As Phil Smith points out on his comment (see previous blog entry) there were plenty of waders about between Birkdale and Ainsdale today, with good numbers of Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Sanderling feeding on the "main bathing beach" itself as the high tide pushed 'em closer to the human visitors.
A Peregrine ragged the waders twice during the afternoon, but I don't think it caught anything.
Far more effective and possibly more dashing was my second Hobby of the week - this one was feeding over the high tide debris at the south end of the beach at 1.30pm, snatching insects millimetres above the sand, before heading off north into the dunes.
Another juv I think.
Spiffing - at least I was able to watch it through bins today.
A single Wheatear and a steady trickle of Swallows south, with the usual Sarnie and Common Terns over the tide, but not a sniff of a Gannet or Manxie out over the waves.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »
I had a similar Ainsdale-Birkdale experience yesterday though sans subbuteo. This evening on Churchtown Moss: female and juv marsh harriers, 2 snipe, 6 corn buntings and about a hundred hunting hirundines split fairly evenly between house martins and swallows. Also small tortoiseshell and a few painted ladies.
11 species of butterfly on a clump of ragwort near Martin Mere today including brimstone, small copper, meadow brown, common blue, small tortoiseshell and wall brown
The usual August southward trickle of Peacock Butterflies along Crosby coast this morning. A Lime Hawk caterpillar on my garden Birch. A Speckled Wood laying eggs on unmown garden grasses, with a half grown caterpillar of the same species feeding on a tuft of grass in one of my greenhouse gravel trays!!The spring and early summer drought won't have been to their liking. Meanwhile the second brood Holly Blues have done really well with 2 mating pairs sitting close to each other with lots of others chasing around my garden.
no recent blogs, so I can only guess you've headed off to the east coast, jammy bugger.
Not really in our area but still in the North West, I was in the Lakes today and went on a Windermere Cruise. There were a lot of Goosander, one group of 40-50 and another of 17. Presumably moulting flocks, as I have been in the winter and never seen numbers like that, just a odd birds here and there. These were just in the south half of the lake and obviously only on the route of the boat trip. Who knows how many there could currently be on the whole of Lake Windermere.
Took my dog for a walk on Churchtown Moss at dusk a couple of nights ago seen barn, tawny and little owl. Also the hedgerows down there are going to be overflowing with berrys soon could be a waxwing magnet come winter :-) Healthy tree and house sparrow numbers too
a couple of Little Stint at Halepoint the last couple of days, plenty of Greenshanks up this end too, Hobby scarce down here but managed to fluke one coming off Gowy meadows last Sunday - post Chester Zoo!!