NestCam 2012

I know I've left it a bit late, but yesterday I cleaned out my nestbox with a camera in it so that we may get some good views of nesting birds again this year.  I had originally intended to clean it at the end of August last year, but as it requires step ladders putting in a neighbour's garden and a climb up on a flat roof, I just didn't get round to doing it before the winter set in.

Anyway, spurred on by the fact that it's already been inspected once by a Blue Tit (which hasn't returned for over a week now), I decided to get up there and quickly give it a spring clean.  Fortunately I didn't need to take the whole box down, as unscrewing the two front sections gave me good access to remove the previous nest and disinfect the box.  As the camera looks vertically down on the nest, it was quite good to see the nest from a different angle and work out where the birds had been in the box.

The nest itself was mainly compacted moss and feathers and had a little indentation in one corner where the eggs had been laid and incubated.  There were no signs of any eggshells or remains of chicks that had died, and so the birds had done a good job at removing all the unwanted debris from inside the box.

The floor of the box was very pitted from all the pecking that had been going on in the days before the birds decided to use it for nesting.  They really had removed quite a lot of wood and my guess is that they were testing it for strength, but it might have been part of their mating display.




After a quick spray of disinfectant and a wipe out with some kitchen roll, I left the box open for a while to dry out and take in the fresh air.  I also tried to adjust the camera position a little to get a more even view, but it was very difficult to see what I was doing with the TV being downstairs in the kitchen!

After refixing the front sections, I gave the outside a wipe and brush down to remove a few cobwebs that had been attached to the roof and eaves for most of the winter, and that was that - all ready for the new tenants.  Last year they started nest-building in March with the eggs being laid in April.  So fingers crossed, we'll get something similar this year.  Keep watching for the live nestcam to appear here on my blog.

Short-eared Owl at Astley Green

Following a sighting report by Pete Berry on the Manchester Birding Forum yesterday, I popped out to Astley Green this afternoon to see if I could see the Short-eared Owl.  I was still feeling the effects of a trip to the dentist this morning and a quick spot of birding on a sunny afternoon was just the tonic to help them wear off.

I parked up on Whitehead Lane and, after speaking to a homeowner there, decided I could walk round the locked gates here to the fields at the back of Astley Colliery.  I soon saw a number of people gathered at what looked like the probable viewing location and so I headed for them.  As it turned out, only one was a bider, Mike Baron, and the others were dog walkers interested in what he was doing.

Whilst waiting for the owl to put in an appearance, I chatted to Mike about Risley Moss and the area around Rixton Clay Pits which he knows very well - in fact he'd previously sent me an e-mail detailing what could be seen at different times of the year there. In my rush to get out, I'd left my binoculars at home and only brought my camera and tripod.  So after I'd set it up, I had to rely on Mike and his binoculars for looking into the distance.  A pair of Kestrels and a Grey Heron flew over as we looked.

We were soon joined by Pete Berry who had been the first to report the owl here and later by Pete Hilton.  It turns out that the first Pete had seen the bird in several fields around this area, sometimes down to just 10 metres.  Several Skylarks dropped down into the fields as we chatted about whether the owl had moved on or not. And then suddenly Mike spotted it as it landed on a post.

Short-eared Owl at Astley Green - not a great photo but the best I've got.

We had good views of this beautiful bird as it quartered the fields and hopped from one fence post to another.  Unfortunately, except for our first view of the bird, it was mainly flying away from us this evening and it didn't come close enough for me to get a decent photograph.  The best view I had was through Mike's spotting scope where I could see all the detail of it's feathers and that magnificent pair of bright yellow eyes.

Mike however got a great shot with his scope and digital compact camera (i.e. digiscope), much better than I've ever got woth my DSLR camera.  With the power of the scope at 30x magnification and the zoom on his camera, he got a pretty decent full frame shot of the bird which left me wondering if I was using the wrong equipment as the 500mm zoom lens on my DSLR is only 10x magnification.  Below is one of Mike's digiscoped photographs from this afternoon's session.

Short-eared Owl at Astley Green - copyright of Mike Baron

After an hour or so we decided the bird was not going to reappear any closer to us today and so headed off for home happily having had a good view.  As I got into my car two more birders were arriving and asked for details of where to view it from. And later in the evening Steve Burke messaged me to ask the same question, so I added the details to the Astley Moss map in my Where-2-See Birds website.

