What a busy end of the year - and some other highlights through the year...

We've been out as often as we can in the latter part of the year. With the very mild weather through end of October to end of December, there have been all sorts of sightings/ Perhaps the strangest looking was this hoopoe near Rhyl. There's something about it's eyes that make it look like a stuffed toy, but I assue you it was moving around ! I've seen a similar effect in other people's photoes too, so it's not just my camera, though as usual I had to push the zoom right out to get this shot.

Distance wasn't the problem with this Tawny Owl at WWT Martin Mere; just seeing it was hard enough. As we walked around one Saturday we came across around a dozen people staring up in a tree. Obviously something was there, but it took a minute or so to get the eyes focussed in...  There, in broad day light, straight above one of the main paths, this owl was quietly sitting. I wonder how many people had already walked straight past, as I'm sure we would have as well, had not one sharp-eyed birder picked out the shape in the leaves.

Another hard set of pictures, were of this Willow Tit at Woolston Eyes. Not distance, nor camouflage this time, but sheer restlessness/ We had gone here in the hope of seeing this increasingly uncommon bird, but it caught us quite by surprise. My first reaction was to scribble down Coal Tit, 'cause it hasn't got the white mark on the back of the neck...  WAIT A MINUTE, it's the Coal Tits that have the white mark !!!  Quick, grab another loook, but too late, it had gone....   Twenty minutes later, amid all the Blue Tits, Great Tits, Greenfinches and Reed Buntings feeding, there's a flicker of a smaller greyer bird - and just time to snatch a couple of shots before it again flitted away... Still, a great feeling to have seen it, and it underlines the importance of places like Woolston, where wildlife can take precedence... Without being too political, this current Government is utterly failing in it's claim to be 'green'. While I'd support the concept of HS2, it needs far more careful routing, and as for the idea that it's ok to destroy established woodland if you plant some saplings somewhere else, it's sheer madness. It's not the number of trees, it's the TIME it takes to grow them into mature woodland, hundreds of years. It's no use planting something that will be great in a hundred years time, if major numbers of species die out before then. And birds like the Willow Tit are right in the firing line...

Off the soap-box, and back to Martin Mere, which brought these favourites. Oh just common sparrows, you may cry...  But I have a great deal of time for even for the trusty House Sparrow - it was childhood memories of these in my old garden, and then hearing about their population crash that has encouraged me to take more notice of them, and put feeders out for them. We now have a small flock of a dozen or so that visit our bird table each morning. However, this is no House Sparrow; look at that chestnut brown head, no hint of a slate top. This is a Tree Sparrow, and much under threat they are. Martin Mere is one of the few places that we have seen these cheeky chaps. (Tip given to me to help me remember - Houses have slate roofs, and so do House Sparrows).

As we've gone into later November and early December, we've seen increasing numbers of thrushes. We visited one graveyard full of ancient yew trees (remember, 100's of years, maybe even thousand's for this slow-growing tree), and the branches were alive with Redwings and Mistle Thrushes. We've only ever seen one Mistle Thrush at a time before, but here the graveyard was vibrating with the fottball rattle-like calls. This chap posed obligingly on the top of a gravestone, before heading back to the top of a tree.

Nearer to home, this Redwing and Fieldfare were many that were feeding near Burton, providing a little respite from the frutiless searching through the Meadow Pipits in the tidal wrack for the elusive Buff-bellied Pipit (BBP) - the BBP has provided many with obliging views, but not for us yet. So having the chance to see these beauties feeding was a piece of welcome compensation.

Noteworthy, though, is the absence so far of Waxwings; it seems that the mild winter so far has provided lots of food for those Scandanavian birds, so they haven't needed to come across the North Sea in quite the numbers that they did last year.

Another unexpected sight while searching for the BBP was this Robin, who landed virtually at my feet, hence this rather strange camera-angle - that shadow behind the tail is my elbow! These bold birds are a real delight, no matter how common they may be.

As the year drew closer to it's end, we've been treated to plenty of views of the wildfowl that winter locally.  Here are a pair of male Teal; when the sun catches them right, the green markings on their heads look spectacular. Their quiet whistle is ever-present around our marshes and lakes at this time of year, and along with evocative whistle of the wigeon, which also has a distinctive head marking, a bright yellow sploge on the forehead.

Slightly less common, but still present in large numbers are Pintails. That white stripe up the neck and head is really striking, and their plummage looks so crisp. These really are the snazzy dressers at this time of year!

Just to round the year off, here are some photo's that have been taken through the Summer, but for one reason or another didn't make it onto the blog before. This first is a Reed Warbler, seen at Burton Mere Wetland. Getting the camera to focus on the bird rather than foreground reeeds was quite a challenge.

