Bits and bobs

After last weeks excitement and good weather things changed dramatically over the weekend. Plenty of good birds in the N W region such as Greenish Warbler at Walney, R N Duck at Frodsham and a whole plethora of rarities on Bardsey where they greedily, in my opinion, laid claim to a Woodchat Shrike, Common Rosefinch and Melodious Warbler over the jubilee Holiday weekend whilst Hilbre (for all our efforts) got nothing! Even the good weather departed with Saturday particularly wet and miserable.

A brief seawatch Saturday from the sheltered westerly side of the Observatory revealed an adult Gannet, two Manx Shearwaters and a handful of Arctic Terns amongst the Common Terns fishing on the flooding tide

With an improvement Sunday I decided to spend an hour or so photographing Great-spotted Woodpeckers in Stanney Woods.

Both the holes in the first picture were excavated this year and it looks as if the nest chamber from the top hole has broken through into the bottom one. The young could be heard calling and I reckon they're about  7 -10 days old.

Tuesday was a better day on Hilbre but there was still a strong breeze. Nothing spectacular but the ringing totals kept ticking over with a couple of juvenile Linnets and a Spotted Flycatcher being caught.

A trip to South Road pool was rewarded with a singing Garden Warbler - a scarce bird in my part of the Wirral and a pair of Shelduck with the small Tufted Duck flock. I keep checking this pool in the hope of a rare aythea and with a drake Ring-necked Duck being seen Monday and Tuesday at Frodsham I'm convinced one day it will happen. That's what keeps us going..................................