23/02/2019 Parkgate, Cheshire

Short-eared Owl: With Dawn having plans and myself being at a loos end I dropped Damion a text and arranged a day out at the 10m high tide at Parkgate.



Upon arrival we walked the length of the promenade and got our best views of a hunting male hen harrier opposite the Old Quay Stonehouse pub.








As the incoming tide flooded the marsh, the voles were flushed from their homes and move ever closer to the promenade, resulting in a feeding frenzy amongst the owls, harriers and resident kestrels.






The extent of the spectacle is dependent on the weather conditions on the day - low pressure and a strong northwesterly wind are the best to drive the tide in fully, but at this time of year and in these weather conditions we didn't expect the high tide to come right up to the wall.

Still we watched as the water ooze over the marsh and the hunting raptors feeding along he waters edge.
Heading back up to the Old Baths car park we counted six great white egrets, two marsh harrier and had our first glimpse of a male hen harrier that ghosted past us in the distance.
After an hour or so at the Old Baths car park we headed off the get some food and the famous Parkgate chippy and when we returned the ow;ls appeared.






We counted five owls then another two came in making seven in total, several of which came right close in to the car park wall.

We had some better views of ring-tailed hen harriers as the evening drawn in, but the short-eared owls stole the show. 
If you're patient and you know where to look, you can usually see the birds of prey flying over the marsh, but a high tide pushes everything closer, giving even better views and more chance of exciting action.
Marsh Harrier: High tide on the spectacular Dee Estuary is not to be missed.

04/02/2019 Wageningen, Netherlands

Spotted Nutcracker (slender billed): There are some twitches that you know you will remember forever, some that stand out as extra special and this one most certainly fits that narrative.
Dawn and I booked a mini-break to Amsterdam staying on a lovely house boat along one of the beautiful canals that cross-cross the city.
We arrived late on Sunday night and booked a hire car for Monday morning.
After a fun night out and a good nights sleep we picked the car up from Centraal Station and embarked on the short journey to Wageningen, located about an hour east and was on pretty easy roads to navigate.





We arrived on the quiet suburban streets of Wageningen and ran in to two local birders, their English was good and they told us that they hadn't seen the bird in over two hours!!!
I was alarmed, I know that bird has been in this town since well before Christmas, but it had moved from the edge of an housing estate further into town and with the prowling cat population and local sparrowhawks I did think, if only for a second, that it may have gone! maybe for good.
Luckily however almost as soon as Dawn and I arrived and I opened a packet of hazelnuts the bird came straight in, right past my legs and landed right next to me. Within touching distance. This was superb, what an excellent way to see my first ever nutcracker.


The spotted nutcracker has an extensive range forming a broad swathe east-west from Scandinavia right across northern Europe, Siberia and to eastern Asia, including Japan, inhabiting the huge taiga conifer forests in the north.
The Eurasian nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) has several subspecies, each occupying a different part of the range and depending on different conifer species. Some of the populations can be separated on bill size. This individual is classified as a slender billed (N. c. macrorhynchos), which occurs over most of Siberia and is the most widespread of the bunch.
Spotted nutcrackers are not migratory, but will erupt out of range when a cone crop failure leaves them short of a food supply.
This slender billed eastern race being the more likely to do this.
The bird happily and boldly went about 'caching' the nuts, burying them under in the soil besides a kerb and laying dead leaves over them.
Dawn and I along with the two other birders were soon joined by some passing locals one of which came prepared and brought his own monkey nuts.
Taking one from his pocket and extending his arm the bird jumped out of the tree and on to the mans hand. I was blown away.

The bird flew up and drank out of a blocked gutter before disappearing, we went off for some lunch in the town and came back only to have the nutcracker spooked off by a passing sparrowhawk.

(this image was taken on my iPhone)


Sparrowhawk: I was relieved to see that the bird of prey was after the local pigeons - but the nutcracker better keep a sharp eye out! This picture was taken in the garden where it spent much of its time.

This was such a great trip, Amsterdam is a lovely city full of great sights and good food and seeing the nutcracker just topped it off.