New year safaris are go go go

The Safari has been out and about all over the shop since the turn of the year. Almost here there and everywhere but mostly south of the river. Our Bird Photo Challenge has kicked off again, now in its eighth year and we have to say we're doing pretty well - homing in on 100 species photographed already. Maybe we should 'save some for later' as the Law of Diminishing Returns has got to kick in very soon. However, there is a little method in our madness; we've got (yet) another hand issue which is likely to require surgery sometime in the not to distant future (NHS waiting lists permitting) meaning we could be out of action for a few weeks. There's a proviso in the rules too this year - no more than 75 miles from Base Camp; tricky as at least 30% of that circle for us is inaccessible sea and annoying that the superb seabird cliifs of South Stack on Anglesey are about 18 inches outside the line. There is a wide variety of habitats and a large number of good reserves and other sites contained within the blue line though so here goes...

The year got off to a good start with a number of Common Gulls on the beach at Base Camp, they're not that common here and not guaranteed on any particular day.

Our first safari away from the immediate environs of Base Camp saw us not far up the road at Fleetwood where a rather wet morning gave us a Stonechat on the golfcourse and a  flight of Mute Swans over the beach after they'd left the marine lake, makes for a diffent pic to the usual 'sat on the water pose' we usually get.

The reason for nipping up there was the recent stormy weather had brought in a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers, a bird we didn't see there last year in fact there were very few reports of them at this previously fairly regular winter site. Today there were only two, the male having left the party.

Next time out we were further afield at Martin Mere WWT reserve with the Southside gang where we filled our boots with waterfowl and woodland species. It wasn't the best day with spells of heavy rain resulting in possibly the worst Brambling pic you'll ever see but hey it is identifiable so it counts towards our Challenge. 

We always like a Pintail and it was good to see the Red Breasted Goose had stayed over the new year and now taking full advantage of the free food handout of the daily 'Swan feed'. The minor limp it had before Christmas has become much worse though, it was really hobbling.

Calm conditions, rare for this year of non-stop storms, offered some nice Little Egret reflection opportunities.

That safari brought our tally up to 41. The following day we ventured local again, this time to Stanley Park. A couple of dry day's meant the paths round the lake wouldn't be too muddy and the sun was shining too, a real bonus.

If anything the sun was too bright often creating severe shadows where the birds were spending most of their time. We managed a few decent shots of several species, pick of the bunch being a Stock Dove that flew over the lake and landed in the tall Poplar tree over our head.

A visit to the park isn't complete without a pic of its noisiest inhabitants.

Another safari up to Fleetwood found us a Red Throated Diver not too far away in the surf, normally a tricky species to find close enough to photograph. We usually have to wait for our annual pilgramage to Spurn and keep our fingers crossed there's one close enough there. Off the prom here they're usually little more than a dot in the scope.

Staying with the diver theme and another carry-over from last year, the Black Throated Diver was still at Crosby Marina so another safari over to the Southside was  organised.

Better still a male Smew had turned up at nearby Lunt Meadows LWT reserve. How long is it since we last saw a male one of these???

Unfortunatley it remained fairly distant, just out of effective range but fantastic to see nonetheless especially as many others only managed even further views and it spent a lot of time hidden in the bankside vegetation. A bonus was the long-staying Green Winged Teal which didn't wake up all day.

But better still was a Mediterranean Gull we were told was on the Pumphouse Pool by other birders, but was it to be bird of the day?

Surprisingly for us it wasn't! That accolade went to the Grey Partridge that eagle-eyed IH spotted lurking furtively in a piece of rough ground set aside for shooting just over the reeserve boundary. Distant and camouflaged it was impossible to see it in the camera's viewfinder but we fired off a whole heap of shots in the general direction...and just about got lucky...you thought our Brambling shot was bad!!! But beggars can't be choosers and this is a species that was really common round here in our early days of birding but one which we didn't even see last year.

Not many minutes later we had a 'wow' moment. Above us a Peregrine sparred with two Marsh Harriers stooping repeatedly at them for over five minutes. Now most birds try to get above a Peregrine where they hope to be a little safer, not the Marsh Harriers they just kept on doing what they were doing which was not a lot. Each time the Peregrine stooped the 'victim' just turned on its back and presented its talons the the incoming missile, totally nonplussed by the whole affair. A fabulous day just slightly marred by the fact we couldn't find the Richardson's Cackling Goose although neither could anyone else on site that day. By the end of play our Challenge tally stood at the amazing total of 72.

We were cracking on a pace now but could we keep that pace up? Our next safari took us local again to Marton Mere nature reserve. We picked up CR and headed for The Nook and as soon as we got out of the car we were photographing a Tawny Owl which wasn't for showing itself.

