Changing of the Guard

It's that time of year, when I get a bit twitchy and excited about what might be turning up nearby. Each year my search for migrants gets earlier and earlier, in the hope that something unusual might just pop in on the off chance. This tends to just leave me frustrated and moaning that 'everything is late this year'. In reality, it's just me being impatient. With all that said, by me getting out there and searching hard, I do get to see quite a few other birds that I might overlook on regular days. Then there are also some I haven't seen for a while and enjoy watching, knowing that they will be doing the reverse and leaving our shores until the autumn/winter months.

One such bird is the Fieldfare. I'd seen very few over winter, but on several early mornings recently I've seen flocks of over 100 feeding on the ground. A really good looking Thrush. Can't wait until I hear their call again in the Autumn, but not before I've ticked off all our summer migrants first.

Fieldfare

Goosander

Great Crested Grebe

Grey Wagtail

Long-tailed Tit

Is it Spring yet?

More good sunlight at Redesmere meant I could get some good views of the Goosander flock that had been around for a week or two. I do like watching these birds as they move along the waters edge often with their heads under the surface. The males have a lovely green head, while the females have a reddish head. They're one of the highlights of the Autumn/Winter months on the local rivers and lakes.

Female Goosander

Male on the right

A nice comparison of the male and female together.

A smart looking male.

In a wooded area, I hid myself away hoping to get some good views of the Jays and Nuthatches, but I was joined by this very good looking Great Spotted Woodpecker. It came down quite low and was doing some foraging on the bark of this branch.

Goosander

Goosander numbers had been building on the inland lakes and reservoirs near my home. So lovely to look at and watch, but they tend not to venture too close and remain quite distant. This doesn't give for good photos unless there is good light, and that was the case last week when I was able to get some nice bright images. Most have now dispersed and will be having young. They will be back again late summer.

Two female Goosander

A female with two sleepy Tufted Ducks

Two females in flight.

A little bit of sunshine.

A trip to Redesmere last week turned up some very good numbers of water birds. For once the sun broke through the clouds and made viewing much easier than on a dull day. I counted 19 Goosander, of which a good number were males. The green heads of the males looked stunning through the binoculars.

Alongside the Goosander were a few Goldeneye. Numbers have started to dwindle in recent weeks, and I suspect very soon I will turn up and they will all have left until next Autumn, so I am making the most of them while they're here.

Female Goosander coming in for a landing.

A few of the males, looking splendid.

Distant shot of (left to right) Grey Heron, Goosander and a Goldeneye.

I moved down the road to Lapwing Lane to see what was around, and the female Smew was still showing, and very well this time. With it being a little closer and some better light I was able to get something a bit better than my previous grainy efforts. This too, will soon be departing for the winter.

Scaup and Goosander - Elton Reservoir

A couple of weeks ago, I popped along to Elton reservoir in Bury. It was a lovely warm day, which made a change from the previous cold and damp weeks. I was even able to leave the jacket in the car and just walk around with my t-shirt.
There had been 7 Scaup on the reservoir for some weeks, and this is usually around the time of year that I manage to tick them off. So they were one of my target birds. It's not a small area of water but I had an idea as to where they would be. Right at the opposite end to where I was!
I took my time and made sure I had a good look at what else was on the reservoir. This proved to be the wrong tactic. I had picked them up in the binoculars. They were quite distant at first, but looked settled. Shortly afterwards, a group of Tufted ducks took flight and headed off the reservoir. These were followed by some Gadwall and Canada Geese, and before I had even got close to them the seven Scaup took flight too. Noooooo!!
I had to get the camera up quick in case this was the only opportunity I'd get to see them today. It was exactly that :(

They were swiftly followed by some Goosander. 4 Females here.

Two males at the back here.

Goosander

A nice stroll around Hollingworth Lake, Rochdale, last Sunday saw the sun come out for a nice change. There was plenty of activity and song in the trees and bushes and some nice birds on the lake itself. When I got in the hide I was fortunate to be met by a few Goosander. In the past, these birds have proved difficult to capture on camera and are usually too far away to get any decent shots, but my luck was in today.

Here is the cracking male. 

And here is the equally impressive female.

Goosander

I do like the Goosander. It can be a real pain to get close too. More often than not it's on the other side of the lake or pool, close to the undergrowth and desperately trying to get away from you. I was fortunate the other day to get close (ish) to this female while out in Manchester. It gave some good views before, once again, moving too far away from my lens.

Pennington Flash

A windy drizzly start to the morning, but it quickly turned out be quite decent. Starting at Horrocks hide there were an incredible 24 Snipe at the very end of the scrape. These were joined by 12 Oystercatchers and 2 Redshank. Goldeneye were still around and some very handsome looking Great Crested Grebes.
At the Teal Hide was a Green Sandpiper (my first of the year) 6 Shovelers and 3 Goosander.
The usual suspects were to be found at the Bunting Hide. These being Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Buntings and a lone Pheasant. A good mornings birding, but just needed a little more time to get around more of the site.

Goosander (female)

Another Bullfinch, but I find it hard to ignore them.

Chaffinch

Reed Bunting (female)



Another Robin, but this picture shows that Spring is on the way with buds bursting on this tree.