Southport

Curlew sandpiper, Crossens Inner Marsh

Off to Southport for a wander round Marshside and Crossens on a bright, windy day.

Cattle egrets, Marshside

I'd barely got to the reserve on Marshside Road when I noticed there were a couple of cattle egrets with the cattle feeding by the path to Hesketh Road. As I was looking at them another couple flew over from the other side of the road. I decided to go down the path for a closer look and to see if I could get a photo. As I got closer I spotted more cattle egrets, most of them juveniles. There were eight all told. I took a few pictures and watched as the egrets squabbled with each other and with passing black-headed gulls. I started back towards Marshside Road and walked down towards Junction Pool. A couple more cattle egrets flew over, one flew back, another flew over. In the end o concluded there were eleven of them; it might have been twelve but with them skittering around so much I couldn't sure sure. It was interesting watching a little egret flying over with a cattle egret, the difference in body shape and the more rounded wings of the cattle egrets showed well. There must be a local breeding population, the regular arrival of juvenile cattle egrets here every Autumn can't just be coincidence.

Cattle egrets, Marshside

Black-headed gull and cattle egret squabbling

My first pink-footed geese of Autumn flew over amongst the flock of greylags spooked by two army helicopters flying over. Just a couple of dozen but a start. There were a lot fewer house martins this time, another hint of Autumn.

Junction Pool was quiet: half a dozen each of tufted duck and mallard. Further out in the field the dark continuation of a ridge of dark earth turned out to be a hundred or so black-tailed godwits and a single curlew.

Kestrel, Marshside

Walking down to Nels hide I noticed there was a large flock of swallows hawking low over the salt marsh and taking no notice whatsoever of a hunting kestrel. It was very quiet at Nels Hide, a few black-headed gulls, mallard and coot.

I walked down to Sandgrounders Hide where a small group were trying to find a pair of swan geese that had been reported earlier among the Canada geese. I'd found a Canada goose with a white head and was trying to work out if it was a touch of leucism or farmyard parentage when the whole flock were got up by the return of the helicopters. They settled back down again but I couldn't find either the white-headed Canada goose or any swan geese.

Heading towards Crossens there were plenty of shovelers and teal in the ditches on Marshside Inner and a marsh harrier was hunting far out on the Outer salt marsh. A ruff flew past, heading towards Crossens Inner Marsh with a flock of starlings.

Pink-footed geese, Crossens Outer Marsh

There were more pink-footed geese, fifty or so, and another hundred over on Crossens Outer. They were very skittish, rising and flying round in a panic whenever an aircraft flew over. I scanned them all, just to make sure there was nothing exotic amongst them and found the only shelduck of the day. Approaching the wildfowlers'pull-in there were dozens of teal and the first half-dozen wigeon of Autumn, all drakes in bright ginger eclipse plumage.

Pink-footed geese, Crossens Outer Marsh

I crossed back over to Crossens Inner and walked down the bund back towards Marshside Road to see what waders were lurking in the muddy puddles at the back of the marsh. A couple of hundred lapwings had made themselves obvious when they were spooked by the panicking geese. About a hundred black-tailed godwits were scattered about in small groups and half a dozen redshanks were feeding in the mud. Eventually I found some more ruff feeding with the teal and with them were eight very nice curlew sandpipers. A couple of dunlin made me go back to make sure I'd identified the curlew sandpipers correctly. I've never seen that many together in one place before, I usually just see one or two. I found another three of them further along feeding with redshanks.

Curlew sandpipers and ruffs, Crossens Outer Marsh

Ruffs, Crossens Outer Marsh

Curlew sandpiper, Crossens Outer Marsh

By the time I'd got back to the bus stop the weather had turned, a dirty big cloud hid the sun and no amount of wind was blowing it out of the way, but it had been a very splendid September afternoon.

Hollingworth Lake

Kingfisher

The weather was looking a bit iffy so I decided not to go out anywhere particularly exposed and bobbed over to Hollingworth Lake. The weather forecast predicted light showers, which proved to be a tad optimistic. The thin drizzle as I arrived at the lakeside turned into heavy rain by the time I'd walked round as far as the old activity centre. I was cheered up a bit to see a kingfisher on the old pontoon.

All the small birds were, understandably, staying undercover out of the rain. Unlike me, on a doomed errand standing by the cow field scanning the hawthorns on the off-chance of any passage migrants. The only exceptions were the flock of swallows noisily rainbathing on the telegraph lines.

