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. 

Sunday Madness

I'm not a big fan of birding during the day on the patch at the weekends (especially on a Sunday) due to the amount of disturbance and Sunday walkers. However I never turn up the opportunity to get out, so with a brief window I managed to head to the patch for a few hours. Driving along Higher Road I noticed quite a large flock of Starling along Burnt Mill Lane. This is just outside of my Patchwork Challenge area, but is probably somewhere I should give more time.

There are some seriously good looking paddocks (which I have previously checked in passing but not on a regular basis) that I'll have to keep a closer eye on in the future. There were about c.500 Starling spread out feeding in the rough areas, whilst Pied Wagtails, Linnets and Goldfinch made the whole area look alive. Despite my best efforts I couldn't pick out any Rosy Starling, which was hampered further as a very smart male Merlin shot through. A few Common Buzzard, a single Sparrowhawk and Kestrel also probably didn't help the smaller birds to feel at ease!

I had a few stops along Carr Lane before heading down to the former Ibis Pool to catch up with Iggy. We kept a close eye on the sunflower patch, which held c.50 Linnet, c.20 Greenfinch and c.15 Goldfinch. Reed Bunting were constantly flying around, whilst it was a surprise to see 2 Water Pipit fly out - which gave Iggy some good flightshot practice on his new camera (pretty impressive as well!). A female Stonechat was sat on the fencing around Carr Lane Pools. With limited time I said goodbye to Iggy and headed round to Town Lane.

There was no sign of any Water Pipit around Town Lane or the Decoy Marsh today, but the Pools were full of c.110 Eurasian Teal, 10 Wigeon and 17 Common Snipe. 5 Mute Swan were sat out in the wheat fields, whilst a Sparrowhawk soared overhead. The Marsh held at least 4 Little Egret, and a couple of Common Buzzard were hunting the outer edges. Another check of the Decoy Marsh revealed a few Pied Wagtail, a Kingfisher zooming away along Ramsbrook and a flyover Grey Wagtail but still no Water Pipit.

I decided to have a quick look at Pickerings, although fully aware it would probably be heaving with people and dogs......sadly I was right. Despite this there were good numbers of waders spread out across the mud with c.1000 Dunlin, c.500 Lapwing, 36 Golden Plover, 75 Curlew and loads of Redshank. A Common Sandpiper was feeding along the rocks towards the bridge. 2 Peregrine (full marks if you can pick it out in the dodgy pic!) were sat up on the Runcorn Bridge, whilst a Common Buzzard was eating an Eel on one of the sandbars. The Gulls were all too distant to do much with in the time I had available, although there seems to have been a big increase in "big" Gulls, so hopefully it won't be too long before our first white wingers start to materialise.

Strolling back to the car I picked up at least 4 Bullfinch in the hedge by the car park, along with good numbers of Goldfinch. A single Goldcrest was calling amongst the large tit flock...I would have liked to have stayed longer to check the flock out, but I had run out of available time. 

Haw-esome Vizmigging

Due to a number of reasons I haven't been able to do as much vizmigging at Hale this year as I would have liked. However the last day of forecasted SE'lies (before a switch to much colder E and NE'lies) and with some pretty impressive numbers moving during the week, I made sure that I got an early start. As is normal I arrived at Hale well before first light so had a stop along Carr Lane, however it was fairly quiet with not a peep out of any of the Water Rails from last night.

Arriving at the end of Church Lane I parked up and put on an extra 20 layers of clothes (I always forget how cold it is just standing about!!). The wind felt more ESE rather than the forecast SE, and there was a thick cloud cover. I was joined by Rob Cockbain and we watched 3 Great White Egret heading out towards Ince Marshes (presumably having left the decoy at pretty much first light). It was fairly evident that it was going to be fairly slow going though, with next to nothing moving as Clare Gower joined us.

Thankfully things did start to pick up as the first flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare started to move through. A nice group of Pink footed Geese (having been roosting on the Mersey) flew up and over our heads and headed north (to return back south again not long after). Finches seemed be in pretty short supply with only a trickle of Chaffinch, many u-turning as they got half way down Lighthouse Lane. A couple of Sparrowhawk and Kestrel kept the migrants on their toes, whilst a Merlin hammered through west.

Finally as the clouds started to break and the sun started to break through migration started to pick up. With some impressive (for this late in November) movement of Woodpigeon. A Hawfinch was heard uttering its "pix" call as it headed south, but we were unable to pick it up. We were joined by Mike Roberts as migration continued to pick up with an increase in finches evident from around 9am. A Bullfinch was a surprise as was a Water Pipit that flew around over our heads. A Tree Sparrow headed south (quite a late record for Hale), whilst the first few Brambling of the day were picked up in small Chaffinch flocks.

