Bouncing with Sibes (sadly of the same species!!)

A day off work meant a chance to have a thorough search of the patch. It was a cool and clear start to the day, but the cloud soon crept in leaving a rather overcast day with drizzle appearing by mid-afternoon. The easterly wind swung between a light to moderate breeze throughout, and made it feel rather cold (a stark reminder that we are not far away from Winter).

I decided to head straight for Hale Park, and within minutes was watching 2 Yellow-browed Warblers. Despite my best attempts I failed to get a single usable picture (that wasn't a leaf or a blur - as can be seen above!), fortunately Mike Roberts managed to get a few much better shots (below) of one of the birds before I arrived. There was still some good vizmig with flocks of Redwing, Skylark and Meadow Pipit moving through with the odd Siskin and Lesser Redpoll. The park was alive with the usual Tits, Nuthatch and Treecreeper, but Chiffchaff and a single female Blackcap were the only migrants I could dig out.

Yellow-browed Warbler (pics courtesy and Copyright of Mike Roberts)

Continuing into the main part of Hale Park I picked up a few more tit flocks failing to find anything of great interest other than a few Goldcrest (including a few very grey-naped birds). Birds were still moving overhead and I picked up a few nasally Brambling heading south, among the Chaffinches. Deciding to work the rough fields seemed like a good idea, but only resulted in me getting soaking wet feet and jeans.....and no birds. I am still convinced that I will find something in this area.

Returning along the north edge of the old football pitch I again checked the small flocks of 'crests and Tits, and eventually picked out a smart Firecrest. I walked back to the car via the outside of the main park and bumped into a number of birders looking without success for the Yellow-browed Warblers. Within a few minutes I had picked up the birds again, and managed to get everyone onto them (always a pleasure to see the excitement in peoples faces when they see a new bird).

Driving round to Within Way a small group of Pink-footed Geese were flying over Church Lane. Parking up by the Childe statue, I could immediately hear a Yellow-browed Warbler calling above my head. I had good views as it fed in the Sycamore above my head among a mixed flock of Tits, which also contained a single Chiffchaff. Walking along Within Way produced plenty of overhead movement, but very few grounded birds.

Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Redwing and the occasional Fieldfare, Grey Wagtail, Siskin and Lesser Redpoll were moving through. A Merlin zipped through chasing a few of the lower flying Meadow Pipit, and an occasional Common Buzzard floated through. Reaching the last patch of bushes at the bottom of Within Way, and yet another Yellow-browed Warbler was feeding along the hedgeline! My 4th of the day!! There seem to be a large number of partial leucistic Carrion Crow on patch this year (this is one of the less striking birds), it would be interesting to know whether they have all originated from a single brood?

I continued to work the field edges and rough ground to the east of the Lighthouse with next to no results. A Chiffchaff in one of the copses, a few more Siskin and Lesser Redpoll the only real highlights. The potato field was being harvested, attracting shed loads of Black-headed Gulls and it was no real surprise to pick out a single adult Mediterranean Gull amongst them.

A Great White Egret was feeding west of the Lighthouse, and it made a nice change to actually get some good views of a bird that is now relatively common on patch. More surprising was a Guillemot that was actively feeding mid-channel in the Mersey (a patch year-tick and only my 2nd patch record). There were still good numbers of waders feeding out on the Mersey with a nice selection of Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Dunlin and Redshank. Whilst over Frodsham Score there was a Marsh Harrier and good numbers of Raven.

Continuing to work every bit of cover I managed to find a 5th Yellow-browed Warbler at the base of the cliff (off Hale Park) with a couple of Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Tit. Walking through the shore flushed out a few Common Snipe, Meadow Pipit, single Rock Pipit and a few Reed Bunting. A few more Brambling were moving through, with a larger group of 8 Lesser Redpoll. The ditches around the wooden bridge held a couple of Stonechat, but very little else.

