And a bit More

A few more sightings from today :-




Little Grebe - Sefton Park

Sefton Park

Little Grebe - nesting pair
Mute Swan - nesting pair
Ring Necked Parakeet - 2
Nuthatch - 3
Chifchaff - 3
Willow Warbler - 1
Swallow - 1
Sparrowhawk - 1
Canada Goose - pair around the bamboo island where they were last year
Great Spotted Woodpecker




Wavertree Mystery

Chifchaff - 7
Willow Warbler - 1
Swallow - 1

Swallow over Dovedale Road too

Greenbank Park

Plenty around in the park this morning including:-

Godcrests - Singing in the pines at the top of Greenbank Lane
Willow Warbler - 7
Blackcap - male
Swallow - 5
Redwing - 2
Siskin - 1 flew East
Cormorant - 3 (each eventually departed separately)
Coot - 3 nesting pairs
Canada Goose - the nesting attempt on the raft has ended when a flock of Lesser Black Backed       Gulls took the eggs this morning
Nuthatch - pairs (one pair nesting in the same hole as last year)
Chaffinch - 1 nesting pair
Great Spotted Woodpecker

Itching to get out!

From the 2nd floor office window I was working next to this morning in Liverpool University, I was only a few feet from a line of Sycamore Trees, at about 10am I noticed a warbler only literally five feet in front of me feeding on the branches - a Wood Warbler; unmistakable with its bright green and yellow tones and prominent supercillium.... a stonker, which later could be heard singing (via an opened window). As well as this bird at least 9 Willow Warblers, 1 Chifchaff, and a male Blackcap in the same line of trees throughout the day. With this amount of migrants in one tiny area who knows what's been passing through today, I will always remember from now on ..... less work more staring out of the window!

Here we go again!

Spring migration is finally underway, it's about time, I thought it would never happen! As it stands we seem to be two or three weeks behind the arrival dates from last spring, but with the southern winds blowing migrants steadily through the country it wont be long before summer migrants fill the place with song. here is a roundup of the last weeks birding:-

 

Speke Hall - 7th April

Not many migrants around, but a Cuckoo which flew over the orchard and front lawn towards the business park was the highlight, closely followed by a pair of Common Buzzards over Stocktons Wood, and a Peregrine flew rapidly West hunting. A new feeding station and viewing screen has been constructed adjacent to the orchard which offers a great chance of seeing birds such as Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. A roundup follows -

 

Cuckoo

Peregrine

Common Buzzard -2

Redwing - 15+

Nuthatch - 4

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 4

Stock Dove - 2

Redpoll - 1 (flew North)

Cowslips - 20+

 

Speke/Garston Coastal Reserve (viewed from the moat at Speke Hall) - 9th April

 

Yellow Wagtail (near to the airport fence line)

Meadow Pipits - 5

Skylark -2

Reed Bunting

Chifchaff

Shelduck 35+

Bar-Tailed Godwit - 20

Redshank - 120+

Curlew - 3

Oystercatcher - 25+

 

Wavertree Mystery - 12th April

 

Chiff Chaff

Meadow Pipits -5

 

Otterspool Park - 12th April

 

Nuthatch - 2

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Goldcrest

Comma

 

Greenbank Park - 14th April

 

Swallows - 2

Chiff Chaff

Redwing - 12+

Pied Wagtail - 2

Treecreeper

Nuthatch - nesting

Coot - two pairs nesting

Mute Swan - 3 (resident male is still trying to drive off the new pair)

Canada Goose - nesting on the southern platform

Grey Heron

Stock Dove - 2

 

Sefton Park (the dell area) - 14th April

 

Grey Wagtail

Stock Dove

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Nuthatch -2

Sparrowhawk (the cinder path between Liverpool College and the halls of residence)

Nuthatch

 

Spring has sprung.......only in the valleys!

Conwy Mountains - April 2013

Over the last week I visited the Cumbrian Fells and the North Wales uplands, and although in the lowlands spring is now starting to get a move on; at a higher altitude the landscape is still in the grip of winter.

Red Skrees - April 2013

I climbed the fells North of Ambleside last Wednesday; North up the ridge from the Kirkstone Road onto the Summit of Red Skrees, over to Little Hart Crag and Dove Crag, and South along the ridge over High Pike back to Ambleside (eventually finishing with the head torches on!). As could be expected little birdlife could be found except for the hardy Ravens which entertained us as they performed their somersaulting display flights, and Common Buzzard spiralling on thermals above the valleys, very little paserines could be found except for Siskins, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and a Dipper near Low Sweeden Bridge. But still a fantastic day in some testing conditions.

Red Skrees - April 2013

On Thursday I headed for the Conwy Mountains; this is a favourite area of mine and I seem to visit around this time each year; this year however instead of summer migrants moving over the moorland and/or the odd Ring Ouzel dropping in, a couple of feet of snow and ice still had the area in its grip. It was a fantastic sight however, and it provided me with some great walking. Many of the areas Wild Ponies were well lower down the valleys than usual for the time of year, but seemed to be copping fine with the conditions; they are a hardy animal and I always enjoy seeing them up on the fells. On lower latitudes Common Buzzards displayed and a pair could be seen in courtship display resulting in mating, higher up in the hills the best sighting was a calling pair of Chough (fairly regular here as it so close to the North Wales coast) and the ever present Ravens.

Welsh Mountain Ponies - Conwy Mountains

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Conwy Moutains - April 2013

Conwy Mountains - April 2013

Conwy Mountains - April 2013

Conwy Mountains - April 2013