Friday, 24 November 2017

Weather , Cold Sunshine and showers, Wind, W 15mph

For the few Birders that braved the sharp cold showers and icy winds they were rewarded with views of a very confiding Snow Bunting at Leasowe Bay just 500 yards east of Leasowe Castle hotel, 
Snow Bunting GAC

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Weather: Cold blustery showers AM , dry brighter conditions PM , Wind WSW 10mph.

A day of two halves weather wise at the Lighthouse today with this morning being very blustery Far from comfortable conditions for the hardy regulars, this mornings sightings were, 1 Redwing, 2 Black Tailed Godwit, in Kerr's field , and the resident Little Owl was at Lingham Lane bridge, with no sign of any crests ( Gold or Fire) or chiffchaff ( Collybita or Tristis ) on the Nature trail. 
Observers DH, KD,

This Afternoon was more pleasant with visiting Cheshire birder Phil Oddy faring better , this afternoons sightings included , 1 Adult Mediterranean Gull in Kerr's field , 1 Siberian Chiffchaff probably the same bird that has been seen on and off for the last six days on the nature trail,  2 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Water Rail on the duck pond, 

Many thanks for the sightings Phil, 

Any Lighthouse area sightings to
Grahamconnolly66@googlemail.com 

Wednesday, 8 November 2017

Wednesday 8th November 2017

Stonechat.      Allan Conlin
Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) along Scat alley.      Eddie Williams
Weather; Sunny spells. Wind W F2
Chiffchaff (rather pale collybita race bird. Compare with the tristis)   Eddie Williams

The increasingly flooded Kerr's field continues to attract good numbers of waders, especially over the high tide period. 110 Lapwings, 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 40 Curlew and 9 Snipe were logged here today. 2 Stonechats are also in this area with another in
Goldrest, one of 15 logged today.   Allan Conlin
Meols Common. These birds will likely remain for the winter.
Visible overhead migration was quieter today although the first Snow Bunting of the winter flew in from the north over the sea embankment and continued south without pause. A Raven, 10 Skylarks, a Redwing, 15 Chaffinches and 2 Siskins were also counted, mainly headed east.
There was an arrival of around 10 Chiffchaffs and 15 Goldcrests, mainly in the duck pond and nature trail areas. Considering the wind direction and how late we are in the autumn migration season these were good totals. A very probable Firecrest was also glimpsed near the duck pond, possibly Monday's bird. 
The Siberian Chiffchaff was present all day. It is usually to be found along the muddy path running to the south of the duckpond to the eastern kissing gate known as 'LEO Lane'.




Monday, 6 November 2017

Siberian Chiffchaff

Weather: Light winds, sunny. some high cloud.

A crisp and cold but clear late autumn day had observers excited at the prospect of a good days birding. Overhead vis mig was unsurprisingly at this time of year made up principally of finches. 54 Goldfinch, 27 Greenfinch, 5 Bullfinch, 18 Siskin and 3 Brambling moved through during the course of the morning.
The Siberian (Tristis) Chiffchaff that has been elusive for a couple of days finally showed well today allowing for a couple of pictures. A particularly well marked individual sporting a faint wing bar and green edges to the primaries. Two 'normal' Colybita Chiffchaffs are also present in the same area
A Firecrest was found mid morning but could not be re located later in the day.
The usual Tit flocks could be found around the coastal sallows whilst a solitary Jay was in Lingham lane.
Kerr's field continues to play host to a range of gulls, ducks and waders including 110 Lapwing and 27 Black tailed Godwit.
Tristis Chiffchaff (Eddie Wiliams)

Tistis Chiffchaff (Allan Conlin(












Friday, 3 November 2017

Weather: Cold cloudy Occasional showers, Wind: SSW 9mph 

A feeling of deja vu  when the news spread that a Siberian Chiffchaff ( phylloscopus tristis) had been seen on the nature trail, This time last week birders from near and far were trying to obtain fleeting glimpses of a Yellow Browed Warbler today was a chilly grey November afternoon  totally different from last Fridays Warm sunny weather, 

As predicted by one of the Lighthouse regulars and mentioned in Sundays blog a Siberian Chiffchaff was seen between 1-30pm and 3-30pm the fourth consecutive year that we've had one in the nature trail area
Like with the yellow Browed Warbler, Goldcrest's and tits Herald their arrival and patience is needed as well as a keen eye and ear with Tristis call a flat PEEP compared to the Collybita HWEET call 
hopefully the Sibe Chiff will remain in the area for a few days some over winter in the UK . 

