Today was one of those days that reminded me just why I am unashamedly a patch birder and a patch birder only and I can, hand on heart, say that there's very, very little that would draw me elsewhere, with the exception perhaps of Wryneck, which I've never seen and would probably 'go for' if it was in Cheshire. Otherwise, no. Why? Because Moore is my patch and I love its rickety aching bones to bits. Sure it's not the sprightly hot thing it was a decade ago (who of us are.. or perhaps even were?) but it exemplifies birding purity for me - that special mix of well-trodden paths, 'off piste' nooks and constant surprises. You never know what you're going to see - and that's the whole point. Whatever you DO see is through the sweat of your own brow. It's not about other people's birds. It's about your own and if I may digress into a rubbish baking metaphor for a moment, it's like baking your own bread. It may not be that pristine bloomer in Devonshire Bakery, but you mixed the flour, water and yeast and so it invariably tastes good. The patch was just like that today - no surprise Jalapenos, no crusty lattice work, just a good old fashion, fresh tasty loaf. So if you'll permit me, I'd like to a share a slice of it with you.
For once, I actually managed to get up for sunrise and parked up opposite Pumphouse Pool to start, as I usually do, at the eastern end of the patch.
06:34 - Out of the car and... Song Thrush and Robin singing away, Blue Tit flitting about, 75 Black-headed Gull over east, a Chaffinch singing and the distant honk of a Canada Goose.
06:40 - All's relatively quiet at the Eastern Reedbed. There had been a little ice on my car when I got up and so I was half-hopeful of a slight freeze and a late Bittern, but no. It was the usual fare... pair of Canada Goose, 2 Coot, 1 Moorhen, pair of Tufted Duck, a calling Reed Bunting and the loud, intermittent blast of Cetti's Warbler. Funny to lump Cetti's in 'the usual', but these days it is. I must have had five different birds on the patch today (including one I actually saw!) and it is our commonest winter warbler these days - it used to be the 1-2 overwintering Chiffchaff we'd get. Not any more.
06:45 - There wasn't much more on Mill Brook Pond behind me; 2 Canada Goose, 2 Coot, pair of Tufted Duck... but I did add Little Grebe and male Shoveler. In the trees at the back were 7 Grey Heron noisily setting up shop in their little heronry and a then there was a equally noisy 'peeep peeep', as two Kingfisher chased across the pool heading for Pumphouse. Fabulous and the first of the day's year ticks.
Eastern Reedbed Mill Brook Pool
Whilst I was 'down that end' of the patch I thought I'd check the river, ever hopeful of a Goosander, but alas no. I did though get a cracking view of an enormous pair of 3D glasses (!)...
... 3 Stock Dove on the wires and my first singing Chiffchaff of the year. I thought perhaps 'they'd arrived', but it was the only one I heard all day, so I'm guessing it was either one that 'got the worm' or was an overwintering chap trying out his voice.
07:11 - Black Field Pools. Curlew over calling, Raven too... another blast of Cetti's Warbler and a somewhat embarrassed 'how do I follow that' half-hearted burble from a Reed Bunting. BFPE yielded 2 Canada Goose, 6 Teal, 1 Shoveler, 3 Coot, 2 Gadwall, 3 Tufted Duck and a pair of Oystercatcher, whilst BFPW added another 7 Teal, 2 more Canada Goose and a Great Crested Grebe. Walked back along Firecrest Alley and picked up Jay and 4 Redwing - the latter a reminder that the winter visitors have not all yet departed.
07:45 - Pumphouse Pool (east, aka Colin's). 49 Black-headed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 13 Tufted Duck, 7 Little Grebe (!), 7 Gadwall, 1 Mallard, pair of Teal, pair of Canada Goose, 3 Moorhen, 1 Shoveler, juvenile Mute Swan, 8 Coot and the first of the day's splendid Pochard, 2m 1f. All were briefly joined raucously by the two Oystercatchers from BFP, who didn't like what they saw and quickly left - thankfully. Nothing worse than noisy Oystercatchers, apart perhaps from the noisier and more irritating Canada Geese at the moment. Do they ever stop honking?
