22.06.13. Birdlog
19.06.13. Birdlog
Male Marsh Harrier over No 1 tank and 14 Common Shelduck ducklings on the track between No 3 and No 6 tanks. With the help of a cyclist they came close enough for a photograph.
Observer: Paul Crawley.
18.06.13. Delamere Forest
A walk up to Pale Heights, Delamere Forest and beyond was fruitful with 2 adult Mediterranean Gull calling constantly over head to each other.
A good selection of butterflies included a Brimstone, Small Copper, Green-veined, Small, Large and Orange-tip (Whites), Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock making up the rest.
Small Tortoiseshell: Image by Paul Crawley.
Brimstone: Image by WSM.
Kestrel: Image by WSM.
Observers: Sparky, WSM.
17.06.13. Birdlog & Nature Notes # 20
With the breeding season in full swing and flocks of juvenile Starlings gathering together on No 3 tank and small parties of House Sparrows in Marsh Lane the marsh tonight was typically quiet for the season. No 6 tank held 21 Cormorant, 60 Common Shelduck, 3 drake Common Pochard, 3 drake Common Teal and 15 Tufted Duck. A solitary raven flying over was perhaps the highlight.
Great Expectations (Frodsham Marsh style)
Imagine the scene you are on the set of the 1946 British black and white film ‘Great Expectations’. In the film the young orphan boy Pip is invited to meet Miss Havisham and soon learns she was left at the altar in her youth. He is invited to the room where Miss Havisham’s wedding cake and table lays untouched many years later and everything is covered in dust and cobwebs…The scene is set and cue Frodsham Marsh this evening.
I didn’t have to stretch my imagination too much as I walked along the track above No 6 tank. Nearly every bush on the southern edge of the track was covered in a blanket of silky webs created by the Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars and this year’s infestation is as good as it gets. If you get the chance call down and get some photographs they will be about for the next week or so. As I write this post at home, I’ve got one of the little blighter’s on my shoulder…They get everywhere, clothing, car, binoculars and camera gear.
A minute and a half long video on ‘The Birds of Frodsham Marsh’ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=167176353463230.
Observer and images: WSM.
Typically Stuart Maddocks came up with a surprise with these images of a Banded Demoiselle from Ince Marshes today.
15.06.13. Birdlog
200 Black-tailed Godwit on No 6 tank at 3 pm. Lots in fantastic brightly plumaged Icelandic vikings here for the summer.
Observer: Sean O’Hara
Digital artwork: WSM
11.06.13. Birdlog
6 Common Teal roosting up on No 6 tank with 12 Tufted Duck 3 male and a single female Common Pochard. A Ringed Plover joined the teal for a bit of peace away from the territorial disputes going on all around. 3-400 Common Swift hawking at eye level along the track leading to the viewing area. Their piercing shrill calls were like a taser to the head.
Not much surprisingly at the marsh apart from a Buzzard that thinks it’s a Kestrel on the edge of No 5 tank and Lordship Lane. Starling and their young on No’s 1 and 2. Raven being mobbed by Carrion Crows on No 2 near a deceased sheep. Some idiots decided it would be a laugh to open the gates to the horses near the motorway bridge (the big horses not the ponies). The girl from the MAVIS farm had just about managed to get them to safety as I arrived. Usual rules apply please report to police if vandals are about.
Observers: Paul Crawley, WSM.
All images by Paul Crawley
This juvenile Starling reminded us of one of the Babbler species or even a young Cedar Waxwing. Eds
