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.

Mid-patch Crisis

After a fairly poor run on patch, I finally decided to try my luck elsewhere. With the closure of Arpley Tip having a huge effect on patch Gulling, I decided to give Gowy Landfill a go, even talking fellow patch masochist Iggy into joining me. The weather set fair (pretty much the best day of the week) with relatively bright conditions, although it still felt rather cold.

Having dug out my passport and navigated my way through the chaos of the Runcorn Bridge I made my way to Picton Lane, taking in the Whooper Swan herd from the M56. Stopping briefly I picked up a 1st winter Glaucous Gull almost immediately flying around over the Landfill, among the mass of Gulls. Iggy had already arrived, but was further up the road, so I headed off to meet him, keeping a close eye on where the best area for viewing may be. Iggy had found a small flood, where a decent gathering of small Gulls (mostly Black-headed and Common) were having a wash, however I had found a better area to view from further back with a better turnout of "large" Gulls.

Returning to the area that I had located we bumped into Mark Garner, who had just located a 2nd winter Iceland Gull. We spent the next couple of hours grilling the assembled Gulls finally digging out at least 3 Glaucous Gulls (all juveniles - including a rather small looking bird and an absolute monster) and 2 Iceland Gulls (a 2nd winter with missing primaries and a 1st winter). Mark had to head off, but Iggy and I continued and had some fun looking through plenty of argentatus and argenteus Herring Gull. We eventually dug out a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull, but sadly it was lost almost as soon as it was found.

It wasn't ALL about the Gulls though, with a few Common Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk on the wing, getting no end of grief from the local Gulls. The area also held good numbers of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting, whilst finches were constantly moving over. A Fox was walking around at the lower edges of the Landfill, keeping everything on their toes. I had planned to spend the rest of the day birding on the South side of the Mersey, however that went sideways as a WhatsApp message from a local Liverpool birder had me heading straight back to patch!

Paul Kurs had been watching a couple of Water Pipits along Carr Lane when another interesting Pipit sp. flew in and joined them. It had piqued my interest enough for me to head straight back, but despite a good look I was unable to find it. However a single Water Pipit was still present although it was always distant, a Meadow Pipit came and went but there was . 3 Stonechat were feeding along the fenceline, whilst the Pools held 29 Black-tailed Godwit among the more expected species.

Raptors were everywhere today, clearly making the most of the nice bright conditions. A minimum of 20 Common Buzzard were on the wing, many displaying high up. A couple of Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a Peregrine were also moving around. My attention was drawn to a high flying raptor, and even the height it was easy to make out a nice deep forked tail - a Red Kite (my first of the year). A few Siskin were moving overhead, whilst I could make out a few Yellowhammer distantly flying around over the fields towards Burnt Mill Farm.

I headed around to Within Way to again put myself through the torture of dipping the Brent Goose. However the Little Owl was awake and showing well again. I had also timed my visit quite well as high-tide was just peaking and it was a bit of a monster engulfing the Marsh. The pre-high tide roost of waders included a single Golden Plover (in near summer plumage), 19 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 200 Dunlin and good numbers of Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Eurasian Teal. However despite watching as the tide pushed everything out of it's hiding spot I failed to find anything rarer.

I headed back to Carr Lane for a little longer, but by now all Pipits had done a bunk, so with plenty of things to do at home I thought I best head off. So despite plans of a full day of non-patching, I still ended up on patch. Maybe I'm just going through a mid-patch crisis, and I'll be back on form come Spring.....or maybe I'll just have to buy a Ferrari and do some more dirty twitching......

Patch Struggles

After yesterday's Brent dip I really struggled to motivate myself to get out onto patch; and I'm starting to have seriously dark thoughts of defecting to a different patch to try my luck. Nevertheless I eventually pulled myself out of my funk and headed off to the patch (well, I was never going to turn down the chance to get out for some birding!). The weather had turned decidedly unspring-like overnight and it was back to cold, grey and damp conditions.

Starting on Carr Lane I parked up at the bridge and had a little scoot around. Little Grebes have finally returned to the flooded field, and could be heard calling from the deeper cover. A (the?) male Merlin was again bombing at the back of the pools, but wasn't in a very photogenic mood. A Kingfisher darted along Ramsbrook, and that was about it. The Pools were decidedly quiet, with only a small group of 7 Black-tailed Godwit and a few Lapwing and Redshank.

I again decided to head to Within Way to double check the Marsh. A couple of Common Buzzard looked as enthused with the weather as I did. Grey Partridge seemed to be everywhere, with small coveys in most of the fields as I headed down. I stopped to pay my respects to the local Little Owl, who again was sitting nicely out in the open. A few Blue Tits and a Robin had clearly taken exception to it though, and were constantly hopping around giving it a bit of grief.

