7th August 2014

Weather:- NW force 2/3, rain or drizzle early

Little Egrets (CJW)

The 2 Common Snipe that flew towards Hilbre from the Red Rocks area became the first to be recorded on the islands this autumn and another late autumn regular in the form of a Sparrowhawk crossed over south of middle travelling east. The biggest surprise however was the finding in a vehicles headlights of a Short-eared Owl settled on the beach just before midnight. No warblers arrived today, although the recent Whitethroat was seen again, but at least 3 Wheatears landed during the day and 60 or Swallows came through containing mostly juvenile birds. An Arctic Skua and 15 Common Scoters were the sole seabird sightings apart from the terns now building up around the islands, namely 600+ Sandwich, 42 Common and about 130 Little. Dunlin totalled 12,000 by the end of the day, while other counts included 160 Ringed Plover, 84 Redshank, 70+ Curlew, 5 Whimbrel and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits. There were 8 Little Egrets to be seen feeding.
(DB,CJW & family)