Perhaps not the exact origin of the saying but coot chicks are very bald indeed!
This is one of five on the pool just outside the reception building at Burton Mere Wetlands.
We also have a newly hatched brood of greylag geese and five different broods of avocets, so babies are the feature of the week.
Other recent sightings: Marsh harrier (female), garganey (male), yellow wagtail, sanderling, grey plover, tawny owl
"Congratulations on the birth of your baby avocets" do greetings card companies make such a card?
Sometime on Sunday, Burton Mere Wetlands' first ever avocet chicks hatched and instantly begun to steal the show. Three tiny grey, fluffy, long-legged, up-turned-billed chicks are unbelievably cute and could soon be joined by more as nine more parents sit tightly on eggs......
However, the parent birds are going to have to keep their wits about them as already an immature peregrine and adult great black-backed gull have been on patrol ... !
Other recent sightings: Garganey (drake), ringed teal (escapee, very similar plumage to garganey so be careful!), 80+ black-tailed godwits, little ringed plover, cuckoo (male), reed warblers, hobby (x2)
I'm not sure why but every bird beginning with "Wh" is turning up here at the moment.
Earlier on it was the whimbrels en route from west and southern Africa to their northern breeding grounds and this past week has seen a large fall of wheatear, whinchat and white wagtails on the Wirral. Sunday saw four whinchat flycatching along the fenceline in front of the reception building - amazing views probably the best for years on this reserve. These close relatives of the more familiar stonechat winter in Central and Southern Africa often crossing the Mediterrannean AND Sahara in one go!
Also beginning with "wh" are the whitethroats as both common and lesser are present sining on the reserve. The lesser whitethroats are perhaps more noticable at Inner Marsh Farm and due to their skulking behaviour are often only revelaed by thier distinctive dry rattling song which sound like the beginning of a yellowhammer song.
Other recent sightings (not beginning with Wh): Garganey x2, Dunlin x5, ringed plover x2, little ringed plover x2, yellow wagtail x6, avocet x20, black-tailed godwit x68, Temminck's Stint (Parkgate),
"Seconds out, round two..." should be the cry as the ruff at Burton Mere Wetlands are duking it out! Don't worry though as their version of the duking it out is actually more of an showy dance.
These fascinating birds become rather odd-looking at this time of year as their breeding hormones kick in they acquire the most spectacular plumage. The ruff gets a ruff and not only that there are different coloured ruffs with different coloured ruffs ... and just when you thought you were getting to grips with your wader identification.
These males compete for females (and to confuse matters more the females ruffs do not get ruffs and are more correctly known as reeves) by forming a lek, an area of ground were males can display to each other. The ruff lek is very complicated and is difficult to summarise in a few sentences .... so here goes!
WIthin this lekking area several roles for the ruffs have been identified. Some ruffs are typically territorial (usually black or chesnut ruffs) hold and dominate leks. Whilst the white variant tends to be of a roving "satellite" type and tend to try and mate whilst the dominant male is otherwise distracted. A third type of male behaviour has recently been noted too as some males are mimics of females and sneak in to mate!
Currently at Burton Mere Wetlands there are 12 male ruff and they can be seen going through all these behaviours even though there isn't a female in sight!
Its also worth noting that these birds will not breed here but other notable birds breeding here so far include: tree sparrow, avocet, lapwing, redshank, water rail and little grebe. And we've already seen our first ducklings :)
Other recent sightings include (all BMW unless stated): great white egret (Parkgate too), spoonbill (Parkgate), yellow wagtail (x5), spotted redshank (x10), hen harrier, peregrine, white wagtail, grasshopper warbler
An interesting yellow wagtail was found at Burton Mere Wetlands yesterday by some local birdwatchers and caused a bit of commotion.
Yellow wagtails are an interesting species with much variation across their range. In Britain we get the standard "yellow wagtail" which has a mostly yellow head with small amounts of pale green on the nape. However, on a regualr basis at this time of year the UK turns up a few of the other variations on the theme.
This individual shows a blue-grey head with no supercillium (eyestripe) and has a clear white throat thus leading most observers to lean on the side of the Italian race known as Ashy-headed Wagtail. But some Northern Fenno-Scandia birds have this white throat .... any input is much welcome particularly from those who are familair with these two races.
Oh and it has been seen today as well!