didn't stay long. I watched it fly in harassed by gulls. It landed for about 30 seconds before taking off again, still with it's entourage of gulls and disappeared to the south west. I don't know why the gulls had such a downer on it, I've never seen goosanders treated like this before.
The predictability and uncertainty of birding summed up in 20 minutes at the mere!
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Ruff 1
Common sandpiper 4
Tree pipit 2 over calling
Tree pipit 2 over calling
Yellow wagtail 1
Swift 1
Pochard 2
Lapwing 35
Little grebe 2 (ad & juv)
Goldfinch 100
Tufted duck 15
Saturday 23 August 2014
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Ruff 1
Common sandpiper 2
Yellow wagtail 1
Little grebe 2 (ad & juv.)
Canada goose 31
Leighton Moss
Eric Morecombe hide
Great white egret 1
Greenshank 13
Spotted redshank 1
Dunlin 100
Redshank 50
Black-tailed godwit 200
Knot 1
Little egret 10
Butterflies: Brimstone 1
Main reserve
Water rail from Lillians
Spotted redshank 2 from Grisedale
Butterflies: 2 Brimstone, 3 Red Admirals
Greenshank.
Black-tailed godwits thinking about flying.
Black-tailed godwits flying.
Great white egret 1
Greenshank 13
Spotted redshank 1
Dunlin 100
Redshank 50
Black-tailed godwit 200
Knot 1
Little egret 10
Butterflies: Brimstone 1
Main reserve
Water rail from Lillians
Spotted redshank 2 from Grisedale
Butterflies: 2 Brimstone, 3 Red Admirals
Greenshank.
Black-tailed godwits thinking about flying.
Black-tailed godwits flying.
Friday 22 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Coot 130
Mute swan 6 (adult & 5 cygnets)
Tufted duck 15
Swallow 50
There are still five cygnets on the mere. Three cygnets are with the adult swan, the other two live a solitary existence hiding in the corners of the mere or under the trees on the island, but they are definitely still there. I saw all five tonight, in the same view, but not together. The adult swan keeps driving the two lone individuals away, perhaps because he (and I'm pretty sure it is "he") can't support more than three cygnets on his own. However it's important to remember that the adult does not feed the cygnets, they feed themselves, so it's perfectly possible for the lone cygnets to survive on their own if there is enough food in the mere. They've survived for a couple of weeks alone up to now.
The reason I say that the adult is the male is because the female moulted first. The surviving adult is moulting now, which means that it can't be the female. Secondly, the knob above the birds bill is large like a typical males, and the bill is bright, brighter than I would expect on a female.
Mute swan 6 (adult & 5 cygnets)
Tufted duck 15
Swallow 50
There are still five cygnets on the mere. Three cygnets are with the adult swan, the other two live a solitary existence hiding in the corners of the mere or under the trees on the island, but they are definitely still there. I saw all five tonight, in the same view, but not together. The adult swan keeps driving the two lone individuals away, perhaps because he (and I'm pretty sure it is "he") can't support more than three cygnets on his own. However it's important to remember that the adult does not feed the cygnets, they feed themselves, so it's perfectly possible for the lone cygnets to survive on their own if there is enough food in the mere. They've survived for a couple of weeks alone up to now.
The reason I say that the adult is the male is because the female moulted first. The surviving adult is moulting now, which means that it can't be the female. Secondly, the knob above the birds bill is large like a typical males, and the bill is bright, brighter than I would expect on a female.
Thursday 21 August 2014
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Common sandpiper 2
Lapwing 20
Tufted duck 15
Little grebe 1
No sign of yesterdays ruff.
Lapwing 20
Tufted duck 15
Little grebe 1
No sign of yesterdays ruff.
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Ruff 1
Mediterranean gull 1 juv.
