Bidston Moss

A fantastic day for birds and insects alike during this WeBS count, with conditions being mild and the rain holding off. To start off the day it consisted of 72 Oystercatcher , 16 Black Headed Gull, 5 Common Gull and 8 Herring gull all on Wallacre Field just before the reserve. Next, off it was a walk towards the Mainlake where a small flock of around 5 Goldcrests were picked up and later on in the day both a Male and Female Sparrowhawk . Upon reaching the Mainlake overall counts consisted of 15 Coot , 4 Moorhen , 2 Great Crested Grebes and 17 Tufted Ducks . At the Mainlake I met up with Mr.E.Montieth who had counted 3 Lesser Redpoll , 2 Siskin , 1 Snipe and a First Record of Black Tailed Godwit with the flock being made up of 205 individuals . 3 Bullfinch was also accounted for around the Mainlake and 42 Pink Footed Goose flying over on the way towards the Backpools. On the way to the Backpools a single Water Rail was picked up and when reaching the Backpools...

Overall a quiet day at the moss with a trailing roost count producing 157 Woodpigeon, 17 Cormorant, 72 Magpie, 268 gull sp and 1 Buzzard. Elsewhere up to 8 Bullfinches were along the track adjacent to the main lakes south bank with Siskin and Goldfinch for company.   Highlights of the day were the discovery of a Common Goldeneye on the lake; 2nd record for the site. The other being a Med Gull which flew over the lake at dusk in a stream of black-headed gulls. Observer: Elliot Montieth

The totals from a visible migration session today at the moss: Fieldfare (3), Redwing (103), Brambling (2), Kestrel (3), Chaffinch (64), Bullfinch (14), Buzzard (8), Raven (4), Siskin (13), Lesser Redpoll (6), Sparrowhawk (5), Redshank (1) and Grey Heron (1). Siskin Observer: Elliot Montieth

One of the best days I have had for WeBS for a while now. Starting things up, there were 2 Ravens high up above the metal bridge.Soon afterward there was a count of 26 coots ,  18 mallards , and 9 Moorhen combined with both the Backpools and Mainlake. The Mainlake held a single mute swan which may suggest that the cygnets have moved on. There was also a Skylark which flew over as well as 7 Tufted Ducks being present. Towards B&Q reed bed a Male Coldcrest was displaying to 2 Females and overall 3 Water Rail were found at the reed bed and Backpools. Walking back from the Reed Bed a Cetti's Warbler was heard.The Kingfisher was present again near the Backpools making a quick dart for cover on the Burket. Upon reaching the Backpools a pair of Female Teals were on the pools and a count of 52 Canada Goose were counted overhead. Tufted Duck (Image By Luke Anderson) Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard around the reserve and flyovers consisted of 3 Cormorants...

The main focus of today was to look out for Wading birds for our monthly count. Starting off this morning was the walk around the whole of Bidston Moss to find any waders which may be elsewhere on the reserve. The first thing that came up was not a wader but it was a Vapourer Moth Caterpillar which is yet another new insect to add to the list. Vapourer Moth Caterpillar (Image Luke Anderson) A Juvenile Smooth Newt was also found near by which was nice to see. While walking around the reserve there was a large flock of Long Tailed Tit s with around 20 next to the path. Nearby there were not one but two Willow Warblers . When reaching the Mainlake I counted about 18 Coot overall as well as 10 Moorhen including a few from the Backpools. 18 Mallards were also counted as well as 6 Canada Geese which flew overhead. Still, present on the lake there were the 5 Mute Swans including the cygnets which have grown exponentially since I had last seen them. Overall the Backpools...

A very disappointing day today with little out. The first round was a walk to the Mainlake were a single Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroats, and 2 Buzzards which were being picked up on the way to the lake. When reaching the lake one Tufted duck was present along with the 5 Swans and 6 Great Crested Grebes . Apart from that only Mallards and Coots were present on the lake. The Backpools still has the 1 Tufted Duck chick which practically looks like a small adult now. No other bird of interest were present, not even the Little Grebes however they are elusive so bets are that they are still there somewhere. The last things included many Copper Underwings under dry bark on the dead trees and a Buff Ermine caterpillar  on the path.  

