spent yesterday on the wirral no petrels but stunning views of 2 ring tailed harriers from the boathouse at parkgate on the way home.
Rob Smallwood said
Thu Oct 2 11:16 PM, 2008
Take a look at Steve Round's photos on BirdGuides or his website - stunning!
John Rayner said
Thu Oct 2 8:27 PM, 2008
Today I was in the Leasowe lighthouse area from 11.30 - 1.30 where a total of 15 Leach's Petrels flew close by. They must have had quite a battering to get this far but it seems their troubles were only just starting. Some were in obvious distress pattering and resting on the water, one was harrassed incessently by a Herring Gull and another repeatedly stooped on by a juv Peregrine. We watched this for some time as the Petrel took rapid avoidance jinks and flicks but eventually it must have succumbed as later the Peregrine flew by clutching prey. One guy with a dustbin sized lens managed 2 or 3 shots and by zooming in on the image it was clearly a Petrel. Nature red in tooth and claw as they say.
Cheers, John
sid ashton said
Thu Oct 2 7:14 PM, 2008
Spent most of our time at Leasowe Gunsite where we had excellent views of the Leachs - some quite close to dry land - 9 birds in total. Also a really close in Manx Shearwater. The Gunsite is a good place to view especially on a day like today - just park facing the sea and away you go!!! Other species included Common Gull, Guillemot, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Knot and Redshank.
sid ashton said
Wed Oct 1 10:59 PM, 2008
Pete
Just noticed that Dee Estuary Birding have reported 100 plus Leachs past Hilbre and 50 plus at New Brighton - so it looks as though the gut feelings of a sea watching novice were not too far off the mark!!
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 08:13, 2008-10-02
sid ashton said
Wed Oct 1 10:05 PM, 2008
Pete
That's amazing for you to see so many Leach's Pets - hope that I am as fortunate tomorrow. Where do you suggest as the best place to watch? - I was thinking of starting at the usual place, New Brighton where I normally find them and then moving on to Red Rocks what do you think?
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 22:17, 2008-10-01
pete berry said
Wed Oct 1 12:17 PM, 2008
At least 40 Leach's Petrels seen off Wirral up to lunchtime today.
Rob Smallwood said
Mon Sep 29 11:08 PM, 2008
With the winds strongly in the west it was no surprise to see the odd Leach's report from Cumbria down to Fomby.
Formby will probably be the best bet for tomorrow but with the winds turning to the NW by Wednesday I think the Wirral/New Brighton might be the place to be....
Tim Wilcox said
Wed Sep 10 2:09 AM, 2008
Another interesting and not much known sea-watching point in Wales is Porth Ysgaden on the Llyn. I was there 2 mornings in a row a few weeks back whilst camping near Nefyn. We had 1000s of Manx - too many to count but a rate of about 10 a minute in a strong SW wind going to and from Bardsey with no apparent difficulty they are such great flyers. We also had 2 Great Skuas and 100s of Gannets and Kittiwakes. How good could it have been in a wind backing to NW? It's not in the new Where to Watch Birds in Wales (though oddly the much inferior Porth Dinllaen near Nefyn is) but is in the brilliant Best Birdwatching Sites in North Wales where the authors say it is the 'most reliable site in North Wales for Storm Petrel' though this species remains stubbornly off my life list I'm fairly new to sea-watching - a birding art all on its own. There is the gable end of a ruined house to shelter behind too - unless the wind is blowing at 90 degrees to the shore!
Henry Cook said
Sun Sep 7 9:45 PM, 2008
Rob Smallwood wrote:
Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua and Sabine's Gull all reported so far this moring off Point Lynas.
I met the chaps who had the good haul at Point Lynas this morning, later in the morning at Shotwick, wish I'd have got up a little earlier and headed out to either coast! Do agree though east is taking all the awards at the moment. Whole flocks of sabs and long-tailed skuas must be quite a sight. Henry.
Rob Smallwood said
Sun Sep 7 2:48 PM, 2008
You are right Ian - that's the place to be today...
Ian McKerchar said
Sun Sep 7 1:46 PM, 2008
It's just as easy (if not easier) to get across to the east coast though, where the seawatching has been far better and there's a chance of dropping in on some of these migrant passerines too!
