Sunday (18th) found us heading north on the M6 again, first up to the RSPB's Marshside reserve and later in the morning across to Martin Mere. At 7 ° C it wasn't particularly cold but a steady breeze from the Irish sea made it a morning to make for the various hides rather than stand out in the open for long periods.
As we've come to expect the stretch of water in front of Nel's hide was the most productive with a good selection of wildfowl - Shelduck, Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Shoveler and Tufted Ducks were all present in large numbers plus Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Curlews and Golden Plover. They all remained quite settled for long periods, despite the presence of a few Great Black-backed Gulls, only taking to the air en masse when a big female Sparrowhawk passed low over the area.
The car park at Martin Mere was filling rapidly when we arrived shortly after midday, the various special Christmas attractions were obviously working and it was nice to see so many young families enjoying the reserve and the seasonal facilities laid on to attract them. Rather unfortunately one of these was the "sail to Santa's Island" adventure where kids could be paddled out to meet Santa and receive a gift etc. this was set up on the "Swan Lake" in front of the large observation windows where normally visitors could eat their sandwiches whilst watching an interesting selection of wildfowl from all across the planet, these birds appear to have been temporarily re-located. The restaurant was doing a roaring trade and the Hon. Treasurer and I wondered how much money was generated by this and the shop. Looking at the latest accounts it appears (to my non-expert eye) that the catering operations take £ 2.8M and the retail operations £ 1.3M per annum - big business!
The path down to the Ron Barker hide provided some new species for the day list including Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Coal, Blue and Great Tits plus the anticipated Tree Sparrows whilst from the hide we added Kingfisher and an unexpected Green-winged Teal.
We ended the day in the Discovery hide for the 3pm feed, quite a scrum! and an encouraging number of families had deserted Santa Claus and his elves to enjoy the spectacle.
Closer to home in Tatton Park Alan Booth tells me that on the 18th December 3 pairs of Mandarin Ducks were present on the main mere and, on the same date, he heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in Dog Wood. After the disruption caused during the forestry work last year it's to be hoped that things will have settled down and the wood attracts the woodpeckers back plus, perhaps, some Summer migrant species such as Redstart and the Flycatchers.
Today (21st) it's the Winter Solstice - at 10:44 GMT apparently - so we can begin to look forward to the longer evenings and even the return of the first Sand Martin in around 10 weeks time! Before then though remember on Friday 30th we have our Christmas walk around the Northwich Woodlands meeting up at the Millers Bridge car park at 09:45 for a 10:00am start.

On Sunday it's our December field trip to Marshside and Martin Mere, leaving the Tatton Street car park at 9:00am; but before then on this coming Friday (16th) it's the KOS Christmas party - one of Knutsford's most eagerly awaited social events of the year it generates much needed funds - our speakers have been excellent this year but they don't come cheap!

While we were away there were some very big tides and Bob and Jacquie drove down to Parkgate to see if they could pick up any of the specialities - here's his email

We did go, and on arrival had to sit in the car for half-an-hour as it pelted down outside, but at least we did see a male Hen Harrier during that time. At least it brightened up later but it was pretty chilly. With the very strong wind behind it, the tide came right up to the wall and stayed in for a long time but no Water Rails or Crakes seen. However there were huge numbers of birds at high tide and we had prolonged views of at least 3 Short-Eared Owls and I saw a Bittern in flight. Also a distant Peregrine and Jacquie had a probable Merlin. I counted 60+ Little Egrets in one gathering. We finished the day at BMW. The Cattle Egrets were still there and a Kestrel, but no Marsh Harriers. Tremendous number of Pink-Footed Geese came in to feed and roost and we also saw a female Stonechat.

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has been seen and/or heard a couple of times at Rostherne, it was watched just below the observatory and identified as a male bird. No sign of it yesterday afternoon (8th) but there was plenty of activity, mainly thrushes - Redwings and Mistle Thrushes especially, no large numbers of Fieldfares yet but I did find a solitary Song Thrush amongst the Redwings. Also on the Reserve five Mandarins including two fine looking males at the outlet of Rostherne Brook, 23 Shovelers feeding in front of the boathouse and just before leaving a Little Egret flew down the length of the mere before heading off towards Tatton Park.

Locally KOS members Steve Collins and Phil Dell had two Whooper Swans at Rostherne on the 26th and also the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the same day with another sighting by Phil in front of the observatory on the 27th.

Another encouraging turnout on Friday evening when 30 members and visitors enjoyed an excellent talk by Paul Hobson who recounted his journeys through Namibia, South Africa, Rwanda and Kenya; this wasn't just a "bird on a stick" lecture but an entertaining travel log covering subjects such as the Rwandan War and how to stay clear of the Lords Army! On the subject of exotic locations I learn that some members will be heading for the sun over the next few days including trips to Peru, California and even Hawaii - Aloha!

On Saturday Martin Hughes-Games tweeted that he'd been sacked by the BBC "The BBC commissioner Tom McDonald has decided my services no longer required on Springwatch etc. Sad, but it's been brilliant. Thank you." There followed a rush of angry tweets from his followers prompting a statement from the Corporation which explained that he hadn't been dropped from Springwatch and insisted talks were continuing over what a spokesperson described as his "evolving" role. Whatever the outcome I think the BBC could do worse than giving the job to Tatton Ranger and KOS member Darren Morris, who again appeared on BBC TV during the week when they visited Tatton for a piece about rutting deer, he seems to be their go-to man on this sort of subject!
During the last series from Tatton it was broadcast live to millions of viewers, so he's bombproof; he'd also fit in well with Chris Packham who's also a well known lover of '80's rock bands - judging from his Facebook page Darren's a big fan of New Model Army, so he's well qualified for the job although in this age of diversity targets who knows what criteria lurk in the BBC's tick boxes.

