Red Breasted Merganser: A trip to see the
Hobbit - it was ok, not brilliant! And after reading the sightings on the Dee
Estuary website I took the opportunity to stop off and see the birds on West
Kirby Marina Lake.
There were 10 RBM on the lake with 4 drakes and the rest red headed females.
The tide was on its way back out but still full when I arrived and there were
loads of wader movement in front of the shadow of Hilbre Island with around 100
Dunlin flying around. 
****MERRY CHRISTMAS****
Tree Creeper: Stuck behind a large festive Boxing Day guided walk on the narrow paths of Leighton Moss and they spotted this Tree Creeper feeding on a moss covered branch. There was also a Marsh Tit and Coal Tit feeding on the same branch where someone had placed some seed.
Nuthatch: After a few days off im finally back at Burton Mere where I am never disapointed, Water Rail, male Hen Harrier and Whooper Swans makes for a good day at work.
Siskin: The feeders have been moved away from the reception building and the birds are loving the new set up. They have been placed by the meres and picnic tables where you can see Siskin, Nutchatch and loads of other woodland birds feeding up close.
Hawfinch: I was treated to a Sunday twitch by Dawn my partner who drove me to Conwy where we drove up to Caerhun. I bumped in to the very friendley Steve Culley.
As you can see I seriously struggled to get a decent shot of the bird, I was made up to see the bird through my bins which gave me excellent views but struggled with the manual focus on my camera! 
Smew: (female) My first Smew, ok it's not a stunning white
cracked porcelain male but a red headed female and the pics aren’t great as the
birds was staying some distance away from the lens but never the less a great
bird.
It was a busy bird, feeding along the far side of the bank at the Phoenix Hide it seemed to be hanging around with the Tufted
Ducks.
Other birds to note were Willow Tit, Reed Bunting, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a number of Jays at the feeding station
which was nicely stocked
up! 
Siskin: One of my favourite birds of the winter, these
little yellowish green finches are everywhere at Burton Mere.
Water Rail:Today’s
morning started with lots of strimming around both sides of the Reception Hide, which
meant very little birds of the feeders around the centre and birds on the main scrape.
All this disturbance
was for a specific purpose, to cut rides in to the reeds in order to make
seeing the resident Water Rails easier. And just as the wardens put their
strimmers down the invisible bird made an appearance.
Nuthatch:
Great weather and great birds today at work-if that what you want to call it,
with a male and female Brambling and a few female Siskins along with a Red
Breasted Merganser.
Waxwing:
What brilliant birds, not only are they stunning and scarce
but when they turn up on our small damp island they cause us birders to do a
little twitching! 
There were about 50+ birds which were in a large American
Plane Tree and seemed to be scouting the areas by flying short distances off
their perches then back again. They then decided to descend only a metre away
from me on a berry tree polishing off the fruit.
I arrived around 1330 and the birds stayed until around 1410
and then flew off out of sight, I came back about 40 minutes later and they
were back on their American Plane Tree. 
Brambling: I had this
bird on a prefect branch overlooking the feeding station in perfect
sunlight and as I lifted my camera and pressed the butted to capture
the image there was no usual click....what! Oh no.....the battery
went dead. I was fuming at my lack of organisation I knew it was
running low.
Great White Egret: Another great day at work-if
that's what’s people call it! It started of with a stunning male
Marsh Harrier cursing over the reeds from the visitor centre hide
then a female Peregrine cashing Snipe over the main scrape which was
then mobbed my a female Merlin.
Lapland Bunting: Today I went bunting hunting up on the Great Orme. I started along Marine Drive there where loads of the regular gulls and a few stone chat with a few grey seal bobbing around the rocks like corks. My aims was to head over the visitor centre and then make my way around the lime stone paths, it was here I bumped in to two nice birders from who were on the same hunt. 
I placed some nuts one the log below the feeders and the well names nuthatch was straight on them hovering each one up before the rats and squirrels got to them.
