North Wales Birding

Despite only being a stones throw away from North Wales, I have done next to no real birding in the area since I returned to the north-west. With patch birding being slow (a huge understatement) and the temptation of seeing a number of scarce breeders I thought I would give it a go. I managed to talk Iggy into taking a break from the patch and together we headed into Wales at some ungodly hour.

Arriving at Worlds End at just before sunrise, we slowly drove along patiently awaiting the arrival of the Black Grouse. A couple of calling Red Grouse, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and a brief Merlin put in a showing, but strangely there was no sign of any Black Grouse?! Retracing the road we finally managed to pick up a very distant lek of c.15 birds....but to say they were distant would be kind! Thankfully we could hear some more birds calling, so carried on a little further until......

The lek must have decided to have a sleep in, as 21 males were sat right by the road. Using the car as a hide we managed to balance scopes and optics through the windows and get some great views. Sadly there were no females on show, but a female Mallard that decided to walk through the lek drew some admiring glances...... Having had our fill of the Grouse we headed back towards civilisation, taking in a much better view of a male Merlin and a few Red Grouse on the way.

We headed towards Clocaenog and along one of the minor roads had some great views of Common Crossbill and Siskin. Both were very much in evidence across the whole of the forest. Pulling over to let a car pass, Iggys car unfortunately dropped into a newly created "gutter" of water and mud. After c.30 minutes and realising that we were well and truly dug in, we managed to find a kind farmer to extract us! Why I forgot to take any pics I will never know!!

A number of stops around the area failed to yield any Goshawk, and the lack of phone reception didn't help in trying to locate the Great Grey Shrike. On the plus side we jammed in on a singing Firecrest, along with the more expected woodland birds including plenty more Common Crossbill and Siskin. A distant raptor certainly looked good, but having stupidly walked down the hill without a scope I wasn't to firm up any ID (note to self - don't walk anywhere without a scope!!).

Driving up towards Llanbedr y Chenin we had a number of stops, and eventually found a smart Dipper along one of the many good looking rivers. Red Kites were very much in evidence with at least 5 birds, and a female Goosander flew over the car. Despite Google Maps attempting to take us to random locations we finally made it to Llanbedr y Chenin in good time (despite the numerous river stops).

Within seconds of arriving we were watching a couple of Hawfinch at the tops of the trees. However getting decent views was a different matter, with the birds very mobile and deciding to sit just the wrong side of branches! There was a minimum of 9 birds, but an accurate count was difficult given how mobile the flock was. We also distantly scoped a group of 5 Goosander and had another 4-5 Red Kite circling around above our heads.

A "posh" toilet stop for Iggy at Conwy RSPB allowed me to pick up a couple of Chiffchaff  in the car park, whilst an adult Mediterranean Gull flew over calling. By now the drizzle was becoming quite heavy, but undeterred we pushed onwards to Llandudno and the Great Orme. After navigating our way to the Mines, we were slightly miffed to find that the clouds were exceedingly low, reducing visibility to near zero.

A drive around and a scan from the Church resulted in a few Red Throated Diver, Shag, Cormorant, Guillemot, Razorbill. A stop by the café along Marine Drive produced my first 2 Wheatear of the year, but the cold wind definitely didn't make it feel much like Spring! Jackdaws were very much in evidence, but we just couldn't locate any Chough. We decided to carry on and have a mooch around the Limestone Pavement.

A wander around the rather windswept top produced very little other than 8-9 Stonechat and plenty of Meadow Pipit. But finally the sounds of Chough filled the air, but sadly views of a pair flying away were far from what was hoped for. The early start was starting to catch up with us both, so we decided to call it a (rather successful) day and head home. The drive home was uneventful, but we picked up the 21 Whooper Swan on the M56 at Frodsham (opposite Helsby Hill). I'll definitely be heading back to North Wales again soon, if nothing else to catch up with the Pied Flycatchers!

Surely it has to get better....

I managed a brief visit to the patch after work today, and with a more positive feel of late I was hopeful that the patch may find start delivering.......in reality I should probably have just gone home and caught up on some sleep! A rather grey and overcast afternoon, with fairly poor light and not much about.

I started at Burnt Mill Farm, hopeful that the southerly winds may have brought in an early Wheatear. The paddocks were full of Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Starling and Pied Wagtails, which was at least more productive than of late. A Corn Bunting was singing from an unseen vantage point, but I suspect it was hidden in the fields at the back. A thorough search of the area produced little else, but a Kestrel and a few Common Buzzard displaying above my head made it feel a bit more like Spring.

Carr Lane was pretty much devoid of birds. The flooded "Ibis" field held a couple of calling Little Grebe and masses of Moorhen and Coot but little else. A scan over towards the Pools produced no Pipits, and only a handful of Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit feeding in the shallows. A few Eurasian Teal, Shoveler and Mallard were tucked up towards Town Lane, which at least gave me hope that something may be hidden amongst them.

Moving round to the gate on Town Lane, and I could scan through the assembled ducks properly. 67 Eurasian Teal, 19 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, and 14 Mallard were the best of it though. Hopefully it won't be too long until the first Garganey may appear....Spring really can't come quick enough at the moment. A single male Stonechat was along the fenceline at the back of the Pools, and a couple more Common Buzzard were displaying over the top of Great Boar Wood, but otherwise it was very quiet.

