A Chilly Sabbath

It was so cold at Connah’s Quay this morning that I half expected the less hardy individuals amongst the assorted wildfowl and waders to be sporting snoods.

A perishing north-westerly wind restricted viewing from the West Hide to either flank, so I spent an hour or so grilling the Ash Pool and the river channel.

Nothing out of the ordinary, although it was good to see the resident male Peregrine strafe the Teal and Wigeon.

The Bunded Pools held the normal small posse of Greenshanks and Spotted Redshanks, although there was no sign of a Goldeneye that had been reported earlier.

Mostyn Dock held a little more life, with a very large roost of approximately three thousand Oystercatchers on a nearby sand bank and a good roost of Redshank and Dunlin on the close shore.

A scan of a rocky outcrop produced a quintet of Turnstone – a new bird for my Flintshire year list. I just need a single now to nudge my way out of the nervous nineties…one hundred and one to go!

Until later.

Water Feature

A warming south-westerly wind accompanied by the outburst into song of the local Chaffinches may well be the harbinger of a most welcome spring following a long and hard winter.

A job interview locally - although keeping me occupied for a couple of hours – left me with ample time to mooch around Llyn Helyg and Greenfield Valley.

Now that the seasonal Pheasant blitzkrieg has ceased the lake is considerably quieter, allowing many of the inhabitants to get down to the business of nesting.

Blue, Coal, and Great Tit were all in good voice, joined by plenty of Robins, Blackbirds, Dunnocks and Song Thrushes.

Star bird of the morning had two plausible candidates: a 2cy drake Goosander on the water, and a pukka Marsh Tit - fist picked up calling and then viewed closely – deep in the wood.

It’s no surprise that this declining species is resident here – good mature deciduous woodland with plenty of dead trees.

The habitat also looks good for LS Woodpecker too, although neither it, nor more surprisingly its larger relative, was heard drumming.

Later in the day I made it over to Greenfield Valley, ostensibly to walk my dog, but like most birders I’m never normally without my bins when outdoors.

The area was pretty quiet being bereft of people and birds save a few singing commoner species.

A scan of one of the lakes didn’t reveal much either until when looking at a small flock of Teal nestled in the reeds I spotted a Water Rail steadily picking its way through the vegetation.

I was made-up: this individual is actually my first for Flintshire, although I have heard many calling. A showy Dipper further down the valley added yet another county tick for me this year and with the addition of a Tawny Owl in my back garden on Monday morning, my Flintshire year list now stands at a respectable 97 species so far.

Until later.

Don't be shy...

What a gloomy day!

I had a couple of hours to spare, so just after lunch I headed down to Shotton Pools NR.

A group of fourteen Goldeneye – including a mint Drake - was a good start, but any attempt to observe the birds closely was thwarted by my poor fieldcraft and the continued obliteration of much of the vegetation around the pools that made staying out of view a tad tricky.

I know you can’t make a nice aioli with capers without breaking eggs etc, but hopefully the scythes and the napalm will remain in the potting shed from now on.

Nothing much else of note on the larger lagoons aside from the normal Gadwall and Coot consorts, but the smaller and shallower pool held a couple of jewels in the form of a Kingfisher and a cracking Green Sandpiper.

For an encore I mooched over towards the bottom of the marsh near Flint Bridge to run the rule over the large numbers of Swan that have congregated on the many flashes made up of residual water from the high tides.

Good numbers of all three species were present with perhaps Bewick’s nosing in front as the most numerous. I quickly picked out the poor bugger wearing a shocking yellow collar around its neck: number 961A for the scientists out there, but to me it seems such a betrayal of trust to place such a hideous ornament around the neck of a beautiful, enigmatic and wild bird.

Most of the swans were fairly distant with the exception of the family party above, whom for some mysterious reason were not keen on being identified…

Until later.

Major Distraction

With the first decent high tide of the year predicted, there really was nowhere else but the coast to head for today.

Keen to avoid the crowds at Parkgate, I instead opted for a session down at the Point of Ayr. A biting south-easterly made standing at the site of the old hide a trial of endurance, but Mark and I – whom I bumped in to – still managed a good ninety minutes or so.

Highlight was a female Merlin that rather outrageously tried to catch a Woodpigeon – either a sign of supreme confidence or naivety.

A trio of Brent Geese was a good year tick and there was a big roost of Oystercatchers today too. Wildfowl was well represented with good numbers of Teal, Wigeon and Pintail. A soporific Red-breasted Merganser also roosted listlessly behind the spit.

Surprise of the day though was the excellent numbers Curlew, Blackwits and Peewits on Warren Fields. I am guilty of neglecting this site, particularly as it has turned up good birds in the past including White-fronted Goose, Great White Egret and last year’s unidentified ‘Marsh Tern.’

Nothing too out of the ordinary today, except perhaps a single Golden Plover mixed in with the Lapwings – Glovers are actually fairly uncommon in this neck of the woods.

Curiously, for the entire thirty minutes I was scanning the flooded fields, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was intent on performing its own demonstration of the Indian Rope Trick in a nearby tree - piss poor image at the top...

Point of Ayr 19.02.11

1 Merlin (female)
3 Brent Goose
1 Red-breasted Merganser
10+ Grey Plover
2 Gadwall
2 Shoveler

Warren Fields

150 Curlew
50 Black-tailed Godwit
1 Merlin (female)
1 Golden Plover

Until later.

A Glorious 12th

Personally I detest large blocks of non native coniferous woodland, but even card-carrying members of the ‘Tree Taliban’ like yours truly has to confess that they do have there plus points.

