Bird Racing across the Universe

When I lived in Suffolk bird races were one of my personal highlights of the year. We would normally do two each year, with one on January 1st and another at the beginning of May. Whereas May was more akin to a marathon (with more available daylight), January was all about tactics and planning. Having not taken part in a bird race in 7 years, I thought I would give it a go at Hale in my patch boundaries (although without the competitive element of having other teams out and about). With up to 110-115 species having been seen on the run-up to the New Year I set myself a rather stretching (but what I thought would be possible to achieve) target of reaching a nice round 100.

Driving along Carr Lane at just after 7am, my first species of the day was one of the local Barn Owls that ghosted across the road as I headed down to the bridge, always a nice start. As I parked up a Water Rail started to squeal away, whilst Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrush and a Mistle Thrush were in full voice. Common Snipe were squelching away, and a Woodcock had a fly around over my head. I could hear Eurasian Teal and Lapwing from towards Carr Lane Pools. As the first embers of daylight appeared the first Wrens of the day burst into life.

I decided to try my luck at Hale Park, although as it was still fairly dark I didn't hold out much hope of seeing many of the woodland species that I would expect. A Tawny Owl was keewik-ing from the entrance to Hale Hall, quite often a tricky species to see or hear at this time of year on patch. The first gulls (Black-headed, Herring and Lesser black-backed) were starting to move over whilst Cormorant and Woodpigeon were quickly added. However as expected there were next to no woodland species, with only the Great Tits starting to wake up.

Moving around to Town Lane I parked up on Marsh Bridge and was immediately rewarded with the Short eared Owl quartering Hale Marsh. A Kestrel was already on the wing and flushed a couple of Water Pipit (with 3 eventually being seen). A check of the Town Lane floods, revealed plenty of Eurasian Teal, 2 Shelduck and a rather smart male Pintail. The Stonechat (3 birds - male, female and 1st year) were already awake and sat on the fenceline in the middle of Carr Lane Pools. A couple of Little Egret were mooching about on Hale Marsh, and I had clearly missed the early morning exodus from the roost (although plenty of Grey Heron and Cormorant were still leaving).

Acutely aware that an early morning visit was required to Pickerings Pasture (to avoid the hordes of walkers, dogs, drones, kids, cyclists etc!) I made my way quickly to the car park. The Ring necked Parakeet was screeching around, whilst the feeders were busy with various tits and Chaffinch. The Common Buzzard that has taken to lingering around the car park gave ridiculously good views. Scanning the Mersey picked up stacks of Canada Geese, whilst 2 Barnacle Geese and a single Greylag Goose tried their best to hide. The Mersey was relatively quiet, but I picked up a couple of the more expected Gulls and Waders to keep the yearlist ticking along. Up to 7 Bullfinch were in the usual hedge and were surprisingly easy to see, and having picked up the expected bits made my way through the Control Meadows to the Scrape.

The Control Meadows were relatively quiet, so the walk to the scrape was quicker than usual. The Kingfisher was feeding directly in front of the screen, whilst the Common Sandpiper was also mooching about. The feeders were heaving with finches and tits, but sadly there was no sign of any of the recent Brambling. Hale Marsh was also relatively quiet, though the Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail flock was still present and included a single Grey Wagtail. The Mersey held at least 7 Great crested Grebe, but was also quiet. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was very vocal, whilst the overwintering Chiffchaff also put in an appearance in front of the screen. Deciding to cut my losses I headed back to the car picking up Coal Tit and Goldcrest on the return. I had reached 60 species by 9.35am, and my confidence of reaching 100 was pretty high.

Returning to Hale Park I walked through the Ice House Woods quickly picking up Nuthatch and Treecreeper, whilst I was pleased to also find 2 Siskin (which have been particularly scarce this winter). I received a WhatsApp message from Dominic about a Merlin in the carrot field west of the Lighthouse, I was probably only about 100m away, but by the time I ambled out I had missed it (which I would later regret). Reaching the Shore I walked the length of tidal channels up to the Lighthouse picking up my first Rock Pipit (my 70th species at 10.40am) but failing to flush a single Snipe of either species. However scanning Frodsham Score and Ince Marshes produced a bonus ringtail Hen Harrier and at least 3 Marsh Harrier, along with plenty of Raven.

