March is prime time for them at this site, and this time I was not going to sleep in; I intended to be there by 08:00 - any earlier and the gates might still be closed, later and I'd miss them again.
So, at 07:15 I was north bound on the M6. After negotiating the Saturday drivers on the motorway (what is it about people using the motorway on a weekend? They just cant drive) I drove into the car park at 08:15. The first thing I noticed was the bottom of the car park cordoned off. I took this as a good sign as some info on the Web suggested the National Trust do this to prevent the Hawfinches getting disturbed. The next thing I noticed was a group of birders on the café veranda. Another good sign I hoped.
I quickly grabbed my gear out of the car and walked over to the veranda. As I was walking over a birder motioned for me to look in the trees behind the café - a single bird was perched high in the tree tops. I saw it, but had very limited views and I hoped that it wouldn't be the best view of the day.
I stood on the veranda for perhaps half an hour, during which time I chatted with the National Trust Warden, who's sort of made the Hawfinches his project and who is responsible for the Hawfinch watches. Its great that the NT have embraced these birds and are making them accessible to birders. Anyway, the Warden is obviously very tuned into the Hawfinch calls because he picked up on one coming over us from behind (I didn't hear it) and then, there it was. Perched in the tree in front of us. The next minute it was on the floor feeding on Hornbeam seeds. Better views than I could have hoped for.
Hawfinch
Both the above images were phonescoped using an iPhone6 through a Leica Televid 77APO with 32x eyepiece.
The bird stayed feeding for about 15 mins before flying off over the café. So, at this point I decided to move on.
I hadn't decided where to go for the rest of the day but, inevitably I suppose, I ended up going to Leighton Moss. As is usual at this time of year, the place was pretty quiet bird wise, but crawling with 'people'. I wont say birders, or even general public. It was crawling with photographers. I only went to the causeway hide on the main reserve and that was enough. Well over half the people that came in had huge lenses stuck to DSLR's. The noise from their shutters on rapid fire is engrained on my brain and I'll be hearing it in my sleep. Now, I've nothing against birders who carry a camera (I carry one), and I've nothing against anyone using a camera. But, taking 100's of shots of a Mute Swan with continuous shooting of 10 frames per second is not necessary!!! Thankfully most did not seem to be the type of photographer that (too often these days) tries to get so close to stuff they disturb it. But, the incessant shutter noise is a real pain.
A nice distraction on the walk back to the car was a small patch of Scarlet Elf Cup fungi tucked away down the side of the boardwalk.
Scarlet Elf Cup
Once back at the car park, I opted to head to the coastal marsh hides. It was much quieter here, in terms of people and birds!! A Greenshank was probably the best bird. Saying that, its amazing that 10years ago the two Avocets on the pools would have been THE star bird, and a real local rarity. Now, I almost expect to see them!
Avocets
My two favourite ducks were also present in good numbers - Wigeon and Pintail. Both are stunning.
After an hour or so it was time to move again. This time down to Woodwell - I'm sure the woods are not actually called that, but that's what I call it. Its only a small spot, but it used to get Hawfinches. Sadly Hawfinches seem to have disappeared now, but Nuthatch, Marsh Tit and Tree Creeper are almost guaranteed and its just a really cracking bit of woodland, and sure enough, all the latter three target species appeared within about 10mins!!
Half an hour spent in woodlands like this really nourishes the soul!!
All in all a really good day.
