A Day Locally

I had half a day locally yesterday.
An hour at Mere Sands looking for the Kingfisher from Rufford Hide, but no luck.
A possible Fox peeped out of the bushes, but it could have been a cat, very pale, and slinked away almost as soon as I'd seen it..

Then an hour at Martin Mere.
The highlight was 3 Peregrines sat on a fence at the back of the mere.
Looked like a male, female and a youngster, there were apparently 2 youngsters about.
I also saw a yound hedgehog, which was nice, until I saw it was eating the remains of a dead rat !!
2 Marsh Harriers eventually showed up from Millers Bridge, and 5 Whooper Swans must have been some of the first back for the winter along with lots of Teal. Plenty of Pink Feet going in and out of the reserve.
But I could only pick out 1 Ruff amongst the Lapwing ans Mallards on the Mere.

There seems to be lots of Tree Sparrows around at both sites, so maybe they've had a good breeding season. Didn't see any Reed Buntings which was strange, especially for Mere Sands, but it was generally quiet, with not many woodland birds at all, and those that were there seemed to be congregated around the feeders.

Poppy's success

Poppy took and passed her Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze award yesterday. She did very well and was one of the best in the test out of 8. One big wooly dog failed, because it wouldn't sit and stay, or recall. Poppy just managed a minute in sit and stay but was excellent on her recall. Well done Poppy.

Wirral Wander

Thought I'd have a look at the Wirral coast, the only time I'd been before was with the 'Birding and Beyond' trip to Hilbe Island.
I went specifically to look for Leach's Petrel, and did some internet research as to the best spots.
High tide was about 1.30pm and there was a strong NW wind blowing, good omens for Leach's.
I thought the best idea would be to head for New Brighton, so I took the old Birkenhead tunnel, I never remember it being so twisty !! The new one is much straighter.

Anyway I found Perch Rock in New Brighton and drove down the prom. towards the Wirral Countyside Park at the far end. Didn't encounter many birds though !!

I found Gun Sights Car Park, apparently one of the premier sites for Leach's on the Wirral.
There were a few birders there already peering at the foaming brown Irish Sea. But very few birds were obvious, just the occassional Gull and a small Cormorant roost on top of a breakwater marker.
Eventually a flock of Oystercatchers landed on the beach, a small wader with them was, I think, a redshank, but it didn't hang around for me to be positive.
After half an hour staring at the foam, I did get one Leach's halfway out to the horizon, a tick, but not a very convincing view, just a flash of it's white rump against a dark grey body, shearing between the wave crests. The chap next to me couldn't get on to even that. According to the internet when I got home 20+ had been past, but not whilst I was there !!! Typical !!!

I carried on to Hoylake, stopped first at Dovepoint, nothing there except a toilet, very useful though !!
Continuing up the promenade, I was looking for King's Gap, not realising it was 'one way' until I noticed all the parked cars were facing to other way !!! Luckily I'd only gone about 50 yards, quick 'u' turn !!!!
So I had to go through the centre of Hoylake to find the other end of the prom. How peculiar !!
King's Gap was awash with waders right next to the prom. as the tide was now up. Big flocks of Knot, Dunlin ans Sanderling, all in their various plumage patterns, interesting to pick them out. A few Bar Tailed Godwit were mixed into the Grey Plover flock and Ringed Plover were plentiful.
A flock of Oystcatcher huddling together on the edge of the water had some Sandwich Terns in it.
Shelduck mixed with the Gulls floating just off the beach, Lesser Black Back, Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls were the ones I managed to identify. No Skuas though that I could find.

I thought I'd have a look at West Kirby marina for Geese, but it was inundated by the sea and the waves were crashing over the prom. So I called it a day, thought of trying Gun Sight again on the way home, but got on the wrong road and ended up at the new tunnel before I noticed.

Called in at Crosby Lifeboat one the way past, just in case there were any Leach's there, but nothing except the odd Cormorant, Lesser Black Back, and thousands of Starlings.

