Three late terns at Pennington Flash

I arrived at the flash today full of the hope and anticipation that perhaps only a birder can feel when he sees light winds and heavy drizzle in the forecast on a dull, late September morning. The weather didn't let me down and once again produced the goods. Not only were yesterdays black tern and the long-staying common tern both still present, but as I watched them from the sailing club I suddenly heard the unmistakable screech of a Sandwich tern and saw two fly past west at close range. After a  brief circle around the western end they headed off north west over the ruck.

I know it's not much of a photo and you will have to take my word for it that they are Sandwich terns, but at least it goes someway to conveying the murk and the difficult viewing conditions.

This is the latest date I have for Sandwich tern at the flash, six days later than the previous record set in 2023, while the black tern is now also a week later than my previous latest at the flash and the common tern is my second latest ever here.

Other birds today included a drake common scoter, three great white egrets and five little egrets.

End of the season at Bickershaw

A lovely afternoon at Bickershaw produced just two species of dragonflies around New Water, maybe 15 migrant hawkers and 20 common darters. No doubt I could have added willow emerald and one or two other species had I gone to the northern section but it really feels like the season is coming to an end now. Not sure how many more visits I'll manage this year, but it's been a great year with 23 species recorded on site. 

I was delighted though to end the year with another four clouded yellows, bringing my total to at least 18 individuals in 2026, in a season that stretched from the first sighting on 15th July to today.

Black tern, Pennington Flash

I thought that I was going to miss out on black tern this year, but right at the death this juvenile appeared yesterday and was still present this afternoon. It spent most of it's time out in the middle but did occasionally come into the bay off the car park.

It really was last minute, this bird is my latest ever at the flash by five days and my fourth latest ever in the UK.

Grey Phalarope, Worthington Lakes

Twenty-nine years ago almost to the day, in another lifetime, I was working in Wigan when a grey phalarope was found at Worthington Lakes, Standish. I had a slightly extended lunch to twitch the bird on what was my first ever visit to the place. Today I was back for my second visit, and again it was a grey phalarope that brought me here. Amazing! Why this place should be a hot bed for phalaropes I cannot say. It doesn't look particularly suitable. Just one of the quirks of birding I guess.

Observations of red-throated divers from the Great Orme

The highlight of a walk around the Great Orme today was a couple of red-throated divers close inshore about 1km east of the lighthouse. One was clearly an adult in summer plumage, the other a juvenile with what I thought was a surprising amount of red on the throat.

It was a treat to see, and hear, the interactions of these birds, with the youngster (the bird on the right) constantly begging from the adult. 

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a juvenile red-throated diver adopt this begging posture before. Both birds dived while I watched, but I don't know how successful either were, I certainly didn't see the adult feed the youngster. Apparently it's quite unusual for juveniles to continue to be fed once they leave their breeding grounds, but not unprecedented.

100 up for Hilbre

Way back in 1973 my Dad and I walked across the sands of Dee to Hilbre Island. He'd been there many times before and it was a place he really loved, but it was my first visit and it made a great impression. Since then I've had many great adventures here, and adventures they really are when you're walking for 45 minutes across the beach at sunrise into the teeth of a north westerly gale with black, threatening clouds rolling in, and waves crashing over the north end. These storms can bring seabirds from remote oceanic islands in the North Atlantic, the most iconic of all the Leach's petrel, but also gannets, skuas and shearwaters. Sometimes the wind is so strong that the birds can go right over your head and if you stay on for the high tide you're here for 5-6 hours at least, with no shelter. It truly can be an adventure! 

Today it was somewhat calmer and there were no seabirds, ironic really since just yesterday there was a Leach's petrel at Pennington Flash! Still it was nice, with many highlights, including a wheatear, brent geese, a juvenile merlin which flew low right over my head, a peregrine and two ravens, plus a nice selection of waders. A flyby greenshank was new for the island for me.

It was also great to bump into Steve Williams on the island who very kindly invited me back to obs for a brew. It's a really great place Hilbre, makes me wonder why I don't come more often.

According to my database this was my 100th visit to the island!

Leach's petrel, Pennington Flash

I was in a meeting at Birchwood that was just drawing to a close at 11:45 when I glanced at my phone to see a message from Gordon Newman some 15 minutes earlier which immediately jolted me out of my slumbers. "Are you at the Flash now? Possible petrel only seen briefly but is constantly harassed by gulls". I fired off a quick reply to Gordon and informed a couple of other birders who I knew might be on site and then I exited the building stage left and headed for my car.  

