31st January 2014

Weather :- SSE 7/8 some rain
Three Scaup, 15 Purple Sandpipers, 50 Shelduck, 3 Blackbirds, 1 Song Thrush.
(CJW+PLN)

30th January 2014

Weather :- ESE force 2/3, mist
On the east hoyle 8,000 Knot and 380 Curlew. Counted on the ebb tide 3,000 Dunlin, 200 + Grey Plover. A leucistic Oystercatcher among the 5,000 roosting the tide on Middle Eye. A Female Kestrel and Peregrine, a Redwing, 6 Blackbirds and a Song Thrush. Three Dunnock including one singing.
(DB)

25th January 2014

Weather:- SW force 4/5, later WSW force 7 gusting to 8
 A Dark-bellied Brent and 221 Pale-bellied, 140 Turnstones.
Evidence of Red Fox digging in the wildlife garden.
(DB)

22nd January 2014

Weather:- SE force 4 , sea mist
One thousand Knot, 10 Purple Sandpiper, 20 Redshank, 1 Peregrine.
(CJW,+PLN)

21st January 2014

Weather:-A cold morning with considerable wind chill later as the south easterly freshened to force 6

Sunrise (KMc)

young  Common seal  (CJ)

A beautiful sky after dawn found a young Common Seal on the sand at Little Eye, which after eyeing up the observers scuttled off across the sand towards the distant tide. Best bird of the day was a Woodpigeon which flew in at the north end, stayed a while and then flew off over the sea to the north west, only the bird would know why. Common Scoters did not perform today out by the wind farm, just a single was noted with 5 Great Crested Grebes. Land birds were the usual few wintering on the island including 2 Blackbirds and a Song Thrush with 3 Linnets noted early on. The Brent spent the low tide around the north of the island and included the 2 colour ringed birds.
(DB,CJ,KMc+SD)

20th January 2014

Weather:- S force 1
Four Jackdaws flew south west towards Tankskeys, 1 Peregrine, 2 Little Egrets, 2 Meadow Pipits, 2 Dunnocks singing on the island.
(DB)

18th January 2014

Purple Sandpipers (JE)

Feature of the day were the 12,000 Common Scoters seen out towards the West Hoyle wind farm, very large numbers have been noted quite frequently in this area since the building of the turbines.

A winter plumaged Slavonian Grebe was seen by visiting birders on the flooding tide and 25 Great Crested Grebes were also counted (see photo below).  A Great Northern Diver flew east and ditched in but was lost to view in the swell.  The 15 Purple Sandpipers  present were more than have been about most of this winter, eight roosted at the north end over high tide. Some pictures below from today.
(JE,NDW,TGW,SRW) 

Great Northern Diver (SRW)

Brent Geese flying as the tide pushed in (JE)

Great Crested Grebes off the north end (SRW)

Wind turbines being towed into place (SRW)

16th January 2014

Weather:- S E force 3/4, wind chill
Turnstones counted at 156 including two that were colour ringed in 2007 and 2008, 15 Great Crested Grebes, 49 Common Scoters, 15 Ringed Plovers, 1 Song THrush, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Little Egret.
(DB)

15th Januray 2014

Weather:- S force 5/6, mild
Fifteen thousand Knot between little Eye and the north shore, 3,00 Dunlin, 60 Grey Plover, 370 Curlew, 15 Purple Sandpipers, 65 Turnstone. A female Peregrine, a Kestrel, 3 Blackbirds and a Little Egret.
(DB,CJW+PLN)

14th January 2014

Weather; - S W force 2
A Peregrine on the east hoyle with a Knot kill, 340 Curlew (east hoyle), 1 Little Egret.
(DB)

13th January 2014

Weather:- SE force 4
A Golden Plover flew south west, 8,000 Oystercatchers, 11 Great Crested Grebes, 8 Common Scoter, 340 Curlew (east hoyle), 82 Turnstone, 35 Redshanks, 5 Grey herons, a Little Egret and 4 Linnets on Middle.
(DB et al)

