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| Stonechat, Marshside |
The hot Spring gave way to a hot July with interludes of steamy armpits weather and a distinctly Autumnal beginning to August which was the curtain raiser to the umpteenth heat wave of the year which in turn gave way to what should have been steamy armpits weather but for the wind, followed by a dry, largely grey September with bursts of May about it. In short, whatever you put on to wear in the morning would have been dead wrong at least twice in the day throughout this period.
As usual the dog days were quiet, the small birds retreating into cover for a rest after what must have been a tricky breeding season given the weather, and the ducks retreating while they moult their flight feathers. Domestic circumstances had me not travelling far for a few weeks though there was plenty to see locally if I worked at it.
It didn't feel like a bumper breeding year all round though Canada geese and great crested grebes seemed to have done well. Little terns did badly at Hodbarrow and had given up on the season by the time I paid it a visit. I haven't seen crowds of young starlings locally either, which is a worry.
And as always the feeling of not getting to All The Places and seeing All The Things haunts me though by any rational measure I'm covering plenty of ground and visiting lots of interesting new places along the way.
The year list ticked over at a steady rate and the life list had Montagu's harrier and white-winged black tern, both at Marshside, added to it. Neither of these were on my radar at the beginning of the year, which is part of the fun.
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| Mandarin ducks, on the Mersey by Stretford Ees |
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| Lapwings, black-tailed godwits and dunlin, Marshside |
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| Stock dove, Pennington Flash |
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| Moorhen, Pennington Flash |
The year list to date is 208
Totals of recorded species by BTO recording area:
- Anglesey 42
- Carmarthenshire 17
- Cheshire and Wirral 114
- Cumbria 88
- Denbighshire 34
- Derbyshire 57
- Flintshire 31
- Greater Manchester 125
- Lancashire and North Merseyside 163
- Staffordshire 24
- Yorkshire 92
It's been an interesting start to the Autumn, even if most of the excitement is going on elsewhere. I think the rest of my year's going to be aimed at filling in some of the gaps. There are a few species I really should have picked up at the beginning of the year and I absolutely shall have to get out to Frodsham.
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| Coots and juvenile great crested grebe, Moses Gate Country Park |
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| Moorhen, little egret, mallard and black-headed gull, Pennington Flash |
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| Wheatear, Meols |
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| Gannet, Bempton |
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