An afternoon visit to return an insect taken home for photography. I always return specimens back where I collect them alive and well! Dull and cooler again.

I came across my first brood of 6 Mallard ducklings on Big Pool today, newly hatched with an adult female.

My first 3 Swifts of the year were over Big Pool, these came in from a distance and ended up headed straight over me.

Again out am, early start too. It was cool at first but warming up as the sun got higher in the sky.

Bird-wise it was very quiet with just a couple of things of note. The male Cuckoo sang for a really long spell and did several flyovers giving excellent views. Also giving good views were at least 2 Garden Warblers, singing in the tops of birches and watched down to as close as 20m away.

A morning on the mosslands part of my patch with friends Hot & sunny.

Not concentrating on birds but a drake Teal was on Shemmy Moss and 2 Greylag Geese flew over. A Grey Heron also flew over as did 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Managed to get my puncture fixed by 8am so a normal day, am and pm on patch! Hot & sunny again.

On Big Pool 2 Greylag Geese were amongst the usual Canadas. Just 6 Sand Martins were over the pool.

The male Cuckoo called most of the time once it started in the afternoon and showed well on top of an Oak on Abbot's Moss. A male Yellowhammer was also on Shemmy Moss. Garden Warblers showed well on both Newchurch Common and Shemmy Moss, they are well and truly 'in' now! A Pied Wagtail was in a ploughed field by Sandy Lane. The Blackbird's nest that I found on Shemmy Moss with chicks in it was empty today and from the angle that it sat at it has obviously been predated. I'm not surprised given its location and visibility.

Again am and pm on patch, am on Newchurch, pm on Shemmy. Overcast and occasional sum but not cold!

As I scanned Big Pool am I noticed a Great Crested Grebe with young on its back, at distance it was hard to tell but it looked like 2 young. There was a flock of hirundines containing 10 Sand Martins and 3 Swallows over Big Pool too.

But the stand out bird today was a Red Kite over Shemmy Moss pm. I was alerted to it by Ravens noisily mobbing it. Then 3 Buzzards joined the fray! The Red Kite was a patch tick for 2025.

On the pools area am and Shemmy a short walk pm.

On Nunsmere 5(4drk) Mandarins showed well with the four drakes displaying to the lone female.

The Cuckoo called again briefly near Nunsmere pm. Near Small Pool a negative sighting was 2 Jays collecting nesting material, one of them with a beakfull of fishing line, a very bad choice to build a nest out of!

On my patch am and pm again in warm sunshine.

Very little to report bird-wise. There were 2 Sand Martins over Big Pool and a Swallow over Daleford Farm. A Whitethroat showed really well on Shemmy Moss.

Dull and raining most of the time I was out, so spent it in the pools area, Newchurch.

Out of interest I counted just 25 Tufted Ducks on the two pools, in comparison with the WeBS Count total of 64 just last Sunday! Two Oystercatchers flew over in a noisy, chasing display flight. The rain brought down a huge flock comprising 150 Sand Martins and 6 Swallows over Big Pool. A further 4 Swallows were on territory at Common Farm.

Not common on patch there were 5 Starlings and 3 Collared Doves at Common Farm.

A short morning walk on Newchurch on Shemmy Moss due to a busy day later! Dull but dry, cool.

Investigation of the same site as yesterday revealed a male Whitethroat in full song and finally showing well. Confirmed as the first this year anywhere.

An influx of 20 Tufted Ducks were seen on Nunsmere. An Oystercatcher flew over calling whilst a flyover Cormorant was silent! A small passage of gulls contained 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Herring Gull. A trickle of 9 Sand Martins flew through the mosses.

The male Cuckoo called distantly but moved closer and showed well in a tree before flying off south over my head, superb! Three Skylarks were chasing each other over Abbotsmoss Nursery fields. A male Yellowhammer was seen on Shemmy Moss. Several Linnets were seen including one carrying nest material. Lots of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps made it the first four warbler day of 2025 on Patch! One Blackcap was doing very good mimicry of a Garden Warbler song but every so often threw in one flutey 'Blackcap' note!!

A morning visit for my monthly WeBS Count on the designated day! Again it seems to have come round so quickly. The count started in rain but finished in sunshine warm throughout though!