Scanning through the ducks at the Lighthouse I quickly picked up a good selection of ducks, including 87 Pintail, 2 Shoveler and a single female Gadwall, among good numbers of Eurasian Teal, Wigeon and Mallard. Continuing along the shore I kicked up a good number of Skylark and at least 6 more Rock Pipit. I had almost given up hope of finding any Snipe when I finally flushed a Jack Snipe from the last patch of shore. Returning towards the Lighthouse I bumped into Rob and Carol Cockbain and stopped to have a quick catch-up, whilst still scanning. I quickly added Great White Egret, Sparrowhawk and Magpie before saying my goodbyes and heading back towards the car to meet up with Iggy.

Meeting up with Iggy on the back edge of the Ice House Woods, we had some nice views of various woodland species before heading back to the car and deciding to head back to Hale Marsh and Town Lane. After a rather nervy wait a Moorhen (that could have been an embarrassing miss!) finally gave itself up, whilst a Little Egret was feeding in Ramsbrook. A Peregrine put in a brief at the end of the Marsh, surprisingly my first of the day. A quick pit stop at the Co-op to pick up some food (10 doughnuts anyway!) and coffee, and it was straight onto Pickerings again to hopefully look the assembled masses of waders...….

Sadly reaching Pickerings and it was evident that there were not many waders at all! Only 2 Dunlin were present on the expanse of mud/sandflats, whilst a big group of Lapwing and Golden Plover were flying around over Frodsham Score. We bumped into Sean O'Hara and Anne, and enjoyed at least 2 Common Sandpiper that were present, but Gull numbers were very low and didn't contain anything of interest despite a good grilling. Looking through the species still missing I decided to head back to Carr Lane, leaving Iggy to have a scout around Pickerings and the Scrape.

The sunflower strip held good numbers of Linnet and Goldfinch and a couple of Greenfinch, but sadly none of the better species that had been seen over the last couple of weeks. Fortunately I picked up both Redwing and Fieldfare feeding in the fields and then returning to the tops of the trees in Clamley Park Wood. With time (or daylight) quickly slipping away I headed to Within Way, where the Little Owl (90th species at 14.15pm)  was unusually playing ball straight away. I decided to walk to the end of Within Way (hoping that there may be some waders at the end).

Again, there was a lack of any waders at the end of Within Way, other than a handful of Redshank. I was joined by Geoff Bond and his wife, and whilst catching up was fortunate enough to pick up a group of 3 Tufted Duck flying around over the Weaver Estuary. Returning along Within Way I met up with Iggy again, but despite a good scan of the Marsh we couldn't pick up anything new, and again no Merlin! We decided to head round to Hale Lighthouse for the Gull roost.....and having parked up got a message through from Rob and Carol to say that a Merlin was showing well on Hale Marsh......GRRRRRRRRR!!!!! However my first Jay of the day flying towards Hale Park limited the pain momentarily.

Grey Plover and a Ringed Plover (95th species for the day) were added on the Mersey as the Gulls started to flood through. A Peregrine was sat out on the mudbanks, which may have not helped with adding any further waders. There was still plenty of scope for reaching 100, especially given how productive the evening gulling had been recently.....however it wasn't to be. The Gulls were moving through in vast waves at different heights and distances making scanning through them a nightmare. Despite adding 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls, I failed to add any of the better Gulls (Iceland or Yellow Legged) that I had seen on each occasion previously. With the light almost gone and temperatures plummeting I decided to head back to Hale Marsh in one last ditch effort to add Merlin. Another failure, meant that I ended the day on 96.

Although it was a disappointing not to reach my target of 100, I feel that this is more than possible with a little more luck. However 96 species in such a small area is nothing to sniff at, and just goes to show how good the mix of habitat around Hale really is. Roll on May and maybe I'll give a full day effort a go...….
 