Rob Smallwood said
Sun Sep 7 11:08 AM, 2008
Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua and Sabine's Gull all reported so far this moring off Point Lynas.
Rob Smallwood said
Thu Sep 4 10:43 PM, 2008
Strong northerlies along the N Wales coast to Anglesy might be productive maybe?
pete berry said
Wed Sep 3 3:42 PM, 2008
Henry Cook wrote:
Looking at the wind forecast, we are about to get some huge SWerlies and on sunday they might swing to NW but not very strong, still a perfect time of year to look for your first Leach's of the year. Thanks. Henry.
Just checked the BBC weather site and it aint looking good for this weekend.The low will be centred over southern England and wont produce any westerlies up here.p>
-- Edited by pete berry at 15:46, 2008-09-03
-- Edited by pete berry at 15:47, 2008-09-03
Tom McKinney said
Mon Sep 1 1:42 PM, 2008
Get over to Hilbre you lazy sods! It's only a 2 mile death defying wade through sinking sludge. We had hundreds of Leach's on a single day in September 2001 (or maybe 2002?) whilst other areas on the north Wirral shore were getting far less. I reckon the increased elevation makes it far easier to pick them up when the waves are rough, which it always is when they're passing. And if there are Peregrines around you can get great views of them battering the poor knackered petrels - if you're into that kind of thing.
And don't forget to have the childish squabbles with other people over skuas - they're ALWAYS ARCTICS!!! - Long-tailed and Poms don't even exist, they're just illustrated in Collins for a laugh . And remember that ALL juvenile Sabine's Gulls are Kittiwakes unless you're on a boat being violently sick. Sabine's Gulls have never been reliably seen from land, other than at Audenshaw a couple of years ago and at Westport Lake yesterday. They are the only two acceptable records.
Henry Cook said
Sun Aug 31 12:01 PM, 2008
Looking at the wind forecast, we are about to get some huge SWerlies and on sunday they might swing to NW but not very strong, still a perfect time of year to look for your first Leach's of the year. Thanks. Henry.
Henry Cook said
Fri Aug 29 10:46 PM, 2008
Thanks for the info Pete on seawatching at PoA, sounds quite fun getting tucked down into the dunes. If it's windy I could always build a hide (of sorts) out of sand as well! I got up to the little orme in Conwy on a september day last year and had a Leach's along with plenty of the 2 commoner skuas and a Sooty Shearwater, one of my favourite seawatches to date as I was only there for a couple of hours and saw so much. It's a little far from manc to drive just for a seawatch though, but if birds are being reported there (quite often reported on www.northwalesbirding.co.uk) then there are others to find at the other sites mentioned previously, a good indicator. Thanks. Henerz.
-- Edited by Henry Cook at 22:47, 2008-08-29
Rob Smallwood said
Thu Aug 28 3:33 PM, 2008
Gunsite just SW of New Brighton can be a good spot - particularly if shelter is your priority as you can watch from your car.
Leasowe often gives the closest views but shelter is limited to what you can wear.
Both the above usually need a couple of days of strong N/W's - petrels in particular can head straight out of the Mersey otherwise rather than hugging the coast.
Also watch the tides - the north Wirral coastal path can be a long way from the sea at low tide, rising tides and just after high tide are usually best, although I remember a memorable time at Leasowe at low tide on the 3rd of 4th day of a real blow when Leach's were struggling over the sand inland of where I'd walked out too.
Recently the Little Orme has become popular for sea-watching and the increased coverage has led to increased sightings of petrels, skua's and shearwaters.
Finally, Crosby Marina and Formby Point are both good spots, but again shelter is in short supply.
PS - I've used XCweather for a while - it's pretty accurate and reliable.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Aug 27 9:42 PM, 2008
Though I've never had the chance to try them out, the shelters on the prom at MEOLS are also supposed to be a good spot. Also Leasowe Gap
pete berry said
Wed Aug 27 8:16 PM, 2008
Never actually used the hide,I usually get tucked into the sand dunes at the Point of Air,it gives a bit of height,and bit of shelter from the wind.I prefer it to New Brighton,but its a bit further to travel,an important consideration with the price of fuel.I've personally seen 20+ Leach's Petrels from here in a couple of hours on the right conditions,also good for Skua passage as well.
