14th January 2019

With a brief visit over low water it was inevitable that there would be little about, no Purple Sandpipers were to be found at the North End  but a Rock Pipit was there and some of the 700 Oystercatcher around the islands were also there feeding on the slipway.

Most of the 204 Brent Geese were feeding on the west side rocks

Whilst the remainder roosted on the North Shore.

Feeding at the bottom of the Gutter and on the East Hoyle were 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 26 Grey Plover,118 Redshank and 308 Dunlin along with 72 Knot which were joined as the tide started to flood by a flock of about 4,000. Two Eider were off the Whaleback and a single Little Egret was below the Obs garden.

 photos AS

11th January 2019

Weather: NNW force 2
Brent were counted at 206 this morning, while 3 Purple Sandpipers showed themselves. Most interesting of the other waders were 35 Turnstone, 12 Sanderling, 8 Grey Plover and 4 Bar-tailed Godwit. Also preesnt were 300 Dunlin, 120 Redshank and 70 Curlew. There were no Little Egrets and just a single Grey Heron. The only duck were 2 Eider and 30 Common Scoter. On the island itself were 2 Song Thrushes, single Meadow and Rock Pipits, 6 Wrens, 2 Dunnocks and 2 Robins.

10th January 2019

Weather: NW force 2/3,  poor light, drizzle
The single Eider was logged today, also a Rock Pipit, 2 Meadow Pipits, 5 Wrens, 4 Song Thrushes 2 Dunnocks and 3 Robins. An adult male pergrine was around, as were 2 Little Egrets. best of the waders were 2 Grey Plover and 7 Purple Sandpipers. Signs again today of the fox , with fresh scats and chewed up remains of an Oystercatcher.

9th January 2019

Weather: force 3
A number of good wader counrts this morning of 136 Curlew, 139 Grey Plover, 77 Turnstone, 126 Redshank and 4 Purple Sandpipers.

A Dunnock and 2 Song Thrushes were retrapped, one was an adult that was ringed here on 3rd November 2017, so is now in its second winter on the island, the other Song Thrush is a first year. The adult bird has even length greater coverts......

While the first year bird shows shorter old greater coverts,

Two Robins were about.

Twenty Three Great Crested Grebes, 18 Common Scoter, 56 Shelduck and 265 Cormorants were logged and 2 Eider were present.

photos JE,AS

8th January 2019

Some good wader counts from today were: 10,000 Dunlin, 5,000 Oystercatcher, 2,000 Knot, 70 Curlew, 50 Ringed Plover, 40 Redshank. 35 Grey Plover, 5 Turnstone and 3 Purple Sandpipers. There were 120 Brent seen and sea birds included 3 Great Crested Grebes and 2 Common Scoter. About the island were 5 Meadow Pipits and 3 Wrens and a Robin.

6th January 2019

With the high tide just after 11 am it was a leisurely start to the morning even though it was only just getting light during these dark winter months. Arriving on the island just after 8 am the first priority was to get the kettle on! A walk round the traps revealed there were few passerines about with only the resident Rock Pipit, Dunnocks, Wrens and Robins seen along with the two wintering Song Thrushes. 

The sea was very calm and a check down the north end resulted in good numbers of Common Scoter and Great Crested Grebes being recorded but only three Red - Throated Divers. Two eiders were also present with one of them having an injured wing and seemingly unable to fly.

 

Waders were plentiful with small numbers of Knot feeding along the gutter with Oystercatchers, Redshank, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Curlew and a handful of Dunlin and Bar-Tailed Godwits. 5 Purple Sandpipers were picked out foraging along the tide line at the north end and they were joined by 2 more roosting over the high tide. The Brent Geese were hard to count as they were spread out around the island and a conservative estimate of 200 was logged.  As the tide rose a good wader roost developed on Middle Eye.

Three bird were caught in the heligoland traps - a re-trapped SongThrush first ringed at the beginning of December and the first new birds to be ringed of 2019 - a female Blackbird and a Song Thrush.

Mammals were represented by the usual curious Atlantic Grey Seals but also by a single Common Seal that hauled out between Middle Eye and Hilbre as the tide starts to ebb before eventually swimming out before it got stranded.

Footnote: A Redshank first  colour ringed on Hilbre in 2007 and subsequently retaught by the SCAN ringing group in N Wales in 2010 was retrapped again in N Wales on the night of Saturday 6th January. 
Ringed: 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush       [ 2-2 ]

photos PSW