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Flint Point, Shotton & Chester (2 Viewers)

Hi Ivan.........


You can actually park your car safely on the roadside, that is next to the path that leads to Flint Point, and save yourself a few extra minutes of walking, which can be useful if you are carrying a scope/photographic equipment.

Travelling from the Queensferry/Connah's Quay direction.......

If you drive past the castle/lifeboat station on your right hand side, and then take the first turning on your right, and then turn immediately left, you will then be on the road that leads to Flint Point.......

Alternatively, if you are travelling from the Point Of Ayr direction..........

Turn left for the castle, and then first left again, and then immediately left again, this will leave you on the road for Flint Point.......
thanks - we'll be heading there from Prestatyn
 
Shotton Steelworks

31/10/18


1 Barn Owl, was noted hunting in the same area as yesterday, and also 2 Cetti's Warbler were heard nearby.
 
Shotton Steelworks

02/11/18


1 Barn Owl remains, with 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Merlin, 1 Great White Egret, ( flyover ), and 100+ Pink Footed Goose, ( flyovers ), being the other birds of interest.
 
Shotton Steelworks & Flint Point

03/11/18


Shotton Pools.......


A very small number of Bearded Tit, were heard at first light from the SSSI reed beds, which are presumably the same birds that have been frequenting Burton recently, that are 'doing the rounds' at other locally suitable habitats,.........but it does appear to sound like there are more than 2 birds present in the flock, although I can't be sure of this, because they're not givlng me any opportunity see them.......


Pools.........1 Goldeneye, 66 Tufted Duck, 5 Moorhen, 1 Shelduck, 54 Gadwall, 6 Coot, 2 Little Grebe, 13 Shoveler, 2 Canada Goose, 5 Teal, 6 Mallard, and 1 Water Rail.


Feeding Station.............3 Brambling, 6 Chaffinch, 4 Great Tit, 3 Blue Tit, 7 Long Tailed Tit, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Reed Bunting, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch, and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.


Other notable birds........30+ Redwing, 370+ Pink Footed Goose, ( flyovers ), 3 Buzzard, 3 Raven, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Jay, and 2 Kestrel.


Flint Point........


17 Twite, 120+ Mallard, 40+ Shoveler, 120+ Teal, 5 Little Egret, 1000+ Redshank, 1000+ Pintail, 190+ Dunlin, 4 Great White Egret, 220+ Pink Footed Goose, 2520+ Wigeon, 500+ Canada Goose, 30+ Cormorant, 40+ Shelduck, 100+ Oystercatcher, 150+ Black Tailed Godwit, 25+ Bar Tailed Godwit, 15 Curlew, 22 Brent Goose, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Goosander, 5 Marsh Harrier, 4 Raven, 20+ Jackdaw, 20+ Starling, 20+ Linnet, and 50+ Lapwing.
 
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Shotton Steelworks & Flint Point

04/11/18


Shotton Pools.........


2 Green Sandpiper, 5 Teal, 16 Tufted Duck, 7 Moorhen, 4 Mallard, 7 Coot, 4 Shoveler, 62 Gadwall, 2 Canada Goose, and 1 Reed Bunting.


Other notable birds..........3 Cetti's Warbler, 200+ Canada Goose, ( flyovers ), 3 Bullfinch, 5 Buzzard, 40+ Lapwing, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 70+ Pink Footed Goose, ( flyovers ), 30+ Jackdaw, 3 Jay, and 1 Raven.


Flint Point..........


1 Shag, ( uncommon here ), 430+ Dunlin, 9 Curlew, 1 Whimbrel, 100+ Teal, 70+ Mallard, 22 Cormorant, 12 Little Egret, 2 Great White Egret, 100+ Oystercatcher, 2000+ Redshank, 1300+ Wigeon, 900+ Pintail, 40+ Shelduck, 350+ Canada Goose, 200+ Pink Footed Goose, 5 Grey Heron, 80+ Black Tailed Godwit, 30+ Bar Tailed Godwit, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Kingfisher, 40+ Jackdaw, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 Jay, and 1 Grey Wagtail.


3 Brambling, 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 11 Skylark, and 2 Siskin, were noted passing over the Point.
 
Hi Ivan.........


You can actually park your car safely on the roadside, that is next to the path that leads to Flint Point, and save yourself a few extra minutes of walking, which can be useful if you are carrying a scope/photographic equipment.

Travelling from the Queensferry/Connah's Quay direction.......

If you drive past the castle/lifeboat station on your right hand side, and then take the first turning on your right, and then turn immediately left, you will then be on the road that leads to Flint Point.......

Alternatively, if you are travelling from the Point Of Ayr direction..........

Turn left for the castle, and then first left again, and then immediately left again, this will leave you on the road for Flint Point.......
weren't able to hang around too long but the directions were spot on - this stretch of the coast truly is a hidden gem (although possibly not on Sunday afternoon at peak dog walking time!)
 
weren't able to hang around too long but the directions were spot on - this stretch of the coast truly is a hidden gem (although possibly not on Sunday afternoon at peak dog walking time!)


Hi Ivan......


