Okay, that's not the moon yesterday, it was one from a week or two back, but anyone sticking their heads out of doors in the north west last night couldn't have failed to hear the large passage of Redwings streaming through the region - they were sighing away in the blackness above Dempsey Towers pretty much continually from 7pm to just past midnight.
Anyone know how many times a single bird makes that evocative contact call while travelling in a flock?
Each call can't refer to an individual surely.
No idea how many went through, but as is usually the way, there wasn't a sign of 'em this morning when I picked up Bazzo and we headed up to Hesketh Out Marsh.
A distant Marsh Harrier there, with a few Little Egrets and many Skylarks, but otherwise it was deader than the Liverpool Yellow Billed Cuckoo, so we nipped across to Martin Mere.
Sprawk there, with Buzzard, Kestrel etc, a few Ruff, and several large flocks of Fieldfares (50+ birds) moving through.
Nice Long Tailed Tit flock had a Treecreeper with it, and the Tree Sparrows were all over the place as usual.
Whoopers and dodgy Greylags loafing around the potatoes already (winter cometh soon), but apart from a few Ruff, not much else to write home about.
A quick look at Crossens Outer on the way home in a bid to salvage the day brought another Marsh Harrier, two Common Buzzards and a Merlin, plus a flock of 200 Golden Plover at eye-watering range.
Now, decisions, decisions, Legless Arms or Rufous Tailed Robin, which will it be...???
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Possible Dark Throated Thrush at High Moor near Parbold at 10.30am today. Bird seen either side of the quarry.
Bird seen above Parbold at High Moor, initially on the top of the hill south side of Hunters Hill/Hilldale Quarry for 15 mins.
Male Blackcap back on traditional wintering area near Royal Birkdale today also at least one Chiffchaff nearby in the Selworthy Road wooded cutting.
Crossens Inner this afternoon 5 Curlew Sandpiper with 45 Ruff and around 100 Black Tailed Godwit, a flock of Golden Plover somewhat further out and juv Marsh Harrier a long way out. John Aich had Short Eared Owl as well.
Off the peninsula large numbers of geese, mostly too far out to seriously search through.