A Great spotted Woodpecker spiralled down from on high (a migrating bird?) and landed on one of the trees in Hale Park. I kicked out a few flocks of Linnets and Goldfinch, but very little to get the juices flowing. Walking back along Lighthouse Lane the light drizzle turned into more substantial rain, and birdlife seemed to drop off even more. The end garden held a few Goldcrest and a single Great spotted Woodpecker, whilst the ploughed fields were covered in Stock Doves, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Feral Pigeons.

A more thorough scan picked up some decent sized coveys of Grey Partridge, with at least 36 counted around the edges. A sizable flock of 49 Skylark were feeding in the field, but despite a good grilling I couldn't pick out anything of greater interest. With time marching on, and starting to feel cold and tired I thought I would check along Carr Lane before heading home.

The flooded field held 3 Common Snipe (with at least another 4 birds flying around), 3 Black Tailed Godwit, 36 Eurasian Teal and a single Shoveler. A Kestrel was keeping a watchful eye over proceedings, and probably was the reason why there were next to no passerines around. A quick look over Carr Lane Pools picked up a good selection of ducks including 5 Pintail, but only 3 Redshank and 5 Black Tailed Godwit. The wires around the Pools held good numbers of Meadow Pipit and Linnet, but sadly very little else; it seemed like a good time to head home and get myself a well earned coffee!

  

    

   

Three-a-Penny

Despite having a busy day with the family, I managed to get out for a few hours in the afternoon. It was a bright and generally sunny afternoon, with a moderate ESE'ly blowing. Out of the wind and in the sun it felt warm, but in the wind you could definitely tell it was autumn. With the continued Easterly airflow I was hopeful that there would be a few decent bits about still.

The flooded field along Carr Lane held a few Eurasian Teal, a single Shoveler, 2 Mallard but very little else. Carr Lane Pools were equally quiet with only a single Redshank, 3 Black Tailed Godwit and a smattering of Eurasian Teal, Shoveler and a few Mallard. Phil Oddy had tweeted that a Yellow-browed Warbler was showing well in Hale Park, so I decided to head over.

Arriving at the car park I could immediately hear the Yellow-browed Warbler calling away, but despite being in a little sun trap I only got a few brief views of it. A single Chiffchaff and a few Coal Tit, Nuthatch and the normal tit flocks containing Long Tailed, Blue and Great Tits. A few Redwing and Siskin were moving over, but it soon went rather quiet as the flock moved away from the area.

Phil joined me as I walked the outside of the park grounds and then into Hale Park itself. We stumbled across the usual Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Goldcrest, but as we reached the paddock at the north end of the football pitch we came across a small flock of birds. (Un?)surprisingly it also contained a Yellow-browed Warbler, which gave a few fleeting views, but was frustratingly quiet. Despite a fairly good search we only dug out a few more Goldcrest, but the flock appeared to disperse. 2 Crossbill flew over chipping as we (or I) dragged Phil through the rough ground looking for passerines.

The gardens backing onto the rough grass held numerous Redwing, Mistle and Song Thrush, but the main grassy area was pretty birdless, and didn't produce the hoped for "big" Pipits. Finally moving back onto the track I picked up a smart male Stonechat which was feeding along the edge of the carrot fields heading down to the Mersey. However with time running out I decided to head back to the car and have a quick look over Hale Marsh.

Parking at the top of Within Way I was greeted by a near face on collision with a Nuthatch that zoomed over my car and into one of the gardens. I quickly made my way to the corner by the farm, and could immediately hear a Yellow-browed Warbler calling away within the small group of mixed Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits. Amazing, my 3rd of the day! Even more amazing given that a week ago I had never seen one on the patch! Returning to scanning the Marsh I eventually picked up the Pale Bellied Brent Goose feeding amongst the Canada's - a very good local record (and only my 3rd on patch).