High Tide at Parkgate on the Wirral

After looking forward to it for a couple of months, today was the day I went to see a high tide at Parkgate on the Wirral.  I'd heard that it can be quite spectacular if the conditions are right, with lots of raptors chasing the many voles, mice, ground-nesting birds and other small mammals and rodents being flushed by the incoming tide.  Unfortunately, to the dismay of the large crowd of birders who had gathered here with the same intention as me, today wasn't to be one of those events.

It was positively grey and drizzly as I set off for the Wirral, but the forecast predicted decent weather and it became progessively better as the day wore on.  When I arrived at the car park on the site of the 'old baths' it was quite sunny, although there was a strong cold onshore breeze blowing into our faces.  I was told that high pressure weather systems (as currently in place over this part of the world) tend to suppress the tide and so we'd have to wait and see how far the 9.9m tide actually came in.  Not very far proved to be the answer.

The best sighting for the day for me came not long after I had got into a good position for observing the marshes - a Spoonbill (which has been here for most of the winter) flew very close by and I got a good view through my binoculars. At first I thought it was the Great White Egret which has also frequented this area recently, but when I looked through my bins its bill was unmistakable. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera out to get even a record shot.

I then went on a short walk down the shore led by two people from the RSPB and as the tide slowly came in flocks of birds could be seen taking off in the far distance, including Shelduck, Redshank and various Gulls through my spotting scope. I went on to to see a couple of ringtail Hen Harriers, a Peregrine Falcon, a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and a very distant Short-eared Owl being mobbed by a crow.  And that was about it for the raptors today, although there were also couple of Little Egrets on the marshes as well as plenty of Skylarks singing their hearts out.

Before I'd realised it people were starting to move off and it was over for this hide tide.  I have to admit to being more than a little disappointed that the water did not come further inland and with the number of birds I saw, but there'll always be another time.  And with this consoling thought I headed off up the west coast of the Wirral towards Thurstaston and West Kirby and then along the top through Hoylake and Leasowe towards my final destination of New Brighton in search of a Purple Sandpiper - see the next post for what happened here.

New Format

Now that I'm getting out a lot more often, I've decided that my 'quick visits' will be reported in just one post, rather than have a separate post for each trip.  In the last two weeks I've been to:

• Deeside Naturalists' Reserve in Flint with Jeff Cohen
• Denhall Lane, Burton on the Wirrall
• Dunham Massey Park in Cheshire
• The Wigan Flashes with Rob Thorpe
• Rindle Road and Moss Lane on Astley Moss
• Pennington Flash with Jon Taverner
• Hope Carr Nature Reserve

If you're wondering about the lack of photographs it's because I'm quite unhappy with the quality of what I'm producing at the moment.  Too see if there's a noticeable difference, I've started taking shots in RAW mode but these take a lot more processing and storage space.  As yet I haven't got anything I think is worth publication, but I will be putting some shots up to go with the write ups on some of the above trips. 

Bitterns and Owls

I had a great day out with John Conway from the 'Bring Nature To Life Forum' and his friend Steve today firstly at Mere Sands Wood and then at an undisclosed place fairly nearby to see the Bitterns and later the Short-eared Owls.

From Rufford Hide at Mere Sands Wood LWT one Bittern showed well at times (well, the longest and best views I've ever had) although it was a little too far off for me to take any worthwhile photos. All John's Bittern shots on the forum are way better than any I took today, but I wasn't disappointed as I had good views and learnt a lot about digital photography from both John and Steve.

If it wasn't for the nearby reserve staff trying to meet their grant quotas for removing unwanted vegetation, sometimes with a chainsaw, the bittern would probably have come a lot closer - it's a shame they didn't work on something else whilst the Bitterns are showing. John did briefly see a second Bittern today, but I missed it. There were also Goosander, GC Grebes, Coot, Teal, Moorhens, Grey Herons, Mallards, some distant Gulls and a Sparrowhawk around the pools, but unfortunately no Kingfisher today.

Then we went on to see the Short-eared Owls. For a long time they were a 'no show' and unfortunately Steve had to go before two eventually appeared, quartering the field for prey. Although the light was starting to fail, It was well worth the wait just to view them through my binoculars. They stayed around for a quite a while and flew past several times, but I only got a few record shots as I'm still learning how to shoot such fast moving birds. A little later a third bird briefly showed. Finally, we moved up the field to get some more views of the SEO's which had reappeared a little further away, and we were treated to a good few minutes of a couple of Barn Owls flying around - the icing on the cake!

