Seaforth NR,

2 Artic terns, 2 sandwich terns and 500 common terns today.

A flyover by a Spitfire in honour of TC's birthday was great to see!! Tally ho

Port police leaving after checking permits today.

A dark billed common tern

Seaforth NR

With a clear sky last night and with the white-tailed lapwing feeding eagerly yesterday it was no surprise that it had departed after a 2 day stay . TC had already put the negative news out but there was still a couple of hardy souls viewing from the fence in the pouring rain.

A little owl was on the mound and a whitethroat sang in the pouring rain as I came down to the hide. 22 dunlin,43 bar tailed godwits, 5 knot and 2 turnstone were present and 2 sandwich terns were among the common terns. An dark billed common tern was interesting. A peregrine over also.

A visit from the port police to check out all the birders present had permits was a sign that they were determined not to allow birders without permits on to the dock complex. Permission was sought but flatly denied by the authorities.

Seaforth NR,
Another absolutely stunning bird in the shape of a WHITE-TAILED LAPWING today. Only the 6th UK record of this Asian wader. Eye popping views of it, as it showed down to 10 metres on the scrape next to hide A. It had flown off over the fence before I arrived but luckily it returned. What an excellent purple patch Seaforth is having at the moment. Long may it continue.
I managed to see the Leighton Moss bird a couple of years ago but only very distantly so this bird was a real treat.

White-tailed lapwing 'The movie'

Leasowe, Wirral, Merseyside,
A female bluethroat was playing hard to get this evening and I only managed a couple of brief views of it. It was in a ditch under a small wooden bridge near the pond. My 2nd Merseyside bluethroat after seeing the beautiful male on hilbre a few years ago.

Seaforth n.r.

A stunning female wilsons phalarope showed very well today in the morning sunshine. A black tern hunted insects over the pool and landed briefly in front of the hide. An adult little gull and 1st summer med gull also.

Richmond bank,
The 3rd cal year iceland gull was on the bank this morning. 3 Reed warblers were singing in various reed beds and a lesser whitethroat was singing nearby.

A reed warbler

House hunting blue tit,

Prescot reservoirs,
A greenshank was an excellent bird for the reservoirs today. This less than annual migrant at the res was on the causeway this morning which was in itself unusual as they are usually flyovers. 2 little ringed plovers, 2 common sandpipers, 3 oystercatcher and a few lapwings also. 100 swifts,1 sand martin,20 house martins and 20 swallows were in the air with at least 7 buzzards.
The good numbers of swifts today proved to be an enjoyable challenge to photograph.

Marshside RSPB and Plex moss,

No sign of the summer plumaged long billed dowitcher from yesterday but a little compensation when I found a wood sandpiper on pollys pool. I started at Nels hide but hardly any waders here with just a dunlin and a few redshank. The usual avocets were around sandgrouders hide and redshanks were displaying overhead quivering their wings and calling excitedly. Big flocks of waders out on the edge of the salt marsh put on a show of swirling clouds of birds. At pollys pool a small flock of dunlin held 2 curlew sandpipers. About 40 black tailed godwits were feeding here but no sign of the dowitcher. I then spotted a small dark wader in one of the channels leading off from the pool. The yellowish legs,long white supercillium and spangled mantle confirmed this as a wood sandpiper.

On the way home I checked out plex moss for dotterel but no sign of any today. 4 whimbrel, 5 wheatears and 1 whinchat showed as I made my way across the moss.

Carr mill dam

A couple of common tern were over the dam today with 20 great crested grebes . A walk in the surrounding woodland produced plenty of blackcaps,chiffchaffs and willow warblers. A yellow hammer and a couple of tree sparrows also.