Eye-wateringly cold over the mosses this afternoon, and largely quiet too.
Took a look behind Bescar Station, but just Grey Herons, Stonechat, Red Legged Partridge, and one or two groups of Whoopers and Pinkies heading over to the Mere.
Gave the latter a blast of Sigur Ros as they flew over, but they seemed unimpressed by their fellow countrymen/women.
Station Lane on Plex had 50+ Fieldfare, and three Buzzards.
One or two mega-flocks of Woodpigeons, each made up of several hundred birds on Plex today.
Big grazing herd of Pink Feet there, perhaps 2,500 birds, with small groups coming in from Carr Moss all the time.
Checked 'em all and got nothing but Pinkies - but having seen Phil Smith's comment on the previous entry, all the goodies were obviously with the flock he was checking out Altcar way - goose chasing can be so frustrating!
One or two Meadow Pipits about and Linnets, but when the shooters arrived after partridge/pigeons, all the geese cleared off to drop down onto Carr Moss to the north.
Mighty impressive watching then coming into land there.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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One European Whitefront and two Greenland Whitefronts, Downholland Moss this morning.
Hi John, a 1stW male Green-winged Teal was present today (1.2.09), at Seaforth Nature Reserve, only about the 5th record for the site and the first since 2004.
Usual restrictions apply, permit holders only..although the bird may be visible from the marina fence.
It was with c400 Teal on the causeway.
Also 30 Scaup still present and an interesting hybrid Aythya trying to be a Lesser Scaup, but failing miserably.
On February 2 2009, people will be focusing on the world's wetlands as part of World Wetland Day, the date marking the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands thirty-eight years ago. The day represents an opportunity to celebrate and promote the values and benefits of wetland sites around the globe.
In the UK, many wetlands are of outstanding international importance for waterbirds - resulting in regular monitoring through the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). Nationally, more than 3,000 WeBS volunteers enjoy the special atmosphere of over 2,000 wetland sites during monthly counts. This monitoring helps maintain up-to-date wintering population trends of many species, and ensures that the most important wetland sites are identified, protected and managed appropriately.
By way of example, the most recent Wetland Bird Survey report, Waterbirds in the UK 2006/07, illustrates a national decline in Pochard numbers first highlighted in the mid 1990s. The Pochard is a familiar diving duck of reservoirs, gravel-pits and lakes, frequently seen in flocks and often mixed with Tufted Ducks. Very few Pochards breed in the UK, with most birds arriving from further east in Europe and Russia to spend the winter here. Declines in our wintering numbers have been most pronounced in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, with a smaller fall in England too. These changes may reflect problems at individual wintering sites or on the breeding grounds, or represent a redistribution of birds in response to climate change, or a combination of all of these factors.
Chas Holt, WeBS National Organiser at the BTO, said, "The decline evident in wintering numbers of Pochards is just one example of the importance of annual monitoring of our wetlands. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of WeBS volunteers, such changes in waterbird populations can be identified and future research suitably directed. Their counts will also help to show how Pochard distribution may have been affected by the coldest winter experienced in the UK for over a decade."