Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 18th November 2014

Our group visit to Sandbach Flashes was on a very nice autumnal morning with crisp clear low sunlight that made for glare-free viewing of the flashes. We started off with Pump House Flash; on hte fields at the back were considerable numbers of Wigeon and Canada Geese. On the water the gulls were mainly Herring Gulls but there was a single Great Black-backed Gull and a few Black-headed Gulls.

Ducks included Tufted, Mallard, and Teal. There were lots of Coots and Moorhens and Starlings feeding on the grassland amongst the Gulls and Wigeon. In the trees there were Magpies and Carrion Crows and also the usual Cormorant roost. Smaller birds in the bushes included Great tit, Tree Sparrow, Robins and a Wren.

We walked along the road on the same side to the next opening where we spent some time trying (and eventually succeeding) in identifying a rather distant Sparrowhawk perched in a bare tree. Eventually it started preening and the barring and the bill became evident. As we watched a flock of Curlew flew overhead and a medium sized flock of Starlings also flew overhead.

We crossed over the road and walked down towards the farm but the road was flooded and wellies would have been needed to go any further. The field on the right, which is usually fairly dry with just a few small ponds was almost fully covered with water with a smattering of Mallard and Teal paddling around. We walked back up and to the main observation areas overlooking Elton Flash.

The hill that leads uphill away from the flash and towards the woods was full of Lapwing, Wigeon, Starling and Canada Geese. We did manage to locate a single Ruff though we were told that more had been seen earlier. There were also a few Pied Wagtails bobbing around.

On the (well loaded) feeders, it wasn’t long before we got good views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. There were lots of Tits and Tree Sparrows.

On the flash there was a single Shoveler sleeping towards the back but quite a few Shelduck. Here the Gulls were mainly Black headed Gulls. There were Teal and Tufted Duck and Mallard. A single Snipe was sleeping on one of the spits and in the distance a Buzzard soared over the industrial area.

We spent an improbably long time trying to find more ruff but eventually we called it a day. We walked back over the road to look into the fields again and we saw a couple of dozen Curlew feeding in the field. As we walked back to the car we saw a Single Song Thrush.

A quick look back at Pump House Flash confirmed that nothing much had changed there so we headed off for a quick look at Watch Lane Flash, one of the other flashes in the vicinity. We had wondered what these other places were like so this time we drove over to it. As it happens it turned out to be a large angling lake which is largely private property although there is a little room for parking on the road. Broadly speaking, it didn’t look that promising so we didn’t linger for long before heading of for lunch at the Bear’s Paw at Warmingham. A nice morning birding and a nice pint and a spot of lunch.

Bird Sightings : Pump House Flash, Sandbach Flashes

Species	Count
Canada Goose	100
Eurasian Wigeon	150
Mallard	20
Common Teal	20
Tufted Duck	10
Great Cormorant	12
Eurasian Sparrowhawk	1
Eurasian Common Moorhen	2
Common Coot	20
Eurasian Curlew	40
Herring Gull	100
Great Black-backed Gull	1
Eurasian Magpie	20
Carrion Crow	30
Great Tit	1
Northern Wren	1
European Robin	2
Song Thrush	1
Common Starling	50
Eurasian Tree Sparrow	2

Bird Sightings : Elton Flash, Sandbach Flashes

Species	Count
Greylag Goose	6
Canada Goose	60
Mute Swan	6
Common Shelduck	20
Eurasian Wigeon	200
Mallard	40
Northern Shoveler	1
Common Teal	30
Grey Heron	1
Common Buzzard	1
Eurasian Common Moorhen	6
Common Coot	20
Northern Lapwing	200
Eurasian Curlew	23
Ruff	1
Common Snipe	1
Black-headed Gull	100
Common Wood Pigeon	4
Great Spotted Woodpecker	1
Eurasian Jackdaw	12
Great Tit	6
Common Blue Tit	10
Northern Wren	1
Common Starling	100
Pied Wagtail	2
Chaffinch	3
Eurasian Tree Sparrow	20

Birding Group Visit to Sandbach Flashes : 18th November 2014