Raptor Heaven

I spent a fantastic day on Friday at a place that I have visited a couple of times now. Unfortunately I don't want to say where it is because of the potential risk of people persecuting the birds I went to see.

Anyway, it was quite an early start to try to beat the traffic, and I was picking up a friend en-route to another friends house so we could car share and save a bit on the costs. As it happened we managed really good time and were on site a little after 08.00. Too early in some respects, particularly for raptors, but perfect timing for the eclipse! The cloud cover was mixed, but actually made it better for photography - when there was no cloud it was simply too bright to get a decent shot. However, as you can see below, once the right amount of cloud covered the sun we got some great shots (for me anyway). The pictures below are in time order, top to bottom, for the height of the eclipse.

It was quite eerie at the height of the eclipse, and birds definitely went quiet for a brief time. But it was great to be out in the countryside to experience it.

As for the birds, well, once again I had a great day here. Siskin were plentiful as were Chaffinches. The odd Goldcrest and Redpoll were heard and I did pick up on one or maybe two Crossbills. However the main target for the day were the raptors and we weren't disappointed. Buzzards were seen regularly all across the area. We also had a couple of Kestrels and Sparrowhawks. There was one small falcon that left us slightly confused. Its behaviour suggested Kestrel, but it didn't hover in the exact same way and it looked much smaller and shorter tailed. The distance that we were viewing at didn't help, but I'm counting it as a Merlin. However the star of the show was the Goshawk. We had two birds. Again one very distant but one that gave brilliant views as it flew from one side of the lake to the other. This bird is a great example of that well known saying that birders often use - 'you'll know one when you see one'. It is completely different from any Sparrowhawk. Deep chested, broad hipped, different feel altogether from its close relative.

Its a pity that I don't feel able to say, in public, where this location is. Its a great place to visit and I've seen Goshawk here every time I've been, along with a number of other raptor species. As I mentioned above, there are unfortunately too many people out there that would use the information for the wrong purpose.

Wirral High Tide

I've been spending a bit of time on the Wirral recently. Last Saturday I went to see the Laughing Gull at New Brighton Marine Lake. A new species for me and quite a distinctive one for a 'gull'. I even managed to pick it out with just the Bins from the other end of the lake which is pretty good for me given my dislike of Larids! I would even go as far as to say its actually quite an attractive gull, and it was a lifer so a double bonus. Unfortunately my camera batteries ran out and the photo from the phone wasn't even worth posting.

I also went to Burton Mere Wetlands, which is the 'new' RSPB reserve on the south western shore of the Wirral. Its quite an attractive place, but I can't think of anything you wouldn't see out on the estuary itself without the annoyance of large groups taking over the hides and generally being disruptive. I think I am just becoming less tolerant in my middle age. The thing is I wouldn't mind if these were kids or even families, but they're not. They tend to be the 'older' age groups and they really should know better as they seem to be quite experienced. At least you'd assume so given the amount they must spend on their optics and clothing.

Anyway. I was back again today at Meols for the high tide. It was much quieter - for birds and people!

The expected species were on show and the only 'unusual' thing was a Glaucous Gull that I noticed immediately on getting out of the car. Unfortunately it moved off pretty quickly and when another birder came along it had long gone.

Most birds were quite distant, and the haze wasn't great but it was possible to see quite a number of Common Scoter whizzing around. Waders were in short supply though, with just a few Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatchers. As you can see below, these were quite distant - these shots were on full 20x zoom.

So, I headed off to West Kirby to see if that was any better. Unfortunately it was really busy with walkers, windsurfers etc so birds were in even shorter supply. So what was supposed to be a full day ended up just a few hours instead, but still enjoyable.