On the pools totals of water birds were as follows: 18 Canada Geese, 25 Coot, 12 Great Crested Grebes, 15 Mallard, 2 Moorhen, 1 Mute Swan, 64 Tufted Ducks, 1 Black-headed Gull, and 1 domestic Mallard. In addition, and the biggest bonus, the rain pushed a flock of hirundines down to feed over Big Pool first thing, these were 25 Sand Martins and 2 House Martins, both new for patch for the year, and 2 Swallows. Also seen but not on the WeBS Count were 10 Lapwings in the breeding field east of the Pine Belt, however this is being ploughed and I fear that any nests already started will be lost.

Willow Warblers have reached Big Pool now too after the arrival on the mosses, at least 4 were seen or heard.

A cracking day on patch today in hot sunshine again and out am & pm again, be rude not too!!

On Big Pool 2 Common Shelducks were a surprise this morning. They stayed out in the centre of the pool but unusually stayed all day. Don't think there's any chance they will linger until WeBS day on Sunday!! Not a yeartick as I had one short-stayer in early March.

Another god bird, and bird of the day, was the first singing male Cuckoo, heard singing distantly over Abbot's Moss towards Nunsmere. This seems to be the usual location that the first bird is heard in every year! The first Cuckoo here last year was on May 4th so this is early but in line with other sightings in the UK! There were 2 Collared Doves on Sandy Lane, one patch stronghold for this scarce patch bird! A male Pied Wagtail was on the roof of a barn at Dairy Farm.

Another afternoon visit, particularly happy today as it was a post-dermatology visit which confirmed a skin lesion as a non-melanoma :) Hot and sunny again.

A group of 3 Greylag Geese flew over Shemmy Moss where 2 Snipe were also seen. A Water Rail called form Gull Pool again.

A Green Woodpecker again called distantly over the mosses. A Tawny Owl was heard near Big Pool. Today 4 Willow Warblers were heard and one seen, all on Shemmy Moss. A male Reed Bunting and a Skylark were also here.

A morning walk on my patch, just on the mosslands today. Hot and sunny!

On Shemmy Moss 2 Teal and 5 Snipe came up as I walked in the bracken some way off the moss. All came down not far away in the same area. There were 3(2drk) Gadwall on Nunsmere at the western edge of my patch.

The best bird was a calling Green Woodpecker on the mosslands, to the south as usual now. a new bird for the year anywhere for me. A pair of Ravens flew over displaying / pair bonding. A male Reed Bunting was seen on Shemmy Moss, on breeding territory.

An early afternoon walk on the mossland section of my Patch. Sunny and hot again.

A drake Teal was on one of the pools on Shemmy Moss. The drake Goosander was still hanging around on Nunsmere, he must have a mate there! Whilst walking in bracken alongside Shemmy Moss at least 40 Snipe came up from there. An adult Herring Gull flew over the mosslands, a scarce bird on Patch.

A morning walk incorporating the mosses and the common. Warm and dry, no sun.

A drake Goosander was on Nunsmere again. There were 6(1drk) Goldeneye on Big Pool, a surprising ratio.

In the distance 2 Sparrowhawks and 3 Buzzards displayed high up in the sky. A group of 7 Redwings flew over Big Pool. The best birds today were 2(1m) Bramblings in a Silver Birch on Shemmy Moss, I'd written this species off for this winter so this was a major find! Another good find today was the first male Blackcap singing in Big Pool east meadow. On patch in total were 12 Chiffchaffs. a group of 6 Linnets were on Shemmy Moss.

Another afternoon in the sun, from Shemmy Moss to the fishing pools, but despite forecasts it didn't feel as warm as yesterday.

There were 4(2drk) Goldeneye, but spread one pair on each pool! A Coot was building a nest by Small Pool, the first I've seen this year. A Kingfisher was on Small Pool.

A Kestrel was over Shemmy Moss.

A very short walk on my Newchurch Patch, dull, colder, uninspiring!

There were still 8(3drk) Goldeneye, but split with a drake on Small Pool and the rest on Big Pool. New today on Big Pool 2 Greylag Geese, just missing my WeBS count!

A Long-tailed Tit was seen carrying a feather in Big Pool east meadow, a sign of a nest nearby. Interesting behaviour was observed with 2 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Great Tits and 2 Blue Tits all feeding happily together in an alder but then a Chiffchaff appeared and they actively chased it off!!

Got down am, frost on the ground and a nip in the air even though the sunshine was pretty warm.

On Big Pool no Wigeon but 5(2drk) Goldeneye. Teal were heard here too but no idea how many!

A Sparrowhawk thermalled in the far distance. On the former leek field a huge winter thrush flock comprised c.100 Fieldfares, c.100 Redwings and c.5 Mistle Thrushes.

