Anyway, some people say they're Ruddy Shelduck and some say they are hybrids. Time for a quick look me thinks. A quick trip down to Winterley Pool near Crewe was in order. Time for the old two bird theory. Actually its the two pair theory. Groucho took tomorrows sandwiches and threw them out to the motley collection of ducks that appeared from the nearby overhanging trees and it was instantly apparant there were two 'pairs' of 'Ruddy Shelduck'. One pair a definite hybrid pair shown below:
These were 40 -50 % bulkier than the other pair that looked as if they could be 'purer'. These were much more wary and didn't come as close as the bulkier pair. However, close examination of the photo shows the tips of the primarys have been neatly snipped!
About the only pure bred bird we saw here was a Kingfisher.
The Snipe spent the best part of an hour probing the mud infront of us but was partially obscured by Mares Tails alot of the time.
Star bird however was the juvenile Hen Harrier that flew through causing mass panic before hunting the fields adjacent to Shotwick sailing lake. A beautifully marked bird with really rufous underparts.
Saturday afternoon was spent in horribly windy conditions at Frodsham with Groucho Payne who excelled himself by finding the first of two Curlew Sandpipers amongst the Dunlin / Ringed Plover flcok on No. 6 tank. Two Sanderling were also present but no Black -necked Grebes although we did find one juvenile later on the Weaver. The grotty Ruddy Shelduck hybrid was also still present. 
Locally theres been little about. The highlight of the week being a Hobby scything through the Hirundine flock over Lea Manor farm and a singing Yellowhammer in the same area. Apart from that I've resorted to try and photogrpah 'our' garden House Sparrow flock that have now grown to about 20 after a succesful breeding season. When not on the feeders they congregate in our laurel hedge.
The garden Blackbirds have just fledged their second brood and the whole family is busy stuffing themselves stupid on my Rowan Berries. At this rate there won't be any left for this years Waxwing invasion.
A Wilson's Petrel was spotted by the bridge based spotting team and in the ensuing rush fifty birders were almost crushed. This bird didn't linger - probably put off by the overpowering stench of vomit, obviously not as attractive to a discerning Petrel as rancid chum, and was seen by only a few. Plenty of Storm Petrels were gathering to gorge themselves on this feast and combined with the swell & diesel fumes from the funnel (a major disadvantage of our eeyrie) even us stalwarts began to feel ever so slighly queasy.
Our drowsy state was broken by an announcement over the tannoy 'Great Shearwater in the wake'. Instantly, like the fully trained Special Forces we are, the team grabbed binoculars and got straight on this mythical Southern Hemisphere bird. Awesome. For the next hour it casually cruised in and out of our wake. A lifer for Mike!
This was one bird I really wanted to see again and I wasn't disappointed!
Planning our route home via Chew Valley lake were we found the unringed male Ferruginous Duck we arrived back in Cheshire at 17.00. A very tiring trip. Some good birds but a bit disappointing in the numbers apart from Storm Petrels, Fulmars & Gannets!
Even though autumn migration has officially started some birds are still busy raising young. This is one of several broods of Tufted Duck on the Weaver.
More locally good numbers of Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows are now congregating on recently harvested barley fields whilst a Nuthatch was a welcome addition to the garden list feeding on sunflower hearts.
Tenerife was scorching hot – like the landscape the temperature was almost igneous! As well as the birds(!) there were plenty of reptiles around. Lizards abounded – many of them positively ancient and wrinkled in their Speedo’s. What is it with elderly continental gentlemen and their Speedo’s.
Since the early part of the year a Tri-coloured Heron had been present around the Playa de las Americas and Los Christianos area but despite intensive searching over three days in blistering heat it couldn’t be found. This bird was a first for the Western Palearctic and was remarkably tame throughout its stay. With the increased number of tourists during the summer holidays its probably moved on or to another Island.
Around the hotel complex Spannish Sparrows abounded although photographing them was no easy matter. One has to be very careful where one sticks ones telephoto lens!!!!! Sitting on the seafront at night with a cold beer allowed good views of Cory’s Shearwaters – they appeared to be attracted by the bright lights. Bertholets Pipits could be found almost everywhere there was a bit of derelict land. Theres a lot of this around Tenerife......
Everywhere we went the local Canaries race of Chiffchaff perfomed their unmistakable but slightly odd sounding song – a bit like Jonathan Ross they couldn’t’ sing their ‘C’s’ so they sounded more like ‘whiff, whiff, whaff, whaff……
Mount Teide is impressive but again the heat was oppressive. We’d intended to get the cable car to the top but the queue was about 2hrs. Sod that – we went to a bar instead. Still we did manage to drive up to an impressive altitude of 2,200 m.
One of my other hobbies is diving. I don’t get many opportunities but a fortuitous encounter in a local Supermarket saw us piling into the jeep and heading towards El Puertito where I had booked a dive whilst the others snorkled. This proved to be one of the outstanding experiences I’ve ever had. The bay is frequented by up to six Loggerhead Turtles who interact with the divers in an amazing way. They’ve learnt to gulp in the air expelled when you breath to save them having to surface to breath and actively seek out divers! The first I knew one was around was when something bumped into my air tank. Next minute I’m eyeball to eyeball with a 1m long turtle that gulped air from my spare regulator and allowed me to stroke it. Awesome. There are very strict rules for divers at this site. You do not harass the turtles – they will come to you. Once it had filled its lungs it sped off.
The nearby Erjos Ponds were completely dry but proved to be a good spot for Plain Swift and numerous finches & warblers. Several tintillon Chaffinches were amongst good numbers of Canarys, Linnets & Goldfinches. The scrub also held Sardinian & Spectacled Warblers. Eventually heading back to our hotel I stopped at Santiago del Teide where yet more Rock Sparrows could be seen.
Our final full day saw me catching the bus into Los Christianos and walking back to our hotel near Adeje along the seafront in a final search for the heron. No success but good views of Whimbrel & Turntstone. Several times I’d seen small flocks of Black-capped Parakeets flying over but not seen them perched but managed to locate a feeding flock in Los Christianos. I’m not sure of the status of these birds as ‘tickable’ species but they were pretty spectacular anyway.
A brilliant holiday and an ideal way to combine some good birding with a bit of R & R. As the title says – the five ‘S’s’ – cerveza sounds like it begins with an S. 
I saw a total of 42 species in my week on the Island including single Barbary Falcon, numerous Kestrel,s Common Buzzard, Yellow-legged Gull & Blackcap! Besides the turtles & lizards other animals seen included Algerian Hedgehog & Rabbit.
