January Birding!

There have been a whole host of great birds during January in Cheshire, with some returning favourites such as the Burton Mere Long-eared Owl putting on a great show in the Hawthorn tree leading up to Inner Marsh Farm  hide, to finally getting a Green-winged Teal at my local Neumann’s Flash.

Long-eared Owl - Burton Mere RSPB

Record shot of the Neumann's Green-winged Teal

The start of the month also brought my first Cheshire Pallas’s Warbler in the form of the well twitched individual at Heswall on the Wirral. Present for nearly two weeks in the scrub around the sewage works on Target Road and associating with a group of Goldcrests, Long-tailed Tits and Chiffchaffs, we got great views of what is one of my favourite warbler species bumbling through the branches next to the sewage tanks. Giving fantastic scope views through the wire fencing, the yellow rump stood out a mile (a feature I didn’t manage to see on the Norfolk bird) as did the bold eye stripe, while the colouration was noticeably different from the accompanying Goldcrests, being much more of a green-olive colour on the back.

The Great Northern Diver at West Kirby Marine Lake also continued to show well throughout the month, and we managed to catch up with this impressive diver on the far side of the lake after seeing the Pallas’s Warbler just as the sun had started to go down. 

Great Northern Diver - West Kirby Marine Lake

It’s always lovely to see these beautiful divers up close, and this particularly confiding individual came to within just a few metres of the side whilst diving for fish and crustaceans.

Autumnal Birding - Short-eared Owls, Scaup, Jack Snipe and Cetti's

With the rustic tones of autumn coming to a close and the cool chill of winter fast approaching, I’ve been able to catch up with a selection of good birds locally as the seasons shift and the birds follow suite.

Short-eared Owls in particular seem to be in great abundance this year, and I managed to see up to 6 different birds at Parkgate/Burton Point during the recent high tides, all taking advantage of the large numbers of voles and other small mammals forced out of the vegetation as the water levels rose. With further individuals at Frodsham Marsh as well as this beautiful bird found hunting along the banks of the River Clywd in Rhyl, the winter of 2015/16 already seems to be a bumper year for these charismatic owls.

There also appears to have been a mini-invasion of Firecrests taking place throughout the North Wales coastline over the past few weeks, with up to 5 spotted at Conwy RSPB near the pond bridge and further individuals scattered across the coastline and up to the Great Orme, particularly around Llys Helig Drive.

The female/immature Scaup at Eirias Park boating lake also provided excellent views when I visited, and having been associating with a group of Mallards for several weeks now, is still present. Whilst occasionally flushed by dogs (such as on one occasion while I was present) the Scaup seems to have taken this small patch of water to its liking, showing fantastically well and being easy to spot on such a small water body. With the lake slowly being drained for the winter however, it will more than likely soon move on, perhaps to the coast or to one of the other pools or lakes nearby.

Burton Mere Wetlands is also playing host to two Jack Snipe at present, most often seen from the first boardwalk screen hidden amongst the stubble of cut reeds. Cryptically camouflaged and usually asleep amongst the Common Snipe with its beak concealed, the distinctive facial markings give the ID away along with the darker and bolder patterns on the back. Luckily, we managed to get great views of one individual doing its characteristic bobbing motion as it moved through the reeds before settling back down and remaining hidden behind the vegetation.

Two Cetti’s Warblers have also taken up residence in the patch of reeds between the reedbed screen and the second hide. Usually remaining hidden deep within the depths of the reeds, with just the distinctive explosive call giving their location away, we were lucky to get amazing views as they became incredibly active late in the afternoon before heading off to roost, showing unbelievably well and performing right in front of the screen out in the open. These were by far my longest ever views of Cetti’s Warblers, having previously only ever got glimpses at various reserves before the bird dashed back in to the safety of the reeds. A pair of Brambling on the feeders were also lovely to see, completing what has been a fantastic few weeks for classic autumnal/winter birds.

Gull-billed Tern at Burton Mere RSPB, Cheshire

It’s not often that an alert pops up informing me of a bird just half an hour before I’m due to finish work (it’s usually mid-morning, meaning I then have to endure the rest of the day wondering if it will stick around!) so it was a nice change when ‘Gull-billed Tern’ popped up on my phone at half 3 on the Friday afternoon. It was an even nicer change to then see that it was local – being just under an hour away at Burton Mere RSPB.

A quick phone call home and we were soon well on our way, and although the bird had made a brief visit to reception pool, it now seemed quite settled on the pool in front of the Inner Marsh Farm hide - those leaving and on their way back all informing me it was happily roosting on the island.

On entering the hide the tern wasn’t immediately apparent, nestled amongst the Black-headed Gulls and facing away from the crowd with its back to us. However, it soon moved its head and the chunky black bill was instantly noticeable, much shorter and thicker than that of a Sandwich Tern and lacking the yellow tip, while the long wings projected well beyond the tail.

The long wings were really apparent

After watching it for around ten minutes, my dad finally entered the hide – just as the tern had took off and was swiftly flying past the window and away from the pool! In a mad scramble to the window I managed to get him on it as the bird made a speedy exit – highlighting just how every second really can count and can ultimately make the difference on whether you see a bird or dip a bird on a twitch!

Luckily, the tern flew back in ten minutes later, giving great views of the wings as it flew past and clearly showing the diagnostic thick black bar on the trailing edge of the wings (which is not present on Sandwich Terns).

Breeding in Southern Europe, Gull-billed Tern was actually my number one target on my world list on BUBO, and after not seeing any in Spain on our visits last year and not being able to catch up with the recent Yorkshire bird, it was great to finally see this rare visitor – made even better that it was totally unexpected and out of the blue!

With a bird seen at Ynys-hir RSPB the day before, and a bird at the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall on Wednesday, it is highly likely that this individual has been following the coast around. Departing from Burton Mere at 8:40pm on the Friday evening when it flew off towards the estuary and with no sign since, it is anyone’s guess as to where it will turn up next!

Gull-billed Tern sightings over the three days - a route along the coast is clear to see

5 beautiful summer plumaged Spotted Redshank were a nice bonus at Reception Hide, and with their jet black colours and star spangled white flecks, they are without doubt one of my favourite wader species and definitely deserved of a mention.

Remarkably, a second rare tern appeared locally at the weekend in the form of a White-winged Black Tern at Leighton Moss RSPB in Lancashire. Even though I caught up with the bird at Cemlyn Bay in Anglesey last year, me and Alex decided to take my mum up to Leighton Moss to see the individual that had been present there for two days.

Arriving at the reserve, we entered Lower Hide to find this stunning Eastern European visitor hawking over the pool for insects, flashing its gorgeous white and black wings for us all to admire – truly a beautiful sight. Often perching on the posts submerged in the water, we got great views of this fantastic bird – it’s always worth making the effort when such stunning individuals turn up locally.

Record shots of the wings in all their glory

A Great White Egret, Marsh Tit, a pair of Garganey and 4 Marsh Harriers (including witnessing the spectacle of a food pass between the male and a female) completed the day, and a special thanks to Alex for driving us up there.