We're WOWing again

After seven months the news is good - WOW has re-opened with all the Covid secure measures in place. Hopefully it can stay open long enough for me to get there and do a bit of warm, caffeine fuelled, toilet accessible and socially distanced birding. Today gave 36 species including two for the patch - raven and stonechat. Other notable ticks were buzzard, little egret, knot, snipe and shelduck. No wigeon or coot. The grass is too long for the former and the latter have gone off for their winter break. This curlew came over to the side nearest the observation room - a rare event indeed. It was good to be back and long may it last.

Curlew

View from the observation room

 Walks along the coast have been enjoyable with autumn kicking in. The garden produced a garden/patch tick in the form of a rather splendid cock pheasant which hung around my garden and the neighbouring garden for over two hours. Fortunately there was no sign of the bird-killing cat. I have also had a baby hedgehog in daylight - about an hour or so before sunset. Not a good sign as it was probably desperate for food. It needs to weigh 600g to survive hibernation and I feel it has a way to go on this front.  We also had superb views of a goldcrest in the fuschia just outside the door - less than a metre away but so active it was a nightmare to get a photo at all never mind a good one. It just kept moving and wing fluttering all the time, so in most shots it was just a blur.

Pheasant

Spot the goldcrest

There it is!!

 2020 

154: White wagtail

NDCP

69: Buzzard

70: Stonechat

71: Pheasant

WOW

90: White wagtail

91: Raven

92: Stonechat

May update

Didn't realise it was so long since I updated, how time flies when your'e chasing migrants. We had a week in England which delivered a few goodies then once back things were kicking in at home and at WOW. Let's go in date order.

Firstly a couple of garden shots before the feeders come down for the summer.

Goldfinch and linnet

Linnet

I had a walk along the coastal path early one morning in April and got some nice shots but no new birds. Lots of singers, swallow mipit, eider and a pair of merganser. Haven't seen merganser in years and suddenly twice in a month - that's birding for you. The boat was dropping lobster pots along the shore.

A walk round Elton Reservoir in Bury - the local patch when I am in Bolton - gave me the first sand martins, house martins and swifts as well as two little ringed plovers.  A long weekend in Center Parcs in the lakes was surprisingly good. Whinfell Park is set in one corner of a large forest where two thirds of the trees are Scots pine and it is a red squirrel sanctuary. Willow warbler was the first bird I heard when I wound down the window at security and it was followed by chiffchaff and blackcap. It has several feeding areas and wildlife is all over the place and common species are easy for children to see.  The stand out bird was a pair of displaying tree pipits between the quad bike course and the archery Picked up by the unknown song, and then the textbook parachute display flight. We also had drumming GSW, treecreeper, siskin and singing song thrush. 

Join the tufty club.....

Freddy (4) says duck, Tilly (1+) says bird, Grandad (21+vat)  says mallard

Really close views of birds for the kids

Very well camouflaged female

We managed a day at Leighton Moss RSPB, a place which has long been on the wish list. There are 5 specialities of which I managed one - marsh harrier, but there was ample compensation in a total of 47 species and a few 2018 ticks I would struggle for at home - garden warbler, reed warbler, cetti's warbler and marsh tit. There was a scaup which is unusual for Leighton Moss but I wasn't as enthusiastic as some of the locals who were flocking to see it. Bitterns weren't boming, ospreys weren't fishing, avocets were too far away on a limited time scale and it was too windy for bearded tits. Must get back some day!

Leighton Moss from the Causeway hide

Largest reedbed in NW England

Pochard and bhg

Gadwall

Scaup

 Back home and summer had hit WOW, winter ducks are gone or in single figures and we got a full set of hirundines, swift, common and arctic terns, little gull and common sandpiper. There are at least four Mediterranean gull nests and 13 individuals have been spotted. There was also two ringed black-tailed godwits, one an old friend we have seen quite often, the other a "new" bird to WOW. We're still waiting for the history. The mute swans are on eggs and at least one set of coot chicks have hatched. In the near future you will be getting lots of baby photos.

Black-headed gull on eggs

Coot on eggs

Resting godwits

Godwit with bling

As above

Gadwall pair

2018  
119: House nartin
120: Sand martin
121: Swift
122: Little ringed plover
123: Tree pipit
124: Marsh harrier
125: Garden warbler
126: Cetti's warbler
127: Reed warbler
128: Marsh tit 
129: Common tern
130: Arctic tern
131: Little gull

 Bangor West
61: Swallow
62: Raven
63: Swift 
64: House martin

Belfast WOW
79: Swallow
80: Swift
81: Sand martin
82: House martin
83: Common tern
84: Arctic tern
85: Little gull
86: Common sandpiper