Burton Mere

 A visit to the Wirral is always good, and especially RSPB Burton Mere at this time of year. Waders are returning from their breeding grounds and in good numbers it seems this year. There have been high numbers of Curlew Sandpipers on site, and I managed to see a few. A real bonus was a Pectoral Sandpiper which had been found just moments before my arrival.

Pintails were on the water, as were some Wigeon, a real sign of the changing seasons. Lots of Snipe were good to watch as they probed the mud. Teal numbers were climbing too. A Great White Egret was close in to one of the viewing screens, and a lone Avocet was also good to see. There was a good supporting cast of Cetti's Warblers, Green Sandpipers, Mallards and Coots. 

A few of the Black-tailed Godwits that were on the reserve.

A Curlew Sandpiper (centre) and a Snipe to the left.

This Great White Egret gave me my closest ever views of one, from behind a screen.

A Pectoral Sandpiper (centre) with some Teal 

3 Ruff (to the right) and a Curlew Sandpiper on the left

Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve

There was a very good supporting cast at Blacktoft where I saw the White-tailed Lapwing. Numbers weren't great, but the variety was. There was plenty of wildfowl, with Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Mallard in attendance. Snipe were plentiful, and I do love watching them. Even if they are resting and doing very little I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time studying them and their striking plumage. A couple of Spotted Redshank were good to see. A Great White Egret put in an appearance and got itself added to my year list. Oh and almost forgot, a Bluethroat. A rarity here and yet another lifer for me. A great day all round.

Spotted Redshank

Common Snipe

Great White Egret

The Goldfinch were busy feeding while I was sat in one of the hides.

A very distant Bluethroat that was flitting around a long way away at the base of the reeds.

Cuckoo

I was sitting in a hide at Druridge Pools in Northumberland scanning forlornly for a Glossy Ibis when out of the blue, flying low from left to right of the hide went a Cuckoo. The shock of it made me say the name out loud whilst pointing towards it. It landed on a fence post just yards from the hide. I managed one decent shot of it, but I was more than happy with the result. A bird that I heat most years but don't always get to see. This was by far my closest and best view of it. 

They are already back across the Sahara dessert for their summer holidays. Hopefully I will get to see one again next Spring. 

The Glossy Ibis had relocated and not yet been found. I hung around in the hide for a bit just seeing what I could see, when I spotted a Snipe well hunkered down. So tricky to spot from a distance, near on impossible without binoculars.

More common, but not forgotten

My visit to the Wirral was very nice and there are always good birds around, but I never neglect the more common species on show that can often get overlooked. These were seen in a mixture of places such as marsh and coast. Here are just a few of them.

Common Redshank in flight.

Common Snipe.

Carrion Crow

Common Gull.



Coot

Female Teal

Snipe - Titchwell

I love to see the Snipe, and was treated to a ridiculously close encounter from one of the hides at Titchwell last week. Almost oblivious to my presence but only 10 feet away and eventually down to 6 feet at most. It put on a lovely display for me, preening, cleaning and skulking in the stubby reed bed. I could have stayed all day watching but apparently there are other birds to see at Titchwell too.

Just got a little itch here.

The Snipe - Titchwell Norfolk

I managed to get some decent shots of one of my favourite wading birds, the Snipe. I've found it very difficult to get close enough in good light without too much vegetation to take anything worth while so far. At Titchwell though I found one very obliging bird just outside one of the hides. The sun came out too, to make it even better. I love the markings on these birds, the head shape, the length of the bill, everything. Add to that the fact that they are hard to spot sometimes and it all adds up to something very interesting for me.
Here are a few shots that I got.

The Greenshank and Snipe

The waders are moving around at the moment, and I had some great views of two in particular at the weekend. A Greenshank and the Common Snipe. The Snipe is one of my favourite birds. Very peculiar looking with a ridiculously long bill for the birds size, but useful for probing the ground for food.
The Geeenshank has long legs and guess what? They are green. It is a very graceful bird as it walks around the edges of the shore line.

Common Snipe, with it's great bill.

The juvenile Greenshank and Snipe together.

Are you looking at me?