Moving Swiftly On..

Migration was evident at Connah’s Quay this morning with a sprinkling of passage waders and a steady drip of fly-through hirundines providing some interest.

The shorebirds were very showy in front of the west hide and comprised a pair of Bar-tailed Godwits and a single Whimbrel. It looked like there were a fair few more Barwits roosting towards Flint too, but the distance and haze hampered a conclusive view.

A light procession of Swallows was passing through, but it was not until I was about to leave that I bagged my first House Martins and Swifts of the year – a brace of both.

Another new species for the year was Common Tern. Initially, I picked up around fifteen feeding in the middle of the river channel as the tide moved in, but the more I looked the more birds I found; there could have been up to one hundred, but a figure of eighty would be a conservative estimate.

Fingers and toes crossed for some breeding activity at Shotton Pools this year after the last two blanks. Interestingly, a chap in the hide today seemed to dismiss the theory (promulgated by the Mersey Ringing Group) that the failure of the colony may be linked to a change in the dredging routine at Aerospace. He seemed to think that only 200 yards of the river downstream would be affected…?

To end on the positive, the Connah’s Quay Ravens seemed to have successfully hatched three chicks and they are already well on their way to looking like big bruisers!

Also breeding somewhere in the vicinity is a pair of Little Ringed Plovers. I’ll have to be coy about the precise location for obvious reasons, but I will say that they have moved address this year!

Connah’s Quay 30.04.2011

75+ Common Tern
2 Swift
2 House Martin
20+ Swallow
2+ Whimbrel
2+ Bar-tailed Godwit
4+ Whitethroat

Until later.

The Beast of Penycloddiau

First up – I hadn’t been drinking and I gave up the jazz cigarettes some time ago!!

I had a close encounter of the feline kind this morning at the car park near the transmitting station at Moel y Parc.

Returning to my vehicle from the grass slope where the Ring Ouzels had been feeding earlier in the week, I noticed a largish mammal facing away from me.

I immediately put my bins to my eyes and was astonished to see not a fox but a large, thickset, light brown and black cat.

After looking at the cat for about four or five seconds it became aware of my presence and immediately shot off into the gorse.

I followed the path of the cat, but unfortunately I could not relocate it, so I scooted home to browse the internet for any clues.

The nearest ‘fit’ seems to be a Scottish Wildcat, although the animal I saw was slightly larger, less lithe and a little darker.

I suppose the most logical explanation would be a huge domestic cat, but I think its obvious timidity and size seems to rule out this possibility.

That raise the obvious question of why a cat of this size would be in the Clwydians – and living well judging by its size.

Perhaps it had been feeding on Dotterel and Ring Ouzel as there was no sign of either at the crack of dawn this morning.

However, a walk down the eastern side of the fort ramparts at Penycloddiau produced lots of Yellowhammers, five male Redstarts, a flyover Tree Pipit and my first ever pair of on-territory Flintshire Whinchat.

Until later.

Ringo Starr

Another walk on the uplands and yet more Ring Ouzels! Four birds today - a male and three females - on the scree behind Rock Farm near World's End.

Typically a loud tuck-tucking alerted me to the presence of a female sitting on top of what has to be their favourite type of perch - a small, bare dead tree jutting out from the rock.

Slowly, three more birds revealed themselves and I watched them feeding for four or five minutes before the male bird and one of the females decided to elope to the other side of the valley - maybe eager to get the nuptials underway!

It seems almost certain that they are passage birds - I think it has been a few years since they bred on Ruabon Moor - but it appears to be an excellent spring for Ring Ouzels - maybe a few old, traditional territories will be occupied this year.

Another migrant appearing in bumper numbers this year is the Grasshopper Warbler and today there was three birds reeling from the heather - not the first type of habitat you would expect to hear a Gropper in!

My first Redstart and Whinchat of the year rounded off an excellent morning's birding. Slightly concerning however was the absence of Tree Pipits - the Offa's Dyke path is normally a home banker for this species. In contrast to Ring Ouzels and Groppers they seem to be having a very poor year - in terms of birds on territory if not on passage.

Swings and roundabouts as they say.

Until later.

Naughty, but nice.

A good Friday’s birding took in the River Dee rivetment from the Steelworks and the Rifle Range from Cop Hole.

Best laid plans to groom the pools at Shotton for warblers were abandoned as the paths running next to the lagoons were cordoned off – apparently to protect the handful of nesting birds.

I wasn’t too miffed, as save a few Reed Warblers and Blackcaps the reedbeds and surrounding scrub was fairly quiet.

No sign of any returning Common Terns either. Sadly it looks like this spectacular colony (the third largest in Britain) is destined to enter the annals of history.