Tree pipit 1 heard calling as it flew over
Yellow wagtail 1
White wagtail 1
Common sandpiper 1
Pochard 2
Tufted duck 15
Little grebe 1 adult
Not a bad 45 minutes at Houghton Green Flash!
Mediterranean gull 1 juv.
Tree pipit 1 heard calling as it flew over
Yellow wagtail 1
White wagtail 1
Common sandpiper 1
Pochard 2
Tufted duck 15
Little grebe 1 adult
Not a bad 45 minutes at Houghton Green Flash!
Applteon Reservoir
Shoveler 4
Tufted duck 15
Lapwing 10 over
Mute swan 2 adults
Sand martin 10
Swallow 50
Tufted duck 15
Lapwing 10 over
Mute swan 2 adults
Sand martin 10
Swallow 50
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Marsh Gentian, Highfield Moss
Marsh gentian at Highfield Moss near Lowton, one of the few sites in North West England for this species. I first visited this site to see these plants in 1983 and it's been an annual pilgrimage ever since.
Sunday 17 August 2014
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Hobby 1 hunting swallows
Black-necked grebe 1 moulting adult
Little ringed plover 2
Common sandpiper 2
Tufted duck 12
Little grebe 2
Black-necked grebe 1 moulting adult
Little ringed plover 2
Common sandpiper 2
Tufted duck 12
Little grebe 2
North Wirral Coast
This drake common scoter was sitting on the beach at Meols. It obviously must be sick, and it does look as though it might have something on its feathers. Also on the beach today a single little egret, lots of redshanks and about 50 turnstones.
Eccleston Mere
Common tern 1
Coot 121 (a new record)
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 4 (ad & 3 cygnets)
Swallow 50
House martin 20
Coot 121 (a new record)
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 4 (ad & 3 cygnets)
Swallow 50
House martin 20
Saturday 16 August 2014
Frodsham Marsh, No.6 tank
Ruddy shelduck 2 adults eclipse flew on from Frodsham Score at high tide
Garganey 1 f
Dunlin 2000 flew on from Frodsham Score at high tide
Ringed plover 100 flew on from Frodsham Score at high tide
Year: 272 (Ruddy shelduck)
So, where do you stand with ruddy shelduck? No discussion you might say, they're not on the BOU list so you can't count them. Well, I've spoken with my legal team, and it seems that I can count them on my year list.
Look at it this way, every year around this time there is an influx of ruddy shelduck from the continent into the UK. This isn't a mass breakout from Chester Zoo every August, it's a genuine influx, often involving small parties of birds. Ok, they might be coming from feral populations in western Europe, but 99.9% of greylags outside northern and western Scotland are feral and we still tick them.
In fact, when you read the literature, it appears that "there is no evidence of any self-sustaining feral populations existing in northern and western Europe", and the nearest self sustaining feral population of ruddy shelducks is in the Ukraine, which is at least as far, if not further than the nearest wild population.
These birds are as wild as a snow goose at Marshside, a red-breasted goose at Martin Mere and all of those Egyptian geese in Norfolk, and as for Lady Amherst's pheasant.....really? Ruddy shelduck probably have better credentials to be wild than most of that lot, they do at least breed in Europe. In fact if it helps, I've seen wild birds at a breeding site in north eastern Greece back in the late 1980's, so they are a valid tick on my European list at least. The big joke is of course, as soon as one gets accepted onto the British list, then all of the other ruddy shelducks will suddenly become tickable and nobody would hesitate to tick these Frodsham birds.
With 5000 shelduck now on Frodsham Score, it's surely no surprise that they have brought a rarity with them, just as the large flocks of winter geese bring rarities.
This was my 5th record of ruddy shelduck in the UK, and my 4th at Frodsham.
I've been experimenting with my phone over the past few weeks. I made myself an adaptor to hold the phone up to the lense on my telescope. See what you think.
This is a photo taken at 24x magnification using my Panasonic Lumix camera. I've also cropped it as far as I dare to bring the birds closer.
