The Patch Awakens

With access to the Rudheath lime beds now formally granted, at least for the immediate future, I’ve been trying to make the most of it and visiting most days.

Spring has finally got going, with the weeks highlights as follows:

Ring Ouzel a female on 29th was the first patch record (albeit due to under recording). 

Whinchat; 2 on 30th (m&f). There were around 30 Northern Wheatears the same day and there have been decent numbers all week.

Wood Sandpiper  1 on 30th (flood) found by Paul

Green Sandpiper 2 on 24th (flood)

Whimbrel  2 on 25th and 3 on 27th. No doubt more roosting but not managed to get up in the evening.

Greenshank 1 from 26th to at least 30th.

Avocet pair on 28th and again on 30th. Hopefully settling down to breed.

Dunlin nice flock of 15 on flood and another 6 on No7 bed on 28th, with 5 lingering to the weeks end.

Ringed Plover the resident male with damaged leg present all week, seen in display flight with 2 presumed females on 29th. A further 4 dropped in briefly on 30th before heading east.

Mediterranean Gull ad & 2cy briefly on 26th. Presumably same birds as previous week.

Black-headed Gulls are lingering on the partially excavated bed, with typically 30-50 birds showing signs of breeding, but probably sub adults or inexperienced birds going through the motions. Worryingly an adult showing signs of bird flu was on the flood on 28th.

Wigeon 2 unseasonal males from 27th.

Breeding birds now in full flow, with the first Lapwing broods appearing from around 11 pairs. Up to 5 pairs of Little Ringed Plovers, 4-5 pairs of Redshank and a single Oystercatcher pair.

The Tata works pair of Peregrines are presumably breeding as the male was seen on most visits around the usual building.

My first Common Whitethroat up there on 26th and flyover Yellow Wagtail  on 28th.

I did manage brief forays away from the beds too, with Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers all vocal along the River Weaver on 29th. Highlights of a visit to Neumann’s and Ashton’s on 25th were a distant female Whinchat, and a small fall of Willow Warblers.

 

Redstarts 22nd April 2023

A lovely couple of hours spent photographing Common Redstarts near Horseshoe Pass, followed by a quick drop in to the patch for a Grey Plover found by Paul.

Tiny Dancers, Friday 21st April 2023

On Thursday 20th April there hassle been an impressive east bound movement of Little Gulls along the Mersey Valley, but none were found on the local meres or my newish patch at Rudheath. An adult and 2cy Mediterranean Gulls were welcome at the latter though, and copulating Ringed Plovers a good sign. 

Same for first thing Friday morning, but by late morning reports started coming through of flocks on most of the larger water bodies, including Budworth Mere. Numbers fluctuated throughout the afternoon, so I headed to the yacht club to make use of the jetties (at least until I was chucked off again).

There were around 22 birds when I arrived, dancing over the water as only Little Gulls can. After about 45 minutes most birds had spiralled off north eastwards, leaving just two. I walked back to the car, only to turn around and see another 7-8 birds, presumably there had been a substantial turnover throughout the day.

Meds on the Beds

Two rather lovely Mediterranean Gulls on the Rudheath Lime Beds this morning - an adult and a 2nd yr bird that seemed to be paired-up. A species we expect to see regularly thesedays, but always notable.

The Wait is Over….just not for most of us. 18th April 2023

The older you get the more you realise how much bird distributions shift over time. Sometimes it’s subtle, like the loss of local breeding Willow Warblers as it’s masked by singing migrants. Others are considerably more clear, like the rapid increase of Black-winged Kites in the Low Countries leading to recent breeding and a very conspicuous range extension of this beautiful and characteristic species. A British record has seemed inevitable, just a case of when. Perhaps in the non top distant future it will be a breeding species too. On Sunday 16th April a probable Black-winged Kite was reported by the A14 in Suffolk, seen by a birder from a moving car. Locals were quickly on scene but only found a pale buzzard. The red alert was rapidly stood down and the wait continued. Then, utterly remarkably, just two days later a birder working in Wales happened across it or another Black Winged Kite way out west in Powys, central Wales. It was filmed and this time there was no doubt, and news was out within minutes. Whether this this the Suffolk bird (if it was one), or an incredible coincidence didn’t matter.

I was at work, but had fortuitously kept the afternoon  free to go birding and properly catch up with Pete Brash, a long standing and valued pal from both my early twitching days and the Cape May years, not to mention many a trip to Scilly. We’d somewhat lost contact and I was looking forward to getting together so the bird news was also inconvenient. Happily Pete jumped at the chance to come along and headed to the office, as did Malc  

The bird had been seen at 10.30 am and we rolled on to site just after 2. Remarkably few birders were around and most of us spread out to search the valleys. It wasn’t to be, but it was an enjoyable afternoon regardless. There were many Red Kites and Buzzards, but the raptor highlight was prolonged views of a female Goshawk hunting the hillside below us, and a daytime Tawny Owl unusually right in the open. Two lovely Yellow Wagtails and a single House Martin were my first of the year.

The wait for a twitchable Black-winged  Kite continues, but either this one will reappear or there will be others and it’s a bird I very much hope to savour here someday (my last were in Morocco on the early nineties).

This was in many ways an enjoyable dip. We gave it a good go and I enjoyed the company. My last twitch with Pete was the 1989 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, but hopefully the next birding adventure won’t be quite so  many years away.  The 1.5 hour drive flew by and we ended up in the Leigh Arms for dinner.  If Carlsberg did dips…

8th April 2023

A warm morning spent up on the Rudheath Lime Beds. Spring migrants thin in the ground but the waders are settling in to breed. At least 5 Little Ringed Plovers, 8+ Redshank, 20+ Lapwings and a pair of Oystercatcher. Single Ringed Plover and Dunlin, and up to 50 Curlew were present, with a dozen or so each of Teal and Gadwall, 20 or so Shoveler and up to 12 Shelducks were getting amourus.  A female Wheatear and a single Swallows were my first of the year, and a Peregrine was back on the nearby Tata works.  

Great to be back up here and water levels look decent. Let’s hope spring delivers.

After a few hours in the beds I joined up with Malc and we headed to Widnes for the 2nd winter Kumlien’s Gull, which showed well, although strong light made photos poor. White-winged gulls of any type have been thin on the ground this past winter.

ACE Visitor 31/3/23

A welcome visit from Mr Andy Carroll was a tad thin on the decent bird front, but more importantly it was great to catch up - long overdue and most welcome.

We made two attempts for the intermittent Alpine Swift at Elton Reservoir in Bury. I managed ok views of it at height but hardly what was hoped for. Andy was less keen on the locale, so stayed in the car. My first Sand Martins of the year (30th March) were the only other notable bird. 

Weather, willpower and poor fortune hampered us on Saturday 1st, but on Sunday 2nd the RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands reserve delivered some Disneyland birding, with excellent views of the long-staying Long-billed Dowitcher amongst 30 or so Knot, a single moulting Spotted Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Dunlin and so on. A male Garganey was a welcome sign of spring and the usual Great and Little Egrets. Four Whooper Swans had dropped in and multiple Cetti’s sang in the spring like conditions.