I decided to try my luck and scan from the end of Church Lane again. A Great White Egret was stalking about on Ince Marshes, but there was no sign of any Swans on this occasion. There were c.300 Pink-footed Geese again on Frodsham Score, but sadly they again were too distant to do much with - however nothing really stood out on this occasion. A female Marsh Harrier was quartering the back edges of the Score, and Raven numbers are really starting to build (in line with the lambs). The clouds had been building whilst I was scanning the river and eventually I could feel the first rather heavy spots of rain. With the whole area seeming rather lifeless I decided not to waste my brownie points and headed home.

Cheshire Ticking

I have never really been too concerned about keeping a Cheshire List, probably something I will regret in 20 years time. However I was unable to resist the temptation to pop over to Frodsham for the Great Grey Shrike (despite having seen one in Scotland a few weeks ago) that had been found on Saturday. Iggy had already deserted Hale for the day, so I again dug out my passport and headed towards the Runcorn Bridge. The weather had been pretty much a wipe out all morning, and things didn't really improve in the afternoon, if anything getting worse as the day went on.

I quickly found my way along Marsh Lane and onto Lordship Lane where I met Iggy. He was busily watching a sleeping Otter, always nice to catch up with even if it was a little obscured. Having had our fill of the Otter we made our way along towards the Hoverport regularly stopping to scan for the Shrike. I eventually picked up the Great Grey Shrike but it was rather distant. The bushes were full of Reed Bunting, and my mind started to wander about what else may be present.

The Great Grey Shrike was very active and was moving about the bushes between Hares Lane and Lordship Lane, and we eventually got pretty decent views as it came closer and closer. A very smart bird indeed, with many happy faces walking to and from the fields. With time marching on I suggested popping into Moore, as it was pretty much on the way back to Liverpool. Driving towards Moore the rain seemed to get heavier and heavier, not great!

We had a fairly unproductive wander around in the pouring rain, but there was a reasonable selection of expected woodland species including Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a distant yaffling Green Woodpecker. The feeding station was attracting plenty of birds in, but my optics were drenched, and despite being clad in waterproofs myself I was starting to feel rather wet and miserable too. I decided to dry off and have a brief call into patch before heading home.

Pulling into the bridge on Town Lane I was a little drier, but sadly the rain hadn't stopped, although it did seem marginally lighter. A brief look picked up a single Water Pipit in front of the decoy, a Little Egret feeding distantly out on the Marsh and a big gaggle of Canada Geese. I had a brief look over towards Carr Lane Pools, where 15 Shoveler were roosting. With the rain getting heavier again I decided to call it a day and head home, at least I would get some brownie points for getting home at a reasonable time!!

Turning the Corner?

With some pleasant Spring-like weather and news of a possible Grey Shrike sp. at Frodsham Marsh, I had thoughts of making the trip over the Mersey again. However the bird had done a bunk, so instead I decided to head to patch to see whether the Shrike had made the short journey across the river. The afternoon was a lot cooler, with the bright weather giving way to cloudier conditions and some light drizzle.

Stopping at Burnt Mill Farm I was pleased to find 2 Stonechat, which appear to be new birds into the area. A couple of Common Buzzard were mewing high up in the air, whilst I could hear a couple of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting in the fields behind me. Good numbers of Meadow Pipit were constantly up and down from the stubble fields behind the paddocks, and with the bright sunshine it didn't feel as though it would be long until the first Wheatears appear.

Moving down to the flooded pool on Carr Lane I was quickly brought down to earth, as the wind had picked up slightly and it felt decidedly cold (i.e. bloody freezing!). A group of c.200 Fieldfare flew over my head chacking away, and landed in the large copse. However other than good numbers of Moorhen and Coot the flood was quiet. Carr Lane Pools looked just as quiet with only a handful of Redshank and Eurasian Teal very little else.

Parking up at the end of Within Way it was good to hear bubbling Nuthatch, and plenty of other birds in full song. As I was making my way along I got a phone call from Iggy to say that there was a female Merlin just below me. It initially was sat up before it went off chasing Linnets, and returning to a rather obscured position....doh! The Little Owl was again showing well in it's favoured tree, whilst two Raven flew over towards Lighthouse Lane cronking away.

The "beast" (hybrid Ruddy x Common) was looking rather frisky, and was making amorous advances towards some of the Common Shelduck. The rest of Hale Marsh was relatively quiet, although there appeared to be good numbers of Wagtails and Pipits towards the hide at Pickerings Pasture....sadly a little too distant to do much with! I spent a little time scanning the hedges for the Shrike, but any hopes were soon dashed as the "possible" became a definite Great Grey Shrike, and a very smart one at that.

I resisted the temptation to dessert patch and instead headed to Church Lane to watch over the Mersey ahead of the incoming high tide; and it turned out to be an inspired choice. No sooner had I set up than I picked up a group of c.300 Pink-footed Geese flying in from the west, and even better the flock contained at least 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. The flock pitched down on Ince Marshes, but almost disappeared into the Marsh. However there were c.200 further Pink-footed Geese spread across the Marsh (and I'm fairly certain they contained other "Grey Geese" however they remained too distant to do much with).

Ince Marsh and Frodsham Score were very productive with at least 3 Great White Egret, 18 Little Egret, 2 Mute Swan and an immature Whooper Swan spread across the length. A female/immature Marsh Harrier was hunting the back edge of Frodsham Score, whilst a Peregrine swept through causing chaos amongst the roosting waders. I was about to head off when I picked up a distant harrier approaching from the west of Ince Marshes, as it got closer I was delighted to see that it was a ringtail Hen Harrier. This is only my 3rd record in the last 3 years of a bird that is depressingly becoming a very rare sight along the Mersey. As the rain started to pelt down I decided to call it a day on the patch, and it certainly felt as though things were finally starting to get better on patch. Then again, roll on the Spring and the incoming migrants.