Walking on we hadn't got far when two Sparrowhawks flew past us.

Reaching the reserve all was quiet. It was a cold frosty morning which at least had frozen the mud into a solid surface that wasn't too slippery to walk on. The local Cetti's Warblers were keeping their heads down, by the time we've usually got this far we've heard at least three. CR said he'd seen pics of Bee Orchid rosettes on social media so we had a look in one of their favoured spots on the reserve but couldn't find anything remotely orchidy. However a pair of Bullfinches flew over us and landed in a nearby Hawthorn bush. The male went round the back and the female although on our side of the bush stayed mstly in cover. However, we did get our best pic of a Bullfinch we've taken here.

We wandered on enjoying the lovely sunshine but not the lack of birds, the scrub was very quiet until we saw a male Kestrel in the top of the trees near the gate but again on the wrong side of said tree.

Taking the detour down to the viewing bench the light was terrible and there wasn't much on the water so we didn't stay long. Back on the main path the Kestrel was now in a better place but as we raised the camera it saw something and swooped low into the scrub not to reappear. The Feeding Station was busy with the usual garden/woodland birds but strangely no Pheasants, which was the species we really wanted to get a pic of. On the way back to the car the Tawny Owl had turned round - thank goodness.

Not a bad visit all in all.

Next up was a safari Over Wyre to have a look for the Twite at Knott End. There were none at the slipway when we arrived until just a single one flew  over us calling. We decided to have a walk down the prom to give them a chance to come back from wherever they were and there's always the chance they could be on the saltmarsh there. No sign of them there either but there was a nice little flock of Redshank to have a dib at.

Once back at Base Camp downloading the day's shots we discovered a sneaky Knot lurking in the flock, it's in the pic above but showing better in this one even if out of focus.

Returning to the slipway we saw there was  no chance of seeing any Twite cos a council van complete with workers was parked up there, the oppos getting on with whatever job they'd been sent to do. We were scuppered so slunk back to Base Camp early. We'll be back! 

CR kindly drove us up to Leighton Moss where we joined IH for a frozen mooch about. It was bitterly cold and almost all the open water was frozen solid so there was hardly water fowl to be seen. This put a mockers on our hopes of Great White Egret, Snipe etc. Water Rails had been showing ridiculously well along the Causeway but we had no luck, just a couple of very brief glimpses. The wooded areas were good for small birds though, the feeders soon gave us a nice Marsh Tit. But again there were no Pheasants present - there's always Pheasants here.

High in the nearby Alder trees a flock of Siskins was feeding, craning our neck for the shot we pressed the shutter button a nano-second too late as the last of the flock left for trees further away.

The trials and tribulations of wildlife photography ehh?

A Wren along the boardwalk gave us the run around but we caught up with one on the, surprisingly dry, path to the Lower Hide.

And we got a shot of the last thing a spider sees when a Treecreeper is working its way up a trunk. Normally you only get to see the back or sides of these creeping tree huggers but this one landed on a branch too thin and exposed its ventral surface.

After exhausting the main reserve we went back to the cars for a drive down to the saltmarshes. In the car park there was a sizeable flock of Fieldfares taking advantage of the remaining Hawthorn berries above the bonnet of CR's motor.

Along the path to the saltmarsh hides we eventually got our Pheasant pic.

Here as well, even though the water is brackish, the pools were frozen solid with very little to be seen. A hopeful pair of Goosanders flew over and on the marsh a handful of Shelducks could be seen but not a lot else. Way out in the distance on the seaward edge of the marsh eagle-eyed IH picked up two Peregrines sat on the deck a hundred yards or so apart.

CR took the scenic route back to Base camp heading Over Wyre in the hope of a Barn Owl or two. We passed fields full of Curlews and Lapwings and eventually came across a big flock of Black Tailed Godwits with some Golden Plovers nearby but no Barn Owls.

It was getting dark whe nwe stopped at one of Fylde Bird Club's farmland bird feeding stations only to see a Grey Squirrel filling its face with the copious freebies on offer. In the village there is another of their feeding stations but by now it was getting bvery gloomy but there was a large number of Tree Sparrows getting their last feed of the day before tucking up chattering away in the adjacent hedge. It was going to be a long cold nnight for them. We don't get involved in the bird club as much as we'd like but we're very happy to know our subs goes at least a little way to keeping these important feeders topped up.

A brief stop at a known Barn Owl site did give us a brief view but where did it go, did it disppear over the fields and far away or circle round the old building and bunk back in round the back, either way we never saw it again and it was there then gone far too quickly for us to raise the camera. The day ended with our Challenge tally now on the giddy height of 90!

