UKH

Birthday outing: two peregrine, two Merlin (one in flight hunting, the other perched a good distance away in photo), two barnacle geese, thousands pink feet, thousands of golden plover with some getting their summer plumage, avocets, a little ringed plover, fieldfare, Cetti’s warbler, great white egret where some highlights. 

At one point we thought a starling murmuration was developing, then realised they were golden plover! Too many to count, but thousands. Zoomed and cropped photo, but still great. 

Happy birthday!  (Assuming it's yours, not the birds.)

Thanks. Interestingly, I’ve seen probably over ten thousand birds today, and not one will share my birthday. 

Happy birthday!! Please keep the birdie pics coming.

Happy birthday and what sounds like a great bird watching day for celebrating.

Thanks and sure thing.

It was a cold ‘un. I call it ‘The Flatlands of Lancashire’. Very flat and low lying, with parts below sea level and lots of drains, ditches and flood embankments. You often walk along these raised banks, with full exposure to the elements…and the birds. NW England has great birding, with Morecambe Bay, Ribble Estuary and Dee estuary holding amazing waders and wildfowl, rich soil (esp Southport area) which has a positive food chain effect, all this = good for raptors, and some excellent reservoirs  and flashes (mining subsidence).  Another factor is the big population, which means lots of birders which means stuff gets spotted and reported. 

Excellent.

Fife is not bad for bird watching as I’ve learnt and particularly from what you list finding; helped me a lot to keep my eyes open. Saw my first Long-tailed ducks - think I may need to get a scope soon if I’m going to look out to sea. At least with digital zoom with photos I can get enough to recognise and or ID species.

BTW if you are up very soon, another bird if you are interested - a Great Grey Shrike is hanging about in Dalkeith Country Park. I was googling to read background about it and found this - https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/beware-great-grey-shrike-pretty-songbi... . I thought the Scottish nickname of White Whisky John nicer than some of the others! It’s looks so incredible. Interesting it mimics other birds.

Happy birthday for yesterday, where were you for the golden plover etc?

Golden Plover: Marsh Side. It is very flooded at the moment, so they are on any dry ground they can find. Main group half way between main hide and the raptor view point, on the main reserve (landward side of the road).  A big group also flew to land to front of the main hide but far out - possibly nearer to the opposite path. Avocets everywhere. A Merlin was perched on a wooden structure at banks marsh - this is the best place for merlins (so I’ve been told by the local expert). Banks Marsh is where an over-wintering spoonbill hangs out, and good variety of geese (bean, white fronted, barnacle).  I never knew you could drive up to this area. I’ll sort a map later. Saw another Merlin near the raptor viewing point. I believe hen harriers and Merlin are (or have) heading back to the moors to breed, so will be thinner in the ground. 

I think the golden plover flock must have grown since last Friday, was just starting to murmurate, maybe 1000. Kept on moving to where I wasn't.

About a dozen avocets there last week, sounds like more have arrived.

With luck (for me? no idea if a delay is good or bad for them) the cold snap will have delayed the return to the moors.

Merlins, with my record it'll be a female if I get a good view (at least I've got past that "jinx" with sparrowhawks).