Marshside and Crossens

Merlin, Crossens

Felt better today after a few days' chest cold so I decided to pick up the excursion I had planned on Wednesday. The plan had been to have a mosey round Marshside but as the  weather was greyer and duller but also slightly warmer than it had been earlier this week I walked up to Crossens.

Walking down from the bus stop on Marshside Road I was pleased to see a dozen curlew feeding in the goalmouth on Marshside School's playing field.

Curlews, part of a flock on Marshside School playing field

More curlews, along with good numbers of wigeon and teal were in the pools in the field by the road. Junction Pool had flooded and more or less took over half the field, a few hundred lapwings and golden plovers were standing round in the puddles. Further along, towards Nels Hide, the grassy bits were covered with greylags and canada geese and the water covered in more wigeon, gadwall and shovelers.

Golden plovers and lapwings, Marshside

The Sandgrounders Hide was closed but it was easy enough to have a look round from the screens by the hide. There were a few teal, mallard and shelduck and a couple of curlews came in quite close.

Curlew, Marshside

I tend to forget that curlews swim just as well as any other wader

Over the past few days people had been reporting plenty of raptors over the salt marsh. I'd been hoping to see some but aside from a sparrowhawk which flew over Marshside Road it didn't seem there was much about. A buzzard perched on the boundary fence between Marshside and Crossens changed my luck. Three marsh harriers were hunting pretty far out into the marsh. It was low tide so the pink-footed geese were largely out in the long grass, small groups rising up when buzzed by one of the harriers. The flocks of wigeon near the road were largely unmoved by them, they were too far away for them to worry about.

Wigeon, Crossens

A dark bird dashed low over the grass as I approached the wildfowlers' pull-in. I was dead pleased to realise it was a merlin, and even more pleased when it perched on a fence post not ten yards away from me. With bated breath I moved a little to try and get the brambles out of shot for some photos and managed to rattle off a few pictures. It was finally spooked by a passing cyclist so I could get my breath back and carry on. A distant kestrel brought the day's raptor tally to five, which isn't bad.

Departing merlin, Crossens

I got the bus back to Southport and decided not to go looking for twite near the pier as I was starting to feel a bit delicate and the cough would have scared them off. Good job really, Northern were having another railway meltdown and I managed to get the last train before the cancellations.

Lapwings, Marshside