The Safari had a pretty good week out n about this week. We had a couple of morning visits to Marton Mere where we had a few Redwings and a lot of Blackbirds feeding on the Hawthorn berries along the wetland hedge.
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| Lawson's wetland looking south east |
At the Viewing Platform many of the 300 plus Coot suddenly scarpered across the water for cover, we hoped the Otter or Bittern or perhaps a Marsh/Hen Harrier would come in to view but no such luck, it was a cat that had frightened them, not a fluffy one but a giant helium filled one - don't forget folks balloons blow so don't let go! Well all balloon releases are is glorified large scale littering; we can't believe they've not been banned yet and if nonsense like this waste of natural resourses weren't filled with helium they wouldn't float off in to the ether to land who knows where and cause who knows what problems.
The giant flying cat flushed about 100 Wigeon off the water too which flew around whistling their most un-duck-like call until the 'danger' was out of sight.
We wanted to see the new 'island' we'd been told of. The little island we reported in a recent post has been usurped by something much much more substantial - looks to be over 100 tons of management nightmare! How on earth do you clear that out of the middle of the mere and if you do where do you ump it without the enormous expense of removing it off site?
Frustratingly there were far too many loose dogs to see much wildlife - it's not as it there isn't a 3 mile walk and six acre field nearby they can be excercised in, absolutely no need to bring an unleashed dog in to the nature reserve just to pall ball - so annoying! Having said that we did here a Bullfinch calling from the densest part of the scrub and we stood watched, listened and waited to see if it would show but it didn't. We later were chatting to regular visitor TS who'd had great views about half an hour later not far from where we'd heard the calls.
With no birds to point the lens at it was vegetation that caught our eye.
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| Dog Rose hips |
The Feeding Station has had a bit of a make over, a bit on the excessive side to our mind, and there were very few birds about other than the usual couldn't care less Pheasants, a few wary Chaffinches and Great Tits and no fewer than four Grey Squirrels. Not sure what the rationale is behind the clearance of the cover around the feeders and beyond but we forgot to ask the vols when we met up with them later on.
After the frustrations, including lack of Hawfinches, of Marton Mere we teamed up with CR again for another safari south of the river.
Our first stop was at Marshside RSPB where the Cattle Egrets were doing what Cattle Egrets do best but doing it well away across the marsh. We counted four although five have been seen in recent days. The west Lancashire coast is getting more like the Carmargue everyday...there'll be nesting Greater Flamingos before too long.......
A quick look at the marsh from the two screens and hide gave us countless Black Tailed Godwits, a good selection of waterfowl but no obvious sign of our day's quarry, the Long Billed Dowitchers, not that we'd be able to pick them out among the godwits with no scope today. For some reason neither of us had ever stopped at the viewing platform at the far south of the reserve so off we went there to view the pool that a Scaup had been frequenting, it wasn't with the few Tufted Ducks that were present and we totally overlooked the distant and very late in the season Garganey. But at least the light was good and we had great views of the common species on offer, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shelduck, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Canada, Grey Lag and Pink Footed Geese; the Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail we'd been told about in the reeds to our left didn't make themselves known to us.
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| Canada Goose |
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| Lapwing |
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| Moorhen |
After while we decided to go back to the hide but stopped to ask what the couple of lads with scopes were looking at close to the road junction. They were looking for the Long Billed Dowitchers which had just been reported on their pagers as seen from the hide and they were trying to find them from there in better light.
We arrived at the hide and were told where to look and kindly given scope views, without which we'd probably never have found the sleeping 'beauty'. |
| Can you see it? |
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| You can see it now - right? Did you find it in the previous pic? |
It's the first Long Billed Dowitcher (186, YBC #162) we've seen since the mid 90s so it was good to make acquaintance with one again even if it did look like this for most of the morning.
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| You know where it is now but would you have found it - don't think we would! |
Certainly a bonus bird for our Year Bird Challenge, not even close to being on the radar earlier in the year.
With that success and 'thank yous' said we set off to the reserve we do not mention by name for the rest of the afternoon. A quick look in their 'new' Discovery hide showed the light to be tricky, this Whooper Swan out of a fine selection of waterfowl was the best we could muster with the camera.
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| Whooper Swan |
But leaving the hide which way to go, left or right? Right was tempting with the afternoon sun behind us so we went left ignoring the hide without opening windows but with a heater - didn't need that today it was very mild - and went straight to the next little hide with the Kingfisher perch, it was very quiet there so we didn't stop long but continued to the Kingfisher Hide where we never see Kingfishers and we about turned when a birder coming down the steps told us a Kingfisher had been showing from the next hide not fiver minutes earlier.
Luckily it was still there.
We had the most prolonged views of a Kingfisher we've had in a very long time, perhaps ever and watched it catch a small fish and then a right dobber which we think is a Perch. Doubt if we've ever seen a Kingfisher with a fish that large before...an impressive catch indeed!
There was a supporting cast of hundreds of Teal and Wigeon and an obliging pair of Kestrels and an unobliging duo of Marsh Harriers.
The Kingfisher decided it was time to move on and digest its ginormous meal somewhere comfy so we went back to the far side and stopped at one of the screens where the old hide used to be - they still give better light than the new all singing all dancing family friendly hide.
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| Shelduck |
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| And even closer |
As the afternoon's Whooper Swan feed for the punters draws near the waterfowl start to gather where the wheelbarrow of grain will appear. It's quite a spectacle! Unfortunately we had to leave before the melee started.
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| He'll be out in a minute - how many species can you find? |
Where to next? Not sure where we'll get to next week but Marton Mere is probably a given.
In the meantime let us know who's bitten off almost more than they can chew in your outback.
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