Woolston Eyes 26th June 2019

After a few days of rain and very high pollen count, a lull in the weather and slightly lower pollen levels lured us outdoors, despite missing yesterdays birding group morning. Our target bird was, of course, the breeding Black-necked Grebes.

It was relatively easy to see a few of them and even one feeding a chick but I suppose that there are lots more hidden away in the pools behind the reeds.

We also saw plenty of Great-crested Grebes but only one or two Little Grebes. Coots were everywhere with lots of young but the whole site seemed to be dominated by the Black-headed Gulls.

There were plenty of Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing amongst the other woodland birds and we got nice views of a family of Whitethroats as well. The elevated position of the hides gave us good views down into the reeds and general foliage so we got views of Reed and Sedge Warblers and also Reed Bunting.

There was a smattering of Shelduck and Pochard and greater numbers of Gadwall and Tufted Duck – both with young. The feeders were a bit quiet with the odd Tit feeding and just two Greenfinches one of whom I had to rescue from the feeder it had got stuck inside. The whole thing was made of chicken wire with a small opening at the top. The bird had managed to fall through it but could not get back out again and was quite frantic. There was no one else around to tell so I ignored the warnings to keep out and dropped the feeder down and, by turning the feeder on its side, eventually managed to coax the bird out. It looked quite stunned and ran along the ground into cover.

The plants along the path were very high – often shoulder-length or more – so my head was right on a level with the flower heads. I suppose I may pay the price with another bad day of hay fever tomorrow but it was a really nice morning out and we stopped at the Bear’s Paw (on Warrington Road, High Legh, Knutsford WA16 0RT) and had a spot of lunch outdoors in the beer garden.

Bird Sightings Woolston Eyes 26th June 2019