I had a Kingfisher buzz me down Brook Furlong Lane en route to the River Weaver with a Cetti’s Warbler calling close by. No.6 had a Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff with a few hundred Black-tailed Godwit and a drake Pintail. There was a Meadow Pipit and male Stonechat on No.1 tank. No. 2 had about a dozen Eurasian Curlew.
Other than Wood Pigeon zapping everywhere the Raven and a couple of Common Buzzard were the other main contribute’s.
Observer and images: Paul Crawley.
An evening visit and not a soul about to share seeing the juvenile Curlew Sandpiper which in turn shared the edge of the flooded No.6 tank with 4 Ruff. A large(ish) flock of c500 Black-tailed Godwit were tucked into the edge of the vegetated margins but on several occasions they flew up in alarm when the immature Marsh Harrier flew over. There were 9 Kestrel at various points with 4 Common Buzzard patrolling the tank.
A small bunch of Raven gave me and themselves a fright when they unexpectedly flew over my head while I was stood in a gap in the scrubs on the top of the tank.
Ducks again are always a feature on the flood water with 540 Eurasian Teal, 138 Northern Shoveler, 143 Mallard, 2 Gadwall, 2 Northern Pintail, 14 Coot, 7 Moorhen and 4 Great Cormorant.
Observer and image from archive: WSM.
It was a wet morning around No.6 tank where c500 Black-tailed Godwit flocked together in the shallow water and c200 left for the Mersey estuary when they were spooked by a Common Buzzard.
A small flock of 6 Ruff, c20 Common Redshank, a dozen or more Common Snipe and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper foraged in the vegetation together. The herds of Canada Goose were leaving the tank as I approached along Moorditch Lane and several hundred were still on the tank but left soon after my arrival.
There were Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler were numerous with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Common Shelduck and Northern Pintail.
A couple of Mute Swan 4 Gadwall, 4 Northern Shoveler and the usual Eurasian Coot and Moorhen were on the ‘phalarope pool’ while c80 Mallard, 15 Gadwall and a few Northern Shoveler were on the ‘splashing pool.
A flock of c60 Eurasian Curlew were feeding in a field along Lordship Lane and 2 Kestrel were hunting the bank while a Eurasian Sparrowhawk targeted a European Starling flock feeding in the stubble fields.
Observer and images: Paul Ralston.
I was out this morning around No.6 and No.4 tanks. Looking across No.6 tank and Canada Goose dominated the water with c1000 present. Ducks numbers are stable at the moment with 43 Mallard, c850 Eurasan Teal, 68 Tufted Duck, 5 Northern Pintail, a few Common Shelduck and 10 Gadwall on the water.
A single Mute Swan was joined by another pair which got very territorial and attempted to drive the single bird off the tank. Black-tailed Godwit numbers reached 745 birds with c40 Common Snipe, c500 Northern Lapwing, a single Greenshank and 3 Ruff were feeding in the shallow water.
The lapwing flock took to the air as a an immature Marsh Harrier passed by and they soon settled again.
Several skeins of Pink-footed Goose passed overhead towards the estuary and a single Whooper Swan was observed flying east along the Manchester Ship Canal. A flock of c80 Eurasian Curlew were feeding alongside the Holpool Gutter and 4 Common Buzzard were over No.4 tank. A pair of Stonechat were back on their winter territory at the edge of the canal.
Raven and Great Black-back Gull were cleaning up the dead stock left on the salt marsh after the recent high tides and 3 Little Egret were noted.
A Common Toad was looking for a safe place to hibernate on the bank of No.6 and a Great Spotted Woodpecker made its way along the path between No.6 and No.3 tanks.
Observers: Paul Ralston (images) and WSM.
Further skeins of Pink-footed Goose were seen including a few hundred over junction 12 of the M56 heading inland along the Weaver Valley at 8.00am (Shaun Hickey), and 111 were over Runcorn Hill at 9.30am (WSM).
The first herd of autumnal Whooper Swan were back by the blue slurry tank on Lordship Marsh joining the adult from yesterday.
Observer: Shaun Hickey.
An after work dart down to the River Weaver just when the rain began to drop. A flock of 87 Tufted Duck were on the river with 6 Great Crested Grebe and on the small marsh were 24 Black-tailed Godwit and 12 Common Redshank and that was about it
Observer and image: WSM.
A beautiful day in glorious sunshine and a walk along Moorditch Lane produced a locally uncommon family group of three Mistle Thrush in the horse pasture. A bare elder bush had a Great Spotted Woodpecker perched on its top, but a jogger flushed it before I could get a picture.
I continued my walk and looked across the (filled to the brim with rain water) No.6 tank and ducks were well scattered with a small group of Tufted Duck at the eastern end and c750 Eurasian Teal, c45 Northern Shoveler, 10 Gadwall, 32 Mallard and a Common Shelduck.
The first Whooper Swan of the autumn was alone on the water without any mates.
A flock of c350 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Common Snipe, 3 Common Redshank and 5 Ruff were acceptable considering the height of the water.
A pale morph Common Buzzard was on No.5 tank, while Kestrel and Eurasian Sparrowhawk kept the passerines on their toes.
A traffic incident on the M56 saw JS stuck on it for an hour and a half.
Observer and images: WSM.
A Cetti’s Warbler burst into song near the old bird log and c 40 Northern Lapwing were in a field along the lane. On the River Weaver c150 Tufted Duck were joined by Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Gadwall and c60 Eurasian Coot, 4 Great Crested Grebe and c30 Canada Goose. c 40 Eurasian Curlew were feeding next to Marsh Farm and several Raven were feasting on a sheep carcass.
Observer: Paul Ralston.
A rare record of a Bearded Reedling from reed bed by the River Weaver at Hob Hay Wood, Frodsham per Mark O’ Sullivan.
A very brief visit to No.6 tank after work produced skeins of Canada Goose flighting in from the surrounding stubble field. It seems the very high tides have forced them away from the salt marshes. Emerging like a behemoth from the herd was the Greylag X Canada hybrid.
Ducks were crowded out from the centre of the flooded tank and c900 Eurasian Teal found salvation hiding in the lea of the embankment while Northern Shoveler and Mallard were on the periphery of the geese flock. Tufted Duck are still in good numbers with 59 countered.
A juvenile Sparrowhawk did a quick recce of the gardens along Marsh Lane.
The flooded stubble field by Moorditch Lane had c200 Black-headed Gull and 4 Ruff.
A small number of Barn Swallow and House Martin were still lingering over the tank.
Frodsham Hill monument is under wraps and restoration sat on top the highest point in the local area and can be seen from the marsh.
Observer and image: WSM.
