Tag Archives: birding
Spring’s Shifting Soundscapes
As I walked around Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve recently, I noticed the difference in the birds occupying both the soundscape and the landscape. Residents had given way to visitors, the latter muscling their way in to sing their own songs and … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birdsong, birdwatching, common whitethroat, grasshopper warbler, nature, reed warbler, sedge warbler, Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve, walking
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A Whirlwind Weekend of Wonders
I learnt a very helpful piece of information during a recent weekend’s birding (14th-17th April): bird for spring migrants on a rainy day with a south-east wind blowing. It seemed counterintuitive to this fairly fair-weather birder and walker until the … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birdwatching, connections, farmland, nature, Oglet, redstart, ring ouzel, wheatear, whinchat
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A Good Friday’s Birding
On a glorious Good Friday, I visited a new (to me) birding site with a friend. Target species: yellowhammer – another species in rapid decline, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog (https://wordsanddeeds.co.uk/not-the-bird-we-were-looking-for/). The reasons are numerous: farmers sowing crops … Continue reading
Within Way and Hale Shore, 14th February 2023
The weather forecast had promised another beautiful sunny day, so I had made plans to re-visit Within Way and Hale Shore; however, the morning dawned cold, grey and misty – but I still went out, wondering if much would be … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, grey partridge, Hale, Hale lighthouse, Hale shore, nature, walking, Within Way
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Royden Park and Thurstaston Hill, 13th February 2023
On a beautiful February morning, I headed over the water to the Wirral and Royden Park – which is more of a parkland and woodland than your standard urban park. There’s a walled garden and a miniature railway, and a … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, nature, Royden Park, Thurstaston Hill, walking, Wirral
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An Early February Walk around Speke Hall and Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve
It is a beautiful early February morning of azure, cloud-free sky and a silvery frost on the ground, and after seeing a raven yesterday I have a desire to go and visit the pair that call Speke Hall their home, … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, frost, Mersey, ravens, Speke Hall, Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve, spring, wild
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Parkgate High Tide Watch, 24th January 2023
On a beautiful late January morning, I headed to Parkgate on the Wirral for the high tide watch: the spring tide would be around the 10-metre mark at 1pm, although with the weather conditions (specifically, no wind) it would not … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, Hen Harrier Action, lesser redpoll, nature, Parkgate
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Birding at Calderstones Park, 21-22 January 2023
It was a game of two halves, birding at Calderstones Park last weekend: the weather on the Saturday was awful – freezing cold, very dull – whilst on the Sunday it had improved, but the birds were out in force … Continue reading
Phew! I Saw the Smew!
Having unexplainably passed up the chance to be driven in comfort to see the handsome male smew (Mergus albellus) that had just been spotted at Lapwing Hall Lake in Chelford, Cheshire, the opportunity to make my own way there after … Continue reading
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Tagged birding, birds, Cheshire, confidence, Lapwing Hall Lake, nature, smew, wildlife
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New Year, New List – Part 2
Back on the footpath that links Calderstones Park with the golf course and Allerton Towers, I continue past the golf club and on towards the course itself, wondering what other species will be found along this part of the walk.
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Tagged Allerton Towers, birding, birdwatching, Calderstones Park, Liverpool history, nature
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