Migration time

Migration is well and truly underway again, I had a quick look around a few sites today, all of which held newly arrived birds. The Riverside Drive area of Otterspool held a singing Willow Warbler, 5 Chiff Chaffs, 5 Mipits, and a male Sparrowhawk (complete with its prey). The shore adjacent to this site held small numbers of Redshanks and Curlews, with a female Merganser flying downriver being the highlight. The Japanese Garden in the Garden Festival compound, currently being refurbished looks amazing (a least when peering through the fence); I cant wait to have a look around, but its still a shame that this could only happen as part of a building contractual agreement! St. Michael's In The Hamlet wood held Blackcap and Chiff Chaff, and flowering Lesser Celandine accompanied by tonnes of (soon to be flowering) Ramsons (wild Garlic). The surprise of the day was yet another male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling along the Western flank of Sefton Park lake (near the Cedar of Lebanon) although by the time I got around the lake to it, it had shut up! This was around 11am, but again I heard it as I was coming back through the park at 12:30 pm; further North along the lake near to the tunnels. Although I have had Lesser Spots in the area during the early Spring before (annually), this year has been especially good, and it seems that their are indeed at least two male birds in the Sefton Park/Greenbank areas, yet a large part of the geographical area is in private land and these birds are mostly overlooked it seems. A Common Buzzard drifted high East and seemed to be migrating rather than a local bird, also:- 5 Cormorants, 2 Little Grebes, nesting Mute Swans, 5 Coot nests, 6 Nuthatches, 3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Grey Wagtails, and large numbers of Mipits overhead. Lesser Celandine, 2 Grey Wagtails, Cormorant, 2 Nuthatch, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Greenbank Park too.

Chiff Chaff must be Spring

Had my first Chiff Chaff of the Spring today; a singing male In the northern end of Greenbank Park, also there a calling male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker again, this was in the adjacent large wooded gardens. A Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 15 Redwings, female Sparrowhawk, Grey and Pied Wagatails in the park also. On a sad note, the Cormorant pictured on the previous post was seen freshly dead on one of the rafts, hopefully not but possibly the work of the local anglers. Spring has definitely sprung with all the daffodils in full swing, Coots nesting, Swans courting, and Greenfinches in their lovely song flights.........its only going to get better! Mistletoe in the Lime Tree above the Penny Lane sign on the corner of Penny Lane/Greenbank Road, this is a really rare sight in the city now and it would be interesting to hear of any others around. Sparrowhawk over the Liverpool Womens Hospital today also.

Two in Two Out

The 2 adult Mute Swans have now returned to Greenbank (Saturday), the adult birds have now kicked out the 2 imm Birds from last years brood, and the male bird has started pursuing all the geese on the lake, it wont be long before there all gone and the Swans start nest building, again signs of Spring creeping in!


Again on Saturday a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was calling from the tree canopy on the SW end of the lake, before flying into the University halls land on Greenbank Lane.


A breeding plumaged male Heron has been regularly seen around the lake lately and today I found it today struggling to swallow a long dead fish, and I mean long dead, see the photo, urgggh! Treecreeper and Nuthatch in the park also.

Lesser Spot in Greenbank

I had a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker calling in trees on the Liverpool University Campus opposite the main gates to Greenbank Park on Greenbank Lane at about 1:00 pm. I have had Lesser Spots in this local area a number of times during late winter/ early spring and one was in the exact same place last year around February or March. It seems likely that there may be a small population in the area, as other birders have noted them locally around Greenbank and Sefton Park in the past.

Other birds included a Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, GreylagxCanada Goose hybrid, and the 1st w male Pintail was still present, sporting a yellow ring on its left leg.