Owl be out later

After what seemed like very long first week back at work I managed to get a very brief visit to the patch in on Friday night. Although sunset is still early (hopefully it won't be too long until the lighter evenings are back), there are clearly benefits of being able to get to a number of areas via car. It was a relatively bright evening it was still bitterly cold, with a strong north-westerly.

I decided to head to Pickerings Pasture to check out the Gulls, however it was very disappointing, with only c.40 "large" Gulls sat out on the exposed mud. A quick look through them revealed nothing of great interest. A Common Sandpiper was again feeding along the shore, but with limited exposed mud there were not great numbers of waders, with only a handful of Golden Plover, Lapwing and Dunlin. With not much time to play with I decided to call it quits and head to Town Lane.

Town Lane bridge produced a single Water Pipit flying around calling, whilst a Merlin (possibly a male) was sat distantly out on the fenceline. 3 Little Egret were feeding across the Marsh, whilst the decoy was starting to fill up with roosting Stock Dove, Woodpigeon and Cormorant. The flooded fields on the opposite side of the road held c.80 Eurasian Teal, 6 Shoveler  and a few Mallard, but otherwise it was fairly quiet.

Heading round to Lighthouse Lane I regretted not having headed here first, with decent numbers of Gulls starting to build on the exposed sandbars and mud. However there still seemed to be very few "large" Gulls coming into roost, almost certainly due to the closure of Arpley Tip. Prior to the closure of the Tip I had been optimisitic that numbers may not be affected too drastically, however it looks like this may not be the case. Scanning across the Mersey towards Garston I picked up a Short-eared Owl heading north towards Garston (possibly one of the birds regularly seen feeding along the reserve in the evenings?). A scan of Frodsham Score and Ince Marshes surprisingly revealed very little other than a good number of Raven.

With the light almost gone I headed back to Carr Lane, where the Water Rail were a little more vocal. The wind made hearing anything difficult, but a small party of c.50 Fieldfare flew over and landed in the willows. The Barn Owl was out surprisingly early, and showed well as it fed along Ramsbrook, even coming close to within c.30 feet to investigate the strange squeaking I was making. The wind was clearly having an effect though, and little else decided to put in a showing before the light went. Having lost feeling in pretty much the whole of my body I decided to retreat to the car and head home.

Last Patching of the Holidays

With the return to work looming, I managed to get a few hours in on patch. The early morning fog and mist had started to clear quite nicely and bright winter sunshine was starting to break through at home; however by the time I reached the patch it had turned quite murky and I could see a big bank of fog drifting my way. It was relatively mild though, with the car thermometer indicating it was 12 degrees.

Reaching Burnt Mill Farm I had a good look around for any Finch and Bunting flocks and eventually found a small group of Chaffinch, which also contained a Yellowhammer and 2 Reed Bunting. However a thorough scan of the hedges finally revealed 2 Corn Bunting feeding on their own close to the hedgeline. A few Meadow Pipit and Linnet in the weedy fields were pretty much the only other birds I could locate. 

Heading down Carr Lane I entered the big bank of fog, and needless to say it was hard going seeing anything. The Cetti's Warbler showed well by the bridge on Carr Lane, probably the best views I have had to date of a very skulky bird. A Water Rail was squealing away, but there was little else on the flooded field. A single Water Pipit was feeding in the wet paddock in front of Carr Lane Pools, whilst there were good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare feeding in the hawthorns around the back of the Pools. Sadly the fog was too thick to pick out much on the Pools!

A brief trip up to Church Lane was pretty much a waste of time, with the murk clearing but still making viewing the Mersey or the marshes opposite near impossible. However there were a few Grey Partridge and 50+ Curlew feeding across the fields. A Sparrowhawk caused chaos as it shot across the fields, scattering the Curlew. Driving back along Church Lane I could suddenly hear screeching as 4 Ring-necked Parakeet shot over heading towards Hale village, presumably the same birds I had seen before Christmas.

A quick stop on the bridge on Town Lane was painfully quiet, with no sign of any Pipits, and very little else out on the Marsh. A couple of Little Egret stalked the edges, whilst c.200 Canada Geese were busily feeding in the deep grass. The flooded field was deserted with only a handful of Eurasian Teal and a single Mallard - clearly some disturbance had pushed them elsewhere.

