After a chaotic couple of weeks of gigs and uni assignments, I finally find myself with a bit of time on my hands to write the blog again. Needless to say, being in my final year of uni has meant that the amount of time that I have spent in the field has been somewhat limited. As a result, I will cover my last two trips out in this same blog post.
Martin Mere - 24/01/2023
After dipping a Yellow-Browed Warbler at Burton Mere in the autumn last year, I had still failed to see this leaf warbler. So when a wintering individual at the sewage works of WWT Martin Mere turned up, it proved to be too tempting to resist. I played it extremely casually and it took me a few weeks or so after it turned up for me to finally get the chance to go and see it.
But alas, me and the main man Marc ventured out to the reserve via public transport on an extremely blustery day in the hopes of connecting with the target. With an uncharacteristically early start, we were at the sewage works by about half 10am in the presence of just two other birders. The twitch was to prove far from straightforward as we watched vast numbers of Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs but to no avail. Eventually, a lady picked up on the Yellow-Browed Warbler and Marc managed to get a couple glimpses of it on the other side of the fence briefly. However, me and a few others failed to see the bird and were left rather frustrated. The same thing happened a couple more times and I was beginning to wonder if it was just not going to be my day. However, eventually I managed to pick up on the bird in my binoculars which stayed put for about a minute or so. I was frankly delighted at connecting with this lifer as I was starting to doubt whether I would see the bird at all.
After a few more brief views of the bird, me and Marc were satisfied so we ambled onto the main reserve to see what we could find. Although there were very few waders, it was great to see decent numbers of wintering Whooper Swans from close up - a species that I don't see all too often. Furthermore, there were some stunning views of Pintail - one of my favourite wintering ducks.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was a flypast Kingfisher which put in a brief but electric cameo which Marc impressively managed to capture a record shot of.
Happy with our fillings, we headed back to the train station - passing a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese in a neighbouring field. We would later find out that the flock contained a few Tundra Bean Geese, but without a scope between us, this species would've been impossible to pick out. Overall, a top days birding with another superb species seen in the north-west via the eco-friendly means of public transport.
Bolton and Leverhulme - 03/03/2023
Despite having a fantastic, bird-filled winter, there was one staple species of the season that I was yet to connect with. The Waxwing. Due to its status as one of the most beautiful species that the UK hosts, I had tried and failed to see a flock of this species in Wigan a couple of months prior. So when a single bird chose to make a cut-de-sac in Bolton its home for the coming months, the temptation proved too much for me to resist.
Me and Marc made our way via train and hopped off at Bolton with a carefree attitude - we were simply happy to be in the great outdoors. From the station to the site was a good half hour walk through housing estates. However, we eventually reached a stream which we observed over the bridge. As we stood there chatting, Marc remarked about what good habitat it would be for a Dipper and no sooner had he said that then a scan of the binoculars revealed two Dippers mid stream! I was frankly delighted. as this is a species I had only seen once in my life and never before in England.
After we'd admired the birds collecting material for their nests, we decided to head on to the main target of the Waxwing. However, a few minutes later, a flash of blue on a branch caught my eye - indeed I had found a Kingfisher perched. The bird quickly flew out of view but not before Marc worked his magic and managed to get another record shot. The two of us have a fantastic record for this species when in the field together, having connected with four individuals.
Again we headed on towards the site, passing another pair of Dipper along the way. The playing fields also provided home to a sizeable flock of Redwing but surprisingly no Fieldfare.
Eventually we reached the desired cul-de-sac and were delighted to observe the Waxwing sitting comfortably at the top of the tree, seemingly unbothered by our presence. With some patience, this stunning bird flew to a nearby berry bush to feed - allowing Marc to get some great shots of this species in its characteristic habitat.
We watched the bird for close to an hour before heading back towards the station. On the way back we enjoyed great views of the two pairs of Dippers and even managed to add a couple of Grey Wagtails to the day's list. A top notch couple of days out overall!
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