(Please accept my apologies for not posting individual reports of these visits)
13th September 2022 – Speke Hall
Four members of the group attended our first visit of the Autumn to this National Trust property by the Mersey Estuary. A total of twenty bird species were recorded on this visit.
11th October 2022 – Leighton Moss RSPB and Morecambe Bay
Five members of the group travelled to this site, the most distant of the sites we regularly visit. This large RSPB reserve regularly has many less common species including the bearded tits, which we only managed to hear on this occasion, and Marsh Tits. A total of thirty six species were recorded across the two sites.
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- Great White Egret in flight
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- Thanks to Ken for this picture of one of the Grey Herons seen
8th November 2022 – Burton Mere RSPB
This visit was called off at the last minute when several members had to pull out, however one member of the group didn’t get the message in time and recorded a total of twenty nine species.
The visit was re-arranged for 13th December but again was postponed when only two members of the group were available. We will try again early in early 2023, hopefully it will be third time lucky!
29th November 2022 – Martin Mere
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust site at Martin Mere is always a good visit at this time of year and six group members were well rewarded with a total of forty two species being recorded. A particular highlight was seeing four Marsh Harriers flying over the land beyond the mere, though the hazy conditions made it difficult to capture good photographs. The number of Whooper Swans in ‘first winter’ plumage indicates they have had a good breeding season.
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- One of the four Marsh Harriers
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- Some of the many Whooper Swans
Click ‘Continue reading’ for the full list of species seen on the above visits:
Speke Hall, 13th September (20)
| Species | Number Seen | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Blackbird | ||
| Black-headed Gull | ||
| Blue Tit | ||
| Carrion Crow | ||
| Chiffchaff | Heard only | |
| Curlew | ||
| Goldfinch | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 1 | Flying over |
| Great White Egret | 2 | |
| Herring Gull | ||
| Jackdaw | 1 | |
| Kestrel | 1 | |
| Little Egret | 2 | |
| Magpie | ||
| Mallard | ||
| Raven | 2 | |
| Robin | ||
| Starling | ||
| Stonechat | Heard only | |
| Woodpigeon |
Leighton Moss (LM) and Morecambe Bay (MB), 11th October (36)
| Species | Number Seen | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Bearded Tit | Heard only | LM |
| Blackbird | LM | |
| Black-headed Gull | Both | |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | MB |
| Blue Tit | Both | |
| Canada Goose | 2 | LM |
| Carrion Crow | Both | |
| Cetti’s Warbler | Heard only | LM |
| Chaffinch | LM | |
| Coal Tit | LM | |
| Collared Dove | LM | |
| Coot | LM | |
| Cormorant | Both | |
| Curlew | Heard only | MB |
| Dunnock | LM | |
| Gadwall | Many | LM |
| Great Tit | LM | |
| Great White Egret | 3 | LM |
| Grey Heron | Both | |
| Herring Gull | MB | |
| Lapwing | MB | |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | MB | |
| Magpie | Both | |
| Mallard | Both | |
| Marsh Tit | LM | |
| Moorhen | LM | |
| Mute Swan | LM | |
| Nuthatch | 1 seen, others heard | LM |
| Pheasant | LM | |
| Redshank | MB | |
| Robin | Both | |
| Shoveler | LM | |
| Teal | LM | |
| Treecreeper | 2 | LM |
| Tufted Duck | LM | |
| Woodpigeon | LM |
Burton Mere RSPB, 8th November (29)
| Species | Number Seen |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | |
| Black-tailed Godwit | |
| Blue Tit | |
| Canada Goose | A few |
| Carrion Crow | |
| Cattle Egret | 2 |
| Goldcrest | 3 |
| Goldfinch | |
| Great Tit | |
| Greylag Goose | Many |
| Kestrel | |
| Lapwing | |
| Little Egret | |
| Magpie | |
| Marsh Harrier | 2 |
| Nuthatch | 1 |
| Pied Wagtail | |
| Pink-footed Goose | Many |
| Redwing | 1 |
| Ruff | 3 |
| Shelduck | |
| Shoveler | |
| Siskin | 1 |
| Song Thrush | 1 |
| Stonechat | Many |
| Teal | |
| Treecreeper | 1 |
| Unidentified Gull | |
| Wigeon |
Martin Mere 29th October (42)
| Species | Number Seen |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | |
| Black-headed Gull | |
| Black-tailed Godwit | |
| Blue Tit | |
| Buzzard | |
| Carrion Crow | |
| Chaffinch | |
| Coal Tit | |
| Coot | |
| Cormorant | |
| Feral Pigeon | |
| Gadwall | |
| Goldfinch | |
| Great Black-backed Gull | |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | |
| Great Tit | |
| Greenfinch | |
| Grey Heron | |
| Greylag Goose | |
| Herring Gull | |
| Jackdaw | |
| Kestrel | |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | |
| Little Egret | |
| Magpie | |
| Mallard | |
| Marsh Harrier | 4 |
| Moorhen | |
| Pheasant | |
| Pink-footed Goose | |
| Pintail | |
| Robin | |
| Shelduck | |
| Song Thrush | |
| Sparrowhawk | |
| Starling | |
| Stonechat | 1 |
| Teal | |
| Tufted Duck | |
| Whooper Swan | |
| Wigeon | |
| Woodpigeon |
Last Updated on December 26, 2022