Latest Sightings
There is no concerted effort to keep this page up to date now: the Ribble Estuary Birding Facebook Group is probably the best place for sightings that people are prepared to share – and see the other links on the home page for sightings further afield.
Feel free to submit latest sightings news as comments below. The first time you do this your comment will need to be approved before appearing; thereafter your posts will appear in real time. The date will appear automatically; please give the time of your sighting. If it doesn’t pertain to Marshside please also give the location!
Latest news posted here appears as the TOP comment.
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Welcome …
This blog originally had a grand purpose for birding around Marshside and beyond. The map and info Pages section is still useful for that, but for rolling news of sightings and general discussion that purpose has perhaps been overtaken by the ease of use of other web developments, and I’d particularly recommend taking a look at the Ribble Estuary Nature Facebook Group.
These pages are now a repository for me to share photos and videos of my birding in and around Merseyside and occasionally further afield, and to provide me with an outlet for the occasional rant. You’ll find digiscoped photos and videos with a bit of reportage as the main posts; some useful birding info and resources are in the static Pages section.
Short form url: http://ow.ly/3b5PK
For other, more regular, blogs I recommend that everyone keeps a daily eye on John Dempsey’s Birdblog – probably the best online birding journal in the world (Theakston’s Best please, John …) as well as other local blogs of which there are links below. Of these, Colin Bushell’s Ribble to Amazon is currently the most regularly and enthusiatically updated and carries most useful information.
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Comments & Sightings
jstannage on Discussion Frank Whitney on Latest Sightings Simon Glinn on Moore and Pennington Flas… Roger John LITTLE on Moore and Pennington Flas… phil boardman on Latest Sightings Simon Glinn on Latest Sightings Simon Glinn on Latest Sightings Simon Glinn on Latest Sightings Frank Whitney on Latest Sightings Frank Whitney on Latest Sightings
Blogroll
- Another Place ~ Pete Kinsella
- Bill Aspin ~ Brockholes
- Brockholes Sightings Facebook
- Colin Bushell’s Blog
- Dave Bickerton’s Blog
- Dee Estuary Sightings
- Hilbre Island Blog
- Manchester Sightings
- Martin Mere Sightings
- Menzie Birding
- Mike Watson ~ E. Lancs
- Moore N.R. Sightings
- North Wales Sightings
- Paul Shenton ~ Flintshire
- South Liverpool Birder
- St Helens Sightings
- Steve Tomlinson
- Tony Conway ~ Seaforth
- Wirral Birder
The Big Websites
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Flickr Photos
More Photos
1s glaucous gull leasowe lighthouse on beach from car park at 11.32am today.
iceland gull off growne at dove point at 12.30pm.
barn owl on north altcar a wheatear and little gull at seaforth nr today
thanks for the info. I will have a look. also had a male merlin on sefton meds tue 4 30 pm
Hi all, mew gull is the new-fangled name for common gull, why they need to change ‘em is beyond me. 3 Med gulls at Marshside today, 33 avocet, 8 ruff and 350+ golden plover.
Well yes and no … Whereas Mew Gull is often applied to the whole taxa of Common Gull it seems that in this context it’s being used specifically for the N. American race brachyrhynchos (a.k.a. Short-billed Gull), of which it seems there’s only one W Pal record. Digging around the interweb it seems there have been one or two other possible sightings recently, also possible confusion with birds of the race heinei. Such reports include one in Scotland and another in Leicestershire.
Have a look on Birdforum for a thread entitled
Mew Gull status in the UK?
in the Rare Bird Information section to see the state of the debate.
hello all i have been looking on the web for info on osprays and come across a mew gull seen near rutland water ? never heard of it myself have you .
A mew gull is a type of airplane, maybe someone being funny
two green sandpipers at mere sands wood today am .
hello all. at mere sands wood a bittern was seen from the lanc hide around 1500 hrs today also a kingfisher and woodcock. try my flickf .
Formby again yesterday: big Siskin and other finch flock on Old Fisherman’s path had at least one Common Redpoll yesterday. Still plenty of Common Scoter and Great-crested Grebe from the shore long after high tide.