With the furthest reaches of the eastern end done, I usually potter back via Birchwood Pool and do a quick count there, but I was already freezing... and my car was at 'this end' of the patch, so instead I drove back to Runcorn to grab a coffee and munchies and then headed back to the patch for part two. The plan was to count Lapwing Lake, check the Feeding Station, spend a little time looking for LSW before heading to Birchwood Pool (west hide) to see what was about. First though, a quick check of the Manchester Ship Canal from the bridge and... wow! Tufted Duck everywhere... large and small gatherings as far as the eye could see west towards the warehouses - I counted 114 in total (my highest count so far this year), plus a couple of Cormorant.
08:41 - Lapwing Lake. 24 Wigeon still (guess they'll be moving along soon...), 3 Little Grebe, 9 Coot, 3 Canada Goose, 4 Tufted Duck, 1 Moorhen, 2 Mallard, 1 Grey Heron, 1 male Pochard, pair of Teal.
Picked up Siskin along Lapwing Lane near the Car Park and the usual suspects, but little of note. No sign of the Lesser Spotted... just Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker today. the former, tapping on one of the dead trees and the latter variously yaffling from both ends of the reserve. The Feeding Station was relatively quiet (not much seed in the feeders), but did get all the usual tits, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit (no Willow Tit or Marsh Tit today) along with several Nuthatch, Chaffinch and a cracking female Brambling that I watched for a good 10 minutes... another reminder that the winter is still clinging on my its icy finger tips. There were also loads of Treecreeper and Goldcrest about, as in previous recent visits.
09:30ish - Birchwood Pool (west). Another winter visitor who has yet to depart - Goldeneye, or rather 3 of them, 1m, 2f feeding in the NW corner. Also there were another 3 male Pochard, resplendently chestnut-headed in the sunlight, otherwise there was a pair of Canada Goose, 2 pairs of Little Grebe and a pair of Great Crested Grebe - no sign on any other ducks... hmmmm.
So, it was now about 10:00am and the eastern half of the reserve was done... time to hit the west: Upper Moss Side, the Manchester Ship Canal and Halfway House. I decided to get to the MCS via Hillcrest Quarry, in case of finches - there were none, but I did get 3 skeins of Pink-footed Goose over in quick succession, flying west: 140+170+50 - the most I've seen over in one go this year. The large number of Tufted Duck on the MCS were quickly confirmed too when I arrive at the piers and looked up and down the canal. If anything, there were even more than I'd been able to pick up from the road bridge and as I walked along the canal past the Warehouses I picked up another 50 Tufted Duck, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 8 Mallard, 2 Moorhen, 10 Gadwall, Common Buzzard... another Kingfisher zipping past calling and a bonus Pied Wagtail (year tick!) on the far strandline among the flotsam and jetsam (see example below) whilst scanning for possible Common Sandpiper (they have overwintered here in the past...). Also checked the fields on the far bank for thrushes. Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush and Ring Ouzel have all turned up in the past along with Wheatear later in the spring. Today though, just Magpies and Wood Pigeons...
11:09 - Halfway House. My first visit with the tide out (!)... and it was pretty much like it often is... quiet. Today on the mud were; 70+37 Lapwing, 13 Canada Goose, 11 Carrion Crow, 2 Shelduck, 4 Cormorant, 6 Gadwall, 2 Mallard, 36 Black-headed Gull, 3 Herring Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls...
11:30 - Upper Moss Side. It's funny isn't it, that when you spot a memorable bird at a certain place, at a certain time in the past, that you anticipate the same bird will turn up at the same place at the same time forever after. Of course they never (well, rarely...) do and today was no different. No Barn Owl flitting over the farmland in the lunchtime sunshine today. In fact, no Great Grey Shrike or Little Owl in the Balloon Hut Field either...
... and no Yellowhammer or Tree Sparrow in the hedgerows between the farm and white cottage, a 'given' in the past, nor Grey Partridge along the field margins, but I did finally flush a Snipe in a wet patch and got my first singing Skylark for the year - year ticks 3 and 4 for the day, respectively. The walk back along the track to Lapwing Lane was uneventful... and there was still no Willow Tit at the Feeding Station nor Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by the boardwalk... but do you know what? I didn't care a jot. I finished off with a big female Sparrowhawk soaring over Lapwing Lane, that got me thinking Goshawk for a while until I saw sense and I had a great 6 hours on the patch and walked every proverbial inch of it. The sun was shining. The birds were out and about. What more do you need, eh? Patch birding - gotta love it ;)
FINAL TALLY for the day... 64spp (highest day total so far this year...)
Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Redwing, Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Brambling, Goldfinch, Siskin, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting... Year List 82spp
Apols for the tall narrow view... phone cam ;)