Don't forget, we have a meeting this Friday (28th) when Paul Hobson will be talking to us about "African Delights"

The story of the Siberian Accentor on the Shetlands proved to be popular and things took an amusing twist last weekend. Apparently a group of twitchers chartered an aircraft to fly them up to Lerwick on the Monday (10th) at a cost rumoured to be £ 800 per person, what they didn't know was that there'd been an unprecedented influx and by Thursday two more had appeared, at Hendon in County Durham and Easington Yorkshire!! Have look at what the newspapers made of it no wonder people think birders are a bit weird - hundreds of old blokes who must surely all be fully paid-up members of the DMC! NB

Tatton main mere also had good numbers of wildfowl and we were able to add Shoveler, Pochard and a newly returned female Goldeneye to the list; we didn't do a count but earlier in the week Alan Booth had 110 Tufted Ducks, 20 Pochard and 10 Shoveler. Elevenses we taken in the Allen hide, Melchett Mere and the feeders were very quiet, just a group of 6 Egyptian Geese loafing on the waters edge giving us time to put the world to rights: the Hon. Treasurer and the Hon. Chairman enjoyed an in depth discussion about the latest offering from the RSC at Stratford-on-Avon (I did google it but it appears that the RSC Website as been hacked!) whilst the rest of us were more concerned with the continuing problems of the England football team.

Sheila has lent me a copy of "The Heron" the magazine of the RSPB Macclesfield Local Group, they enjoyed a visit to Speyside earlier this year staying at the Grant Arms in Grantown-on-Spey, this is where we'll be based on our trip next June and the report makes interesting reading; they had 112 species during the time they were there so I think we should make this our target for this much anticipated return to the highlands.
Late news from Woolston - the Morgan hide has now re-opened and don't forget this Saturday's trip to Connah's Quay - 09:00 at Lilac Avenue.

On Wednesday (5th) we paid a long overdue visit to Northwich hoping to hook up with the Spotted Crake that had been on Neumann's Flash for the past week or so. We didn't see it but there was a surprisingly good selection of waterfowl including 15 Little Grebes, Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon and even a female Scaup. Waders were well represented too, we had Snipe, Lapwing, Ruff, Dunlin, Golden Plover and a nice flock of Curlew.
Members who were disappointed about missing the Crake might want to make their way over to Rostherne where another semi-rarity - a second winter Yellow-legged Gull can be seen in amongst the gull roost in late afternoon - now don't all rush at once!

Last Friday (23rd) Bob Groom was in Tatton Park and was pleased to come across a passing Wheatear perching on thistle stalks in the open area near the Millennium Wood plus a large flock of 55 Meadow Pipits at the same spot. Over the mere 3 Swallows and 4 House Martins, I had a single Swallow over Mobberley yesterday afternoon heading steadily south, we'll not see many more but the Martins may be around for a few more weeks - even into November.

A good gate on Friday (23rd) as a crowd of 32 clicked through the turnstiles at the Jubilee Hall for our first indoor meeting of the season; the Hon.Treasurer left with a smile on his face having taken £ 154 in entrance fees and memberships, including contributions from 3 new Members - welcome to Bernard McLenaghan, David Eyes and (at last) all the way from the Britannia Stadium Darren Morris!
Our speaker for the evening was Keith Offord who gave a presentation entitled "Raptorphilia", proper ornithology - everything you needed to know about raptors, delivered in a very professional way by a man who knows his subject and can present it in an effective and engaging manner. He will be returning to Knutsford shortly at the next CAWOS meeting.

It was another fine day on Sunday for our trip across the sands of Dee to Hilbre Island, unfortunately circumstances dictated that most of the regulars were unable to make the journey so it was a party of only four stalwarts that followed the tide out to the island, not the smallest ever turnout (I remember three of us once enjoying a trip to the Point of Air some years ago) but nevertheless quite disappointing. Assuming a normal distribution one day no one will appear (I'll let Mark or Geoff calculate the odds!).
The Burbo Bankwind farm wasn't producing much electricity due to the very calm conditions which of course affected the birds that we'd see during the four or five hours to be spent on the island. A steady stream of Swallows passed through during the day but only one Skua was recorded and we saw just two Sandwich Terns when normally there would have been plenty around, together with their Arctic, Little and Common cousins.
Waders were also well down in number - although Bob Groom, who hadn't walked across to Hilbre but had driven to Hoylake for the high tide, had much better luck and reports "Close views of Curlew Sand, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwits, an enormous number of Dunlin, Ringed Plover etc.". Apart from the Curlew Sandpipers we had all those species but not in the numbers we'd become accustomed to over the years, at one stage a small flock of waders with Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and a Sanderling settled on the rocks close to us giving excellent views, as did a passing Wheatear - just a couple of yards away - binocs not needed!
On the sea, and as the tide came in, the 'scopes revealed 100's of Common Scoters many miles away flying amongst the new area of wind turbines in Liverpool Bay, it's not yet known what effect the turbines have on the wintering Scoters and their bivalve prey, although some people seem to have been given lots of money to run computer simulations. Closer in a few Great Crested Grebes and Cormorants were feeding and a winter plumage Guillemot floated slowly past the island and around to the Middle Eye where Oystercatchers, Curlews, Dunlin and a few Bar-tailed Godwits were sitting out the tide.
On our way out to the island Phil Woollen, one of the ringers, passed us in his Land Rover and kindly offered to take us the rest of the way; we declined, but accepted the offer of a lift back after the high tide - it was quite an adventure. Phil had to return to West Kirby as soon as possible and followed "route number 3"; route 1 was apparently bumpy, route 2 very bumpy and as we found number 3 passed through the receding water right over the "bumpiest" bits - so we arrived back on dry land shaken but not stirred in double quick time ready for an ice cream as we sat on the promenade watching less fortunate birders struggling back around the Little Eye!
Chiffchaffs are singing again (more birds than ever this year) after their post breeding moult and are always a reminder that it's time for our first indoor meeting of the new season. This year we welcome Keith Offord with his talk entitled "Raptorpilia"; Keith is well-known on the lecture circuit and our skillful Lectures Officers have negotiated a very reasonable price with a top notch speaker, so see you on Friday (23rd), same time, same place.

