WeBs Count

By -
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 the mainlake. Walking over it was a dissapointing count of Chiffchaffs with only 10 which seemed to be present. Counts around the Mainlake came up with the 2 resident Mute Swans, 3 Great Crested Grebe (one more than usuall). Warblers near and around the Mainlake included 6 Blackcap and 4 Whitetroat. Near by there was also a calling Song Thrush but couldnt find its position as well as 3 Common Reed Bunting which included the first female of the year. Not long after I was joined by Elliot Montieth who patches Birkenhead Docks across the road. He had quickly picked up a Common Sandpiper at the far end of the lake as well as a Great Cormarent on the lake.
Amazing Flight capture of the Common Sandpiper (Image by Elliot Montieth)
A few other things picked up by Elliot, were a Lesser Whitetroat, Great Spotted Woodpecker, a lovely male Bullfinch and a Kestral in total adding up to 2. 3 Swifts were also picked up and a further 2 later on in the day with a few other Hirundines most likely House Martins.
Great Capture of a Male Kestral with what it looks like
 a beheaded Bank Vole (Image by Elliot Montieth)












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WeBs

By -
Image
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 , 3 heron
Read more

WeBS

By -
Image
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 it held 2 Dra
Read more

22/08/17

By -
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.  
Read more