A few highlights of the High Peak RSPB group trip to the Wirral today:

West Kirkby marine lake: 2 Red Breasted Merganser, 15 Grey Plover, 1000s of Dunlin 

Kings Gap: 17 Pale Bellied Brent Geese, 2 Red Throated Diver, 10 Common Scoter, 30 Grey Plover, 25 Knot, Redwing, 100's of Ringed Plover,Dunlin, Sanderling and Oystercatcher.

Wirral CP at Thurstaston: 50 Black Tailed Godwit, 5 Bullfinch, 5 Knot, Little Egret 

Parkgate: 2 ringtail Hen Harrier, 4 Marsh Harrier, Merlin,Peregrine,  5 Little Egret 

Harp Inn little Neston: 2 Short Eared Owl, 2 Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier, Stonechat 

 

Heswall gutter on the flooding tide, Highlights

Bar tailed Godwit 21
Redshank c200
Dunlin c600
Lapwing c150
Golden Plover
Pintail c25
Peregrine 2
Marsh Harrier
Many Teal and Shellduck

Neston
Marsh opposite Harp Inn
Short Eared Owl 1 (poss 2) showing well, hunting. Flying high and low, putting up waders, ducks, egrets and apparently every other bird in the reeds, even a cock pheasant. Protracted views.

The old baths at Parkgate after I'd been to Llanfairfechan. 2 Marsh Harriers - both cream capped, a ring tailed Hen Harrier and a very distant Peregrine were the highlights of a couple of hours.

New Brighton Marine Lake , Just after height tide 12.00ish

Purple Sandpiper 5
Turnstone 21
Dunlin 36
Redshank 122

Burton Marsh 8.00 - 10.30am Highlights

Whooper Swan c20
Bewick's Swan 4
Mute Swan c40
Hen Harrier adult grey male
Marsh Harrier 2
Cettis Warbler 2 heard only
Waterail heard only
Stonechat 5
Raven 7
Pink footed Goose 500+
Barnacle Goose 1 in amongst Canada Geese
Great White Egret 2
Black Swan 2
Snow Goose 1st winter

14/01/17 Stockport Birdwatching Society trip to Parkgate and Burton Wetlands RSPB

Another good trip with highlights at Parkgate (0830 - 1030) being 4 Great White Egret, 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Merlin and 1 ringtail Hen Harrier.

Given a 9.8m tide today and high winds blowing down the River Dee it looked like a good day to go check out the high tide, and seeing as how I'm working tomorrow it was a no brainer really. I also bumped into Wirral Guru, Richard Smith, who runs the Dee Estuary Birds website, who had the same thoughts and reasoning as myself. However we were both surprised when the tide never really came in to the extent that we had expected. Later on I met several folk who ahd been down and the feeling was universal, it just ahdn't delivered

But you have always got to make the best of it, and from a point along the coastal path N.of Parkgate I had a reasonable watch albeit in winds that it was hard enough standing up in, never mind trying to use optics!! First good bird was a Merlin, maybe not surprising as I had noticed many pipits and Skylarks flying up out of the gutters as the water rose slightly. Also seen were 2 Peregrines, one huge female showing exceptionally well, both perched and buzzing the Oystercatcher flocks, although she didn't make  ahit whilst I was watching. Three Marsh Harriers made light of the wind conditions, floating about over the marsh and dropping down, seemingly on prey, and at times giving great views when they were down on the ground. The best sighting was a Short-eared Owl, which was only up for about 30 seconds before dropping into a reedbed. Luckily I got the 2 birders who had joined me onto it, and this was the species they especially wanted to see. Reward was a quality street chocolate for me, gratefully received Chatting later to birders who had been either at Parkgate Old Baths or Riverbank Road confirmed what I thought, no-one had seen the owl from those vantage points. It was directly out from us - a case of right place, right time! A Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel were also seen to complete the raptor list. Huge flocks of waders and wildfowl were far out along the waters edge but nothing else of not came in close enough for us to see, and no mammals were seen at all which is one thing I had gone hoping to see again.

I was told of  atheory later that the very strong winds blowing directly along the river had actually blown water more 'inland' rather than allow it to spread out onto the saltmarsh and had in fact lessened the effect of the tide by half a metre. I can see how that may be true and the result certainly was what happened. So tomorrow with a 9.8m tide again, but lighter winds may be much better.

