We go again....

A new year, a new challenge. Not only that, but the new weather was a shock to the system with a ground frost and a biting cold SE wind making a change to the milder conditions of late. Starting off at Burnt Mill Farm on Carr Lane, I quickly added a number of year ticks, the best being a lingering Corn Bunting (unusual for this time of year as they have normally dispersed into the feeding flocks elsewhere). Grey Wagtail and a number of commoner birds got the list ticking over nicely.

Driving along Carr Lane I stopped by the bridge at the corner of Carr Lane Pools, adding a few specialities including Jack Snipe and 7 Grey Partridge. A Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were the first raptors seen for the year, on a day where raptors were in short supply. Carr Lane Pools were quiet, but a single Little Egret was nice to see.

I met Ian Igglesden here and we decided to give the patch a good grilling, moving onto Hale Park to complete a full loop of the eastern half of the patch. Hale Park was relatively quiet producing the expected woodland birds including Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Siskin. Moving onto Hale Shore we had a good scan of the river and Frodsham Score, picking up our first Great White Egret and Whooper Swans of the year. A Rook picked out on the Frodsham side saved the embarrassment of having to wait three months for my first one of the year like 2015. Walking along the shore we kicked up at least 12 Common Snipe and 1 Jack Snipe. We flushed one rather intruiging looking Snipe with dusky underwings, but sadly were unable to relocate it.....one that got away? A male Stonechat sat on the reed fringes briefly but quickly disappeared, probably blown away by the strengthening winds. Reaching the lighthouse we tried to find a more sheltered spot to scan the river and Frdosham Score again, picking out a flock of 39 Pink Footed Geese, a smart adult Yellow Legged Gull and a few expected yearticks.

Continuing along towards Within Way a Merlin bombed across the back fields, and Ian somehow picked out one of the Peregrines roosting on the Runcorn Bridge. There was no sign of the Shag today, but there were at least 3 sinensis Cormorants roosting on the sandbars.

Hale Marsh was unproductive, but a Peregrine sat out on the Marsh looking fairly miserable in the biting cold wind....to be fair Ian and I didn't probably look much happier! A small flock of Fieldfares with smaller numbers of Redwing were feeding in the fields, but the rest of the walk up Within Way was uneventful. Walking back through Hale Village past the Childe of Hale a few feeding stations in the gardens of Church Road caught our eye. A male Blackcap and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were nice additions to the yearlist as a result. Adding a detour around the fields of Hale Park we picked up a single Lesser Redpoll in the Linnet flock, whilst the Buzzards looked particularly miffed at the stiff breeze.

Stopping at Carr Lane Pools on the way to Pickerings Pasture we had a few call only records of the Water Pipit (last reported on the 29/12 but clearly still lingering and getting even more elusive!), and our only Shoveler of the day. By the time we had reached Pickerings the tide had rather quickly covered most of the mud (schoolboy errors once again), but we added a few new year birds before I had to head off. Bypassing Carr Lane on the drive home I was able to add a squealing Water Rail and one of the local Kingfishers zoomed past, a nice end to the day. Although the birding was hard going today I was pleased to have seen or heard 86 species....only 97 to go to beat last years score!

The end is nigh.....

The 2015 Patchwork Challenge is nearly at a close, but with the forecast promising a bright day I decided to get out on patch to see what I could find. The forecast was surprisingly spot on with a brilliant blue sky as I arrived at Within Way.

A scan over the marsh from my vantage point at the farm provided a nice selection of raptors including Merlin, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and 3 Common Buzzard. Hale Marsh seems to be turning into a great area for raptors, probably encouraged by the large flocks of pipits and wagtails. The fields along Within Way were relatively quiet but 50+ Fieldfare, with smaller numbers of Redsing were nice. Small numbers of Grey Patridge were hiding in the stubble, thankfully appearing to have avoided the shooting parties. The biggest surprise was a Nuthatch calling from the copse at the end of Within Way, not rare locally, but not a bird that often strays from Hale Park. Scanning the Mersey from the bottom of Within Way produced 2 Common Sandpipers feeding on the outflow from Hale Marsh, a single Peregrine on the blue topped chimney on Weston Point and 2 Ravens cronking overhead. The river itself was quiet with only a small number of waders and gulls, and surprisingly no Great White Egret.

Looking through the assembled Cormorants, failed to locate the two Shag that have been present recently; however there was a smart 'sinensis' Cormorant mid-channel which clearly felt that Spring was a lot closer.

As the tide rushed in I decided to walk back up Within Way with the anticipation of driving around to the lighthouse or Pickerings Pasture, however the raptors on Hale Marsh had other ideas! A smart ringtail Hen Harrier ghosted past me and towards Carr Lane Pools, giving me crippling but brief views. Scanning Hale Marsh again I quickly picked out a male Merlin (quite a dark slaty blue looking bird), followed by another male Merlin (a paler looking bird) which sat out on the marsh. Scanning the posts found not one, but 2 female Merlins which gave great views in the bright sunlight.

The decoy held a couple of Little Egrets and about 20+ Stock Doves, but there was no sign of the Great White Egret that had been reported 10 minutes earlier.....not sure how I missed that one! The Little Owl was showing well as I neared the farm, always great birds to see. It was clearly enjoying the sunshine, but rarely gave clear views.

A Grey Wagtail dropped into the puddle behind me and gave great views until I got chased away by a marauding dog.

No new birds for the year, but a fun morning out with all of the raptors. All the signs are looking good for a flying start to 2016.