Moving on to Pickerings Pasture I picked up c.6 Bullfinch feeding in the hedge as usual. The tide was relatively low and there was a good selection of waders busily feeding away including c.400 Golden Plover, c.900 Lapwing, c.60 Dunlin and a few Curlew, Oystercatcher and Black-tailed Godwit. There was a group of c.300 "large" Gulls gathered towards the Runcorn Bridge, and a decent scan finally revealed 2 adult Yellow-legged Gull, but sadly no white-wingers. A Common Sandpiper was busily feeding on the rocky shore, but with light deteriorating I decided to head round to Carr Lane to check out the what dusk would throw up.

Meeting up with Iggy and Paul Lees who had the same idea, we had great views of a female Merlin, that was sat along the fenceline on the Carr Lane Pools side. The mild and misty conditions were clearly not helping matters, with the Water Rails barely making a squeak and a half hearted burst from the Cetti's Warbler. Even a Pipistrelle Bat was flying around, showing clearly how mild even it felt it was. With a no show from any Owls or Woodcock, I decided to call it a night. However walking back to the cars Iggy picked up a Little Grebe flying over our heads, whilst a few Common Snipe squelched away as we unlocked the cars. 

So a productive couple of days on patch to start off the New Year, and with some rather glaring gaps still there is plenty of birding left for January.

Dusk Patching

After two day time visits to the patch I was keen to get out for a dusk session. After a freezing sub-zero overnight frost, I was hopeful that the expected dusk species would be present. I headed out in glorious late afternoon sunshine, and although it was freezing cold it was good to get out in some fairly decent weather.

I decided to head to Pickerings Pasture to try and pick up a few missing birds from the patch yearlist. Up to 9 Bullfinch were again in the hedge leading down to the Mersey, but again they were sat on the wrong side of the hedge to get any decent pics. The feeders were again alive with birds, although there was nothing of great note. Reaching the Mersey the tide was still relatively high, with most waders and gulls still loafing about on no-mans land.

Settling in to have a quick look through the distant waders and gulls, my attention was drawn to two ducks flying towards me from the west. Without raising my binoculars I knew what they were, but it was nice to get a flyby of 2 male Goosander as they headed east towards the Runcorn Bridge. 3 Common Sandpiper were feeding along the shore line, whilst a scan of the distant gulls and waders didn't really reveal anything unexpected. A couple of Raven were "cronk-cronk"ing along the Mersey flying backwards and forwards, always a great sound to hear.

A male Gadwall was hiding amongst Mallards by the bridge on Ditton Brook, amazingly my first on patch this year. A Peregrine was sat up on the Runcorn Bridge, whilst some loud "wink-wink" drew my attention to a group of c.48 Pink footed Geese heading west along the Mersey and over my head. A couple more Bullfinch and a calling Chiffchaff were in Ditton Brook, but with light starting to fade I made my way quickly back to the car.

Driving back along Hale Gate Road towards Hale village I stopped to have a brief scan of the Marsh from by the farm. Although the Marsh was quiet there was a large finch flock which contained c.200 Goldfinch, 8 Siskin and at least 2 Lesser Redpoll with a few Chaffinch thrown in for good measure. Stopping on the bridge on Town Lane proved fruitless with the flood totally frozen over and the marsh still rock solid, resulting in no Pipits; or any other passerines for that matter. However the field at the back of the Pools held c.400 Golden Plover and c.200 Lapwing, always nice to see.

With a few minutes to spare I thought I would head round to Church Lane and have a quick scan over the Mersey and Frodsham Score....surely there would be Swans by now? Nope! The setting sun didn't help with viewing Frodsham Score, but even in poor light there were clearly no Swans of any type. Just as surprising was the fact that there were only a couple of Little Egret and no Great White Egret present. A decent number of Raven were again feeding along the edge of the Score, whilst an immature Marsh Harrier was drifting about Frodsham Marsh.

I headed round to Carr Lane ready for dusk, and after a quick look around again finding the majority of open water frozen I positioned myself on the bridge. The Cetti's Warbler was again calling from Ramsbrook, whilst a few Water Rail were already starting to squeal away. I was joined by Mike Roberts and another local birder for the next hour. A large Fieldfare flock came into roost, and a Woodcock came whizzing out of Great Boar Wood. But the best was probably the hooting Tawny Owl from the top section of Great Boar Wood, an increasingly infrequent sound on patch. A few Common Snipe squelched over, but with light seriously fading fast I had given up hope on the Barn Owl. But at 17.20pm the Barn Owl suddenly emerged from Great Boar Wood and drifted along the field edge and out onto Ramsbrook. By now it was too dark to see, so I gave up on the Short-eared Owl, hopefully it'll wait for the next visit........

