Weekend estuary sightings.

Male Wheatear at Hesketh Out Marsh 27 April 2012.

I spent last Friday morning surveying the hedgerows (what's left of them) for the RSPB at their Hesketh Out Marsh reserve on the Ribble. A quick look on the salt marsh revealed one of the Great White Egrets out there, preening in the early morning sun. This Little Ringed Plover was my first of the year, 28 Avocets on the pools, singing Corn Bunting and Willow Warbler and Blackcap singing in the shooting copse with a lone Whitethroat in the hedges.

One of 5 Wheatears at HOM last Friday.

 I had a quick look at Longton Marsh on Friday afternoon where Whimbrels were very vocal with a small group of 3 seen followed by 12 flying up the Douglas. Hope to get a chance to check the roost later this week.
Nice to see Avocet so close to home and the usual Corn Buntings were present with 13 seen (singing male plus a flock of a dozen). Common Sandpiper, Whitethroat and 2 Wheatears completed the list for the site that's becoming a decent local patch.

 Saturday's highlights included a drake Goosander and singing Reed Warbler on the Douglas, but Sunday was a complete wash-out apart from a singing Lesser Whitethroat on the fringes of Longton Brickcroft before the deluge started.
This morning saw promising conditions after the foul weather had abated with the wind continuing from the east. No car this morning though, but a yomp around Longton Marsh was very good with a summer plumaged (mostly black bill, pinkish, fading to yellow tibia and flowing plumes) Great White Egret. So, we still have two on the estuary.
Three singing Lesser Whitehroats, Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, 6 Wheatears, 2 Swifts, several Grey Partridge, 7 Snipe, 2 Avocet and a few House Martins were also seen.

Wet day on the Ribble but ...

Common Crane near Martin Mere WWT today. Off?

 Fairly good day's birding on the Ribble and nearby today. I started reasonably early at Marshside with a stroll around the sandplant peninsula producing 6 Wheatears, a Tree Pipit and a steady flow of Swallows to the north.

 My first Whitethroat of the year appeared near Sandgrounders before flying into the sandplant and singing, closely followed by Swift and Common Sandpiper from Nel's Hide where a Mole was the big surprise of the day by the entrance. A small flock of 12 Dunlin and a single Ringed Plover dropped onto Rimmer's Marsh during one of the morning's frequent downpours.

Common Crane near Martin Mere WWT, Lancs 26 April 2012.

 I was on my way for another look at the Common Crane at lunchtime when Graham Clarkson texted me to say it was in the fields outside the WWT's grounds at Martin Mere. 

 We enjoyed great views of the crane with the jangling Corn Buntings, calling Yellow Wagtails and a few Wheatears and a female Merlin for good measure. After a bout of calling the crane took to the air, climbing to find a thermal with a flock of gulls.

 After circling for about quarter of an hour it headed steadily north and having lost sight of it, I opted for a look at Hesketh Out Marsh.

Three Wheatears and a calling Whitethroat greeted me at the car park, a walk out to the Ribble produced Corn Bunting but very little sign of movement in an hour and a half's "river-watch" apart from two parties of Arctic Terns (3+8) and a few Swallows heading upriver. Common Terns (15+) and a single Sandwich Tern feeding mid-river with 3 Gadwall, 14 Eider, a pair of Avocets and the Great White Egret over on the north side of the estuary at Warton Marsh.
Apparently the crane returned and was seen at Martin Mere this afternoon.

Geese and a crane in the rain.

Common Crane at Martin Mere WWT, Lancs 25 April 2012.

Sandwich Terns at Southerness Point, Dumfries & Galloway 23 April 2012.

 Just back from a couple of days based on the Solway. Bit quiet although migrants "in" included Redstarts (on territory near Kirkconnell Flow), Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warblers.

Red-breasted Goose with Barnacle Geese, Loaningfoot (near Southerness), D&G 24 April 2012.

 Still plenty of Barnacle Geese around up there too, at least 2000 near Southerness. The Red-breasted Goose was still there as was a leucistic Barnacle Goose.

Common Crane at Martin Mere WWT today.

 Chucking it down today with strong easterly winds so I went to look for the Common Crane at Martin Mere at lunchtime. It's been around since Sunday, spending most of its time on the Wetland Centre's grounds. Bit distant but good 'scope views from the United Utilities hide.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB this morning.

Tree Sparrow at Hesketh Out Marsh, 21 April 2012.

 Cold and breezy again this morning on the Ribble, the WNW wind not helping migrants one little bit. A Barn Owl hunting the ditches near Dib Lodge was a nice start but it wasn't until I'd almost completed the circuit at Hesketh Out Marsh before I saw my first real good birds in the form of a pair of Yellowhammers. The male was calling from a hedgerow (that have unfortunately been cropped by the local farmer, rather than "laid" like the RSPB reserve ones), being joined by the female before flying a few fields to the south. Rare birds at HOM, not seen a spring one for a couple of years now.