Other Birds in the Area: 

Fly overs: 25 Black Tailed Godwit, 30 Chaffinch, 15 Meadow Pipit, 1 Snipe, 2 Siskin, 1 Redpoll,

Grounded: 8 Black Tailed Godwit in kerrs field , 1 Blackcap, 1 Siberian Chiffchaff, 2 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 20 Song Thrush, 

Observers: DH, SD, GAC, 

Any sightings for the lighthouse Area to 
Grahamconnolly66@googlemail.com 

Sunday, 29 October 2017

Weather: Mild, Sunny intervals, Wind: NNE 8mph,


 Mega Melodious 

The Lighthouse of Legend strikes again! After the past few days of every bush and tree being scrutinized for Yellow Browed warblers the expectation  that something special would  turn up was at its peak, was it a surprise yes and no!
Melodious Warbler  Jeremy Bradshaw
This morning a Hippolias Warbler was briefly spotted on Lingham Lane by Jeremy Bradshaw but soon disappeared it was either an Icterine or the rarer Melodious Warbler, 

Melodious Warbler, Mark Turner.

Friday, 27 October 2017

Weather: Warm Sunny, Wind: NNE 5mph 

Better late than never was the saying today at the Lighthouse , with the first Yellow browed Warbler of Autumn which more than likely arrived over night with the good numbers of Goldcrest 35 being counted today, 
Word spread mid morning and a number of birders waited patiently some for an hour or more for some the briefest of glimpses , for passers by must of looked like strange looking statues staring into the trees but all worth it,
Yellow Browed Warbler, Eddie Williams 

Thursday, 26 October 2017

Weather: Mainly cloudy , Wind: WNW 3mph.

A pleasant October day a good day for a VIS-MIG A term used by birders for Visible migration October is the time when many species make the journey from the continent and other places such as Iceland to our shores for the winter
Some species such as Redwings even migrate at night if you live in a quiet area you can hear their seep seep call in the darkness as they pass over.

Today's day flying birds included , 
39 Lapwing, 20 Skylark, 40 Chaffinch, 2 Brambling, 35 Meadow pipit, 15 Reed Bunting, 11 Siskin, 30 Blackbird, 14 Song Thrush, 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Fieldfare, 4 Redwing, 1 Redpoll,
Grounded birds in the area, 7 Blackcap 1 Chiffchaff and 4 Goldcrest

Observers DH, EW.



Monday, 23 October 2017

Weather : sunshine and showers , wind SSW 10mph 

After yesterday's battering from storm Brian today was a warm and pleasant autumnal day apart from the odd shower, 
Mediterranean Gull, Eddie Williams 


Yesterdays counts of 8+ Leach's Petrel and 1 Velvet Scoter couldn't be replicated However there were 60c Great Crested Grebe and 300+ Common Scoter further out towards the turbines

Sunday, 24 September 2017

Weather, cloudy, cool , wind SSW 6mph, showers later.

A quite chilly morning for the time of year at the lighthouse with all the usual birds that you would expect for autumn 

The big surprise of the day and the 2nd record  for the Lighthouse area was a Cetti's Warbler its burst of song was heard near the pond at Lunchtime found by Jeremy Bradshaw , following on from a bird Stan Skelton found a few years previous, a very welcome visitor and hopefully a long stayer with the pond area being an ideal habitat, 
Meadow Pipit, GC

Monday, 18 September 2017

Calidris Corker 


Weather, warm mainly cloudy, wind SSE 3mph,

A mid morning Outing slightly off the normal patch to West Kirby in search of a Grey Phalarope that has been seen on the marine lake in recent days  and any other birds blown off course by the recent gales proved to be quite fruitless with very calm conditions for the high tide not being ideal, 


An unfortunate Common Gull GC
Further along West Kirby marsh A Grey Plover stood out in fading summer plumage , A handful of soon to be gone Sandwich Tern  were gathering in amongst Common , Black Headed, Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 3 Little Egret , 2 Bar Tailed Godwit, a scattering of Dunlin and a very impressive 5-6000 Oystercatchers made up the high tide gathering
Little Stint , GC

Wednesday, 13 September 2017

Aileen assisted

Weather , strong north westerly winds 35mph frequent heavy showers

The first of the strong storms of the season arrived overnight with Wirral and Merseyside taking the brunt of Aileen
Rarities didn't materialize but County scarcities took the limelight in quite Spectacular fashion .
Leach's Storm Petrel ,  AMC 
 Birders turned up from near and as far away as Yorkshire and the North East at New Brighton and other sites along the North Wirral coast .


