Very good days birding

[tigertom]

Went out today down to frodsham marsh cheshire looking to see two avovcets that had been reported there as this would be a new tick for me and it been a long time since ive been out looking for waders. Got to see the avovcets 1 adult 1 juv but as well as them got 50+ black tail godwits (new) little stints(new) 2 ruff 1 male 1 female (new) 6 curlew sandpipers(new) all these along with ring plover 900+, gray plover 15, golden plover 1, turnstone 3, dunlin 30+ and sandling 30+. Also seen today 6 late passage swifts over head and one peregrine did miss out on wood sandpiper on marsh and two hobbys over head but was very good day got some great views with the help of another birder and his scope to pick some of them out, one place I will be going back to very soon
MIKE

[htcdude]

Sounds like a great day! Hope you catch the Wood Sandpiper

Nige

[Shrike]

Brilliant things them scopes mate but you now what they say "if the mountain wont come to mohammed then mohammed must come to the mountain "

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by tigertom

Went out today down to frodsham marsh cheshire looking to see two avovcets that had been reported there as this would be a new tick for me and it been a long time since ive been out looking for waders. Got to see the avovcets 1 adult 1 juv but as well as them got 50+ black tail godwits (new) little stints(new) 2 ruff 1 male 1 female (new) 6 curlew sandpipers(new) all these along with ring plover 900+, gray plover 15, golden plover 1, turnstone 3, dunlin 30+ and sandling 30+.

I counted twenty eight curlew sandpipers this afternoon at Frodsham No. 6 tank, this morning there were forty-two! Also present were three little stints, the two avocets, four greenshank, 8-10 sanderling and a common sandpiper, along with the usual dunlin, blackwits and ringed plover.

However, those figures for curlew sands and little stints pale into insignificance when one reads this post by Martin Garner on the Irish Bird Network in 1999:

The still held U.K. record count for one flock (of curlew sandpipers) was at Frodsham Marsh (my old stomping ground) with 170 birds on the 31st August 1972. There were also 140 there on 15th Sept 1985.

Frodsham also holds the record Little Stint flock with 311 there on 22nd Sept 1960.

I doubt either record has been surpassed since then?

Cheers
Jonathan

[tigertom]

Yes its a Great site frodsham marsh hope to be getting down there again very soon.
Just a pitty looks like plans for a wind farm on parts of this marsh will get the go ahead