      

End of Days

With commitments pretty much all weekend, I wasn't able to get out for any birding until Sunday afternoon. Then again as I have previously said, late afternoon and dusk is probably one of my favourite times to be out on the patch at this time of year. The good variety of raptors and owls at the moment, obviously helps with enthusiasm levels given the rather cold conditions.

Starting off at the area around Burnt Mill Farm, I concentrated on the fields on the west side of Carr Lane. About 30 Meadow Pipit were buzzing about, although they would frustratingly dive deep into the cover not allowing me any time to actually look at them properly. A Kestrel was keeping a close eye, and made a few swipes at the Pipits, also flushing out some Linnet, Goldfinch and more surprisingly a Common Snipe. 

Moving along Carr Lane I parked at Marsh Bridge and walked along towards Hale village. The former Ibis Pools held the usual selection of Greenfinch (6), Goldfinch (15+), Linnet (25+) and Reed Bunting. The area has an area of reedmace which seems to be expanding, and looks almost ideal for a Penduline Tit - a Blue Tit did get the pulse racing for a second today! There were again good numbers of Starling (c.250), however despite a good grilling I couldn't find any of their Rosy cousins. Carr Lane Pools held 7 Shelduck, c.90 Eurasian Teal, 3 Shoveler, 2 Mallard and a Redshank, but viewing the pools is still proving difficult.

I headed round to Town Lane and parked on the bridge, flushing 17 Eurasian Teal that were feeding in Ramsbrook, along with a Grey Wagtail. The decoy marsh held 7 Pied Wagtail, but precious little else. The Town Lane floods were not much better, with very few ducks (19 Eurasian Teal and a single Mallard) and next to no Pipits. A single Water Pipit flew over calling, but there were only 3 Meadow Pipit in the area. The 3 Mute Swans were again sat on the winter wheat field....if only they would bring in some winter swans as well.

With plenty of light still available I decided to try a different approach by finding a good vantage point on Within Way, instead of trying to cram in a few different areas in the same time. Finding a good location I scanned Hale Marsh picking up 4 Barnacle Geese among the Canada Geese and Cormorants. A very smart Sparrowhawk landed close to me in the hedge, whilst a Merlin whizzed past towards the end of Within Way. 5 Little Egret were feeding out on the edges of the marsh, whilst I was surrounded by Skylark, Linnets and calling Grey Partridge.

Raptor numbers started to increase with a couple of Kestrel, 5 Common Buzzard and a further Merlin (male) came and went. I was scanning the increasing numbers of gulls moving west along the Mersey when I heard a trumpet above me, looking up I was surprised to see a single Whooper Swan heading towards Town Lane.....and then dropping into the same field as the Mute Swans (what was I saying....just typical I was miles away!!). The ringtail Hen Harrier finally put in an appearance, but again it stayed distant along the path towards the Lighthouse. A female Marsh Harrier looked like it was going to cross the Mersey from Frodsham, but got half way and decided against it.....surely it can't prefer the dark side of the Mersey?!?

The Short-eared Owl also made a brief appearance towards the end of Within Way - it would be nice to finally get some decent views of this mobile bird. Another Merlin (fem/juv) headed west towards the Lighthouse, whilst a Peregrine powered over my head towards Hale Village. The Hen Harrier finally made another appearance, and thankfully this time showed a little better as it headed out onto Hale Marsh. 2 Great White Egret headed towards the decoy, but surprisingly only 7 Little Egret came into the roost tonight (again, well down on recent numbers). The Barn Owls were the next to appear on the edge of Hale Marsh, whilst a Woodcock left the copse behind me and headed out onto Hale Marsh. As the dark closed in further the Little Owl started yelping, and I could just about make out a hunched up figure from one of the oaks.

One of the highlights of the dusk session was the number of Meadow Pipit that were moving west over Within Way. With numerous other distractions I wasn't able to properly count them, but counted a minimum of 180 birds, although I feel that this was an underestimate, with birds constantly calling as they headed over. If only they didn't all feed out in the middle of the marsh....they surely must be something rarer lurking amongst them. 