This Kestrel was seen hovering over the fields behind Gilroy Park, West Kirby. Their hovering posture in unmistakeable.

This Grey Wagtail brightened up a wet walk near Lake Vrynwy, a flash of colour in a wet day.

I couldn't resist this Wren; it was scolding a passing cat for all it was worth; I think the cat left because it was getting a headache!

Both Martin Mere and Burton have provided many views of Buzzards; this one posed conveniently at Burton.

 And from the large to the small - all through the year we saw Long-tailed Tits; this one at Leasowe was part of a small flock moving through the bushes.

 I couldn't resist - a Puffin, from the Farne Islands.

And having just worked through a load of Summer birds, I finish with one taken on almost the last day of the year, a Redshank, legs glowing in the morning sun off Red Rocks.

What a way to finish the year, back with the waders for which the area is known. So if you find yourself waking up early one Sunday morning, why not pop down to the beach before you go to Church; it'll put a smile on your face as you greet those sleepy-heads who have had a lie in, and are now wondering why you're wearing boots!

Spring has finally sprung

What a difference a few weeks make - a bit of warmth and things begin to change.

 

Those who have wintered here have begun to change into their summer clothes, and the migrants have begun to pour in... and pour out too..

 

Early in April this little chap was still present on Deeside, a Water Pipit showing off breeding plummage, a delicate pink underneath that the photo doesn't do justice to.

Talking to a local birder, there have been one or two of these scarce birds present in a specific small  area since at least the 1920's when they were first recognised. Obviously it's not the same bird each year - they would be almost 90!! And yet it seems that somehow the knowledge of this wintering ground has been passed on. How wonderful, and yet how fragile. I've not heard anything of this bird since, so presume he is on his way to his summer in the high mountains of Southern Europe.

 

I'd never really appreciated before how much birds change their plummage through the year. This Black-tailed Godwit has just begun to change, developing a browny-red around his head. These are a threatened species, yet in the Deeside/Wirral/South Lancs area they are one of our more common wading birds; a marker of how important the era is for wildlife, and how important it is to protect them.

Talking of markers, here is another one. While this particular bird looks a bit chilly, the Little Egret has been steadily moving into Britain from the Continent, probably as a result of Global warming. Twenty years ago they were occasional visitors; now there are some 70-80 breeding down at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands. Each morning they disperse around the area, returning at dusk.

Evening walks have shown up many of the returning migrants; the local paddocks being a favourite for many small birds dropping in for a quick refill and a night's rest before continuing their journey. Here are Meadow Pipits and Wheatears. The Wheatears showing as small white blobs moving around the fields, scuttle and stop, scuttle and stop, while the 'mipit's have much better camoflage - there have been times when I thought the fields empty, and then as the eyes adjust, I've realised that there are dozens of these small birds moving through the ground.

 

The same fields have brought the occasional 'special' too. Around one of the pools that had formed in the paddocks was spotted this small wader, a Little Ringed Plover.

The hedges and trees have seen new occupants as well; if your ears are good you may hear the high-pitched whistle of Goldcrests. These tiny bundles of energy can be found deep in hedges and trees busily moving around. Trying to get a picture of one of these was deeply frustrating; they barely stopped still long enough to point the camera, and the autofocus would often pick on foreground twigs instead of the bird deep in the bush. I didn't think I'd got a picture, but when I loaded them to the PC, I found to my surprise this shot, catching one of the blighters just as it was lurching from one spot to another!

In one of the bushes near work (what else is lunch-time for?) was this delightful warbler singing away - a Whitethroat.

And drifting slightly from birds, the same lunchtime saw this Peacock butterfly rest on the path, literally before my feet.

It's a pleasure to see the Swallows and Martins back; I was amazed to see Swallow's drinking while still in flight, dipping their beaks into a puddle as they flew low across the fields. No, there's no picutre of that, not a chance! Instead just this shot of a Sparrow resting on the wires, a real sign of Summer evenings approaching.

As well as the usual suspects, these weeks have brought a few specials too. We treated ourselves to a day at Martinmere and were treated with views of a Spoonbill and of a Crossbill. Please excuse the poor shot of the Crossbill, but it was high in a tree, with just glimpses as it moved through the branches. Just visible are the distinctive overlapping tips of the beak, giving the bird it's name.



Last weekend we had the chance to drop in for a few hours at Arundel WWT, a chance to wander around some of the quieter corners, and let out some of the stress of the weekend. We heard the call of a lapwing, but this call sounded different. We soon spotted the bird, and then beside it we spotted some small bundles of feathers. And so for an entirely gratuitous 'cute' shot of a lapwing-chick.

And finally, to bring an overdue and consequently overlong blog entry to and end, a shot of a Wren, for no other reason than it brought a smile to our faces at the end of a long and hard day...