You're right.........this is a fantastic area to watch birds, both at Shotton Steelworks, and also here at Flint, although both places are horribly under watched, with a membership at Shotton, of probably less than 10 Permit Holders, it is very rare for me to ever see another Permit Holder during my visits there, and it's taken a person like me, to go into there, and put a ridiculous amount of hours of Birding into the place, to truly uncover what a great site it is.........and Flint doesn't do much better,......as you can see from this blog, it's a site that I also visit very regularly, with most of my visits there usually lasting 3 or 4 hours,.... but I'm still waiting to see another Birder here!
 
Hi Ivan......


You're right.........this is a fantastic area to watch birds, both at Shotton Steelworks, and also here at Flint, although both places are horribly under watched, with a membership at Shotton, of probably less than 10 Permit Holders, it is very rare for me to ever see another Permit Holder during my visits there, and it's taken a person like me, to go into there, and put a ridiculous amount of hours of Birding into the place, to truly uncover what a great site it is.........and Flint doesn't do much better,......as you can see from this blog, it's a site that I also visit very regularly, with most of my visits there usually lasting 3 or 4 hours,.... but I'm still waiting to see another Birder here!
well we might bump into each other (although we are only up in the area four or five times a year at the moment) - will try and do more justice to Flint next time we are up and hopefully the roadworks will be finished by then.
 
well we might bump into each other (although we are only up in the area four or five times a year at the moment) - will try and do more justice to Flint next time we are up and hopefully the roadworks will be finished by then.


Hi Ivan.........


The next time that you're up visiting the area, please feel free to send me a Private Message via this Forum, and we could hopefully meet up at Flint, for some Birding.


P.S.


The scrub land here, is also very good for migrants in Spring and Autumn...........
 
Flint Point

09/11/18


Flint Point...........


170+ Black Tailed Godwit, 40+ Bar Tailed Godwit, 50+ Lapwing, 200+ Oystercatcher, 6 Curlew, 150+ Redshank, 4 Little Egret, 4 Grey Heron, 7 Cormorant, 2 Greenshank, 6 Knot, 3000+ Wigeon, 300+ Canada Goose, 50+ Pink Footed Goose, 20+ Shelduck, 60+ Mallard, 11,500+ Pintail, 2 Great White Egret, 1 Green Sandpiper, 500+ Teal, 300+ Starling, 3 Rock Pipit, 20+ Jackdaw, 9 Raven, 3 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 1 Marsh Harrier, ( 1 Firecrest in bushes around Flint Point ), 5 Long Tailed Tit, 2 Mistle Thrush, and 1 Jay.
 
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Shotton Steelworks & Flint Point

10/11/18


Shotton Pools........


18 Mallard, 50 Gadwall, 8 Coot, 16 Tufted Duck, 16 Teal, 2 Moorhen, 3 Shoveler, 3 Mute Swan, and 2 Canada Goose.


Feeding Station...........


20+ Goldfinch, 10+ Chaffinch, 2 Bullfinch, 3 Greenfinch, 5 Great Tit, 8 Blue Tit, 8 Long Tailed Tit, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Jay, 2 Dunnock, 2 Robin, and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.


Other notable birds.........2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Mistle Thrush, and 10+ Redwing, with 200+ Lapwing, and 20+ Stock Dove in surrounding fields.


Flint Point..........


12,000+ Pintail, 230+ Mallard, 600+ Teal, 4,000+ Redshank, 130+ Oystercatcher, 1 Greenshank, 4 Greylag Goose, 5,000+ Wigeon, 2,000+ Black Tailed Godwit, 40+ Bar Tailed Godwit, 40+ Shelduck, 18 Curlew, 1 Spotted Redshank, 28 Cormorant, 5 Grey Heron, 10+ Little Egret, 270+ Lapwing, 2 Great White Egret, 400+ Canada Goose, 150+ Pink Footed Goose, 2,400+ Dunlin, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 2 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 12 Raven, 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, ( there was a steady overhead passage of Chaffinch, Meadow Pipit, and Skylark early morning ), and also 1 Firecrest, still remains around the Point.
 
Flint Point

11/11/18


Flint Point.......


Looking at my recent counts of Pintail in particular, and possibly Wigeon also, which appear to have been unusually high for the species on the estuary, it's led me to believe that I've very probably got these counts incorrect, either because I've possibly double counted the birds over the changing tides, as they've moved around the estuary, or that I've made an error in another way........so if anyone else has recently counted this part of the estuary, and has their own counts that they could share with me, then I would be very grateful for the information received.........thanks


3000+ Pintail, 2000+ Redshank, 20+ Curlew, 100+ Cormorant, 100+ Oystercatcher, 1000+ Dunlin, 500+ Canada Goose, 100+ Pink Footed Goose, 20+ Greylag Goose, 3000+ Wigeon, 50+ Shelduck, 1100+ Teal, 120+ Lapwing, 1000+ Black Tailed Godwit, 200+ Bar Tailed Godwit, 12 Little Egret, 2 Great White Egret, 2 Snipe, 2 Turnstone, 200+ Knot, 160+ Mallard, 4 Greenshank, 3 Grey Heron, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 60+ Twite/Linnet, ( birds were too distant to be sure of a reliable I.D. ), 800+ Starling, 30+ Goldfinch, 1 Grey Wagtail, 30+ Skylark, 10+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Brambling, 2 Reed Bunting, 15+ Long Tailed Tit, and 20+ Siskin.
 
