28/10/17

An excellent day birding wise with 2 Winsford Flash ticks! The day started off with a bang when 3 HAWFINCH flew east over Dairy House Farm, these birds were most likely part of the recent Hawfinch invasion with birds arriving from the continent. A further 4 were seen over Rilshaw Lane the following the day by another observer.

An adult Med Gull dropped in with 450 Black-headed and Common Gull. The morning ended perfectly with a Jack Snipe on Main Scrape (first of the season).

The 2nd Flash tick of the day though came at Rilshaw Lane. The resident flock of 250 Canada Geese had occupied the spit at Rilshaw and whilst scanning I was delighted to pick out 2 BARNACLE GEESE! They stayed the evening and I was glad other observers got the chance to connect with them before dusk. 8 Teal were present in the inlet.

Observers: Findlay Wilde, Graham Bayliss and John Gilbody

Catch Up

From the beginning of August to the start of September I had been in Portugal, and from then on to this point now I have been busy with exam preparation therefore I apologise for the lack of sightings. This blog will ideally catch you up to date with the birds that have turned up at Winsford Flash.

03/09/17

A CASPIAN GULL (first record) was present viewed from the footpath down from Rilshaw Lane carpark as was a Redshank and 3 Swift. 5 Teal were on the spit, and a Water Rail was calling in the reedbed adjacent to the mudflats. A Cettis Warbler was singing by the sailing club.

07/09/17

Another first record came in the form of a YELLOW-LEGGED GULL viewed from the spit at Rilshaw Lane. The bird lingered late into the evening until it eventually headed off with 3 Lesser Black Backed Gull. Other species on the 7th included 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Mandarin and 2 Tawny Owl.

21/09/17

2 Sandwich Tern headed east over the flash, the first sighting for a couple of years at the site. Also present was an adult Mediterranean Gull and a juv Common Tern.

30/09/17

A fantastic day for passerines with an exceptional record of a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER mixed in with a large tit flock along Rilshaw Lane. This bird was a first for Winsford but also a very scarce inland Cheshire one too, with them them barely being annual in the inland Cheshire region of the county. Good numbers of Goldcrest and Chiffchaff also seemed to be about the area. A Marsh Tit rounded the day off nicely.

04/09/17

A Mediterranean Gull was the only bird of note.

Observers: Findlay Wilde (images), Graham Bayliss and John Gilbody

Roundup from last few weeks

18/07/17: A Little Egret was present feeding on the shoreline at the eastern end staying put just the evening before departing elsewhere. 1 Green Sandpiper and 4 Common Sandpiper were also present here. The spit at Rilshaw Lane through up a surprise in the from of a DUNLIN. 5 Little Ringed Plover and a single Common Sandpiper was also present here.

Observers: Findlay Wilde, John Gilbody and Graham Bayliss

16/07/17: 6 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and 4 Teal were present on the water and spit at Rilshaw Lane, while the scarce record of a REDSTART (juv) were in the Willows alongside the water. The eastern end held 2 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Sandpiper, a Redshank and 1 Black-Tailed Godwit.

Observer: Findlay Wilde

The above are stand out days in the time period since I last posted sightings. The only other highlights have included 1 Mediterranean Gull on the 12th at Rilshaw, 15 Lapwing at Rilshaw on the 7th, and a Water Rail at Dairy House on the same day.

Observer: Findlay Wilde

Images from the last few weeks:

02/07/17 - Birdlog

Starting at Rilshaw Lane, I was surprised to observe a Kestrel hunting over one of the nearby fields. Perhaps a new pair have moved into this area as I don't recall seeing one on that side before. The scrapes were unusually quiet, only a handful of Black-headed Gull and 3 Pied Wagtail were taking advantage of the exposed mud.

With not much else about I moved on to view the East End viewing from the Sailing Club. I was delighted to pick up the first record of *COMMON SCOTER* for Winsford Flash (a handsome drake). At least 20 sailors were out on the water, therefore I couldn't quite believe the bird hadn't been flushed.

The only other birds of note today included the first Green Sandpiper of the year on the scrapes at Dairy House Farm and also a solitary Common Sandpiper.  

Observer: Findlay Wilde (all images)

21/06/17 - Birdlog

A brief visit to the flash today in the early evening certainly produced. A large number of Black-headed Gulls were hawking for insects over the water (5 newly fledged juvs were worthy of note). As I was scanning the flock from the Sailing Club I was delighted to come across a stunning first summer LITTLE GULL.

Apart from that obvious highlight, the main waterbody was relatively quiet despite the usual numerous Great Crested Grebes (now 7 nests). The next highlight came at the scrapes at Dairy House Farm, where I came across a drake GARGANEY (less than annual), this bird was well into eclipse plumage.

The scrape at Rilshaw Lane held 3 Little Ringed Plover.

Observer: Findlay Wilde

02/06/17 - Birdlog

The highlight of an afternoon stroll around Winsford Flash appeared at Rilshaw Lane where I picked up the first record of a *CETTIS WARBLER* present in the large reedbed alongside the mere. The bird was being bossed about by the resident breeding Reed Warblers. After a relatively long spell of dry weather, the spit is now looking fantastic for waders, so it was no surprise to find 4 Little Ringed Plover present. One pair seemed rather settled as there appeared to be a lot of displaying going on and at one point they were indeed mating. A flyover Redshank (first of the year)was an extra added bonus to an already fairly good species tally.

The scrape at Dairy House Farm held another Little Ringed Plover, 2 Lapwing and 3 Greylag Geese.

Observer: Findlay Wilde

27/05/17 - Birdlog

The scrape at Rilshaw Lane is currently looking fantastic for waders however the water level has dropped at sadly the wrong time for the spring migration. None the less 2 very obliging Little Ringed Plover were present as well as a small gathering of 20 Black-headed Gull and 14 Lesser Black Backed Gull.

Only birds of note from the main water included 3 Common Tern and 19 Great Crested Grebe.

Observer: Findlay Wilde