I had some unexpected, but welcome company during my trip to Stanlow Point today!!I was on Shell Island conducting a wildfowl and wader survey as part of the RSPB’s monthly monitoring of the site during winter. Despite its close proximity to the massive Stanlow oil refinery, the area has a wonderful remote feel to it and the fact that it is seldom visited seems to add to its wildness.
However, it can be a lonely vigil, especially as muggings was left to his own devices with Geoff Robinson Crusoe and Rhian Friday having to trek a few miles further along the shoreline.
There was plenty to be getting along with though, with good numbers of birds to count on the sand and mud flats as the tide receded. A lovely flock of circa two and fifty Blackwits was probably the highlight and with good numbers of Shelduck, Curlew and Redshank in the Gowy ‘delta’ there was plenty of activity.
With an abundance of time I experimented a little today with counting techniques. The system that works best for me is to place a handful of pebbles in one pocket and every time I reach fifty, one passes a pebble into the opposite pocket to represent a block of fifty before starting again from scratch - all you need to do at the end is add up the number of pebbles!
When I was happy with my core I counts I had a scan around for some more unusual birds and had some success with a handful of both Grey and Ringed Plovers, a Great-crested Grebe on the river channel and a Peregrine circling over the storage tanks.
As it was a good hour or so until Crusoe and Friday returned, it was time for a little siesta and I soon drifted off listening to the steady movement of Meadow Pipits passing overhead…
Stanlow Point 26.3.10
1 GC Grebe
700+ Shelduck
260 Curlew
250 Black-tailed Godwit
230 Redshank
6 Grey Plover
5 Ringed Plover
1 Peregrine
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Kestrel
1 Chiffchaff
1 Bullfinch
Until later.
Hi Paul
ReplyDeleteYou look like you've made yourself very comfortable sat on the rock there,no wonder you nodded off,nice Scope too!!!
But on a serious note now,I think it's very interesting the different sorts of methods people use when they're out in the field counting,I personally split a flock into either groups of 10 or groups of 100,depending on the size of the flock I'm counting,and then multiply my way through the flock in sections of either 10 or 100,........if that makes any sense?
But I openly admit that I don't know how successful this particular method really is,and I really should experiment a bit more,and will give your own idea a go,when I'm next out in the Field again.
I took a trip to Pen-y-Ffrith today,which is just outside Llanarmon-yn-Ial,Nr Mold.
And what a GREAT place this is Paul.
It's only just opened to the public,and there's alot of work that they still want to do,but they could hardly improve the place much if they tried.
If you ever visit Pen-y-Ffrith,don't be put off by the Ornamental Wildfowl collection,or Fishing Lake,there is a "Wild Side" to this place,which is simply full of decent birds.
And if you add the fact that Pied Flycatchers have been breeding here for years,birds of prey are simply everywhere,and that they've got some fantastic ideas for Birders in the future,this is a place that I'll be visiting on a very regular basis.
PEN-Y-FFRITH
27-03-2010
NUTHATCH 2
GOLDCREST 2
GOLDENEYE 3
GADWALL 2
COAL TIT 3
LINNET 6
SISKIN 6
CHIFFCHAFF 3
LONG TAILED TIT 5
RAVEN 5
COMMON BUZZARD 6
MANDARIN 1
COMMON CROSSBILL 5
TREE SPARROW 2
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER 1
CHEERS DENZIL
Hi Denzil,
ReplyDeleteI have heard about the place - a birder I know called Tony has done quite a bit of work in putting the word out.
I am going to pay it a visit in early May when all the migrants are back.
Although there are plenty of wooded areas that are free to visit, I think when somebody goes out of their way to keep a habitat like this as wild as possible, then for the mere sum of a tenner it deserves being supported.
Good to see that you picked up some Tree Sparrows - they must be fairly uncommon in Clwyd and you seem to have quite a talent for finding the LSW!!
Cheers, Paul,