Come in for a drink! And a view out of the wind. Y'day they were on the beach either side of the lifeboat station and on the sea as far as I could see
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Cheshire And Wirral Birding: Hills, Lowland and Coast (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter Upland Birder
- Start date
Come in for a drink! And a view out of the wind. Y'day they were on the beach either side of the lifeboat station and on the sea as far as I could see
Dave Robinson
New member
Quite right Mad dogs mate Being another Sandbach local I spent most of last week on patch or talking to others on patch, Glossy Ibis or Iceland Gulls have not been seen since Sunday 15th, Also the person who posted on secos web site only visits the flashes about twice a year and he definitely has not seen the Ibis at Sandbach.
mad dogs mate
Member
Cheers Dave .1st winter Iceland gull present in roost at sandbach flashes yesterday also on pumphouse flash this afternoon no sign of greenwinged teal by 4.00pm
Two YLGulls and a Caspian off Hoylake y'day, all adults. Not that I saw the latter.
owl flight
Well-known member
with the tide at 11.30am tomorrow, how long after do the gulls start to gather? i notice the height is 9.4m. is that big enough to effect the marsh at parkgate?
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Cheshire Birder
Well-known member
Yesterday - Caspian Gull and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls at Hoylake; Great White Egret and Hen Harrier at Burton Marsh; Great White Egret and Spoonbill at Burton Mere Wetlands; 19 Purple Sandpipers, Little Gull, several Kittiwakes and Guillemot at New Brighton with good numbers of Kittiwakes also moving off Leasowe; 2 Hen Harriers at Parkgate;
CB
CB
Cheshire Birder
Well-known member
Today - 2-3 Iceland Gulls and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls at Richmond Bank; Bittern at Budworth Mere; 250+ Brent Geese at Hilbre
CB
CB
Cheshire Birder
Well-known member
In hindsight I suspect the observer was merely quoting recent records rather than specifics. I get information from a number of sources and as with every "information provider" (which i'm sure Deeestuary will confirm), nobody can offer a cast iron guarantee that every record is 100% authentic and/or accurate. It is a thankless task and the odd mistake will undoubtedly creep in from time to time.
CB
The beach at Hoylake will go under tomorrow. Gulls will be roosting on the sea over the tide and as soon as it drops will sit on the beach. It will be lashing down so less chance of them being flushed by dog walkers - two hours either side of the tide.
deeestuary
Dee Estuary
It's actually 9.6m at 1144am today - tide will cover the outer edge of the marsh but it won't come anywhere near Parkgate. Might be worth Riverbank Road, Heswall - it always comes in a lot further there.
mad dogs mate
Member
The glossy ibis turned up at sandbach flashes again this morning after not being seen for 10 days
First and foremost I would like to take a moment to thank all those of you who have responded and helped me to organise my day trip – Johan Barber, Captaincarot, Deeestuary, Bradinho, Sid ashton, Tigertom, Mosschops, TerryL, Jane Turner, Chris Butterworth, Cheshire Birder, Saluki and if anyone has been missed then it is by accident. Without your input I would not have been able to make the most of a very short day length.
The winds were strong and I was not sure I should go. Then I thought it maybe at least another month before I could visit this side again. My little car was blown around on the motorway by the strong winds but luckily I made it to one piece to New Brighton. I had a bit of trouble locating the Marine Lake as people gave me different directions. I then got a firm answer that I was already at the Marine Lake so I took a walk around. It was very windy and quite exciting watching the waves crash against the wall. I noticed a dark bird most likely a Common Scoter flying across. I located the pontoon and on it were a large number of Redshank, Dunlin, Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper. They were all huddled together with some Black-headed Gulls. I had notice how some of the Redshank ad Turnstone were one-legged. I noticed some birders further up and I walked over to them. They were from East Lancashire like me and we had all seen each others names posting on the regional forum. It was nice to put a face to names. They pointed out the single Knot on the pontoon, as well as a Kittiwake on the Marine Lake, a Guillemot flying across and a Little Gull out at sea which eventually came to the Marine Lake. They may be little and gentle compared to other Gulls but they do appear very tough and ready to face the battling sea. The two East Lancashire birders very kindly let me have a look through their telescopes. One thing I realised is that the Little Gull was a first for me and one that I had totally forgotten to put on my list. I was very happy they had pointed it out. I last tried to see Little Gull at Pennington Flash in April 2011 and I failed. Sometimes you do get a first when you do not even plan and when you do plan, it may often not always go to plan.
I left New Brighton and drove to Neston and parked near the Harp. I walked North as Jane instructed and came to the Old Quay. I met a birder on the way back and he said non-sighted today and that there was a less of a chance on a weekend because of people getting out and about and dog walkers. I stayed for an hour with another local birder and a bird which fitted the description of a Water Pipit flew across quickly. Sadly, as you all know the Water Pipit looks very similar to a Scandinavian Rock Pipit and there was no chance of getting a close view of it. The only thing we were sure of was that it was one of the two and not a Meadow Pipit, Wagtail, Finch or a Thrush. A Merlin had flown past somewhat earlier.
