Martin Mere

The plan for today involved a day out at Martin Mere. Unfortunately, today the Met Office forecast was spot on: the wind picked up as I was walking from New Lane Station to Martin Mere and in the time it took me to get my membership card swiped at the entrance a few spots of rain turned into something a bit nastier. I could have coped with the wind or the rain, the combination was too much for me. Taking shelter in the Discovery Hide I just about managed to see the tundra bean goose that's been staying the week and there was a very nice Mediterranean gull amongst the black-headed gulls. After an hour I decided I'd had as much fun as I was going to get there today and wandered off to catch the train at Burscough Bridge.

Whooper swans and shelduck from Marsh Moss Lane

Most of the whooper swans were outside Martin Mere feeding on the fields with shelducks and black-headed gulls. A flock on one of the carrot fields included a single Bewick's swan (back in the 90s they were as common as the whooper swans but these days they're pretty scarce in Lancashire).

I was struck by how little yellow this whooper had on its beak

The wind and rain kept most of the small birds under cover or on the ground. The stubble fields were full of fieldfares and redwings and a bit more persistence than was sensible in the circumstances got me a few corn buntings amongst the meadow pipits. One of those odd days where you feel you've given up early but it turns out you saw fifty-six species and added six to the year list.

The Wirral

Today's plan was to get out to New Brighton and try and get purple sandpiper onto the year list, having had no luck at all in 2019. Luckily I ignored the Met Office forecast as it became a mild sunny day just right for a day out.

Redshanks, dunlins and turnstones, New Brighton

Turnstones, New Brighton

When I arrived at New Brighton it was a very high tide and the pontoons in the marine lake were packed with waders, most of them redshanks and turnstones with a couple of dozen dunlins and — much to my relief — half a dozen purple sandpipers.

Dunlin and purple sandpipers, New Brighton

Moving on, I went over to West Kirby for a walk around the marine lake. The tide was fast going out and plenty of dog walkers were taking advantage of a very nice afternoon so most of the waders were keeping their distance (except the turnstones which are fearless). Each time the water receded past a sandbank a murmuration of a few hundred knot would rise and do a lap of the new waterline before settling on a particular patch of freshly-exposed mud.

Knot, West Kirby

Turnstone, West Kirby

One of a trio of young cormorants on West Kirby marine lake.
Not unduly happy at being photographed while dining.

A distant flock of about twenty light-bellied brent geese flying over from Middle Eye to Hilbre made the year list up to a round 100.

Chat Moss

Hay bales on Chat Moss

A long walk across Chat Moss to Glazebury, then bus-hopping the way back, just missing every connection along the way.

There were literally hundreds of jackdaws, woodpigeons and chaffinches in the fields and copses on Chat Moss. The jackdaws — and a few dozen carrion crows — were taking advantage of recent muck-spreading over a few of the fields. The woodpigeons, and a handful of stock doves, were mostly interested in the stubble fields while the chaffinches flocked about the treetops. It's been a quiet Winter for bramblings so I wasn't altogether surprised not to see any, though I was disappointed not to see any yellowhammers here today.

Little Woolden Moss

Little Woolden Moss was very quiet. Aside from the chaffinches and blue tits in the trees by the entrance the only birds about were a couple of robins, a wren and a reed bunting in the boundary ditch and a meadow pipit I accidentally flushed when I got to the exit onto the Salford Way footpath.

The year list is sticking resolutely at 98: there was a possible Siberian chiffchaff rummaging around deep in a holly bush by Glazebury sewage works but I couldn't get a good sight of it in the gloom. I could only ID it by the call and I'm not confident enough of that to claim it. My attempts to record the call were drowned out by duelling song thrushes.

It's probably as well I didn't get a good view, I'd have only been upset at not getting a photograph: at the start of the walk, on Cutnook Lane, a very obliging goldcrest posed for the camera against a nice plain background and I found I'd accidentally switched on the camera when I put it back in the bag the other day and the battery was flat. I'm quite upset enough at missing out on a nice photo of a goldcrest.

A misty day in Southport

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher at Crossens Inner Marsh, second time lucky. Cracking views as it foraged along the fox-proof fence on the marsh. The fence spoils the pictures a bit but never mind.

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher

Long-billed dowitcher

I can see why there was some discussion about this possibly being a short-billed dowitcher, the bill's a lot shorter than the others I've seen and the bird doesn't look like it's going to fall on its face any minute now. (I'll admit, I'd struggle very badly trying to identify a short-billed dowitcher if I ever met one.)

