Pennington Flash

Greenshank 1 on spit
Redshank 2
Common sandpiper 3
Common tern 8
Little ringed plover 1
Sand martin 300
Swallow 40
House martin 30
Sedge warbler 1 singing male
Whitethroat 4 singing males
Grey wagtail 2
Swift 100
Grasshopper warbler 1 reeling near Lapwing hide.

Pennington Flash

Greenshank 1 yacht club
Arctic tern 2
Dunlin 2
Little ringed plover 3
Swift 50
Swallow 50
Sand martin 500
Sedge warbler 2 singing
Common tern 14
House Martin 20
Whitethroat 4 singing
Reed warbler 5 singing
Common sandpiper 1
Redshank 1
Shelduck 2
Teal 1 male
Little grebe adult with chick at Teal hide.

Passage on the coast

Photo: Osprey.

I've not had a lot of work during the COVID-19 lockdown but I've had just about enough to keep me sane and get me out of the house to some beautiful locations. In this post I'm not going to say exactly where I've been working today, but regular readers will have a good idea. Suffice to say that it's a coastal survey and at this time of year with an easterly wind it offers a good opportunity to see a bit of passage.

Photo: Grasshopper warbler.

As soon as I arrived today I immediately heard a grasshopper warbler reeling from the bushes just ahead of me and amazingly the bird was right out in the open, probably not much more than about 2m from me. A whitethroat was singing in the same area and as I dropped down onto the beach I flushed four whimbrel which flew calling for about 200m before landing again. I walked along the scrub covered base of a low, clay cliff and heard two lesser whitethoats rattling out their song along with the usual linnets.

It was approaching low tide and I was to spend my day watching the movements of birds as the tide came in. Wader numbers were low but I did count a fine flock of 600 pristine looking dunlin and ringed plover. Up to eight little egrets fished the creeks and channels.

As high tide approached a few ducks came into the bay, 17 eiders, five red-breasted mergansers and a pair of common scoter all in immaculate breeding plumage. Further out to sea and set against dark threatening skies I could see brilliant white gannets and up to 50 sandwich terns plunge diving in dramatic fashion, and suddenly a dark phase arctic skua flew past.

It was now high tide and looking south down the channel I noticed a large, long winged bird of prey circling high above the water. It was clearly an osprey and it was slowly heading my way. As it approached my vantage point it dropped considerably and started to fish by hovering above the water. Even in these days when ospreys are more frequent than they used to be they are still always a magnificent sight. I watched it as it drifted north and was eventually lost to view.

The final highlight was just as I was packing up to leave, a hooded crow flew across the channel and disappeared inland.

Pennington Flash

Common sandpiper 1 yacht club
Common tern 12
Shelduck 1
Little tern 1

Pennington Flash

Yellow wagtail 2 flew north over the ruck
Swift 150
Swallow 30
Common sandpiper 5
Little ringed plover 3
Grasshopper warbler 1 reeling behind Lapwing hide
Sand martin 300
Sedge warbler 1 singing male
Whitethroat 4 singing males
Reed warbler 3 singing males
Buzzard 1

Pennington Flash

Cuckoo 1 heard near Teal hide
Dunlin 1 yacht club
Little ringed plover 4
Common sandpiper 1 yacht club
Common tern 4
Kingfisher 1 yacht club
Shelduck 1
Swallow 1
Whitethroat 3 singing males
Sedge warbler 1 singing male
Kestrel 1 female on the Ruck
Reed warbler 5 singing males
House sparrow 3
Treecreeper 1
Greylag 6

Lightshaw Flash

Cuckoo 1 heard
Black-tailed godwit 8
Little ringed plover 1
Common sandpiper 1
Grey partridge 2 at Byrom Hall

Pennington Flash

Little ringed plover 1 at the yacht club
Common tern 3
Sedge warbler 1 singing male
Whitethroat 2 singing males

Pennington Flash

Kittiwake 1 ad non-breeding
Little ringed plover 2
Cetti's warbler 4 singing males, Sorrowcow, Ramsdales, Tom Edmondson, Westleigh brook.
Shelduck 5
Common tern 7
Sedge warbler 2 singing males
Whitethroat 4 singing males
Ringed plover 1
Reed warbler 5 singing males
Redshank 1
Raven 1 over Sorrowcow farm

Lowton Bird Observatory, Day 31

Photo: Swift.

A real mega today, a garden warbler was singing in a neighbours garden at 7:30am This is the first record of the year for me, though I do hope to see and hear more at Pennington Flash over the next few weeks.

At lunch time a great tit was singing in the goat willow and a buzzard rode the thermals overhead.

Two swifts were over the garden at 13:30, these are the first I've seen over the garden this year, though they have been about locally since 18th. With the swifts several sand martins and a swallow followed about 30 minutes later. 28 species recorded today, my best day total so far and this brings my lockdown garden list to 49 species since 24th March.

Pennington Flash

Whimbrel 2 on the spit
Common tern 4
Sand martin 50
Swallow 10
Swift 20
Cetti's warbler singing Sorrowcow, Ramsdales, Westleigh brook, east bay
Whitethroat 2 singing
Sedge warbler 2 singing west bay
Buzzard 1
Reed warbler 4 singing
Snipe 1
Teal 8
Goldcrest 1 singing near Bunting hide.
Shelduck 2 at Teal hide