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. 

Funtime Friday's

I managed to get away from work a little earlier to get some late afternoon birding in on patch (these dark nights are a killer for getting any midweek birding in). It was still pretty cold, though the easterly breeze had thankfully subsided from the last few days; however it had left a fairly murky low hanging cloud in it's place.

I had a mooch around Burnt Mill Farm and had a good check through the Meadow Pipits that were bouncing between the fields and the paddocks. A Common Buzzard was sat along the fence line, whilst a couple of Kestrel were hunting in the area - probably the reason why there were only small number of Goldfinch and Linnet buzzing around. 

Moving down Carr Lane I checked out the former Ibis Pool where a Sparrowhawk was hunting the sunflower strip. The mixed finch flock of c.50 Linnet, 20 Goldfinch and 12 Greenfinch along with a handful of Reed Bunting didn't want to settle. A Water Pipit flew over and headed back towards Carr Lane Pools, and small groups of Meadow Pipit were moving about. The Pools seemed fairly quiet other than 2 Shelduck and a handful of Eurasian Teal and 4 Shoveler, although viewing is still limited due to the height of some of the weeds.

Moving to Town Lane, I parked up on the bridge and scanned the Decoy Marsh. c.12 Pied Wagtail and a single Meadow Pipit were feeding close in, but there was no sign of any Water Pipit. A single Little Egret and a flyover Grey Wagtail were the only other birds of any note. The 3 Mute Swan were again in the fields on the opposite side of the road. Turning my attention to the Town Lane floods. A single Water Pipit and 2 Common Snipe were feeding on the section closest to the bridge. Walking back towards Hale village I picked up some large groups of Pipits heading my way. As they all dropped into the weedy section of the main pool I counted at least 9 Water Pipit and c.60 Meadow Pipit. I'm not sure whether the murky conditions were getting them to go to roost earlier than normal? A check of the ducks only found Eurasian Teal (c.140) and a single Redshank.

I headed round to Pickerings, planning to check the Gull roost and waders. However as is often the Gulls and waders were present in good numbers but were all far too distant to do much with (mostly all on feeding on no mans land or the section closest to the Runcorn Bridge). c.1000 Golden Plover, c.700 Lapwing and c.2000 Dunlin was about as much as I could pick up in the distance. A Common Sandpiper was again feeding along the rocky edge. A look through the very distant big Gulls didn't produce anything too obvious although the light was terrible. A Common Buzzard was sat on top of the visitors café whilst he hedges were alive with finches and mixed tit flocks. Given the conditions I decided to give up on Pickerings and head back round to Within Way to watch the roost.

I walked along Within Way to view from near to the sharp bend. A good spread of Canada Geese sadly didn't hold anything else. I picked up the ringtail Hen Harrier as it scattered some of the Skylarks and Reed Buntings in the field. Looking back down towards Hale Marsh I had a couple of brief views of the Short eared Owl as it frustratingly kept low over the marsh and just below the reeds. Grey Partridge and Meadow Pipits were a constant background noise by now. I was joined by Paul Long just as a Barn Owl emerged and headed back towards Hale Village, and a Merlin followed shortly after. Surprisingly I didn't see a single Egret entering the decoy roost tonight (the rather unpredictable nature of the decoy roost is both exciting and frustrating in equal measures at the moment). With the light almost gone I decided to head to Carr Lane to have one last check for Woodcock. A pair of Water Rail were squealing away from the former Ibis Pool area, but despite waiting until well after dark I didn't pick up any Woodcock, although there were loads of Eurasian Teal and Common Snipe moving about. Not a bad couple of hours on patch, and a nice end to the week.

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.