Summary : December 2014

Summary : December 2014

Birding Group Days Out

The first birding group day of December was to Moore Nature Reserve and whilst there was a reasonable smattering of birds, the day was pretty average with one exception, a Tawny Owl – my first ! How strange that, the very next week, at a full day out to WWT Martin Mere we should see another ! Extraordinary, ‘though the second bird was ever better hidden than the first. Nevertheless two Tawny Owls in eight days ! The second Tuesday was also the last birding day of the term so we had our usual post-lunch meeting to knock up a program for the new year.

Garden

The Starlings have become so dominant that I have had to start cutting back on their food. With twenty or so each day, pretty much all day, the other birds weren’t getting a look-in. However, Starlings are about as difficult to deter as Squirrels and they can reach into anywhere to get food. Their ability to fly makes them even harder to stop than squirrels. As the end of the month approached we started to see a Robin more frequently and sometimes up to eight Goldfinches. It is only now getting cold so perhaps the change in weather will bring morebirds into the garden. Otherwise Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits (in decreasing order of frequency) seem to be the main birds. A pair of Blackbirds seem to be competing for winter territory and at least one of them comes to bathe and eat occasionally. A Wren is sometimes seen but Dunnocks are less common.

Solo Birding Days Out

With the birding group term ending we filled a blank Tuesday on the 16th with a visit to RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands where we had great views of a ringtail Hen Harrier and a smattering of other, more usual, birds. The weather remained surprisingly warm but it rained a bit – sometimes quite heavily. A last chance for a high tide at Hoylake on 23rd December was a bit disappointing but was made up for by a life tick of Purple Sandpipers at New Brighton Marine Lake and, finally, the month and the year were topped off by fine views of a Bittern at Budworth Mere