I told myself that logically it could only be Leach's. There's been a few passing the North West coast over the past few days and the peak time for what few stormies we get in the North West is more like July or August, not September. Moreover Pennington Flash has form when it comes to Leach's petrel, and if I managed to see this bird it would be my third at the site. Storm petrel on the other hand would be completely unprecedented. 

Over the 20 minute or so journey from Birchwood to Green Lane I was bombarded with information from the Flash and the identification was confirmed as Leach's petrel. I headed for the place which would allow me to view as much of the water as possible and as quickly as possible, Green Lane.

After a couple of desperate scans across the water it was with much relief that I picked up the petrel flying west past the Ruck with it's entourage of gulls. It flew right down to the bottom end of the flash and was not seen again by me. That's how close it was. 

Thanks to Gordon Newman for the information which allowed me to get there in the nick of time.

Pennington Flash does relatively well for seabirds, over the years as well as the three Leach's petrels I've also seen Manx shearwater, Sabine's gull, shag and kittiwake, while birds that have been seen but not by me include great and arctic skua.

Moulting common tern, Pennington Flash

There's been a heavily moulting common tern on the flash for a few days now, looking really tatty. Obviously I can see the full black cap which I assume makes it an adult, but I'm not sure about the very dark primaries and dark bar on the secondaries, which I would have thought point more towards 1st summer. I'm not really familiar with non-breeding common terns.

Rock 'n' Roll Nightjar

Ladies and Gentlemen, for one night only, I give you the rockin' Nightjars!

<Insert your favourite song here>

With backing vocals from the Irate Chiffchaffs!

This wonderful nightjar was found roosting at Kenworthy woods near Chorlton Water Park yesterday. I was walking in the Lake District at the time so had no chance of getting to see it and I thought my opportunity was gone because surely it wouldn't be present on the same branch this morning. I mean it only has to move 5m into the wood and you'd never find it. Surprisingly however, it was still present and correct at 7.30am today, in exactly the same spot.

So as long as it wasn't flushed by some <insert your favourite expletive(s) here>  trying to get too close for a photo, there was a good chance that it would still be there when we arrived early afternoon. Fortunately it hadn't been disturbed and we had some nice views of it. All photos and video in this post are phone-scoped.

This was only my second roosting nightjar, the last was a memorable bird on Hilbre Island in 2015. Great though that bird was, it didn't do much, it just sat there on a branch without moving and that was pretty much all that I expected today. It wasn't the case though, as this bird spent time preening and changing position on it's branch, and it preceded any movement by rocking from side to side, a behaviour that I've never seen before. Apparently this is all part of it's camouflage, it rocks to make itself look like it is a leaf blowing in the wind, the theory being that if it sat motionless and then suddenly preened, it would be more obvious than if it rocked slowly and then preened. I suppose there is some logic in that.

Willow emerald, Pennington Flash

I wasn't expecting to see many dragonflies when I left the house this afternoon because it had been a dull, windy, rainy day with lots of threatening black clouds, but miraculously the sun came out while I was at Pennington Flash and I started seeing things flying and before you knew it I had a half decent list for the time of year. 

Six species in total with the highlight willow emerald which so far as I know is the first record for the flash. Not completely surprising since they are at nearby Bickershaw but still great to see. Other odonata seen today included three species of hawker, brown x1, migrant x15 and southern x3, plus common darter and a few common blue damselflies.

Southern hawker.

Clouded yellow, Bickershaw

Still hoping for a few autumn dragonflies, especially red-veined darter, I visited Bickershaw again this afternoon. I've started taking in New Water a bit more in the hope that if I don't see much in the way of dragonflies, I might at least have a chance of an autumn wader. I mean it did once hold a white-tailed plover for a couple of days, so surely a green sandpiper or dunlin aren't beyond the realms of possibility? Sadly I've not seen a single wader on New Water all year except for the occasional lone lapwing.

However, it was still a worthwhile visit, with yet another clouded yellow, at least the 14th of the year. 

Six species of odonata today, with three hawkers, common x1, migrant x15 and southern x3.

I wondered at first if this might be a second generation clouded yellow bred at Bickershaw from the earlier influx in July, but on returning home I've seen a few reports of other clouded yellows today at Ainsdale and Marshside, so perhaps it's another wave coming in. In support of this possibility there was the lesser emperor I found a few days ago and a couple of rush veneer moths today at Bickershaw, plus reports of a few red-veined darters recently.

The photo above is a video grab of the butterfly which is still flying but coming into land on the flower. Clouded yellows never hold their wings like this when they are landed.

It may not be quite a beautiful as the clouded yellow but this is also a migrant, rush veneer moth, one of two seen today.

This reed warbler was nice and showy on Nevison's. This is quite a late record for me, I don't usually see them much past the end of August.