Rambling & Brambling

With the road down to CQ Reserve more suitable for a toboggan, I decided to leave the car outside the barrier and go ‘en pied’ as our neighbours across the channel say.

Perhaps this was just as well, for today I had opted to leave the scope at home for a change and instead of just flopping down in the west hide, have a good poke around the whole site.

After slipping and skidding my way to edge of the marsh with just a handful of thrushes to show for my efforts, I hit the jackpot with fifteen to twenty Brambling perched in a bush next to the helipad – my first this year and an excellent addition to the Flintshire list that I am compiling this year.

A brief visit to the hide revealed hundreds of the commoner estuarine birds feeding on the mudflats with Shelduck, Teal, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit all present in excellent numbers.

Oakenholt Marsh also held good numbers of birds with a massive flock of Canada Geese over towards Flint and nearer the hide a female Merlin harried a male Sparrowhawk until it eventually succeeded in chasing it off.

Heading towards the bunded pools it became evident that hundreds more Teal and huge flocks of Wigeon were in the river channel, plus a trio of Bewick’s Swans that dropped in from the White Sands to complete an excellent hour or so - especially given the horrible dreech weather.

Connah’s Quay 11.01.10

15+ Brambling
1 Merlin (Female)
2 Sparrowhawk
3 Bewick’s Swan
Plus shed loads of Wigeon & Teal.

Until later.