In a further brief scan I picked out the Egyptian Goose but there was little else of note, and the hedges seemed surprisingly quiet. I was seriously pushed for time now, but annoyingly I realised that I had lost my scope cover......a sprint covering my tracks for the day failed to find it!! Grrrrr!! Not a great finish to the day, but at least the birding was half decent.

The Thrush Rush

A week of good easterlies and some impressive vizmig counts at Hale Head by Rob and Jeff, had me making plans for an early start today. I was clearly far too excited as I arrived on Carr Lane in near darkness. It was fairly chilly, but clouds seemed to be breaking from the east and there was only a light ESE wind, which would hopefully make it ideal for a spot of vizmig.

I stopped at the flooded field on Carr Lane and was surprised at how good the area looked again, clearly some of the water had drained off. There were at least 84 Eurasian Teal spread across the pools, whilst there were Common Snipe constantly squelching overhead. A scan with the scope eventually picked up a Green Sandpiper that I could hear calling before it was light enough to see. 2 Water Rail were squealing from the reeds, and a further scan revealed a bobbing Jack Snipe near the back edge. Sadly (as you'll see from the attempted photo of the Green Sandpiper above, it was a little too dark for any real pics!).

I moved round to Church Lane, and was pleased to find a covey of at least 19 Grey Partridge by the metal gate which provided good views. I had barely had chance to put the scope up and pour a coffee when I heard a familiar call (a regular sound from my winter birding in Suffolk), looking up I was greeted by the sight of 12 White-fronted Geese flying south. They continued onwards towards Frodsham Score and beyond, a great start.

I was joined by Rob Cockbain and Jeff Clark for the next three hours which produced some great vizmig. 2 Great White Egret moving west over our heads were a good start, and looked stunning in the early morning light. Amongst the smaller passerines the highlights were a single Hawfinch (only my 2nd patch record, but the 3rd of the week for Rob and Jeff), 24 Siskin, 5 Lesser Redpoll and 17 Tree Sparrow. However the real highlight were the Thrushes moving with 5880 Redwing (including one monster flock of 720), 44 Fieldfare (my first of the winter) and 31 Song Thrush. A full breakdown is available on Trektellen.

The other major spectacle were the constant groups of Pink-footed Geese on the move, with us counting 1069 moving East (presumably birds pushed too far west by the strong winds and then relocating?). The end garden of Church Lane was producing a number of Goldcrest and Chiffchaffs, whilst tit flocks were moving through fairly regularly. A Merlin shot past, narrowly avoiding Jeff's head, whilst a Sparrowhawk and a single Common Buzzard also put in an appearance. The main movement of birds had started to die off by 10am, so I decided to head off to check a few other areas of the patch.

Walking down Within Way was fairly unproductive with only a few Meadow Pipit and Skylark on the move, and next to no other passerines in the fields. Hale Marsh held the Egyptian Goose, presumably on a brief trip away from Carr Lane Pools. Returning towards the farm, I was pleased to see a number of Thrushes on the move again with plenty of Redwing and Mistle Thrush feeding on the berries along the hedges.

A small group of Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit and Great Tit were moving through the line of trees on the perimeter of the farm, and on closer inspection I found a Yellow-browed Warbler (at least my 3rd bird of the week!). It was another mobile bird, and really didn't play ball with letting me to try and get some pics. The flock also contained 3+ Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap and about 5 Goldcrest, and I wouldn't be surprised if I had overlooked something. 

Leaving the Yellow-browed Warbler by the Farm I returned to the car enjoying seeing a family party of Nuthatch. I was just about to get into the car when I heard another Yellow-browed Warbler from the large trees by the Childe of Hale! Madness, it really makes me wonder how many birds are in the area at the moment as they seem to be in virtually every Tit flock!

Town Lane was exceedingly quiet with no waders present, and only a smattering of Eurasian Teal, Mallard and Shoveler. A small group of c.49 Pink-footed Geese flew over calling, whilst one of the local Kingfishers was calling from Ramsbrook. A Peregrine was flying around over the blue topped tower, but there was very little to get the enthusiasm going.

