Winter Thrushes.

A beautiful but cold afternoon on the southern most boundary of the Wirral today. Temperatures plummeted to -7 C overnight and winter thrushes were everywhere. Whilst a bit of snow ensures the UK grinds to a standstill these birds from Arctic climes are made of sterner stuff. -7? Positively balmy and warm enough to promote this Redwing to sing at the delight of frozen haws.

An amazing sound and one which isn't heard very often in the UK!
The thrush flocks are very flighty and getting a shot of one perched up is proving a challenge.

Redwings aren't the only thrushes around in good numbers locally - Fieldfares are also plentiful and showed their true colours in the bright sunshine.

 Keeping a close eye on proceedings was one of our local Buzzards that seemed quite happy perched on the end of a barn whilst Molly mooched around beneath it.

Plenty of other birds moving in response to the cold weather with small parties of Skylarks and Lapwings heading towards the Dee estuary to find less frozen ground. A single Yellowhammer also flew over.

The garden birds are giving the feeders a hammering and it was interesting to see this Coal Tit with a deformed bill coping with the cold by stuffing itself with fat. I didn't notice the defromed bill until I blew the photo's up on the computer but noticed it was continuously wiping its bill on a branch.

A walk around Stanney Woods as darkness fell was rewarded with a Woodcock that came up from beneath my feet and huge numbers of Carrion Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws coming in to roost.

Lurking in pub car parks.

Shot down to the Hinderton Arms, Neston during lunch today to try and photogrpah the 60+ Waxwings found by Kenny Dummigen yesterday. When I arrived there were only 16 birds left that spent a few minutes in the tops of ome of the tallest trees before flying off in the same direction as the rest of the flock.

Looks like I'm fated not to catch up wit ha large feedign flcok at the moment!

Winter

The thermometer plunged this week with heavy frosts and snow experienced locally. The local council are doing a lot of work in Stanney Woods so, keen to see what was going on, I went with Molly Friday afternoon. The main ponds have been dredged and some of the encroaching trees cleared to make them more attractive t oinvertebrates. Hopefully they'll still attract the amphibians. New hard paths have also been laid. Ideal for the local scallies to get around on at nght whilst filling the ponds with their empty tins and bottles!
Quite a few birds around with Redpools being hear but not located and the usual woodland supsects all being seen or heard. Scraping a few fallen leaves away with my boot attracted a Robin for a few posed photo's.

Walking the stubble fields Sunday proved there had been some cold weather movement with two Snipe & a Jack Snipe being flushed from a flooded portion of the field. A couope of Bramblings were heard callling in the large mixed finch flock but couldn't be located whislt a few Lapwings passed overhead on a beautiful afternoon when both the moon and sun were on show together.

A late night Saturday night meant a bit of  later start going to Hilbre Sunday - with the temperature down to -5 C I'd reached West Kirby before the Landrover warmed up enough for some heat to come from the heater! Fantastic views across the West Hoyle to Point of Ayr and beyond to snow-capped Welsh  mountains.

Not many passerines today but a couple of new Blackbirds were ringed with wing measurements suggesting they were continental birds. Most of the avian action was centred around the Brents and waders. For some reason everything was easily spooked today but Golden Plover, Grey Plover and Snipe were good Hilbre records.

 Spot the Grey Plover above!

 The Brent flock includes a couple of colour ringed birds - these have travelled phenomenal distances to vist Hilbre. See here for details of where these birds have come from.

Rhizostoma octopus.

Not a mollusc but a stonking great jelly fish. The common name appears to be 'Sea Mushroom' Jellyfish but for Hilbre Obs members it'll always be 'dustbin lid' jellyfish.

A quick trip to Hilbre yesterday afternoon after the tide revealed around 50 of these creatures washed up on the strandline.

Why Octopus? Becasue they have eight large tentacles. Its eight 'legs' are covered with a network of mouths that catch particles fanned down onto them by the swimming motion of the bell. They looked positively prehistoric.

A pre-dawn journey this morning was in order to get to Hilbre before high tide. Plenty of birds moving with a few Blackbirds and Song Thrushes grounded in the slightly misty early morning conditions. Suprisingly there were also a couple of late Goldcrests.

 Overhead passage consisted of Starlings, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch and Skylark. A short seawatch resulted in a few unusual sightings - Gannets, Kittiwake (adult & juvenile) and an adult Little Gull!

Wader numbers a increasing with at least 21 Purple Sandpipers being logged earlier in the week. Not so many today though but there was the added bonus of a Grey Plover.

Despite a search of likely areas close to home this afternooon there were no sightings of Waxwings but I'm sure I'll see more this winter!

More local Waxwings.

A nice suprise lunch time whislt walking Molly before attending a meeting in Wrexham. More local Waxwings - two birds scoffing hawthorn berries in a hedge borderign the stubble field. Just had time t odash home and grab the camera before the meeting! The birds were unfortunately quite distant as they were one side of the field and I was the other!

Also guzzling berries like they were going out of fashion were a couple of Filedfares and some Redwings.

With crops like these festooning local hedges I'm sure there'll be more photo oppurtunities this winter. Hilbre also scored on the Waxwing front this week with their first birds for nearly 40 years. We kept a look out Sunday but to no avail but Monday was a different story - see the Hilbre blog.

Not much around Sunday apart from twwo grounded Song Thrushes that seemed to appear after a late morning shower whilst good number sof Starlings pssed overhead with two making a rare stop to feed in one of the paddocks.

With American Bittern and Pied -billed Grebe both added to my British list in the last month I'd made a omment about checking Coot flocks for a Yankee Coot. Lo & behold the crystal ball worked but the geography wa a bit out. One's turned up in Ireland. Expect to see photo's here of a British one sometime this winter.........

Back for seconds!

Seond helpings of the Pied-billed Grebe today on the way back from Leeds.

Followed by Great Northern Diver on Astbury Mere, Cheshire just as dusk was falling.

Stop press! Pied -billed Grebe, Greater Manchester

For once I struck lucky. Nipping out of the office at lunch time to go and see the Woodlarks frequenting a stubble field near Congleton I'd just arrived and seen the birds through Jill Barbers scope (thanks Jill!) when Steve mentioned the mega alert had just gone off on the pager. Pied-billed Grebe, Hollingsworth Lake, Greater Manchester. Woodlarks forgotten and it was a quick dash up the M6 and across the M62 for most of us there.

Amazingly the bird was showing well! It has apparently been there for 4-5 days after being initially identified as a Red-necked Grebe before being re-identified from photo's. Well done Ian!!

How often does that happen? A rare bird almost  right on the door step!
Back in the office by 15.30!