Well the SUN does actually shine in Cheshire now and again and today was a 'now and again' day so we headed out to what is our favourite Local Patch - Cholmondeley Estate near Malpas . The estate gardens and meres are looking fantastic, although the walk around Deer Park mere had to be cut short as the woodland path is still flooded. We are used to seeing the path flooded but usually that's because it's Winter - not August ! OK enough about the poor british summer and back to the birding.
In the wooded area there was plenty of activity; singing Garden Warbler and Blackcap were difficult to get good views of but we managed to see them well enough in the end. Other warblers in the area included Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff and overhead Raven could be heard but only seen occasionally. Bullfinch, Nuthatch and a large flock of Long-tailed Tit were added to our list. Before we headed out of the woods alongside the Mere, two birds to catch my eye were a Common Tern feeding over the water and a single Male Crossbill on one of the mature Pines.
Other birds seen on or around the Mere during our visit included, Reed and Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Great-crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Buzzard and Mistle Thrush (40+) Various numbers of all these species are regularly recorded at this site.
Sadly the Mute Swans have not done so well this season and have lost all of their chicks.
Something I missed when in the field was the Reed Warbler and the Reed Bunting were both ringed.
Well a short but encouraging blog, let's hope the weather holds and we can get out and about a bit more.
Cholmondeley Gardens
Reed Warbler
Blackbird (Juv)
Common Tern
Reed Bunting (Ringed)
Reed Warbler (Ringed)
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