I then drove to Burton Mere Wetlands which I was visiting for the first time and quite a pleasant place. A young lady at the centre was very helpful and a big asset to the RSPB. She was extremely enthusiastic and answered all of my questions. Sadly, the answers were all negative – no Jack Snipe, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Bean Geese and Spotted Redshank seen today and none seen by me during my visit. I had also missed the Spoonbill but got the Great White Egret. I gave up searching and ended up talking to fellow birdwatchers some very serious and some casual. Birds of interest at the BMW were 2-3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Stonechat. I met a birder I have met on a number of occasions in 2010 but not seen in 2011. It was quite good to see him after all that time and I followed him to Burton Marsh. As we drove into view a majestic Short-eared Owl came into view quartering the marsh. We spotted another one and news came of a third bird further up. As one rested on the ground we wondered how the observer had seen it when it was so perfectly camouflaged. As we watched the Owls we noticed Little Egrets flying to roost.
That was the end of the day. It was quite a productive day as I had managed to get at least two firsts. It is hard for me to get firsts now unless I really travel far or spend a lot of time bird-watching or go to twitches. Less than half of my target was reached which is part of the thrill of it - if birds were easy to see it could become boring. A good excuse to go out again! Lesson learnt from this trip – buy a scope!
The winds were strong and I was not sure I should go. Then I thought it maybe at least another month before I could visit this side again. My little car was blown around on the motorway by the strong winds but luckily I made it to one piece to New Brighton. I had a bit of trouble locating the Marine Lake as people gave me different directions. I then got a firm answer that I was already at the Marine Lake so I took a walk around. It was very windy and quite exciting watching the waves crash against the wall. I noticed a dark bird most likely a Common Scoter flying across. I located the pontoon and on it were a large number of Redshank, Dunlin, Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper. They were all huddled together with some Black-headed Gulls. I had notice how some of the Redshank ad Turnstone were one-legged. I noticed some birders further up and I walked over to them. They were from East Lancashire like me and we had all seen each others names posting on the regional forum. It was nice to put a face to names. They pointed out the single Knot on the pontoon, as well as a Kittiwake on the Marine Lake, a Guillemot flying across and a Little Gull out at sea which eventually came to the Marine Lake. They may be little and gentle compared to other Gulls but they do appear very tough and ready to face the battling sea. The two East Lancashire birders very kindly let me have a look through their telescopes. One thing I realised is that the Little Gull was a first for me and one that I had totally forgotten to put on my list. I was very happy they had pointed it out. I last tried to see Little Gull at Pennington Flash in April 2011 and I failed. Sometimes you do get a first when you do not even plan and when you do plan, it may often not always go to plan.
I left New Brighton and drove to Neston and parked near the Harp. I walked North as Jane instructed and came to the Old Quay. I met a birder on the way back and he said non-sighted today and that there was a less of a chance on a weekend because of people getting out and about and dog walkers. I stayed for an hour with another local birder and a bird which fitted the description of a Water Pipit flew across quickly. Sadly, as you all know the Water Pipit looks very similar to a Scandinavian Rock Pipit and there was no chance of getting a close view of it. The only thing we were sure of was that it was one of the two and not a Meadow Pipit, Wagtail, Finch or a Thrush. A Merlin had flown past somewhat earlier.
I then drove to Burton Mere Wetlands which I was visiting for the first time and quite a pleasant place. A young lady at the centre was very helpful and a big asset to the RSPB. She was extremely enthusiastic and answered all of my questions. Sadly, the answers were all negative – no Jack Snipe, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Bean Geese and Spotted Redshank seen today and none seen by me during my visit. I had also missed the Spoonbill but got the Great White Egret. I gave up searching and ended up talking to fellow birdwatchers some very serious and some casual. Birds of interest at the BMW were 2-3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Stonechat. I met a birder I have met on a number of occasions in 2010 but not seen in 2011. It was quite good to see him after all that time and I followed him to Burton Marsh. As we drove into view a majestic Short-eared Owl came into view quartering the marsh. We spotted another one and news came of a third bird further up. As one rested on the ground we wondered how the observer had seen it when it was so perfectly camouflaged. As we watched the Owls we noticed Little Egrets flying to roost.
That was the end of the day. It was quite a productive day as I had managed to get at least two firsts. It is hard for me to get firsts now unless I really travel far or spend a lot of time bird-watching or go to twitches. Less than half of my target was reached which is part of the thrill of it - if birds were easy to see it could become boring. A good excuse to go out again! Lesson learnt from this trip – buy a scope!
I drove to Liverpool today from Manchester and back again on the M62. Just after Warrington i noticed 4-7 Geese in a field off the motorway - either Pink Feet or Bean Geese. On the way back I noticed a Sparrowhawk and a Jay flying over the m62 near Warrington.
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let me know tomorrow night if your deffo goin moore/risley saturday afternoon , i'll see what i can do , if your not sure though np cos so far me plans for saturday is hoping the spoonbill still at BMW and finally nail the water pip meself at neston.
Definitely. I do not birdwatch much in the Cheshire area but I am very ditinct and easily recognisable!
Well I will probably be going to at least one of the sites depending what time I finish. I may put the LSW first as they are so rare and there are only a handful of places to see them now. If I get one quickly then almost certainly will go to Risley after if I have time. If I finish late then I might just go for the Woodcock and leave the LSW for another day when I will need more time.
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