A break (= a slight easing of the rains and lessening of the ferocious winds) saw us back at Knott End looking for the Twite again, this time with success, there were about 20 present feeding on seeds washed up in the strandline.

Most unusually a Rook was there too. Just one on its own, when we we much younger one Rook was a Crow and 100 Crows were Rooks!

From there we headed north towards Lancaster with swans in mind. At Conder Green we bumped into DP & JS and their students from Myerscough College but they had negative news of the Bewick's Swans for us. Little Grebes in the river were too far away and in the stormy wind the pool was far more choppy than the sea was for most of our last summer's cruise to Greenland - we didn't stop long. Driving down the lanes we stopped at all the Whooper Swan flocks but couldn't find the Bewick's Swans, if they were there they must have been in the flock that was mostly hidden behind a hedge and in a bit of a dip. Behind a distant flock of Whooper Swans were three Cattle Egrets which we made a right pigs ear of photogrphing in the bright light - note to self: Always check the camera settings!

They brought the tally to a very respectable 93 after only 22 days. Then followed a few blank safari-free days as Storm Isha merged seemlessly into Storm Jocelyn, although we did find another Snow Bunting while out walking the dog along the prom in the teeth of the gale. Will it stick around or be a one day wonder like the one we found before Christmas?

Where to next? As the next storm approaches and the wind picks up again we're going to try an inland site we've been avoiding for a few years due to traffic problems - have we worked out an alternative route we should have figuered our a long time ago?

In the meantime let us know who's been braving the winds in your outback

Southwards for a change

The Safari picked up CR and headed south across the river to meet IH at our boyhood birding haunts.on arrival we immediately saw why IH had told us not to look for the previously regular(ish) Little Owl, its favourite tumbledown house had been demolished prior to redevelopment. It was a bright, crisp winter's day and on Lunt Meadows itself the first pool was totally frozen over and also totally lacking in life. Needless to say we didn't stay more than a couple of minutes before heading round the rest of the reserve in a clockwise direction. A birder we met at the gate told us he'd seen both a Hen Harrier and a Marsh Harrier earlier in the morning so to keep our eyes peeled. While waiting for us to arrive IH had already seen a Buzzard too, we can remember when Buzzards were almost unheard of in these parts and should one turn up it would have been top of the local gamehkeepers' hit lists. Thankfully things have changed for the better; for Buzzards at least, not so much the Hen Harriers which still suffer horrendous illegal persecution.

The first field held its usual large gaggle of feral Grey Lag and Canada Geese. There were probably more of the latter than we saw in Canada last year, although to be fair we didn't see that many. Beyond the geese the edge of the frozen pool saw a few Lapwings and Coots roosting up conserving energy in the cold conditions. A Reed Bunting flew over and a  Blackbird skulked about the boundary hedge but much more bizarre was the Ring Necked Parakeet that flew over us. We had no idea they were anywhere near hereand as non-native species go we'd much sooner have the Little Owl than these pesky parrots.

We anbled slowly on towards the next pool where a small group of birders were stood, hopefully with the 'main event' in view. The main event being an American Green Winged Teal which has been on site for at least as long as its moulted into its plumage with the vertical white shoulder stripe enough to separate it from the hundreds of our own green winged Teals. Fortunately the birders already had a scope set up on it although it wasn't showing particularly well. Can you see it?

We had the brainwave of noticing there was a bit of a gap between the Wigeon that were obsuring it and the Teal to the right so moved down the track ten yards or so to see if that made a better  viewing angle, it did, quite a bit better. The cold breeze was making us shake around rather a lot when taking pics but here there was a stout fence post without vegetation around it to lean on.

Other ducks on the pool included Mallards, some Shelducks, a few Shoveler and a handful of Gadwall with a few Coots and a couple of Moorhens thrown in for good measure. A Redshank flew in calling, possibly hoping for some soft ground to probe for worms in but it would be out of luck the ground along the track was rock hard beneath our boots. Wandering on we wondered where all the Cetti's Warblers were, usually they are the noisiest bird on the site but today there were silent. At the next pool there was some open water but most of the ducks were hauled out on the ice asleep.

Scans of the horizon, much more distant from here as the viewing point is elevated a few feet above the track, gave us no sign of any raptors even tyhough the sun was now beginning to get some warmth to it and the morning chill was going out of the air. We moved swiftly on heading to the river. The hedge beside the path was lively with small birds, indeed it was easily the liviest part of the reserve. There were Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Robins, a Wren, Reed Buntings a female of which stayed still long enough for us to point the lens at.

And right at the end of the hedge two Dunnocks sat up in the top of a Hawthorn bush, not often you see two of these skulky little devils sat out in an exposed position at the same time!

