Penkford, Sankey Valley

Green Sandpiper 1
Teal 9
Fieldfare 5
Redwing 5

Passage over Queens Park

It just goes to show that if you keep your eyes open at the right time of year, you don't have to go very far to see some decent birds. In a four hour period this morning, whilst working on my computer and waiting in for a plumber, I recorded 36 species of birds, many of which were passing over and heading south or south west. Some of these species were really only identifiable by call, and others were quite high up and could easily have been missed. Even so, a remarkable total given that I don't have a garden, just a small yard near the town centre. Here are the highlights;

Crossbill 3 over SW at 8:45
Goosander 2 (male and female) over NE at 10:30
Fieldfare 87 over SW in two flocks of 57 and 30 at 10:00
Redwing 2 over SW at 9:45
Buzzard 3 drifted south at 12:15
Swallow 4 over S at 9:00
Skylark 22 over SW in dribs and drabs
Meadow Pipit 25 over SW also in dribs and drabs
Lesser black back Gull 100
Sparrowhawk 2
Grey Wagtail 2
Coal Tit 1

Also: Kingfisher 1 seen on stream which runs into park at 15:15. Species number 37.

Also: 1 Red Admiral Butterfly, 1 Small Tortoiseshell

In the middle of all this activity, I was also receiving texts from a friend on Billinge Hill, who had 14 Crossbills over, 1 Redwing and 19 Fieldfares, all of which were heading in my general direction! A very exciting morning. The Goosander were quite low down and I would guess were flying from Eccleston Mere or Prescot Reservoirs to Carr Mill Dam.

Although the list is impressive, it does make me wonder what I must have missed, given that I wasn't exactly gazing up at the sky all morning.

Eccleston Mere

Wigeon 6
Raven 2
Siskin 10

It would be interesting to know exactly how many Ravens there are in St Helens. They certainly seem to cover a wide range.

Billinge Hill

Pink-footed Goose 1000 - 200 over beacon heading SE at 8:30am, 800 distantly over Old Coach Road.
Raven 2 (see photos)
Lesser Redpoll 3 over beacon S
Meadow Pipit 40 mainly over beacon S
Skylark 50 over beacon S, including one flock of 20.
Bullfinch 1
Goldcrest 3
Coal Tit 1
Buzzard 1
Yellowhammer 30



It was a much better start to the day than forecast, quite mild and sunny at times, and even the wind wasn't much more than a stiff breeze. Passage was better than yesterday, but still a bit slow, and there was no sign of any Wheatears today, let alone the hoped for Ring Ouzel or Crossbill. It's always pleasing to see Redpolls passing over though.
At 8:30am I spotted a large flock of geese distantly over the Old Coach Road (about 5 miles away as the goose flies). I watched them for a few minutes, and saw a flock of about 200 break away from the main group and head towards me. Eventually they flew right over the beacon and away south east, eventually crossing over Pennington Flash and then were lost to view. Lancashire Pink-feet are known to commute to Norfolk, and perhaps that's where these were heading, but it seemed a little odd that part of the flock should break away like that. On the walk back to the car, near the horse paddocks, a harsh croaking alerted me to two Ravens.
No sign of Merville du Jour in the trap this morning, just Common Marbled Carpet and Angle Shades. Perhaps tonight.....

Billinge Hill

Merlin 1 juv. male
Wheatear 2 one on field near beacon, one near horse paddocks (see photo below).
Meadow Pipit 10
Skylark 10
Goldcrest 2
Great spotted Woodpecker 1



It was a grim, dismal morning, and a much quieter day for migration than yesterday, with virtually no pipit or Skylark passage whilst I was at the beacon, though I must admit, I didn't feel inclined to hang around too long in the dank conditions. On the walk up to the beacon a superb Merlin darted across the road and away over the horse paddocks. I identified it as a juvenile male due to its small size, which was about the same as a Mistle Thrush. Merlins are always exciting birds to see. It's also pleasing to still be seeing Wheatears. Todays birds, which were both 1st winter, were the 2nd latest I have ever seen in St Helens, but they still have someway to go to beat the record, which was of a bird I saw in Newton-le-Willows on 17/10/1983.
A warm night is forecast, so I've just put the moth trap out in anticipation of a migrant or perhaps the mythical Merveille du Jour. Looking out of the window now, I think I might consider myself lucky if I have any moths tomorrow morning. Watch this space........

Billinge Hill

Crossbill 1 south over beacon.
Meadow Pipit 300+ south over beacon in groups of up to 10 in 90 minute period this morning.
Skylark 100+ south over beacon in groups of up to 10 in 90 minute period this morning.
Wheatear 1 in horse paddocks.
Swallow 1 south over beacon.
Siskin 1+ over beacon.
Chaffinch 50 south over beacon.
Lesser Black Back Gull 50 south over beacon.
Buzzard 2
Sparrowhawk 2
Goldcrest 3
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 flying around beacon.

It was a very impressive morning on Billinge Hill, with huge skies, giant clouds, a stiff breeze and heavy squals. Through it all there was an almost constant stream of Meadow Pipits passing over the beacon in small groups, all heading south. The pipit passage had already started when I arrived, but it took the Skylarks a little longer to get going, but once they did they were nearly as numerous. Plenty of other birds apparently passing over as well, such as Chaffinches, Lesser Black Backs and a single Crossbill.

Eccleston Mere

Willow Tit 1
Goldcrest 3
Kingfisher 1

Solitary Sandpiper Nateby

Solitary Sandpiper 1

I'm not sure how many records there have been for Solitary Sandpiper on mainland Britain, but there can't be more than a handful, and probably most of what there have been are from Cornwall. I couldn't resist the opportunity to add this species to my North West list and what a great little bird it was, a bit browner than I had expected, and it was indeed solitary, being the only bird on a flooded field at Nateby near Garstang.

This is the 33rd accepted record of the species in Britain, and most of the others were on islands, especially the Isle of Scilly. Unsurprisingly it is the first in Lancashire.

Billinge Hill

7:45am - 9:15am

Crossbill 1 over beacon south
Pintail 9 over beacon south west
Siskin 10+ over beacon south west
Meadow Pipit 50+ over beacon south
Chiffchaff 1
Goldcrest 4
Bullfinch 3
Yellowhammmer 30
Skylark 50
Song Thrush 5 over beacon south
Jay 5

Billinge Hill

Lesser Redpoll 1 over the beacon
Skylark 60 mainly in one flock around the horse paddocks
Meadow Pipit 50 including 30 in a flock near the horse paddocks
Chiffchaff 1
Yellowhammer 40 mainly flying around the beacon
Tree Sparrow 20
Goldcrest 3
Linnet 40
Bullfinch 1
Jay 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 over beacon
Nuthatch 1

Migrant moths

I had a couple of species of migrant moths last night, Silver Y (2) and this Dark Swordgrass. Hoping for a migrant hawkmoth tonight!