The most likely explanation for the failure of the colony over the previous two years seems to be a new method of dredging employed by British Aeropace. Apparently this has resulted in the river becoming much ‘darker’ and consequently the terns cannot see their prey.

Still, it’s not to late yet for this year, so fingers crossed.

Perhaps subconsciously hoping that I would find one further up the river I opted to run the rule over my old stomping ground of White Sands.

Birds were few, but interesting ones: a single Greenshank, a brace of hysterical Whimbrel, a Wheatear, a very pale Buzzard and an extremely dapper Mistle Thrush - my first Small Copper of the year was also notable.

With a little fuel still left in the tank I bimbled over to Cop Hole. A reeling Gropper and singing Sedge Warbler lured me into an empty rifle range. A handful of Wheatears drew me in a little further and then in the blink of an eye I found myself gazing at a pair of Garganey on the Border Pool at Inner Marsh Farm from the abandoned railway siding....

Until later.



A stroll in the Parc...

A gorgeous spring evening and the chance to enjoy a flock of Ring Ouzel in my own backyard was more than enough to lure me away from listening to the North London Derby between the Chokers and the Flatterers.

It was good to pick up some tasty news from the North Wales Birding Website for a change, following its recent clogging-up with drivel, rancour and shameless plugging.

Many regular posters seem to have chucked the towel in and migrated to: http://webirdnorthwales.blogspot.com/

Perhaps NWBF would benefit from some stricter editing, but if and when I run a site that generates as many hits, I may be in a better position to pass comment!

Anyway, back to the birds. Suffice to say, the Ring Ouzels weren’t as hard to locate as the Spurn Savi’s Warbler, especially after a chap from Wrexham had done the hard work and found a couple before I rocked-up with the ‘arl fella.

After five minutes or so admiring the birds, a few more were located in some gorse further down the track and closer scrutiny of the surrounding hillside revealed there to be quite a few more, plus a handful of Wheatears.

Apparently this area has been a traditional stop-off for Ring Ouzels in the past. Perhaps because their numbers have become fewer - and also because there are fewer birders in Clwyd than Christians in the Taliban - there simply has been nobody looking.

What a joy to have such great birds so close to home – I just need to find the Hawfinches in Y Ddol Uchaf now...

Until later.

Sammy’s Savi Saves the Day

Picture purloined without permission from Spurn Observatory Blog

I don’t get out much – at least from the confines of Flintshire – so it was a long-awaited treat to have a change of patch for the weekend in the form of Spurn Point.

I had never been before – in fact the night before departure I was pretty sure that I had never seen the North Sea from land in my entire life!

The sense of anticipation was high then when 007, Stan, John and I headed off at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning.

My initial impression of Spurn was good: obviously the Point is superbly located to receive migrants, but the habitat – especially on the spit – is sensitively managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, encouraging good numbers of Hares particularly.

Bird migration on the first day was a trickle rather than a flurry, although there were a few grounded migrants including Yellow Wagtail, Whimbrel, and good numbers of Wheatears and the commoner Warblers.

It was Sunday morning that brought the big surprise. After trawling around Sammy’s Point a crowd started to assemble next to a ditch adjacent to the car park.

Our luck was in – somebody had heard a Savi’s Warbler reeling, but the key question was would this notorious skulker stick its head above the parapet?

The answer fortunately was yes, although not after it was ‘encouraged’ by an individual playing a recording of the warbler’s song.

I’m not too sure about the etiquette of this – mention of this was conspicuously absent from the Spurn website – but at least it afforded the gathering crowd tantalising glimpses.

After admiring a well camouflaged Grass Snake – miraculously spotted by Stan – I opted to walk down to the spit whilst the rest of the crew waited for a better view of the Savi’s Warbler.

A pair of Cuckoo’s on the ‘triangle’ were my first of the year, but there was another treat awaiting me at the canal scrape hide – a lovely female-type Black Redstart.

A search of the lighthouse area and point was fairly fruitless, so eyes turned to the water and a brief seawatch added Sandwich Tern and Red-throated Diver to the nicely fattening weekend list.

Little was the theme of Monday morning with Little Ringed Plover and Little Tern found around Beacon Pools.

Perhaps the only thing missing from the weekend was a decent fly through from a large raptor or perhaps a Crane or Stork. Despite keeping an eye to the sky it was hirundines that dominated the scene ...until we go home.

Just after we had left a juvenile White-tailed Eagle had drifted over. D’oh!!

All in all a superb, golden, riveting weekend...

Until later.

Point of Ayr

Despite much bluster and blather, there is still no evidence of a new hide at the Point of Ayr.

It’s pushing three years now. The three organisations involved are BHP Billiton – the largest mining company in the word - (market capitalisation 243,540.3 million USD), the RSPB (annual revenues circa £90m) and Flintshire County Council (annual revenues £240m).