An estimated 53 Leach's Storm Petrel passed by New Brighton's Fort Perch rock numbers only an estimate with multiple observers and birds circulating  around the Area making accurate numbering difficult,
Grey Phalarope Elliot Monteith

Monday, 4 September 2017

Waders Galore!

Weather: west 3, cloudy & warm

A slowish start began with a small but obvious arrival of Wheatear. A total of 12 were recorded by the end of day. Two birds were brought down onto the beach at Hoylake by a light mid afternoon shower whilst the rest were to be found around the Dunes west of the Lighthouse. Other passerines included a Chiffchaff, Blackcap and a single Garden Warbler were seen around Lingham Lane. 

Waders were very much the theme of the afternoon. At least 20 Little Egret were recorded feeding in the tidal channels below the sea defence at Greenshank groyne were up to five Greenshank were also recorded.  Three Knot were seen roosting amongst the small boats along with 200 Redshank and 500 Oystercatcher. Bird of the day however must go to a Juv Little Ringed Plover feeding in the sea weed at the bottom of the sea defence. This is in fact the second LRP at the Lighthouse this year, the firts being found by Ken Davies in the spring. Whist scarce whatever the season there has perhaps been only two other Lighthouse LRPs in autum and this is the first juvenile I am aware of.

Other highlights included an adult Med Gull found by Stan Davidson and a couple of cracking Emperor and Migrant Hawker Dragonflys.
 
Juvenile Little Ringed Plover (AMC)

 

Little Ringed Plover (AMC)

Little Ringed Pover (AMC)



Greenshank (AMC)


Distant Med Gull (AMC)

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly (Stan Davidson)

Friday, 1 September 2017

Weather : SW-3, overcast

The first large fall of the Autumn included at least 18 Wheatear which arrived at Kerr's field late afternoon. Other migrants included 4 Chiffchaff. 2 Goldcrest and 2 Whitethroat were also recorded during an early evening circuit of the paddocks.

Tim Kinch

1st winter Northern Wheatear-Leasowe Lighthouse (Tim Kinch)


 

 

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

Weather : SW-3, warm and sunny

Migrants were on the move at the Lighthouse today. An early morning circuit of the coastal paddocks produced three Wheatear and a Spotted Flycatcher. By late afternoon the Spotted Flycatcher had moved on however Wheatears had increased to five. Several Warblers had arrived in the coastal hedges including 2 Chiffchaffs a single Willow Warbler and a single Whitethroat.

A good count of 24 Little Egret fed in the shallows just beyond the Lighthouse car park along with several young Grey Heron.

Other waders on the move today at the Lighthouse included 400 Dunlin, 33 Ringed Plover, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Black tailed Godwit and a single Knot.

Willow Warbler (Tim Kinch)

Wheatear (Tim Kinch)
 

Friday, 25 August 2017

Weather: Warm , mainly cloudy , wind south west 5mph,

A mid morning circuit of the Lighthouse provided  regulars with some great birds, bird of the day was an adult Hobby that had the pick of over 200 Swallows on Park lane fortunately for the Swallows the Hobby left empty handed after chashing a Swallow and narrowly missed out on a kill hopefully with the abundance of hirundine the hobby will stick around before its journey south, 

The other highlight on Park Lane was a Grey Wagtail

Over the past few days a Juvenile Black Tern has been seen off hoylake and Hilbre, Today it was joined by an adult off Meols , (As of this evening 5 Black Tern  were in the tern roost at Hilbre Island ) 
Other Terns seen off  Meols were 150 Common Tern and 40 Little Tern,

2 Mediterranean Gulls One adult on the sand near dove point and a second year bird flew over one of the observers.

Waders in the area , 1 Greenshank  in the usual haunt of the western groyne, 5 Turnstone feeding at the bottom of the embankment the adults in the group were still in fine summer plumage, and 1400 Oystercatchers off the lighthouse before high tide, 

Passerines in the area , 8 Chiffchaff  2 Blackcap and a Common Whitethroat, 
Tuesdays Yellow Wagtail. David Haigh

Sunday, 20 August 2017

Weather , mainly cloudy sunny intervals showers later , wind SW force 2.

