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.

Bitterns at Marbury!

Having not caught up with the Bittern at Marbury CP this year, I was keen to make a visit at some point, and a free morning on Sunday when I was testing out my new lens seemed the perfect opportunity to do so.

Arriving at the hide overlooking Coward Reedbed, the Bittern was not immediately obvious, and it took a good 20 minutes before it was located deep down in the reeds, exceptionally camouflaged and ridiculously difficult to spot whilst it was crouched down, blending perfectly in to the surroundings.

However, the bird soon put on a brilliant show, feeding in one of the gullies before creeping slowly through the reeds and out in to full view. Enjoying some of my best ever views, we watched on as he took flight and flew to the section of reeds directly opposite, proudly displaying the beautiful brown speckled plumage for all to see.

Bittern complete with reflection!

This particular individual has very pale markings, and is more than likely a returning bird from the two present last year, one of which was exceptionally pale. With two birds having been reported again this year, the best place to locate them is directly in the large patch of reeds to the left of the hide in the area surrounding the overhanging trees, which the birds seem to have favoured for the last couple of years or so.

Being the very first bird ever that I can remember seeing, having been shown to me at the age of 3 by a birder in the Marbury hide, it was great to catch up with them again 21 years later!