A party of 15 met in the foyer at the famous Martin Mere Nature Reserve of 363 acres that was purchased by Sir Peter Scott and Ronnie Barker, a local farmer, in 1968 and opened in 1975.

The party set off visiting first the Discovery hide to search for the not-so-common male Ring Necked Duck from North America. This was soon located having some pure white marking on its flank along with a band on the bill.

We then continued to the left, eventually ending up at The Ron Barker hide for lunch.
Just before leaving the hide, a Sparrowhawk was seen following it's characteristic low flight which blends in to pick off any unsuspecting victim.

The afternoon consisted of visiting all the reserve hides enroute, ending up at the Reed bed and the outlying hides. Several Marsh Harriers were observed and you never get tired of watching their graceful flight.
Other highlights on the second half of the reserve included three feeding Repolls but best of all was a Barn Owl which allowed us some fantastic views as it hunted over the fields. A great bird to end a brilliant outing at the reserve.

After managing to locate the rest of the group in the large car park (and without getting too distracted by the flitting Blue Tits, Great Tits and Magpies), our party of 11 set off in hope of some Winter birding joy at Marbury Country Park. 

We managed all of 10 meters before spotting a large group of Chaffinches searching for seed along the path ahead. Chaffinches can be seen in larger groups during the Winter period, as our year-round resident birds are joined by huge flocks from Scandinavia. These birds can be joined by the scarcer Brambling at this time of year, but despite our best efforts we couldn't spot one in amongst the group. 

As we were admiring the Chaffinches, a familiar call was heard from the taller trees behind. A Nuthatch was quickly spotted making it's way up the branches, shortly joined by a second individual. 
We still hadn't moved on yet when, in the Holly bushes below,  we spotted Europe's smallest bird, the Goldcrest. Trying to point out this bird can be a challenge, as their constant restless flitting behaviour means they are always on the move, seeking out small Spiders and Insects on every branch. Luckily this would be the first of a few Goldcrests seen during the day.

Just above the toilet blocks behind us, a small flock of Redwing added to our already brilliant bird list. Another Scandinavian winter visitor, these thrushes were gorging themselves on the berries that they cross the North Sea for. It was a fantastic start to see all these species around what was one of the busiest areas of the park.

As we were already 20 minutes into the day and had barely left the car park, we decided to finally make a move and headed towards the Arboretum. This botanical collection of trees and shrubs, remaining from when Marbury was a grand estate in the 1850's, is one of the best areas to see the elusive Hawfinches and Crossbills that sometimes make an appearance in the park. Sadly, none could be found today, however we were treated to some great views of three Common Redpoll. These finches were acrobatically feeding on seeds, allowing us to see the difference between the "redder" males and "browner" females. The redness becomes much more distinctive during the breeding season.

Making our way back out of the Arboretum, we headed to the first hide. Adding Mistle Thrush and the first of four Jays seen during the day to our list, we reached the hide overlooking the large expanse of Budworth Mere. We were told that a Kingfisher had been seen not long before we arrived, so binoculars raised, were examined all the nearby branches and perches overhanging the mere. No luck, but a Grey Wagtail catching flies was a good spot. 
In the reedbed to the left of the hide, a Bittern had been seen the previous evening, but we had to make do with a preening Great White Egret.
Out on the mere itself, Tufted Ducks, Goosanders, Great Crested Grebes and Shovelers were in abundance, with Lapwing and Curlew seen on the far bank. 

Eventually, we decided to move on from the hide, following the path along the edge of the mere. It didn't take long before the sharp eyes of one party member spotted what we'd been looking for earlier. A kingfisher! Always a highlight of any walk, this beautifully coloured male (identified due to it's all black bill, compared to the orange lower mandible on the female) sat totally unbothered by us as he waiting for his lunch to swim below him.

As lunch time beckoned we headed towards the second hide, where we enjoyed our lunches looking out to the bird feeding stations. The highlight here was the Great Spotted Woodpecker that came to feed on the peanuts, so close to where we were sat. It was great seeing the vivid red colouration only feet away from us.

After lunch, we headed across the canal towards the area of Neumann's Flash. The mouse-like Treecreeper was seen swirling it's way up the trunk of a large tree and a single Stock Dove was perched on the branch of another.
A loud "Kronk" call above notified us of the Raven circling above us, and a second bird shortly after could indicate a pair looking for a breeding territory.

Making our way back towards the car park, we were treated to a field filled with Mistle Thrush, Redwing and Goldfinch. It was a good opportunity to admire the size of the Mistle Thrush and compare the differences between itself and the Song Thrush.

