Sandbach, 27th January 2022

 A late afternoon visit to Elton Hall Flash yielded adult and 1st winter Iceland Gulls. Before that there were at least 3 Long-eared Owls in the usual roost spot.

January 2022 Local Trips

14th January

Hale Area: no sign of the wintering Firecrest, but a smart male Merlin and several Grey Partridge.

15th January

Delamere Forest: no crossbills, Raven only.

Ince: Cattle Egret x 3, Little Egret x 20.

16th January

Ince Area: Three Russian White-fronted Geese x 3 amongst 250 Pink-footed Geese. 

Marbury: Bittern no-show but Kingfisher. 

20th January 

Little Owl and Brambling at Lostock. Little owls now a local rarity, so nice to spend some time with this one.

22nd January.

Frodsham. Two Short-eared Owls, small flocks of Golden Plover and Black-tailed Godwits over.

Chelford Area 11th Jan 2022

 A couple of hours at the eastern end of my 15km for some high quality local birds:

Great Northern Diver at Mere Farm Quarry, along with 3 Goosander, 2 Goldeneye and commoner wildfowl for the year.

Black-necked Grebe, Great Egret and multiple Mandarin at Acre Nook Sand Quarry.

Two redhead Smew at Lapwing Lane Pool (probably the same two I saw last year here), along with a smart male Peregrine causing havoc to the large gull roost. 

New Year, Slow from the Blocks

Pretty much the last thing that happened in 2021 was testing positive for Covid. Marvellous. New Years Eve was downgraded to a non event, and the first nine days of 2022 spent under house arrest. At least the new garden provided some avian entertainment, after three years in a gardenless rental the open field and mature trees behind the new house have been a lifeline. 

Day ten of isolation was Sunday 9th Jan, and I had to get out. A short jaunt to Frodsham Marsh in the late afternoon proved worthwhile just for the family party of four Bewick’s Swans. Year birds cam aplenty, with the other highlights being two Marsh Harriers, Cetti’s Warbler, Little Egret and 250ish Pink-footed Geese. The 15 mile from the house year list is finally up and running.