Strong SE winds. Rain for most of the day, easing off by "evening"
South shore mid to late morning
Rock Pipits 1 on saltmarsh, 1 on Red Nab, 3 along the sea wall.
Nothing of note on the sea
A walk past the saltmarsh when it was about 75% covered
Jack Snipe at least 4
Common Snipe - none lifted from the marsh, but a flock of 12 came from the north tried to land on the marsh, before eventually heading towards Middleton Nature Reserve.
Reed Bunting 4
Heliport area
Knot ring reading - from Pete - Four Sefton coast birds (one new one), two Icelandic (one new) and two Dutch Knot flags/crs read today
Middleton Nature Reserve
A decent walk around, in what turned out to be the best part of the day, weather wise.
Mute 2 adult plus 3+1 juvenile
Coot 6
Moorhen 10
Gadwalls 26
Shoveller 2
Tufted 1
Mallard 2
Water Rail 1 squealing
Common Snipe - surprisingly none flushed despite trudging through some likely terrain. But as darkness decended (16:10!) a flock of 22 circled several times over the central marsh before decending.
Green Woodpecker 1 flew south from the golf course area. This is the first record in the recording area since 30/04/19, so a very belated first of year (FOY)
It had not been a good day for photography, I managed some Jack snipe shots, but nothing like the quality of David's yesterday. So as the clouds started to clear, just as the sun was setting, I went all arty! (MD)
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| Sunset over Middleton Nature Reserve - 16:00! |
