Hilbre Bird Observatory: 16th May 2024

Thursday, 16 May 2024

16th May 2024

Weather: ESE force 2 mist, very mild for early morning. NW force 3 in the afternoon

A beautiful morning with little breeze.

Just at dawn a Short-eared Owl flew south down the island and seem to be heading to land on Middle but a search proved fruitless and it was not seen again. The first round of the traps was also unrewarded but things seemed hopeful as 2 Sedge Warblers and later Willow Warbler were present, and Yellow Wagtail, Redpoll, Pied Wagtail and Siskin went overhead. One of the Sedge Warblers was caught and ringed.

A Puffin, quite rare at Hilbre although not the first this year, was seen flying west from a telescope in the obs garden. Six Jackdaws flew west high over the obs. A Collared Dove turned up and took to singing from the MOTUS aerial and was later joined by 2 local Swallows.

At one stage a Meadow Pipit mobbed the Dove after taking it for a Cuckoo. A male House Sparrow called around the island and being a scarce visitor pleased the members present. It eventually ended up in the obs garden mist net.

Six Goldfinches and a Siskin were here and a Lesser Redpoll was caught and ringed, while another in the mist net later turned out to be already ringed elsewhere (a control), watch this space for further details.

A Swift was seen in the morning and shortly afterwards another was heard very high overhead. An Osprey was noticed near the north end by Matt Thomas who was alerted by gulls being noisey. The obs was advised and the bird was seen to fly towards Red rocks and then circle over the Royal Liverpool Golf Course and disappear into the distant mist. Surely the weirdest bird of the day was this female Goldcrest which had an abnormally long bill, these things are found occasionally in many species and in most cases they seem to survive,

Six Eiders were off the west side early on and on the sea were 35 Gannets, 12 Guillemots, 25 Sandwich Terns, 4 Common Terns and a summer plumaged Great Crested Grebe. Nine Little Egrets, a Grey Heron and 6 Ringed Plovers fed around the shore but few other waders at this state of tide but a Grey Plover was at Little Eye on the early morning ebb.

A couple of Red Admirals and a Painted Lady were the main butterflies with Green-veined Whites the supporting cast. In the moth trap this morning were 8 Brown Silver-lines (there were also many dozens of these flying in the grassy places in the daylight), a Cockchafer Beetle, while other moths attracted were 3 Silver Y, 2 Marbled Coronet, a Red-green Carpet, a Common Carpet, a Purple Bar and a Netted Pug.