With darkness almost upon me I decided to pop into Carr Lane for the last embers of light. 2 Water Rail were calling from the former Ibis Pool, whilst again there were good numbers of Common Snipe moving about. Grey Partridge and some Fieldfare going into roost were the only other birds of note, and having finally lost all feeling in my toes and fingers I decided to retreat to the warmth of home. With plenty of decent birds already about, the winter will continue in the same vein as it has begun. 

The Dusk Sessions

With the clocks going back, trying to get any midweek birding in is an absolute nightmare at this time of year. However I managed a brief post work visit to the patch on Friday arriving just before 4pm (which didn't really give me a great deal of time, but just enough to get a birding fix). Dusk is one of my favourite times to visit the patch, especially in the winter months with the prospect of roosting raptors, owls and egrets.

In the rapidly deteriorating light I decided to head to Town Lane bridge, rather than my normal (preferred) option of Within Way. I could immediately hear a Water Pipit buzzing around with a couple of Meadow Pipit. A Kingfisher buzzed along Ramsbrook, whilst the fields along Within Way held at least 300 Fieldfare. Scanning the Marsh I picked up 2 Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and 3 Common Buzzard (including the very pale morph bird).

The Town Lane flood held a few Eurasian Teal and a single Common Snipe, whilst the fields held 3 Mute Swan (surprisingly still a relatively scarce patch bird). Turning my attentions swiftly back to Hale Marsh I picked up a smart female Merlin. 10's of Cormorants continued to head towards the decoy roost, but amazingly I didn't see a single Egret?! Continuing to scan the Marsh I eventually picked out a distant Short Eared Owl. However by now the light was pretty bad and with the street lights coming on it made scanning the Marsh close to impossible. 

Heading round to Carr Lane for the last embers of light I was almost decapitated by a Woodcock as I stepped out of the car. It did 2 loops around my head before it headed out onto the wet areas around Carr Lane Pools. A Barn Owl was hunting the rough area before the first house, whilst at least 2 Water Rail screeched from the remnants of the Ibis Pool. A couple of late Reed Buntings dropped into the reeds, and a few Common Snipe came squelching out of Carr Lane Pools. Before heading home I decided to drop into Within Way, where the Little Owl was yelping away and a few more Common Snipe could be heard in the darkness. My final detour took in Hale Park where a Tawny Owl was hooting away......maybe with a few more carrots I'll be able to stay out all night! All in all, not a bad dusk session and with colder weather on the way hopefully we may get a few more goodies to add to the regulars.   

Foolish Birding

After a fairly murky morning with heavy rain I managed to time my patch birding perfectly, with the clouds breaking revealing some warm Spring sunshine. After a bit of a rush of migrants to the end of March, I was hopeful that the start of April would follow in the same vain.

I started at Burnt Mill Farm where I was delighted to find that the first Wheatears were finally back in. At least 7 Wheatear were bouncing about the paddocks, including some nice confiding birds which allowed some good photo opportunities (....for me!). The paddocks were full of Meadow Pipit, Linnet and Goldfinch, although it was slightly alarming that there was a distinct lack of Corn Bunting again. A Willow Warbler was singing in the garden of Burnt Mill Farm, my first of the Spring and always a joy to hear.

Moving down Carr Lane I stopped at the bridge and found a female Garganey feeding quietly at the back of the flooded field. The fields were alive with Wheatear whilst Great Boar Wood and the scrubby ditch along the back of Ramsbrook were alive with Chiffchaff and Blackcap. The sudden arrival of some sunshine clearly tempted the raptors out with 3 Peregrine, 20+ Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk and 6 Kestrel. Sadly despite what looked like perfect conditions and good numbers elsewhere I failed to find any Osprey.

Carr Lane Pools were remarkably quiet with only a handful of hirundines flying around, so I moved quickly onto the bridge on Town Lane. A Great White Egret was sat out distantly on the Marsh, whilst at least 2 Water Pipit were still present. It will be interesting to see how long they decide to remain.