With summer slowly fading into autumn a trickle of migrants are passing through at the Lighthouse on their way back to the winter haunts , the predicted strong winds from the Atlantic hurricane failed to materialise With Saturday being the better of the two days for a sea watch
                                                                                             Wheatear by Tim Kinch

Friday, 28 July 2017

Weather, Heavy rain, wind SSE 15mph,

Thanks to the intrepid Lighthouse regular that braved the atrocious weather conditions at high tide at Hoylake today , 

80 Grey Plover, 11 Turnstone , 1000+ Dunlin as well as Sanderling and 2 Manx Shearwater that were quite far out 

Observer : Tim Kinch 

Thursday, 27 July 2017

26/07/2017, Weather, frequent heavy showers 

After a quiet few weeks at the Lighthouse a return of waders and sea birds have made sea watching a must, Dunlin numbers are starting to build and there is a few individuals that cause  you to have more than a second look with some being very rufous and others quite pale Curlew sandpipers not being too far away and the possibility of white rumped sandpiper and rare peeps make Dunlin flocks  very interesting.

Mediterranean Gull  GC 

Other waders included Curlew, Oystercatcher and Redshank  in there hundreds, Sanderling running the edge of the tide line at Hoylake , 10 Whimbrel flew over the western groyne earlier in the week , 2 Bar Tailed Godwit 1 at Hoylake was a very pale bird and 2 Common Sandpiper on the western groyne, 
Dunlin. GC

Thursday, 22 June 2017

Weather, rain am dry and cloudy pm. wind west north west 10mph,

June has been quite a quiet month at the Lighthouse with most of the excitement centered on other parts of the country with Needle tailed Swift's and Elegant Terns being the pick of the bunch , 
Seasoned Lighthouse regulars have kept their eyes to the skies and tree tops with few rewards 


Today was the exception despite the poor weather this morning a stunning adult Mediterranean Gull was spotted just off the seafront near the lifeboat station at Hoylake this was the same bird spotted at Hilbre Island at lunchtime 
Young Swallows  GC

Saturday, 3 June 2017

Weather.  Hot sunny.  Wind 0 mph 

A typical sunny June morning at the lighthouse with migration largely over attention is focused on the breeding season .
Chiffchaff GC

When the first Lesser Whitethroats arrived On the 29th of April on Lingham Lane  lighthouse regulars speculated whether or not they would breed, For the past month the Lesser Whitethroat have been quiet and apart from brief sightings and could easily be overlooked if not aware of their presence,

This morning an observer watched for over 20 minutes a pair come and go from a hedgerow with food , hopefully in the next week or so we will be rewarded with views of some fledglings

Reed Warbler. GC 

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Tuesday 23rd May 2017

Weather; Sunny and warm. Wind W to NW F2.


Some news for yesterday evening was of a male Blue-headed Wagtail in the paddocks at Leasowe along with two Wheatears and a Whinchat. (Stan Davidson et al) Unfortunately it could not be located today.

Today's highlight was a single Roseate Tern seen flying west at close range along with some Common Terns over the morning's high tide (Dave Haigh et al) 2 Gannets and 3 Common Scoter were also noted.
Some  late migrants are continuing to arrive in the lighthouse area. 6 Wheatears were present today along with a single Whinchat in the paddocks and inland fields. Most of the Wheatears appear to be the large, upright, Greenland race birds. 
Large 'Greenland type'  Wheatear in the paddocks.         EW
Other new arrivals included two Willow Warblers in coastal bushes along the sea embankment and a Lesser Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler along the nature trail. There is a very confusing and talented Blackcap singing at the top of Lingham Lane near the car park which can imitate the songs of many species including Reed, Sedge and Garden Warblers, Swallow and Starling.
Blue-headed Wagtail in the paddocks.    Stan Davidson
 
 



Monday, 15 May 2017

Sunday , weather. Mainly cloudy sunny intervals wind westerly 15mph,

A very quiet day compared to the last few days ,  birds spotted AM: 4 Wheatear 1  Whinchat 1 Yellow Wagtail Flying over,  birds PM: 1 Yellow wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 5  Wheatear all in the coastal paddocks except 1 Wheatear on The groyne at Dove point, 2 Common Tern off shore, The Hooded crow was seen flying between Dove point and the fields by Lingham Lane and later in the day the Gun site,

