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Welcome to the St Helens Birds and Wildlife blog. We welcome your reports from across the borough regarding all forms of wildlife. Please click on the "Report a sighting" tab if you would like to contribute to this blog.

We ask that you refrain from posting exact breeding locations of any species which may be considered scarce or vulnerable, and in particular schedule 1 species. In the context of St Helens, schedule 1 species usually means kingfisher and little ringed plover. Little ringed plover should not be reported at all on this blog between 1st May and 1st August.

Scarce or vulnerable species include but are not restricted to any species of wader, ducks other than mallard, all owls, any birds of prey, grey or yellow wagtails, grey heron, all grebes, Cetti’s warbler, water rail, willow tit, corn bunting etc. If in doubt, please ask.

We reserve the right to edit or delete posts which contravene this rule.


Eccleston Mere

Water rail 1 showing well in ditch along western side of mere.
Willow tit 1 in SW corner
Pochard 13 (9mm, 4ff)
Wigeon 2 (m&f) under island
Mute swan 6 (5ads & 1 juv.)
Snipe 7
Kingfisher 1
Bullfinch 2
Lesser redpoll 1
Siskin 1+ heard
Teal 2+ heard
Tufted duck 8 (5mm, 3ff)

Once again the water rail showed exceptionally well, and shows little sign of nerves, even when it's obviously aware that you are there. It seems quite happy so long as you don't make any sudden or loud movements. The biggest challenge with this bird is spotting it in the first instance. Today I first noticed some ripples behaving in an odd way in the ditch, and on further investigation it proved to be the rail.

I was only about 2m from the bird as it walked along the ditch, and it even allowed me to open my Velcro sealed camera bag, get the camera out and fire off a few shots. It's difficult to get a decent photo of the rail, it's very dark in the ditch and there's lots of bramble and branches in the way so you're constantly focusing on the wrong thing, or the camera speed is so slow that the bird is just a blur. However, here are the best I've managed so far.


Spot the water rail!





 
It seems impossible to get it's whole body in focus, either that or it's head's missing or some other vital part!

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