Cuerden Valley Park - 27th/28th November 2010

1st WINTER BLACK HEADED GULL

 2 visits to Cuerden Valley Park this weekend, the first late afternoon the second at sunrise and both with similar sightings.  Finches included Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and the ever elusive Bullfinch yes on both visits and it’s been a while since I’ve seen one at CVP. The usual Tit flocks where around with Blue, Great and Long-tailed showing in numbers along with the odd Coal (try putting it into predictive text as I did without checking, I won’t repeat the reply!)  No sign of any Goldcrest or even better a Firecrest  which I still haven’t managed to see even though there have been 2 within striking distance. The usual Corvids were around and about but no sign of any Jay which is unusual as I’ve seen plenty of late and not just locally, there have been many around on my travels. Greater Spotted Woodpecker could be heard if not seen and on my morning walk Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Mistle Thrush were in evidence as well as a scattering of Robin, Wren and Blackbirds. On the lake were the usual array of Mallard and Black-headed Gulls with a single Canada Goose, the odd Moorhen and Coot and in the evening a Great Crested Grebe. The surprise and a first for me on the CVP lake was a drake Teal amongst the Mallards, I hadn’t picked it out on the evening visit so I presume it must have dropped in later in the evening.

DRAKE TEAL A FIRST FOR ME AT CUERDEN LAKE

With the cold snap we are having at the moment I decided to re-stock the feeders but not after giving them a good clean. We've had a few visitors including Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Dunock, Great, Blue, Coal and this afternoon a large flock of Long-tailed Tit. 

LONG-TAILED TIT IN THE BACK YARD



Two Ticks - Preston Docks & Marine Lake, Fleetwood - 20th November 2010

After reading about the Iceland Gull on Colin Bushells blog I decided to pay Preston Docks a visit on the way back from town. Parking up in the car park by the ‘Green Frog’ snack bar I searched the pontoons in search of the bird and after a few minutes I soon picked it out amongst the Black-headed Gulls. When I arrived there were only two other birders but the numbers soon swelled to about 30 before I left. I caught up with Nick Green whilst I was there and after leaving before me he soon headed back to let me know about a small flock of Waxwings in the Ribble Pilot car park. I watched the Waxwings for about ¾ hour before heading back home to pick Reece up and before I had left many of the birders that were watching the Iceland Gull had come down to view the marvellous spectacle.

WAXWINGS BY THE RIBBLE PILOT, PRESTON DOCKS

On our return the Iceland Gull was in a much better position to photograph so after half an hour observing the bird not doing a right lot and catching up with Bill Aspin and Mike Foley we headed off to Fleetwood with the hope of seeing the Great Northern Diver that has been on the marine lake for the past 2 weeks.

    ABOVE & BELOW JUVENILE ICELAND GULL WITH JUVENILE HERRING GULLS

  ABOVE AND BELOW JUVENILE ICELAND GULL WITH BLACK-HEADED GULL

As we arrived the light was fading but the Diver could be clearly seen as we parked the car. It was quite close to the bridge and didn’t seem to be bothered by ourselves and 3 other photographers that stood on the edge of the lake. For the ¾ of an hour we watched, the diver continued to live up to its name spending long periods under water in search of food. Although we didn’t see it surface with anything the diver did look in good condition and there must be plenty for it to feed on having been there for 2 weeks already. Heading home we called back in to Preston Docks and the Iceland Gull could still be seen at 16:30 amongst a roost of at least 500 mainly Black-headed Gulls.

Pied Billed Grebe, Hollingworth Lake - 13th November 2010

Like most birders not only from the North West but from across the country I made my way up to Hollingworth Lake near Rochdale to see its current resident.

It was Reeces first ‘mega’ and we weren’t disappointed as it gave good views as it preened close to the hide in the mid afternoon sunshine. Our only disappointment was sevral of our fellow birders whom equipped with lenses the size of rocket launchers made their way to the front even climbing over fences to set their equipment up. Now put me straight if I’m wrong but these monstrosities enable the ‘photographer’ to photograph the subject at distance, so the question is why do they need to get so bloody close? I dodged between bobbing heads with my 300mm lens, hand held struggling to even get a few reasonable record shots. Luckily not all birders are the same and a kind chap took grate interest in Reece trying to get some shots and even offered the use of his scope and to you I offer my thanks. Reece did manage some good shots and I’m sure they will appear on his blog soon enough.
To pose more questions what will happen to this bird now? After being blown so far off course, will it ever make its way back home? Although it does look healthy and is feeding well, with a wingspan of about 50 cm and a body length of about 35 cm I very much doubt it which would be a shame for such a stunning looking Grebe, but as some would say ‘that’s nature for you’.



Great White Egret - Great Mitton - 6th November 2010

The Great White Egret had been first reported localy on Thursday morning when it had been seen at Edisford Bridge, the following morning it had moved to Great Mitton and I had a confirmation text from Mike that the bird was still there in the afternoon (check Mikes Blog for some great photos). It was then that I decided if it was still being reported in the morning I was going to take a look and at just after 9 the confirmation came through. I headed out just before lunch and having parked up at the Aspinall Arms I had a quick scan up rier from the bridge just in time to see it being chased from the river bank by a Grey Heron.

GREAT WHITE EGRET RELOCATING DOWN STREAM

I watched as it relocated further down the Ribble and headed off in search of its whereabouts. Upon finding it just beyond the bend, about 500 meters from the bridge I observed it for about half an hour during which it relocated again further down the river.

It was a little out of reach for my 300mm lens so I added my x1.4 tele-convertor and used manual focus as previously my camera has struggled to focus with the x1.4 on. I got record shots at most but with the low light and distance I couldn't have hoped for anything better.

GREAT WHITE EGRET ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER RIBBLE, GREAT MITTON 

 

Next stop was Waddington, just north of the Moorcock Inn to see if I could find the Great Grey Shrike. I stopped for around an hour with now sign of it but it had been seen that morning and I'm sure I'll see it if I manage to get up a little earlier in the day.

On the way back I called in at Barrow Lodge for a coffee and decided to watch the Black Headed Gulls at close quarters from the car. Some were ringed but I was unable to get any numbers from them.

 

ABOVE AND BELOW WINTER PLUMAGE BLACK HEADED GULL 

ABOVE FIRST WINTER BLACK HEADED GULL BELOW  A RINGED ADULT BLACK HEADED GULL IN WINTER PLUMAGE