Beanie Birding

After a good opening session on patch, I had planned to get back out and hopefully catch up with some of the easy birds I had missed yesterday. The weather had improved drastically, and although it was still cold it was at least bright and sunny for the majority of my visit, although the clouds did roll in a little later.

I again spent some time around Burnt Mill Farm, where I managed to locate a reasonable sized finch (Goldfinch, Greenfinch) and bunting (4 Yellowhammer and c.20 Reed Bunting) flock, but despite much scouring I failed to pick out any Corn Bunting. The first of many Jay (a bird I somehow missed yesterday) spent a while flying around the Farm garden, with a couple more flying over for good measure.

Parking up at the bridge on Carr Lane I could hear the Cetti's Warbler ticking and squeaking from the edge of Ramsbrook, although it remained hidden. A Water Rail was squealing, whilst the usual selection of ducks, Moorhen and Coot were about on the flooded field. A smart immature male Merlin was sat on the hedgerow at the back of the flood, although the bright sunshine meant getting any decent pics was surprisingly difficult. A single Water Pipit could be heard calling and was eventually located on the Carr Lane Pools side of the road.

A large gaggle of Canada Geese were present on the Carr Lane side of the Pools today, and a bit of scanning revealed two smart Barnacle Geese amongst them. Walking back to the car I bumped into a local birder, Warren. As we were having a chat I heard some geese flying towards us, which I didn't immediately recognise (a rather out of tune, double "hunn-hunn"). On closer inspection they turned out to be Bean Geese, and I managed to fire off a few pretty poor record shots. Only my second patch record, and a quality local bird (although it appears that there are a few floating about the North Lancashire Mosses at the moment).

Warren headed off and I headed round to the bridge on Town Lane. After a bit of a search I eventually located 3 Water Pipit, which were strangely feeding on the decoy side of the road again. They are becoming increasingly difficult to see at the moment, and certainly not performing as well as they did in early December. Otherwise Hale Marsh and the flooded fields were very quiet, with only a couple of Little Egret, Common Buzzard and Kestrel. That was until a Sparrowhawk hurtled across Ramsbrook, disturbing a Green Sandpiper that had presumably been enjoying a quiet feed.

I had a brief look at Pickerings, noting the Bullfinch again in the hedge which runs down to the Mersey. The feeders held very little of note, although it is good to see the number of House Sparrow this winter. Scanning along the River I picked up a Great-crested Grebe, again a bird I had somehow missed yesterday. Waders were in relatively short supply with, other than the normal gathering of c.800 Lapwing and c.200 Golden Plover. A couple of Ringed Plover were milling about, but the majority of small waders were sat a long way out. A single Peregrine was sat up on the Runcorn Bridge whilst an adult Mediterranean Gull was floating about amongst the Black-headed Gulls feeding just east of Ditton Brook. I considered walking up to the bridge, but with next to no big Gulls, I decided to cut my losses and head round to Hale Lighthouse.

A scan over the Mersey from the top of Lighthouse Lane finally added Great Black-backed Gull to the yearlist, whilst I could also make out loads of Raven out on Frodsham Score (where had they been yesterday?!). An immature male Marsh Harrier floated out from Frodsham Marsh and fed along the Score and Ince Marshes. Continuing down to the Lighthouse I stopped again to have a proper look through the waders and picked out a couple more regular waders (Grey Plover and Knot) that I had somehow missed yesterday.

Clambering down the riverwall I walked the section of Hale Shore to the east of the Lighthouse, finally finding a small (c.60) flock of Linnet. Continuing on I flushed up to 5 Rock Pipit, 6 Common Snipe and eventually nearer to the reedbed 2 Jack Snipe. A small group of 7 Turnstone and 16 Redshank were bizarrely feeding around the dry rack line, although I'm not entirely sure what they were feeding on as they were very flighty. Some decent Goldfinch flocks were milling around, whilst I also kicked out a few Meadow Pipit and Reed Bunting.

The walk back to the car was uneventful, but Grey Partridge were everywhere with upwards of c.24 birds scattered across the fields. A brief stop along Carr Lane to speak to a couple of other local birders (Derek and Steve) resulted in 2 Siskin flying over our heads and into Great Boar Wood, but very little else. I said my goodbyes and headed home, pleased with a fairly successful second day on patch of the year.