12th January 2014

Weather - SE force 4/5
Fifteen Great Crested Grebes, 1 Razorbill, 6 Common Scoter, 99 Shelduck, 50 Grey Plover (Little Eye).
(DB)

11th January 2014

Mixed flock of 9 Wigeon and 4 Pintail, 30 Great Crested Grebes, 12 Red-throated Divers, 3 Kittiwakes, 1 Razorbill, 2 colour ringed Brents among the flock, 1 Shag, 1 Pied wagtail, 1 Song Thrush.
(CJ,SRW,TGW,PSW)

10th January 2014

Male Peregrine and female Kestrel, 5 Grey Herons, 1 Meadow Pipit (Middle Eye), 1 Song Thrush, 2 Teal, and Red Fox faeces found.
(DB)

9th January 2014

Thirty two Shelduck, 12 Common Scoter, 14 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Rock Pipit and a Song Thrush.
(CJW)

8th Januray 2014

Eleven hundred and forty six Cormorants exited the estuary at dawn. A male Peregrine, 100 Sanderlings on the north shore, 1 Little Egret, and 3 Common Seals. A new high count for the winter of  205 Brent Geese ( including 1 dark-bellied)
(DB).

7th January 2014

Thirty Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 Grey Plover, 12 Linnets, 2 female Pintail, a freshly dead adult Harbour Porpoise was found in the east gutter below the observatory.
(DB)

6th January 2014

Six Great -crested Grebes, 7 Guilllemots, 2 Wigeon, 65 Common Scoter, 1 Kittiwake, 11 Purple Sandpipers.
(MGT)

5th January 2014

Female Peregrine, 9 Linnets (Middle Eye), 3,000 Knot, 2,000 Dunlin, a Norwegian ringed Black-headed Gull at the marine lake West Kirby.
(DB)

4th January 2014

Following the recent gales it was hoped a few good birds might have found shelter in Liverpool Bay so with a high tide Saturday the decision was made to undertake a sea watch. The journey across to Hilbre was very bumpy over the storm rutted sand and severely tested the Landrovers suspension!
With the gales now abated the sea state was good with only a slight swell. Plenty of birds were moving and we soon picked up good numbers of Common Scoter & Red-throated Divers. 2-3 Shags were also present amongst the large number of Cormorants. Highlight of the first session was a distant adult winter Slavonian Grebe that drifted past as the tide flooded. As one if the fast service vessels sailed past the wind turbines and headed towards Moston it put up a lot of birds ahead of it and a massive flock of 73 Red-throated Divers was counted as they passed through the scopes field of view.
During the high tide lull a count of the roosting waders around the island resulted in 16 Purple Sandpipers in their usual spot , 30 Turnstones in Niffy Bay and 20 Ringed Plover on a ledge along the west side. The high tide had forced a large number of Oystercatchers off their usual roost on the rocks at the south end and onto Hilbre itself.
After a welcome lunch another sea watching session took place. Highlight of this session was a juv Great Northern  picked up to the N W and watched as it drifted out on the ebbing tide.
Notable counts were:
Red-throated Diver  84
Great Northern Diver 1
Great-crested Grebe 60
Slavonian Grebe 1
Common Scoter 200
Guillemot 3
Razorbill 2
Cormorant 850
Shag 3
Red-breasted Meganser 3
Brent Geese 199
Grey Plover   2
Sanderling 200
Knot 8000

(PSW & Mark Payne)

2nd January 2014

Twenty Five Ringed Plover, 180 Grey Plover and 210 Curlew (east hoyle), 2 Linnets, 1 Little Egret.
(DB)

1st January 2014

Eighteen Great Crested Grebes, 2 Red-throated Divers, 85 Common Scoter, 10,000 Knot, 5 Purple Sandpipers,1 Shag, 1 Goldeneye,
(DB+ESCA,Brian Henshaw, Kim Baker and Simon)