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BIRDING
WITH YOUR GROUP LEADER
 Hello
everyone,
Local RSPB groups were formed to help members
and like minded people learn and understand more about
birds and the environment that they live in.
Local groups also promote the work of the RSPB
in its many changing ways.
As the RSPB has changed, we the local group
constantly try to change and adapt giving you, our
members every opportunity to enjoy birds.
As we start the New Year we have decided to try
something new this year by doing some small, short,
local walks, looking at specific habitat species.
I hope you will enjoy them.
Just to let you know a recent review by RSPB
thought the groups website was excellent and the new
idea of the groups blog shows how quick we can adapt
to new media. Check
out the blog on www.liverpoolrspb.blogspot.com
it’s a humorous look at birding and lets you now
more about what’s going on.
Enjoy your birding.
Chris
 Big
Garden Bird Watch 26 - 27 January 08.
Highlights of Field Trips
January To April 2007
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We
started another year with a trip to the
excellent Marton Mere.
It’s surprising how many good birds
turn up at this site.
We all gathered in to the first hide and
started working our way through the ducks, when
I noticed a woodcock exploding out of the scrub.
Some of us got on to it but not all.
We soon started adding up the species and
noticing the new hides.
The feeding hide is very big and offers a
good selection of birds.
While some enjoyed their lunch in the
feeding station I slipped off to find the long
eared owls that roost in the scrub.
I picked up the rest of the group and we
managed to watch 4 of these wonderful owls at 20
feet away from the path and us!!
What a way to finish the day |
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Carr Mill in February can be very mixed and so
it turned out this year.
Winter thrushes and stonechats were an
excellent find as was the flock of 8 tree sparrows and
a low flying buzzard.
A short, gentle walk through
Childwall Woods looking at woodland birds was the idea
behind the midweek walk.
There were large numbers of grey squirrels and
woodpigeons but the close up views of goldcrest and
treecreeper stole the day.
I know that we always have a trip down the
North Wales
coast once a year, but it is always good for birds and
lots of them, except when all it does is pour down!
Well the usual seawatching at the prom was done
in the car, so that wasn’t very successful and
didn’t last very long, 5minutes to be precise.
So we drove off to RSPB Conwy to look at the
new changes. Well
what a surprise and money well spent.
A brand new visitors centre with a large shop,
school class room, and lots more.
The old visitors centre is now a coffee shop
and it has leather couches, this really is the way to
birdwatch!! No
water rail but reed buntings, greenfinch and goldfinch
feeding in front of us.
Dry and bright was the weather
forecast for our next outing to
Eastham
Country
Park
, and the 17 that turned up were very happy for it.
At one stage during the walk 3 sparrowhawks
were seen together displaying.
Lots of good woodland birds were seen plus a
few waders.
Following on from the Childwall
Woods walk in February we had another local walk
around
Calderstones
Park
. A slow
start but really good views of great spotted
woodpecker made this 2 hour walk worth while.
The Grand National is an annual April horse
race so how did we manage to plan a walk on the same
day. Well
not everyone likes to watch it.
The group had a rewarding visit to Lydiate, a
local area of varied habitat close to
Liverpool
. Soon
after we started we sited a popular summer visitor,
the house martin, and en route had excellent sightings
of yellowhammer, reed bunting, and willow warbler.
OUTDOOR
MEETING PROFILES FROM MAY TO AUGUST 2007
A May field trip is always a good day for catching up
with returning and breeding birds.
The outing to Billinge Hill, the highest point
on Merseyside was very rewarding.
The surrounding area of Billinge provided us
with an excellent day out.
Wonderful views of yellowhammer, skylark, great
spotted woodpecker and it was nice to see swallow,
house martin, and swift back.
The Loggerheads
afternoon walk in June is a bit of a different day
out. Firstly
the place is full of people having a day out and more
importantly all the birds have been disturbed.
So when you plan this walk you have to go off
the beaten track and that means a steep walk!!
The great thing about this is as you climb the
hill you get great views of buzzards circling in the
thermals!! The
evening meal in the Loggerheads pub is normally really
good except when the leader ends up with a frozen
fish!! 
We
left the pub and headed to where the nightjars hold
territory. Lots
of birds song from blackbirds, song thrush, linnets,
redpoll, robin, tawny owl and then as it got dark
nightjar!
Dyserth sounds
along way away but it was worth the trip as John Clegg
and those who travelled got to watch dippers returning
with food to feed their young.
Ravens, whitethroats, blackcaps,
chiffchaffs were all part of the morning walk, in the
afternoon the highlight was a fulmar.
The walk in July
had to be changed due to problems so the group went to
Gathurst. The
variety of habitats meant that birds and butterflies
were the main sightings.
The thing that everyone remembers from the walk
was watching the sand martin’s utilising an old
drainage pipe in the retaining wall of the canal as a
nest site.
Howard’s August
outing to the
North
Sefton
Coast
at Ainsdale shows that you can escape everyone on the
beach and still enjoy the wildlife.
It is always annoying that when you go out for
a walk without your camera birds will show very close
and sit as if ready for their photograph.
Both a kestrel and stonechat sat so still that
you couldn’t fail but to get stunning pictures but
then you never have a camera with you when you want
one.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES SEEN SO
FAR
90
Thanks to all the
field trip leaders for their time and energy in
finding new sites and searching for good birds.
Regd
charity no 207076
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