06 & 07.08.16. Birdlog

06.08.16.

Out this morning around No.6 tank where several Chiffchaff were seen. Along Lordship Lane and a Sparrowhawk was on patrol in the area. Water levels are up again on No.6 tank so not much wader activity. There were 4 Ruff and a few Redshank being noted, while duck numbers are low with the usual Mallard, Gadwall, Common Teal, common Pochard, Shoveler, Tufted and Common Shelduck all grouped together. The Black-necked Grebe was close to the bank with several Little Grebe and nearby a Common Buzzard sat on a fence post. A Collared Dove flew over No.3 tank and although regular around the farm buildings on Helsby Marsh they are uncommon out on the distant open areas.  A Reed Warbler was still feeding young  and a Sedge Warbler was contact calling.

Observer: Paul Ralston.

07.08.16.

There were 4 Wheatear (3 female and 1 male) on the pipes across No.1 tank. The Black-necked Grebe was again on six (which PR spotted), 3 Little Stint and 5 Ruff were a bonus, while 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Ringed Plover, 50 Dunlin, juvenile Marsh Harrier, 1 Yellow Wagtail and both denizens of the reed bed a Reed Warbler calling over a calling Water Rail made a visit all the more enjoyable.

Also typhoon fighter over Speke airport.

Observer and images: Paul Crawley.

03.08.16. Birdlog

A walk from Ince Berth and around No.6 tank during the high tide which incidentally didn’t produce a great deal although the three Little Egret out on Frodsham Score with a couple thousand Canada Goose were a pleasure and a pain in equal measure (I’ll leave it to you guess which is which). A female Tufted Duck with a brood of young was on the Splashing Pool and a Green Sandpiper on the scrape.

On to the mitigation pool and a couple of Black-tailed Godwit were sharing it with several Gadwall and even more Canada Goose were seen. No.6 tank produced a juvenile Marsh Harrier was chased off by an irate Common Shelduck and a handful of Common Swift were hawking overhead. On my walk back a flock of Dunlin unseen earlier on 6 flew overhead back out to the score and the same or another juvenile Marsh Harrier was over the salt marsh. Butterflies were out in force with Painted Lady, Small and Large, Small Copper, Comma, Peacock and Tortoiseshell were an added bonus to my ramble.

Observer and image: Paul Ralston.

30 & 30.07.16

30.07.16. 

On a brief visit today from No.1 tank where I spotted a couple of juvenile Wheatear on pipes early afternoon. A female Common Scoter was found on No.6 tank (FD) and nearby a brood of attentive ducklings accompanied their mother Tufted Duck. On the wader front were 6 Avocet which have been absent for a while and 6 Black-tailed Godwit the rest of the summering birds favouring the north side of the river at the moment in the much fancied Carr Lane Pools.

Observers: Frank Duff, Paul Crawley (and images).

31.07.16

Out from 10.00 am until 3.30 pm. Starting with the reported Black-necked Grebe still present  There were also 2 Common Pochard, 170 Lapwing, 300 Dunlin, 2 juvenile Marsh Harrier together on No. 6 tank. The same area held an adult Mediterranean Gull  with 150 Black-headed and 15 Common Gull and a plethora of 200 butterflies.

Observer: Tony Broome.

29.07.16. Birdlog

An early finish from work and a walk around No.6 tank starting from Godscroft Lane. A recently harvested potato field by the chicken farm held a flock of Lapwing and a common Buzzard on the lookout for worms. As I walked over the motorway bridge a feral cat with a small kitten hid in the undergrowth and startled a family of Pheasant.

Along Lordship Lane there were still the odd Reed and Sedge Warbler to be found but they were no longer singing. A couple of hundred Wood Pigeon fed in the crop fields. The Splashing Pool held a Tufted Duck with a brood of recently hatched young and a Coot on the nearby scrape also had a young. The mitigation pools held more Lapwing, Coot and Mallard while a Hobby buzzed a pair of Buzzard nearby and then flew at speed  around a bush trying to flush whatever was hiding in there.

On No.6 tank a small flock of Black-tailed Godwit were wading in the shallows while Common Teal, Tufted Duck, Mallard Common Shelduck and Gadwall fed out on the open water. During observing a pair of Little Grebe close to where I was standing high above the water on the bank another small grebe came in to view and hid in the reeds for a short while, eventually it swam out to the open water and revealed itself to be a Black-necked Grebe!

Observer: Paul Ralston (images 2-3).

Image 1 by Paul Crawley.