Swallows rainbathing

Coming back to the lake I could see a lot of gulls on the reserve area. Most of them were black-headed gulls with a couple of dozen lesser black-backs of various ages and a handful of herring gulls. The Caspian gull had been reported again over the weekend so I stared hard at any subadult gulls with white heads but they were all lesser black-backs. Thirty or so lapwings mingled with the gulls and a dozen cormorants loafed by the shoreline.

Black-headed, lesser black-backed and herring gulls, lapwings and cormorants

I spent a short time in the hide. Most of the gulls were just out of line of sight so I had no more joy on a Caspian gull hunt. There weren't any waders on the pool but there was an interesting selection of ducks with half a dozen teal and a couple of pairs of shovelers joining the mallards. A couple of ducklings I noticed last time are now half grown.

Heron

Retracing my steps (it was too wet and windy to traipse down Rakewood Road in the open), a grey heron flew in and started fishing in the shallows. Back at the old activity centre the kingfisher had gone but there was a juvenile great crested grebe fishing in the little bight there.

The combination of back to school and lousy weather meant it was a lot quieter than it has been for months so I finally felt OK about getting a bag of chips to eat by the lakeside. There are worse ways to spend a damp afternoon.

Stretford

Partially leucistic carrion crow, Lostock Park

Had a wander round the local patch which was pretty quiet all told. The partially leucistic carrion crow was on the football pitch again and I managed to get a better look at it. It has white on its flanks and on parts of its tail as well as on the wings. I fancied it also has white on its nape but I couldn't be sure with the view I got.

Seeing as how the weather had cleared after the rain I moved on to Stretford Meadows. The chiffchaff calling by the Newcroft Road nursery was the only warbler on the meadows, a real contrast to earlier in the year. The open ground was largely quiet of birds, just woodpigeons and magpies and a single wren in a bramble patch. One surprise was finally getting a proper view of the pheasant I've been hearing all year, only briefly as as soon as he spotted me he disappeared into the long grass by the cricket ground. Plenty of birds flying overhead: a steady stream of woodpigeons, a family of five carrion crows and a few black-headed gulls. A kestrel patrolled the top of the mound then moved on to quarter the rough ground on the Northern margin of the meadows. A sparrowhawk flew high and purposefully over the Eastern end to go and terrorise the gardens of Stretford.

Stretford Meadows

A mixed tit flock skittered about the path by Kickety Brook. The long-tailed, great and blue tits were accompanied by a couple of very smart looking juvenile chiffchaffs in fresh tawny plumage and a smart male goldcrest that dived for cover every time the camera focussed on it.

Passing under Chester Road towards Stretford Ees there was an almighty racket going on in the trees: at least two magpies were having a shouting match with a couple of jays and the jays were winning.

Stretford Ees was even quieter than the meadows: woodpigeons and jackdaws flying overhead and a couple of goldfinches in the hawthorn bushes. I got to the pool at the end of Kickety Brook where there was just the one moorhen feeding in the weeds.

Stretford Ees
The pool at the end of Kickety Brook

I decided to go through Turn Moss and get the bus home. I was most of the way along Hawthorn Lane when the peace was broken by a juvenile ring-necked parakeet flying over.

A nice Sunday pootle around.

Home thoughts

An ex-goldfinch

Awake at four am for no good reason I listened to the day waking up outside. As usual this time of year the robin was first, starting singing a couple of hours before dawn. About five the lesser black-backs started flying over, calling to each other as they went. The magpies started foraging at dawn, about the same time the blackbirds started feeding in the rowan tree. Finally, about seven, a woodpigeon started singing and a few house sparrows and one of the great tits came into the garden for breakfast. (Breakfast's a bit thin pickings at the moment after the squirrel bit the base off the seed feeder.)

I noticed that a couple of the rooks on the school field have white pins and streaks in their wing feathers. I understand this is an animal protein deficiency in their diet, it seems quite common in carrion crows but I wouldn't have expected to see it in rooks, which have a more mixed diet. Perhaps it's been a bad year for worms and leather jackets, the long, hot Spring might have had an effect. Could also explain why there's only been a handful of juveniles on the field this year.

More bad news as I found the remains of a goldfinch on the path by the back door. No idea of the culprit, of course, though one or other of the local hairy hooligans is a likely suspect.

