Autumn update

 Another week in Bolton with few birding opportunities as we reach the end of summer and migrants are on the move. My last swift of the year was at WOW on August 4th. Swallows are still around but starting to gather on the wires. The first brent geese of the year appeared on cue at Kinnegar, so we are slowly moving into autumn. 

We did however manage a day to ourselves and decided to look at Marshside RSPB near Southport. It is a marsh area bordering the Ribble estuary with two hides (one of which was closed for repair) and three walks. We had hoped to visit in early July but the forecast wind and rain and the lack of any cover meant we put it off. This time we were hit by temperatures of 26-28C which meant we were walking in full sun with no cover at all. We switched to Plan B with a shorter walk, more time in the hide and lunch eaten there as well. The highlights of the visit were at least 30 little egrets, one great white egret, 4 grey herons and 5 spoonbills. It also had a common sandpiper and about 60 lapwing. The downside was the huge numbers of greylag and Canada geese. We were playing the "Try and find something that isn't a goose" game and fortunately the herons and egrets stood out. This was an initial visit to see if it is worth returning to. Pennington Flash and Elton are much closer and usually have good birds - Pennington turned up a nuthatch this time. Now we know the layout we know a few things for future reference - bring a scope, apart from hides there are no facilities, so bring supplies from Southport, if the weather is bad it is wide open. Hopefully we will get back there as it looks to be a good winter spot for ducks and geese, but Leighton Moss and Martin Mere have better facilities and can also provide a nice list of different birds. However the spoonbills gave good views and were well worth the trip. 

Water, marsh, ducks and geese.

The white blobs are spoonbills, honest!

Marshside RSPB, 2 hides and three walks, no cover whatsoever.

The garden is bird free as I have removed all the feeders for cleaning and I have not managed a walk along the coastal path since we got back from Bolton. The neighbour photographed a sparrowhawk in his garden, no idea where I was at the time. 

WOW still has lots of common terns and quite a few young chicks at various stages of growth. The deeper water (and fish) has encouraged cormorants to come in to the reserve. We have had up to 20 present whereas previously we would have had the odd bird which didn't hang about. The difference this year is that they are catching enough small fish to make it worth their while. Here's a selection of pictures from the last couple of visits. The curlew sandpipers were too far away for a photograph. The site bullfinch tick flew across the Airport Road in front of the car!!

Two of the 18 cormorants outside Hide 2

I survived bird flu

Closer in to the Ops room

Moorhen and daisies.

Return of the Koniks

20 little egrets at Kinnegar

Common tern

Adult and chick

Common tern

2 on the reserve

2023
154: Spoonbill

155: Curlew sandpiper (USA/Canada: 26 = 181 for the year)

NDCP

66: Manx shearwater

Belfast RSPB

85: Kestrel

86: Curlew sandpiper

87: Bullfinch