Parkgate

Barn owl

It occurred to me that what with one thing and another it's been a few years since I last visited Parkgate. I was checking the train times and connections to Neston when I noticed there's a regular 487 bus service through to Parkgate from Liverpool. It worked out at four pounds cheaper, arriving at Neston ten minutes later than the train (assuming both connections worked) and at Parkgate about ten minutes before I would have had I walked. So I got the train to Liverpool and got the bus to Parkgate.

The journey into Liverpool was dead quiet up to Warrington (and standing room only from Widnes because it had been cut to two coaches). There were lots of woodpigeons in the trees all the way along the line. As we passed by the landscaped tip near Rixton the train disturbed a buzzard perched by the track, which disturbed a flock of chaffinches and a hovering kestrel as it flew off. There were more gulls than last time I did this journey with a distinct transition from mainly black-headed gulls up to Hough Green with mainly herring gulls on into Liverpool.

The bus journey was a rare treat and took just under an hour. Past Bebington I was the only passenger, we picked a couple more up at Thornton Hall.

Parkgate Marsh

It had been sunny when I left Manchester but raining in Liverpool. I needn't have worried though, it was overcast but dry at Parkgate. The Met Office reckoned it was 7°C but I wasn't convinced and the keening wind didn't back up the Met Office's argument any. Excellent walking weather.

The first bird I saw as I got off the bus was a male kestrel hovering over reedbed by the promenade. Looking out I could see a few mallards and teal on one of the pools and the first of a bumper bundle of marsh harriers. 

Marsh harrier

The promenade was very busy. As I walked down I'd have to hop onto the wall every so often for a scan of the marsh. More mallard and teal, a few distant wigeon, a lot of distant pink-feet. And more marsh harriers. At one point I had four in my field of view, floating over the marsh and putting up flocks of teal, redshanks and lapwings. The first egret of the day was a great white that was spooked by a male hen harrier that had flown in close to terrorise the teal in one of the pools. It was ten minutes after that I saw the first little egret.

Great white egret

Approaching The Boathouse there was another couple of great white egrets in the reeds with a couple of herons and rather a lot of woodpigeons. The "woodpigeons" feeding on a small rise a little further out turned out to be half a dozen stock doves.

I stopped for a few minutes at the car park and added a few meadow pipits and linnets to the tally.

The Boathouse

I walked down the path between the marsh and the golf course. More of the same but I was getting better views of the passing redshanks and curlews. A bunch of carrion crows were larking about on some fenceposts until a couple of the marsh harriers came too close. They were only slightly less jumpy when a raven cronked past.

The birdwatching was great but I wasn't enjoying the walk, it was far too busy (my own fault for choosing to do it this week). The light was starting to dim so I made my way back to the car park and propped myself up against the wall for a twilight vigil.

Another raven flew overhead. Hundreds of distant pink-feet flew in from the estuary. More mallards and teal flew into the reedbeds and small flocks of lapwings and starlings started to fly in to roost. The great white egrets were still out there, half a dozen herons lurked in the reeds by the car park and a few little egrets settled into distant pools.

Barn owl: first sighting

I'm not sure how I managed to stay socially-distanced against the wall but I did. The crowd that had built up suddenly went quiet. We'd all spotted it at the same moment. A barn owl slowly floated low over the reeds like so much tissue paper in the breeze. It came in close, less than fifty yards. Judging by the length of time it was down on the ground a couple of pounces were successful. After a quarter of an hour's sheer delight it flew off into the distance.

Barn owl

After one last look towards the owl I turned back to find myself watching a male hen harrier just over a hundred yards away making one last pass to make sure the lapwings and starlings knew he was there. They took the hint and took flight, together with flocks of a few dozen each of meadow pipits and linnets and a couple of skylarks.

Calm returned as the harrier moved on. Then not ten minutes later the barn owl was back, quartering the reedbeds in front of the car park wall. The light was pretty poor by now, so I was having to set the camera shutter speed manually, and getting better results as a consequence. I don't know why I keep forgetting to do this when I'm taking pictures at twilight.

Barn owl

Barn owl

Barn owl

Barn owl

Barn owl

The owl moved on and I decided I best had, too, I was starting to feel the cold. I'd let myself miss the half four bus from Neston to Liverpool so I'd have to wait for the half five from Parkgate and it was probably a good idea to walk down and have one last scan of the marsh from the benches before the last of the light.

Along the way I marvelled that the female kestrel hovering by the beer garden at the Boathouse could see anything on the ground given all the background light. It didn't seem to bother her, she managed to catch something smaller than a vole and flew off to enjoy its meal on one of the old fenceposts in the reeds.

A lot of disgruntled quacking alerted me to a female marsh harrier quartering the reeds a couple of hundred yards out from the bus stop. 

Parkgate

I had a while to wait yet so I decided to get the week's shop done in Neston. As I walked over in the dark a couple of flocks of pink-feet flew low overhead.

Got the bus at Neston, into Liverpool in time for the train to Irlam and a short wait for the train home. A very excellent afternoon.