Afternoon visit to Parkgate with Simon Gough.

Birds included...
- 1 cracking male Hen Harrier (seen twice)
- 10+ Marsh Harrier
- 1 Short-eared Owl
- 1 Merlin
- 2 Peregrine

- Water Rail and Tawny Owl heard from the Old Baths car park then a Tawny Owl seen in flight not far from Neston.

1130-1530 at the Harp Inn

Hen Harrier 3 - including the sublime adult male bird, what a beauty!
Marsh Harrier 3 at least
Merlin 2
Short-eared Owl 2
Stonechat 2
Kingfisher 1
Hundreds of Pink-footed Geese

I've never seen a Kingfisher anywhere near the marsh before, but this bird was zipping along one of the saltmarsh channels. The male Hen Harrier showed 4 times in all, once when a Shortie provoked it into the air. I saw it catch a bird in flight at one point and then drop down to eat it; it came close enough that you could see its yellow eyes. This was a classic Dee Estuary day.

A good three hours on the estuary this afternoon, mainly Denhall Lane with a final hour at Parkgate, Old Baths car park. Weather sunny and quite pleasant.

Several hundred Canada Goose were seen out from Denhall Lane on the flooded marsh but the main players were two Peregrine, a minimum two Marsh Harrier and a ring tail Hen Harrier. A Great White Egret was noted and there was a Ringed Plover and two Ruff on Decca Pools.

At Parkgate, the star bird was a male Hen Harrier. Initially hidden, straight out from the car park, the bird emerged after a half hour wait to give superb views in the lovely light conditions. It quartered the marsh, first off to the right then moving far left, opposite the bottom end of the village, not before having a brief spat with a female Marsh Harrier. A Peregrine was also present, opposite the car park, preening on a branch sticking up out of the marsh.

Old gun site at Leasowe. 08:20 till 13:30ish. Lots of waders batting around at high tide including the usual suspects of Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Redshank and Oystercatchers. A cracking adult Arctic Skua was a great sight as was a Juvenile Red-throated Diver just off the beach. Loads and loads of Common Scoter, i.e. thousands in the distance. Also hundreds of Meadow Pipits streaming in across the sea. Several thousand in the time i was there. It was also nice to see the Sandwich Terns and a few Common Terns still knocking around.

Saturday 20th. 7.30pm donkey stand flash, parkgate.

1 little stint, showing well
7 dunlin
1 black tailed godwit
200+ redshank
4 marsh harriers, up in the air at once
3 kestrels
lots of little egrets passing over going to roost.

27/07/16
Merlin through Parkgate at circa 1600.

Burton Marsh - Decca Pools 8.15 - 10.00am Highlights

Spoonbill 1 juvinile on Decca Pools towards Harp Inn end
Avocet 4
Great White Egret
Little Egret c20
Peregrine
Sedge Warbler many singing

Over to Parkgate today for a 10m tide, which ended up hitting the seawall and doing a top job of flushing everything. Nothing too surprising, although I did pick up a pair of Eiders on the water as the tide was almost at it's peak. Watching from the Old Baths, first good bird for me was a Great White Egret. Then a Hen Harrier showed very well in front of us, I figured a female as it was very pale underneath and looked like all the pictures I've seen. Awesome to watch, not a bird you can get tired of.

When the tide was really up the Short-eared Owls started appearing, with 5 showing brilliantly in the end. At one point 4 landed about 100m out on a slightly raised bit of ground. They all lingered nicely until the water won the battle. Finally a couple of Water Rails appeared with assorted rodents, as the water kept on coming. I saw voles and shrews, as far as I could tell being no expert.

There was a smart adult Peregrine out there too, but I didn't manage any Merlin. Of note was the hundreds of Curlews, more than I have seen before, and many hundreds of Pink-footed Geese. I only saw a few Snipe and no Lapwings, which must be related to the time of year. It was also lovely to hear the constant soundtrack of Meadow Pipits singing, outvoicing Skylarks for once.

Great to see Alan and Beryl Turner, whom I had last seen at Ashton Moss in February. When we heard about the Green-winged Teal at Burton Mere they very kindly offered me a lift down there. I've posted on that thread for the birds seen down there

Leasowe Lighthouse area, Sun 3 April mid pm

1 Ring Ouzel (m) Langham Lane 1st field on left
1 obvious White Wagtail in paddocks with Pied Wagtails (m+f)
1 Wheatear (m) in paddocks
sev Chiffchaff
~40 Linnet
3 Meadow Pipits
1 prob Blackcap (heard only)

-- Edited by John Watson on Monday 4th of April 2016 08:49:50 AM

just had an email that there is a Wheatear in the horse paddocks at Leasowe Lighthouse, so the season has started, a nice place for a day out over Easter if you can dodge the forecast showers on some days!!