Yet between them they cannot muster the will, wit and organisation to build a bird hide in thirty-three months.

One imagines BHP Billiton’s attitude to conservation work is tokenistic at best – they are a private business run for profit after all.

Flintshire County Council probably does what local bureaucracies do best: procrastinate, block, ponder, stifle and pontificate.

That leaves the RSPB. Many promises and commitments have been made over the past couple of years but nothing has come to fruition.

Irritatingly, a perfect window of opportunity to build the hide has just passed, when the Environment Agency had opened up access to the area whilst work was carried out work to strengthen the seawall.

Should the hide eventually materialise, I would like the site to move under the stewardship of the RSPB in Wales. Out of sight and out of mind seems to be the prevailing attitude of the RSPB on the Dee Estuary. After all, the Point of Ayr is in Wales and is closer to RSPB Conwy than it is to Inner Marsh Farm.

That would leave IMF to focus its efforts on the English side of the estuary and on the new reserve extension – another project that has overrun.

Until later.

Parc Life

As a warm up to longer more arduous walks to come in the uplands, I indulged in a little bit of pre-season training in the form of a walk from Y Ddol Uchaf up to the transmitting station at Moel y Parc.

Not much going on in Y Ddol, although almost all birdsong was drowned out by nearby roadworks.

The ascent up to the transmitting station took me through Coed Disgynfa and I was rewarded for a climbing a particularly steep section with a singing Redstart.

For some reason I am absolutely useless at finding Redstarts perched in trees. They can be banging away right in front of me, but it can take me an eternity to pick them out of the foliage. Sometimes - as was the case today - I fail completely.

In defence, the bird became mute as the skies thickened and after a couple of minutes all that could be heard was the loud and erratic drumming of a Keith Moon influenced Great Spot.

As is often the case on the hills it started tipping it down. The visibilty dropped to around forty yards and the cloud rolled in.

When I reached the summit of Moel y Parc it was foul. Plenty of birds around however, including a flock of 3-400 Meadow Pipits and a handful of Wheatear.

No Ring Ouzels though - the bird I had come for.

Maybe next time...

Until later.

One thing leads to another...

My birding session started late today following a stupid-o-clock trip to a local car boot sale that didn't wrap-up 'til noon

I eventually arrived at Shotton Pools NR late afternoon - just as a few stragglers from the Mersey Ringing Group were about to vamonos.

They had had a good day: a pair of Little Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper and a few Reed Warblers; however, what really made my ears prick-up was a Dotterel they had picked-up flying over towards the east not long ago!

A cursory and half-hearted sweep of the reserve failed to find anything of interest and with the many Reed Warblers' feeble attempts at singing confined to the deeper recesses of the phragmites beds, I opted to go on a wild Dotterel chase.

Surely the freshly ploughed furrows of Shotwick Fields would prove irresistible to the montane wader and when I found such an area near Shotwick village the hunt was on.

Except it wasn't. The tilled enclosure was irresistible to migrants, but migrant Wheatears, not Dotterel.

Still, I now found myself next to a lovely section of meadowland and the faint sound of a distant singing Yellowhammer lured me into a spot of trespassing.

After climbing a fence I nearly trod on a pair of Grey Partridge. Spooked, they flew off to the security of the thicker grass towards the top of the field. Becalmed, they showed really well through the scope.

It was at this point I started to wonder what country I was in. Grey Partridge is a sought after Flintshire bird for me, but a quick glance at the map confirmed the worst - I was literally feet over the border into England - bugger!!

A glorious evening was finished off with an hour's stint viewing Burton Marsh from Cop Hole. Surprisingly, three Shorties were still hanging around, but bird of the day was a stunning young male (2cy) Hen Harrier.

Unlike the Partridges it did not disgrace itself and hunted well over the border into Flintshire. Number 123 for the year...only 77 to go...

Shotton Pools NR 10.4.11

2 Lapwing
1 Oystercatcher
5 Reed Warbler (heard)
1 Water Rail (heard)

Shotwick Fields

2+ Grey Partridge
1 Yellowhammer
2 Lapwing
4 Wheatear

Burton Marsh

1 Hen Harrier (prob 2cy male)
3 Short-eared Owl
2 Wheatear

Until later.

Purple Haze

An excellent days birding produced a couple of goodies in the form of a Purple Heron at Dwyran, Mona and a male Ring Ouzel on slopes above Coed Aber.

First up on the bill was the Heron. After a little cross-country 'Eskimo' Murphy and I managed to relocate the public footpath we had lost before eventually finding ourselves scanning the a well vegetated pond with a couple of other souls.

We waited and we scanned. We scanned and we waited. And then we waited some more. And a little more, before finally a fellow birder located the bird stalking through some tussock grass.