Formby again yesterday with Bones and Jason. No easy close-ups like Saturday but possibly 4 Velvets in distant flight; 100+ GC Grebes, 40+ Red-throated Divers, 300+ Common Scoter. Best was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers in full courtship display. Plenty of Barwits on shore. A flock of Siskins in the pinewoods on Old Fisherman’s path; tame fox in the National Trust reserve; Redpoll sp at Wick’s Lane. Still no Treecreeper for the year … 2 Tundra Bean Geese on Plex Moss Lane …
Formby today, 3 Velvet Scoter close to shore, plus 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, more than a dozen Great-crested Grebes, a few score Scoter, Bar-tailed Godwit on shore … a handful of Fieldfare in the sea-buckthorn at the end of Fisherman’s path, Common Buzzard overhead. The ringed Great White Egret was back at Marshside with hen Harrier and several Short-eared owls; 48 Twite between Weld Rd and the Pier; Med Gull and 2 Peregrines at Martin Mere.
GBB gull tearing apart a Moorhen from sandgrounders, plus two Little Egrets and three well camouflaged snipe, on crossens outer at least three SEO and a very accomodating Kestrel, pics on my flickr site
Great White Egret briefly again today around one o clock before flying out to shoreline, also four Short Eared Owls and Little Egrets and plenty of Herons. GWE may have came back though i didn’t see it, some guy said there was a big crane over there and pointed in a vague direction
Frank
Great White Egret showing well at Marshside also male Hen Harrier and four Short Eared Owls including one outside Nels flying across the road,3 Kestrels, one with Vole, two Sparrowhawks, one Weasel, but no partridge in a pear tree
Frank
Shorelark still present this morning,at N end of green beach before reaching the pier,bumped into the bird on way back home after I thought id dipped!! poor record shots on my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/apbirdman
hi all a shore lark southport nr weld rd car park (beach) pics on my flickf .
Red Kite over Maghull 12.30 5th November being mobbed by gulls
Long-billed Dowitcher, 2 Spotshanks, 5 Liitle Egrets at Banks Marsh this morning. Marsh Harrier, 7 Whoopers and a Merlin at Hesketh Out Marsh lunchtime.
Colin
hello all a female merlin and 66 whoopers on plax moss today at 4 15 pm
i had a poss juv cuckoo over the A59 near brockall at 2 30 pm today going s sw .
Marshside today: Ring-tailed Hen Harrier, male Marsh Harrier, female Peregrine ~ all three of which got involved in a skirmish for a few minutes late afternoon. Plus 2 Merlin (m&f), 3 Kestrel, 1m Peregrine, 1 Grey Wagtail and 12 Redwings passing through, 3 Ruff, 4 Golden Plover, a Greenshank and then all the usual … lots of Little Egrets throughout the recording area, probably 40+; plenty of Wigeon and Teal; Pink-footed, Canada and Barnacle Geese; 40+ Redshank; 120+ Black-tailed Godwits; 200+ Northern Lapwing; Linnet; Meadow Pipits; 3 Swallows; 4 Little Grebe; 3 Pintail; 90+ Mallard; 30+ Shoveller; 3 Great Black-backed Gulls; 1 Curlew …
hello all, two great white egrets and two spotted redshanks also one marshy at leighton moss .( shots on my flickr )
27/9/09: A roost of 44 Little Egrets at SOUTHPORT MARINE LAKE this morning. Greenshank, Snipe, Curlew, Juvenile water rail and a further 4 little egrets at marshside from sandgrounders hide.
Excellent birds at Old Wooky Hollow Farm, Banks Marsh on Weds afternoon (4pm) until wildfowler put most to flight, to join dog-fighting Eurofighters from Warton.
> 30 Little Egrets, one Great White Egret (often very distant), two Spoonbills, hordes of waders, Dunlin, Little Stint, Greenshank, etc., earlier Green Sand, Curlew Sands and Spotted Reds. 2,000 plus Wigeon, some Pinkfeet.
John Bannon
1 Wheatear and a fine Barn Owl around the Sand Plant this evening.