Bidston Moss

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 which may su

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-spot Burnet