The river gave us paddling Mallards and some Lapwings in the fields beyond. Two distant Buzzards were found and a distant Heron along with a flock of small birds, Linnets or Skylarks or something else??? They were a very  long way off. We kept an eye on the reedbeds stretching below us on our side of the river just in case a Bittern should pop up - no such luck! It's amazing to think that this area is only a mile or so from our boyhood home ands we used to traipse the fields of spuds, carrots and cabbages that used to be here on our bike with a pair of almost un-see-through bins seeing nothing but Lapwings, Skylarks, Grey Partridges and occassionally in winter a skein of Pink Footed Geese - how times have changed...Bitterns a mile from our front door - who'd have believed it. The Grey Partridges are still here but sadly not much more numerous than the Bitterns now and we didn't see any today.

Having completed the circuit of the reserve it was getting near butty time and IH suggested quick nip to the coast rather than eat our scran at the car with little or nothing to look at. But rather than going to hall Road coastguards he suggested driving up to Hightown to start the coastal walk from the north end - good plan! It must be 50 years since we last crossed the railway into Hightown village and we'd never have found the parking spot access to the dunes without following IH. There we grabbed our butties and headed out to the river mouth passing through a little fence IH told us he'd helped build as a coastal volunteer about 40 years ago...all creditr to him, it still looks pretty sturdy!

A short walk brought us to the river mouth where we sat on the frozen dunes and admired the view out across the wider Mersey bay over a mirror calm sea while tucking into all manner of pies and sandwiches. Over on the sandbanks there was a huge number of waders roosting up over the high tide, Knot, Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Curlews, Redshanks and a couple of Little Egrets, a throng of Great Black Backed Gulls lined the far bank of the Alt and further out a line of Cormorants stood on the outer edge of the sanbank. More of their number roosted on the channel marker nearby while below them a large number of  Shelducks pottered about in the shallows and river channel. Scanning further out we couldn't find any Harbour Porpoises even though conditions were perfect for spotting any that might have been there.

Butties mucnhed we set off southwards along the shore line, the low afternoon sun made looking that way uncomfortable at times but at least it was warm now and we soon felt overdressed in our full winter togs.

The ebbing tide was revealing fresh mud and soon more flocks of Knot along wit ha large flock of Black Tailed Godwits flew in to take advantage of the freshly uncovered feeding areas. Walking south towards Crosby and past the WW2 bomb rubble on the beach we hoped to find some more waders although the tide seemed to be taking a long time to drop and leave a particularly favoured spot uncovered, one we've been watching since the early 70s. It's quite weird thinking back and realising there was a lot less time between the end of WW2 with that rubble being dumped there and us starting birding the area than there is between those early birding adventures and now. How time flies.

We did come across a couple of Turnstones feeding quite high up the beach.

And then saw a Grey Plover fly in showing its black axcillaries very nicely as it fluttered to a halt on the rocks (=bricks etc) on the water's edge. Trouble is we had to cautiosly get a dozen or more yards past it to look back on it with the sun behind us. Luckily our snaeking around skills didn't let us down and it stayed put allowing a few snaps.

The area has always been good for Stonechats and today was no exception. Not sure how many we saw today as they can be quite mobile but we'd hazard a guess at at aleast half a dozen. They seem to be particularly good at two things today - keeping just out of range and/or staying on the wrong side of the light. Eventually we caught up with a trio that nearly behaved for us. We only managed a pic of a young one, the snazzy male leaving his perch on a tangle of heavy duty wire a millisecond before we pressed the shutter button.

By now it was time to head back to the car before it got too dark for pics. It was a bit of hasty retreat but there wasn't too much to see along the way. We took a shorter,easier walking route back which passed by the Natterjack Toad breeding ponds - no chance of these warm weather creatures being out today, their ponds were frozen solid...a spring evening visit is on the cards to here these 'Lancashire Nightingales' singing. The low sun illuminated the seed heads of the Reeds beautifully though.

The shortly before reaching IH's ancient fence we spied a flash of white moving in a Sea Buckthorn thicket, a couple of Fieldfares were using their wings to balance their eway through the prickly mass to get to the choicest berries. A Blackbird was in there too and managed to flush on of the Fieldfares low and to the back tof the bush. Fortunately the other one stayed on the front of the bush but unfortunately in the heavily shaded part rather than the brightly lit patch a yard to the left - how annoying!

A few minutes later we were back at the cars saying farewell until next time to IH and heading back to Base Camp after a lovely day out on safari in our old haunts.

 

Where to next? Could be anywhere.

 

In the meantime let us know who's eating berries in the dark in your outback - and don't say Waxwings - - sore point!