Ring-necked duck, Victoria Park, St Helens

The St Helens ring-necked duck was found on the tiny lake at Victoria Park today so I had to go for a look. As expected, it showed really well.

Return of the ring-necked duck

The drake ring-necked duck was back on Taylor Park lake St Helens this morning, in one of the few open patches of water. With 95% of the lake iced over, it had no choice but to stay close to the side where I must say it seemed the most timid of all the ducks present, which included several tufted ducks.

I've never really understood the warped logic which says that if a duck is close then it's most probably an escape. Really? Presumably all of the tufted ducks it was with must be escapes then? Along with all of those hooded mergansers and buffleheads I saw in USA. Not to forget the whooper swans I saw walking around a busy car park in Glasgow, all escapes. 

It's has not really left St Helens since it returned for its second winter back in November, but it seems to spend most of its time on nearby Eccleston Mere which is almost completely inaccessible.

Shortly after I saw it this morning it was most probably flushed off Taylor Park by two lads throwing a Titanic size lump of ice into the lake right by where it had been. Birds flying in all directions and the ring-necked duck was not relocated. I'm sure it will be back though.

Frozen plover

A local field at Haydock which I have been watching this winter has held a decent flock of golden plover by recent standards, with up to 95 present in December along with 300 lapwings. Today the frozen field still had 24 goldies with 110 lapwings. Also present throughout the winter, good numbers of buzzards, with up to 30 present on the fields on most visits.

New Year on the Rainford Mosslands

I've spent most of my free time since New Year on the Rainford Mosslands where the highlights have included a female hen harrier, which I've seen twice at Clare's Moss from the Old Coach Road, and a couple of barn owls. There's also at least one marsh harrier in the area but so far they've eluded me.

There's been at least 10 corn buntings along Dairy Farm Road.

Around 2000 pink-footed geese are in the area, but so far I've not been able to pick out any other species.

Martin Mere and Southport kick off the New Year

A few hours birding between Martin Mere and Southport so far this year produced quite a few year ticks, with 60 species at Martin Mere and another 11 at Southport. Highlights included the usual snow bunting near Southport pier along with 20 twite and four spoonbills which are currently wintering on the Ribble.

While I was watching the twite this spoonbill dropped in below the pier. I assume that it's one of the four that I had just seen from the sand plant at Marshside, but why it would have left the other three I can't say.

Mandarin pair at Plank Lane marina

The mandarin pair at Plank lane marina were copulating this morning. He's been at the flash for 2+ years & had a purple ring when he first arrived so presumably a bird from a collection. She's been around for about 3 months, had no rings & is much more wary, possibly a wild bred bird from some local population. They bred at Eccleston Mere, St Helens in at least one year (2014).

Cattle egrets and Siberian chiffchaffs Martin Mere

After a few visits without big numbers of cattle egrets, today there were 19 again with the longhorns by the barn near the sewage works. At least three great white egrets were also on the reserve and a little egret.

At least two Siberian chiffchaffs were still at the sewage works and showing well, though never staying still long enough for a decent photo.

Siberian chiffchaff, Martin Mere

My encounter with a probable Siberian chiffchaff at Pennington Flash on Wednesday was just one of a few apparent arrivals this week, which included a bird at the sewage works at Martin Mere on Monday. So today I decided to call in for a look and hopefully a listen.

As soon as I arrived I saw three chiffchaffs in a bush next to the perimeter fence, at least one of which looked good for tristis. Over the next hour or so I watched them flitting around in the bush, or flying into nearby trees, occasionally going missing for five minutes before one or more returned. It took a while, but eventually one of them called, just once, but it was enough. A short, clear piping call, reminiscent of bullfinch.

This is a bird which in previous years I have watched a lot here, but usually in January or early February. I've never seen one this early in the winter before.

Why couldn't the Pennington Flash bird have shown this well?

Siberian chiffchaff in Ramsdales

A presumed Siberian chiffchaff tristis was with a flock of long-tailed tits on the ruck near to the 5-bar metal gate just west of the leaning posts, adjacent to Ramsdales reedbed. Initially I had a very brief view of a chiffchaff with a distinct pale supercilium in a birch tree. I tried a bit of playback and the bird responded immediately, flying right over my head and landing in a tree 3m behind me on the ruck, calling twice as soon as it landed.

Unfortunately I was looking right into the bright sun, so I could get no colouration on the bird, it was just a tail-pumping silhouette. The bullfinch like call was quite unlike a common chiffchaff collybita. Then it was gone, it flew over the pond and into the trees. I didn't see it again. 

I'm calling it presumed rather than definite just because I didn't see it as well as I would like and the call doesn't completely rule out other races of chiffchaff, though how likely they are to be seen in the UK I couldn't say. Perhaps rarer than tristis!

 
Over the past four or five winters I've spent a lot of time at the sewage works at Martin Mere watching and listening to the several tristis that over winter there. I have no doubt that what I heard was this race.

Also today a great white egret was in Ramsdales. This is the first I have seen here for a few days, since the water levels went up.

Return of the ring-necked duck

The wonderful drake ring-necked duck returned to Taylor Park lake last week for it's second winter at the start of what will hopefully be a prolonged stay until next spring. Last winter it actually spent more time on nearby Eccleston Mere which is completely inaccessible to birders these days. 

It arrived at Taylor Park last week with an influx of tufted ducks, with 43 present today. Also today a little egret and seven goosanders flew over, and a kingfisher flew across the lake.

Ring ouzel on the ruck, Pennington Flash

This morning I'd reached the eastern side of the ruck and was about to drop down to view Ramsdales reedbed when I heard an interesting call, a woody "tuck, tuck, tuck, tuck". A quick scan around revealed what looked like a blackbird sitting in the top of a tree but even against the light I could see that it had a pale wing panel and was clearly a ring ouzel.

I tried to manoeuvre myself into a better position for the light but only succeeded in flushing the bird into trees about 200m away on the other side of the canal, about 150m west of the Common lane footbridge. It seemed pretty settled so I walked up to the canal footpath and watched it for a while from there.

Suddenly the bird flew towards me and landed back in the same place where I had initially seen it. In flight I could see a silvery underwing contrasting with the dark body, quite unlike blackbird which has a dark underwing. 

When landed I could see that it was dark grey with a scaley looking breast due to pale feather fringes. It only had a weak crescent. 

This was a new species at the flash for me and over a month later than my latest ever in the UK. For these reasons and others, it was probably the most unexpected bird of the year. It's the end of November and overnight we experienced the first cold snap of the winter with snow on the ground and ice on the flash, seemingly not ideal conditions for a summer visitor and passage migrant such as ring ouzel. Furthermore, it was landed. Ring ouzels are very rare at the flash with only a handful of records, and almost all are flyovers during vismig on the ruck. 

 

Late autumn birds in the UK are generally considered to be migrants from fenno-scandinavia, and I assume that the northerly winds we are currently experiencing have brought this bird to the UK. If it was at Spurn or Flamborough or Norfolk or any of the coastal migration hotspots around the country it would be a great find but less surprising, but to turn up here at Pennington Flash is unexpected to say the least.