A single Little Egret was feeding in the middle of the Marsh, and there were again good numbers of ducks and geese about - 500+ Canada Geese, single Greylag Goose 142 Shelduck, including the dodgy hybrid again. However there was again no sign of the Brent Goose. A Peregrine was zooming around distantly towards the Runcorn Bridge, but with no sign of the goose I decided to press on to the end of Within Way.

A couple of Rock Pipit were flying around at the end, whilst I was clearly too noisy when approaching the shore, flushing a Turnstone and 3 Ringed Plover, amongst the noisy Redshank. A female Merlin dashed through towards the Marsh, causing panic amongst the Pipits and Wagtails. The river was exceedingly quiet though, and despite a decent scan I failed to pick out anything of great note.

Returning along Within Way I picked up a rather nice mixed flock of winter Thrushes, which included c.120 Fieldfare and c.20 Redwing. The mixed flock also contained good numbers of Starling, Linnet  and a few Goldfinch. It will be good to see how the numbers build over the next couple of weeks, and maybe there is still time to pick out a decent Thrush amongst them.

A brief stop at Town Lane to check Carr Lane Pools was unproductive other than a single male Stonechat. So I decided to again head towards Burnt Mill Farm to check out the Buntings. I spent a good 45 minutes traipsing around the fields with very little joy - 2 Yellowhammer and 7 Reed Bunting the only result.....time to go home and pour a LARGE glass of something strong!

Brent Dipping

I had a feeling that Storm Doris may bring something in on the back of it, but was unable to arrange any leave at short notice. I was proved correct when Rob Cockbain found a Pale Bellied Brent Goose on Hale Marsh the next morning. Although recorded annually they can be exceedingly difficult to catch up with, so after an earlier finish I headed straight to patch in strangely mild, calm and sunny conditions.

I headed straight to Within Way and after a quick march positioned myself overlooking the Marsh. I located the manky Ruddy x Common Shelduck hybrid, but despite a prolonged search failed to relocate the Brent Goose. The Marsh was fairly busy with plenty of birds roosting and feeding, despite the now receding tide. The Cormorants held at least one sinensis among the commoner carbo, whilst at least 100 Dunlin, which also contained a single Knot were still feeding along the edge of the Marsh.

Raptors were very much in evidence with up to 9 Common Buzzard, a single female Marsh Harrier, 2 Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and 4 Kestrel on the wing. I also managed to pick up a very smart looking male Merlin sat on the trees on the decoy, but sadly the heat haze (amazing for February) and distance meant that the pics were fairly awful.

With limited time available I decided to have a quick look at Carr Lane Pools from the gate at Town Lane. A single Ruff (my first of the year) was a nice bonus, but didn't really make up for dipping the Brent. The pools are looking pretty good, and hopefully it won't be too long before we start getting out first passage waders of the Spring. Aside from the Ruff there were 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Redshank and a good smattering of Lapwing. Shoveler numbers are increasing, with at least 14 birds present between the Pools and flooded fields.

A brief stop at the flooded field on Carr Lane proved productive with me relocating the male Merlin (although again the light played it's part in not getting any decent pics). The Merlin was having a field day chasing 2 Water Pipits from the back of the flood, my first I have seen in a while. There were still good numbers of raptors on the wing, and with mild conditions felt almost ideal for an early Red Kite, sadly time was against me and I headed home.

What was I thinking?

After a very poor first visit back to the patch at the weekend, I for some reason thought it would be a good idea to get a couple of hours in after work (to make the most of the lighter evenings). Sadly the light drizzle and fairly hefty winds had worsened during the day, and by the time I reached the patch it was thoroughly miserable, with heavy rain and a strong South Westerly wind.

The heavy rain put paid to much birding at Carr Lane, with only a single Common Snipe squelching over. There were no sign of any Pipits on the pools, and the torrential rain meant picking out much on the Pools was pointless. However I could just about make out 11 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Redshank and that was about it. I decided to press on and give the Gulls a go from the Lighthouse.

The rain was pelting my face as I walked down Lighthouse Lane, but as I reached the shelter of the Lighthouse garden I picked up a rather nice female Merlin which was chasing a few Meadow Pipits along the weedy fields. It perched briefly in the field, allowing some half decent scope views, but was off again before I could fire off any pics. The rain started to ease slightly which allowed a scan of Frodsham Score, where I picked up 5 Whooper Swan and a single Great White Egret. Sadly despite spending the next hour waiting for the Gulls to start moving I was left disappointed, with next to no Gulls moving at all. Clearly I haven't worked out the Gull movements since the closure of Arpley Tip!

I decided to retreat to the car and meet Iggy on the bridge on Town Lane, hopeful that something may pop into the decoy. However the birds were clearly staying away, but it was good to catch up with Iggy and hear all about his Thai exploits (birding, nothing else apparently!!). With the light all but gone, we said our goodbyes and headed off home.