Playing it Koi

An indecently early trip down to Inner Marsh Farm this morning produced a good crop of waders, plus a few raptors.

Immediately obvious on arrival were the large numbers of Lapwing roosting on the causeway; less conspicuous was a small group of waders feeding at the back of number one pool that included a handful each of Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff and a single Spotted Redshank.

Not too long until the breeding season now, but unlike many of the Black-headed Gulls replete with new brown caps, none of the shorebirds showed any sign of moulting.

A ringtail Hen Harrier was next of the agenda, and after quartering the edge of number two pool for ten minutes it obligingly flew right in front of the hide, whilst on the wet meadow a male Peregrine perched on a clod of earth cast ran the rule over potential prey items.

No sign of the Bittern this morning, although as I write this I notice much to my chagrin that it was reported just after lunchtime! Like the over-wintering Marsh Harrier, this bird seems intent on giving me the run around this winter!

Lots of activity near the mere on the new reserve today, with quite a few blokes involved in netting the remaining fish from the drained pool. With good sized carp fetching a king’s ransom, it is hardly surprising that they are keen to retrieve every single one.

I also understand that our Polish friend’s penchant for eating carp has led to many of the fish being poached nationwide. I can’t think why – as somebody recently told me, there is only one way to prepare carp: cook between two pieces of wood, then remove the carp, throw it away and eat the wood.

Inner Marsh Farm 28.02.10

2,500 Lapwing
6 Ruff
1 Spotted Redshank
1 Hen Harrier (ringtail)
1 Peregrine (male)
1 Sparrowhawk

Until later.

A Hiding To Nothing

Sitting in the hurt locker that is the west hide at Connah’s Quay NR, I often muse on what makes the perfect hide.

Probably the two most important factors are location and ergonomics; as a birder I want to be close to the birds and comfortable.

There are not many hides that are in poor locations (unless anybody knows differently!), with only the Sandgrounders hide at Marshside – way too low by my reckoning – and the Foresty Commission Hide at Foel Frech in Cloclaenog - that presumably was intended to overlook a Black Grouse lek, but now only allows close inspection of young conifer trees – the only ones immediately springing to mind.

Maybe the Centenary hide at the north of Lake Vyrnwy falls into this category by virtue of the fact that I suspect the viewing facility is so named because the last time anybody saw a bird from there was one hundred years ago! However, since you have the opportunity to see some fabulous birds as you walk to it, then I have excluded it.

Readers of this blog from last year will also remember that I am not very impressed when potentially good locations for hides are taken up by catering facilities!

Examples of hides in excellent locations are thankfully many. By far and away my favourite hide is the elevated Marain Mawr at Ynys-Hir overlooking the beautiful Dyfi Estuary and surrounding area, although this is run a very close second by the farthest of the two raised hides at the Dolydd Hafren reserve in Montgomeryshire that provides a wonderful panoramic over a natural floodplain in the River Severn.

Where most hides tend to fail is through poor design and examples of uncomfortable experiences are legion.

Possibly the greatest offender is the west hide at Connah’s Quay, that despite its superb position suffers from the narrowest viewing windows built in Wales since the archers’ slits were cut into Conwy Castle.

The pair of adjacent hides at the end of the path at Morfa Madryn are also badly designed with the low and high seats and windows seemingly suitable only for dwarfs and basketball players.

Equally annoying are the hides at Moore NR. Whilst robustly built and generally well situated, the shelf of wood underneath the window is invariably too thick to attach my hide clamp too.

What is so frustrating about poor design is that it is so unnecessary. The hide at Inner Marsh Farm – whether by accident or design – seems to be nearly faultless. The windows are large, the bench is the correct height and everybody from photographer to causal birder with binoculars seems content. Perhaps the only drawback is its size – with the reserve becoming much more popular in recent years, it can be a squeeze sometimes!

Until later.

Withering Heights

Plans to search for a possible Rough-legged Buzzard on the Wirral were soon shelved this morning when I was drafted in for a spot of dog walking – upland style.

After picking up a pair of willing Springers in Mold it was off to do a lap of Llyn Brenig. Whereas signs of spring are everywhere in lowland Cheshire, Mynydd Hiraethog is still firmly in the icy grip of winter, with large sections of the lake frozen and a good carpeting of snow on the moorland areas.

