Friday 13th Lucky for some !!

Weather: Cool, overcast. Wind - Light and variable

A  round of the paddocks proved to be fairly quiet on a cold grey late April afternoon. A few new migrants had made landfall including our first Flava Wagtails (2) of the spring on the sea defence whilst 3 Willow Warbler and over 20 Chiffchaff could be found in the coastal bushes. 2 male Blackcap were along Park Lane. 

A small movement of Hirundines included 6 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow and 2 House Martins. The coldness and greyness of the day was lifted just after 15.00hrs when an Osprey drifted overhead and moved off East / Northeast .

AMC

Osprey (AMC)

Osprey (AMC)

Weather, Overcast ,Wind SSW 10mph,

Spring has finally sprung! After the atrocious weather of yesterday that brought Heavy snow and Rain to the Lighthouse today was a much more temperate day ,

Male Ring Ouzel,  Steve Williams

A Promising Start to the  morning with 3 Swallow passing over the Lingham Lane fisheries at 8am the 4th swallow flew over the Nature trail later in the morning, 

Short Eared Owl, Steve Williams 

Chiffchaff numbers were easily in double figures with birds singing in the garden near the lighthouse, the nature trail and lingham lane throughout the day, 

Willow Warbler,  GAC,

It was easily the best day of spring so far for Wheatear 

With 16 plus birds being seen mostly in the horse paddocks, with 6 being seen on the western groyne,

Bird of the day was a stunning male Ring Ouzel which turned up at 15-45 near the western Kissing gate and stayed until well after 18-00 hours in the horse paddocks Definitely a lighthouse gem ,

The first Willow Warbler of spring appeared on the farm track just off Park Lane and another was singing near to the pond, 

With the recent heavy rain the field nearest to the river  birket   have flooded making it a Paradise for many birds including 2 Wigeon , 4 Teal, Grey Heron , Little Egret, and a Little Grebe that was also seen yesterday on the river itself, birds passing over the flooded field included, 65 Pink footed geese, 24 Black Tailed Godwit, 5 Sand Martin and 18 Woodpigeon  ,

Weather, Cold Cloudy wind South east 40mph, 

Springtime is here even though the last few days the weather has felt more like like winter ,
For most birders Spring is the best time of the year with expectations of what birds might appear,
The first few days are quite frustrating with reports of spring migrants popping up in other parts of the country wetting our appetites,
The Lighthouses first spring migrant of the year was a Northern Wheatear on 9th of March found by Ken Davies its the Earliest date for the last ten years,

Northern Wheatear, Dave Haigh

Weather, Cold heavy Wintry showers Wind,  North westerly23mph

An inclement start to the new year With Storm Fionn the latest patch of bad weather to batter the  North Wirral coast over night, 
Kerr's field affectionately known this time of year as Kerr's Flash because of it being heavily waterlogged is perfect for waders Gulls and waterfowl, 

2 Male Shoveler GAC 

The Highlight of today's watch were two male Shoveler duck in the flooded ditch that runs along side Kerr's field Shovelers are quite uncommon on North Wirral sites definetley a welcome addition at the lighthouse, 
Other birds in Kerr's field were Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Mallard, Pied Wagtail Stonechat in the bushes along side the common, 

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

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 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'.