Another frosty morning, minus four as I came through Crosby _ I am getting bored with scraping ice off the car now.
Mike and Sue Wynn from Widnes e-mailed after a day at Mere Sands where they watched a Water Rail grab a Chaffinch and take it off to scoff in the reedbed.
Always opportunistic feeders, rails will eat anything from rat poison to bird droppings, and Water Rails kill live prey by severing the victim's spinal cord with blows from their sharp red bill...(and I thought "Sin City" was violent!).
Shows the cold snap is starting to hit home though, if they're grabbing songbirds rather than seeds and frogs!
PS: John Bannon reports two (possible) pairs of Short Eared Owls 'display flighting', calling and generally messing about over Sefton Meadows on Xmas Eve and an impressive maximum count so far this winter of 14 on December 30th.
Ringers trapped and ringed two Stonechats and best of all, a Jack Snipe on Ainsdale's green beach on New Year's Day.
The Ring Billed Gull is still at Crosby, Richard's Pipit at West Kirby and all is well with the world (unless you're a Chaffinch at Mere Sands).
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies....
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