Many thanks to John and Steve for a great day out - they were both very friendly and helpful to someone who is keen to learn about birding and bird photography (me!)

Cheers lads, hope to see you again sometime.

A Weekend in North Wales and Anglesey

Sarah and I had a great mini-break to parts of North Wales and Anglesey this weekend, at times meeting up with members of the Leigh Ornithological Society. Over the two days we visited the following places:

Spinnies Nature Reserve, Aberogwen, Bangor - a fantastic little place

• 2 Buzzards over as we drove towards Penrhyn Castle
• Red-breasted Merganser (lifer), Shelduck, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe and rafts of Wigeon on the estuary in front of the car park
• A single lost Tundra Bean Goose (lifer) in a nearby field amongst a load of Greylags
• Several Redshank in the same field
• Two Little Egrets flew over the field
• Snipe, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Mallard, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, and Great Tit from Kingfisher Hide (but sadly no Kingfisher)
• Much the same at the Bird Hide with the exception of Snipe and with better views of a Little Egret and at least 3 Grey Herons
• Redshank on the edge of the water along the beach

Bangor Harbour Area - just a quick stop

• Single Greenshank
• Lots of Oystercatchers and Shelduck
• Greater Black-backed and Herring Gulls
• Mute Swans with juveniles

Red Wharf Bay South Side, Anglesey - another quick stop

• Lots of Curlew
• Oystercatchers
• Shelduck
• Distant Gulls (various)

Point Lynas, Anglesey - a fabulous location

• Male and female Stonechat (lifer) in gorse field on the approach road to the lighthouse
• Kestrel on telephone wire
• 2 Shags (lifer) and a single Cormorant on the sea
• Various Gulls, but mainly Herring and Black-backed Gulls

Holyhead Harbour, Anglesey - a very short morning walk

• A Song Thrush and a Chaffinch singing away in trees
• House Sparrows going inside the ruined old 'house'
• Lots of feral Pigeons in the old disused 'fort' building
• Not much else about on the harbour

Penrhos Nature Reserve, Holyhead, Anglesey - a brief stop on the way to Conwy RSPB

• Quite a few Bar-tailed Godwits along the water's edge
• Many Oystercatchers and Curlew on the mudflats along with some Shelduck
• Various Gulls

Conwy RSPB, North Wales - a good walk round which got better after a slow start

• Water very low in front of the coffee shop and nothing much about
• A pair of singing Dunnocks and a Robin in the Gorse along the paths but no Firecrest :furious:
• Red-breasted Merganser, Little Egret, Lapwing, Moorhen, Canada Goose on the larger pool seen from Carneddau Hide
• Many House Sparrows and Tits around the feeders near the gate to the car park
• Two Buzzards over the picnic tables
• At least 40-50 Curlew on the island in the larger pool (seen from viewpoint on the estuary)
• At least 30 to 40 Redshank in the same place
• A few Oystercatchers on the islands
• Not many Canada Geese
• A pair of Gadwall
• A small group of Teal singing on the estuary along with 20-30 Shelduck and a raft of around 10-15 Wigeon
• Around 20-25 Redshank on the shallow 'spit' on the Estuary
• Various distant Gulls on the river Conwy
• A single Grey Heron over

Great Orme, Llandudno (free car park halfway up)

• Lots of Jackdaw about
• A single Carrion Crow bowing and cawing on the picnic tables
• A small flock of Greenfinch around the Gorse bushes
• Not much else, although the wind was making it quite cold

Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales

• A beautiful pair of Eider Duck resting on one the rocky breakwaters
• Many Turnstones around the same rocks
• There were a few Oystercatchers about and a raft of 20-30 Wigeon whistling on the sea
• 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Pied/White Wagtail and 2 Rock Pipits on another breakwater
• Many distant Gulls on the golf course with a couple Coot on the ponds
• A small flock of Twite (lifer) (or perhaps Linnet, we couldn't decide which) was also flying around the golf course entrance

A great end to a fabulous weekend with my dearly beloved, who is now gradually getting into this birding lark. With a few others on the way, we saw a total of 57 species and 5 lifers (for me) over the short break.

UPDATE

After reading Henry Cook's post on the Manchester Birding Forum, it seems the Twite are more likely to be Linnet now, which means I only got 4 lifers this weekend - nevermind, I can live with that.

