Exploring the Cheshire Badlands

With a day off work I was keen to get out birding again, but I really am struggling to get back onto the patch at the moment. So with a decent forecast, which for once was pretty much spot on I decided to have a bit of a wander around Cheshire. March is a great month to find displaying resident species, and with that in mind I decided to head off into deepest, darkest east Cheshire.

Reaching the site at just before 9am I was delighted to see and hear all three Woodpecker species within minutes of arriving. The whole area was buzzing with Treecreeper, Nuthatch and the other expected woodland species. Up to 5 Mandarin were also in the area, always nice to see and hear. Great Spotted Woodpecker seemed to be everywhere, whilst Green Woodpecker were constantly laughing away in the background. But the star birds were the pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that performed brilliantly.

At least 2 birds were in the area, with possibly another present. It was great to finally catch up with them again, having not seen one since I moved back to the North-West. Not wanting to disturb them, I left them in peace and returned to the car with a rather large Cheshire Cat Smile.

I decided to head to Newchurch Common to catch up with the Red Crested Pochard that had been present for ages. However I wasn't entirely sure where I was going, but after a few non-starters I eventually found the area, parking up and walking along the track to view the lakes. The whole area was alive with the calls of Chiffchaff and a couple of Blackcap, and the weather certainly made it feel like Spring.

I eventually picked up the Red Crested Pochard in the west bay. The lake also held 2 Wigeon and stacks of Tufted Duck. There were also good numbers of gulls present, and on closer examination I managed to pick out 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls, one of which was very vocal and displaying. Continuing to scan the lake I was surprised to pick up the female Smew hiding under the overhanging willows on the east side of the lake. I'm not aware of any reports recently, so maybe it has been hiding elsewhere in the mean time?

I decided to head to Kelsall where there had been a flock of c.150 Waxwing earlier in the day. However despite my best attempts I was unable to locate them, with no sight nor sound of the flock. However the orchards still held good numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing and Blackbirds. The air was full of raptors with loads of Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. But with no sign of the Waxwing I decided to head on towards Gowy Tip.

Reaching Gowy Tip I was disappointed to find that the Gulls were all wheeling around the site, and not settling. I spent a while grilling the masses of gulls over the tip and eventually picked out a juvenile Glaucous Gull and a juvenile (1st or 2nd winter) Iceland Gull. However throughout my stay the birds didn't land for longer than a few seconds, and the "wash" pools were looking decidedly dry. With many gulls drifting off towards the Mersey I decided to call it quits.

I had a brief stop at Moore, but annoyingly had managed to kill my phone storage with photos from earlier! A Green Woodpecker was calling away, whilst there were again good numbers of Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. A look at the feeding station was productive with at least 2 Willow Tit calling and feeding in the area, whilst the feeders still held plenty of the expected species. I had planned to stop via the patch on the return home, but other than a quick scan from Town Lane I decided to head home and put my feet up.

Mid-patch Crisis

After a fairly poor run on patch, I finally decided to try my luck elsewhere. With the closure of Arpley Tip having a huge effect on patch Gulling, I decided to give Gowy Landfill a go, even talking fellow patch masochist Iggy into joining me. The weather set fair (pretty much the best day of the week) with relatively bright conditions, although it still felt rather cold.

Having dug out my passport and navigated my way through the chaos of the Runcorn Bridge I made my way to Picton Lane, taking in the Whooper Swan herd from the M56. Stopping briefly I picked up a 1st winter Glaucous Gull almost immediately flying around over the Landfill, among the mass of Gulls. Iggy had already arrived, but was further up the road, so I headed off to meet him, keeping a close eye on where the best area for viewing may be. Iggy had found a small flood, where a decent gathering of small Gulls (mostly Black-headed and Common) were having a wash, however I had found a better area to view from further back with a better turnout of "large" Gulls.

Returning to the area that I had located we bumped into Mark Garner, who had just located a 2nd winter Iceland Gull. We spent the next couple of hours grilling the assembled Gulls finally digging out at least 3 Glaucous Gulls (all juveniles - including a rather small looking bird and an absolute monster) and 2 Iceland Gulls (a 2nd winter with missing primaries and a 1st winter). Mark had to head off, but Iggy and I continued and had some fun looking through plenty of argentatus and argenteus Herring Gull. We eventually dug out a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull, but sadly it was lost almost as soon as it was found.

It wasn't ALL about the Gulls though, with a few Common Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk on the wing, getting no end of grief from the local Gulls. The area also held good numbers of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting, whilst finches were constantly moving over. A Fox was walking around at the lower edges of the Landfill, keeping everything on their toes. I had planned to spend the rest of the day birding on the South side of the Mersey, however that went sideways as a WhatsApp message from a local Liverpool birder had me heading straight back to patch!