Heading round to Within Way I caught up with the Little Owl, which was enjoying the afternoon sunshine. 2 Marsh Harrier were soaring on the thermals just east of Runcorn Hill, whilst a female Merlin shot through. Hale Marsh held a Green Sandpiper and the hybrid Shelduck sp.  but the tide failed to push many waders in. With very little else moving, and next to no migrants I decided to head back towards Carr Lane again.

The male Garganey had reappeared on the main pools, whilst a very smart summer plumaged Water Pipit was feeding in the small pool just in front of the gap in the hedge. There were still at least 5 Wheatear bouncing around, and a Whimbrel came flying over from the north and headed towards Hale Marsh. A Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll flew over, just as a reminder that it was still early Spring. With my time running out, I decided to head home.

Patch Mojo

Most of my recent birding has been away from the patch, but with a day off and some half decent weather forecast I decided to get back out onto patch to look for migrants. The weather was very spring like indeed with bright sunshine and blue skies, although the coolish north-easterly reminded me it was still March.

Starting at Burnt Mill Farm I was a little disappointed to find no Wheatear on the main paddocks, but a few Common Buzzard and Kestrel were keeping the local Meadow Pipits and Linnets on their toes. Moving around I checked the fields around Burnt Mill Farm and was pleased to find some fairly decent numbers of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer, along with good numbers of Meadow Pipit and Linnet again.

Driving down Carr Lane I could hear Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing from Great Boar Wood. Parking up on the bridge I could hear plenty of woodland species in full song including Nuthatch and Treecreeper, whilst various tits and finches were clearly making the most of the spring-like weather. I had a little off-road explore and was pleased to find a very smart male Garganey at the back of the flooded field, sharing the area with 3 Little Grebe, Gadwall, Mallard and the usual Coot and Moorhen.

Moving across the road I immediately picked up 5 Water Pipit feeding very close to the road. 2 of the group were already well advanced into summer plumage and I enjoyed watching them for a while. The pools looked relatively quiet with a handful of Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and the expected assortment of ducks. A female Marsh Harrier swept through the back of Carr Lane Pools before heading off and out onto Hale Marsh and away.

Moving around to Town Lane the Pools held pretty much the same that I could see from Carr Lane, but a Ruff was mooching around in one of the secluded corners, whilst a pair of Gadwall were also present amongst the expected Eurasian Teal, Mallard and Shoveler. Wandering along towards the bridge I heard a loud Thrush "tuking" overhead, looking up I was greeted by a male Ring Ouzel. The rest of Hale Marsh was relatively quiet other than 2 Little Egret.

I decided to have a look along Within Way, hopeful that my run of Spring migrants would continue. The Little Owl was again showing well, and a female Merlin was briefly perched up on a distant bush, but otherwise it was a quiet and rather blustery stroll. Scanning across Hale Marsh there were 5 Golden Plover, 2 Turnstone and a single Dunlin among the Redshank and Lapwing.

Strangely Gadwall is one of the first signs of Spring on the patch, and the pre-breeding flock was already starting to build on Hale Marsh with at least 57 birds, whilst a further 12 were out on the Mersey. A small group of 14 Wigeon still remained, and it will be interesting to see how long they remain before heading north. Scanning the grassy area at the bottom of Within Way I was pleased to finally pick up my first patch Wheatear of the year, whilst out on the Mersey 3 Avocet were feeding in the gutter which runs off from the Weaver outflow. By now the wind had really picked up and I had to head home, however the return walk produced probably the best patch bird of the day.....

.....searching through the corvids I stumbled upon 3 Rook! They are a remarkably rare bird to see "on patch", and with no local Rookeries, most birds are singletons during autumn migration. Returning via Carr Lane I had another brief look at the Water Pipits and Garganey, before heading home. So a pretty good return to form for the patch and it finally felt as though I was getting my patch mojo back......thank God for Spring!!