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The Wetlands weren’t. | John Dempsey Birdblog
The shrill calls of a trio of Common Sandpipers rock-hopping along the training wall at the Alt during a survey on Friday got me all autumnal. It was all it took to send me east to Spurn for a couple of days, away from work, the bleached summer dunes and basking Sand Lizards. I pulled…
Branching out | John Dempsey Birdblog
The street gang of Jackdaws noisily descending on the bottom of the garden at Dempsey Towers was a clue - either this year's Tawny Owl young were "branching" or a Buzzard was trying to roost in the birch trees. A stroll answered the question yesterday - two Tawny youngsters, the bigger of the two playing…
Trainspotting | John Dempsey Birdblog
Swirling vortexes of speeding air currents occasionally flushed it as the high-speed Lime Street to Euston trains whooshed by, threatening to suck the bird into high quality screen splatter, but the Woodchat Shrike at Daresbury seemed happy enough. Not seen one for a few years (the 2021 Aith bird on Shetland seems to be my…
Fancy footwork | John Dempsey Birdblog
When there's a male Dotterel at the end of the line the trek across the breach at Spurn on a bright, breezy afternoon is no hardship. My latest trip east for three days on Wednesday started off with a highly motivated forced march down the Point. A late Fieldfare whizzed past me heading north at…
State of grace | John Dempsey Birdblog
With a tail that goes on forever, crisp cap and sharp pearly plumage, Roseate Terns take some beating in terms of grace and elegance, so it made sense to pop up to the marsh at teatime for the bird found by Martin Campbell this afternoon. A gorgeous thing, the tern spent much of its time…
Evening gloop | John Dempsey Birdblog
Spent a pleasant couple of hours at Marshside this evening, finally getting round to having a look for the Temminck's Stint. No sign on the Junction Pool when I arrived, so I strolled down to Nels Hide for a quick scan before the RSPB's Wes locked up for the evening. A Wood Sandpiper was feeding…
The long and short of it | John Dempsey Birdblog
Spent a bit of time pondering Dunlin races and bill lengths (as you do at this time of year), while surveying on the training wall at the Alt mouth today. Hard light put a salty shimmer on visuals close to the water's edge as the tide came in, but watching them settling to roost, bickering…
Spurn sunshine | John Dempsey Birdblog
A chipper Kentish Plover (found by Colin Bushell) was a late afternoon bonus at a hot and sunny Spurn yesterday, sparking a dash to Kilnsea Wetlands. Superb views in the bright sun, as it scurried about feeding right in front of the hide. Can't recall seeing one with a complete breast band before - a…
Mega alert | John Dempsey Birdblog
Been at least six years since a House Sparrow graced Dempsey Towers to my knowledge. This female made several visits in the evening shadows tonight - hope she returns and brings more with her when she does. Those with regular spadgers will be perplexed, those whose gardens are devoid of 'em will understand the thrill...
Feelin’ chatty | John Dempsey Birdblog
To be honest I've felt let down by Whinchats this spring with no sign (so far) at my fave stakeout spot for them on Ainsdale LNR as they pass through. Two on the reserve last week were even rude enough to drop into a neighbouring slack rather than the area I usually spend time in.…
Being watched | John Dempsey Birdblog
I was being outfoxed by a particularly sneaky Ring Ouzel in the dunes at lunchtime (they don't get any easier), when I became aware of being watched. Turning my head slowly to the left as I lay behind a dune ridge I saw a black beady eye staring back at me from a metre away,…
April’s cold shoulder | John Dempsey Birdblog
Too breezy and too cold this morning at Marshside so you couldn't blame the adult Little Gull for refusing to take flight, preferring instead to pick invertebrate goodies off the surface as it bobbed about. Poor video of the bird at Junction Pool on YouTube here. The common warblers all gamely singing on despite the…
Been awhile… | John Dempsey Birdblog
While the sea always asks the most searching questions, and the wind was coming from completely the wrong direction, a fine bit of rain always helps, so I gave it 50 minutes over the high tide at lunchtime. Inbetween the heavy showers, visibility was nice and crisp, and the sesh flew by quicker than a…
Inside No. 9 | John Dempsey Birdblog
A crisp Pennine breeze was blowing right up me Oswaldthwistle as I enjoyed a very peaceful hour with the Red-necked Grebe at Clowbridge Reservoir (I'd not really heard of it either until this winter) above Burnley this afternoon. No hardship heading to East Lancs on the backroads though when everything is shiny new and vibrant…