With sunshine, broken cloud and light winds forecast for North Wales this morning there really was only one destination to head for today: Clocaenog Forest. So, after a quick detour to pick-up Mark Murphy from Rhyl, it was full steam ahead to Bron Banog.

Although chilly and overcast when we rocked-up, a handful of Crossbills in the car park followed by brief views of a Great Grey Shrike on the summit got the ball rolling nicely.

However, after a piece of comedy field craft we both lost sight of the ‘Butcher Bird’ after simultaneously taking our eyes off the winter visitor as we set our scopes up: schoolboy error!

As the skies brightened a handful of Ravens and Buzzards took to the air, but the star of the show was playing the crowd and leaving things very late. Then, finally, a Goshawk was picked-up a mid distance, but frustratingly the bird soon sank below the tree line.

This must have been a loosener though, for a few minutes later the bird was back on the wing and fortunately drifting closer and closer towards us. At its nearest point it was no further than 100 yards away. The views through my telescope were absolutely stunning – a truly awesome bird. I have never seen one so close.

Clearly into the groove, the hawk performed for a good ten or fifteen minutes, before vanishing, then reappearing further away, before finally disappearing for good.

Unforgettable.

For the final act it was over to Llyn Brenig. Four Goldeneye was the best the lake had to offer, but a walk through the heather at the adjacent Gors Maen Llwyd produced a brace of Red Grouse.

Bron Banog 12.2.02

1 Goshawk
1 Great Grey Shrike
6+ Raven
2+ Buzzard
10+ Crossbill

Llyn Brenig/Gors Maen Llwyd

4 Goldeneye
1 Great Black-backed Gull
2 Red Grouse
1 Kestrel

Until later.

Gales y Gales

After heavy rain on Saturday put a dampener on proceedings, it was the turn of the wind today in making birding difficult.

A plan to explore the Wirral side of the estuary with my friend Rob was duly put on the backburner in favour of the more sheltered confines of Connah’s Quay NR.

The Bunded Pools - as has been the case in recent weeks were quiet - although a quartet of Greenshank was my highest total so far this year.

In almost total contrast, the area around the West Hide was buzzing, with approximately four thousand Blackwits and a thousand plus of Dunlin, Knot and Oystercatcher: a fantastic site.

As the tide topped-out, it was time to head over to the rather blustery marsh behind the rifle range. After twenty minutes of being treated to what seemed like an incremental run up through the Beaufort Scale, we finally surrendered at about force nine and hunkered down behind an embankment. And waited.

A couple of Bewick’s Swans was about as good and if there were any raptors in the vicinity them they sagely sat hidden and anchored to the ground.

With the rain starting to fall it was time to call it a day – or so I thought. As I was crossing Flint Bridge I received a text from Stan Skelton telling me he had a flock of Twite back at Connah’s Quay.

Within minutes I was back in the West Hide admiring a bouncy flock of just over one hundred finches split roughly as 1/3 Twite and 2/3 Linnet. Although hyperactive, a few Twite afforded great views next to the stream and with a couple of thousand Starling on the scene too it was time for the passerines to take centre stage for a change.

Connah’s Quay NR 06.02.11

4,000 Black-tailed Godwit
1,500 Oystercatcher
1,000 Knot
1,000 Dunlin
4 Greenshank
2 Spotted Redshank
35 Twite
75 Linnet

White Sands

2 Bewick’s Swan

Until later.

Bruisers' Symposium

The Spanish name for Wales – Gales – has certainly lived up to its name in recent weeks; a fortnight ago the top of my chimney was blown off during the night and this morning I discovered that another strong gust had razed a section of fence to the ground.

On the plus side, a good howling gale normally shakes things up on the bird front, so after an aborted seawatch at the Point of Ayr, I headed for the shelter of Connah’s Quay NR.

In order to prevent cheapskates and tardy renewal slackers like oneself, the Deeside Naturalists have decided to put a combination lock on the gate, so with no access code I had to park up at the top and walk to the West Hide. Apart from being a little churlish (although I can understand the rationale), it can hardly be too long before everybody knows the code rendering their actions pointless.

Anyway, birds.

Good numbers of waders as the tide came in included a cracking flock of two to three thousand Blackwits, plus a healthy smattering of Knot and Dunlin scuttling around their legs.

The main focus of attention though was a sheep carcass lying in the middle of Oakenholt Marsh. No fewer than twenty three Ravens were within a stones throw of the carrion with a good number Great Black-backed Gulls eager to share the spoils – a true gathering of the local heavyweights.

Connah’s Quay NR 05.02.11

2,500 Black-tailed Godwits
300 Knot
200 Dunlin
35 Linnet
23 Raven
2 Fieldfare
20 Pink-footed Goose

Until later.

Can’t see the wood for the trees

There has been much hot air generated in recent weeks – particularly in the meeja – in relation to the government’s plans to sell-off many English woodlands and forests to private investors.

The major bone of contention seems to be the potential denial of access to the general public should the land fall under the ownership of an uncooperative landowner.

The importance of the woodlands for wildlife gets at mention, but only as an aside. It has been this aspect of the reporting that highlights how superficial much of our broadcast journalism is.

Little mention has been made of the quality of the ‘endangered habitats’, many of which are awful non-native conifer plantations that do a great disservice to many of our native woodland species such as Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Marsh Tits and Hawfinch.

Rather than being a threat, it is a great opportunity for conservation bodies and wealthy private individuals to buy up the woodlands, cleanse them of non-native species and then leave them to their own devices.

Until later.