Little egrets, Pennington Flash

Five little egrets in Ramsdales  today were the most I have ever recorded at the flash.

Smew, Rumworth Lodge

This stunning drake smew was on Rumworth Lodge, Bolton today having previously been seen at Belmont and Springs reservoirs on the other side of Winter Hill. Actually I called in at Springs reservoir on Tuesday and saw the bird very briefly before it flew to the far side of the reservoir. It's clearly a very nervous bird and today stayed on the far bank of the lake all of the time I was watching it and was definitely aware of our presence.

Another dodgy bittern at the flash

I was at East Bay and as always looked across to Ramsdales reedbed in the hope that today I might finally see a bittern on the edge of the reeds, and amazingly today there was one! East Bay is a good half a mile from the reedbed and I had no scope with me, so I took a few photos and then forgot about the bird. When I finally reached Ramsdales there was just a grey heron standing on the edge of the reeds so assumed it was that and continued on my way. Later this evening a bittern was reported to Birdguides as standing on the ice in Ramsdales so I had a look at my photos and they clearly show a bittern. 

Bitterns are annual at the flash, yet this is only my third sighting and both the other two have been just as poor! One day I'll see one well.....

Yellow-browed warbler, Martin Mere

It was a beautiful, crisp sunny morning with not a breath of wind and it seemed perfect for watching small warblers, so where else to go than back to Martin Mere? Sure enough, the yellow-browed warbler performed really well, occasionally coming as close as 2m away, though that didn't mean that it was easy to photograph!

It's a very flitty bird, constantly on the move and there are a million branches in the way to focus on and for me it's just click and hope! Even so these are probably the best yellow-browed warbler photos that I have ever taken, which is not saying much.

Meanwhile the Siberian chiffchaffs performed brilliantly, with two birds more or less constantly alongside me but largely ignored as I tried to photograph the yellow-browed warbler.

Some people may think that spending time at the sewage works is not how they want to spend their visit to Martin Mere, which is fair enough, each to their own, but it's a fabulous experience to be surrounded by these cracking little warblers on a bright sunny day such as today.

Inca terns, Martin Mere!

I don't normally post photos of captive birds but I was amazed to see Inca terns in an aviary at Martin Mere today. Incredible birds, one of them even dived into a pond and caught a fish!

Siskins and shelduck

Great to see a flock of 40+ siskins in the alders along the canal at Pennington Flash today. This is the largest flock that I have seen at the flash in nearly 10 years.

Yellow-browed warbler and Siberian chiffchaffs, Martin Mere

A yellow-browed warbler at the sewage works at Martin Mere was a site tick for me, bringing my site list to 186. As always with this species it was a very difficult bird to photograph because it was so fast moving, but it provided some nice views as it moved around the vegetation, often quite low down.

It has been loosely associating with chiffchaffs, including at least four Siberian chiffchaffs, which were were much more obliging and easier to photograph. I'm not sure what this bird is doing!

Long-tailed ducks, Hoylake

All the way from home to Hoylake I was driving through fog and occasional heavy snow showers but miraculously just as I arrived at Kings Gap I saw a patch of blue sky and by the time I'd got all of my gear on it was glorious. 

I walked out for a mile to the shoreline and scanned over the sea. There were not as many common scoter as last time I was here just before Christmas, but the bonus was six long-tailed ducks including three stunning drakes. 

Caspian, yellow-legged & Mediterranean gulls in the roost

The 2nd winter Caspian gull was in the roost at Pennington Flash this evening,  along with an adult yellow-legged gull and the adult Mediterranean gull. 

Mediterranean gull in the roost

This adult Mediterranean gull has been coming into the roost at Pennington Flash all winter.

Kittiwake in Ramsdales

Timing is everything! It's been lashing it down all night and all morning here in sunny Leigh, so I decided to drive to the main car park at Pennington Flash and sit in the car for a while to see if I could read any more black-headed gull rings. No joy with that and to be honest I could barely open the car window the rain was so heavy. After half an hour I gave up and headed for home but for some reason drove past the turning and ended up at Green lane with the rain almost stopped but the sky still looking ominous. 

I quickly got my waterproofs on, grabbed my scope and brolly and scoped the flash from here. Immediately I saw an adult kittiwake in Ramsdales bay, but after just a few moments it flew up, headed towards Horrock's hide, turned back and then flew away high over the ruck and was gone. If I'd been 5 minutes later I'd have missed it, but perhaps it wasn't just luck or co-incidence, perhaps both myself and the bird had taken advantage of a window in the rain, and seeing it was more down to the fact that I'd had the enthusiasm and opportunity to go to the flash on a day like this. As I type, the rain is bouncing down again. 

The photo is of the last kittiwake I saw at the flash, nearly three years ago. It was clearly a much nicer day than today!

Another day, another roost, another Caspian gull

The fourth Caspian gull I have managed to find at Pennington Flash in the past five weeks, and they have all been different ages, 1st winter, 2nd winter, 3rd winter (today's bird) and sub-adult. This once rare species in Greater Manchester is now getting quite frequent, in fact it's almost more frequent than yellow-legged gull at the flash, though both species still present a challenge unless seen well.

Whooper swans, Barrow Nook

Six whooper swans have been in fields around Barrow Nook for the past week or so.

 

Old Coach Road and Dairy Farm Road

I was working in the general direction of Rainford this morning, so when work was over I had a walk in the Old Coach Road / Dairy Farm Road area. There were lots of flocks of pink-footed geese in the area but the largest was off New Cut Lane, with about 2-3000 birds on the ground until flushed by gunshots. Nearby, a flock of 13 ravens flew over and a stonechat was along the ditch that follows the footpath between Dairy Farm Road and Inglenook Farm.

Yellow-legged gull, Pennington Flash

A magnificent adult yellow-legged gull dropped into the roost this evening.

2nd winter Caspian gull, Pennington Flash

The superb 2nd winter Caspian gull which I first found on 2nd December was back again today, and for once into the roost nice and early in the south east corner, allowing me to get a good look at it at relatively close range. It's a really smart bird and stands out a mile, I even managed to pick it out with my binoculars before confirming with the scope.

The yachts were on when I arrived this afternoon and an impressive 55 goldeneye were in two groups in Ramsdales and off the car park. Three willow tits were on feeders and in total I managed 50 species to kick off the new year.