Waxwings at last!

As the previous posts show, a Waxwing flock that can be relied upon has now been found in the area, thanks to the tip off from Will on Friday. I only managed to see one of the 135 birds at Prince Alfred Road on Thursday, but on Friday morning at least 90 birds could be viewed.

The majority of the flock perch up in Sycamores and Willows next to the electricity sub-station behind the closed down carpet world on Smithdown Road and make occasional forays in smaller groups over to the berry trees in the Penny Lane shopping precinct and down onto the rosehips opposite the carpet world, and occasionally onto the old factory roof for a bit of bathing and preening. Waxwings at any time are a real treat but to have them just 'around the corner' is even better! 15 Goldfinch and a Cormorant flying north-west where also in the area.
 

 

Elsewhere, in Greenbank Park 2 singing Treecreepers, singing Nuthatch, male and female Tufted Duck, hybrid Goose, Mute Swan, 10 Redwing, Grey Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, and flowering Daffodils could all be seen this morning.

I took advantage of the glorious weather today and had a walk along Crosby shore with the family this afternoon and was rewarded with two Divers, which looked very much like Great Northern Divers flying into the Mersey River mouth, apart from this sighting small numbers of Sanderling could be seen along with 600+ Oystercatchers and 100+ Bar-Tailed Godwits, 15 Skylarks, 14 Tufted Ducks and a female Red Breasted Merganser on the Marine Lake, and bizarrely a decapitated Auk species on the beach!

Waxwings again

I was surprised to find 19 Waxwings today at 4:20pm perched on TV Ariels in Lidderdale Road, off Smithdown Road; this is a really strange place to find them and I have no idea where they must be feeding (treeless terraced streets) unless they where just passing through. I will have a search tomorrow, fingers crossed. Cant believe I am still tripping over these things, I have never known a winter like it for them! Lots of Mipits and Wagtails moving over Liverpool University today and Colts Foot in flower on Brownlow Hill/Metropolitan Cathedral.

Its been a while!

I have been really snowed under lately, as the lack of posts show! I managed to briefly catch up with the Waxwings (55 in total) on Aigburth Road at 9:00 AM today, as they where perched up amongst the canopy and soon took flight and headed NE towards Allerton. I had a scout around, Sudley, Brodie Avenue, Rose Lane etc........ but no sign. These birds have been present since the beginning of February and I have tried to catch up with them on a couple of occasions, with no success; so finally finding them this morning was rewarding. 2 Cormorants on Greenbank Park lake was unusual also, along with Nuthach, nesting Coot, the pair of Mute Swans (male constantly tyring to drive off the Geese). I have seen a pair of Peregrines over the last couple of weeks in the Hope Street area, and a pair of Mistle Thrushes nesting in the UoL Campus. 6 Waxwings South over Hoole Road, Chester last Sunday morning at 11:15 AM.

Waxwing 12

I was working in Bootle on Sunday morning from about 5:30 am, by about 7.00 am a flock of around 25 Waxwings flew out of their roost in the tall Leylandii trees at the back of the large car park opposite Merton House, Stanley Road, and flew off low North. This may well have been a regular roosting site for them as they have been in the area in varying numbers since December. Also 10 Cormorants over.

85 Redwings on Wavertree Mystery yesterday.

Odds and Sods

It has been relatively quiet due to work/Uni/Family commitments! Yet I managed to see a few goodies in between; last Sunday I had a flock of about 10 Waxwings over Stanley Road, Bootle which seemed to go down behind the magistrates court, Grey Heron and a hunting Peregrine there too. On Monday a Sparrowhawk displayed over UoL at Brownlow Hill. The yellow ringed female Pintail is still at Greenbank Park along with calling Nuthatches, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, pair of Mute Swans, and a Grey Wagtail. On Thursday afternoon a female Peregrine was around the Metropolitan Cathedral, and a singing Blackcap on Mossley Hill Drive, Sefton Park, along with singing Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Nuthatch, and Redwing; Spring is nearly Sprung!