The flooded field on Carr Lane was full of ducks again, but sadly the Jack Snipe and Green Sandpiper were nowhere to be seen. Scanning back across Carr Lane revealed a huge number of ducks with at least 6 Pintail, 38 Wigeon and 150 Eurasian Teal. A single Redshank was the only wader present, maybe the chance of any last minute waders has gone..... With my available time running out I headed home.

So two new patch year ticks today takes me to 182, and ahead of my total for 2015. Considering that last year was seen as exceptional, I'm not sure what to say about this year....and there is still plenty of time left!

 

 

Inornatus Invasion

The frustration of being sat in work with news of migrants battering the east coast finally became too much with the news that Rob Cockbain had found not one, but two Yellow-Browed Warblers within the patch boundaries (one on Church Lane and one at Pickerings). I quickly arranged to leave work early, and headed out. It was bright and sunny, but there was a strong Southerly (which appeared to swing more SW as the afternoon wore on).

I was unable to speak to Rob before heading to patch, so wasn't too sure where he had seen the Yellow Browed, but decided to start checking the area by the car park (an area that I felt looked good on previous visits). No sooner had I arrived then I heard a Yellow-Browed Warbler calling away; my 199th species on patch and a continuation of the good start to October! It got better though as I picked up a second Yellow Browed as it had a little tussle with the first bird. At one point I was fairly certain that I had at least 3-4 birds, however they were very mobile, and it was difficult to actually tell how many there were. 

The whole area was crawling with birds, with at least 6 Chiffchaff (including a very pale washed out bird which sadly didn't stick around for long), 2 Blackcap and good numbers of Goldcrest, Long Tailed, Blue, Great and 2 Coal Tit. However everything was very mobile and the strong wind didn't help with attempting to get any pictures. Surprisingly there were still plenty of birds moving over as well with a single Brambling, 7 Siskin and 5 Lesser Redpoll the highlights.

2 Little Egret flew over struggling against the strong winds. I was joined by Damian Young who had come down to look at the Yellow Brows, which had sadly disappeared about 10 minutes earlier and the whole area had gone rather quiet. We spent the next 45 minutes trying to find the flock of birds with no luck. Returning to the same corner we eventually heard a couple of Long Tailed Tits approaching, and shortly after 2 Yellow Browed Warblers moved through with the flock.

We were joined by Mike Roberts as we chased the flock over to the east side of the approach road, obtaining a few brief views of the birds as they moved down towards the Mersey. Iggy and Rob joined us as we followed the flock around, with a few frustratingly brief views being obtained of the Yellow Browed Warblers. The tide was slowly dropping revealing plenty of exposed mud for the Gulls, with some quite impressive numbers already building up. A quick check through didn't find anything of great note, but there were good numbers of waders on no mans land including 90+ Golden Plover, 300+ Black Tailed Godwit, 60+ Curlew and some decent sized groups of Dunlin and Ringed Plover.

  

I had a brief stop at Town Lane on the way home, with a Kingfisher zooming away as I parked up on the bridge. The flooded area was relatively quiet with only a single Ruff, 7 Black Tailed Godwit and a good spread of Eurasian Teal and Mallard. A Little Egret flew towards the decoy and the Cormorants were making quite a racket.

A quick stop at the flooded field along Carr Lane revealed the extent of the torrential rain from the weekend, with the area looking more like a lake than a shallow flood. I think that might finally put paid to any chances of a Crake this year!

So October has already proved to be a lot more productive than September, and with the continued deep E'lies there is a chance that even more may eventually end up on our side of the country....fingers crossed!

 

Autumn Finally Flexing it's Pecs?

I decided to get up early today to get some vizmig in; but when I woke up it was hammering it down with rain, not the greatest start! However by the time I had washed and caffeined myself up it had eased off and started to brighten, with the first traces of sunrise on the horizon. There was a light ESE-ly, and cloud cover had nearly broken by the time I reached the patch.

