www.northwalesbirding.co.uk

Had a quick look around one of my old haunts this lunchtime when I called in at Point of Ayr at Talacre. A walk through the warren produced up to a dozen redwings and a couple of fieldfares but no sign of wintering chiffchaff which I often got here. Back out in the sand dunes I had a fantastic close view of a female merlin sat on a log sheltering from the brisk northerly wind. Also came across a single grey plover on the edge of the marsh. No sign of any snow buntings yet but if anyone's ever in this area its always worth calling in, especially when tide is coming in.
Before I left I did my once regular visit to the local bakery at the end of Beach Road which I can well recommend!!

Nice one with the Merlin, is it me or are females more common wintering visitors? I rarely see males at all.
Do you know if the hide if fixed and operational again BCR? It used to be a nice target to reach and shelter after a cold walk.
Thanks. Henerz.

Hi Henerz, hide still not been replaced am afraid.
There is is nice hide on the bridge as you approach Point of Ayr on Beach Road which was put there in mitigation of land lost when the gas station was built some years ago. Unfortunately, unlike the originally land that was lost, it is only available to a selected few who do birds counts of the pools and wetland that was created.
As it happens I pulled in and checked the place today and found a nice lady doing a bird count who let me sit in for a while. Impressive numbers of black tailed godwits were on the fields with a guess of c700 and also one of the largest counts of shoveller I've seen for some time with probably 40-50 present. Plenty of curlew and lapwings here also and it's always looked a place anything could turn up - if you had access.

Nice lady was so wrapped up in counting that she didn't give you complete info. You can get the key from Kim Norman in Unit 1 at the Granaries, or from Security Lodge at the gas terminal if Kim is not there.

How strange that you should mention only female Merlins, i was talking to a friend only last weekend about the very same thing, it is something i too have noticed with them, we have them wintering here, and i cant say ive ever seen a male, all females. It was the same on the Western Isles.

Was it you by any chance?

Yeh Merlins are cool birds,i see plenty of males on the Moors and uplands in spring and summer but i also see mainly females in the winter,maybe the males are lot more secretive,as other raptors regularly feed on them?

Female Sparrowhawks will often take out male Merlins,but i have seen female Merlins see off Sparrowhawks.

Anyway i love both male and female Merlins,they brighten up any birdwatch,they are the Firecrest of the raptors!

Cheers Cidermaster

Thanks for that info Julie, I shall try and make use of it next time I'm down there. I used to do a lot of wader/duck counts on the Dee in the 80s and 90s and I know how hard it can be at times - so keep up the good work.

Generally, male merlins move further south in winter. Many British males move over to continental Europe. Off the top of my head I think I remember North Wales ringed male Merlins being recovered in South Wales, Cornwall and France.
I think a lot of people notice the lack of males in winter. Just how much this has to do with Migration and Altitudinal movements is up for debate. But there are a few compounding factors.
a) Male merlins are harder to see anyway
b) Most wader species are out of the size range as prey so less males are tied to the coast lines. As a result we miss a lot of males as our birding habits orientate around the coast in winter.
c) IMHO, it seems to me (and it would be interesting to get others opinions on this) that males are far less likely to stay in one spot through the winter.

Having said all this, during my work with BBC Autumnwatch and the Ravens and up until this very morning there is a beautiful adult male visible on the marsh just south of Malltraeth. Once you find his favourite perch you are almost guaranteed to see him every visit. Its always a thrill to watch him launch his attacks through the ditches

Interesting points Jesse.
The males I have seen haven't been twitchable in any respect and as you suggest probably move off quickly.
Thanks. Henerz.

Interesting stuff about Merlin movements. Henerz, don't forget also that some of the 'females' are likely to be first year birds of either sex. These often appear very female-like and can be very tricky to separate confidently in the field, especially if you only get brief views.

Good point made about first year birds there Chris. The reason I took this particular bird to be a female was I was able to get such a cracking view through a scope and felt the lack of any pale barring on the coverts meant that this was a female bird. But as you say separating some birds confidently in the field can be tricky.

Most British Merlins tend to move a maximum of 100 Km away from their breeding areas during the winter, making altitudinal movements to lowland areas. Males tend to hunt lowland farmland where they prey on skylarks & meadow pipits etc. We also get the Icelandic race of Merlin wintering on the West coast of the UK and Ireland. I think the males are just overlooked and possibly, as noted earlier, most birders are on the coast at this time of year.

Cheers,

Dewi.