This photo and the two below were taken on my phone through the telescope at 50x magnification, and then also cropped, again as close as I dare without impacting too much on the quality. I'm really pleased with the results, though I think that the phone photos are a little washed out. The birds were a slightly deeper colour, more like the top photo. Also there's an almost imperceivable dark shadow over the right hand side of the photo, vignetting creeping in I think. Still, not a bad effort considering these birds were at least 300m away and they're not much bigger than a Mallard.
Ruddy shelduck are truly lovely birds, and the sooner they're on the British list the better. The only difference I can see between an eclipse bird and a breeding plumage bird is that in eclipse they lack the black collar.
Garganey 1 f
Dunlin 2000 flew on from Frodsham Score at high tide
Ringed plover 100 flew on from Frodsham Score at high tide
Year: 272 (Ruddy shelduck)
So, where do you stand with ruddy shelduck? No discussion you might say, they're not on the BOU list so you can't count them. Well, I've spoken with my legal team, and it seems that I can count them on my year list.
Look at it this way, every year around this time there is an influx of ruddy shelduck from the continent into the UK. This isn't a mass breakout from Chester Zoo every August, it's a genuine influx, often involving small parties of birds. Ok, they might be coming from feral populations in western Europe, but 99.9% of greylags outside northern and western Scotland are feral and we still tick them.
In fact, when you read the literature, it appears that "there is no evidence of any self-sustaining feral populations existing in northern and western Europe", and the nearest self sustaining feral population of ruddy shelducks is in the Ukraine, which is at least as far, if not further than the nearest wild population.
These birds are as wild as a snow goose at Marshside, a red-breasted goose at Martin Mere and all of those Egyptian geese in Norfolk, and as for Lady Amherst's pheasant.....really? Ruddy shelduck probably have better credentials to be wild than most of that lot, they do at least breed in Europe. In fact if it helps, I've seen wild birds at a breeding site in north eastern Greece back in the late 1980's, so they are a valid tick on my European list at least. The big joke is of course, as soon as one gets accepted onto the British list, then all of the other ruddy shelducks will suddenly become tickable and nobody would hesitate to tick these Frodsham birds.
With 5000 shelduck now on Frodsham Score, it's surely no surprise that they have brought a rarity with them, just as the large flocks of winter geese bring rarities.
This was my 5th record of ruddy shelduck in the UK, and my 4th at Frodsham.
I've been experimenting with my phone over the past few weeks. I made myself an adaptor to hold the phone up to the lense on my telescope. See what you think.
This is a photo taken at 24x magnification using my Panasonic Lumix camera. I've also cropped it as far as I dare to bring the birds closer.
This photo and the two below were taken on my phone through the telescope at 50x magnification, and then also cropped, again as close as I dare without impacting too much on the quality. I'm really pleased with the results, though I think that the phone photos are a little washed out. The birds were a slightly deeper colour, more like the top photo. Also there's an almost imperceivable dark shadow over the right hand side of the photo, vignetting creeping in I think. Still, not a bad effort considering these birds were at least 300m away and they're not much bigger than a Mallard.
Ruddy shelduck are truly lovely birds, and the sooner they're on the British list the better. The only difference I can see between an eclipse bird and a breeding plumage bird is that in eclipse they lack the black collar.
Frodsham Score
Ruddy shelduck 2 adults eclipse
Shelduck 5000+
Dunlin 2000+
Black-tailed godwit 1500+
Curlew 300+
Incredible scenes on Frodsham Score, I don't think I've ever seen so many shelduck. Everything is distant here, and a scope is essential, but it was great seeing the ruddy shelduck on the estuary with such a huge flock of common shelduck, really looking like genuine wild birds. It's like when you see a snow goose with 10,000 pink-feet, it looks wilder than when it's with Canadas!
You can see the ruddy shelduck just right of centre. If they were 300m away on no.6 tank, here they must have been more like 1.5km!
