Burton Mere Wetlands : 16th December 2014

With the birding group dates for the term finished, we had a spare Tuesday so we headed out for Burton Mere Wetlands. It was a low tide around midday so a lot of the possible birds were probably nearer the coast but it still had one or two nice highlights including very prolonged views of a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting over the reeds whilst being bothered by a Carrion Crow.

We watched this from the reception hide first but it went on for so long that we could see it from various parts of the site. Also from the reception hide were a small group of Dunlin and a somewhat distant Kestrel. We looked for the Cattle Egret but it seems that it may be on Frodsham Marsh at the moment and the Burton Mere cattle weren’t visible anywhere. From the blind over the Sand Martin bank we could see some Pink-footed Geese in one of the fields and we also tried down by the barn to see if we could find the Little Owl – but no luck there. Another prolonged look at the Hen Harrier and then it was a cup of tea and then down to Inner Marsh Farm.

En route there were the usual Finches and Tits and we also heard a Nuthatch and saw a Song thrush in the brambles. A flock of Long-tailed Tits added some colour to the walk.

Down at the Inner Marsh Farm hide it was a little quiet – presumably due to the low tide – but there was a smattering including a single Pintail, a single Shoveler and a single Whooper Swan. There were more Teal and on the grassy slopes to the right of the hide, a mixed flock of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes feeding on the grass. A gaggle of Moorhen livened things up but the best views were of a couple of Male Stonechats on the reeds ; quite distant but clear enough in the scope. As we walked back, on the rise with the field to the right, (the old path to Inner Marsh Farm from the old RSPB office), we saw a small flock of around 20 birds. After a bit of havering (and a discussion a week later to confirm it) I decided that this was a flock of Linnet.

We continued on back via the Reedbed Hide but a pair of Common Snipe was all there was there. We had a look in the car park for a reported Brambling but with no luck. We popped up to Parkgate for lunch which was tricky because everyone seemed to be having their group Christmas lunches. We eventually found a table at the Red Lion on the prom which was actually perfectly adequate and much quieter. The view from the window also gave us close views of a Grey Heron just off the prom and also a Pied Wagtail and the usual range of Little Egrets that are always on the marsh.

On the drive back we got a Common Buzzard on a road light at the side of the motorway giving us a daily bird count of 44 species

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands Reception Hide

Species	Count
Greylag Goose	8
Canada Goose	12
Common Shelduck	30
Eurasian Wigeon	30
Northern Shoveler	2
Common Teal	100
Tufted Duck	20
Little Grebe	1
Hen Harrier	1
Common Kestrel	1
Eurasian Common Moorhen	6
Common Coot	30
Northern Lapwing	150
Common Redshank	2
Dunlin	8
Black-headed Gull	70
Carrion Crow	20

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands Environs

Species	Count
Pink-footed Goose	40
Mallard	30
Hen Harrier	1
Black-tailed Godwit	1
Common Snipe	2
Common Wood Pigeon	20
Eurasian Magpie	6
Eurasian Jackdaw	2
Carrion Crow	20
Coal Tit	1
Great Tit	6
Common Blue Tit	8
Long-tailed Tit	10
Eurasian Nuthatch	1
Northern Wren	1
European Robin	1
Eurasian Blackbird	1
Song Thrush	1
Mistle Thrush	1
Common Starling	20
Chaffinch	6
European Goldfinch	8
Linnet	20

Bird Sightings : Inner Marsh Farm Hide

Species	Count
Whooper Swan	1
Common Shelduck	4
Northern Shoveler	1
Northern Pintail	1
Common Teal	80
Eurasian Common Moorhen	10
Common Stonechat	2
Eurasian Blackbird	4
Song Thrush	3

Bird Sightings : Parkgate

Species	Count
Grey Heron	1
Little Egret	10
Common Buzzard	1
Pied Wagtail	1

Burton Mere Wetlands : 16th December 2014