Jynx-ed

Blackbird in the rowan tree

I've been wondering when anything other than me would be harvesting the berries from the rowan tree in the back garden. This morning when I got up I noticed that a pair of woodpigeons were making a start on the berries at the top of the tree. This seems to have finally triggered the blackbirds into action and at least two have now set up shop in the middle branches.

Seeing as how the wryneck's still around at Horwich I thought I'd have a second crack at it. I had places to be at teatime so it would need to be a hit and run. The train into Manchester was late and would miss the connection to Bolton, leaving me with a forty minute wait so I thought I may as well get over there by bus, changing at the Trafford Centre: I'd get to Bolton about the same time as the train and I'd only have a short walk from one bay in the bus station to another for the 125 bus to Horwich. The journey went as planned, just a couple of minutes wait at the Trafford Centre and a chance to say hello to the resident one-legged pied wagtail, the 125 was waiting for us as the bus arrived at Bolton. On the way  into Bolton I saw a report that the wryneck was seen in the pines just up the path from the little coffee shop so I was feeling fairly optimistic.

I managed to get off the bus at a different wrong stop this time, which was OK as it was only a ten minute walk to Georges Lane, five minutes of which was having a good look at the little quarry pool next to the main road — a few mallard, a couple of moorhens and half a dozen Muscovy ducks, with a few swallows hawking over field behind it. Just before I turned into Georges Lane a kestrel flew past, chased by three house martins. It seems daft but I imagine being bothered by a trio that noisy and agile would soon become intolerable.

Quarry pool, Chorley Old Road

It was a lot cooler and cloudier than the other day and the wind was considerably stronger and had a real edge to it. Given that I was happy to accept a lift from a birder who asked for directions to where the bird was being seen.

Walking up from the car park a chiffchaff called from one of the bushes by the path and a pair of kestrels windhovered over the moor. A couple of birders coming down the path, including an unexpected old work colleague, confirmed the bird was around and they'd seen it so there was still cause for optimism as we joined the little group by the fence at the bottom of the pine plantation.

An hour later I apologised to my benefactor for putting the mockers on his visit. I stayed another three quarters of an hour (hit and run visit!) before giving up. (It was reported as having reappeared half an hour later.) Having seen how easy it was for a couple of magpies and a pheasant (and three sheep) to disappear into the tall sedges by the dry stone wall it was unsurprising that the wryneck was a bit elusive. All not lost, though, it was nice to watch a male stonechat feeding three youngsters (including the one I saw on Tuesday with its little white downy epaulette) on the dry stone wall down by the stream.

Not seeing a wryneck

The weather turned and we had a spot of rain so I bought a cup of tea and drank it on the way back down by the lane. One of the young stonechats bobbed up and down on the fence across the field and four ravens flew overhead towards Winter Hill.

I should feel enormously disappointed at not having seen the wryneck, especially after two goes at it. It would have been lovely to see it but I've had two nice walks in bosky scenery so I'm not going to be bitter about it.

Pennington Flash

Lapwing

I spent most of the morning wracked with indecision: should I have another go at looking for the wryneck up in Horwich or should I have a wander elsewhere. I got impatient with myself so decided to go over and have a look round Pennington Flash and, if I was still fidgety after that I could get a bus over to Bolton.

Instead of going straight to the car park I first had a stroll round the paths on the South side of the flash to see if anything was about in the trees and hedgerows. There wasn't a lot: a small mixed tit flock, half a dozen robins and a couple of chiffchaffs. There was enough breeze about for me to be reacting half the time to falling leaves, the paths were already littered with ash tree leaves, which seems a lot early. A late touch of Summer was a couple of common hawkers patrolling the long grass by the path.

On the car park

It was easy to see that school holidays were over both by how few people were around and by the number of waterfowl dozing in the car park. A family with a toddler had come to feed the ducks and it was interesting to see the usual car park oystercatcher trotting along with the Canada geese for a free feed. The geese muscled their way into having pretty much anything the mallards couldn't grab so I still don't know if the oystercatcher actually would eat grain or peas.

The car park oystercatcher in the dinner queue

All the usuals were out on the flash though there seemed to be fewer great crested grebes than usual. Definitely Autumn: no swifts, hirundines or terns.

Looking out from the side of the Horrocks Hide the spit was carpeted in lapwings. A few cormorants were loafing out at the end of the spit in the company of a couple of Canada geese.

From the side of the Edmondson Hide I could see a couple of gadwall and shovelers. I could hear a water rail in the reeds but with the limited view available I couldn't see it.