Moore Nature Reserve, Warrington

With the prospect of some better weather today, I paid my first visit to Moore Nature Reserve in Warrington. As well as a general recognisance visit to learn the lay of the land, I had three target birds in mind:

• Tawny Owl
• Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
• Bittern

These birds have all been reported recently on the Manchester Birding Forum thread for Moore.

On my way round today I saw the following birds:

• Greenfinch
• Treecreeper
• Robin
• Magpie
• Wigeon
• Tufted Duck
• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Gadwall
• Coot
• Moorhen
• Great Black-backed Gull
• Grey Heron (juvenile)
• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Oystercatcher
• Starling
• Woodpigeon
• Shelduck
• Little Grebe
• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Long-tailed Tit
• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Buzzard
• Great Crested Grebe
• Teal
• Water Rail (heard only)
• Raven
• Cormorant
• Crow
• Goldfinch
• Jackdaw
• Tawny Owl
• Reed Bunting
• Jay
• Chiffchaff
• Oh and the back of a beautiful light brown fox as it ran away from the feeding station.

So 37 species on my first visit and one of my three target birds spotted - I can't be too disappointed with that can I?  But I'll be back .....

Note to Self

I need to write up the following trips:

• Horwich Moors and Moss Bank Park, Bolton
• Rixton Clay Pits Nature Reserve
• Captive and Ornamental Ducks outside Forester's Arms, Glazebrook

'Where-2-See Birds' Website Changes

After giving it some thought, I've decided to change direction slightly with my 'Where-2-See Birds' website. Instead of making it a place in which anyone can contribute their bird sightings by pinpointing them on a map, I'm going to use it to provide locations and useful details (such as suggested parking places and walking routes) purely for the entries in this blog.

From now on, many posts in this blog will have a link to the relevant map page in 'Where-2-See Birds'. So, if you want to know the location that a particular post is describing, just click on the location name in the body of the post (not the title) and you will be instantly transported to the map page.

Why not try it on the post below this one, or click here for a quick look at the Pennington Flash page for an example. But please note that 'Where-2-See Birds' is still under development and only some locations have fully completed maps at present - it's still a work-in-progress as they say.

Moss Lane and Rindle Road

As it was cold but sunny today, I decided to pop out mid afternoon to Moss Lane and Rindle Road, which is only ten minutes from where I live. I parked up at the last but one bend on Moss lane where there were at least 200 Jackdaws in and over the fields at around 3pm.  Large groups would regularly take off and head westwards, off to a roost somewhere in that direction.  

Whilst I was there I met another birder from Manchester in search of Grey Partridge.  We chatted for a long time about birds in the area and he gave me some good pointers to locations a little further afield, such as the pontoon which is covered in waders at New Brighton (Wirral) at high tide, and where and when to se the Hawfinches at Sizergh Castle car park. I did ask his name, but I'm afraid I've forgotten it - that's senility for you.

Whilst we chatted a female Sparrowhawk flew out of the trees and low over a field and there were quite a few Wood Pigeons around. We didn't see the Grey Partridge but a Mistle Thrush was in the field next to 'Cobs and Plods' riding school on the way to Rindle Road.

There was another large group (100+) of mixed Corvids (mainly Jackdaw) at the corner of Rindle Road and Nook lane, before they took off and landed in the trees behind.  As I drove down Rindle Road a Kestrel was sitting on the telephone wire outside Moss Bank Farm.

At the Rindle Road feeding station there were less birds than usual, but there were still some Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches, two Robins, a Great Tit and two Blue Tits - no Willow Tits though. I walked through Rindle Wood and around the SSSI trail but saw nothing of note. On the way back towards Rindle Hedge a group of 20 or so Linnets flew out of the hedge and into the ploughed field.  A Jay also flew over the field next to the ploughed field in which there were also three Pheasants.

But the best was left until last - a Treecreeper was showing well in the trees around the entrance to Rindle Wood. I've only seen one once before and have often looked for them to no avail, in spite of visiting many times.  This just shows you what birding is like - go for a nice walk and if you happen to see some birds that makes it even better!