I tried my luck with reports of a black redstart at quayside, the harp inn, but that soon faded shortly after I pulled up & I realised the high tide had just gone out & there was lots of activity going on out on the marsh.
5-6 short eared owl
1 ring tailed hen harrier
lots of little egrets
1 great white egret
teal
curlew
lapwing
redshank
meadow pipits
skylarks
2 stonechat
hundreds of pink-footed geese

neston sewage works..

at least 4 chiffchaff
1 water pipit, feeding with meadow pipits in the field next to the sewage works
2 cettis warbler, heard only
2 buzzard
1 kestrel

new brighton at high tide.

10 purple sandpiper
300+ redshank
40+ turnstone
60+ dunlin
all on the pontoon.

decca pools..

1 ringtail hen harrier
1 peregrine falcon
1 merlin
wigeon
teal
lapwing, several golden plover amongst them.
40+ dunlin

quayside..

2 short eared owl
2 stonechat, with reports of a spoonbill not too far away I decided to stay late & watch the egrets come over to go to roost incase a spoonbill happened to join them but no luck, plenty of little egret & 2 great white egret.



-- Edited by steven burke on Sunday 21st of February 2016 11:04:11 PM

Hi Rob.

Water Pipit is a major, major rarity on Hilbre and a description species in Cheshire! There are a couple of Rock Pipits overwintering. Could you have mistaken these for Water Pipits?

Did you stay over the high tide and see the Purple Sandpipers all together or as individuals? We've had a maximum count of 3 recently although your birds could have been displaced from New Brighton Marine lake.

Edit: there have been no previous records of Water Pipit on Hilbre in living memory.

-- Edited by Phil Woollen on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 03:26:15 PM

Went for a Valentine's Day walk in the sun starting at Neston (luckily my wife is an avid birder too!!)

Met up with a local patcher who lives at Ness & we searched the old quay area where his patch insinct came in handy, spotting a pipit across the field in a tree. Just as I got the scope on it, it flew but not before I could see the pale underparts, clear wing-bars & bold supercilium, it had to be a Water Pipit. My wife followed its flight to the next field where we found it feeding in a damp hollow where it gave great scoped views to us all & comfirmed my first ID, winter plumaged Water Pipit A quick sacn of the marsh from the Old Quay revealed a distant but obviously large egret, which obligingly turned its head revealing its huge yellow beak, a Great White Egret. No raptors but a good start.

We then headed to Denhall Lane where we walked along the path towards Decca Pools. A pair of Stonechats were the first notable species right next to the path. More distant was a single Golden Plover amongst the Lapwings. Other waders included Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin & Redshank. Finally the scanning paid off with a ringtail Hen Harrier that even landed on a hummock & gave fab scoped views on the deck, something I rarely see Both male and female Merlins were seen on posts, showing really well and staying long enough for us to show lots of other birders these diminutive falcons through my scope. A second (probably since we hadn't seen the other fly back this way) Great White Egret was also seen out on Burton Marsh.

Over 50 species were seen in a relaxing stroll in warm sunshine which ended with a Valentine's Hot Chocolate & homemade slab of cake sat outside Nets Cafe looking out at Burton Marsh at the days end

 

Popped down & followed the tide in along the path down towards Parkgate Old Baths from the end of Cottage Lane.

The tide looked like it wasn't going to get very far in but in the last 15mins it raced in & was up the wall alongside the path. Highlights included 4 Short-eared Owls, a male & female Peregrine, a flushed (by the tide) Jack Snipe, a Brambling amongst lots of Chaffinches and a Great White Egret. The latter hadn't been reported out when I looked at my pager so dutifully (relating to another thread!!) I reported it to mates at the info services.

I know others who were there earlier saw harriers too but not for me this time.

Burton Marsh along Denhall lane towards Neston, Highlights

Great White Egret 2, could be the same bird just moving around
Little Egret 9
Merlin, female perched up low down on a gate
Short eared Owl distant views across the marsh
Whooper Swan 6