I'd walked down the (very muddy!) seawall from Marshside and carried on down to the end, crossed the road and walked down Marine Drive to see what was on Crossens Outer Marsh. It was too misty to see very far: the pink-footed geese at mid-distance were all just ghostly silhouettes and the long grass on the salt marsh were just a memory (I'm told I missed out on some barnacle geese and a vagrant Canada goose). There were hundreds of teal, lapwings and starlings and easily over a thousand wigeon, together with a few dozen each of golden plover and black-tailed godwit (it turned out that most of the godwits were on Rimmer's Marsh on Marshside). An egret that loomed out of the mist turned out to be a great white.

Great white egret

I carried on down to Marshside. There were plenty of wigeons and godwits on the marsh but the heavy mist made it hard work. The highlight there was a couple of scaup, though it took me a while to be convinced I wasn't using the poor visibility to indulge in a bit of wishful thinking. An obliging tufted duck drifted into the same view to provide a useful comparison.

Leighton Moss

Leighton Moss

As it was a nice sunny day I thought I'd get an old man's rail rover ticket and bob up to Leighton Moss to pick up where I left off last Monday. The clouds rolled in at Carnforth so I had a largely murky day of it.

Marsh tit

Two of my most likely targets were easy enough to find: two marsh tits were feeding by the Hideout and a female marsh harrier floated across the back of the reeds at Lilian's Hide. A snipe flying overhead and a water rail by the path towards Griesdale Hide added to the year list but try as I might I couldn't turn any of the goldfinches on the alders into redpolls. Serves me right for being greedy.

Wigeon

Although it didn't feel like there were huge numbers of ducks about there were plenty of teal, wigeon, shovelers and pintails on the pools. There were also a couple of goldeneye and a small raft of tufted ducks on Lilian's, together with a few gadwall and a couple of dabchicks. Overhead there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing by small flocks of greyalgs but none of them landed.

A group of pintails were bathing in front of the Griesdale Hide.

Pintail

Pintails

Pintail

Pintail

Pintail

Pintail

The great white egret here was keeping its distance.

Great white egret

Getting some of my money's worth out of my rail ticket I got the train from Silverdale to Barrow. The sun setting over the low tide of the Kent Estuary at Arnside was lovely. There was still a fair light by the time we got to the Leven Estuary, a flock of wigeon were feeding on the mud close to the line and a drake red-breasted merganser was swimming along one of the nearby channels. By the time we got to Barrow it was twilight and the herring gulls and jackdaws were going home to roost.

Northwich flashes

Wigeon, coot and shelduck, Neumann's Flash

I've been conscious of the fact I've not been doing much birdwatching South of the river so I had a day out wandering the Northwich flashes. Facebook's been full of photos of a very nice Siberian/Stejneger's stonechat (ID almost certainly going to need a DNA test to be certain) and that put the idea in my head. There was nothing reported yesterday but that could just as easily be because everyone who was likely to report on it had been to see it already as that the bird had flown. Anyway, it looked like an interesting walk.

First visit for me so there was a degree of exploration before I found how to get in (the Northwich Community Woodlands complex, which includes the flashes, is very well signposted once you're inside but coming at it from Northwich there's nothing).

 Plenty of ducks, a willow tit and the first Cetti's warbler of the year but no Siberian stonechat for me at Ashton's Flash. Like I try to explain to non-birdwatching friends: it's not like a theatre ticket, there's no guarantee of an appearance by the star attraction, which makes it all the better if you do strike lucky. (Mind you, it's easier to think that way when you've spent a few hours in pleasant scenery on a mild, sunnyish January day. Had it been the back end of someplace nasty in stonking rain I might have been more disappointed.)

Shovelers, Ashton's Flash

I walked around Ashton's Flash and took the path between this and Neumann's Flash along the way. Whereas Ashton's Flash had dozens each of shovelers and pochard, Neumann's had about a hundred wigeon with about a dozen each of shelduck, gadwall and tufted duck. Something spooked the wigeon and shelduck that were clustered round a couple of little islands and they settled down in the open water. I've no idea what scared them, whatever it was left the mallards feeding there completely unmoved.

At least three jays made themselves very conspicuous amongst the trees along the paths.

Jay, Ashton's Flash

Southport again

Fairly unsuccessful afternoon's birdwatching at Southport. No luck finding twites near the marine lake and no joy finding the long-billed dowitcher that's been on Crossens Inner Marsh this past few days. 

It was a high tide so I had hopes to find a flock of twite somewhere round the seaward side of the marine lake but there wasn't any sign of them — or even any linnets — anywhere. Aside from a couple of meadow pipits and a reed bunting it was slim pickings for passerines.

