Banks Marsh & Marshside RSPB - 22nd October 2011

Another weekend trip up to the Ribble Estuary but this time my first visit to Banks Marsh where I met up with Nick Green. I didn't get far along but managed some nice species including a late Curlew Sandpiper.

    ABOVE CURLEW SANDPIPER BELOW WITH A RUFF

At times the Cirlew Sandpiper was as close as 20m even though dogwalkers constantly walked passed but it seemed to carry on undisturbed feeding at the pools edge in the company of a Ruff. A mixed flock of Black-tailed Godwit in the field behind were also accompanied by a few Ruff but soon took to the air when disturbed. 
Other birds of intrest included Golden Plover, Widgeon, Teal, Lapwing, 2 Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit and 6 Little Egret.

TOP BLACK-TAILED GODWIT BOTTOM A FLOCK OF ABOUT 20 GODWITS WERE PRESENT WITH A FEW RUFF

After Scanning the area with the hope of getting a Short-eared Owl (none present today) e headed off to Marshside in perticular Nels Hide. Black-tailed Godwit were present in larger numbers and more dropped in over the hour we were there. 2 Drake Pintail showed well as well as a small number of Shoveler but Teal just about outnumbered everything across the pool. The odd Golden Plover were intermingled with the Godwit as well as numbers of Lapwing. 3 Little Egret flew across as well as a Grey Heron and there were several Gull species including Common and Greater Black Backed.

 ABOVE DRAKE SHOVELER BELOW FEMALE

  ABOVE DRAKE TEAL BELOW MORE BLACK-TAILED GODWITS

ABOVE ONE OF SEVERAL REDSHANK ON THE POOL

On the drive back a single Hen Harrier was out over Crossens Marsh but still no Shorties.

Hesketh Out Marsh to the River Douglas - 15th October 2011

With the weather being so nice I decided to spend the day on the south side of the Ribble Estuary mainly at Hesketh Out Marsh but I did manage a walk down to the River douglas for the first time. A few passing Redwing passed over at HOM as well as numbers of Skylark and Meadow Pipit. 4 Little Egret were feeding on the nearby pools and 4 Snipe dropped in whilst I was watching with another 2 over. A Kestrel was hunting along the enbankment and I flushed 4 Grey Partridge as I walked west along the reserve. A worrying sight was a single Avocet which surely should have headed south by now, it was sat on the end of one of the nearby pools to the west of the reserve. Walking East towards I brought Linnet, Starlings a further 2 Kestrel,  A Buzzard, Carrion Crow and on the walk back a Marsh Harrier and Merlin.

ABOVE SNIPE IF I HADDN'T SEEN THEM DROP IN I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN THEM AT ALL

 ABOVE LITTLE EGRET AND BELOW A MEADOW PIPIT  

My first visit to the River Douglas was a little disappointing as I was hoping you could get nearer the river and explore its embankments a liitle more. I watched what is the mouth of the river as it joins the Ribble with Curlew, Lapwing and Redshank in large numbers as well as well as Cormorant a mix of Gull species including GBB. A Buzzard tried to find the thermals in the distance and 2 Raven croaked as they passed over. As the tide came in a few fishing boats started to pass through flushing a large flock of Canada Geese which included a Greylag and a small number of Widgeon. The best view though and worth the wait was a Peregrine as it flushed the Curlew and Lapwing. I didn't see it at first but as the Lapwing rose into the sky as one I knew something must have flushed them and I watched for 2 minutes as it chased round dropping low over the Douglas chasing a Curlew. On this occasion it was unsucsessfull and I last saw it dropping low into a distant field further up the river. 

ABOVE WIDGEON

NOT THE BEST PHOTO BUT I NEVER TIRE OF WATCHING PEREGRINE IN ACTION (click the photo to make it larger)

Slavonian Grebe at Fairhaven Lake - 8th October 2011

I saw my first Grebe at the age of about 12 on a lake (Mount Farm I think) in Bletchley. It was a Great Crested or at least they were as they went through their ritual dance and ever since then I found the species a delightful one to watch and find them even in winter plumage a beautiful bird.

After missing out on the Solitary Sandpiper at Nateby, Reeces rugby and a slight hang over on the Sunday and working from the office for the rest of the week, I decided to head up to Fairhaven Lake to try and capture some photographs in the poor light and rain of the Slavonian Grebe that has been resident there for most of the week.

Upon arriving there was no sign of it which happened the last time I twitched (or dipped!) a bird at Fairhaven. Thankfully the bird was just diving and soon appeared from around one of the boats moored at the side of the lake about a meter away.  I watched with several other birders in the slight drizzle not needing a scope or even binoculars as it bobbed along on the choppy water.   

Brockholes LWT - 01st October 2011

With the weather being so nice (26 degees in October!!) Reece and I decided to have a wander around Brockholes for a couple of hours to see if anything good was anjoying the sun. In birding terms a Little Grebe, 4 Buzzard and a single Kestrel were about all of interest that we saw but Dragonflies were out in force. There were more species seen on the day by others but the main species we saw were Common Darter and Migrant Hawker which I'd first identified as a Common Hawker and there were possibly some present as in flight they are hard to tell apart (at least for me). As shown in the photograph below the Migrant Hawker has a a yellow triangle at the base of the abdomen.

ABOVE PAIR OF MIGRANT HAWKERS EGG LAYING BELOW THE YELLOW TRIANGLE OF THE MIGRANT HAWKER

Common Darters where in larger numbers both on the pools and sun bathing on the paths.

 ABOVE MALE & FEMALE COMMON DARTER IN A COPULATION WHEEL, BELOW MALE COMMON DARTER