 There were also 21 White Wagtails in the fields with a few Pieds and at least 30 Meadow Pipits. Four pairs of Grey Partridges, a pair each of Tufted Duck and Gadwall, tight flock of 80 Golden Plovers heading south west, Stock Doves and Corn Bunting here and there and 22 Avocets on the lagoons.

No migrants: release the teal!

Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks on Rimmer's Marsh, Marshside this morning.

Quiet morning so I released my pet Green-winged Teal at Marshside.

Wasn't a great morning for photography .......


Put in a few hours at Marshside this morning in the hope of a few migrants. Sandplant (dead), Junction Pool (likewise) and Rainford's didn't take long. Pausing at the Hesketh Road platform I found what I thought was a drake Green-winged Teal. Views were distant and a stroll to Wheatear Corner didn't help dispel any hybrid worries (at one time I thought I saw a hint of a "horizontal white stripe" on its left flank). See my usual "headless duck with braces" photo above. 
The golf course was pretty migrant-less apart from a few Chiffies, Willow Warbler and Blackcaps but the Jay in the copse is a bit of a Marshside mega (per John Bannon who found it).
The view from Nel's Hide was spectacular; packed with birds but unfortunately right into the sun by my mid-morning arrival. Little Stint, 415 Black-tailed Godwits, 175 Golden Plover, 125 Redshank and 40+ Ruff on Rimmer's Marsh. A few House Martins, Sand Martins and Swallows over the marsh with Peregrine spooking everything sporadically. The GWT was there but gave nothing away in the strong sunlight.

Solway Iceland Gull and Osprey.

My spring's still not sprung. Still plenty of Barnacle Geese near the caravan on the Solway; didn't see the Red-breast this week but could still be about. Mersehead Barnacle Goose numbers are apparently down (about a thousand on site Tuesday according to RSPB staff), so they may be starting to leave. Ruff still on the wetland there with at least 5 White Wagtails but didn't get time to do the place justice this week.
Highlight of the week was undoubtedly a second winter Iceland Gull at Southerness Point while I was counting Sandwich Terns (52) on the beach. Suddenly all the Barnies lifted from Loaningfoot and I was surprised to see an Osprey in them as I scanned for the Red-breasted Goose.
Wheatears arrived in force during the week with parties of six or seven along walls in the Galloway Hills on Tuesday evening / Wednesday morning. A Short-eared Owl was a nice treat in the uplands too.

Lacking migrants.

Wheatear at Hesketh Out Marsh, 14 April 2012.

Quiet weekend on the Ribble for me so far. I have to admit to finding the spring the hardest season to bird the estuary (apart from late summer of course), with migrants arriving and moving on so quickly.
Yesterday evening I paid a visit to Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB. It's always a bit of a challenge in windy weather, more so in a north-easterly in spring, but there were a few migrants around. It was good to see my first local White Wagtails in the ploughed field alongside 6 Wheatears.

Pair of Gadwall on the salt marsh reserve, 18 Avocets, 6 Swallows fighting their way north and 13 Golden Plovers. Several Brown Hares around too.
Quick look at Marshside this morning produced very little although the Garganey had been seen.
Better luck next weekend, hopefully.

Goosefest ends.

Last week's Tundra Bean with Pinks at Marshside. It's still out there ..... somewhere.

Had a morning on the Ribble at Marshside RSPB today. Bit disappointing - no sign of the Garganey seen while I was on the Solway. I bet they're still tucked away on the marsh somewhere though. 
I spent most of the morning checking the edges of the reserve near the golf course, despite the less than favourable conditions for an arrival of migrants (got to do it while you can). Several Chiffchaffs and a couple each of Blackcap and Willow Warbler in song but little else.
Single Swallow high over Rimmer's Marsh that was covered in Golden Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff. Very nice.
Second summer Mediterranean Gull in the BHG colony from Sandgrounder's Visitor Centre and 15 Tufted Ducks.
Sutton's and Crossens Inner Marsh was green again, rather than the grey it appeared on Monday. All the geese have relocated back to the salt marsh now the 10 metre high tides have finished. Shame, it was good while it lasted. 

Spring one minute, winter the next.

Barnacle Geese on the wetland at Mersehead RSPB, Dumfries & Galloway 11 April 2012.

Male Northern Wheatear, Mersehead RSPB, 11 April 2012.