The reception Building at Burton was in Etihad mode, sparsely populated with plenty of empty seats, the 'scopes gave good views from there of a Green Sandpiper and three Greenshanks plus just two Snipe that took flight as two Marsh Harriers passed low over the pools.
Moving on to the Pool Screen we enjoyed great views of the 12 Spoonbills now resident on the reserve, currently they outnumber the Little Egrets that appear to have moved elsewhere, although they may well disperse during the day and return to roost at night.
In contrast to the reception building the Inner Marsh hide was chock-a-block, the recent excellent work done to attract waders by removing overgrown waterside vegetation and excavating muddy scrapes seems to have been successful with Ruff, Little Stint, Dunlin and eight Curlew Sandpipers on offer. Dave Butterworth eventually managed to get his 'scope set up and we had good views of all these species; unfortunately it's becoming more and more difficult to find a seat in these hides due to the activities of the new generation of photographers who seem to be reluctant to allow others a view as they spend hours dangling their equipment out of the viewing slots, waiting for Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment. Whatever happened to the Rolleicord and FP3?

Natural England have done a good job at Rostherne removing the fallen tree blocking the path to the obs. and I was able to spend a pleasant couple of hours there on Thursday (8th). I met Steve Collins there and later Alan Booth arrived, we had Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and a Little Egret, all on the sand spit where Rostherne Brook empties into the mere.

It looks like I've incurred the wrath of the spirits at Rostherne with my comments about Slow Birding and the Dull Men's Club as, after Bob Groom's rare Flycatcher on the reserve, the Observatory has been cut off from the rest of the world by a huge branch that has detached itself from the main trunk and fallen over the approach path completely blocking it and crushing the railings running alongside. I hadn't heard anything about this when I travelled over to Rostherne last Tuesday (30th) so I had no idea when it had happened and did a quick check to ensure no one had been using the path as it came crashing down! I was joined by a chap from Natural England (the warden was on holiday and this was his boss) he said his men could tackle most things but this, at first glance, was too big a job for them. I've not heard anything since so I don't know when the obs. will re-open.
Our Swifts have moved on and they will be followed shortly by the last of the Swallows, probably by the third week of the month although many can still be seen at dusk flying in to roost in the maize fields either side of Moss Lane; Bob Groom had "many hundreds" there last Tuesday (30th) where they were attracting the attention of two Hobbies.
Last night (4th) Bob heard a Greenshank calling as it passed over Queensway - this reminded me of Boyd's words from this month in 1938 ......... I heard a Greenshank just before midnight flying and calling over the house. "Sailing comfortably through the windy stars" like Richard Middleton's ghost ship....... Boyd's book The Country Diary of a Cheshire Man is essential reading for Cheshire birdwatchers and still available for a few quid!

Wednesday (24th) found us once again at the Woolston Eyes Reserve; things were a bit quiet - relatively speaking of course, some of the species we see on a regular basis there would cause palpitations at Rostherne! A Goosander had been seen from the bridge earlier in the day but there was no sign of it when we arrived, although a Kingfisher there gave good prolonged views just below us as we crossed over onto number 3 bed.

Black-tailed Godwit and Lapwing numbers are increasing nicely, amongst a large group of the latter Derek located a Greenshank that seemed quite settled and showed well when all the waders took flight as a passing Sparrowhawk spooked them.

I know some people who read this section of the website live abroad so they may be interested to know that the Tour of Britain cycle race passes through our area on Tuesday 6th September and will be shown live on satellite TV all around the world click here. The race passes through Knutsford twice during the day ending in Tatton Park; you'll even be able to watch as the riders pass through Mobberley - along Smith Lane and Town Lane - right past the end of our avenue!!

...... in Cheshire the Goldfinch as a resident is rapidly becoming rarer, and has been exterminated in most districts. The reclamation of waste has curtailed its haunts and persistent persecution by bird-catchers has been instrumental in further reducing its numbers. Immigrants are occasionally seen in Winter in districts where the bird is extinct as a breeding species......

Bob Groom's Hobbies are progressing nicely, last Tuesday (16th) the nest contained two well-grown young, so it won't be long before they fledge, perhaps they'll be seen at the Swallow roost along Green Lane where Bob had two Hobbies last Sunday(14th).
Great Crested Grebes have bred successfully in Tatton, on Sunday (21st) Derek noted a pair with five young on Melchett and later a second pair with two tiny chicks at the Dog Wood end of the main mere. Darren Morris tells me that the log book in the Allen hide has had to be removed due to the usual unsavory entries but a smaller replacement has been placed out of sight on the ledge above the logbook table.

Ken and Shirley Davies have returned home after their Scandinavian adventure, but not for long, Ken tells me on Saturday they'll be taking the ferry to Dunkirk before moving onward to Bavaria and perhaps Italy!

In complete contrast to the busy comings and goings at Woolston, on returning from Rostherne two weeks ago I dug out my copy of "The Birds of Rostherne Mere" [1976] by Ron Harrison and David Rogers. It reminded me what a special place it was for us at that time before the WWW and mobile phones. So, just for old times sake, I paid a visit later the next week and quite enjoyed it!
It took some time to get into "Rostherne Mode", things are so far away compared with Woolston etc. but there was plenty of time (I spent 2 hours there) and was the only visitor during that period.
There was a Green Sandpiper where Rostherne Brook enters the mere and a small passage of Swifts at around 11:30am. I filled in the "tick list" and was surprised to see that a Greenfinch on the feeder was a rare record - only 4 records in 2014 according to the excellent annual report.

On his way home Steve stopped off in Pavement Lane and reports seeing two of the Barn Owls and as a bonus the pair of Little Owls that are also resident in the area, often heard but rarely seen. In Tatton Park, whilst walking Patch, Tony Ellis came across a singing Grasshopper Warbler in the plantation just to the west of the Old Hall, probably the only record for the park this year.