Finding their voice | John Dempsey Birdblog
Blue sky Groundhog Day by Groundhog Day the Willow Warblers are getting louder on Ainsdale Local Nature Reserve. I had my first birds just over a week ago - three scattered around the grazing enclosures, singing tentatively, but by today nine or ten were in the same area, loud, proud and sparking off each other,…
Submerged | John Dempsey Birdblog
Another few hours at Marshside over the high tide today. While a single Swallow dancing north past the Sandplant mid-morning wasn't that much of a surprise given the calm conditions, there wasn't much else to hint at spring passage, although as the day warmed up and the tide crept in things picked up a bit.…
Something in the water? | John Dempsey Birdblog
A leucistic Sanderling was glaring in the gorgeous morning warmth during surveying duties north of Burbo Bank today. Just when you thought the clockwork toys couldn't get any shiny whiter in the hard sun... I watched the weirdo in a small roost of Sanderling with Dave Hardaker and Ralph and Heather Jones before getting the…
When all else fails… | John Dempsey Birdblog
Frustratingly chilly and decidedly unspring-like on the marsh this morning. Regulars largely present and correct, but no sense of early passage, so after a gawk at the remaining Pinks, Marsh Harrier and Spoonbill and a good chat with Trops and Mike, I popped up to have a look at the most visited Little Owls in…
Light and shade | John Dempsey Birdblog
That cold north easterly was doing no-one any favours this morning as the sun skulked behind a stubborn bank of cloud while I gave Marshside a once over, and cursed the fickle weather of early spring. Less than 24 hours before Commas and Peacocks were tottering about in the garden at Dempsey Towers. Any butterfly…
Shake a leg. | John Dempsey Birdblog
M'learned friend Mike Stocker informs me that the Little Ringed Plover I bumped into at Marshside this lunchtime (a Wheatear-aspiration fuelled detour on the way to a job), was 11 days earlier than the first bird last year. The LRP was pattering about on the big mudbank off Sandgrounders Hide just before 1pm - there'll…
It’s the little things… | John Dempsey Birdblog
In an upended world, it's the little things that keep us going. So there I was in Somerset again this morning, scouring Steart Marshes WWT for the tiniest wader on the planet, so diminutive it's apparently even teeny weenier than the combined wit, intelligence and humanity of the current residents of Pennsylvania Avenue (well, Least…
The Least I could do | John Dempsey Birdblog
More hours on the tarmac, this time down country to Somerset, long before dawn broke on another cold, grey day. Elvis channelled by a Belfast postman - keep driving. Some type of non-linear time epiphany while stuck in the inevitable M5/M6 rush-hour log-jam (Yam Yam carbon monoxide levels'll do that everytime) - keep driving. Waving…
Expectation & reality | John Dempsey Birdblog
I'd looked forward to a lovely quivering orange tail, black mask and big white wing-flashes set off by a charcoal body, vibrant enough to brighten any murky January day. The male Black Redstart at New Brighton had all those features, but all too briefly, as it swept up into an alcove on the hulking massif…
Sticky fingers | John Dempsey Birdblog
My battered old p900 has shed some of its plastic grips leaving just the adhesive that once held things together, meaning sticky fingers as I tried to snap the drake Ringed-necked Duck at Victoria Park in St Helens this morning. We're all losing bits as the years advance I guess, until we eventually fade away.…
A slight thaw | John Dempsey Birdblog
The Snow Bunting was still signing autographs on a busy Southport beach this morning - I left her doing her thing and headed up to Crossens. Although temperatures had rallied, the creeks and channels were still choked with ice at Marshside and numbers of birds were correspondingly low. A Barnacle Goose was with Pinks, but…
Deja Poo | John Dempsey Birdblog
Another two days staking out the fragrant vistas of Ham Hill water treatment works in Kent on Friday and Saturday failed to yield the hoped for results. Alders and settling tanks walls devoid of Yellow Warbler will take some time to dissolve at the back of my optic nerve, and the sensation of sub-zero numbed…
Barley Sugars | John Dempsey Birdblog
When I was a tiny little fella many moons ago I would hide in the gap between the fridge and the kitchen wall whenever priests came to visit the house (a normal occurrence in those far-off days). My Nan, although a devout lady, clearly approved of my tactics and would reward my skulking with a…