 Managed to get a few hours birding on the Solway yesterday after work. The Red-breasted Goose was still near Southerness with at least 2000 Barnacle Geese yesterday; fewer Pink-footed Geese around (c.500) and I couldn't find anything in them this week.

 I hadn't seen the regular wintering flock of Purple Sandpipers at Southerness Point this winter so I was delighted to find 5 on the rocks as the tide came in yesterday afternoon. The flock "grew" to 14 as the water covered the rocks. They were there all the time; just tucked down the other side though. Four Sandwich Terns over the point and at least 3 Red-throated Divers were the only birds of note on a flat-calm sea with a less than favourable (for local seawatching) WNW wind.

 I paid a late afternoon visit to the RSPB reserve at Mersehead where The Barnacle Geese were close to the Bruaich Hide and at least 8 White Wagtails were on show on the wetland. Chiffchaffs and Yellowhammers in the hedgerows, Water Rails calling and Wheatear and Swallow on show from the hides.
Migrating skeins of Pink-footed Geese, half a dozen Whooper Swans and 48 Fieldfare over the Galloway Hills with my first Willow Warbler of the spring make a nice mix this week and signs of movement. Not that you would've believed it on Easter Monday, when I sifted through 4000 Pink-footed Geese on Crossens Inner Marsh at Marshside in the pouring rain. There were 2 Tundra Bean Geese, 2 Barnacle Geese, a Greylag Goose and a whopping 18 European White-fronted Geese in them. Who would've thought that the best Ribble goose watching of the "winter" would be in April?
A Swallow and 4 House Martins made it feel a bit like spring at least.

Tundra Bean Goose.

Tundra Bean Goose with Pink-footed Goose at Marshside, 7 April 2012.

Failed miserably in my efforts to find a passage Osprey so far this weekend despite best efforts yesterday evening at Longton Marsh and today at Hesketh Out Marsh and again at Longton. The ten metre tide failed to produce anything of note (for me at least) - 18 Avocets on HOM and a pair or two of Grey Partridge at each site. The Corn Buntings were holding territory at Longton though with two singing males.

A good excuse then to revisit yesterday's Tundra Bean Goose (on the blog) out on Crossens Inner in the gathering of Pink-footed Geese around the pool.

Marshside RSPB

Golden Plover flock on Rimmer's Marsh, Marshside RSPB 7 April 2012.

Once I'd dragged myself away from sifting through the geese yesterday (7th) I had a go at finding some migrants at Marshside. Several hundred Golden Plover were in fine fettle on the reserve from Nel's Hide, alongside a few Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruffs and Snipe.

Marshside RSPB from the Hesketh Road platform, 7 April. See how it's drying out from a fortnight ago.

1st summer Mediterranean Gull.

My first two House Martins of the year could be seen over the fields and housing estate beyond the reserve and a Mediterranean Gull (above) stayed just long enough for a couple of record shots.

2nd summer Mediterranean Gull from Sandgrounders, Marshside 7 April 2012.

As well as the cracking 2nd summer (above) there was another 1st summer Mediterranean Gull on show from Sandgrounder's and a quick look around the Sandplant produced a female Merlin.
Not many migrants apart from a few singing Chiffchaffs, but not a bad day out on the Ribble.

1st summer Mediterranean Gull with Black-headed Gulls from Sandgrounder's, Marshside 7 April 2012.

Ribble Geese.

Tundra Bean Goose with Pink-footed Geese on Crossens Inner Marsh, Marshside 7 April 2012.

Crossens Outer Marsh this morning; the Barnacle Goose can be made out amongst the Pink-footed Geese.

Paid a visit to Marshside RSPB today with every intention of searching for summer migrants. The presence of 1500 Pink-footed Geese on Crossens Outer Marsh changed my plans though, the geese being "in range" for the first time in several weeks. A single Barnacle Goose was the only odd one out on first inspection. Marsh Harrier and a few Little Egrets were noted at the same time.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose (just right of centre) and at least 3 adult European White-fronted Geese were found during the hour I spent scanning out to the shore of the estuary before deciding to head to Crossens Inner.

Adult European White-fronted Goose with Pink-footed Geese on Crossens Inner Marsh, Marshside 7 April 2012.

The adult European White-fronted Goose on Crossens Inner Marsh was easy enough to find and scanning through the 350 Pink-footed Geese revealed a Tundra Bean Goose sitting with its back to me (above).

The brown back and stocky triangular bill with an orange wedge as quite obvious but life was made all the easier when it got up and started grazing, showing those orange legs.

And the tail pattern with larger dark grey area than Pink-footed Goose, could be seen well when it sat back down again.
Probably missed an Osprey or two during the hour or so I was watching this bird, but it was worth it. 
More from Marshside in another post ......