Teal 100+
Green-winged Teal (right)
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Monday, 6 January 2014
Eccleston Mere
Water rail 1 in western ditch
Pochard 7 (5mm, 2ff)
Lapwing 100 flew over
Little grebe 1
Kingfisher 1
Buzzard 2
Bullfinch 1
Pochard 7 (5mm, 2ff)
Lapwing 100 flew over
Little grebe 1
Kingfisher 1
Buzzard 2
Bullfinch 1
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Two-barred Crossbills Broomhead Reservoir, South Yorks
Two-barred crossbill 7+ (5mm, 2ff)
Siskin 2
Red grouse 3 flying over moors near Broomhead Reservoir
I took an unexpected opportunity to call in again at Broomhead Reservoir today, and wouldn't you know it, following hours of futile searching last week, today we drove straight up to a group of birders who were watching the crossbills. Marvellous!
There were at least five stonking males and two females in the larches, mainly feeding high up, but thankfully two males came lower down for a few minutes allowing me to get a good look at them. It's been a great winter for seeing Two-barred crossbills, and it's easy to forget that these are usually extremely rare birds in the UK, in fact it took me 40 years to see my first! That was a female with five juveniles at the same location last August, but with at least five bright red males now present it would have been a real shame not to have taken the opportunity to go back for another look. It could be 20 years before we get another invasion like the one we've experienced this winter!
Male Two-barred crossbill.
Two-barred crossbills have the smallest bills of all of the crossbill species. This is because they feed mainly on larch and other smaller cones, though they will also feed on pine.
There are supposed to be around 100 Common crossbills at Broomhead, but in three visits I've not seen a single bird! The Two-barred crossbills tend to keep themselves to themselves, probably more down to their choice of food rather than being unsociable! Common crossbill feed largely on pine cones.
Siskin 2
Red grouse 3 flying over moors near Broomhead Reservoir
I took an unexpected opportunity to call in again at Broomhead Reservoir today, and wouldn't you know it, following hours of futile searching last week, today we drove straight up to a group of birders who were watching the crossbills. Marvellous!
There were at least five stonking males and two females in the larches, mainly feeding high up, but thankfully two males came lower down for a few minutes allowing me to get a good look at them. It's been a great winter for seeing Two-barred crossbills, and it's easy to forget that these are usually extremely rare birds in the UK, in fact it took me 40 years to see my first! That was a female with five juveniles at the same location last August, but with at least five bright red males now present it would have been a real shame not to have taken the opportunity to go back for another look. It could be 20 years before we get another invasion like the one we've experienced this winter!
Male Two-barred crossbill.
Two-barred crossbills have the smallest bills of all of the crossbill species. This is because they feed mainly on larch and other smaller cones, though they will also feed on pine.
There are supposed to be around 100 Common crossbills at Broomhead, but in three visits I've not seen a single bird! The Two-barred crossbills tend to keep themselves to themselves, probably more down to their choice of food rather than being unsociable! Common crossbill feed largely on pine cones.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Parkgate
Hen harrier 1 ringtail
Great white egret 1
Barn owl 1
Little egret 10
Peregrine 1
Parkgate in the late evening sunshine.
A winter sunset over Parkgate Marsh.
Great white egret 1
Barn owl 1
Little egret 10
Peregrine 1
Parkgate in the late evening sunshine.
A winter sunset over Parkgate Marsh.
Denhall Lane and Denhall Quay, Burton Marsh
Great white egret 1 (distantly from Denhall Quay)
Siberian chiffchaff 2 (1 Denhall Lane, 1 just before Denhall Quay)
Wheatear 1
Bewick's swan 2 (Denhall Lane)
Merlin 1
Peregrine 1
Pink-footed goose 500
Dunlin 1000
Canada goose 1200 (apparently!)
Little egret 40
Burton Marsh from Denhall Quay at high tide (10.1m). Hard to believe that ships used to sail up to here!
Little Egrets from Denhall Quay.
Siberian Chiffchaff near Denhall Quay. Note the very distinct supercilium.
Siberian Chiffchaff near Denhall Quay. Note the green patch on the wing, but this is generally a much browner bird than the one in Denhall Lane (see below).
Three very different Chiffchaffs. The left hand bird is a definite Siberian Chiffchaff photographed on Christmas Day in Denhall Lane. It's almost silvery with a green wing patch and distinct supercillium. It's also been heard to call. The right hand bird is a "common" Chiffchaff, photographed at Eccleston Mere last March. It's a very brown looking bird. The middle two photos are of the bird which is a probable Siberian Chiffchaff photographed today near Denhall Quay (see also photos above). It is greyer than the right hand bird but is still quite brown on it's back, but it also has the green wing patch and a distinct supercillium.
This Wheatear has gone from my latest ever to my earliest ever! There's a growing swell of opinion that this may be an eastern race Wheatear rather than the nominate race, but I think that's virtually impossible to tell in the field. Why not though? It's incredibly late / early for the nominate race and it has been in the company of a Siberian Chiffchaff and an American Buff-bellied Pipit!
Siberian chiffchaff 2 (1 Denhall Lane, 1 just before Denhall Quay)
Wheatear 1
Bewick's swan 2 (Denhall Lane)
Merlin 1
Peregrine 1
Pink-footed goose 500
Dunlin 1000
Canada goose 1200 (apparently!)
Little egret 40
Burton Marsh from Denhall Quay at high tide (10.1m). Hard to believe that ships used to sail up to here!
Little Egrets from Denhall Quay.
Siberian Chiffchaff near Denhall Quay. Note the very distinct supercilium.
Siberian Chiffchaff near Denhall Quay. Note the green patch on the wing, but this is generally a much browner bird than the one in Denhall Lane (see below).
Three very different Chiffchaffs. The left hand bird is a definite Siberian Chiffchaff photographed on Christmas Day in Denhall Lane. It's almost silvery with a green wing patch and distinct supercillium. It's also been heard to call. The right hand bird is a "common" Chiffchaff, photographed at Eccleston Mere last March. It's a very brown looking bird. The middle two photos are of the bird which is a probable Siberian Chiffchaff photographed today near Denhall Quay (see also photos above). It is greyer than the right hand bird but is still quite brown on it's back, but it also has the green wing patch and a distinct supercillium.
This Wheatear has gone from my latest ever to my earliest ever! There's a growing swell of opinion that this may be an eastern race Wheatear rather than the nominate race, but I think that's virtually impossible to tell in the field. Why not though? It's incredibly late / early for the nominate race and it has been in the company of a Siberian Chiffchaff and an American Buff-bellied Pipit!
Eccleston Mere
Water rail 1 in western ditch just before SW corner.
Pochard 6 (5mm, 1f)
Goldeneye 1 f
Kingfisher 1
Pochard 6 (5mm, 1f)
Goldeneye 1 f
Kingfisher 1
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Eccleston Mere
Goldeneye 2 (m&f)
Pochard 6 (4mm, 2 ff)
Tufted Duck 10 (7mm, 3ff)
Kingfisher 1
Rook 50 flew over
Jackdaw 200 flew over
Rooks are not common birds at Eccleston Mere, so a flock of 50 over is a decent record.
Pochard 6 (4mm, 2 ff)
Tufted Duck 10 (7mm, 3ff)
Kingfisher 1
Rook 50 flew over
Jackdaw 200 flew over
Rooks are not common birds at Eccleston Mere, so a flock of 50 over is a decent record.
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