Black Terns

I had been getting messages all day about Black Terns at Pennington Flash Country Park but, being at work all they did was make me jealous. I missed a couple of birds earlier in the month and, I don't recall seeing any last year, so was keen to go and see them, especially as there was double figures present.

As soon as I finished work I set off for the flash, arriving at around 15:40. I wasn't disappointed; as I scanned the flash I picked up a flock of 13 flying in formation near the sailing club. I watched them from the shoreline for maybe 10 minutes before heading into Horrocks Hide to see what else was about.

There wasn't a great deal from the hide, a Redshank and Common Sandpiper were feeding close in and there were the usual birds on the spit, Common Terns, Black-headed Gulls etc. After maybe 20 minutes in the hide 10 of the Black Terns came and settled on the end of the spit giving great views. I did try to phoneskope them with limited success - heat haze and distance didn't help though. When they flew off a few minutes later they came so close to the hide I couldn't get the scope on them.

Digiscoped Redshank

Digiscoped Black Terns

The weather started to change and clouds began build to the south of the flash. This is often a good sign at this site and these conditions often result in waders suddenly appearing. Sure enough a Whimbrel appeared out of nowhere on the end of the spit along with a single Dunlin. The prospects for tomorrow look really good if the weather continues like it is!

Hope Carr

I nipped over to Hope Carr in Leigh today, not to see the Blyth's Reed Warbler which I thankfully saw a couple of weeks ago, but to try and see the Black Redstart. The latter bird would be a Greater Manchester and Wigan Borough tick for me.

I was slightly surprised to find so many people on site when I arrived shortly after 12:00. I was honestly expecting to be on my own, or with just a couple of people.

There was a steady stream of birders arriving in what seemed like perfect weather for the Warbler. It has shown a definite preference for sunny, calm weather and as you can see, today was perfect. The bird did show briefly (I didn't see it), and I didn't see the Black Redstart either. It did feel a bit strange to be more bothered about dipping a Black Redstart than the Blyth's!! I did manage to add Green Sandpiper to the year list, and I did add Peregrine to the site list. I also managed to 'tick' a few friends from over the pennines and some who I just haven't seen for a while, so despite not seeing the bird I was after it was a pleasant few hours.

Later I went to Pennington Flash to check the gull roost in the hope of catching up with the Iceland Gull that has been pretty regular. I failed!! I managed a nice adult Mediterranean Gull but that was all. What was a slightly unexpected bonus was seeing the huge Jackdaw roost. Not quite as good as a Starling murmuration but they don't half wind the gulls up, dropping down over their heads and generally being a pest. Just seeing that was worth the effort. I also had a very early, maybe too early, Pipistrelle around the cottages on the way back to the car.

Lancashire Birding

So! Its ages since I wrote anything. A few reasons for that. Firstly I started a new job just after the family summer holidays which meant I had other things on my mind. Secondly, despite having several days out on top of my normal birding activities, I really didn't see much or have anything that interesting to write about. I had my usual autumn visit to Spurn, which was as enjoyable as always without throwing up anything unexpected. I was pretty regular at my local patch(es) but aside from a nice Ring Ouzel (which was a brilliant bird in the location I found it) it was quiet from late spring through to Christmas, and my birding year finished on a bit of a flat.

However, my birding in January has been quite the opposite. I have had three days out and about so far, including one at Llanfairfechan and Morfa Madryn, and the last two days have seen me out and about in Lancashire. Yesterday I spent most of the day on the Ribble estuary at Hesketh Outmarsh and Marshside RSPB, and today I have been at Leighton Moss RSPB with my mate, Rob. As is usual when Rob accompanies me anywhere, it turned into a good day.

Hesketh Out Marsh

Hesketh and Marshside both provided some good birding, with the best coming at Marshside where I managed Hen Harrier, Merlin and Short-Eared Owl on the raptor front, plus Barnacle Goose and White-fronted Goose for the year list.

Today at Leighton Moss we started with a fantastic experience - as we walked down the causeway to the Lower Hide the Starlings were leaving their roost, flying directly over our heads. Standing there in the dawn light and almost complete silence bar the noise of the Starlings wings was absolutely magical. Several thousands must have flown over us in the space of no more than 3 or 4 minutes. I should have taken a video on my phone but it would have spoiled the experience. From here we made our way to the Lower Hide where we were greeted by an Otter 30-40 metres from the hide. Brilliant. Next we worked our way round all the hides, finishing at the Saltmarsh pools where we managed to add a few more species to the day list including Peregrine, Red-breasted Merganser and Greenshank. Overall a really enjoyable day.