A pair of Spotted Crakes have bred at Burton and the reception building was much more crowded than usual as people waited patiently for the appearance of one of the adults or the single youngster that seems to have survived. In due course there was a rush to the 'scopes as a small dark coloured bird appeared in amongst the vegetation across the far side of the lake and was considered by those that know about these things to be a juvenile Spotted Crake. I did manage a few seconds on Sheila's 'scope but had only poor views as it slipped into the reeds, earlier in the morning a juvenile Water Rail had also been seen at the same spot - so you pays your money and takes your choice!
Other birds were more obliging though and both Common and Green Sandpipers fed in front of the building giving an opportunity to compare these two easily confused species - until they take to the air of course! A little further out a substantial flock of Black-tailed Godwits is building up nicely and amongst them we noted Snipe, Dunlin and a number of Ruff; Bob Groom and David Cogger had arrived before us and prior to our arrival had seen four Spoonbills - they seem to be increasing steadily, there were seven at Burton in June and we may see successful breeding in Cheshire before too long. If Spoonbills do breed they'll be following in the footsteps of those other recent colonisers, the Little Egrets that are going from strength to strength. From the viewing screen on the way to the Inner marsh hide there was a flock of 34, brilliant white plumage contrasting nicely with a moulting Spotted Redshank that roosted peacefully amongst them. Not much from the Inner Marsh Hide where we had lunch, but en route Geoff and Sheila had taken a detour up to the viewing point overlooking the estuary and ticked off Great White Egret - species #49.

Don't forget tomorrow evening (Friday 29th) Phil Dell and Steve Collins will be giving us a tour of the Rostherne Reserve, meeting in the Natural England car park opposite Egerton Hall at 6.30pm. We'll be splitting into two groups - group one will confine their activities to the Whitley hide and the Observatory: anyone daft fit enough will join group two for a complete circuit, Phil recommends wellies and plenty of insect repellant for this group!

I've updated the "places" page of the Gallery section of the website [click here Frank]. If members have any photos of their favourite spots I will gladly add them. I hope to do the same for the local bird pictures, I'll include some of the current images taken in the 70's, they are of historic interest as I know they were originally printed on Ilford colour paper. There are millions of bird pictures on the internet of course but I hope to include just those taken by KOS members (amongst whom we have two Countryfile calendar winners) so I'm expecting a deluge of images before too long!

On Tuesday evening (5th) Bob Groom and Jacquie Ledward had good views of the Barn Owls that are nesting in Mobberley along Pavement Lane, Bob also told me that the Hobbies have returned to their (undisclosed) nest site a few miles from Knutsford, on Wednesday evening, during a brief visit, he saw both the male and female birds, these are the only pair I'm aware of in our area at the moment but I'm sure there must be others, if so they'll become more conspicuous as the season progresses.
Ken and Shirley Davies continue making us all jealous as they continue with their epic tour of Scandinavia! Ken's latest email informs me that they are currently on Oland Island, just off the east coast of Sweden and now seem to be heading south. I'm sure we'll see some photos eventually (hint Ken!)

The journey from Knutsford to South Stack took just about two hours, passing through some very heavy rain close to the Conwy Reserve, but thereafter we were lucky with the weather and enjoyed mainly dry conditions for the rest of the trip.
Arriving at South Stack the first thing we noticed was the wind, it's an exposed spot and down below us the sea looked quite rough but it was possible to shelter in the lee of Ellin's tower and set up the 'scopes for a little sea watching. There were plenty of Gannets close to shore and in the mid-distance, alternating between black and white as they twisted in the wind low over the breakers - Manx Shearwaters, a species we don't see on every visit to the Stack but great to see them on this occasion. As expected the cliff faces were crowded with Guillemots and Razorbills; a constant procession of birds coming and going with food for their young, apparently six pairs of Puffins have bred this year and those members of the party with the required amount of energy added them to the trip list after descending the steps as far as the bridge across to the lighthouse. Choughs have bred successfully again and they were enjoying the blustery conditions that continued all morning; Rock Pipits too were unaffected by the wind and were seen rising from the shelter of the cliffs in display flight two or three times but diving for cover when one of the resident Peregrine Falcons powered overhead - great views.

We had lunch at South Stack, either butties and flask or in the excellent RSPB cafe before driving the short distance to Holyhead harbour, parking on the quayside at the end of Turkey Shore Road. Here we added a few new ticks to the list, in particular the Black Guillemots that frequent the harbour, birds were seen in flight and also feeding. Summer or Winter this seems to be the place for this relatively rare species.

From Holyhead we took a 30 minute drive along the coast to Cemlyn Bay, owned by the National Trust and leased by North Wales Wildlife Trust (NWWT) since 1971. Here we enjoyed some really good birding; depending on where you look for information there are up to 60 pairs of Arctic Terns, the same number of Common Terns and up to 2,500 pairs of Sandwich Terns nesting on the reserve! Making it the third biggest colony of Sandwich Terns in the UK.
All three species were busy feeding their young and there was a bustle of activity as the parent birds flew in carrying sand eels (Ammodytes tobianus) one at a time, passing them over and immediately off they went again for more!
As a bonus Sheila located a handsome looking Mediterranean Gull in amongst the thousands of terns and we were all able to get good views of this still rare, but rapidly increasing species through the 'scopes.

The following morning (3rd July) after an excellent breakfast at the hotel we resumed the trip with a pleasant drive along the bottom end of the island to Penmon Point, a peaceful and picturesque spot with views across to Puffin Island and, in the far distance, Llandudno and the Great Orme. The weather was great, temperature in the high teens, a few fluffy white clouds and a clear blue sky - ideal conditions to just sit and relax (we're good at that in the KOS!)

Telescopes revealed clouds of auks flying around the island, too far away for specific identification but closer to us we did see Eiders and Black Guillemots passing along the coast as well as more Sandwich Terns moving north carrying food. Eventually we moved off and did a walk through the dunes, overgrown with vegetation and home to Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Bullfinches, lots of Linnets and a family party of Common Whitethroats. The little Pilot House Cafe on the point proved irresistible for a late morning coffee for just about everyone in the party and of course a further period of just sitting down and chilling out was called for before we headed off to our final destination - Gronant Dunes and the Little Tern colony.