Typical behaviour really, reflecting the skulking shenanigans of their subcontinental brothers I have been privileged to observe in India.

After watching a forty-five minute masterclass in amphibian ambush techniques it was time to mooch over to the wonderfully picturesque Aber Valley.

A slow ascent to the waterfall produced quite a few Willowchaffs and after reaching the top we parked our arses on a bench and began to scan the scree.

In a huge stroke of fortune I almost immediately picked up a dot sitting on a bush right at the top of the ridge. When viewed through the scope the black dot revealed itself to be a male Ring Ouzel.

It considerately stayed put for a good five minutes before a local Sparrowhawk started to strafe the area. It wisely made itself scarce.

Also notable today was the excellent numbers of butterflies on the wing. Species included Speckled Wood, Orange-tipped, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and a ragged Painted Lady.

Until later.

Into the Black...

Some spicy seabirds and a heavy peppering of migrant passerines combined to produce a tasty few hours birding at the Point of Ayr this morning.

A ninety minute seawatch was slow to get going. The first thirty minutes were spent squinting at tiny black and white blobs on the horizon; the former almost certainly Common Scoters, the latter almost certainly not Little Gulls.

Thankfully a few birds started to fly out of the estuary close to the shore: first a female Scaup, followed a few minutes later by a cracking Fulmar.

Bird of the day though had probably been right in front of me for the past hour, but it was only when the sea began to calm on a weakening wind that a cracking winter-plumaged Black Guillmot revealed itself near the green buoy.

Quite an uncommon bird in these parts, but actually my second at the Point of Ayr - this bird following in the footsteps of an adult in breeding plumage that flew past during the gales of early September 2009.

After packing the scope up it was time to have a poke around the old colliery site. The bushes near the railway footbridge were dripping with Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. Impressive though this was, a massive forty-four Wheatears parked on the seawall near the lagoons stole the show...

Point of Ayr 2.4.11

1 Black Guillemot

4 Guillemot

1 Fulmar

1 Scaup (female)

200+ Common Scoter

3 Red-throated Diver

4 GC Grebe

1 Kestrel

44 Wheatear

5+ Willow Warbler

10+ Chiffchaff

Until later.

Before and After...

I bumped into a woman at the Point of Ayr last Sunday afternoon when out walking near the lagoons. She was sifting through various shells on the seawall and when I got chatting to her, she said that she had been doing some research into the diet of the local Oystercatchers on behalf of the EU Fisheries Directorate.

She is a visiting Professor of Zoology at the University of Liverpool and kindly e-mailed me a draft copy of some of the work she had carried out recently. It’s very interesting reading, so I have plucked out a few paragraphs from Prof’ Loila’s summary:

“It appears that the Oystercatchers’ diet is more catholic in its taste of food that we had anticipated. Alongside more traditional morsels such as Cockles and Mussels, we found that a significant number of the waders consumed small amounts of coal. There is no obvious explanation for this behaviour, but I would speculate that it may be due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is not uncommon for pregnant woman to crave coal - in additional to other strange foodstuffs. The fact that over sixty-five percent of the Oystercatchers eating coal were female seems to support this theory.


Why male Oystercatchers would consume coal is more of a mystery. Perhaps, prior to the breeding season the birds are looking to “Black-up” in an effort to make themselves more appealing to a potential mate. This, however, is pure speculation.


Curiously, four other species of Oystercatcher: Blackish (Haem’ ater), American Black (Haem’ baxchmani) , African Black (Haem’ moquini) and Sooty (Haem Fuliginosus) are essentially uniform black in plumage – perhaps some of the ‘Pied’ birds – some of whom mix with their darker relatives on overwintering and breeding grounds - are attempting to imitate their appearance.

If this is true, then we really could be witnessing evolution, first-hand, before our very own eyes.


The consumption of coal as not limited to the shorebirds that spent the majority of time near the Point of Ayr – where the coal deposits are found – either.


During the winter of 2009/10 we ringed a number of individuals and found that birds were travelling from all over the estuary, but more astonishing was the discovery that a handful of birds came from as far as Morecambe Bay and Lavan Sands.”


Interestingly, another piece of research carried out over twenty years ago by Professor Di Oxine of Bangor University found that the high morbidity rate of Oystercatchers on Anglesey one winter was due to the build up of lethal doses of chemicals built up in the birds’ livers, after they developed a habit of nibbling on driftwood.”

I must admit to being a little sceptical of the benefits of much scientific research (including the amount of unnecessary ringing), but this piece of work is very compelling indeed.

Source: A Study into the Diet of Oystercatchers on the Dee Estuary (2009-11) by Prof Loila (Universad y Granada)

Until later.