Burton Mere Wetlands

On what was yet another cold grey and overcast day. Lisa and I brightened the mood by visiting RSPB Burton Mere for our winter fix of water birds. There was a good variety as always here, and we were greeted in the car park by the sound of overflying Pink-footed Geese. There was lots around and some good birds added to the Year List, with the likes of Knot, Curlew, Green Sandpiper and Dunlin.

The highlight was a Great White Egret dropping just metres away from us while standing at the Bridge Screen.

You can see more of our visit here:

Great White Egret

Dunlin

Knot and Black-tailed Godwit

Redshank

Long-tailed Tit

Mallard

Teal

Wandering on the Wirral

I continued my day off, by heading to the Wirral, jus the other side of the Mersey Tunnel from Lunt. Out on the Marsh of the Dee Estuary I had a nice female Hen Harrier, Pink-footed Geese, Marsh Harrier, Little Egrets and several Great White Egrets. 

One particular Great Egret flew right in front of me at just a few meters. Thankfully the light was still good, and gave me an opportunity to raise the camera and get a few shots.

 Great White Egret

At West Kirby Marine Lake, there had been a Red-breasted Merganser, but I missed this, or it had flown off. I did however enjoy watching the waders that were sheltering on the rocks at high tide. Dunlin, Knot, Turnstone and Redshank were all huddled up taking a rest.

Dunlin

Dunlin keeping an eye out for any trouble, and a Turnstone in the background.

Redshanks, Turnstones and one Knott (centre) crammed for space.

Redshanks in the foreground and a few Turnstone off to the left.

Winter Visiting Swans

I love to see our winter Swans, and recently I was fortunate enough to see both Whooper Swans and Bewick's Swans together. This gave a nice size comparison, as The Bewick's are quite a bit smaller and also have a different pattern on their bills. They enjoy the fields and estuaries here in the North West, but are becoming more and more scarce, especially the Bewick's.

The majority of this group feeding were the larger Whooper Swans, with their longer necks, and only 3 Bewick's. 

Bewick's front left and Whoopers.

3 Bewick's at the front, with one grey juvenile.

This group of Whoopers had a few Cattle Egrets for company with them in this field.

A small group of Dunlin working the sands.

A Redshank doing what Redshanks do.

Icy Cold

A pre-Christmas weekend break in Norfolk turned out to be a very cold one. Freezing conditions the week before and also a sprinkling of snow made the journey a little more hazardous than normal, but to be expected at this time of year. The ground was frozen solid, as were many of the water sources on the marshes. One bonus, was that the previously muddy areas were now not so muddy and passable without the need for wellies.

With so much water frozen a lot of the birds were forced to congregate together on smaller open patches. There was still plenty to see, with a good selection of waders and wildfowl on offer. It was just so bitterly cold that I couldn't stay out as long as I wanted to. The wind on the coast was really biting, and especially at my fingertips.

Dunlin

Dunlin flying over the ice. Not something I'm used to seeing.

Curlew

Curlew and Little Egret

Little Egret and Black-tailed Godwit

Little Egret

Dumfries and Galloway

I spent a nice long weekend in Scotland last weekend, staying in Dumfries and Galloway. It was a good base to explore some of the tremendous sites on the Scottish south west coast. The main attraction and spectacle are the geese. Large numbers of Barnacle Geese winter here, and it was nice to be able to watch them on mudflats, fields, marsh and in flight. In fact they were everywhere. Considering I'd never really seen wild flocks on this scale before, it was a real joy.

Barnacle Geese

On the shoreline at Caresthorn there were waders, gulls and yes, more geese. We picked up some good birds here in the form of Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Pintail. A great little spot where you just had to stand and wait and look through the scope. Great birding.

Dunlin

Pintail pair in flight.

Ringed Plover

We spent a morning at Calaverock wildfowl and wetland reserve and added some more great birds. Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammers were found in the hedges, with Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Snipe and Whooper Swan found on the first pool. We moved on to a different hide and watched a super looking male Hen Harrier hunt over some marsh. Fields were full of Barnacle geese once again, but also joined by Lapwings. We were able to add White Fronted Geese, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Peregrine, Rock Pipit, Golden Plover and Red Kite to the list at various other locations. A fantastic few days, and somewhere I'd really like to go back to next winter.

Whooper Swan

Yellowhammer

Cemlyn Bay

Last weekend I spent a day in North Wales. It's a trip I really enjoy doing each year. I started out at Cemlyn Bay and was really looking forward to catching up with some waders and Whimbrel in particular. There were lots around the bay, but they are a shy bird that will fly off if they catch sight of you, so caution is always required. Once you have their trust though, you can observe them and watch them go about their business. Slightly smaller than a Curlew, it has a shorter and less curved bill, but a really nice bird that is worth putting extra effort in to see each year.

Whimbrel

The sound that greets you as you arrive at Cemlyn is the unmistakeable sound of the tern colony. Sandwich, Arctic and Common all squawking away. I could watch these all day, and I do regularly in the summer months.

Sandwich Tern with a sand eel.

There was one Mediterranean Gull on the island with the Black-headed Gulls. He seemed like quite a bolshy bird and was aggressively confronting some of the others.

Mediterranean Gull

It was nice to see some of the smaller waders on the shoreline. Some Dunlin here with Ringed Plovers. It reminded me how long it had been since I last watched them. Covid restrictions have kept me away for too long.

Dunlin

RSPB Frampton Marsh pt1

Last Friday saw me head down to my parents for the weekend. Along the way I planned to stop off at a few places to try and pick up some new birds for the year. Waders were what I was really after. My favourite birds, and it is just getting to that time when they are heading back after breeding. 

A nice early arrival and I could see many birds on the water just from the car park. I followed the path and made frequent stops to look over the reeds. I could see lots of Black-tailed Godwits, Spoonbills, and 100+ Little Egrets. The most I'd seen ever of this species in one place.

Only one hide was open, with all windows and doors open and hand sanitiser which was good to see. Only me in there though for half an hour and lots of birds to look at. A few Common Terns were fishing close in with Dunlins, Ruff and a few Spotted Redshank and Little Stint for company. Greenshanks, Green and Common Sandpipers helped to swell the wader numbers.

Black-tailed Godwit

A Godwit here still in most of it's breeding plumage with an Avocet in the background.

Dunlin

Common Tern