Shotton Steelworks

14/11/18


Hallelujah !!!,........ I can count after all !


After making a complete and utter hash, of trying to count the Common Tern colony at Shotton earlier this year, where there were eventually, about twice as many terns present at the colony, than I had originally thought myself,.......and then subsequently, going on to embarrass myself even further, by making another complete hash, of trying to reliably count the wildfowl properly off Flint Point,.......I was actually right, when I said that I thought that the size of the Bearded Tit flock, that I had heard at Shotton, was definitely larger than the 2 birds that had been reported at Burton already.............and guess what........there's 4!!!
 
14/11/18


Hallelujah !!!,........ I can count after all !


After making a complete and utter hash, of trying to count the Common Tern colony at Shotton earlier this year, where there were eventually, about twice as many terns present at the colony, than I had originally thought myself,.......and then subsequently, going on to embarrass myself even further, by making another complete hash, of trying to reliably count the wildfowl properly off Flint Point,.......I was actually right, when I said that I thought that the size of the Bearded Tit flock, that I had heard at Shotton, was definitely larger than the 2 birds that had been reported at Burton already.............and guess what........there's 4!!!

So are you suggesting that the Beardies at BMW are commuting between there and Shotton Denzil?
 
So are you suggesting that the Beardies at BMW are commuting between there and Shotton Denzil?


Hi Saluki.......and thanks very much for your reply.


It's impossible to say really, and it's on occasions like these, when the complete and utter lack of other people to fall back on, as a result of the almost non existent membership here,...... really shines through.

The great thing about Burton Mere Wetlands, is that the reserve is watched non stop, by literally scores of different people, morning, noon, and night, and for 7 day's a week,.... every week, so if one person can't sort a particular Birding situation out for themselves, then there will always be someone else to follow that situation up,.....literally within minutes,.....whereas at Shotton, apart from on a Sunday morning, when the guy's from the M.R.G. come down to do their stuff, the reserve is not watched at all by anyone,... and I mean anyone,... except for me, so if I can't get to the bottom of a Birding situation, in the hour or so that I'm there, then that situation has no chance of being resolved by anyone else after I've left the reserve......because there's never anybody else there!
 
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Hi Ivan.........


The next time that you're up visiting the area, please feel free to send me a Private Message via this Forum, and we could hopefully meet up at Flint, for some Birding.


P.S.


The scrub land here, is also very good for migrants in Spring and Autumn...........

sounds like a plan!
 
Flint Point

16/11/18


Flint Point.......


Very poor visibility at first light this morning, with a low mist in evidence over the estuary, but it would seem, that there there was very little change in the overall variety of species on view, from previous visits here.......


More apparent, was a good overhead passage over Flint Point, of 150+ Chaffinch, and 70+ Skylark, with also 3 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Rock Pipit, and 30+ Fieldfare also noted.


The recently renovated area of scrub, at the far end of the pathway along Flint Marsh Walk,.... attracted,.......10+ Goldfinch, 10+ Linnet, 4 Reed Bunting, 20+ Chaffinch, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 5 Blackbird, 2 Robin, 2 Dunnock, and 2 Brambling, to ground feed, on the open clearance.
 
Hi Saluki.......and thanks very much for your reply.


It's impossible to say really, and it's on occasions like these, when the complete and utter lack of other people to fall back on, as a result of the almost non existent membership here,...... really shines through.

The great thing about Burton Mere Wetlands, is that the reserve is watched non stop, by literally scores of different people, morning, noon, and night, and for 7 day's a week,.... every week, so if one person can't sort a particular Birding situation out for themselves, then there will always be someone else to follow that situation up,.....literally within minutes,.....whereas at Shotton, apart from on a Sunday morning, when the guy's from the M.R.G. come down to do their stuff, the reserve is not watched at all by anyone,... and I mean anyone,... except for me, so if I can't get to the bottom of a Birding situation, in the hour or so that I'm there, then that situation has no chance of being resolved by anyone else after I've left the reserve......because there's never anybody else there!

Hi Denzil,

Seems a long way to commute, certainly as it's far from a continuous phragmites bed from BWM to Shotton. In fact it 3km's across arable fields, salt marsh and industrial estate. I wonder what would possess Beardies to fly there and back?

You're right though, the lack of anyone to corroborate any of your sightings at Shotton certainly does 'shine through' . . . as you say.

Forgive me, but as you've mentioned them, do you submit your records to MRG? I only ask as they seem to have ignored your 2016 sightings in their Annual Report? Or am I missing something?
 
Hi Saluki.........


Thanks very much for taking part in the discussion, regarding the number of Bearded Tit present locally........


On the 3/11/18,....I highlighted via this blog, that I thought that there were more than 2 birds present in the flock....and was able to confirm that fact on the 14/11/18.


I think that it's truly wonderful, that we're able to confirm, that both my original suspicions, and the eventual conclusion,.... were indeed correct.
 
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