Martin Mere

A good afternoon's birdwatching round Martin Mere, trains notwithstanding. Last time I went, a few weeks ago, a couple of bin men told me there were some little owls in the paddock next to the field of leeks. I've seen them there a few times before but the last time was a couple of years ago. Just at the point of giving up I noticed that the top of one of the distant fence posts was staring at me, so that's little owl added to the year list.

Martin Mere was busy with black-headed gulls, lapwings and black-tailed godwits. The water was high due to the rain over the weekend so the green sandpipers and ruffs were confined to the far end of the marsh at the Ron Barker Hide (apparently I'd just missed two wood sandpipers). A couple of marsh harriers and a sparrowhawk kept the waders on the alert.

Juvenile black-headed gull, Martin Mere

The place was heaving with butterflies, particularly some very photogenic painted ladies and red admirals. The dragonflies and damselflies weren't for keeping still for any photos which is a shame as there were some cracking emperor dragonflies whirring round.

Painted lady, Martin Mere

Peacock, Martin Mere

Red admiral, Martin Mere

These guys were watching me have my cup of tea.

Nestling swallows, Martin Mere

Lunt Meadows

Lunt Meadows

A nice afternoon wander round Lunt Meadows and Roughley's Wood. It's late July so it was fairly quiet in the warm breeze but a nice walk nonetheless. The pools held groups of mallards in eclipse plumage and a couple of flocks of black-tailed godwits that included every variation from rich rusty breeding plumage to full Winter grey. There were only two avocets left, and adult and the single, well grown, juvenile that survived this year. There were at least three little ringed plovers, two adults and one I thought might be an immature bird that spent all its time ducking behind cover.

Avocet, Lunt Meadows

There were still a few young, mostly brown, black-headed gulls still being fed by their parents. A couple of them lurking under the far bank from the hide made me look twice (they're at that age where they look most like a dumpy wader if you don't see them properly). Good job I did, mind, as it made me check out all the shadows under the banks and I managed to find a wood sandpiper.

Black-tailed skimmer, Lunt Meadows

There were huge numbers of dragonflies, mostly black-tailed skimmers and a few keeled skimmers just to keep me confused (I'm still not at all confident with my dragonflies).

Urban birdwatching: Salford

I remember the days when the River Irwell in Manchester City Centre and Salford owed more to the contents of a chemistry set than Mother Nature. These days it's not uncommon to see cormorants, goosanders and grey wagtails and there's often a few sand martins flitting about.

On the way to visiting friends in Salford I got off the bus at Lower Broughton and had a nosey from Broughton Bridge to see what was about. The most obvious, and noisy, were the big flocks of Canada geese and black-headed gulls. The mallards were a lot quieter; I was surprised to see one duck still sitting on a nest. Three grey wagtails, an adult male and two youngsters, hawked for flies from an upturned shopping trolley on one bank, two cormorants sat on rocks on the other, with a heron a bit further down.

Heron, River Irwell, Lower Broughton

A couple of goosanders quietly made their way upstream.

Goosander, River Irwell, Lower Broughton

Goosander, River Irwell, Lower Broughton

Leighton Moss

I was cursing today because I was having to stay in to wait for the TV repairman and my news feed was full of pictures of the pectoral sandpiper that's at Leighton Moss. An hour before the appointed time ("Any time between one o'clock and six o'clock") I thought I'd turn the box on ready so they could see the problem and lo and behold! some time since half ten last night the problem had been sorted. Appointment cancelled and I decided to go for a walk, the plan being to go and knacker myself traipsing round Etherow Country Park to see if all that ancient oak woodland might hold a wood warbler. 

Then I realised that it would be quicker to get the train that was due in fifteen minutes and go to Leighton Moss to see if the sandpiper was still there. So I did. And it was.

Pectoral sandpiper (lower right) and redshanks, Allen Pool at Leighton Moss

Pectoral sandpiper (lower right) and redshanks, Allen Pool at Leighton Moss

Pectoral sandpiper, Allen Pool at Leighton Moss

Amongst the supporting cast from the Eric Morecambe Hide were a trio of sleeping spoonbills, an adult and two juveniles (nearly all my sightings of spoonbills have been of untidy flock mattresses on stilts), and twenty-three little egrets.