Waxwings on the march

I was lucky enough to spot 17 Waxwings over the City Centre today at 12:15 whilst I was on the TUC organised anti-government funding cuts march and rally! The birds flew over St Georges Hall, presumably from the area in Scotland Road they have been frequenting, they then circled over Lime Street/Copperas Hill area for a couple of minutes before heading South towards Toxteth, a strange sight indeed over the City! A Peregrine over the city too, as one was yesterday over University of Liverpool.

Waxwing 10

I caught up with the Waxwings on the junction of Scotland Road and Leeds Street again today, this particular flock of birds are very approachable as they feed away on the Cotoneaster berries, in total there where 37 birds this morning and early afternoon, but they are prone to flying off and disappearing for a good while.....be warned! Also there 2 Blackcaps, several Redwings and apparently a pair of Sparrowhawks have been displaying overhead over the last couple of days.

Bumped into another local birder who informed me of a male Goosander and 2 Mergansers on Princes Dock and a local pair of Peregrines in courtship lately.

Oh and to top it off I was interviewed for the Daily Post concerning the Waxwings, they are even getting into the local press!

Waxwings on the move!

I started the day well yesterday, as me and Mike "the cockney" Brown where sticking to a tight schedule we managed to tick the Waxwing flock on the junction of Scotland Road and Leeds Street in the city centre, without stopping the car! A sacrilege for sure! Maybe I will catch up with them during the next few days, I wonder if they where the birds I saw over the University of Liverpool during December?
We then had a quick look for the flock in Norris Green, but couldn't repeat the drive by pattern! Mike had 70 birds there on Townsend Avenue the day before. The birds I reported in Bootle during December are still around in that area too, there is plenty to go around!

We traveled up to Preston Docks to catch up with the long staying Iceland Gull, a rarity nowadays away from areas like Moore and its adjacent tip, the bird duly obliged and could also potentially had been ticked from the car! How is it that so many decent birds over the years have been found near Macdonalds? Does this point to a higher than average rate of obesity within the birdwatching community?

We made are way up to Fairhaven Lake, Lytham St Annes,to see the Red Necked Grebe. The bird was in its usual area in the East corner of the lake and showed really well. Also on the salt marsh adjacent to the lake; a flock of 70 Twite (according to the RSPB visitors centre there has been 300 reported).

Our next stop was Lytham Crematorium for the resident Ring-Necked Parakeets, we easily found 4 of the birds, due to their ear splitting calls! 4 pairs of these great birds bred here last year, and with one of the 4 birds present yesterday a 1st winter bird; they seem to be doing well, especially if they can handle the last couple of winters, good luck to them I say. One of the male birds was actively displaying and calling, and according to a couple of local birders; they are already carrying nesting material! Now if these critters think spring is on the way, it really must be!

When leaving the Crem at the bottom of the access road where it meets the main road, we had a flock of at least 12 Waxwings fly past us, I have never known a winter like it for this species, its hard not to see them at the moment!

One last look at the Iceland Gull on the way back rounded the day off nicely.

Waxwing 8

Waxwings where still present around Allerton Road yesterday with 3 birds in Plane Trees opposite the old Cinema at 12:30 and later 13 where reported on Birdline.

A Peregrine was perched on top of the high-rise block on Greenbank Lane at 3:00pm and a Grey Heron was later perched in the tree canopy in Greenbank Park at dusk.

Waxwing 3

Visited Greenbank and Sefton Park (to play in the snow with the boy) had a Waxwing flying South over Greenbank Road and 5 Nuthatches in the park.

I was in Croxteth Park on Friday and found 2 Buzzards, Harris Hawk (without jesses), Sparrowhawk, GS Woodpeckers, Fieldfares, and Nuthatches.

Waxwings 2

Again I accidentally bumped into a flock of Waxwings today whilst working in Bootle at about 2.00pm, a flock of 15 birds came from the area of Merton Grove, flew over Stanley Road and appeared to go down around Pembroke Road/Balliol Road near to Hugh Bird College. This was a great relief as I found out yesterday a flock of 50+ Waxwings had been found in Booker Avenue, Allerton (just down the road from me), but due to work commitments I have not been able to catch up with them as yet. I always find it a bit strange when another birder finds something in my local area, surely I need to try harder! Hopefully I will catch up with them tomorrow.
Surely with the amount of birds elswhere in the region Liverpool has a few undiscovered flocks lirking on cotoneasters near you!