 

New Year, New List

First off, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Let's hope that 2017 is a repeat of the bird filled year that 2016 was (without the other non-bird related rubbish getting in the way!).

A virus that kept me laid low for the end of 2016, also kept me out of the action for the first couple of days of the New Year. Fortunately by the 3rd I was feeling a lot better, and I managed to escape for a decent session on patch to start the new yearlist off. Sadly the weather wasn't up to much with generally cloudy grey skies, and a brisk cool north-westerly breeze which cut right to the bone.

Turning off Higher Road and onto Carr Lane meant I had now officially entered my patch boundary. A Fieldfare flying west over the road was surprisingly going to be my first bird on my yearlist. Stopping regularly on the road down to Burnt Mill Farm I racked up a decent number of the expected common species, but of more interest were 3 Yellowhammer in the field by the Farm itself. Despite the grey conditions Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Common Buzzard were quickly added as well.

Finally reaching the bridge on Carr Lane I parked up and was greeted by a squealing Water Rail and singing Cetti's Warbler. A Kingfisher darted along Ramsbrook, whilst a Little Egret was busily feeding away at the far end. A tit flock moved through which contained a Chiffchaff, whilst a nasaly "neep" gave away 2 Brambling on the edge of Great Boar Wood. A number of other common species were added, but there was no sign of any Water Pipit (with up to 9 birds having been seen by Rob aa couple of days earlier). 

After a brief drive around Hale village adding a few more expected yearticks I moved on to the bridge on Town Lane. A male Stonechat was sat on the central fenceline of Carr Lane Pools, whilst a few Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank and the expected ducks (Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Wigeon) were feeding on the Pools. Checking out Hale Marsh I picked up a female Merlin sat distantly out on the fenceline, and a Barnacle Goose feeding among the Canada Geese. After a bit of a wait I eventually located 4 Water Pipit feeding in front of the decoy (strangely the first time I have seen them feeding in this area). Heading towards Pickerings Pasture I suddenly heard the unmistakable trilling of Waxwing, as 7 headed north over the road in Halebank (the benefits of driving along with your windows down!). A long overdue patch lifer, but rather frustrating that they waited until the New Year to eventually give themselves up!

Parking up at the entrance gate to Pickerings Pasture I added 8 Bullfinch, which were feeding in the hedgerow again. The tide was relatively low, but on the way in so there was plenty of exposed mud. The expected waders were present with c.800 Lapwing, c.300 Golden Plover, 50 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plover, Curlew, Oystercatcher. On closer examination of the Dunlin flock I managed to pick out 2 Little Stint (presumably the birds that have been transferring between Frodsham and Pickerings for the majority of the winter). 2 Common Sandpiper were feeding along the rocky shore, whilst 2 Peregrine were around the blue-topped tower on Weston Point.

After a failed wander around the feeders and control meadows at Pickerings I headed to Hale Park. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Coal Tit and the majority of expected woodland birds were added easily enough, although Goldcrest surprisingly took a little more effort. More surprising was the lack of Nuthatch?! Walking through I decided to walk the ditch towards the wooden bridge and then walk out onto Hale Shore. Grey Partridge were difficult for once today with only about 5 seen in the carrot fields, but very little else about.

Hale Shore was very productive with at least 36 Common Snipe flushed from the saltings, and 2 Jack Snipe that I almost trod on. At least 2 Rock Pipit were feeding along the edge of the saltings and were incredibly mobile. 2 Great White Egret (sadly now down graded to a 2 pointer - ah the old days of an easy 3 pointer!!) were picked out on Hale Marsh, along with c.12 Little Egret, but sadly not a Swan in sight. The light was fairly horrific, and despite good numbers of waders out on the Mersey it wasn't easy to pick anything of great interest out. The walk back through Hale Park dug out at least 5 Siskin, but I again failed to see or hear any Nuthatch (possibly the first time I have ever failed to see them in the Park?!).

A brief wander along Within Way picked up the hoped for Little Owl, which looked thoroughly miserable in the cold wind. A brief scan over Hale Marsh failed to pick up the Egyptian Goose, but there was a good number of other expected species. By now I felt rather tired, and wanting to avoid killing myself after recovering from a virus I decided to head home, rather pleased with notching up 85 species on patch with very little effort. A full day and maybe a little more luck I reckon a round 100 could be reached, especially when looking through some of the "easy" birds that I failed to see during my visit. Then again if I had seen everything then it could have made for a rather slow first winter period!!