Male shoveler coming out of eclipse plumage

A couple of coots and a pair of dabchicks were feeding close to the screen by Ramsdales Hide. There were a few dozen ducks further out, mostly mallard and gadwall. I watched a juvenile teal feeding for a few minutes and it was joined by a couple of adults and a shoveler that had drifted out from behind the little island. A few more shovelers emerged from the other side. After I'd checked them out I returned to the teals and noticed another duck with them. It was teal sized but a slightly different shape, with a higher forehead and slightly longer bill. It swam round and I got a better look at it: a stronger face pattern with a pale eyebrow, an overall warm cast to the rather contrasty upperparts and breast and when it stretched out a wing the speculum was dark with a wide white trailing edge. I'd seen reports of a juvenile garganey here recently but hadn't expected to see it, not least because it's a plumage I've never knowingly seen before. I have to admit, had I been actively looking for it I'd have expected something much more like a female garganey (I struggle with them when unaccompanied by a male, particularly if in the company of juvenile teal).Frustratingly, I couldn't manage to get a photo of it, it drifted behind a shoveler and thence behind the island and didn't re-emerge. Never mind, it's a first for me and I've learned something new.

Coot, shoveler and teal

It had been a nice quiet walk, and a rewarding one, so I decided not to traipse over to Horwich for a go at the wryneck, I'd had my luck for one day.

Horwich

Juvenile stonechat

After yesterday's largely sedentary day out I decided I needed to give my lungs a bit of a workout. I've been reading interesting reports of sightings from Horwich moors and last week I checked out the bus routes round there, a wryneck turning up there yesterday was another incentive.

I bobbed over to Bolton and got the 125 bus up Old Chorley Road, getting off at Walker Fold Road. I should have gotten off at the next stop and gone straight up Georges Lane but I reckoned I was too late for the bird and wanted a good stroll under my feet. (Besides which I got off at the wrong stop.) It turned out to be a very splendid walk, good weather with enough wind to be refreshing and clear views from the Peak District to Lytham St. Annes.

The walk up to Edge Lane was quiet birdwise, a few magpies and woodpigeons and a couple of chaffinches calling from the bushes by the golf course. A yellowhammer called and flew off down the hill. As I approached Edge Lane I bumped into a charm of goldfinches in the hedgerow accompanied by a couple of chiffchaffs.

All the way down Edge Lane and Matchmoor Lane over to Georges Lane I was accompanied by swallows. I was hoping to get a photo of thirty-odd of them perched on a telegraph line but they scattered in a twittering panic. I was cursing myself for bad fieldcraft when a hobby shot overhead and over the brow of the hill. This wasn't the only falcon available: one kestrel was patrolling the fields halfway up the hill while another was hovering over one of the fields by Old Chorley Road. There were plenty of magpies and woodpigeons about and a mixed flock of jackdaws, rooks and a couple of carrion crows mingled with the horses in the fields.

Walking up Georges Lane towards Rivington Pike most of the small bird sounds coming from the side of the road by the quarry works were actually the sounds of gorse and broom seedpods popping open in the sunlight. (I had more luck on the way back down with a mixed tit flock including a dozen long-tailed tits and half a dozen each of blue tit, great tit and chiffchaff). A bullfinch feeding in one of the hawthorns was an unexpected bonus.

I'd been hearing a buzzard for a while and it finally drifted in overhead then moved on to circle over the fields by the fishery by the road. A few minutes later two kestrels flew over together; they reappeared, still together, half an hour later.

There had been no news of the wryneck since the morning, confirmed by glum-faced birdwatchers coming back down the lane. I can't say I was especially disappointed: I wasn't expecting it to stay long and I was having a very nice walk. Made the nicer by finding a juvenile stonechat hunting from one of the fences, adding a male wheatear to the year list and getting a cup of tea from the cottage coffee shop.

I had my cup of tea, pootled about ineffectually for a bit and decided to make my way home. I bumped into a few birdwatchers coming up for the wryneck and told each who asked that there'd been no reports since lunchtime but now I was on my way home somebody will be finding it.

Many a true word spoken in jest! I found out later that about ten minutes after I'd set off back down the lane somebody reported finding it near the coffee shop. So I'd been within a hundred yards of a lifer and didn't see it. And didn't mind, either. I'd love to see a wryneck sometime but today it would have been the cherry on the cake and the cake was quite nice enough to be getting on with.

On Georges Lane