It doesn't look far on the map but it took well over an hour to reach Gronant - it's on the A548 just past Prestatyn, next to the Presthaven caravan park, from where a path of about 600m leads to the observation platform. We added Sedge Warbler, Moorhen and Skylark to the list on the way to the platform from where we could see the terns feeding their young, most of which were hiding away from predators in the marram grass adjoining the nesting area. This year things have gone very well and the volunteers on duty told us that 172 pairs have produced 375 eggs and a total of 199 chicks have hatched; I believe 133 of these have now been ringed by David Norman. One of the wardens guided us along the beach to a safe spot where we could get a closer look at the birds, still from a distance but viewing was possible from there just using binoculars rather than the 'scopes. This has been a real success story and congratulations are due to all concerned - a great way to end our little expedition into Wales!
Our thanks are due to Frank Dearden for organising the accommodation. On the surface a straightforward job but I know there were problems with cancellations and also with the fact that hotel had changed hands in between us booking and our arrival but we had the right man for the job - thanks Frank!

We're fortunate at the moment in having a number of competent photographers in the KOS. Two of these Sheila Blamire and Simon Smith have sent me a selection of their images taken over the weekend for inclusion on the website. Those I didn't used have been put into an album which can be viewed by clicking here (those with no attribution are mine)

There seemed to be good numbers of Swallows feeding over the first of the big fields, this year housing acres of barley, and Geoff Blamire (minus 'scope on this occasion) picked out a superb male Yellow Wagtail perched on top of the ripening crop. (see picture taken tonight). There were two birds, both collecting insects, sometimes eating them and at other times dropping out of sight; perhaps feeding fledged young?
Making our way across a maize field (on the designated path of course) we were serenaded by two Skylarks that appear to be nesting amongst the crop, they should be safe there as it won't be harvested until much later in the year.
Moving into the area we've always known as Fox Harbour (and shown as such on 19th century maps) there were still some species in song including Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer, Common Whitethroat and an encouraging number of Song Thrushes but unfortunately the Sand Martin colony was deserted once again.
No sign of Spotted Flycatchers at Springwood Farm this year, in fact the ivy the pair used previously had died off for some reason, but there were plenty of Swallows nesting in the outbuildings and a male Grey Wagtail posed nicely for us on the wires leading up to the farm.
On Tuesday (21st) I'd done a recce of the route and been lucky enough to come across a Barn Owl hunting over the fields in between Springwood Farm and Pavement Lane Farm, it was carrying prey to a nest box and I was pretty confident we'd be able to see it tonight, but it hadn't read the script and failed to appear! We did though note a singing Linnet just along the lane from where we were waiting for the afore mentioned owl.
The light was beginning to fade now but there was enough to see a single Swift passing over in a southerly direction and just before it set the sun appeared briefly from under the clouds providing a spectacular end to another pleasant evening out in the company of a very agreeable group of friends.

Jacquie, Sue and I visited Burton Mere today and had wonderful views of no less than seven Spoonbills, also a female Marsh Harrier was almost constantly in view, despite being mobbed by all and sundry. We heard and saw Cetti's Warbler and had great views of several Sedge and Reed Warblers. Redshanks and Snipe were displaying repeatedly. At one point I counted well over 200 Black-Tailed Godwits from the Marsh Covert Hide and there were at least another 50 or 60 near the observatory and IMF hide. Spotted Flycatchers were visible from the car park. There were an incredible 70+ Avocet chicks (let's hope most survive) plus many adults Despite not seeing some 'obvious' species ( like Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher and Great Spotted Woodpecker) we managed a respectable total of 60 species between us. A very good day indeed.......... BOB

Geoff and Sheila Blamire followed in their footsteps on Tuesday (7th.), they found that, unfortunately, the flycatcher's nest had been destroyed by a squirrel but saw most of the other species mentioned by Bob. Talking to Colin Wells, the reserve warden, Sheila found that the staff have put up an anti-predator fence around the area containing the pools nearest the information centre and more than 130 pairs of waders are breeding; Lapwings, Avocets, Redshank and Snipe plus Shovelers (rare in Cheshire). They are planning to put up a similar fence around the original IMF pool next year, as well as a big new hide overlooking this area; this will be accessible to all visitors to the Reserve.

Derek Pike reports that eight Lapwings were on the big field at the north end of Lilac Avenue, two of these appeared to be incubating eggs. We met here on Wednesday morning on our way to Woolston Eyes, it was great to hear a Skylark in full song over the field, just a short walk from Knutsford town centre!
Things have become quieter at Woolston as the breeding season progresses: on the water Canada Geese, Coots, Moorhens, Mallards, Mute Swans, Black-headed Gulls, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebes and Black-necked Grebes all had young, Brian Martin the Woolston Eyes recorder told us that there were now three families of Black-necked grebes on the reserve.
On Tuesday (7th)just before 9:00pm I watched a Barn Owl hunting over the rough pasture next to Pavement Lane Farm in Mobberley, apparently they are using one of the nest boxes at the rear of the small field where the highland cattle are kept.

Don't forget this Sunday 12th June we have our KOS field trip to Leighton Moss, leaving the Tatton Street car park at 08:30am

On Wednesday (1st June) we found ourselves once again heading for the hills, this time to the village of Bonsall, hidden away in the Pennines, just a short distance from the town of Matlock and, before the arrival of ex-KOS members Alison Lea and Mark Eddowes, famous only as the venue for the annual World Championship Hen Racing competition at the Barley Mow pub in the centre of the village!

No recent news from Barrie, now in the high Arctic of Canada but Ken and Shirley Davies have probably now reached a similar latitude in Norway where their trip list now exceeds 100.

Closer to home Derek and Jean has excellent views of up to five individual green Woodpeckers on a route taking them along Beech Walk in Tatton Park, their local stronghold.
Bob Groom and Jacquie Ledward visited a site in our area where Hobbies bred last Summer and were delighted to find that the birds have returned and were watched displaying over the trees that held their nest last year.

On Sunday (22nd) our Tatton correspondent, Alan Booth had a Spotted Flycatcher and a Male Redstart at the far end of Tatton Mere Covert. Interesting records, I've not heard of any Spotted Flycatchers in the park for some time and the last Redstart record was in the 1980's when a pair nested at the Outdoor Centre, close to where the Sunday bird was seen!

Barrie Armitt's trip to the colonies continues and I can think of no better way to relay the news of his latest adventures than by reproducing his emails below!

