Newton Lake

Goosander 15 (9 males, 6 females)
Teal 100
Gadwall 6 (5 males, 1 female)

Eccleston Mere

Despite the thaw, there was still 95% ice cover at the mere, and only one small patch of water held all of the ducks, coots and a few Canada Geese. Highlight was these three Gadwall (2 males and a female).

Eccleston Mere

Wigeon 1 drake
Lesser Redpoll 5 with 60 Goldfinches in SE corner.
Snipe 1
Kingfisher 2
Grey Wagtail 2


Wigeon

Hilbre Island in the snow and ice

What a day to be on Hilbre! It was a struggle to get there at all of course, with snow and ice on the roads, and it was -6'C when I left home.

It was an amazing scene at West Kirby, with snow and ice on the beach stretching almost all the way to the island, and you could see where the tide had reached because of the depth of the snow (see the left hand photo of West Kirby shore, looking towards Red Rocks, below).

Often when I cross to Hilbre I'm worried about slipping on seaweed covered rocks, but today I was slipping on ice covered beach! Even the pond on the island was completely frozen.

There were good numbers of birds on the island, especially thrushes, with about 25 Fieldfare, 20 Redwings, 10 Song Thurshes and 5 Blackbirds. Other displaced birds included Snipe and Woodcock. The wintering Rock Pipit was still present at the north end, and maybe a second bird as well.

Star bird of the day for me was a female or immature Velvet Scoter off the north end for its second day. Also on the sea, a few Common Scoter, Red-breasted Mergansers.

Overhead, 35 Pink-footed Geese flew north east, and about 70 Lapwings headed in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, I only saw 2 Pale-bellied Brents and one Purple Sandpiper.

These kind of days are amongst the most beautiful if the year, and almost make up for the chaos of the last week!

Velvet Scoter: Merseyside 246


West Kirby shore looking towards Red Rocks, Hoylake.


Hilbre from Little Eye


The pond on Hilbre


The north end.

Carr Mill Dam

Slavonian Grebe 1
Goldeneye 1 female

The Slavonian Grebe was a first for St Helens for me.

Eccleston Mere

Willow Tit 1 on feeder in SE corner
Kingfisher 1
Goldeneye 1 male


Goldeneye

Southport and Birkdale

Twite 55 on Birkdale beach
Short-eared Owl 6 Marshside
Merlin 1 Marshside
Peregrine 2 Marshside

Lots and lots of birds at Marshside as the 9.7m high tide approached at 12 noon. A really awesome spectacle.

Rainford Mosslands

Pink-footed Goose 3000+ on Reed's Moss
Little Owl 1 Old Coach Road
Tree Sparrow 3 Old Coach Road

Meadow Pipit ice skating with some turnips in Dairy Farm Road.

The end of another year

Eccleston Mere 31/12/2009
Harris Hawk - Year 231 (a festive joke! even I don't tick Harris Hawk..................)

Well, the last daylight of 2009 is rapidly fading, and it looks as though the birding is finished for the year. Another drunken evening of disgraceful excess is upon us (and that's just in my house ), and later hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of fireworks will be shot into the air by the good folk of Britain, a country which is meant to be in recession. So now seems a good time to look back at they old year.

It was a roller coaster of a year for me, but from a birding point of view, it was my best for many a year. I finished with a UK year list of 231 species...... ok 230!, which included five UK lifers, Pallid Swift, Paddyfield Warbler, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern and Eastern Crowned Warbler. I was pleased to reach 230, because I didn't have a single holiday or even a long weekend in the UK, and I didn't go to Scotland, East Anglia, Cornwall, Scillies and I didn't go to the east coast apart from the one visit for the ECW. I reached 230 species by almost entirely local birding in North West England and occasionally North Wales.

The main places I went birding included Eccleston Mere (over 80 visits), Hilbre Island (31 visits), Martin Mere (28 visits), Leighton Moss (14), Marshside (13) and Inner Marsh Farm (13).

My 2009 Merseyside list finished on 171, and my 2009 Lancashire list (including Merseyside which it does in the Lancs Bird report) was 203.

Outside the UK, I had two long weekends to south west Spain and Portugal, and saw 115 species in Spain and 87 in Portugal. I got one Spanish lifer, Crested (red-knobbed) Coot.

In July I went to Sardinia, wrong time of year and too hot, but still ended up with an Italian list of 50 species, which included two European lifers, Barbary Partridge and the Sardinian version of Marmoras Warbler.

In October I went to New York, on a completely none birding holiday, but came back with 38 species, most of which were lifers for me.

In total, I saw 313 species in the World in 2009.

A very good birding year for me. Let's hope 2010 is as good. Happy New Year to you all.

Ring-necked Duck and Snow Geese

First we went to Fleetwood to try to see yesterdays Ring-necked Duck, but unfortunately it had gone. Then we went to Aldcliffe marsh to see the four Snow Geese which have been there with about 500 Greylags. Also with the flock, a Dark-bellied Brent and three Barnacle Geese.

Then we found out that the Ring-necked Duck had been relocated at Preesall, near Knott End, so we dashed back and found the bird on a small fishing pool, with 12 Pochard and three Tufties. Also on a nearby pond, three Mandarins.

The photos are a bit rubbish, because it was a very dull windy day, but I quite like the photo of the Snow Geese attacking two Greylags.

Snow Goose: Year 228 (I apologise to nobody!)
Ring-necked Duck: Year 229
Mandarin: Year 230 (ok I'm sorry, I'm a charlatan)


Snow Geese and Greylags


Ring-neck Duck asleep


Ring-neck Duck awake.

Hilbre Island

A cold, dull, grey day today on the island, and the walk back in light rain was bitter! Thank goodness Santa brought me some gloves the other day!

A really enjoyable day! The Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock showed exceptionally well at the north end of the island. I got some half decent photos, but it was very dull and not easy. One of the Brents was the returning colour ringed bird from previous years. I'm not really sure what the Brents eat on Hilbre, but if you look at the attached photo, it looks as if they're eating the green plant on the rocks. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like little more than green slime! It's certainly slippy stuff! Whatever it is, it must sustain them, because the flock is now about 140 strong, and they'll stay for a few months yet.

As we watched the Brents, I noticed a couple of Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, right below us, with several Turnstones. Really good views of them as they scurried around and fed. I love watching these birds.

Other highlights today included Rock Pipit and Shag.

This was my 31st visit to the island this year, and chances are it will be my last of the year. It's been a tremendous experience. I've seen so many birds on or around the island this year, including a lifer, Paddyfield Warbler, plus visible migration of passerines and seabirds. I just hope that next year is as good.


The Brents!


Purple Sandpiper