A quick 3mls on the mosses produced very little. Sunny intervals but cool.

The only thing of note was a Raven mobbing 2 Buzzards over South Moss viewed from Shemmy Moss. This isn't far from the Ravens nesting area so I'm not surprised, with an incubation period of 21 days and nesting as early as February this bird may have chicks by now. I have seen two birds up together, for quite a long period, recently so either they have chicks or it was a prolonged changeover!

A morning walk again, all in the mosslands area, warmer and sunnier than expected from the forecast!

A drake Goosander was seen from the west boundary on Nunsmere Lake. A pair of Greylag Geese flew over Abbot's Moss. A Little Grebe was back on its breeding pool, Gull Pool.

The best passerines were 2 Skylarks, a pair, in display over the nursery fields by Shemmy Moss, the first of that species on patch for 2025. Last year they were rarely seen and I can't remember any records of 2 birds so a very good sign.

A Buzzard was watched in full 'big dipper' flight display over Gull Pool Wood and 2 Ravens were also in very vocal display flight nearby over Shemmy Moss. A large flock of around 40 Redwings were in Gull Pool Wood feeding on the floor. A female Reed Bunting was seen on Shemmy Moss where a pair of Linnets were also noted. In addition a feeding flock of 20 Linnets were in the nursery fields. At least 5 Chiffchaffs were on the mosslands, so a slight increase today. A group of 3(2m) Bullfinches were also by Shemmy Moss.

Delayed my walk until 12.30pm to take advantage of the highest temperatures today, hot and sunny.

A brilliant day when a Common Shelduck flew into Big Pool and landed in the middle, the first for 2025 here. This patch rarity actively washed and stayed in the middle for a very short time but left around 15mins later. Also on Big Pool were 8(3drk) Goldeneye, again in display, and a drake Wigeon, the first of this species since late February.

A Fieldfare was in the fields by Common Farm as well as a Grey Wagtail and a lone Pied Wagtail. A Coal Tit, not common on patch, was by the Pine Belt. Just a few Chiffchaffs still.

A morning walk after a rainy night, overcast but quite mild.

On Big Pool 2(1drk) Goosanders were seen with a total of 4(1drk) Goldeneye made up of 3(1drk) on Big Pool and a female on Small Pool. A surprise was a drake Gadwall on Big Pool after not seeing one here for ages! The harvested potato field east of the Pine Belt held 8 Lapwings, two pairs of which were in active display.

This morning saw 4 Chiffchaffs present, three in the Big Pool meadows and one near the main track at the Finch Hedge end.

A morning on the mossland section of my Newchurch Patch. Sunny and warmish, getting warmer as the day progressed.

First heard and then seen were 2 Greylag Geese over the mosses, these were the first seen in several visits and were a pair on breeding territory. On the extreme west of the patch I saw 2 Great Crested Grebes in a superb full display on Nunsmere, rearing up out of the water facing each other with only their back ends touching the water. A new patch bird was seen when 3 Oystercatchers flew over Shemmy Moss in display flight, calling as they went.

* A Woodpecker was drumming in Gull Pool Wood, but up in the camp area, a definite no go zone at any time. A stunning male Sparrowhawk sat low in conifers out in the centre of Shemmy Moss for ages, glowing in the sunlight and looking magnificent. A total of 2 Ravens was made up of one on territory in Gull Pool Wood and one over south of the mosses towards the Cheshire Polo Club ground. I could hear chainsaws at the latter site and the Raven was flying up and down constantly cronking. Knowing that they are early breeders I hope that this bird wasn't being disturbed at a nest site as I know that they nest in that area. A pair of Long-tailed Tits was watched gathering nest material and dropping into a dense bramble bank by Shemmy Moss.

Sunny so morning on Newchurch, afternoon on the mosslands. But still quiet for birds.

On Big Pool just 3(1drk) Goldeneye, Small Pool not checked cos rammed with anglers! A pair of Gadwall were on Redesmere, a species not seen on the main pools in several visits. At least 8 Great Crested Grebes were on Big Pool with two doing as full courtship dance. There were 7 Cormorants on Nunsmere viewed from the extreme west end of my patch. The 2cy Lesser Black-backed Gull was back on Big Pool.

Two Rooks flew over north of the Pine Belt and a Raven was vocal in a tree on the mosses. A lone Redwing was near Big Pool Island Cut where the latest bird lingered last winter. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming again. The flock of 40 Chaffinches was again in the harvested potato fields but with just 2 Linnets in with them. A Coal Tit was in a Pine by Shemmy Moss.