Raptor fest.

With Lapland Buntings pouring into the country and the east coast dripping with Rosefinches a sunny evening meant a walk through the stubble fields with Molly to check out the finch and bunting flocks that are building up nicely.

No rarities but star billing to a Hobby that appeared over the house chasing the local hirundines and in turn being chased by them! The second time I've seen it locally this week.

Raptors were the order of the day it seems with a local Kestrel making inroads into the finch flock feedign on the rape stubble Sparrowhawk style. It glided in at speed and grabbed a Linnet before heading off for a well earnt meal.

Even the local Buzzards were getting in on the act.

Whilst the Greenfinches watched warily from the safety of a thick Hawthorn hedge.

South Easterlies on Hilbre!

The weekend started early with a bang on Thursday when Hilbre caught their earliest ever Firecrest. The same  morning an Icterine Warbler was caught at an undisclosed site on the Wirral. An omen of things to come we thought..........................

Friday saw an intrepid crew joining the Obs members who'd stayed overnight. A beautiful sunrise greeted us as we passed over Middle Eye and looked back to West Kirby followed soon after by Jane Turner to say she'd had a Barred Warbler through her garden. With Ortolan and Melodious Warblers on Bardsey hopes were high.

Nothing spectacular but a steady stream of migrants passed through the Islands with at least one large unidentified and never to be seen again warbler diving over the Blackthorn and into Nifffy Bay. The highlight for me was this cracking 1st year Spotted Flycatcher caught in the SK. One of my favourite birds and a privelege to be able to see one so close up.

An increasingly rare site these days unfortunately. Other migrant birds included Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff. A few butterflies were o nthe wing and Small Tortoiseshell, Greyling and Red Admiral were all logged as part of the Observatories continuous wildlife recording.

Unfortunately I couldn't be there Saturday when a Hilbre rarity was caught - a Treecreeper! Ths arrival seemed t ocoincide with  movement of this speices as on the same day two were caught at Bardsey.

A night to remember at Hoylake Yacht club meant a much depleted Obs team made the early morning start today. Although still south easterly the wind had picked up to a force 4 -5 gusting to 6 and grounded migrants were extremely scarce. Whilst contemplating the madness of such an early start over tea and chocolate digestives the day significantly improved when the panic stricken waders and gulls moved off the sand banks on the east side. Once the Cormorants flew as well we knew there was a large raptor around and Steve soon picked out an Osprey in the early morning gloom. Unfortunately for me the light was so poor still I couldn't get an autolock on the camera and in the panic to try and get a shot forgot to switch to manual focus.

Other good sightings today included a Guillemot on rocks at the north end and a Grey Seal similarly disposed.  Another raptor caused mayhem amongst the waders when a juvenile Peregrine made a couple of sorties down the east side.

Not a spectacular day for migrants but some good birds seen and a thoroughly enjoyable morning rounded off with bacon butties before we headed back to join the throngs on the mainland. Birding doesn't get much better than this!

Good golly an Eastern Ollie.

Or words to that effect when Mark Payne told me the news just as I was paying the price of a small mortgage for two front tyres. Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is another of those enigma's that I conspire to miss. In the last three years I've dipped at Portland, been stuck on Shetland in gale force winds whilst ones on Foula and generally come  to the conclusion they don't exist - a bit like Lanceolated Warbler although our time will come with that one and I have dreams of picking one up in one of the heli's on Hilbre.

Plans were rapidly made and we set off for Flamborouugh. No photo's of this bird which remained resolutely hidden for the best part of two hours only betraying itself with the occasional call. I saw it briefly three times after picking it up in the binoculars and trying to get others on to it.

Quite a few people there and some of the worst aspects of twitching on display at times:

1. If a bird is feeling threatened it won't show. Instead of rushing forward and crowding it
    when it does show try moving back and giving it space.

2. Put mobile phones on silent mode - a classsic from Steve Young after one particularly
    loud ring - 'is that it singing or is that someones mobile'.

3. Someone teach Yorkshire men of a certain age what whisper means.

Not particularly satisfactory but its on my British list all the same. Nice to see some of  the newer generation of British Birders out in force - Ash Powell, Dan Pointon, Josh Jones & Joe Ray all sporting shades, bum fluff and smoking roll ups or a combination of all three.

Long-tailed Skua, Hilbre.

A strong N W overnight on the Wirral instantly gets local birders thinking of seawatching! That was exactly my thoughts whislt waiting with Molly for Steve to pick us up in the Landrover at 07.00 on a very blustery Sunday morning. No chance of staying for the tide but after a quick walk around the heligoland traps it was off to the seawatching hide for a spot of low tide viewing.

There wasn't much moving and it appeared the force 5 -6 blowing hadn't been prolonged enough yet to move any petrels in from the Irish Sea. A solitary Wigeon sheltered off the slipway and for awhile was the best bird of the morning!

