Still Waiting for Spring

Another long gap between posts. In no small part that has been because there has been very little to post about, on the birding front at least.

Since my last birding related post I have had several days out - Ive been up to Sizergh Castle for the Hawfinches and failed to see them, followed by possibly the quietest visit to Leighton Moss Ive ever had. I walked into Lilians Hide, which normally has plenty wildfowl on show, to see nothing. Literally nothing. I have had a few days out on the Wirral visiting the North Wirral foreshore, Burton Mere etc etc and saw not a lot at all. And, I have traipsed around my local patch pretty much every day seeing two thirds of nothing! On the plus side, Wigan Athletic have won (barring Burton experiencing a miracle) League 1 and therefore automatic promotion back to the Championship.

Anyway. I had booked today off work in case I needed to run No2 child to an audition, but as that fell through I thought I'd get out onto the moors around Horwich. I did consider a run over to the east coast, but as the wind had been in the north for the last few days, with a swing to westerly yesterday and today, I didn't reckon it would be worth the 2 hrs in the car.

Looking South from Georges Lane

I was on the moors for around 06.00 and conditions were not exactly promising. The car was showing 3 degrees and the wind was a decidedly stiff westerly. A quick whizz up to the top of Winter Hill produced just a couple of meadow pipits and the usual carrion crows, the odd skylark and a kestrel. So instead I walked along Georges Lane to see if there was anything in the meadows. Again it was quiet with nothing unusual, and a drive around some of the lanes checking for wheatears in the paddocks only produced a single pied wagtail, so it was back home for a whizz around the local patch.

This was much better, if still a bit on the quiet side, but it did provide some new birds for the year. A sedge warbler was back on territory at the small pond, and another bird was singing in a scrubby area nearby - a new territory. There where a couple of whitethroats and blackcaps around, which were also new birds for the year, as was a common swift and house martin. So although still quiet at least its started to feel a bit like spring is coming!