Wirral

Snow bunting, Meols

It was promising to be a sunny day so I had a trip out to the Wirral for a walk along the seaside.

It was a straightforward train journey out. I was struck by how few gulls there were about, usually there are plenty of black-headed gulls on the playing fields round Widnes and once you get beyond Hunts Cross there's usually lots of lesser black-backs and herring gulls around the stations and industrial estates. Not today for some reason. The buzzards at Birchwood and just outside Hough Green showed well, though.

Walking by the Birket

I got the West Kirby train from Lime Street and got off at Moreton to walk down to Kerr's Field. I was struck by how high the Birket was running, it was well over the usual bank and judging by the flattened vegetation it had run a lot higher over the past few days. There were big puddles in the horse paddocks on Kerr's Field, enough for a small flock of mallards to be swimming about in. A pair of sparrowhawks flew low overhead, coming inland from God knows where to put the wind up the starlings on the Tarran Road Industrial Estate.

From the lighthouse I headed straight for the beach, the plan being to walk the embankment to Meols. The tide was low but there were enough standing pools to keep the little egrets happy and more than enough mud for the waders. 

Herring gulls, Leasowe
Two large males and a small female

There were a lot of oystercatchers out there, even by oystercatcher standards, mostly poking round for cockles in groups of a couple of dozen with a flock of nearly a hundred out in the mid-distance. There was perhaps a hundred redshanks, too, though they were dotted about in twos and threes, and the curlews stalked alone. Some of the oystercatchers in one block didn't look quite right: on closer inspection they turned out to be a dozen lapwings hiding in the crowd. As I approached the groyne a small flock of dunlins and ringed plovers flew by and headed off towards Leasowe. A couple of turnstones fossicked around in the seaweed at the bottom of the embankment and flew off when three daft spaniels got too excited and too close.

Little Egret, Leasowe

Oystercatchers, Leasowe

Lapwings and oystercatchers, Leasowe

This groyne's roughly the mid point between Leasowe Lighthouse and Meols

As always, once I got past the groyne there was a change in the birds on the mud. The herring gulls and lesser black-backs that dominated the gullscape East of the groyne were replaced by black-headed gulls. The redshanks gathered in flocks of dozens and there was a couple of knots feeding with them. A couple of dozen turnstones fussed about at the base of the embankment, either feeding or preening but always busy.

Turnstone showing how their tortoiseshell plumage matches the seaweed, Meols

Curlew, Meols

The weather was good, the scenery and lighting was very nice indeed and there was enough about to give me an excuse to dawdle.

Approaching Meols

Little egret, Meols

I had one of those "Seen anything good" conversations with a friendly passer-by and mentioned that this time of year if you're lucky you might bump into a snow bunting. "There's one up there," he said, pointing towards Meols, "A bloke up there told us what it was." So that was something to look forward to.

Snow bunting, Meols

Snow bunting, Meols

As it happens, and much to my shame, when I got to where the snow bunting was feeding I nearly trod on it. I was keeping my eyes peeled in front of me and the bunting did that daft thing the cat does of skittering in from the side where you're not looking. It flew all of five feet ahead and resumed feeding, apparently finding a plentiful haul in the cracks in the concrete. The big problem with trying to take a photograph of a snow bunting is trying to get it to stay far enough away for your lens to be able to get it into focus. I've no idea what they make of people, two-legged reindeer perhaps, they're completely oblivious to us. They don't like dogs nor, it turns out, ravens. It gave out a squeak and cowered when two ravens cronked low over on their way to annoying a great black-back on the beach.

Shelduck, Meols

Shelduck, Meols

There were a few hundred shelduck by Meols Parade, most of them halfway out on the mud but a few of them came closer to drink and bathe in the freshwater puddles by the sea front.

North Wales in the distance

The weather had been good up to then but the clouds started rolling in ominously so once I reached the lifeboat station I headed off to Manor Road for the train back.

By Meols lifeboat station