Monday, Weather Heavy showers AM and PM, Wind,  South south west 12mph,

A very quiet day due mainly to the very poor rainy conditions, birds spotted AM and PM 2 Wheatear Yellow Wagtail, All in the Coastal paddocks, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker searching for grubs on a post at Kerrs field
Yellow Wagtail (Stan Davidson)  

Saturday, 13 May 2017

Weather. Early showers, sunny later, Wind westerly 13mph


Spotted Flycatcher ( Tony Edwards)

Friday, 12 May 2017

Weather, Cloudy dry AM heavy showers PM, Wind east south east 15mph , 

Spotted Flycatcher (Tony Edwards) 
The long awaited return of the Spotted Flycatcher had been on every Wirral birders lips the last few days, today turned out to be the day with sightings from Hilbre island and Red Rocks and individual reports of 16 birds being seen in the lighthouse area , with birds being seen at Lingham lane, the nature trail, The paddocks and park lane numbers could easily have been in the 20s , 
Hooded Crow GC 

Thursday, 11 May 2017

Weather, hot sunny . Wind east southeast.11mph,

A brief update from today, another glorious day weather wise, The main activity being from the horse paddocks with 1 Whinchat  1 female Redstart and 2 Yellow Wagtail 
Yellow Wagtail (Tony Edwards)



Many thanks to Tony Edwards and Stan Davidson for the sightings , Any sightings and photographs from the lighthouse area please send via email to  

Grahamconnolly66@googlemail.com 


Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Weather. Hot sunny, wind, north westerly 5mph

A typically hot May morning at the lighthouse, conditions were almost perfect apart from the heat haze that made viewing any distant birds quite difficult,The sea was as still as a mill pond the only notable birds being 3 Sandwich Tern  which were heard before they were seen with their harsh "kierr-k" call, At Dove point 30 + Dunlin  along with 3 Ringed plover spent high tide on the western groyne, 
Little Owl, GC

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

Tuesday 9th May 2017

Cloud early, sunny later. Wind variable E to NW. F2



There was a noticeable passage of hirundines eastwards along the embankment today with many then heading out north-east over Liverpool bay towards the Sefton coast. Around 50 Swallows, 40 House Martins and 28 Sand Martins were involved. Only a single Swift was noted, however.
Grounded migrants included 5 Wheatears and a Whinchat in the paddocks and inland fields. A male Redstart was in Park Lane this morning but had apparently moved on by lunchtime. A Garden Warbler was along the nature trail and two Lesser Whitethroats were on Lingham Lane.
The northward Willow Warbler passage is now past it's peak with only 4 birds being logged today. There was a small arrival of Sedge Warblers, however, with around 6 birds being noted away from regular breeding territories, mainly in the Lingham Lane and Park Lane areas.

Lesser  Whitethroat (Tony Edwards)

Monday, 8 May 2017

Sunday 7th May, weather, sunny, wind north westerly force1 

Perfect weather greeted us at the lighthouse with almost still wind  conditions meant every bird sound and movement in the trees could be Monitored. 

Swift passage had slowed down compared to the great numbers (300+) yesterday with ones and twos passing through during the morning, 


At Lingham bridge a Sedge warbler 1 of 3 in the area was perched on top of the hedgerow an unusual sighting at the bridge, later on in the morning a Little Owl was heard,
Lesser Whitethroat, (Tim Kinch)


Saturday, 6 May 2017

6th May

Weather: E-3, overcast

Swift passage continued in earnest today. Last evening (5th) saw an impressive movemement of 273 Swift north over a period of 2 hours. Today continued in the same way with over 300 recorded during the day. All birds headed N/NE into the headwind.  An impressive site for those present they never stopped coming through as the final obsevers left for the day.

A male Cuckoo , the first of the spring, spent the whole day singing from the paddock behind the Lighthouse. Further west a female Redstart was fond along Park Lane early morning.

A female Marsh Harrier was picked up coming in from the West. Flying over Lingham lane and continued East. The bird returned west some 2 minutes later with the local gulls on its tail. Some 10 minutes later it was picked uo again over the Lighthouse car park purposefully heading back east at height.

AMC

AMC
 

 
 

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Weather, sunny, partly cloudy , Wind north  easterly 15mph.

