Seaside

Herring gull, St. Annes Beach

Today's plans were put on hold when our local services were cancelled because some poor devil got hit by a train. Which puts the inconveniences of public transport into unwelcome perspective. The change of plan was that I could get into Manchester on the bus with plenty of time to walk to the station for the Southport train for a series of wader watches down the Sefton coast. Except that was one of this morning's cancellations due to lack of train crew. (Saturday was particularly bad for them, which put paid to the teatime walk I'd planned.) Nil desp, I could get the Blackpool train and make connections at Bolton or Preston. When it eventually came…

Which is how I ended up having a walk along the beach from Starr Gate to St. Annes. I'd missed the planned connections but only had half an hour to wait for the Blackpool South train. I changed at Kirkham & Wesham as that's infinitely less oppressive than Preston Station.

St Anne's beach

I got off at Squires Gate and walked down to Starr Gate, a five minutes walk unless the traffic's busy at the main road. It had been pouring down when I left home, here it was dry but very muggy and heavy and even a blustery North wind didn't relieve it much.

Herring gulls and lesser black-backs, St. Annes Beach
An interesting variety of dark greys on the lesser black-backs, not all of which were tricks of the light

The tide was ebbing and the windsurfers were giving way to the dog walkers. There were plenty of gulls scattered around on the beach, mostly in groups of a couple of dozen, loafing or bathing in pools. Predictably, most were herring gulls, a mixture of adults and first-year birds with very few birds of intermediate ages. There were also good numbers of black-headed gulls, rather fewer lesser black-backs and a handful of common gulls. The only great black-back on the beach stood out in the middle of the crowd.

Herring gulls and a great black-back, St. Annes Beach

Herring gulls and black-headed gulls, St. Annes Beach

A passing common tern was a welcome bit of variety. I had hoped on seeing waders coming in as the tide retreated but the only waders about were a dozen oystercatchers and most of them flew off with the tide.

Manx shearwater, St. Annes Beach

Looking out to sea there wasn't much about, not even many passing gulls or any passing cormorants. About half a mile out a trio of eiders flew south over the waves. It took me a while to see any Manx shearwaters and I only noticed the first group flying past as they had to tower and dive over the waves to negotiate a particularly disruptive gust of wind. In the end I saw three groups, each perhaps a dozen birds, which isn't a bad haul by binoculars from a beach. To see big numbers you need to be on a boat or standing on the end of a pier with a telescope.

St Anne's beach 

Once I got to St Anne's I noticed there was a train due in twenty minutes so I got a cup of tea and made my way home via Colne and Rochdale just to max out my old man's explorer ticket and enjoy the views in the rain. It hadn't been a particularly productive day's birdwatching but I'd got my bit of exercise and added Manx shearwater to the year list.

St Anne's Pier