Red Kite

Nothing too much out of the ordinary at Connah’s Quay this morning: building numbers of Shelduck and a few hundred Black-tailed Godwits being the pick.

I decided to re-focus my attentions towards the marsh and instantaneously picked up a large bird flying a hundred feet or so above the ground. My initial impression was of a male Marsh Harrier, but as the bird banked on to its side it revealed itself to be a Red Kite – my first for the estuary. It was in no mood to hang around and after no more than two minutes the raptor had drifted towards Hilbre and out of sight – perhaps to investigate the reported Paddyfield Warbler!

A single Spoonbill was the pick at Inner Marsh Farm today, although as per usual the bird was in the land of nod. Most of my time was spent watching a pair of Lesser-black Backed Gulls attempting to feast on an eel. Their bills did not seem sharp enough to pierce the skin of the fish and an attempt by one individual to swallow the meal was aborted when the gull realised asphyxiation was the most likely outcome! They must have been British birds mind you; French Gulls would probably have braised the eel in cider, added a little cream and then served it with a freshly baked baguette!

It is still strange to see the reserve so bereft of breeding birds, although the Oystercatchers are still brooding eggs on one of the islands. Bon chance!