Lancashire Birding

I took an early morning trip to the North West coast near Southport recently, as there were a number of good birds in the area, and there are always good numbers of geese and swans to see here too. I started at RSPB Hesketh Outmarsh, where I had good views of many Tree Sparrows in the hedges, and Whooper Swans in the fields. Then I had a Merlin overhead trying to catch another bird. Moving on to RSPB Marshside where I was looking for a Smew that wasn't there. I did find a Scaup though, which is not very common here, so that was a bonus. 

There were hundreds of Lapwings and Geese on the Marsh. These were mainly Pink-footed, but there were lots of Canada and Greylags too. Oystercatchers, Black-tailed Godwits, Tufted Ducks, Wigeon and Shelduck made for a good supporting cast.

I moved on to Southport where I was fortunate enough to watch a flock of 30 or so Twite. This is a bird that I've really struggled to find over the years, but was in the right place at the right time. So that concluded a very good morning. 

You can see more of my trip here:

Grey Heron

Pink-footed Goose

Pintail

Poor, distant images of the Scaup

Shelduck

Distant possible Snow Goose

Whooper Swans

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.

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

2021 Year List Begins

On New Years Day I headed out to try and kick start my new year list. I stayed local, but concentrated on an area I knew would give me a good number of birds across different habitats. With woodland, open farmland, hedgerow and water, I thought I'd be in with a good chance of seeing a variety of birds. I actually ended the day on 46 species, so was very pleased for just a few hours.

It was cold, with some fresh snow having fallen in the early hours, but already starting to melt. I knew the birds would be out and eagerly looking for food.

This Robin gave me an almost picture postcard pose in the snow.

I've found a really good Tree Sparrow location, with around 30 birds. Not easy to find these days, so I always take my time when around them to observe and enjoy these secretive little birds.

Lovely chestnut brown caps and the black markings on the cheeks.

The real surprise of the morning was finding these Whooper Swans. 25 in total, and a really good early year tick. They didn't hang around long, but just long enough to ID them at distance through the binoculars and to take a couple of record shots. As you can see, these differ to our native Mute Swans with their yellow bills, and are just visiting here for the winter. They will head off back to the arctic tundra to breed in the Spring.

Whooper Swan - Martin Mere Wetland Centre

I've been waiting for a weekend with half decent weather to get along to Martin Mere in Lancashire. At this time of year the influx of geese and swans from other parts of the world has to be seen to be believed. Thousands of Pink-footed Geese make the trip here from colder climbs. Hundreds of Whooper Swans also arrive here, and these were what I specifically wanted to see.
I got lucky, as it was raining on my arrival, but not long after pitching up in the hide, the sun came out. It allowed me to get some decent shots of this really elegant looking bird. I may post some more pictures in the coming weeks, so apologies for that, but I love them.

Whooper Swan

One of the joys of winter are the swans and geese that visit our country. The Whooper Swan is one such bird that I love to see. Probably because they are so easy to photograph. There's no skulking around in bushes and hedges. There they are right in front of you, as bold as brass. You can't mistake them can you? Well, not unless it's a Bewick Swan, but that's for another day. Here is the big beast in all it's glory.

This guy was a bit feisty and in mid argument.

A juvenile.

Something rather elegant about swans.

With a Greylag Goose for size comparison.

On take off. You can see the splash behind where the feet have been.

The search continues.........

Another mixed bag from me this week. The search for Waxwings goes on. Numerous miles travelled but still no joy. I will find them one day and hopefully in good light. Still, I did find some Whooper Swans. These are shown here at the top, disappearing into the distance.

Whooper Swans

Here's a Meadow Pipit having a good scratch on this fence post.

The light wasn't great, but compared to most of the weekend this was not too bad.

This Grey Heron was on the active lookout for some fish.