Morning visit in glorious weather, some quality migrants around, mainly in the paddocks but also the dunes and gorse, the fisheries and the woody scrub areas. A couple of familiar faces about and nice to see Paul Baker too!
- 25+ Wheatear seemingly everywhere - 2 Ring Ouzel (1m/1f) - 3 Whinchat (2m/1f) - 1 Redstart (probable female type in paddock hedge) - 3 Yellow Wagtail (1m) - 1 White Wagtail (rest looked like Pied to me) - 1 Whimbrel (feeding in paddock) - 2 Grasshopper Warblers (in gorse area, 1 seen) - 4 Common Whitethroat - 1 Lesser Whitethroat (at fisheries) - 2 Sedge Warbler (1pr together) - 1 Reed Warbler - 1 Willow Warbler - 6 Blackcap (4m/2f) - 2 Stonechat (1m/1f) - 2 Meadow Pipit - 1 Little Egret - Lots of Chiffchaff, Skylark, Linnet, and Swallows around.
Also of note... A Pipit flew over me calling and dropped into one of the paddocks. Straight away I thought that sounds like a Tree Pipit. I got onto it again on the ground and the way it was moving through the grass, its jizz just didnt look like a Meadow Pipit. One was reported this morning and it couldve been that.
-- Edited by Rob Creek on Sunday 21st of April 2019 04:34:40 PM
Having been sat at work all day yesterday watching news of migrants galore coming out from Leasowe I was only going to one place today! So I headed up quite early to the Leasowe Lighthouse car park and set off to the paddocks in the sunshine.
In the fields off the road to the car park the migrant list started with a lovely Whinchat in a field full of Wheatears, then as I walked towards the horse paddocks off Lingham Lane a Whimbrel flew over calling and a Willow Warbler sang from the bushes nearby, so far it was a day of 'W's!! Going through the first kissing gate there were 2 Ring Ouzels showing well in the fields inland of the paddocks. These were watched for a while and I showed others the birds when they hadn't got a scope with them as the views were into the sun and not the best through bins alone. Walking further down two female Redstarts were seen in the field containg a hawthorn bush which is known locally as 'Redstart Motel', and true to form the birds were using it as their base to make feeding sorties from. Heading back from whence we came I turned up towards the coast and checked out a bank of gorse and broom and was soon watching a very showy Grasshopper Warbler, which performed out in the open several times for delighted onlookers. A couple of Whitethroats were also in this area and showed well. I then returned to the paddocks where I watched a male Yellow Wagtail feeding at the feet of one particular horse, but a while later when the Yellow Wagtail had gone I found 4 White Wagtails on the fence of the same paddock. Wheatears were in every field, over 40 must have been seen and Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps called all around me. Only one Swallow was seen but my eyes were on the fields not the skies! Another Whimbrel was picked out, making 2 in total for the morning. Several Little Egrets were also in the same fields as the Curlew and Whimbrel. Finally four Sandwich Terns were offshore from the seawall just by the car park, watched as I ate my lunch.
A great morning in very warm sunshine and as some of the birds had already cleared through late am I decided to head off to pastures new for the afternoon.
-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 19th of April 2019 10:57:49 PM
Tried to find something interesting on the rising tide yesterday (Sat) pm as the winds started off Ok (ie, persistent NW). I was hoping that an odd Petrel might be driting along the distant tideline, or maybe a Skua on the horizon.
Well, no, and it was bitterly cold. Oystercatchers, Redshank, Turnstone only. And a skein of ~40 Pinkfoot flying due S over. A small gull possibly Little Gull (but more likely not) along the tideline flying away. And a G C Grebe in the surf.
Worth a try, though.
-- Edited by John Watson on Sunday 22nd of November 2015 08:21:23 AM
1 x snow bunting Having been away for a week and missing most of the W/NW winds I thought I would try Leasowe on todays Westerly. I had no joy with Petrels or Skuas (some distant possible skuas), but plenty of the usual Leasowe species. I was joined on the breakwater by a very obliging Snow Bunting around the Leasowe Castle area. Just at high tide (2:45) I headed to New Brighton to look for a possible Bonaparte's Gull reported on birdguides. An hour of searching though gulls only to get a further report it was a Kittiwake.
3 Guillemots, 2 Gannets and 4 Great Crested Grebes.
On the small rocky island at high tide.
36 Lapwings, 3 Pied Wagtails, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Ringed Plover plus lots of Dunlin, Knot, Redshank and Oystercatchers.
On the nearby dunes/scrub bordering the golf course were 10 Linnets, 1m+1f Stonechats, 2 Greenfinches (Feeding on wild rose hips), 8 Goldfinches and 1 Meadow Pipit.