Leighton Moss and Hest Bank

I took advantage of the sunshine and went up to Leighton Moss today.  I had a number of target birds to see and managed to see most of them, including:

• A Glossy Ibis in the field next to the one facing the chimney (not seen first thing in the morning but went back late afternoon and got it.)
• A Bittern which did quite a long flypast at the Public Hide
• A Redhead Smew showing quite well at Lillian's Hide
• A Little Egret at Griesdale Hide
• Marsh Tits, Nuthatch and Treecreeper in the woods to the right of Lillian's Hide (I've only seen them on the feeders previously)
• Two very tame Robins posing for photos
• Several Fieldfare in the woods on the way to the causeway
• I had distant views of two Otters playing in the pool to the left of Lillian's Hide.
• Lots of Greylag Geese about, especially in the field near the level crossing where there must have been 200 in the late afternoon
• Three Oystercatchers in another nearby field
• There were not so many of the usuals around except at the Public Hide - 2 Mute Swans, 1 Pintail, 1 Cormorant in the usual place, lots of Tufted Ducks and Coots, some Mallards and Moorhens - there's probably something I've missed

         The only thing I didn't get to see today were the Bearded Tits.  I didn't visit the Lower Hide or the Eric Morecambe and Allen Hides today.   

On the way home I paid a short visit to Hest Bank where I saw:

• Curlew
• Oystercatchers
• Many Redshank
• Sanderling
• A Grey Heron
• Lots of Lapwing
• Shelduck
• A Black-headed Gull treading mud and catching shrimp
• A large group of House Sparrows chattering away in the tree-tops

A good day out to what is becoming one of my favourite regions for birding. Some pictures to follow...

Risley Moss Nature Reserve

I did a quick reccy of Risley Moss today in a vain attempt to see some Woodcock which have been reported here several times, as well as some Short-eared Owls and Snipe.  It seems I got there too early (for once!) as most of these birds show up more frequently at dusk and, as it was freezing cold today, I couldn't bear it more than a hour and half or else my toes would have fallen off.

I had a long chat with a guy called Brian who was quite a character and who gave me a lot of great information about the place.  He's a regular here and he even helps doing some of the land and conservation management in the area.  Whilst we were chatting three Buzzards passed in front of us, and at least 500 hundred Jackdaws passed overhead in the three large groups on their way to a roost somewhere.  But that was all.

I stayed a while after Brian left (it seems early for once as he had to pick up his daughter) and was soon joined by another guy called Dave, who also gave me lots of useful pointers about what to see and where to see it here.

Thanks guys, I didn't see much but I learnt a lot.  No pictures toady I'm afraid.

Birds of Prey at Pennington BGB Event

Although they are captive birds, it was still amazing to get close to such beautiful birds today, especially the owls. at the Pennington Flash Big Garden Birdwatch event. Unfortunately I can't tick any of these! Double-click the pictures to make them bigger.

Common Buzzard 

Steppe Eagle

Snowy Owl

Steppe Eagle

Great Grey Owl

Eagle Owl

Tawny Owl

Long-eared Owl

Eagle Owl

Barn Owl

Snowy Owl

Big Garden Birdwatch at Pennington Flash

Pennington Flash is holding a Big Garden Birdwatch event tomorrow (Sunday 29 January) with loads of activities including a bird race with a twist, nest box making, birds of prey display, bird ID talks, equipment demos and a walk from Penny to Lightshaw Flash. Please come and support this event if you can.

Pennington Flash Bird Sightings Map

I've created a collaborative map in Google Maps for everyone to record their sightings at Pennington Flash this year.  I've put in a few sightings from previous years to get it started, but these may be deleted if it (hopefully) starts to fill up. I've also included places to take photographs of specific birds. Please feel free to add to any of these lists.

Although you can use this small version of the map to some extent, it is far better to click on the title link below and go to the full size map where you can add your sightings or just look what's been seen there:

Pennington Flash Bird Sightings Map

It's easy to add your sighting to the map, but you do need a free Google account:

1. Click on the title link above the map or here to go to the full size map page
2. Sign in to your Google account - you may need to register first, but it's free.
3. Click the orange Edit button to the left of the map
4. Zoom the map to the best size for an accurate position
5. Right click on the map location of your sighting
6. Choose 'Add a Placemark' from the pop up menu
7. Put the bird name and date in the title and select a symbol (key below)
8. Add a description and any comments as you wish
9. Use 'Rich text' to add a web link to a picture if you have one
10. Click on OK to complete the sighting record
11. Repeat steps 3 to 8 for any further sightings
12. Click on 'Done' to the left of the map to finish

The instructions (but not the key) are also on the actual map page, to the left of the map.