A frustrating day in some ways, but now I know where to go next time.
   

Meet the family

Sunday saw us driving to the Hamsterley Forest in County Durham to join the sponsored walk in aid of the British Legion, organised by June, Poppy's breeder.
It was a fun day where we walked about 2 miles along the River Bedburn, a beautiful spot.
We met Simon, eventually, after some fun looking for him in a very busy carpark, and the fact that he only had £2.80 and it cost £3 to park !!!!
We were lucky enough to meet Poppy's brother Oscar, there was no mistaking him, just a bit bigger and broader than Poppy, but otherwise identical.

It was wierd to find he didn't like cars (put him in 'like a wheelbarrow' his Mum said, just like Poppy) or wheelie bins and like to pull on his lead, as well as 'hoovering' up his food, must be in the genes !! 
We had a good chat with his Mum and Dad, and, before we set off on the walk, we met June again.
It looked like Poppy recognised her, she was so gentle and snuggled up to her. June was pleased to see all her charges together, and such good looking gentle dogs all of them.
Along the way we met another Golden Retriever, a big beautiful dog called Finlay, who turned out to be Poppy's half brother from South Shields. What a giant he is, just like his father, enormous paws and full of fun. He liked to pull as well and was unsure of cars, wheelie bins and things that fluttered like flags. But what lovely friendly dogs her family are, well done, June !!!
At the end of the walk we had a fun dog show, where we entered 'the prettiest bitch' and the 'sit' categories.

 Needless to say we won neither !!!

Although we think she's the prettiest anyway !!!

More than can be said for the little portly bloke on the left, more exercise required ??
(am I standing in a hole ??)
A lovely day, in a lovely part of the world, with lovely warm people, what better way to spend a sunny Sunday.
  
 

Reasons not to

I've not done much birding this summer, apart from holidays.
That's because of the following :

Poppy, our Golden Retriever pup, arrived from County Durham at the end of April, just at migration time !!
So all my time has been taken up settling in our baby. Feeding three times a day and daily training.
She soon found the pond !!! and her way around the garden.

She's been going to training at West Lancs Canine Centre in Formby every Tuesday night and has made lots of friends, canine and human. Boot, the bearded collie, Ira, and Noodle, the poodle just to name a few !!!
She's learned to sit (sometimes) lie down (occasionally) stay (she's good at that) and to walk to heel (if I can go as fast as her)
She's hopefully going to do her Bronze Kennel Club award at the end of September, she should have done it in June but she broke a bone in her foot during 'rough and tumble' with the other club pups.
 She's six months now and well settled down, Jet has learned to tolerate her boisterous moments and they love to lie together.

So my annual total this year looks unlikely to exceed 170 !! so much for 200 in a year, and the local birds I've missed !! Hopefully they'll be back next year.
Maybe, next year, she can help me find them ??!!??

 

Marmaris 2012

We took our annual holiday this year in the south west corner of Turkey at Marmaris.

We stayed at the Marmaris Imperial Hotel about 45 minutes outside Marmaris itself, a bungalow type complex built into a steep (very steep !!) pine forest bordering the sea. The forest is part of the Marmaris National Park due its pine and liquidamber trees and it's unique wildlife.
However at 40 degrees in the shade, most of the wildlife stays well hidden, birding is challenging to say the least, most birds in the deep shade and I suspect in moult.
However, we did manage 42 species, although I guess you could easily triple that if you came in spring, the mixed habitat round and about looks ideal.

The first birds round the hotel were Collared Doves and Blue, Great and Coal Tits, with the occassional Jay, but nothing to write home about. Although Red Sqirrels in the grounds was nice. Nothing much in the marina either except Yellow Legged Gulls, although we did get a visit from a Sandwich Tern the day before we came home.
Sitting in the shade, reading, I heard a woodpecker like call from the trees behind me, I eventually located a Wryneck, only the second I'd ever seen. Then later on a Kingfisher flew across the front of me, over the bay and landed in the trees next to the lifeguard.