14/05/2016 Leisurely day today..woke at 0500 to heavy rain and tent shaking in northerly wind...decided lie-in was in order...lay there trying to work out bird calls snug in the Rab 600. Cold day -10 ° C and f5 northerly made canopy searching tough..birds have sought sheltered areas so narrows the search down. Only 2 warblers on BBRC/Western Palearctic still to find : Wilson's Warbler and Louisiana Water thrush..latter unlikely as an early migrant and few in numbers here....no one else has recorded one so chances are slim. Seen 156 species so far and have until 1st June. Just missed Pelican because scanning a marsh and it was circling behind me. Some good birds though: 120 American Golden Plover, 5 Willets, 4 Least Sand., Semi-Palmated Plovers, Canvasback, Redhead, American Wigeon, Lesser Yellow leg, Green-winged Teal...all of which sound familiar to Cheshire birders as most are on the British list- one or two have even appeared within CAWOS area?. Will be in Pelee area until 24th then it's north to the boreal zone and the dreaded swarms of black flies...I have been warned many times but why the locals are getting so excited about a few flies escapes me- lack of blighty backbone if you ask me; will keep you updated.

16/05/2016 Seen 32 of the 36 adding Wilson's, Worm-eating and Mourning this morning. Connecticut is a late migrant and the last of them all to go through....no sign or reports of yesterday's bird. On day 14 of 30 so should add a couple more warblers....trip list is 168 and 2 places to visit on way back to camp...getting tougher to add new birds. Yesterday was hail and snow fell. ..Added Prairie Warbler and Pileated Woodpecker at Rondeau Park...few birds singing and didn't blame them. Sun today ? The Wilson's was penultimate North American warbler I had targeted and particularly satisfying as the one on Uist last autumn was co-found by non other than Roy Dennis ..purveyor of fine wellingtons to the gullible. Coffee break done. Enjoy Somerset

23/05/2016 Day 20 and it's hot. Warnings- always uttered with a knowing grin- about the swarms of flies awaiting me in Algonquin, have sent me out shopping for a 'bug' hat ...checked out the full suit version but not available in a continental cut...sartorial elegance wins out over loss of blood? Added Marbled Godwit to trip list this morning: trip now stands at 193. Remarkable how few warblers remain; they really do pass through in large numbers in a short time frame- 10 day period and then it's a trickle or nothing. However much remains and some birds are looking fantastic. Had 1300 Grey Plover yesterday that got up with 70 Bonaparte's Gulls and headed north...The former for the arctic tundra, the latter for the trees they nest in further north....gulls in trees: bizarre. Still trying to add wood warbler 33 of 36 to the list... have heard Connecticut Warbler singing 3 times but still no views. The Louisiana Water thrush was given a (p)(provisional) after I saw, heard and photographed a bird - wasn't sure and asked a few of the local birders to offer an opinion...con census was Northern. Hope the KOS trip went well and look forward to reading about it in due course.

On Wednesday (11th) we paid our first visit of the season to the Goyt Valley, despite a less than encouraging weather forecast, apart from some light precipitation on the road up to Pym Chair, we enjoyed a dry day, although there was little in the way of song until mid-morning when the sun finally appeared.
We parked up in the normal Errwood car park and set off up the steep slope at the rear before joining the path that runs along the side of the hill parallel with the road below.
Last year it was here that we'd watched and listened to a singing Wood Warbler, unfortunately it wasn't around this time but a Spotted Flycatcher was present at the same location; this was the first of two sightings of this particular species, a pair were very active in the woodland (I think this is called Stake Side on the map) at the south end of our gentle morning's amble.
Tree Pipits started singing as the morning progressed, there appear to be quite a few singing males in the valley this Spring. We had our elevenses in the woodland by the side of the River Goyt where a pair of Grey Wagtails have set up shop and it was here that we came across our first pair of Pied Flycatchers, they were investigating one of the many nest boxes conveniently provided throughout the valley.
Walking back along the road newly arrived Common Sandpipers were very vocal sorting out their territories down below us where the river empties into the Errwood reservoir whilst in the roadside oaks we had remarkably close views of Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers, again examining potential nest sites. It was here Steve obtained these two excellent images!
The final total was a modest 37 but we recorded 4 of the 5 specialities that were predicted, missing out on only the Wood Warbler: quality rather than quantity with memorable views of many species which is always something the troops appreciate!

Temperatures over the previous weekend had remained well below average with highs only in single figures. Migrating hirundines in considerable numbers spent their time wasting precious energy fluttering low over the local meres in search of newly emerging insects; at Rostherne Bob Groom counted 400 House Martins on the 1st of the month, whilst the following day at Marbury he had c 1000 hirundines, this time mostly Swallows. He also saw a single Black Tern over the mere whilst over at Tatton I had two Common Terns and Steve Collins reports that the long-staying Sandwich Tern can still be seen at the Acre Nook sand quarry in Chelford; an unusual inland record.
A little closer to home I watched a male and a female Wheatear in the new horse paddocks on the road up to Gleavehouse Farm, it's getting a little late now for "our" birds; could these be "Greenland" Wheatears on their way much further north to Iceland, Greenland or even Canada? I think we'll leave that to the experts!

The present period of cold weather is dragging on far too long for the well-being of our wildlife; I managed a walk around the lanes of Mobberley this morning before the conditions deteriorated during the afternoon, the temperature as I write is rapidly approaching freezing again and hailstones are piled up against the back door after the latest downpour. Two pairs of Lapwings and a pair of Skylarks are nesting in fields adjacent to Smith Lane, they're on eggs and I fear for them if conditions don't improve quickly.
Wednesday was a similar sort of day but luckily we managed to complete our first circuit of runway 2 at the airport in relatively benign conditions, in fact it was quite warm in the sun - after all we are almost in May! This is a good location for Lesser Whitethroat and indeed we came across a singing male on the opposite side of the runway and it stayed around long enough for 'scopes to be set up and we all enjoyed close up views of the little chap. Also seen during the morning a single Common Whitethroat plus good numbers of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, we watched one of the latter feeding in a willow sapling that was bedecked with catkins - it was finding plenty of food. Birds like this are more likely to survive the cold weather, unlike the hirundines and Swifts that rely mainly on flying insects for sustenance.
Alan Booth had a Common Tern this morning (28th) in Tatton and our man on the inside, Darren Morris, reports a Whinchat earlier in the week in one of the private areas of the park.