ImportantPlease edit the map responsibly and do not disclose the whereabouts of breeding or nesting birds.  If you have any questions or comments, please write in the comments below this post or e-mail me at martyn.jones@yahoo.com.

Garden Sparrowhawk

For the first time in a week I didn't manage to get out of the house today due to the miserable weather. Instead I chose to start work on a new web project for recording sightings of birds in North West England.  You can see an early alpha version of my work so far here or from the link on the right of this page.

I rattled away at the keyboard whilst the rain pelted down outside my patio window. And then, when I got up to give my eyes a rest, I noticed a grey shape sitting on the fence in our back garden.  It was a very damp and sorry-looking sparrowhawk and it was peering down into one of the shrubs.  Fortunately my camera was close at hand, and so I slowly reached for it so as not to spook this sharp-eyed predator.  I felt like the guy in Jurassic Park who slowly and quietly sets up his gun to shoot a Velociraptor just before one came from another direction and got him - "Clever Girl' he says moments before he's ripped to bits!

'I'm stalking in the rain, just stalking in the rain'

Anyway, I quickly set the ISO to 3200 and the aperture to f6.3 to get the best shutter-speed possible for handholding my heavy 500mm Bigma zoom in the gloom. I did manage to fire off a few shots before I saw what it was stalking - a blackbird.  It dived for the blackbird at lightning fast speed but didn't catch it and, with a lot of squawking, both birds shot off over the fence and into a neighbour's garden.  I quickly ran upstairs so that I could see over the fence through an open window, but although I could see that the Sparrowhawk hadn't caught the blackbird, I didn't have a good view for photographs. After a couple of minutes the Sparrowhawk flew off without its lunch and that was that.

'Where's that Blackbird?'

This is the first positive identification of a sparrowhawk that I've made in my garden and I was over the moon to have captured two half decent photos of it, particularly as they were taken through the patio glass.

Highfield Moss, Lowton

Highfield Moss, Lowton

After following a thread on the Manchester Birding Forum for Highfield Moss in Lowton, I decided to ask Nick Isherwood, the main contributor to this topic, if he would show me round the area.  Nick very kindly agreed and we met at 3pm today on Heath Lane, just across the main road from the Moss.

My main aim was to see the two or three Short-eared Owls which Nick had been reporting regularly over the last couple of weeks, and I wasn't to be disappointed.  But even before we got to the Moss, there were birds to be seen in the fields on either side of the public footpath which leads first to the railway line, and then onto Highfield Moss.

The first birds of note were a group of eighteen Golden Plover which flew over us, with some more in the field to the left of the footpath amongst some Lapwing and Gulls also on the ground.  Nick said that he'd never really seen this number of birds in that field before. A Buzzard was also sitting on a fence post on the far side of this field before it took off for the trees.

As we made our way to the railway line (which is part of the famous route over Chat Moss along which Robert Stevenson drove the Rocket in the Rainhill Trials), we saw a group of 20-ish Linnet sitting in a low tree on the field border, followed by a very tame Song Thrush in a shrub on the bank.  Nick mentioned that he'd regularly seen a Corn Bunting singing loudly in the main field last year.

Then down the steps to the railway line and up into a wooded area which eventually opened out onto Highfield Moss.  It was a beautiful late afternoon and the Moss looked fantastic in the golden sunshine.  We decided to walk along the embankment which runs parallel to the railway line and which gives a good viewpoint over the area, and soon we came across Pete Astles (another Manchester Birding Forum member) who was set up with a tripod and waiting for the Owls to reappear. He'd already seen them this evening but they weren't about just then.

Our first view of the Short-eared Owl

Whilst chatting to Pete, Nick got the first glimpse of an Owl sitting in a distant tree on the far side of the Moss.  I took a quick photo in case that was all I was going to see, but as you can see, just about everything was wrong with it!  In fact all my shots here today are no more than record shorts as will later become apparent.

Banking left

Before long we were treated to a flypast by the bird and for the next fifteen minutes or so I stood mesmerised as it quartered the Moss for food.  It would disappear for a while and then come back into view and at times came quite close to us.  I was so taken by this display that I just shot my camera off without paying proper attention to the settings - therefore, most of my pictures are blurred or overexposed.  Nevermind, I'll be back many more times to get a good shot.