A cracking drake Goldeneye diving near the visitor centre was a good start to the day, but encounters with birds were few and far between today and the only things of note on the eastern section of the water were two singing Goldcrests and a trio of Mistle Thrush.

The north section of the reservoir near the hide tends to be the most productive for birds and so it was this afternoon too with a lovely pair of Goosander loafing on the shoreline and four more Goldeneye on the open water.

The large block of heather here is a reserve of the North Wales Wildlife Trust called Gors Maen Llwyd and over recent years has been the only reliable area I know in North Wales for Red Grouse. No sightings today though; indeed the only bird I found was a single Meadow Pipit!

When the sun finally broke through, it seemed to encourage the larger inhabitants of the area to take to the air as the last hour back to the visitor centre was punctuated with numerous flyover Ravens, three Buzzards and a solitary Kestrel that appeared to be displaying over one of the conifer blocks.

Until later.

Let's Dine

Wildfowl were the order of the day at Connah’s Quay this afternoon with good numbers of Shelduck, Teal, Mallard and Wigeon on the bunded pools.

The Wigeon – numbering around six hundred – were incredibly nervous and alert and when not being spooked by fearsome predators such as a Spotted Redshank, Carrion Crow and a Kestrel, the flock grazed in a peculiarly manic and purposeful fashion – they must have had quite an appetite for some reason.

It is only speculation, but maybe after such a harsh winter many of the ducks are in poor shape and now it is a race against time for many to build up fat reserves before undertaking a punishing migration.

Other birds on the reserve included my first Stonechat of the year in Flintshire, feeding on the small strip of rough grassland at the back of the larger sheep field. It is only over the last three or four days that these little passerines have started to reappear at their traditional sites after being absent during the winter – perhaps they have just started to fan out and establish breeding territories.

The area around the west hide was quiet with the waders spread thinly across the mudflats – the notable exception being the Blackwits that were huddled together Penguin fashion at the river’s edge.

A scan across the marsh revealed an adult female Marsh Harrier – presumably the same bird seen at IMF yesterday – using the strong easterly wind to hover over the White Sands area – clearly in Wales and number 113 for my Flintshire list!

Connah’s Quay 23.02.10

600 Wigeon
65 Teal
40 Mallard
150 Shelduck
600 Black-tailed Godwit
1 Greenshank
1 Marsh Harrier (adult female)
1 Bullfinch
1 Stonechat

Until later.

Eventually

A day of pottering around comprised an afternoon visit to Inner Marsh Farm suspended between dawn and dusk visits to a couple of local patches with my dog

For her morning constitutional, I took Becks to Hockenall Platts near Stapleford. Bathed in sunshine, the trees and hedgerows up towards the farm were the platform for a handful of singing Chaffinch, but these were far eclipsed by an encounter with my first singing Yellowhammer of the spring.

The arable fields were bustling with hundreds of Redwing and Fieldfare, but loud ‘kronking’ prompted me to scan the skies for Raven and to my amazement there were two pairs drifting over, with one pair appearing to be displaying to each other.

Inner Marsh Farm had had yet another visit from Jack Frost with only the margins of number one and two pools unfrozen. These sections were occupied by a couple of hundred or so of both Teal and Wigeon, but soon a raptor soon flew into view from above the hide, flushed the ducks, and then headed for the trees.

At first I though it was a Buzzard, but when it banked left revealing little under-wing colouration and a nice cream-capped bonce, I realised I had eventually managed to catch up with the wintering adult female Marsh Harrier.

As is the case with many of the Marsh Harriers that visit this reserve, it seemed to ignore the reeds and wet meadow area and make a beeline straight for the wood?

The Pinks are still in residence with at least five hundred birds today, but there could well have been more out of view. Unfortunately, some diddy had decided to walk along the metalled track that passes in front of the barn and then incredulously into the wet meadow area. Not surprisingly this flushed most of the Pinkies and disappointingly the woman appeared to be carrying binoculars.

With Becks successfully lobbying for walk number two, I popped down to the Gowy Meadows late in the evening. Predictably it was fairly quiet, but it was a delight to find two pairs of Stonechats near the river. It seems almost miraculous that these small insectivores have survived such a harsh winter – hats off, I say!

Until later.

Note: I have just realised that I had selected the 'Registered Users Only' criteria for the 'Post A Comment' icon, making it difficult to make a posting. I have changed this now, so from the drop-down box, choose 'Anonymous' and then anybody can post a comment.