Shelduck 5000+
Dunlin 2000+
Black-tailed godwit 1500+
Curlew 300+
Incredible scenes on Frodsham Score, I don't think I've ever seen so many shelduck. Everything is distant here, and a scope is essential, but it was great seeing the ruddy shelduck on the estuary with such a huge flock of common shelduck, really looking like genuine wild birds. It's like when you see a snow goose with 10,000 pink-feet, it looks wilder than when it's with Canadas!
You can see the ruddy shelduck just right of centre. If they were 300m away on no.6 tank, here they must have been more like 1.5km!
Eccleston Mere
Common sandpiper 1
Great crested grebe at least 8 chicks inc. family party with 5 chicks
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 1 adult and 5 cygnets
Swallow 50
Coot 110
I'm not sure what's happening with the swans at the moment. When I arrived at the mere the adult was with three cygnets in the middle of the mere, but there was a fourth bird asleep with the Canada geese near the yacht pier. When I got to the south side of the mere, I saw a fifth cygnet alone in the south east corner. Finally, when I returned to the pier, the adult was with four cygnets who were all asleep amongst the geese. I initially though that the lone cygnets were sick birds, but perhaps they are simply showing signs of independence, unlikely as that may seem at this stage of the development.
Nice to see that the family of five is still thriving and growing up rapidly.
This is tutsan Hypericum androsaemum. It's a member of the St. John's wort family, and is not particularly common at the mere. I'm only aware of about three plants.
Eccleston Mere is a great place for seeing kingfishers (almost always in flight only), but a it's a poor place for photographing them. In 25 years, this is about the best photo I've managed, not great, but I like it sitting in the hawthorn hedge.
Great crested grebe at least 8 chicks inc. family party with 5 chicks
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 1 adult and 5 cygnets
Swallow 50
Coot 110
I'm not sure what's happening with the swans at the moment. When I arrived at the mere the adult was with three cygnets in the middle of the mere, but there was a fourth bird asleep with the Canada geese near the yacht pier. When I got to the south side of the mere, I saw a fifth cygnet alone in the south east corner. Finally, when I returned to the pier, the adult was with four cygnets who were all asleep amongst the geese. I initially though that the lone cygnets were sick birds, but perhaps they are simply showing signs of independence, unlikely as that may seem at this stage of the development.
This is tutsan Hypericum androsaemum. It's a member of the St. John's wort family, and is not particularly common at the mere. I'm only aware of about three plants.
Eccleston Mere is a great place for seeing kingfishers (almost always in flight only), but a it's a poor place for photographing them. In 25 years, this is about the best photo I've managed, not great, but I like it sitting in the hawthorn hedge.
Friday 15 August 2014
Thursday 14 August 2014
Wednesday 13 August 2014
Appleton Reservoir
I've never seen a moorhen behave like this before. As I walked along the bank of the reservoir, it dived under the water and then just raised it's head high enough to watch me, clearly hiding from me. Then it dived under again and re-emerged about 2m further to the right, again with just its head out of the water. I've seen grebes and divers behave like this, but moorhens are really only occasional divers, and in any case they're usually so tame as to not really worry as you walk past within a few feet.
Eccleston Mere
Gadwall 1 eclipse male
Kingfisher 1
Coot 50
Lots of water birds dying at the mere at the moment. There are at least 5 corpses of ducks and a grebe washed up on the edge, and tonight there were only four cygnets with the remaining adult swan. A fifth cygnet was alone at the opposite end of the mere and showing worrying signs of being sick, whilst the sixth is nowhere to be seen. On a positive note, the family of 5 great crested grebe chicks seems to be thriving, and still fully intact.
Kingfisher 1
Coot 50
Lots of water birds dying at the mere at the moment. There are at least 5 corpses of ducks and a grebe washed up on the edge, and tonight there were only four cygnets with the remaining adult swan. A fifth cygnet was alone at the opposite end of the mere and showing worrying signs of being sick, whilst the sixth is nowhere to be seen. On a positive note, the family of 5 great crested grebe chicks seems to be thriving, and still fully intact.
