Serendipity

I haven't paid enough attention to the seaward side of Southport Marine Lake. 

As you walk up Marine Drive from the pier and past the retail park there's a car park on the landward side of the road. From here there's a lane marked "No through road" down to the sailing club. At the end of this lane, by the club car park, it becomes a path across the dunes to Fairway (the road that forms the southern boundary to Southport Golf Links).

I've spent all Winter trying to find twite on the shore around here or else on the grass around the Guelder Rose pub, both places I've found them in the past, to no avail. Late yesterday afternoon I happened to glance over towards the car park and saw a small flock of finches rise up and drop behind the car park. So I followed the lane down and found a flock of thirty four twites perching on the sailing club fence.

Twite, Southport Sailing Club car park

Twite, Southport Sailing Club car park

And there were a nice couple of male wheatears on the grass by the dune path as an added bonus.

Walking over to the bus stop at Hesketh Park I thought I'd pop over to Marshside to see what was about seeing as it was only ten minutes' walk away. There had been a pair of garganey earlier in the week but I had no luck. Still, it was a good walk and it's always nice to see ruff starting to get their breeding finery. 

It was getting a bit late but I had a long wait for the next bus from Marshside Road so I talked myself into walking up to Crossens to see if I could have any luck with the four barnacle geese on the Outer Marsh I hadn't been able to find on my last two visits. The sensible part of me reminded myself that I'd spent most of the day looking for migrants on the Wirrral and had only come up to Southport late on on a whim to max out the value of the daily Saveaway ticket. Anyway, I somehow found myself walking to Crossens.

I found the geese quite easily despite the light being not so good, plus a rather neat male white wagtail by the road. I was comparing notes with a chap who was hoping for a sighting of the grey-bellied brent goose that's been hanging round for a couple of weeks when a short-eared owl floated along and started hunting across the marsh.

Barnacle geese in the twilight, Crossens

Unplanned diversions are often productive.