-- Edited by pete berry at 20:17, 2008-08-27
Henry Cook said
Wed Aug 27 7:15 PM, 2008
PoA isn't probably recommended this year as the hide has been vandalised beyond use Pete. The whole front had been demolished last time I went. Any good hiding places to view from on the wirral? Great weather webste by the way, thanks for telling us. Henry.
pete berry said
Wed Aug 27 1:05 PM, 2008
With the Autumn seawatching almost upon us(given the right wind conditions)its worth checking out the following site which gives a breakdown of wind speed and direction for the next 6 days.Go onto xcweather.co.uk and put your arrow onto any site,it will then show the wind speed/direction for that area.The classic conditions at New Brighton are 2 or 3 days of strong S.W. winds followed by a strong N.W. Most of the birds will be seen on the day of the N.W. wind.The Point of Air,at the mouth of the Dee Estuary can also be very good under these conditions.Lets hope we get some low pressure wazzing across the Atlantic between now and mid October.
Cheers, John
Just noticed that Dee Estuary Birding have reported 100 plus Leachs past Hilbre and 50 plus at New Brighton - so it looks as though the gut feelings of a sea watching novice were not too far off the mark!!
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 08:13, 2008-10-02
That's amazing for you to see so many Leach's Pets - hope that I am as fortunate tomorrow. Where do you suggest as the best place to watch? - I was thinking of starting at the usual place, New Brighton where I normally find them and then moving on to Red Rocks what do you think?
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 22:17, 2008-10-01
Formby will probably be the best bet for tomorrow but with the winds turning to the NW by Wednesday I think the Wirral/New Brighton might be the place to be....
I met the chaps who had the good haul at Point Lynas this morning, later in the morning at Shotwick, wish I'd have got up a little earlier and headed out to either coast! Do agree though east is taking all the awards at the moment. Whole flocks of sabs and long-tailed skuas must be quite a sight.
Henry.
Just checked the BBC weather site and it aint looking good for this weekend.The low will be centred over southern England and wont produce any westerlies up here.p>
-- Edited by pete berry at 15:46, 2008-09-03
-- Edited by pete berry at 15:47, 2008-09-03
And don't forget to have the childish squabbles with other people over skuas - they're ALWAYS ARCTICS!!! - Long-tailed and Poms don't even exist, they're just illustrated in Collins for a laugh . And remember that ALL juvenile Sabine's Gulls are Kittiwakes unless you're on a boat being violently sick. Sabine's Gulls have never been reliably seen from land, other than at Audenshaw a couple of years ago and at Westport Lake yesterday. They are the only two acceptable records.
I got up to the little orme in Conwy on a september day last year and had a Leach's along with plenty of the 2 commoner skuas and a Sooty Shearwater, one of my favourite seawatches to date as I was only there for a couple of hours and saw so much.
It's a little far from manc to drive just for a seawatch though, but if birds are being reported there (quite often reported on www.northwalesbirding.co.uk) then there are others to find at the other sites mentioned previously, a good indicator.
Thanks. Henerz.
-- Edited by Henry Cook at 22:47, 2008-08-29
Leasowe often gives the closest views but shelter is limited to what you can wear.
Both the above usually need a couple of days of strong N/W's - petrels in particular can head straight out of the Mersey otherwise rather than hugging the coast.
Also watch the tides - the north Wirral coastal path can be a long way from the sea at low tide, rising tides and just after high tide are usually best, although I remember a memorable time at Leasowe at low tide on the 3rd of 4th day of a real blow when Leach's were struggling over the sand inland of where I'd walked out too.
Recently the Little Orme has become popular for sea-watching and the increased coverage has led to increased sightings of petrels, skua's and shearwaters.
Finally, Crosby Marina and Formby Point are both good spots, but again shelter is in short supply.
PS - I've used XCweather for a while - it's pretty accurate and reliable.
-- Edited by pete berry at 20:17, 2008-08-27
Great weather webste by the way, thanks for telling us.
Henry.