The cloud had disappeared by 10am and had left behind a stunning bright blue sky. Chaffinch, Fieldfare and Redwing numbers continued to increase as the winds dropped and the sun started to feel warmer. I was about to leave when I picked up a big bulky finch....a Hawfinch. Getting Clare onto the bird, I explained it was just being joined by 4 more finches and it was the front bird, but suddenly realising that they were ALL Hawfinch! Pretty good going, and a few more attempts of leaving site were further delayed as a few more waves of Redwing and Fieldfare moved through.....I finally decided to declare at about 10.30. Full details can be found on trektellen.

Before heading home I decided to pop into Town Lane and pulled up on the bridge. I immediately picked up 2 Water Pipit feeding amongst good numbers of Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and a few Goldfinch and Linnet. They showed remarkably well and were soon joined by a 3rd bird. Further out on the Marsh there were a couple of Little Egret, whilst Common Buzzard and Kestrel sat on posts watching on. Crossing the road I picked up the 3 Mute Swan sat in the wheat field, whilst the Town Lane floods were covered in Eurasian Teal and a handful of Common Snipe.

As I scanned the open water in front of me I picked up another 4 Water Pipit having a wash. All 4 birds showed remarkably well....even if the dodgy phonescope pictures don't show it! A minimum of 7 Water Pipit is the highest count of the winter, and quickly turning Hale into the best location in Cheshire for this species. With time running out I finally headed home after a pretty successful mornings birding.

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.   

March Showers

I was keen to get one last patch visit in before the end of the month, and I was fairly hopeful of a good visit based on the forecast. Unfortunately the weather had other plans, and it was very much a case of sunshine and heavy showers. However at this time of year it is good to be out whatever, with the prospect of migrants starting to arrive.

Arriving at Burnt Mill Farm the light drizzle had turned into slightly more persistent rain. The paddocks were pretty much devoid of life, not especially surprising given the conditions. A few Meadow Pipits, Reed Bunting and Linnet were still moving around. I had a very brief look for the Lapland Bunting, but with fairly poor conditions I didn't spend too long.

Luckily by the time I had driven down Carr Lane the rain had relented and some signs of brightness were slowly starting to come through. The male Garganey was again showing well on the flooded fields, with Little Grebes, Mallard, Shoveler, Gadwall and Lapwing as supporting cast. Moving across the road I picked up my first Little Ringed Plover of the year on the edge of the Pools.

Water Pipit (c/o Mike Roberts)

The summer plumaged Water Pipit was again showing fairly well (although my pics were awful - fortunately Mike Roberts got some good pics the day before). A few hirundines were moving through as well with a group of 12+ Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow over the back of the Pools. The pools held the usual suspects, but Black-tailed Godwits numbered about 90, a slight increase on recent numbers. Just as I was about to leave another group of c.20 Sand Martin suddenly arrived and starting feeding over the flooded fields, real "active" migration - one of the reasons why I love Spring.

Moving around to Town Lane the Pools didn't reveal much else, but the Ruff was again feeding in the far corner of the pools. 3 Greylag Geese (an increasingly scarce patch bird) had joined the Canada Geese which were spread across the Pools and Town Lane floods. Duck numbers are pretty much the same at present with a single male Wigeon, 46 Eurasian Teal, 24 Shoveler and a handful of Mallard and Gadwall.

Town Lane was fairly dire with Hale Marsh exceedingly quiet. However a rather tatty looking Kestrel gave some nice views, and a few Little Egret were stalking the outer marsh. After the initial optimism from Carr Lane, there seemed to be a real lack of migrants, and even the Meadow Pipit and Skylark numbers seemed to be down. A quick look over the Pools on my return to the car revealed the male Garganey had relocated again.

With the clouds finally starting to break I decided to walk Within Way, with the anticipation of doing the full Hale Head loop via the Lighthouse. However it was so appallingly slow that I rejected the idea, with the sum total of a good mooch around being 2 White Wagtail, 1 Wheatear, 5 Chiffchaff and 2 Sand Martin flying north. The return walk was enlivened slightly with a/the female Merlin dashing through. To make things worse the dark clouds then unleashed a massive downpour....thank god I had decided to leave my waterproofs on!!

With the rain easing again I decided to head to Hale Park (probably the first of many Spring visits) to have a look for any grounded migrants, although given that it was only the end of March I was not too hopeful. Needless to say there were next to no migrants, but it was nice to catch up with plenty of Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest. Scoping across to Frodsham Score and Ince Marshes I picked up a single Great White Egret, 2 Mute Swan and 9 Swan sp. (which through the haze looked likely to be Whooper). The dry weather didn't last long and with heavy rain starting again I decided to call it quits and head home.