An enjoyable day was had by all, with the full 45 species seen found below:

Magpie
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Woodpigeon
Chaffinch
Blackbird
Nuthatch
Goldcrest
Redwing
Buzzard
Cormorant
Common Redpoll
Great Tit
Robin
Crow
Mistle Thrush
Jay
Wren
Tufted Duck
Goosander
Great White Egret
Long tailed tit
Coot
Great Crested Grebe
Grey Wagtail
Grey Heron
Mallard
Herring Gull
Moorhen
Dunnock
Mute Swan
Coal Tit
Shoveler
Kingfisher
Lapwing
Little Egret
Curlew
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Feral Pigeon
Goldfinch
Treecreeper
Collared Dove
Raven
Stock Dove
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Five of us gathered on a very grey and cold morning. We first visited the feeders and were delighted to see a marsh tit amongst the more expected birds. We then went to the Lillian hide. The water was frozen apart from a small opening at one side which was filled with a small mixed flock of teal, shoveler, pintail and gadwall. We got a good sighting of a female marsh harrier as it danced above the reed bed.

We then took the path round to the Causeway hide – as we walked along we had a few redwing up in the trees and a female bullfinch perched in a bush. As we carried on along the boardwalk we kept our eyes peeled for water rail, but only saw moorhens. We also stopped briefly at the grit trays for possible glimpses of bearded tits, but nothing doing. As it started to rain we hurried to the hide. The view from the hide was disappointing – no birds, apart from a group of mute swans to one side and some black-headed gulls in the far distance. As it was now raining heavily we stayed in the hide admiring the view, chatting and occasionally checking to see nothing had flown in.

When the rain eased we retraced our steps, then went the other way to the Tim Jackson hide. On the way we got a treecreeper and all along the paths we were accompanied by very confiding robins. The story at the hide was the same again – no birds – so we carried on to the Grizedale hide with low expectations. We did do abit better here, - as we walked in we immediately had good views of a great white egret, which stayed around quite a while as we sat eating our lunch. A flock of lapwing flew over and landed in the sloped field beyond the reserve. We also had the female marsh harrier again and at one point buzzard, sparrowhawk and harrier all in the sky together, with the sparrowhawk mobbbing the buzzard. Just as we were about to leave a male marsh harrier also
appeared giving us great views.

We went back to the visitor centre and enquired whether the road to the
estuary hides was OK – a staff member told us he’d just been down there and it was fine. So we drove down and walked to the Allen hide. What the staff member could have told us was that there were no birds! None at all in the area in front of the hide and only a couple more great white egrets in the marsh area beyond the fence, and a great black-back gull. So we decided to call it a day at that point. In terms of volume of birds we agreed we had never seen it so quiet, but we enjoyed seeing the smaller woodland birds and the raptors.
PS. One of the group arrived an hour and a half before the rest of us and saw both bearded tit and water rail – the early bird and all that .......grrr

The weather wasn’t promising, but 7 of us gathered in the car park at Crosby, all togged up prepared for rain. It was already raining when we set off up the coast keeping as close to the beach as possible. The tide was already part way out, but there still seemed plenty of birds about. We immediately saw 4 black-tailed godwits probing in the mud, quite close in. Whilst viewing was difficult with rain spots on glasses and binoculars we soon saw oystercatchers, curlew and a single turnstone. Then followed grey plover and ringed plover with plenty of dunlin scattered about. The rain wasn't heavy or constant and we had the wind behind us. It was obviously windy on the beach as the sanderlings ran even quicker than usual and were quite comical. As we approached the spit a third of the way up the path we could see a flock of Lapwings which occasionally rose up in agitation before settling down again. As the tide went further out flocks of pink-footed geese flew over to land in the distance at the waters edge to feed. Moving further up the coast the rain eased off, and we stopped to admire the sea buckthorn with lovely orange berries. We dropped onto the beach itself and made our way up to the where the river Alt comes out from the mainland at the firing range. Here there were shelduck feeding on the mud, and more curlew and several redshank. Retracing our steps we stopped for lunch at the picnic tables by the sailing club. As we walked back the light had improved, but we were now walking into the wind. There were still quite a few birds about, but nothing new, so we set a faster pace on the way back. As we neared the coastguard station the Antony Gormley statues could be seen – a welcome sight, just as it started to spit again.