Quartering the Moss

Nick then continued to show me round the Moss and on the way we saw the bird several more times. And then a second Owl appeared and the two birds briefly engaged in a bit of aerial 'rough and tumble'.  I'm not sure if it was a serious confrontation  or just being playful, but it didn't last long.

A bit of 'rough and tumble'

After this we carried on around the Moss, with Nick pointing out various places to go.  We did have a distant view of a bird which seemed to be an Owl sitting on a post in a hedge along a field border and this could have been the third bird that's been reported here. And later an Owl flew out of the woods right in front of us before disappearing - this was probably the closest we got to it today, but we didn't have a great view.

On the way back to the car a couple of Pheasants made us jump as they squawked loudly and flew awkwardly away and the Song Thrush we'd seen previously was still in the same place and still as tame.

Sunset over Highfield Moss

A great little place and a fantastic experience to see the Short-eared Owls in flight across the Moss.  Thanks Nick, I owe you one and 'yes', I do think you should write a site guide for the Manchester Birding website - I'm sure many people, like me, will appreciate your efforts.

Note To Self

Phew! I've done quite a lot of birding this last week or so. This is just a quick post to remind me where I've been and what I've seen recently so that I don't forget.

16th January 2012

• Warton Bank, Lancashire- Great White Egret, Little Egret, Whooper Swans, Curlew, Peregrine, Greylag Geese, Starling, Grey Heron over

• Lytham, Lancashire - Jackdaw, Redshank, Sanderling (Dunlin), Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Black-headed Gulls

• Fleetwood and Rossall Point, Lancashire - Eider Duck, Turnstone, Sanderling (Dunlin)

15th January 2012

• Dovestone Reservoir and Binn Green - Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Dipper, Mistle Thrush, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Raven over

14th January 2012

• Three Sisters Country Park, Ashton, Wigan - Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jays, Reed Bunting, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Sparrowhawk

13th January 2012

• Parkgate, Wirrall - Great White Egret, Little Egret, Hen Harrier

• Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB, Wirral - Common Snipe, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Redshank, Shelduck, Canada Geese, Curlew, Mallard

11th January 2012

• Rindle Road, Astley Moss - Tree Sparrows, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Willow Tit, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon

I may write some of these up in more detail later - or maybe not!

Chorlton Water Park

I thought I'd go somewhere new to try my new monopod out.  At 12.45am, it was getting a bit late on this overcast winter's day, but I decided to go out anyway. I chose to visit Chorlton Water Park as there had been reports of fairly large numbers of Siskin there over the last few days.  I used to travel the route from home quite regularly when I worked as a part time youth leader at  Fielden Park Youth Club in Didsbury, but I don't remember having actually ever been to the Water Park before.

After parking up and finding the water, I chose to walk down a woodland path first, partly because it had started to rain and partly because it looked quite promising.  Well, apart from a Blue Tit popping out of a nest box, a robin singing, a blackbird and a crow, there was not much here and so I climbed the few short steps off the woodland path and resumed my walk on the main footpath.

I could only see a couple of Goosander, lots of Gulls and Coots and a few Mallard and Canada Geese on the water and so I veered off the tarmac path and up a short rise into the area known as Barlow Tip in search of Alder trees which Siskins particularly like.  But very shortly the ground became waterlogged and boggy and so I soon retreated back to the main path.

Here I met a man walking a dog and we chatted for a while about cameras, binoculars and the dog.  I was going to ask him if he knew where the Siskins were, but it became evident that he didn't know anything about birds and so I didn't bother.  Another bloke walked past with binoculars around his neck and so I asked him instead, and although he hadn't seen any today, he pointed me in the direction of were he'd thought they'd would be.

And so, after finishing my chat with the first chap, I set off again along the main path in search of Alder trees and Siskin. On the way I stopped a couple of times to try out my camera on the monopod, firstly for some distant Goosander on the main Water Park and then for a pair of Pochard nestling under the trees which overhang the water.  It was very dark and gloomy and so none of the shots I took today are that good, but I liked the feel of the monopod even though it was still quite hard to keep the camera absolutely still. I hope with practice that the monopod will improve the quality of my bird photos.

