Spoonbills, Pennington Flash

It was 7:30am and I was standing on the shore of the flash just behind Horrock’s hide looking through the common terns on the spit. There were two other birders on site that I was aware of, Bill on the south side of the flash and Barry who had just left me and headed over to Teal hide. 

Suddenly I became aware of two white birds flying over the flash from the south and heading towards the spit at a height of under 50m, distance about 200m from me at this point. They had extended necks but were obviously too small for swans. I raised my binoculars and they were obviously spoonbills with all white plumage, extended necks and long dark spatula bills. 

At this point panic set in because I wanted to get the other birders onto the birds. Unless they landed I didn't think that Barry had any chance being at Teal hide, but Bill would have a chance depending on exactly where he was, and indeed he may already have seen them, though I’d not had a message off him. I fumbled with my phone whilst still trying to watch the birds, only to find that my phone was in the middle of an update which was 80% complete. My camera was in my bag and I desperately tried to get it out while my phone was updating.

Meanwhile the birds came closer, within about 150m and looked as if they might drop into the bay between the spit and the mini spit, but then gained height and headed off towards the ruck. Finally my phone completed the update but then it wouldn’t let me use my fingerprint, it insisted on my password which is normal after updates.

The birds were now over the ruck and heading away. Finally, after two attempts at entering my password, I got through to Bill. He hadn’t seen them and couldn’t get onto them from his position. Only now could I try to get a photo, but the birds were quite distant, heading away west and appeared to be following the canal. Even at this distance they were clearly spoonbills, with long necks and characteristic fast wingbeats and glides.

Perhaps surprisingly there are only three accepted records of spoonbill at the flash, with the last around 20 years ago.

Spoonbills over Audenshaw 24/07/2022
 Photo © Ray Scally

Two days later, presumably the same birds were over Audenshaw Reservoir and a much better photo was taken by Ray Scally.

Earlier there'd been a flock of nine common scoter on the flash, but most of them had flown off just before I arrived. One still remained though, a different bird from yesterday because it was an adult male. The common tern flock is still in the region of 30 birds, though they were harder to count because most birds were over the flash feeding so I need to return this afternoon when they tend to be more settled on the spit. Two little egrets were at the Slag Lane end.

The two Egyptian geese are still off the car park and while I was watching the spoonbills a summer plumage dunlin dropped onto the spit. Also a common sandpiper was on the ruck.