Troch 'n' Roll

Moxey headed back out to Hightown on Friday afternoon and managed to get another two Wheatear but the birds moved through pretty quickly and after a while, they had all pushed off. Later on, I met up with Moxey at Hightown, on the other side of the railway, to see if we could pick up any Linnets coming in to roost in the willows. The Linnet decided not to play ball, but we did ring a further eight birds, including two Willow Warblers, of which there were a significant number singing. The two trochilus that we caught were both males, side by side in the net, most likely they were squabbling over territory.

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

We also heard the first Grasshopper Warbler of the spring, reeling from the grasses whilst six Swallow flew over as we were packing up.

Willow Warbler -   2
Chiffchaff -   (1)
L.T.Tit -   3
Wheatear -   2
Wren -   1
Robin -   1
Blackbird -   1

TOTAL:   10   (1)

With the weekend forecast was one of blustery showers, we were keen to get a couple of ringing sessions in. Depleted in terms of manpower for various reasons, we had a choice of Rimrose or Kings Moss on Saturday morning so me and Charlie headed down the East Lancs Road once again to ring at the feeding stations. Arriving at 5am, we were rather moistened in a brief shower but the Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were soon in full song.

Willow Tit (Parus montanus)

Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis flammea cabaret)

We knew from the outset that the session wouldn't be a long one, the weather was forecast to get progressively worse and by 10am, the wind had got up and the showers began. The nets were quickly taken down and two, rather soggy scousers, trudged back down the hill, with the doubling of our annual Willow Warbler total and a couple more warblers to boot.

Chiffchaff -   1
Willow Warbler -   6
L.T.Tit -   (1)
Blue Tit -   (1)
Great Tit -   (2)
Lesser Redpoll -   1   (1)
Willow Tit -   (1)
Coal Tit -   (2)
Chaffinch -   1   (4)
Goldfinch -   1   (2)
Dunnock -   (2)
Blackcap -   2
Reed Bunting -   1
Greenfinch -   3
Blackbird -   1
Jay -   1

TOTAL:   18   (16)

With heavy rain showers and a blustery wind, this morning I opted to head into Liverpool to watch the giants wake up. This weekend has seen a massive street theatre event here in Liverpool, the biggest in the country's history, entitled Sea Odyssey.

The Giants wake up