Species - 22:
starling, black-tailed godwit, curlew, dunlin, ringed plover, turnstone, redshank, grey plover,
sanderling, great black-back gull, black-headed gull, herring gull, lapwing, shelduck, pink-footed goose,mallard, moorhen, pied wagtail, wren, crow, magpie

Six of us met in the car park on a grey dismal day. We already had 8 species from the car park looking out over the main flash, including a pair of goldeneye. We walked to the first hide looking over one end of the flash and the spit. Here there were about 40 lapwing at the end of the spit with a single oystercatcher and a couple of teal hunkered down in the grass. Cormorants hung out on the posts and 3 herons stood solemnly at the edge of the water. Further out on the flash we spotted pochard, and great-crested grebe including a couple of juveniles, then a couple of little grebe popped up. A couple of pairs of goosander surfaced near the spit, the males looking particularly clean and dapper.

We carried on to the next hide – a great white egret immediately stood out at the back of one of the smaller flashes. There were also a number of gadwall and shoveler. As we progressed around it started to drizzle. We walked through an open area surrounded by trees – birds were flitting about, but it was difficult to see as the light wasn't great. A small flock of long tailed tits worked their way along the tree line and we caught glimpses of medium sized birds, which we eventually got a clearer view of and identified as redwing. We also got a brief view of great spotted woodpecker. Some of the group walked up to the canal and saw a kestrel.

We continued round and the rain was heavier for a time. There was fungi in various places including candle snuff, jelly ear and turkeytail. We visited the other hides – the water was quite high, so there weren’t any waders, and the birds were similar to previously, with plenty of teal and gadwall. The hide with the feeders only had fairly common birds to view. The last hide didn’t bring us anything new but we enjoyed looking out at the colours, with the dogwood showing off nicely.

Species 33: tufted duck, mute swan, coot, black-headed gull, goldeneye, Canada goose, moorhen,
cormorant, herring gull, grey heron, lapwing, oystercatcher, teal, wood pigeon, magpie, crow, goosander, pochard, mallard, great crested grebe, little grebe, great white egret, shoveler, gadwall, redwing, long-tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker, blue tit, chaffinch, kestrel, dunnock, great tit, robin

A really enjoyable outing was had by those that joined us at Hesketh Out Marsh, with a focus on looking for waders for the World Wader Watch we were taking part in.

We had barely left the car park before 'scopes were aimed at the fields South of the marsh. Many Whooper Swans were probing the soft mud for tasty treats, most likely left over crops such as potatoes or grain. Trying our best to study the beaks, we unfortunately couldn't turn any of the Whoopers into their now much rarer relatives the Bewick swan. Bewicks are seemingly not making the same migratory journey as often as they once did, mostly due to climate change. This means that milder winters in more northerly countries now provide a suitable wintering ground for them.

Once we'd had our swan fix satisfied, we began to notice our first waders of the day scattered amongst the swans in the same field. Lapwings, Golden Plover, Snipe and a couple of Curlew were fantastic to see, the Plover in particular very active with their "run-stop-peck" feeding technique.

As we headed further up the path, skeins of Pink-footed Geese noisily honked above us, most likely making their way to Martin Mere. The hedges surrounding us were full of the usual Robins, Blackbirds, Greenfinch and Dunnocks; but it was a group of Tree Sparrows that we enjoyed the most, their chestnut brown caps showing clearly in the early morning Autumnal sun.

Finally reaching the main viewing point at Hesketh Out Marsh, we instantly noticed the difference in the breeze now we were on higher ground, thankful for our warmer layers. Out on the pool below us we were greeted by several ducks, their "whistling" call revealing them to be Wigeon. A few Redshank probed the edges of the pool and three Black-tailed Godwits were observed preening at the back. A distant Great White Egret was seen, still a nice bird to see despite them becoming a more regular sighting in Lancashire.

It was at this point that the star bird of the day made it's appearance. Drifting gracefully, low over the marsh was a ringtail Hen Harrier. A beauty of a bird that's always very special to see. 'Our' ringtail was being mobbed by a couple of crows, so didn't stay for too long, but we all thoroughly enjoyed some great views of the Harrier as it glided out across the Marsh.

Moving slightly on to view the next pool, we added more birds such as a distant Avocet, a Buzzard and a very obliging Merlin that too help with it identification, flew to a much closer post for us all to see!

Before leaving, we decided to head back to the car park, and check out the pools to the East. New birds were added such a Little Grebe, Goosander, Pied Wagtail and Grey Plover. Just as we were thinking of heading back, the unmistakable flash of blue from a Kingfisher whizzed by us all, our 48th species of a very enjoyable morning.