Spoonbills, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

Spoonbills, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

Spoonbills, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

Spoonbill, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

Spoonbill, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

Little egrets, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

This common sandpiper decided on comfort over aesthetic effect.

Common sandpiper, Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss

And Summer is over as far as some waders are concerned.

Knots, dunlins and black-tailed godwits, Allen Pool at Leighton Moss

The walk down to the coastal hides from Silverdale Station was eventful by the purest of dumb luck. I'd stepped onto the verge of the road to wait while three cars made a complete Horlicks of passing each other on a narrow bridge when I happened to look up.

Osprey, Leighton Moss

Not the best picture I'll ever take in a panic but the best I've got of an osprey.

I'd spent yesterday trying and failing to get pictures of flying sand martins and swallows. On the way back from the hides I found I could manage a few photos so long as they were sitting down.

Sand martin, Leighton Moss

Swallow, Leighton Moss

Chat Moss

Roadside meadow: poppies, chamomiles and cornflowers, Chat Moss

Afternoon stroll across Chat Moss from Irlam and thence on to Glazebury. Each time it started to get too warm a cloud conveniently passed over and let the breeze do its work. 

All a bit July quiet birdwatching-wise but both reed buntings and yellowhammers were singing. The hedgerows were full of finches and warblers very quietly and unobtrusively about their business and frustratingly difficult to pin down. A male lesser whitethroat flying out of a maple bush and alighting momentarily on a fence post was a nice surprise. And, sadly, all the swallows seemed to have flown. 

On the plus side I heard my first quail singing. On the minus side I may as well have been watching an episode of Michael Bentine's Potty Time for all I saw of the bird. So I'll just have to settle for ten seconds' worth of "Wet my lips" coming from a corner of a field of ripe barley.

Pennington Flash

Afternoon toddle round Pennington Flash. The clouds loomed large but it never got round to raining. 

Egyptian goose, Pennington Flash

Spotted this Egyptian goose passing by as I was buying a sausage butty from the van. A nice addition to the year list (I'd had no luck to date because the resident Egyptian goose at Keg Pool was taken into care last Guy Fawkes Night and English Nature won't issue a licence to let it go back home despite its having lived there without incident for the past twelve years. Egyptian goose is on DEFRA's kill list because they devour cattle or somesuch.) 

Quite a few young kingfishers whizzing round, refusing to stop for photographs. Better luck with a pair of courting terns looking like they might have a go at nesting here after all and a nice family group of little ringed plovers.

Common terns, Pennington Flash

Common tern, Pennington Flash

Juvenile little ringed plover, Pennington Flash

Little ringed plovers, Pennington Flash

Icing on the cake was a family of roe deer coming down for a drink across from the Tom Edmondson Hide.

Roe deer fawn, Pennington Flash

Roe deer fawn, Pennington Flash

Roe deer hind, Pennington Flash

Hodbarrow

Old iron workings, Hodbarrow

I had a free return to anywhere by Northern Rail ticket (in recompense for being left stranded more than an hour at Edale the other day) so decided I'd have a push out to Millom for a nosy round the RSPB reserve at Hodbarrow. Nice, but not overly hot, weather for a stroll.

Oystercatchers, Hodbarrow

Sandwich tern, Hodbarrow

Amongst the hundreds of nesting black-headed gulls and sandwich terns were a couple of dozen common terns and, eventually, I spotted fourteen little terns hiding in plain sight in the gravel rubble. 

A dozen nesting little terns hiding in plain sight, Hodbarrow

Also good to see a lot of eider ducklings and a single, rather unseasonal pink-footed goose.

Eiders

Pink-footed goose, Hodbarrow

A pair of bar-headed geese brought an exotic touch to the whole thing.

Bar-headed geese, Hodbarrow

The spit of land poking out from the water sports area hosted good numbers of nesting lesser black-backed gulls and a couple of pairs of nesting great black-backs.