A quieter than expected day at the Lighthouse, with few migrants in the area mainly due down to the clear weather conditions over night causing many of yesterdays  birds  to fly through  , 

Surprise bird of the day was a  Spoonbill that flew over to the  east and unfortunately didn't stop, other birds that passed over were Yellow Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll and Siskin,,

9 Wheatear were mainly in the paddocks west of the lighthouse and in the fields south of Park lane along with a single Whinchat at the old brick pit ,

At Lingham lane towards the railway end, 2 Possibly 3 Lesser Whitethroat were seen along the hedgerows giving quite brief glimpses, their song was quite clear and not as scratchy as the common Whitethroat, 

Other birds in the area were, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, and good numbers of Swallow

Observers , DH, KD, TK, TE, AC, JJ, GC.




Stomechat (Tony Edwards)




Tuesday, 2 May 2017

2nd May

Weather: E/NE-3 sunny with cool breeze.

Overnight there had been a small arrival of migrants including. The most notable was the arrival of Garden Warbler. 2 were recorded along park Lane whilst 3 more were in hedgerows along Lingham Lane. 20 Willow Warbler and 14 Chiffchaff were also in the coastal hedgerows. 3 Lesser Whitethroat were again recorded along Lingham Lane as was a female Common Redstart. Another 2 Common Redstart played cat and mouse in the hedges bordering the paddocks. Bird of the day was a female Black Redstart. Found and photographed by Lighthouse regular Tony Edwards, the Black Redstart fed on the ground between the farm buildings along Lingham lane. Other warblers on territory inclued Reed , Sedge and Grasshopper Warbler. Along Park Lane there were 4 Whinchat and 10 Wheatear perched on the wire fence.

The cool wind kept the temperature down and produced a slight sea mist. An unexpected 1st summer Little Gull drifted in then back out again on the ebb tide. 

Waders included 2 Whimbrel and 3000 Dunlin on the foreshore. 

Black Redstart (Tony Edwards)

Garden Warbler (AMC)



 

Monday, 1 May 2017

1st May

Weather:E/NE-3-4, warm and overcast
  
Showers overnight produced a few grounded migrants around the Lighthouse this morning, the first couple of circuits producing 30+ Wheatear and 3 Whinchat. As birds continued to arrive all day the final count for Whinchat had reached 8 birds. All of yesterdays Redstarts however had appeared to have left overnight. Two male Lesser Whitethroat continue to hold territory at the inland end of Lingham Lane whilst at least 11 Common Whitethroat were recorded in the coastal scrub. 10 Sedge Warbler were new in and 5 Blackcap and 5 Reed Warbler were also recorded. A single Swift passed through early afternoon. Another Merlin (3rd of spring) was found in Park Lane.

Wader passage included 2 Whimbrel and 3000 Dunlin and 600 Sanderling.

Seawatching today was time limited however 5 Gannet and 5 Great crested Grebe were recorded over the tide whilst an evening visit on the ebb tide produced 150 Sandwich Terns and 10 'Commic' Terns from the Lighthouse Car park. Although distant their evocative calls heralding their arrival all the way from their African wintering grounds.

Sandwich Tern flock from the Lighthouse car park (AMC)



Sunday, 30 April 2017

30th April


Weather: E/SE-4, warm, overcast partially sunny.
 
An exciting start to the day saw an overnight arrival of a number of grounded migrants. The first circuit of the Lighthouse produced at least 30 Wheatear and 10 Whinchat including some stunning males. A good number of warblers were also to be found in the coastal sallows. Some 50 Willow Warbler, 20 Blackcap, 12 Chiffchaff, Reed and Sedge Warbler had arived over night. Two Yellow Wagtails dropped into the coastal paddocks briefly before heading off north. Two Redstart were along Park Lane near their usual place near Parkfield House



In Lingham Lane, a further male Redstart was located in Wood Warbler Wood where a male Lesser Whitethroat was also singing mid morning.



Offshore 14 Great crested Grebe were found off the Lighthouse car park along with a summer plumaged Red throated Diver and 10 Sandwich Tern. Despite big numbers of Black Tern in Liverpool Bay, none could be located from the Lighthouse.



A summer plumaged Great Northern Diver was offshore from Hoylake where there were also 3500 Dunlin, 1000 Sanderling, 2 Knot and a Grey Plover.



With continued easterlies we are looking forward to continued migration.


Whimbrel - with one Redshank Leg !! (Les Hall)

 
YellowWagtail (Tim Kinch)