Nice and warm and very patchy today with relatively strong gusts of wind. So to start of the day it was towards to Mainlake were instantly 3 Kestrels were picked up with to being seen and one call. Further on was 1 Male Chaffinch which I don't often see on the Moss. 2 Cormorants flew over and a Single Carbo Cormorant was on the Backpools as with a single Cormorant  on the Burket. 1st Summer Carbo Cormorant at Backpools (Image by Luke Anderson) The usual on the Mainlake with an abundance of Mallard and Coot with a single tufted duck on there. Residence such as the Mute Swan and the 4 Cygnets were still there along with 6 Great Crested Grebes including their chicks. The only other bird on the Mainlake was a pair of Reed Warblers and a possible Grasshopper Warbler based on my view on it but it didn't call so I couldn't get a better identification. Sadly the 2 Common Sandpipers have moved on from the Lake.  Next, it was down to the Backpools where the...

A annoyingly patchy day with both sun and cloud constantly going on and off. There was mild gusts of wind and it was pretty warm throughout. Another day based around the Mainlake started off with a great bird, a Common Sandpiper but not only one but two. The pair had spent the day around the lake feeding in and around the boarders of the lake. Two Kestrels were heard near by and happily the 4 Mute Swan cygnets are still there and they have thankfully not been predated on. The Male Mute Swan is also still there with the cygnets. The 4 Great Crested Grebe chicks are also still there and they are practical the same size as the adult bird. Numbers of Tufted Ducks have increased with about 6 birds being present. 1 of 2 Common Sandpipers next to the Mainlake (Image By Luke Anderson) Apart from those few birds there was nothing else of interest so its now down to the insects. To the area between the Metal Bridge and the Mainlake that is were most of the insect searches go on. In t...

Damp and dull morning but it brightened up later in the day getting warmer as time passed. As always with the WeBS count our main focus is to count all of the wading birds. Straight away it was a walk to the Backpools with usual birds such as the coots which added up to around 16 . 34 Mallards was a surprise as its the highest mallard count i have gotten so far.  Only 6 Moorhen were present but as always they are hard to spot as they spend most of there time in the reeds. The Tufted duck mother and single chick were still present at the backpools and combined with the total of the Mainlake , 4 Tufted Ducks were present. To my surprise a Cormorant had perched itself on a branch at the Backpools and i haven't seen one stationary here for months. A lone Heron was at the Backpools also which may be a adult from a constant passing pair or one of there recently fledged young. Great Blue Heron, you can see why it gets its name (Image By Luke Anderson) A quick meet up with a loca...

Nice and warm with a little breeze with patches of cloud and brief moments of sunlight today. To start it off it was over the bridge were a quick insect search was in order, this came up with a Dicranopalpus Ramosus which is quite crab like with its forked palps. The quick search also came up with a very interesting Hoverfly called Volucella Inasis which mimics a hornet as well as being a parasite towards them and wasps in there nests. Volucella Inasis (Image By Luke Anderson) Not much else was about in this area apart from a dragonfly up in the canopy but it didn't stop so it couldn't be identified. A bit further on and all the birds came out with a abundance of Long Tailed Tits reaching in there 20's , with a singular Male Blackcap going to a nearby nest to feed young. Juvenile Long Tailed Tit named Gizmo (Image By Luke Anderson)  Next off it was down to the Mainlake were the resident Mute swans were but the female has left so its just the father with the ...

Warm and humid with slight breeze and very over cast. To start of the day 1 Grey Heron was spotted near Bridge. This was soon followed my 6 to 7 Kestrel as many have fledged from a kestrel box next to the Mainlake. Further on, onto the Mainlake it held quite a few gulls, Common, Herring and Lesser Black Backed as well as one Black Backed Gull. To my surprise the Great Crested Grebes have bred amounting up to 4 Chicks . 1 of 4 Great Crested Grebe chicks (Image By Luke Anderson) The Mute Swan (pair) is also still on the Mainlake with 4 Cygnets and last time there was only 3 so it shows that one must not stick with the parents.  The lake also had 5 Tufted Ducks  and over head 5 Common Terns flew over which will be apart of the local colony at Birkenhead Docks . A few Swifts were also flying around including a couple of House Martins feeding above the lake. The Reed Beds next to the lake held 2 Reed Warbler which has significantly lowered from previous numbers whi...

Yet again the weather is on our side with a bright blue sky with the warmth of the summer sun. Today was concentrated around the Backpools were a few good discoveries came. Not much Bird wise however there is some great news, a Female Tufted Duck has been seen with at least one or two chicks and apparently this is the second site they have bred on in the Wirral. Other birds include 1 Grey Heron , 3 Common Buzzards and 1 Kestrel which are the only birds off interest of today. As well as 1 Chiffchaff a Swift and 2 House martins flying around. Record shot of a Female Tufted Duck with chick on Backpools (images by Luke Anderson) Today's bees and wasp numbers were great as many more Leaf Cutter Bees were out as well as a Nice Male Blue Mason Bee. Some other strange but amazing wasps were the lovely Cuckoo Wasp with the striking blue and Rose colored abdomen. Cuckoo wasp on dead tree looking for other solitary wasps and bees to prey on there larvae (Image By Luke Anderson)