Almost | John Dempsey Birdblog
A few white flecks short of summer, this Black-headed Gull was looking dapper on Crosby beach this morning, despite the fierce north westerly ripping across the sands as the tide turned. A colour-ringed individual, "248L" is a local, ringed as a four-year-old bird last year at Ainsdale, and encountered a few times there, but I…
Let sleeping Scaup lie. | John Dempsey Birdblog
Dozing amongst the Tufties at Junction Pool, this young male Scaup was a diversion on a quiet afternoon. Merlin and Great White Egret through, and while the reserve was quietish north of Marshside Rd, a pleasing roost of 1,500+ Goldies, with 600 or so Lapwings, Ruff, Curlew, Blackwits and Dunlin was like a blast from…
That time again | John Dempsey Birdblog
A quick detour to Southport beach today for the usual November point-blank Snow Buntery - although this one has appeared a week or so earlier than in 2023. It's tempting to wonder if the bunting is a returning bird (and it is passing similar to the wintering one last year), but without sticking a colour…
Transpennine transatlantic | John Dempsey Birdblog
Long time standing in a leafy cul-de-sac in West Yorkshire with Neill Hunt, Graham Clarkson and Andy Pryce today, but the sun was shining and the curiously named burg of Shelf came good after three hours. I'd picked the boys up for the short drive over the Pennines (innoculations - check, passports - check) and…
Recce | John Dempsey Birdblog
With a guided walk to lead on Friday, I took the opportunity for a recce at Birkdale LNR today, in marginally brighter conditions. Still total cloud cover, but good numbers of Fieldfare (50+) and Redwing (19) were flickering about in noisy flocks from one clump of scrub to another, scoffing Holly and Hawthorn berries. A…
Whackamole | John Dempsey Birdblog
Playing "Whackamole" with a diving female Goldeneye on the Sandplant lagoon made a change from attempting the same futile exercise with the Long-tailed Duck in the November gloom at Marshside today. The latter was still diving away off Hesketh Road platform, rarely staying up long enough for me to find it, let alone focus the…
Setting suns | John Dempsey Birdblog
Enjoyed some truly shadowy views of the Long-tailed Duck at Marshside this evening with Graham Clarkson as the bird happily dived in one of the flooded lagoons out on the saltmarsh. A look from the screen at Sandgrounders had proved fruitless as dusk gathered (seem to be making a habit of this crepuscular birding), but…
Night skies | John Dempsey Birdblog
I was hoping for another gawp at the comet tonight before it fades in the western skies after I enjoyed reasonable views as it plumed towards the horizon on Thursday. The northern lights, big ol' Hunter's Supermoon and a streaky comet over my garden in just one week - not too shabby. It looked promising…
Gone pishing… | John Dempsey Birdblog
A pleasant enough lunchtime walk out to scope Sea Buckthorn burn sites for this winter at Ainsdale got far better after a sneaky bit of pishing. A passing flock of Long-tailed and Great Tits had me all vocal in the willows west of Sands Lake today, especially after a Chiffy started calling back and flicked…
North east winds | John Dempsey Birdblog
With a fine run of north east winds forecast and the excitement at Flamboro' last weekend, heading to Spurn for a coupla days was the obvious course of action, given the excellent hospitality of Neill Hunt. I drove over early hours on Wednesday morning, pulling up at Sammy's Point as large groups of Redwings called…
Most kind Amy, most kind. | John Dempsey Birdblog
I should have asked Amy's full name as she graciously allowed me to snatch phone pics off the back of her camera this afternoon. But I was too busy gawping at the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler as it paused in the tangle of branches by Bempton's feeding station this afternoon. Amy clearly understood fieldcraft, patiently crouching…
Good different | John Dempsey Birdblog
I always look forward to monthly survey duties around the mouth of the Alt and today had plenty of variety as I counted the waders, gulls and wildfowl. Things didn't start off too well as a Peregrine sailed up from the south, scaring the Bejaysus out of all the birds and totally taking the piss…
Spurned again. | John Dempsey Birdblog
Glorious wall to wall Autumn sun was welcoming at Spurn when I arrived for the weekend yesterday, checking out Sammy's Point before giving Kilnsea, Beacon Lane, the Triangle and the Warren several laps. Out from 7.30am, a steady series of encounters with friends old and new and good autumn birds made it a privilege to…