Seek and ye shall find......

 

Today I had a few hours, so figured I'd do an early morning on the patch to try to add to the rather poor current year list (I guess it's only Feb...) and in particular try for a few of the flitty ticks, in particular the patch quartet of; Willow Tit, Brambling, Goldcrest and Stonechat. All are typically get-able each year, but are rather hit and miss. There ARE places to go for them (with the exception surprisingly of Goldcrest that just turns up here and there), but there are never guarantees and two of them, Brambling and Stonechat, are winter ticks, so need to be nailed early on. SO, plan was to start at the Feeding Station and then either head to Halfway House or take a more direct route to the river by way of the north. Arrived at the Feeding Station at 07:35 and... sod all! I mean literally ne pas de sausage... 

Hmmm, well maybe nothing's that hungry... either that or not up yet. Mind you, the tables did look a little empty... Gave it 20 mins and with still nothing at all there, I left for the river via the back path to Birchwood, hoping to flush a Snipe or Woodcock - no luck.

Got Tawny Owl calling and a Common Buzzard but that was about it. Mind you, the sunrise more than made up for the lack of birds...

However, that lack did not last long and a single calling Redshank sounded the starting pistol for a flurry of patch-tivity; 30 Golden Plover, 190 Lapwing, 14 Redshank, 2 Oystercatcher, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 5 Lesser Black-backed, 12 Herring Gull, 1 Common Gull and ~200 Black-headed Gull. Checked them all in case there was a Med lurking... there was not. Elsewhere on the river were Canada Goose, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Shelduck, Grey Heron and Cormorant. Kestrel over (male) was a year tick. The two singing Cetti's Warbler were a lovely bonus too,  but the star of the show was a male Stonechat, flitting among the reeds... 

 

By this point my leaking boots (NTS: buy new boots idiot!) were soaked through and so I headed for drier ground... namely a second go at the Feeding Station. I was curious if it was just a time thing or an 'empty' feeder thing. It was a time thing! Unlike earlier, now, an hour later, the place was alive... most notably with Grey Squirrels - there were FIVE raiding the feeders...

This did not, however, put off the birds... Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin and Nuthatch were constant visitors and later joined by Great Spotted Woodpecker (f)  and Coal Tit. Had heard Green Woodpecker earlier from the same spot... so nice to get two pecker species. Decided to give the feeders another 5 minutes and was glad I did - gorgeous views of Willow Tit. Now, every so often somebody claims to have had Marsh Tit at the feeders... no disrespect, but I'd be surprised. There haven't as far as I'm aware been any confirmed sightings of Marsh Tit on the reserve. Claims, yes... verifiable, repeat unequivocal sightings - not as far as I know. No doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong... and if you do, please point me to the record(s) - thanks*

So that was two of my 'sought four' nailed. Sadly though, the one I really wanted at the Feeding Station was Brambling as it's the only place they tend to turn up and a female had been knocking around last month - alas, not today.

Next up was Goldcrest and maybe Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Goldfinch. Best chances in the trees along the track past Pumphouse Pool to the Eastern Reedbed. Parked up alongside Pumphouse and did a quick check of the pool - nothing noteworthy. Checked all the trees bordering its south side - quiet as the grave... and then I remembered how the waste ground behind me, used to be good for finches and also how there had been a report of Goosander (another needed year tick) from the Manchester Ship Canal beneath the rail bridge. I wonder if I might combine the two? Was there a way in? Yes there was!

...and it led to the canal...

 

Interesting... and not a path I had trodden. How strange. All those years working the site and this was a new bit to me! Go figure. Sadly the waste ground yielded nothing... it has become as waterlogged as much of the reserve and despite the promising looking Juncus patches and underfoot wet moss and shallow puddles there were not, alas, any Snipe hidden away, nor Woodcock haunting the margins - I know coz I yomped it in a zig-zag... as you do. BUT, there were 36 Redwing in the bordering trees and the views of the canal were worth the added wetness. No Goosander there today, just Moorhen, Coot, Gadwall, Mallard and Cormorant, but I can easily see how regular winter checks may indeed yield them. Maybe a Grey Wagtail too, so I'll be checking more often. What the stroll east along the canal did produce though, was Goldcrest! The last bird I though I'd get there.

Well, three out of four wasn't bad. Headed back to the car quite content. Had added a few more to the year list and felt awake and alive. Drove slowly back past the warehouses towards Lapwing Lane checking the rooftops for Pied Wagtail, with no luck and was just passing the Gatehouse when something flitted across the road and landed in a bush by the style. Finch. Stopped the car and got my bins on it. WTF? It was only a female Brambling... maybe even THE female Brambling that had previously been recorded at the Feeding Station. But what was it doing here? I watched as it flitted back over the road to the Gatehouse. Puzzle solved! There's a little feeding station tucked away by the gatehouse, beneath a large Cypress tree (I think it's a Cypress)... and there she was with the Chaffinches, Great Tits, Robins and Blue Tits... well hooda thunkit?  What's that saying? 'Seek and ye shall find?' Well ain't that a Universal truth. 54 species for the day... 10 year ticks, bringing the still paltry tally (though less so than a day ago) to 66 species. 

Now the work begins... still plenty to play for ahead of the migrants; Little Egret, Greylag Goose, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Merlin, Water Rail, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Woodcock, Collared Dove, Kingfisher, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Fieldfare, Treecreeper, Rook, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Goosander... that's 24 species I need - time to get serious ;)

* ADDENDUM - well, just had a dm from a birdy chum who reckons there have been records of Marsh Tit... about 4 of them, on the 'pitchu' call or song... good enough for me. Also, more recently, said birder, let's call him Dave for consistency and anonymity as per some of my previous blogs, has seen a photo of possible Marsh Tit from the Feeding Station showing that pale upper mandible dot... hmmm... eyes and ears peeled then ;)