New KOS member Steve Collins was out and about on Friday (22nd) exploring the area of Mobberley to the east of Springwood Farm and recorded Linnets, Yellowhammer and a singing Lesser Whitethroat at the fishing pit where the path meets the track that runs from Gleavehouse Farm to the Dun Cow pub, close to Ollerton crossroads. This seems to be an attractive location to the species - we've had them there for the past few Summers.
Alan Booth braved the weather early yesterday morning (24th) and was rewarded with the first Common Sandpiper of the season in Tatton, also there at least two Goldeneye remain on the main mere. I followed the same route later in the day hoping for Reed and / or Sedge Warblers on the Moor; no sign of either unfortunately but I still managed 36 species on the route from the Moor to the bathing area and back. Prominent amongst these were healthy numbers of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps with a lone Swift amongst the hirundines low over the main mere - my first of the year.

The Society's AGM on Friday went very smoothly, lasting only 12 minutes this year, not a record but not too onerous giving plenty of time for Sheila (and Geoff) Blamire to entertain us with their latest presentation "three months birding in Europe" - including mid-Winter trips to the continent in search of Vultures, Eagles and Wolves which could involve up to 12 hours in an un-heated hide with only a tin bucket for company!!

The main points to arise from the AGM were that the committee was seen to be a little top heavy and it was decided to reduce the number of members by two. Our excess of income over expenditure was £ 310, a much improved picture following three consecutive years of losses, most satisfactory!
For insurance purposes Frank Dearden has produced a risk assessment document covering both the indoor and outdoor activities that we enjoy as members of the Society. You may have noticed on our new programme that each field trip now has a designated leader; another insurance requirement but something that's easily done and shouldn't be too difficult to implement.

A pair of Garganey seem to be finding Haydn's pool to their liking, they've been there for more than a week now and have been seen copulating on a number of occasions. They showed well for us on the smaller of the two islands although there wasn't much action and they spent their time side by side dozing in the warm morning sun! On the bigger island an Oystercatcher was incubating eggs, a Green Woodpecker was seen under the Kestrel box on the opposite side of the pool and new species number three, a Reed Warbler, was singing to the left hand side of the viewing screen.
Walking along the path towards Carden bridge early butterflies were making the most of the conditions with Peacock, Orange-tip and a surprising number of Brimstones all in flight. Passing across the bridge and making our way up the path on the opposite side one and perhaps two Cetti's Warblers sang from the tangle of waterside vegetation rounding off a very rewarding mornings birding.

Don't forget tomorrow night (Friday 22nd) it's our AGM. It never lasts more than 15 minutes and no one will be press ganged into joining the committee, all the current members are willing to serve another year, of course if you feel you'd like to help out in any capacity speak up, new blood is always welcome! After this short event our Hon. Chairman Sheila will be entertaining us with a presentation entitled "Three Months Birding in Europe" - sounds good Sheila!

This morning (14th) the little lady and I were driving towards Middlewich from the direction of Byley, just before we got to the bridge that crosses the Dane on the outskirts of Middlewich I noticed a large bird hovering over the river. Initially I assumed it was a Buzzard but as we got closer I could see it had well defined black and white markings rather than the usual wishy-washy appearance of most Common Buzzards. Luckily, just before the bridge, there's a lay-by used by the local fishermen and so I swung into there at speed managing to stop just before a large oak tree at the end and quickly exited the vehicle ignoring the torrent of abuse, not normally heard outside the Stretford End, from the passenger seat. I didn't have my binocs in the car but we were close enough to confirm my suspicions that it was an Osprey! It flew to one of those very tall electricity pylons where it remained for a few seconds before being mobbed by the local corvids and headed off north, in the general direction of Northwich and Knutsford.

Things were better down at the Conwy reserve and after a warm drink in the cafe we set off with renewed vigour around the perimeter paths. It was high tide, and it was a big one, there were plenty of waders roosting on the pools, mainly Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks and Curlews; the Curlews looked to be in superb condition and gave great views through the 'scopes. Hirundines were passing through in large groups and the heavy rain earlier may have forced migrating warblers to seek shelter as the bushes were full of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, a White Wagtail showed well on the short turf on one of the islands close to the second hide and near the information centre, underneath one of the feeders, a flock of House Sparrows - remember them?!

The picture below was kindly sent to me by Gwyndaf Roberts, a friend from the Knutsford Photographic Society, it was taken at Neumann's Flash on the 16th March and shows the pre-roost gathering or "murmuration" of Starlings that quite a few of our members were lucky enough to witness at the time. Gwyn seems to have arrived at a good estimate of the number present - "by scrutiny of the images and using a grid method to calculate numbers I came up with 320,000" - thanks Gwyn that's probably more accurate than our usual method of counting the legs and dividing by two - yes I know some of you have heard that one before, but not everyone has!

The heronry in the Higmere plantation still has two occupied nests, if all is well they should now be well into incubation, although they appear to have begun nesting a little later than usual this year. Further up the main mere we came upon the hirundines, mostly Sand Martins with around 50 present, although it was difficult to count them as we were experiencing visible migration with birds arriving from the south and others towering up before leaving to the north. Our sharp-eyed Chairman picked out the first House Martin of the season in amongst the Sand Martins and most of us managed to get on to it without too much trouble.
Three Pintails are still in Tatton, a male and two females, they were swimming a few yards from the bank of the main mere and seemed unperturbed by human activity which makes you think that they're not true wild birds. Still, they are in good plumage, the male bird in particular was looking very handsome and they were a welcome addition to our day list.

We chose to walk up beyond the old hall because it's been there, on the open grassland, that Wheatears have been seen in previous years and this is the optimum time of the year for seeing them on their way north; but not this Wednesday unfortunately!

