Started off none too promising at Marshside today, but picked up for a superb bit of birding - as is often the way...
28 Pochards and a few Cormorants loafing about the Sandplant Pool, including one old white-headed bird that was trying to imitate a sinensis, which got me kinda interested, until it started being silly and I left it alone....
Merlin tazzing over Marshside Two spooked the Lapwings, Curlews and Blackwits, but although it had been seen earlier in the day, there was no sign of the Green Winged Teal while I was around.
Nice to hear the Skylarks singing again all the same.
The outer marsh had Peregrine, Merlin and Sprawk, and best of all, a gorgeous adult male Hen Harrier, which was hunting fairly close to the road (for a Hen Harrier), being hassled by Black Headed Gulls.
After about 15 minutes it headed back onto the outer edge of the marsh, where it snagged a vole and settled down out of sight to eat its dinner.
Five or six Little Egrets about as usual, and about 500 Pink Feet hidden in the vegetation, occasionally poking their necks up to have a look around.
Plenty of Skylarks on the outer marsh, with smaller numbers of Meadow Pipits, including this obliging one which did its best to balance on the old fence wires in the biting southerly wind.
Spotted Clarko as I was walking back down the road as he was doing his WeBs count and we were happily chatting away, when Graham spotted a white winged gull on Polly's Pool.
All chatting ceased and in seconds we were 'scoping a nice big first winter Glaucous Gull, as it foraged bizarrely for rotting vegetation in the water.
Hardly the right behaviour for an uber-gull, but it settled down after ten minutes to look mean and magnificent again -a cracking bird, it must be a few years since I last saw one on the marsh.
Shame Polly's is so far from the road - it would have been nice to get better shots of the big bruiser.
Taking to the air once or twice it looked massive, with an impressive wingspan, but on the deck it wasn't the biggest Glauc I've seen - chesty and with a great big pink and black bill, tertial step, square head etc certainly, but not much bigger than one or two of the larger Herring Gulls on the water...even if it did dwarf the Common Gulls and BHGs.
Still a great bird, presumably the one that has been seen around Blackpool's Stanley Park, but who knows?
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Hi John,
Went to the beach area at Weld Road, Southport today for the first time... no Twite or Snow Bunting but Little Egret, Grey Plover, Turnstone and approx. 10 Ringed Plover which made it a good couple of hours.
What could I expect to see at this site during the summer months?
Holidaymakers and ice cream vans during the summer months Paul.
Although there is the odd gull/tern roost at Weld Road, the Green Beach is better further south, between Birkdale and nearer Ainsdale during summer, for roosting terns, waders etc.
Some nice snaps John. I must hump my video gear along the coast road for the Harriers etc. Had a drive by close encounter with a SE Owl last week but vidding from the car just not on down there and anything more than a breeze is a bugger for camera shake with video. Breezy on the Ribble? Do bears carry Andrex down to the woods?
WeBS count today on Banks Marsh pretty quiet, less than 30k Wigeons and v little other wildfowl. A dozen Eiders was nice, a couple of thousand Black Tailed Godwits out by the river plus 700 Redshank.
We counted 25 Twites at Old Hollow. Birds shown up after recent big tides, attracted by the tideline debris (grassy stuff) which so far this winter has been absent from sea wall.
Tony Duckels had 25 Twites on his WeBS at Ainsdale so maybe two populations in the area unless the Birkdale lot split up. Dave Sowter is keen on news of the Birkdale flock.
Gulls, mainly Herrings, back on breeding territory but eventually will be outnumbered 10 to 1 by LBBs.
Loads in the area of course, must be big late winter movements inc that sexy thing of Graham's.
Makes you wonder what we miss through inaccessibility.
Ron
Ron - there were still between 40 and 50 Twite at Weld Road on Friday, but lack of time and them being flighty meant I couldn't count them more specifically. I may try again during the week.
Hi John, and thanks Graham for call re: the gull, but we were out of phone range @ Formby seeing a few Redpoll in with large-ish flocks of Siskins, as well as 17 RT Divers and 28 GC Grebes on the high tide, and 4 Common Scoter close in. Blackcap in the garden last Friday, first of this winter; still daily Goldcrest or 2 and far more Chaffinches than the previous five winters.
15.00 Monday; Andy Bate just called me - he is watching three male Hen Harriers on the saltmarsh at Marshside/Crossens, and two Shorties. Which is nice!
Hi John, Sunday - Buff Tailed Bumblebee on the old sea wall by Dawlish Drive.
Mike.