Seven set out for a walk along country lanes round Catforth, under grey skies. We enjoyed a nice sighting of a kestrel early on. A flock of thrush-like birds flew over – there was conjecture they could have been redwing, but we didn’t get a good enough look at them, before they went out of sight. A small skein of 7 pink-footed geese also flew over. Unfortunately the rain which had been forecast, came in earlier than expected, which rather put a dampener on things, and the birds were few and far between. We did get a nice mixed flock of finches – chaffinch, goldfinch and greenfinch. There was also quite a variety of fungi in the verges and under the trees. We also spotted a hare lying down quite still in the grass. As the rain wasn’t letting up, we cut short the last bit of the walk, and returned early back to the village hall.

Species: Great tit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Pink-footed Goose, Kestrel, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Goldfinch,
Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Magpie, Common gull, Lesser Black-back, Collared Dove,
Long-tailed Tit, Woodpigeon, Crow, Coal Tit, Starling
​Hare

6 members started out on a walk from the car park at Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve, Merseyside at 10.30 am. Weather was fairly mild for the time of year, but quite overcast and cloudy. Paths were very good and dry, with plenty of viewing platforms and a hide which, sadly needed to be accessed by a coded padlock, due to vandalism. 
 
We walked around the perimeter of the reserve, observing hundreds of lapwing and black headed gulls. The many pools of the reserve were full of various ducks and geese, including teal, gadwall, shoveller, mallard, tufted duck and pink foot geese – along with moor hens, coots, grey herons and a single mute swan and her two large cygnets. 
 
Half way round we sat on the side of the River Alt for lunch and enjoyed the views over the fields and watched various flocks of geese fly over, a busy, hunting kestrel and a buzzard in a nearby field. 
 
There were large areas of teasels, which attracted charms of goldfinch, which gave us some superb sightings, along with great views of reed buntings amongst the reed beds.  We observed, what initially we thought was a large number of starlings, but after debate amongst the group, the scope we used to home in, revealed them to actually be a large flock of twite. The scope was also very useful when zooming into a large mixed flock, where a golden plover was identified. 
 
As we made our way round the reserve we were constantly teased by the sound of the illusive cetti’s warbler, as well as the calls of the water rail. 
 
We were back at the cars at 15,30, having enjoyed an eventful, peaceful Autumnal walk with 38 species of birds. 
 
 A full list of all the bird species seen on the walk can be found below: 
 
Lapwing 
Black Headed Gull 
Herring Gull 
Teal 
Mallard 
Gadwall 
Shoveller 
Tufted Duck 
Moor Hen 
Coot 
Grey Heron 
Mute Swan 
Cormorant 
Pink Foot Geese 
Water Rail (h) 
Red Shank 
Golden Plover 
Oystercatcher 
Little Egret 
Carrion Crow 
Jackdaw 
Magpie 
Wren 
Robin 
Goldfinch 
Long Tailed Tit 
Meadow Pipit 
Blackbird 
Starling 
Twite 
Skylark 
Stonechat 
Cetti’s Warbler (h) 
Reed Bunting 
Woodpigeon 
Kestral 
Buzzard 
Pheasant 
 
 ​

An enjoyable first walk of the season started at Osbaldeston, taking us through woodlands and fields to the River Ribble. We were rewarded with a good number of species seen, the highlight being the dazzling blue of the Kingfisher that perched for us on the Ribble, allowing for some great views.
A full list of the species seen can be found below:

Mute Swan 
Canada Goose 
Mallard 
Goosander
Pheasant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Common Buzzard
Moorhen 
Swallow 
Black Headed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove 
Kingfisher 
Great Spotted Woodpecker 
Carrion Crow 
Magpie 
Jackdaw
Rook 
Goldcrest 
Blue Tit 
Great Tit 
Coal Tit 
Chiff Chaff 
Nuthatch 
Wren 
Robin 
Blackbird 
Dunnock 
Pied Wagtail 
Grey Wagtail 
Chaffinch

On Friday evening September 12th a group of 15 people led by Charlie Liggett from Merseyside and West Lancashire Bat Society enjoyed a Bat walk in Hurst Grange Park Penwortham. We were lucky to have a rain free mild evening and were rewarded with sightings of Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle and Noctule bats. Our detectors also picked up Daubenton's as we walked close by one of the small ponds in the park. 

Charlie patiently answered all our questions and enhanced our enjoyment of the evening by sharing his extensive knowledge of the life cycle and habits of bats and gave us a good introduction to the bats we are likely to encounter in our region. 

Our grateful thanks to Charlie for sharing his expertise with us and thanks to those who participated and supported this event. A £30 donation will be forwarded to the Bat Society to support their bat conservation work. 
Clare Matthews

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