Southport

Redshanks, Southport

We had been promised a bright, sunny day today (looking at you, Met Office app). I waited for a lull in the feeding frenzy to go out in the rain to refill the feeders then got sorted for a day's goose watching in the gloom.

I got the Barrow train to Wigan. While we were waiting at the signals at Golborne Dale a light aircraft flushed a flock of a hundred and twenty-odd lapwings which had been invisible behind the embankment. There were no geese or swans on the journey up to Southport, except the mute swans on the lake at Pemberton Park, but there were a lot of teal in the ditches and sluices past Bescar Lane.

At Southport I spent a while trying to get a good look at a slim, dark-necked grebe fishing mid-water which turned out to be a first-Winter great crested grebe that was hanging onto its juvenile stripes. There was a big raft of coots and plenty of mute swans but there seemed a lot less gulls than usual.

Redshanks

Redshank and shelducks

There was an embarrassment of birds in the salt marsh by the pier, most of them redshanks and pink-footed geese, with a support cast of a few dozen shelduck, a few Canada geese and pigeons and a couple of curlews. No luck with twite today nor, indeed, with the snow buntings that were hanging around the past couple of days.

There's about two hundred pink-footed geese in here

A quick scout round the sailing club added a couple of dabchicks to the tally but sadly no twite.

Pink-footed goose, Southport

The rain had stopped so I walked down Marine Drive because I needed the exercise. There were plenty more pink-feet about, the shelduck were further out along this stretch. A few little egrets flitted about and every wet patch seemed to have a bunch of mallard. A pair of stonechats were busy foraging in the stranded seaweed near one of the flights of steps and I was accompanied the next hundred yards by a couple of pied wagtails. Just after the golf course junction a small flock of greenfinches were feeding in a stand of sea buckthorn.

First-Winter pied wagtail, Southport

Male pied wagtail, Southport

Stonechat, Southport

Looking over Marshside from Hesketh Road there were hundreds of lapwings on the marsh and small groups of a dozen or so shovelers or pintail dotted about on the water. It came as a surprise to find a group of a dozen shovelers and pintail. A few pairs of mallard dabbled at the edges.

Red-legged partridges, Marshside

It was quiet looking out from Nel's Hide. More shovelers and pintails in the water and groups of wigeon and black-tailed godwits feeding on the grass in the distance. A covey of red-legged partridges were feeding in the grass by the hide. Aside from half a dozen black-headed gulls flying over there weren't any gulls about.

Shoveler, Marshside

It was much the same from the Halfway Lookout. As I was walking down towards the Junction Pool a big flock of woodpigeons rose in a panic from the salt marsh. It took me a while to find the culprit and then only when the peregrine falcon stooped and missed one of the pigeons. It tried again with another target and I guess it must have been successful as it went to ground and I didn't see it again.

Shovelers and pintails, Marshside

The Junction Pool was busy with shovelers and pintails with a few teal and mallards and the only moorhen of the day.

The pool by Sandgrounders was very quiet, just a couple of mute swans and a cormorant. The view from the hide wasn't a lot busier: all the teal, wigeon, Canada geese and pink-feet were grazing with the cattle on the far side. There was one greylag, and I didn't see any more later. A ruff was feeding with the starlings and lapwings in the damp grass and a few shovelers drifted round on the water. I wondered where all the gadwall were, it turned out that three of them were asleep under the hide window.

A Pennine view from Marine Drive

I crossed the road and had a look out from the gate by the sand works. There were more pink-feet out on the marsh and shovelers, teal and mallards on the pools. A few black-headed gulls drifted over and the ominous-looking bird far out by the fences turned out to be a great black-back. I hadn't gone far when a chorus of quacking from the pools heralded the arrival of a young female merlin which shot across the marsh and over towards Crossens.

A chap who'd been walking just behind me asked after the identity of the merlin. Neither of us could find it again. "I saw it come in but couldn't get a good look at it," he said. "You'll have more luck than me later," I replied. And he did: he found a short-eared owl on Crossens Outer and I didn't.

Wigeon, Crossens Inner Marsh

Crossens Inner Marsh was quiet save for upwards of a thousand wigeon and a few hundred lapwings. Golden plovers were in short supply today. 

As the clouds rolled away and the sun came out it became distinctly colder and windier. The outer marsh was also quiet, nearly all the feeding geese were way out on the estuary. There were a few pink-feet close to and a lone Canada goose feeding by the fence a few hundred yards out. I'd identified that as a barnacle goose when I first saw it from behind a rock but as I got a better look at it it was obviously a Canada goose. A low slung Canada goose with a short neck. A Todd's Canada goose. Nice.

Wigeon, Crossens Outer Marsh

By the old wildfowlers'pull-up there were fifty or so wigeon grazing in the grass and a few dozen teal in the pools. I spent a while on a fruitless search for short-eared owls. I managed to find a kestrel perched in a tree, though, and I can't get too upset at a three-falcon day.

The sun was setting as I arrived at the bus stop in Crossens so I just back into Southport for the train home. No additions to the year list but a pretty good start to the month.

Crossens Inner Marsh