We ate our sausage rolls in the comfort of the Allen hide and as usual put the world to rights (no one ever seems to listen to us though!), the feeders had been emptied before the start of the breeding season so there was little in the way of avian activity but we were delighted to see the first Swallow of the year flying low over Melchett mere, it remained with us for a few minutes before heading north.

A Mistle Thrush was putting on a virtuoso performance in the small wood behind the hide as we left to make our way back, one of four heard in song - we had only one Song Thrush during the whole morning.

A trip into Tatton, taking in Knutsford Moor, Dog Wood and up to the bathing area on Thursday (24th) produced just two Sand Martins but the following day (25th) as well as three Sand Martins a Chiffchaff was in song on the Moor and I was delighted to come across two Black-necked Grebes, showing nicely in the middle of the main mere. No doubt they are en route to Woolston but with a bit of luck they may hang about for a few days - they have in the past. Yesterday's Birdguides sightings included 11 instances of this species so they seem to be on the move.
Also in the park there's a couple of very vocal Green Woodpeckers, Dabchicks, Pochard, Shoveler, loads of Great Crested Grebes and up to 12 Goldeneye.

Further afield the first Osprey has returned to the Dyfi reserve, although not one of last year's successful pair. It's well worth a look at the webcam (click here)- full HD and HiFi sound but perhaps best to avoid the associated chat room with it's bunny huggers and teleclappers! [NB]

The well-stocked feeders outside the hide were attracting some birds, but fewer than on our last visit; the Greenfinches seem to have dispersed but there were still a few Chaffinches and some well-marked Bramblings on view.

The first Black-necked Grebe returned to the reserve this week but there was no sign of that either.

A few miles to the east in Tatton Park, ranger Darren Morris was determined to uphold the park's reputation for early migrants and was able to spend a few minutes during the day scanning the main mere for hirundines. Unlike last year though, when he was rewarded on the 16th, this time he was unlucky and inevitably two days later (18th) when he was away on a course the first Sand Martin appeared, low over the mere at 2:30 in the afternoon! I make that Rangers 0 - KOS 1 Darren!

Next on the Tatton list is Chiffchaff and I'm sure that in the next few days they'll be singing in Dog Wood and joined, not long after, by Blackcaps.
Herons are nesting again in Higmere plantation albeit in smaller numbers than in recent years. Tatton regular Roger Barnes reports two or possibly three occupied nests this spring.

There's been a build-up of Avocets on the reserve and up to 25 have been counted, we recorded 16, so it's looking encouraging for the coming breeding season. Incidentally if you'd like to learn more about Avocets in northern England then CLICK HERE this chap puts an amazing amount of effort into monitoring the population at Leighton Moss.

There was plenty of activity on the pools in front of the reception building where, as well as the Avocets, we had Kingfisher, Stonechat and a Spotted Redshank that was the subject of some discussion until it flew a few yards and we able to able to positively ID it.

As we were making our way towards the inner marsh hide we were delighted to hear the song of a Cetti's Warbler from the reeds just in front of the first viewing screen and, on this occasion, we were able to watch it from a distance of only a few yards as it made it's way through the phragmites before flying off low across the water to a new location. A second bird was heard near the marsh covert hide, with a third in amongst a tangle of vegetation where the boardwalk ended. Colin Wells, the Reserve warden, told me that they had up to five males singing last year, with one pair probably attempting to nest.

Our Middle East correspondent Barrie (the lad) Armitt is off on his travels again and in response to my email about yesterday's proposed trip to the Wirral sent the following reply .............
Weather forecast looks promising as well - dry, cloudy, slight chance of a shower, some west in the wind... should have a good outing... the chippie is always good of course!
I'll be up near the Lebanese border by Thursday hoping for the last of a couple of wintering wheatear spp before turning south for the 450k wander to Eilat and raptor migration... 848 Steppe Buzzard, 649 Pallid Swift, 686 Steppe Eagle et al through the Low Mountain counting station today.... clear skies, sunshine... but, sadly, no fish and chips to compare with the Parkgate chippie.... lots of falafel though.........

Still we didn't do too badly and ended up with a respectable total of 43 species for the morning. There was plenty going on in front of the reception building with good numbers of wildfowl, 12 Grey Herons and just a single Little Egret plus a flock of 100 plus Black-tailed Godwits that were very active, at one stage the whole flock were feeding on the grassland next to the perimeter path which must have been very soft after weeks of winter rain.

A small flock of Siskins showed well in the alders overhanging the path and a group of 15 Linnets gave good views through the 'scopes whilst perched in an oak tree close to the railway bridge leading to Burton Point. We walked up to the point from the Inner Marsh hide, but again there was little to see and it was perishing so we made our way back to the sanctuary of the reception building where I felt obliged to treat everyone to a warm drink as it was my birthday!

Thanks Frank just as our old English teacher liked it - clear and concise!

Weather permitting this coming Sunday (17th) we'll be teaming up again with the Tatton rangers for a Winter Birdwatch. It takes place between 11am and 1pm in and around the Allen Hide overlooking Melchett Mere, so if you're at a loose end on the day, come along and join in the fun, KOS members normally outnumber any visitors we manage to attract!!

In his Nature Notes column in the Times Derwent May states that "Song Thrushes are singing everywhere", well he obviously doesn't live in Mobberley, I've not heard one yet despite being out and about most mornings, if there any still left in the area I would expect to hear them soon. No sign either of Mistle Thrushes, although Bob Groom had a singing bird in Tatton Park where Alan Booth reports that a pair of Stonechats can still be seen in the Melchett Mere area.

Our January field trip to the Neumann's/Budworth area of the Northwich Woodlands reserve takes place this coming Saturday (9th), meeting at the Sessions House at 9:00am or 9:15 at the usual Witton Bridge car park. Perhaps we'll be able to locate the Cetti's Warbler (a new bird for the reserve) that's been recently discovered.

A little further away ex KOS member Malcolm Greenhaulgh now living on Majorca sent me a nice list of species he saw on New Years day.

Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Serin, Cetti's Warbler, Balearic Warbler, Fan-tailed Warbler,Moustached Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Crag Martin, Black Redstart, Common Redstart, Stonechat, Whinchat, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, No hangover. - I believe all but the last one Monty!