When I reached the Alder trees I had a good look round but to no avail - no Siskins in sight anywhere.  So I continued wallking up the path through the trees until I reached a bridge over the River Mersey, from which I could see a distant pair of Goosander on the river.  I saw this as an opportunity to get some close pictures of the Goosander, as the river is not very wide and they haven't got many places to go on the water except towards me or away from me.  So I slowly walked down the river bank, past a group of seven or eight Mallards without disturbing them, to get as close as possible.

The birds were bobbing around in front of some rough water and would often dive and disappear fro a while.  I managed to get some shots, but the poor light meant slow shutter speeds and that means blurred images.  They took a ride on the fast flowing current past me and in a matter of seconds were a 100m or so downstream.  I went after them and got a few more shots before they sailed out of range.  It was a shame, because on a bright day I probably would have got some much better pictures - this is as close as I've ever come to Goosander.

I returned to the Water Park and had another look for the Siskin, but by now the light was failing fast.  So I set off back to the car, stopping in a couple of places to take some more photos of another pair of Goosander and a distant Great Crested Grebe.  Just before I returned to the car park, some headphone-clad idiot allowed his dog to lurch after the Canada Geese and Tufted Ducks which has gathered in what seems like an area where people feed them - not just once but several times.  He did nothing about this and just poured himself a drink seemingly oblivious to this act of wildlife terrorising.  I didn't feel like saying anything to him however, he didn't look the type to take my comments kindly.

After a quick look at the feeding station where there were a couple of Grey Squirrels, a Long-tailed Tit, a Blackbird and a Robin, I set off for home. It's a good place and I'll be back soon even though I never did see any Siskin today.

Here's some arty flying gulls pictures with which to end:

Leucistic Blackbird

Just as I was trying out my new Manfrotto monopod and tilt head, a bargain bought for £23 off e-Bay, which arrived this morning, another leucistic blackbird appeared in my back garden. It's not Luke, the bird I saw a few times last year, as this bird has a lot more white covering the tops of its wings as well as it's head. This is the second such bird I've seen this week in two different locations.

I was trying to get some shots of a few Long-tailed Tits and Great Tits that were passing through my feeders when the leucistic bird just appeared out of nowhere.  It didn't stay for long but I managed a couple of better shots than I have of Luke - however the day was quite dull and overcast and so they're not great.

Now I'm going to have to think of another name!  How about Snowy?

Owl Spotting at Marton Mere, Lancashire

Sarah and I visited Marton Mere (not to be confused with Martin Mere) in Lancashire today for an event entitled 'Owl Spotting' which was organised by the RSPB and the Ranger Service there. Marton Mere can be accessed in a number of ways, one of which is by entering the local caravan site which borders the Mere and parking at the Ranger's Office there. This is the way we chose, but after waiting for some time for the Ranger to turn up, we wondered if we were in the right place.

Fortunately another birder turned up (Safraz) who was equally concerned about the lack of activity, and so we set off for one of the hides where we could ask for information. Here we learned that the RSPB flag was flying on the far side of the Mere and that scopes had been set up to view the Owls.  So we set off walking round the Mere on our own in search of the flag.

When we arrived a large group of people (from Preston RSPB it turns out) had already gathered and they were looking through scopes and binoculars into the trees. Sarah and I couldn't see anything at all with our naked eyes, but we were soon encouraged to look through a scope which had been carefully trained on it's target.

Unfortunately this is a picture from the Marton Mere Website

It took a few moments to see what was there, even when it was viewed with the scope - it was an amazing Long-eared Owl, so brilliantly camouflaged amongst the branches that even the experts were having difficulty seeing it.  Apparently these are over-wintering Scandinavian birds and this place has become a regular haunt for them each year.

After staring down the scope as if you were looking at one of those crazy hidden pictures, you could eventually make out it's 'ear' tufts after a while and then trace these down to a face.  Every now and then an eye or it's beak would become visible through the branches - wonderful. However, it was so well-hidden that most people wouldn't know it was there and wouldn't be able to find it even with a scope.  Pictures were impossible because I couldn't focus on the bird without using the scope.

After a chat with the two people from the RSPB, Sarah and I moved on to complete a full walk around the Mere. The other birds we saw today included:

• A leucistic blackbird amongst other blackbirds
• Magpie
• Mute Swan
• Pochard
• Wigeon
• Teal
• Greylag Goose
• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Coot
• Moorhen
• Black-headed Gull
• Cormorant
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Chaffinch
• Dunnock
• Robin

A really good morning out and a great place to which we'll definitely return.