I decided to pull in quickly at the flooded field along Carr Lane, hoping that the Jack Snipe seen during the week may be on show. Sadly there was no sign, but 2 Water Rail were having a Benny Hill moment around the pool (rare to see one bird here, let alone two!). 59 Eurasian Teal were spread across the Pools, with 3 Common Snipe hiding in the edges. Meadow Pipits and Skylark were already moving, but as it was still early I thought I would have a quick scoot round to Town Lane.

A Kingfisher was sat just below the bridge on Town Lane, but made a quick get away as soon as I opened the car door. I also inadvertently flushed 2 Grey Wagtail that were feeding just a little way down Ramsbrook. The Cormorants were already leaving the decoy, and I noticed a good gathering of ducks on the mote. Scanning the 37 Eurasian Teal and 3 Wigeon I came across a wader feeding on one of the Pools..... a Pectoral Sandpiper!

The poor light meant that, although the Pectoral Sandpiper was quite close, my poor iPhone couldn't quite cope with anything more than a few poor grainy record shots. As soon as had I managed to take a few pics and put the news out, a Peregrine came zooming over the decoy scattering the ducks and sending the Pectoral off in a SW'ly direction and towards the Mersey (although it appears to have returned to Carr Lane Pools this afternoon thankfully).

As I was watching the decoy 2 Great White Egret flew out and headed off in the same direction, with a further 12 Little Egret emerging and heading off towards Runcorn? (I had always previously assumed that they would be Frodsham feeders!). A quick scan over the flooded area of Town Lane produced the Egyptian Goose (about 10m away), 1 Ruff, 50+ Eurasian Teal and 3 Wigeon, but very little else.

With the sun starting to break through and an increase in bird movement on Town Lane (numerous Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Goldfinch and Linnet) I decided to head round to Lighthouse Lane to start my vizmig. I was joined by Rob Cockbain (and Mike Roberts a little later) for the next couple of hours as we had an enjoyable vizmig session. All birds were moving South or South Easterly throughout the visit, with a peak movement between 8.00 and 8.45. The main highlights were Rock Pipit, 8 Tree Sparrow, 5 Lesser Redpoll and 11 Siskin. A full breakdown can be found on Trektellen.

However the real highlights were watching a Goldcrest spiralling down from the stratosphere to land in a bush about 5 meters away, along with a Great Spotted Woodpecker that did exactly the same from an even greater height. Migration has got to be one of the most exciting birding spectacles to watch! The end garden held at least 6 Chiffchaff and 5+ Goldcrest throughout, and the passing Tit flock encouraged a Sparrowhawk to come and check them out. An adult Mediterranean Gull flew over our heads, but by 9.45 the clouds had appeared and bird movement had started to ease off.

With my available time running out I decided to head round to Hale Park to check around the old football pitch. The whole area was heaving with Goldcrest and at least 6 Chiffchaff, among the expected Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Tits. Despite a fairly thorough search I couldn't find anything of greater interest, but it felt as though it was only a matter of time (I hope!!). A quick scan of the Score picked out a Great White Egret (pic included just to maintain my record of worst record shot of GWE!) feeding on the Mersey, whilst a female Marsh Harrier was quartering the edge of the Score.

A few more Siskin were moving through as I headed back to the car, whilst a Blackcap was alarm calling from nearby. Taking the long route home I had a brief stop at the flood on Carr Lane, where 2 Black Tailed Godwit had turned up, whilst Common Snipe were now up to 6. A Peregrine bombed through heading towards Hale Marsh, whilst 2 Kestrel were sat up on the wires, but with no time left I had to head home.

Today felt like a real improvement compared to the last month, with birds clearly on the move and some good quality thrown in. Hopefully October is going to show what Autumn should REALLY look like.