Great day with warm weather, clear skies and little wind. A nice day but not totally great with birds as migration has stopped and they have all settled down now. Starting of the day with 1 Male black cap calling in the trees near the Metal Bridge and closely followed by 1 Cormorant flying over head. ChiffChaff numbers were okay with around 10 near and around the Main lake with a astonishing number of 10+ Reed Warblers presuming that most are recent fledglings. Main Lake carried 2 Mute Swans and 3 Cygnets down by 3 from the original 6. The Great Crested Grebe pair may still be present on the lake however they were not seen today as people were canoeing on the lake. Insect wise today was great with Red Admirals flying about as well as around 5 Small Skippers and many Comma Butterflies . Small Skipper  (Image by Luke Anderson) Comma Butterfly (Image by Luke Anderson) Other from the butterflies there were many moths out as well with numbers into there 20s of 6-sp...

The weather today was rather disappointing today as it was warm but it was cloudy with showers until later on in the day when the skies started to clear. Today's WeBS was not to interesting either with the main birds of interest were 3 Tufted Ducks and the resident pair of Great Crested Grebe.  Besides that the count also came up with a passing  Cormorant  and Heron which is assumed to be nesting near by as it keeps flying back and forth from the same area. The Back pools and the Mainlake came up with 20 Coots  , only 3 Moorhen  and 16 Mallards which includes a nice looking hybrid. (image by Luke Anderson) The other residents to the Mainlake are the 2 Mute swans  which originally had 6 Cygnets but now down to 5 with the last which was probably predated or killed by something other. Not to do with the WeBS count but there was a large family of Reed Warbler  with about 6 in a small area as well as 2 Sedge Warbler  and they all seemed to ...

14/5/17 A nice day for WeBs (Wetland Bird Survey) as it was sunny with little wind in this inland area. Straight away Picked up 2  Eurasian Reed Warbler  calling and a further 6 around the B&Q reed bed and backpools as well as main lake. The morning was rushed so i quickly headed off the the backpools were i seen a Stoat  walking on the edge of the train track which is quite a rare sight but a exciting one. The count for the Backpools and B&Q reed bed came up with 8 Greater Canada geese as well as a few Eurasian Coot adding up to about 14  over all. Nothing to interesting at the backpools and Reed Bed with over all counts of 8 Mallard, 4 Moorhen and 2 Grey heron. A nice suprize though was the 3 Tufted Duck as well as 3 Little Grebe with one being a chick which means they have bred for the first time in years. As you can see there is an Adult Little Grebe with chick (Image by Luke Anderson) After the nice finds at the backpools area it was a walk to t...

A night south easterly winds combined with that of heavy rain can only mean one thing, migrants. In such conditions migrants are brought up to the north with the rains preventing them from pushing north any further with the end result being what we call in birding world as a "fall". Kicking off at Gilroy NP, Hoylake Shore & Leasowe Lighthouse I finally worked myself round to the Back Pools were the first trickle of migrants were present: 1 Tufted Duck (drake), 2 Sedge Warbler , 1 Eurasian Reed Warbler , 1 Little Grebe & 2 Common Chiffchaff along with 1 Spotted Flycatcher *First of Spring* fly-catching from the willow on the eastern pool. Spotted Flycatcher ( Muscicapa striata ) - 1st of the Spring but also only the 2nd record for the site! (Image - Elliot Montieth)  The B&Q Reed Bed was however counter productive with just a single Eurasian Reed Warbler singing with 1 (2?) Great Spotted Woodpecker picked up on call & 3 Mallard over). ...

7/5/17 Same again. Another fantastic day for migrants. To start of the day There was the coot pair which has been seen for the past few weeks with the 2 Coot Chicks  which seem tobe growing well. Coots which have been here for about 3 weeks (image by Luke Anderson) Walking my regular route there were about 9 ChiffChaff  heard throughout the whole day. A disapointing count from previous times. First off i tought to have a little insect search which came out with a Birch Shieldbug and around 3 Cucumber Spider  which were a fairly large size, adding to that there was a displaying pair of hoverflieswhich was quite nice to see. Birch Shieldbug resting itself on a birch leaf (Image by Luke Anderson 1 of 3 Cucumber spiders which had wrapped itself between the  leaves in the trees (Image by Luke Anderson Displaying Hoverflies (Image by Luke Anderson) Further down the same path i managed to come across a tree with around 4 Willow Flea Beetles  and ...