We hired a car for 4 days to get out and about, this was also the only way we were going to see anymore birds.
Marmaris is at the head of the Datca peninsula which terminates at Knidos, an archeological site at the end of a long winding road through every type of countryside you could imagine, from farmland to mountain.

Along this road I had my one and only lifer of the trip, Roller. That was good, I'd seen Roller and Indian Roller, both lifers this year. Beautiful bird, but as I tried to photo it, it kept moving along the line of telegraph poles showing it's amazing blue wings.

At the same stop, we had Bee Eaters on the wires.  
In the mounatains we got Alpine Swift, Short Toed Eagle and Long Legged Buzzard of note, but very few smaller birds other than House Sparrows.

On reaching Knidos, we firstly had lunch at the excellent fish restaurant there, then we took in the extensive Romano-Greek ruins of the harbour. Black Eared Wheatear were flitting about the stones, but not much else, until I heard, and eventually saw, Rock Nuthatch. The wind was quite strong coming in from the sea and I picked up a Belearic Shearwater out in the bay, which was a good find.

The next day we headed over to Dalyan to look at the famous reed beds and Turtle beach. What seems like a short trip on a map, in Turkey, is a long way !!! Turkey is a vast country !! Dalyan was dissappointing on the bird front, Roller again and about 20 Little Egret, along with Grey and Purple Heron were all I could find. Jean spotted Green Water Snakes in the lagoon, and soon we'd found about 4 of then in the water weed looking like grass snakes. 
We took a detour to Koycegiz and found an almost dried up river bed at the edge of the reeds. This turned out to be the best site of the trip !! At least 3 Kingfishers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, 25 Little Egrets, Red Rumped Swallow and Red Backed Shrike, all whilst sitting in the car !!

The next detour on the way back to the hotel, found us lost in the mountains above Mugla, if you've never been to Yerkeseki, you've not missed much !! Except Tutle Dove and Woodchat Shrike !!

Turkey is a wonderful place for summer holiday, wall to wall sunshine, lovely friendly people, and intersting food, just don't expect the birds to come to you !!

Trough of Bowland

Took a day off yesterday to look for Cuckoo in Bowland.
First stop, Tower Lodge, where somebody told me to look for flycatchers. I couldn't find any but did get Cuckoo singing across the valley, I couldn't see it but it wasn't far away.
Next stop the beautiful Langden Beck.
It was rainng a bit, but not too much to put you off the walk, and I'm glad I did. As soon as was out of the trees, I was accompanied by Wheatears on one side of the path and Stonechat on the other. The Stonechat had young, I think, they look just like baby Robins ?? Willow Warbler in exactly the same tree that I had seen it in last year. I walked as far as the first steep bit, but didn't get any Ring Ousel, however on the way back down, Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Common Sandpiper all showed by the water. No Cuckoo here, but it could have been because it was raining ??
Next stop Dunsop Bridge, I hadn't done the walk here before. It was lovely, stopped raining, with the Bluebells in the woods and the lambs in the fields. I had been told Spotted Flycatcher was here, and just at the farm buildings before the second gate, Bingo, a pair of Spotted Flycatcher. I watched them flit about the buildings, bathing in the gutter, and hawking, for about 10 minutes. I hadn't seen Spotted Flycatcher in this country since 1998 !!!! A walk I must do again and go further up the valley to look for the Eagle Owls.
I wanted to look for Moor Piece NT near Bashall Eaves to look for Pied Flycatcher. I eventually found it, but couldn't see any Flycatchers, I heard them all round, confirmed on my phone app. I did see a Blackcap, I'm not sure if I was looking in the right place, but there were plenty of boxes about in the trees.
A lovely day, despite the early rain, I don't go often enough, but I guess that goes for most places !!