BIRDING WITH YOUR GROUP LEADER 

 Hello everyone,                           

Recently The RSPB has been able to make some large land purchases in the North West.  Firstly, the Hesketh Out Marsh reserve, past Southport, which is returning farmland to what it used to be salt marsh.  Secondly, the farm below Inner Marsh Farm at Neston and a large area of the salt marsh has been sold to the society.  Third and finally the Burton Fish farm has been offered to The RSPB.  These last two will see a huge difference to access of the Inner Marsh Farm reserve, with a bigger car parking area and facilities.  I’m sure your happy to hear the news……..What’s that I hear you say ‘But when is something happening in Liverpool !’ well we will keep asking The RSPB that.

Recently I gave out some long service awards to the group volunteers.  The total years volunteering added up to 156yrs that quite impressive for just 9 people!!                                        

  Enjoy your birding  

   Chris

Hooton on the Wirral in September always offers quality birdwatching.  The leader of this walk John Clegg enjoys this local venue.  Sightings of a single Buzzard but later a group of 4 soaring high in the thermals shows how good the weather was.  House martins and Swallows were still catching insects.  A Jay was very busy burying acorns from a nearby oak tree.  

Dave Hardy led the October outing around the Weaver Valley and the Frodsham sludge beds.  Large numbers of finch’s and thrush’s were seen.  Passage waders to over wintering waders use this excellent site and something of interest can always be found.  

The Mockbeggar Trail from Moreton to Moels is another excellent walk around a local site.  Despite very strong winds the group managed to see 36 different species from Lapwing to Stonechat.  The main enjoyment of the day wasn’t a bird but a Stoat scurrying across a road just in front of the group.

Marbury Country Park at anytime of year offers lots of different species and habitats.  The November walk started off with huge numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares feeding in the ground and off berries.   I have led many walks around Marbury Country Park and always managed to find Great spotted Woodpecker, we have also heard Green Woodpecker but I have always failed miserably to show the group Lesser spotted Woodpecker.  You should have heard the joy in my voice when I said there is the lesser.  We watched a bird for 10 minutes moving from tree to tree.  Lesser spotted are the smallest of our woodpeckers about the size of a house sparrow.

That leaves us with our last walk of the year and of course it was to Marshside reserve.  We walked around the sand plant seeing reed buntings, skylarks, robins, and on the shore lots of ducks.  We made it in to the Sandgrounders hide to see more ducks, from Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard but no green winged Teal the U.S version of our teal.  It was blowing a gale on the Sefton coast but we needed a good bird to finish off the year.  So we drove back to Ainsdale and I managed to find the 4 Snow Buntings that were feeding on seed in the strandline.

September 15^th           We start the new season with Southport wildlife photographer Mike McKavett.  Mike will be taking us on a journey ‘From Mitilini to Antalya ’ through the Balkans and further in search of the special birds.  His photographs have been front covers on many of the best bird magazines.  I just wish I could take a few as good!

October 20^th                Please extend a warm welcome to our new speaker Geoff Simpson.  Geoff won international wildbird photographer of the year 2005 from a picture he took near his home in the Peak district.  His talk will be on Vision World, it’s an intriguing title!

November 17              It’s a change of month but we extend a very warm welcome to one of our most regular and hugely popular speakers, Gordon Yates.  Tonight’s films will illustrate to us ‘Bird Habitat of the Pennines and Scotland ’.  As usual it is a one off night to thoroughly enjoy, come early to claim your seat.

December 1^st              For the last talk of the year we welcome one of our own members.  Anne Rothwell will be showing us lots of her wonderful pictures of ‘My Wildlife Garden ’.  Anne has won lots of awards for her pictures, what a wonderful Christmas treat.