Southport

Bewick's swan, Crossens Inner Marsh

It was another bright Winter's day so I decided to head off to Southport for a wander and to see if I could add the couple of Bewick's swans on Crossens Inner Marsh to the year list. 

The train connection I tried on Monday worked today, that bus replacement service was a hangover from weekend engineering works. The journey was pleasant enough with plenty of birds to see along the way. I was surprised how many buzzards there were by the trackside, including one very pale-headed bird as we passed by Chew Moor. The rookery at Burscough Bridge is in full swing now that it feels like Spring is here.

Arriving at Southport I had a bit of a wait for the next 40 to Marshside so I had a wander past the lake down to the Marine Drive. The lake was quieter than last visit — all the herring gulls seemed to be over the retail park — though the greylags and Canada geese seem to be settling down on the islands for nesting. A few dabchicks hinneyed and bobbed in the water between the islands.

Redshanks and dunlins, Southport

The tide was halfway out, leaving plenty of exposed mud for the waders and shelducks. The redshanks were the most obvious waders, it took me a while to pick out the ringed plovers from the dunlins as they skittered about between tussocks, and a couple of greenshanks were actively hiding in the long grass. One oystercatcher fed on the lawn of the Guelder Rose, there were hundreds out on the tideline. I was surprised to see a kestrel hovering over the mud by the salt marsh. 

Redshanks and dunlins, Southport

More black-headed gulls were scavenging round the car park than were out on the mud, accompanied by half a dozen herring gulls and a couple of common gulls. A couple of meadow pipits and a little egret were the only birds I could identify in the salt marsh. I bobbed over the road to the sailing club to see if any twite were about but it was obviously not my day for them.

Teal, wigeon and shovelers, Crossens Inner Marsh

I walked round and got the 40 bus into Marshside and got off at the cut up to the bund at the boundary between Marshside Inner and Crossens Inner Marsh. (I can't afford that house.) The marshes were busy with teal, wigeon, lapwings and black-tailed godwits and there were a couple of flocks of golden plovers a few hundred birds strong. The redshanks, dunlins, shovelers and snipe were a lot thinner on the ground. There weren't so many geese, either, the greylags hanging about in family groups and the Canada geese and pink-feet in ones and twos dotted about. I turned and looked out over Marshside, there was a flock of a few hundred pink-feet at the far end of the bund with rather a lot of wigeon.

Lapwings, shovelers and pintails, Crossens Inner Marsh

Black-tailed godwit and lapwing, Crossens Inner Marsh

Bewick's swans, Crossens Inner Marsh

The Bewick's swans were still on Crossens Inner on the open water over by the water treatment works. They spent most of their time dozing, waking up every so often for a scratch and a stretch then going back to sleep again. I wonder if they're two of the three that have been here the past couple of years about this time of year.

Crossens Outer Marsh 

Wigeon, Crossens Outer Marsh

I crossed Marine Drive for a walk beside Crossens Outer which was heaving with lapwings, teal and wigeon. One of the lapwing flocks included about forty golden plovers, they flew in from mid distance and settled a hundred yards from the road. The meadow pipits and skylarks stayed out on the mid distance with a big flock of starlings. Much further out was a dark grey line made up of Canada geese and pink-footed geese. At that distance I'd have my luck cut out finding any exotic goose that wasn't a barnacle or a snow goose so I spent a fruitless while looking for either.  Further along the road there were redshanks, little egrets and shelducks in the creeks and a few thousand pink-feet in the long grass of the ungrazed salt marsh.

Crossens Inner Marsh 

Lapwings and golden plovers, Crossens Inner Marsh

Black-tailed godwits and teal, Crossens Inner Marsh

Lapwings, Crossens Inner Marsh

I crossed back over the road and walked towards Marshside. This side of Crossens Inner Marsh was thick with black-tailed godwits, golden plovers, lapwings and wigeon. Marshside had more of the same but not so densely packed and there were a lot more mallards and shelducks. Approaching Sandgrounders there were pairs of pintails and shovelers and a small raft of tufted ducks. At Sandgrounders the waders were spooked by a great black-back and clouds of lapwings, plovers and dunlins billowed about until the threat had passed.

Lapwings, Marshside

A quick nosy at the Junction Pool brought the only pochards of the day, together with more shovelers, pintails and tufties.

As I walked down Marshside Road for the bus the grassy marsh on my left was packed with grazing wigeon and loafing lapwings and godwits and there was a steady stream of pink-footed geese low overhead as they flew over to graze by the golf course. I only had enough time to register that there were forty-odd curlews in the school playing field before my bus arrived.

Pink-footed geese, Marshside Road 

There were even more buzzards on the train journey back to Manchester than there were on the way out. We passed a flock of whooper swans in a field before Bescar Lane and a flock of more than a hundred black-headed gulls just outside Burscough Bridge. My luck ran out when I got into Manchester and I had to get the bus home because the train was cancelled.

Marshside Road