There was a flock of a couple of hundred golden plover and upwards of a hundred lapwings scattered about Crossens Inner and  flock of about sixty black-tailed godwits flew in. Every so often I'd catch sight of a possible dowitcher hiding behind a tussock and every time the bird would turn out to be a redshank when it came into proper view. As the light waned it became a lost cause so I carried on walking down the causeway towards Marshside Road.

Marshside sunset

Flocks of greylags came flying in to roost amongst the sleeping teal, wigeon and mallard on Marshside. Just the one, small flock of pink-footed geese came in, I assume the rest were on the outer marshes.

Still, it's been a nice day and it's a pleasant walk down the back of the marshes from Crossens to Marshside watching the sun come down.

Etherow Country Park

Collared doves waiting for me to replenish the feeders

Given the weather and yesterday's train performance I wasn't up for a day out by rail. Once I'd made sure the feeders in the back garden had something on offer (between the squirrels, sparrows and starlings I'm filling up two or three times a week lately) I decided to get the buses over to Etherow Country Park and get Mandarin duck onto the year list. Plenty of them about in the stream feeding the boating lake, quite a few of them courting couples with lots of head-bobbing and their odd little whistle.

Mandarin ducks, Etherow Country Park

A drake goosander fishing in the stream was a nice surprise. Usually you only see them in the middle of the lake. I suspect it might have been persuaded over here by the men at work over on the far path.

Goosander, Etherow Country Park

The alders along the stream were peppered with goldfinches and siskins. Try as I might (I tried quite hard) I couldn't make any of them into redpolls. The mixed tit flocks included nuthatches and a treecreeper and a couple of bullfinches tagged along for the ride.

Etherow Country Park

I didn't venture long in Keg Wood, just a short walk up to the junction with the path to Keg Pool. The breeze had stiffened considerably and looking at the bits of branches littering the paths and the energetic swaying of the trees I got a bit windy. I would be just my luck to be felled by a bit of beech the one time there weren't any dog walkers around. This stretch was a lot quieter than usual, I think all the small passerines had gone for the shelter of the trees by the boating lake stream.

Walking back I stopped awhile to watch the trees dancing in the wind over at Ernocroft Wood. This being densely planted birches, alders and telegraph pole conifers the whole effect was like a field of corn.

Pine Lake

Ring-necked duck, Pine Lake

The plan today was to get an old man's rail ranger ticket, visit Pine Lake for the ring-necked duck then follow on to Leighton Moss for a wander.

At Pine Lake the Ring-necked duck was keeping its distance. This is the best photo of a bad bunch: a combination of bad light, lots of camera shake in the strong wind and very choppy water hiding the bird had me beat. I've a lot of the top of its head behind waves. The picture that best shows the bill pattern also includes some phenomenal unintentional camera shake.

Ring-necked duck, Pine Lake

There were plenty of goosander and goldeneye out in the water. Small rafts of tufted ducks and pochard were quite close to the shore.

Tufted duck, Pine Lake

Pochard, Pine Lake

I'd got the 555 bus from Carnforth Station to Pine Lake (it's quite handy from the train, runs once an hour and is just the one stop) but decided to walk back as I was getting a bit too windswept and interesting to be waiting half an hour for the bus back. It's not a bad walk, straight down the A6 then turn down Market Street and down to the station, but crossing the A6 at the roundabout just outside the Pine Lake resort needs a bit of care.

Another Monday on Northern Rail: the train to Silverdale was cancelled and the next train, an hour later, was being reported as 47 minutes late. Hanging round for the best part of two hours to get to Leighton Moss in the dark didn't appeal. The train to Morecambe was due any minute so I decided to have a trip to the seaside.

By the time we got to Morecambe the weather had taken a turn for the worse as the wind had brought the rain in from the sea. It was high tide so I thought I'd stroll up the prom and have a look at the roosting waders on the breakwaters. A few dozen turnstones and redshanks were sheltering in the lee of the wind with a few dunlin and a couple of knots. A pair of shelduck and a curlew joined the ranks of oystercatchers on the seaward side and three great crested grebes were out on the sea. There wasn't any cover for a prolonged sea watch.

Looking across Morecambe Bay

Defeated again by the weather I went and got the train home.

Pottering about

Sunset, Chorlton Water Park

I had all sorts of plans for today and set my alarm early for them. Then I thought I'd spend the morning having a good cough instead.

I decided not to waste a nice day so I had a wander round my local patch. Still plenty of blackbirds about. There were six mistle thrushes on the playing field and four song thrushes, three of them singing in the trees. Other than that it was a bit quiet with just odd ones and two of the usual suspects kicking about in the trees. Strangely enough there were no gulls, usually there's a dozen or so with more overhead.

Robin, Barton Clough

I decided to move on so got the bus over to Chorlton for what became a late afternoon stroll around Chorlton Water Park. The ring-necked parakeets were noisily coming in to roost in the alders as I arrived and the small passerines were settling down in the undergrowth.