Paul Kurs had been watching a couple of Water Pipits along Carr Lane when another interesting Pipit sp. flew in and joined them. It had piqued my interest enough for me to head straight back, but despite a good look I was unable to find it. However a single Water Pipit was still present although it was always distant, a Meadow Pipit came and went but there was . 3 Stonechat were feeding along the fenceline, whilst the Pools held 29 Black-tailed Godwit among the more expected species.

Raptors were everywhere today, clearly making the most of the nice bright conditions. A minimum of 20 Common Buzzard were on the wing, many displaying high up. A couple of Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a Peregrine were also moving around. My attention was drawn to a high flying raptor, and even the height it was easy to make out a nice deep forked tail - a Red Kite (my first of the year). A few Siskin were moving overhead, whilst I could make out a few Yellowhammer distantly flying around over the fields towards Burnt Mill Farm.

I headed around to Within Way to again put myself through the torture of dipping the Brent Goose. However the Little Owl was awake and showing well again. I had also timed my visit quite well as high-tide was just peaking and it was a bit of a monster engulfing the Marsh. The pre-high tide roost of waders included a single Golden Plover (in near summer plumage), 19 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 200 Dunlin and good numbers of Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Eurasian Teal. However despite watching as the tide pushed everything out of it's hiding spot I failed to find anything rarer.

I headed back to Carr Lane for a little longer, but by now all Pipits had done a bunk, so with plenty of things to do at home I thought I best head off. So despite plans of a full day of non-patching, I still ended up on patch. Maybe I'm just going through a mid-patch crisis, and I'll be back on form come Spring.....or maybe I'll just have to buy a Ferrari and do some more dirty twitching......

Patch Targetting

After a very successful January (my best in three years of Patchwork Challenge), it was always going to be hard work adding new birds for the year in February. However with some nice winter sunshine, and a few targets I couldn't resist getting out on patch again. A relatively bright and sunny afternoon, with a surprisingly brisk southerly meant it at least still felt like winter!

With the number of rare Buntings around this year I decided to spend some time checking out the local flock at Burnt Mill Farm. Parking on the corner I walked back along Carr Lane towards the Farm, and was pleased to find a good number of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer feeding in the stubble fields. However the viewing was rather restricted, with many of the birds returning to the hedge when flushed.

I spent the next hour or so with the flock, giving them all a good grilling as they moved between the stubble field, hedges and the Farm garden. A minimum of c.60 Reed Bunting, c.24 Yellowhammer  were pretty impressive for the area. On further inspection I also found 2 Corn Bunting and a Tree Sparrow (which was new for the year). However I failed to pick anything rarer out, however with good numbers (and maybe a little seed assistance) hopefully there is still time.

A stop around the bridge on Carr Lane was depressingly quiet, with none of the early winter specialities showing or calling. A Kingfisher whizzed through, whilst a Grey Wagtail, was feeding in Ramsbrook, otherwise it was very quiet. The Pools were not much better with only 7 Black-tailed Godwit and a few Redshank, among the normal ducks showing.

Before I had gone out I had specifically targeted spending some time overlooking the Weaver Sluice and Bend, in the hope that some of the Frodsham wintering ducks may have a fly around. I made my way along Within Way, which was relatively quiet although it was nice to bump into the Little Owl, which was sat out enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Positioning myself with the best combination of height and visibility I had a brief scan of Hale Marsh. The grotty hybrid Ruddy Shelduck had again returned with the Shelduck flock. There was little else to keep my interest, so I began my vigil of scanning the Sluice and Bend. After an hours wait I was about to give up when a big Common Buzzard drifted over spooking everything in its wake. My luck was in as it flushed c.30 Tufted Duck, 12 Pochard (more than the entire number I have seen in my 4 years of patching!) and 3 Goldeneye.

Rather pleased with myself I made my way back to the car, although I spent a little time with the Little Owl again. I quickly headed around to the Lighthouse where I could spend some time on the evening Gull roost.

Grey Partridge seem to be everywhere at the moment, and today was no different with at least 28 birds scattered across the fields along Lighthouse Lane. The fields are still surprisingly lacking the normal build up of Buntings and Finches this year, but Skylark at least still seem to be doing well. Reaching the shore I decided to view from the east side of the Lighthouse as usual. Almost the first bird I picked up was a smart male Goosander, always a good bird to catch up with on patch.

The shore held a nice mix of waders and ducks, including 9 Turnstone and 4 Grey Plover. I spent the remaining light scanning the Gulls moving west past the Lighthouse. However it was a rather frustrating evening with wind conditions, with birds coming in from all directions and heights. However in good numbers of moving Gulls  I eventually picked up a 1st winter Iceland Gull and a single near summer plumaged Mediterranean Gull which both flew west past the Lighthouse. I'm certain I missed a lot more than I saw tonight, but that's just the way it goes!