Picking up a distant skua I got Steve onto it quickly as  Iwas struck how by how small and dainty it was - when it chased a Sandwich Tern the tern looked as big as it did. With a very dainty demeanour and attenuated rear end it looked good for juvenile Long-tailed Skua. Watching it for around 30 minutes we both agreed and the news was put out. A short while later it reappeared much closer and we watched it in flight and settled on the water. This time there was no doubt and we saw all the salient features to confirm it as in intermdeiate phase juvenile.

Just as we'd got back to the Obs for a cooked breakfast I got a text from Pete Kinsella to say he'd had an adult and an intermediate phase juvenile off Seaforth / Crosby between 07.00 & 07.30!

Leaving the island  I ventured back to Leasowe Gunsites where Pod, Al Orton & myself used the landrover as a hide for a seawatch over the high tide. Once again birds were few and far between and only on the ebbing tide did we manage to see anything at all. 5 Kittiwakes and 2 Arctic Skuas were all we had to show for 2 hrs effort. No petrels were seen off the Orme or Seaforth either.

The local rape seed stubble is proving a magnet for finches and a large flock of 30 -40 Linnets has already built up with a handful of Reed Buntings and Tree Sparrows thrown in. It'll be good if its left all winter but somehow I doubt it will.

The local Swans have had a successful breeding season with the adult pair on the Shropshire Union canal at nearby Stoak having six well grown cygnets. Coming out of the water to feed they weren't at all perturbed by our presence until the Cobb spotted Molly and we had to beat a strategic retreat.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Neumans Flash

About time that Marbury lot found a decent bird rather than us Wirral lot finding them all the time.

Hilbre special forces.

Special Forces have been training on Hilbre. It was revealed an Obs member had gone Commando to photograph a record flock of Goosander seen off Middle Eye Saturday. Either that or sincere apologies to any distraught grockle who was confronted by an underpants-less photographer crawling through the bracken! Read the story  here. Plenty of good birds to be seen off Hilbre this weekend but a real contrast in the weather conditions with Sunday almost summery.

The weekend started early with a healthy Hilbre fryup. Just what was required on a cold and wet morning. Bacon, fresh eggs and home made bread washed down with plenty of tea.

Some good birds were seen including a Greenshank in the gutter and 6 Little Egrets whilst seawatching resulted in a huge count of 750+ Manx Shearwaters, Gannets and a handful of Arctic Skua's. It was so damp even the Sea Slaters had ventured out and one was crawling up the outside of the seawatching hide.

Contrast this weather to Sunday's where a beautiful sunny day greeted the early risers who made it across to Hilbre before the tide. Once again seawatching was the order of the day but a few migrants made it to the Island before moving off.

A sunny day meant a healthier option for breakfast but amends were made on the calorific front when Mrs Williams sumptious cup-cakes made an appearance. Lovely.

The north end on a beautiful sunny Sunday.

Once again good numbers of Manx Shearwaters & Gannets were seen but Great-crested grebes and Common Scoter numbers were also increasing. Arctic Skua's predominated the kleptoparasitic scene but a single Bonxie was briefly seen mugging a Sandwich Tern off the west side.

Turnstone numbers are steadily climbing and the bright sunshine made them glow amongst the sandstone rocks.

Closer to home the hybrid Buzzard x Harris Hawk continues to beg from its parents near Stoak but refuese to come within camera range so I settled for another scenic shot of the Shropshire Union canal near Craughton moorings and a local Mallard.

More news on the Purple Swamphen last seen at Saltney at the beginning of the month.  ( read story here)  Despite attempts to catch it theres no definite proof it has been re-caught and it or another bird has pitched up a few miles away at a private fishing lake near Buckley where its been resident since the Saltney bird disappeared.......... Losing one bird is careless. Losing two is criminal. Its either a completely different bird from the same source (which contradicts the supposed owner saying he'd lost two but one came back of its own volition), the same bird thats relocated (makes you wonder if it was really an escape if its moved that far on its own) or the same bird thats been captured and re-released either by a caring member of the public or the 'owner' who wants shot. Either way its reported as coming to sweet corn along with the local Coots, Moorhens and Mallards. Good to hear its thriving whatever its origins.

Hedgehog.

Found this little fella in the garden stuffing his face on spilt sunflower hearts in the middle of the afternoon the other day! Not much mention of mammals on this blog recently but we've got 5 -6 Pipistrelle Bats hunting over the pond adjacent to the house and amazingly a Weasel ran across the road in front of the house Tuesday.

An early morning start Wednesday courtesy of being woken up twice and then not being able to drop off again. Easier when I've had a few beers! Was out with Molly by 06.15 and plenty of visible migration. Star bird was my second flyover Tree Pipit within a week, a Yellowhammer and at least 40-50 Linnets including one flock of 30.

Other local news is that the escaped Harris Hawk has successfully mated with a Buzzard and we now have juvenile hybrids looking like Buzzards with white rumps. Oh dear. Bet the rarities committee will be kept busy rejecting Rough-legged Buzzard sightings from the M56 / M53 interchange area this winter.