Ring-necked parakeet, Chorlton Water Park

The highlights on the lake were a trio of goosander, two redheads and a drake, well out in the water. Plenty of tufted ducks and gadwall about but just singles of shoveler, great crested grebe and dabchick. As the sun set the black-headed gulls moved off to roost at Sale Water Park and the Canada geese came in from who knows where.

Goosander, Chorlton Water Park

 Finishing the circuit round the lake I was treated to a rather lovely moonrise.

Moonrise, Chorlton Water Park

Topsham and Bowling Green Marsh

Sketch map of Topsham

Topsham is a town just outside Exeter, about ten minutes out by train, about twenty by bus, depending on the traffic. The town lies between rivers Exe and Clyst and is worth a visit for its picturesque quay and waterfront as much as the birdwatching. Bowling Green Marsh, just by the Clyst, is a RSPB reserve with a large hide overlooking the main body of the hide and a screen hide overlooking the mouth of the river. The Exe at this point is tidal; high tide drives the waders off their feeding grounds and onto roosts at Bowling Green Marsh and Exminster on the other side of the river.

Trains run between Exeter to Exmouth, stopping at Topsham, about once every half hour. Trains from Paignton and Barnstable about every hour. The 57 and the T bus both run fairly frequently from Exeter and stop at Topsham Station; the T terminates at Topsham Quay, the 57 carries on to Exmouth.

Topsham: looking up Monmouth Hill from The Strand

There are lots of different routes around the town and some of them are very picturesque, for the purposes of this introduction we'll be going clockwise from the station down to Bowling Green Marsh and then back along the River Exe.

From the station turn onto Elm Grove Road, the road running parallel to the railway line on the East side. Follow the road down to where it splits, turn left onto Monmouth Street and you'll get to the quay, carry on more or less straight down onto Bowling Green Road to the reserve.

Your first sighting of Bowling Green Marsh comes as the road takes a sharp right turn. Basically, it's a big field with some pools and ditches separated from the road by iron railings and a hawthorn hedge. You'll eventually come to the hide, a fairly impressive affair that more than compensates for the old one that was burnt down a few years back.

Bowling Green Marsh at its wettest

Large numbers of wigeon and teal settle here in the Winter, usually joined by pintails, shovelers and shelducks. Most of the geese will be Canada geese and greylags, joined by brent geese at high tide.

Bowling Green Marsh. Teal, pintail, wigeon and shoveler. 
Long-billed dowitcher in centre of the picture

Waders include black-tailed godwits, lapwings and redshanks; depending on time and tide they may be joined by curlews, greenshanks and dunlins. Avocets that have been feeding on the estuary in the height of Winter come here to roost at high tide. In amongst the crowds you might strike lucky and find a little stint or curlew sandpiper or even something more special.

Avocets, Bowling Green Marsh

Leaving the hide and walking down the road you'll see a gate on the left-hand side a bit further along. Go through here and walk down the path and you'll get to a screen on the bank giving you a good view of the River Clyst at its mouth. If you haven't already seen any little egrets on the marsh there's almost certainly a few on the river. (I'm old enough to remember back when here and Dawlish Warren were the only places I could reliably count on seeing little egrets. I love being able to see them regularly these days but I miss that little thrill of excitement.)

River Clyst from Bowling Green Marsh

Bowling Green Road runs down to Riversmeet and here it joins the Goat Walk, a raised footpath from here to The Strand, the road that runs along the river side. Looking down the estuary you should be able to see down to Dawlish Warren.

The River Exe from the end of the Goat Walk at Riversmeet, Dawlish Warren in the distance.

There are a few seats along the walk, it's well worth taking a pew and having a long look round. At low tide godwits — mostly black-tailed, with the chance of a few bar-tailed — redshanks and curlews work the mud, in Winter there should be plenty of avocets. Wildfowl on the river may include red-breasted mergansers. It's also worth taking a look at the reedbeds on the opposite side of the river, most of the raptors will be kestrels or sparrowhawks but you never know your luck.

Bar-tailed godwit, Topsham

There's a community garden on the other side of the wall by the walk. In Autumn you need to have a look through the gate at this as it's carpeted with cyclamen and very nice too.

Cyclamen by the Goat Walk

Follow The Strand down to the quay. There are a couple of gaps giving you a view of the river along the way. From the Quay you can either catch the T bus to Exeter, carry on up Fore Street to the bus stop outside The Nelson for the 57 to Exeter or turn right and go up Holman Way to the train station for trains to Exmouth or Exeter and beyond, or for the 57 bus to Exeter.