Houghton Green Flash, Winwick
Little egret 1
Black-necked grebe 1 moulting adult
Common sandpiper 4
Yellow wagtail
It did come back after this short fly!
Black-necked grebe 1 moulting adult
Common sandpiper 4
Yellow wagtail
It did come back after this short fly!
Tuesday 12 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 7 (ad & 6 cygnets)
Nestled in between all of the excitement at Houghton Green Flash and Appleton Reservoir is Eccleston Mere. Nothing much changes, expect perhaps there were a few less coots today.Oh well, it's days like today that make the good days worthwhile.......
Mute swan 7 (ad & 6 cygnets)
Nestled in between all of the excitement at Houghton Green Flash and Appleton Reservoir is Eccleston Mere. Nothing much changes, expect perhaps there were a few less coots today.Oh well, it's days like today that make the good days worthwhile.......
Black-necked Grebe Appleton Reservoir, Warrington
I found this very obliging moulting adult black-necked grebe on Appleton Reservoir today, during my lunch break. It didn't seem in the least nervous of me. Why can't the summer plumage adults behave like this?
Monday 11 August 2014
Appleton Reservoir, Warrington
Common sandpiper 1
Tufted duck 6
Little grebe 1 juv.
Mute swan 2
Great crested grebes
Tufted duck 6
Little grebe 1 juv.
Mute swan 2
Great crested grebes
Sunday 10 August 2014
Eccleston Mere
Common tern 1 adult
Coot 119 (a new record)
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 7 (adult + 6 cygnets)
Great crested grebe families with 5 and 2 chicks.
Swallow 50
Coot 119 (a new record)
Kingfisher 1
Mute swan 7 (adult + 6 cygnets)
Great crested grebe families with 5 and 2 chicks.
Swallow 50
Saturday 9 August 2014
Stilt Sandpiper, Cresswell Pond, Northumberland
Stilt sandpiper 1 adult summer
Knot 9
Whimbrel 1
Curlew 3
Green sandpiper 1
Common sandpiper 2
Avocet 4
Dunlin 15
Ruff 5
Little ringed plover 1
Lapwing 200
Oystercatcher 2
Snipe 1
Black-tailed godwit 1 summer plumage
Redshank 5
Year: 271 (Stilt sandpiper)
This was my fourth Stilt sandpiper, following birds at Frodsham (April - September 1984), Cumbria (September 2008) and Neumann's Flash (August 2013). I suppose that the long staying Frodsham bird must have been in summer plumage, but I don't remember it being as nice as todays bird. It showed very well in the morning from the hide, in good light, but frustratingly refused to fly onto the mud in front of the hide, or the causeway pool where it had given stunning views earlier in the week. However it would be churlish to complain too much after seeing such a smart bird on a lovely day, and with 14 other species of wader.
Knot 9
Whimbrel 1
Curlew 3
Green sandpiper 1
Common sandpiper 2
Avocet 4
Dunlin 15
Ruff 5
Little ringed plover 1
Lapwing 200
Oystercatcher 2
Snipe 1
Black-tailed godwit 1 summer plumage
Redshank 5
Year: 271 (Stilt sandpiper)
This was my fourth Stilt sandpiper, following birds at Frodsham (April - September 1984), Cumbria (September 2008) and Neumann's Flash (August 2013). I suppose that the long staying Frodsham bird must have been in summer plumage, but I don't remember it being as nice as todays bird. It showed very well in the morning from the hide, in good light, but frustratingly refused to fly onto the mud in front of the hide, or the causeway pool where it had given stunning views earlier in the week. However it would be churlish to complain too much after seeing such a smart bird on a lovely day, and with 14 other species of wader.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)