Connah’s Quay and Burton Mere Wetlands 8th September 2016

A weather forecast indicating poor weather getting better by mid-morning saw us set off for a visit to Connah’s Quay, a reserve we have not been to in a while, and Burton Mere Wetlands. It is getting to the time when we can expect to see some interesting waders and we weren’t disappointed in that department.

We started off at Connah’s Quay where we slowly drove down to the blind near the reserve building to the right. We drove that cautiously that we even managed to get good views of a Sparrowhawk, perched atop the bird feeders, before it saw us and took flight. From the blind there were Herons and Little Egrets visible but the tide was a long way out and still going out so it was going to be a low-tide visit for us this time. Be that as it may, we still got lots of Redshank and a single Greenshank and the light is wonderful there, because it is always behind you, so the birds really stand out.

We drove past one of the fields on the left which had group of about ten Curlews there. The straightness of their bills had me wondering if they weren’t all Whimbrels but there was no eye stripe on any of them so I had to conclude that they were just a small band among the very many Curlew in the area, though most were on the mud.

There were plenty of Shelduck and Gulls of a variety of species, all out on the mud. At the pool by the two-storey hide, there was a big group of Black-tailed Godwits, lots of Teal and Coot and also a single Common Sandpiper and a Pied Wagtail. On our way back down the road a Kestrel was standing in the middle of the road and as we approached it flew off just a little bit showing beautifully as it hovered in the wind a few feet off the ground. It repeated this several times and eventually we turned off as it sat on a branch by the turn in the road.

At Burton Mere Wetlands we pretty much headed straight off for Inner Marsh Farm where the waders of interest were supposed to be. We stopped at the Bridge and looked at the Spoonbills from the blind; the group had now grown to a dozen but the direction of the wind meant that they were pointing away from us so we did not get as good views as a couple of weeks before.

Over at Inner Marsh Farm the hide was absolutely rammed with people but we eventually got seats and got good views of a group of eleven Curlew Sandpipers; the best views this year and the easiest to identify of the ones we have seen these last few weeks.

There were good numbers of Dunlin making it very hard to see the single Little Stint (a year first) that was there. In fact, when I did see it, it was accidental as it walked through my scope as I was looking at other birds.

Also on the scrape were several Snipe preening right out in the open and a single juvenile Avocet kept them company. On our way back from IMF the wind had really got up and there was little likelihood of seeing many small birds in flight. We did hear a Chiffchaff and some Goldfinches though. Back at the reception it was a case of the usual suspects but we were surprised, just before we left, by the sudden appearance of a Golden Plover looking rather on its own.

The weather was threatening to turn again so we headed off to Parkgate for a late lunch before heading off home. Sometimes one gets a little blasé about a dozen Spoonbills, nearly a dozen Curlew Sandpipers, a Little Stint and a Golden Plover but Burton Mere Wetlands does rather spoil people.

Bird Sightings : Connah’s Quay

Species	Count
Common Shelduck	10
Mallard	30
Common Teal	30
Grey Heron	1
Little Egret	6
Eurasian Sparrowhawk	1
Common Coot	10
Common Sandpiper	1
Common Greenshank	1
Common Redshank	10
Eurasian Curlew	20
Black-tailed Godwit	50
Black-headed Gull	50
Lesser Black-backed Gull	3
Great Black-backed Gull	10
Common Wood Pigeon	4
Common Kestrel	1
Eurasian Blue Tit	1
Dunnock	2
Pied Wagtail	1

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands :Reception Hide

Species	Count
Canada Goose	600
Mute Swan	6
Gadwall	4
Mallard	30
Northern Shoveler	3
Common Teal	30
Tufted Duck	2
Grey Heron	1
Common Moorhen	4
Common Coot	12
European Golden Plover	1
Black-tailed Godwit	6
Ruff	3

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Environs

Species	Count
Spoonbills	12
Rook	1
Common House Martin	6
Common Chiffchaff	1
European Goldfinch	1

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands :Inner Marsh Farm

Species	Count
Black-tailed Godwit	8
Curlew Sandpiper	11
Dunlin	40
Little Stint	1
Common Snipe	6

Connah’s Quay and Burton Mere Wetlands 8th September 2016