Sefton Coast

Shelducks, Hightown

I've neglected the Sefton Coast South of Southport so far this year so I headed out to Hightown to have a nosy at the waders on the Alt Estuary. It was a cool, grey day so I shouldn't be fighting against the strong light while staring out to sea.

I got the train to Hightown and walked over to the sailing club and had a sit down on the mound overlooking the estuary. The tide was fairly low so there was an expanse of mud beyond the river, most of which was empty bar about a dozen oystercatchers. A couple of pairs of shelducks dabbled in the mud by the jetty and a dozen more loafed on the river nearby. There were plenty of redshanks about and a few curlews further out but only a couple of dunlins. 

Burbo Bank from Hightown

I changed position a few times to get different views on the bends in the river and the mud banks and eventually found a lone bar-tailed godwit feeding on the river. It's always struck me as odd that I'm only ever seeing single barwits here.

Bar-tailed godwit, Hightown

I had a wander round the dunes to see what was about, the answer was robins, dunnocks and magpies so I dropped back down onto the path at the side of the beach. There were more redshanks and curlews feeding on the mud here and also a dozen godwits, all of which turned out to be black-tailed. 

River Alt, Hightown 

A couple of dozen gulls loafed by the river, mostly herring gulls with a few black-headed gulls and a couple of common gulls. Gulls were flying in and out all the time and one particularly caught my eye because its wings looked too big for its head. The familiar "Oh God, it's a gull that looks a bit different" sinking feeling hit me but I kept my eye on it all the same as it spent the next five minutes flying low over the group bothering the other gulls. The wings and mantle were darker than that of the loafing herring gulls but that could be a trick of the light, a gull has only to wheel around full circle to work its way through two or three values on the Kodak grey scale. At first the wing tips looked like a solid black triangle which suggested yellow-legged gull even though nothing else about the bird did. Then I noticed that even though the primary coverts were mostly black there were long grey tongues into the black of the primary feathers and there were white mirrors at the ends of the primaries, the one on the second-outermost being fairly big and the outermost big and square and nearly reaching the tip of the feather. I was starting to think Caspian gull as I checked out the rest of the bird: the head reminded me of a common gull with its rounded shape and beady eye; there was some light streaking about the sides of the neck and the nape but the head was white, as were the underparts and tail; the yellowish bill was long and straight but not as "snouty" as those of the few Caspian gulls I've seen before; the legs looked grey; and it looked rear-heavy with the centre of balance of the body just behind the legs. It finally settled on the river conveniently near some black-headed gulls and a common gull, the wing colour was a close match for the common gull, perhaps very slightly paler. The overall look of a huge common gull with long wings convinced me it was a Caspian gull though I couldn't be sure of its age save that it was more than a couple of years old but probably not an adult. A nice bonus for the day.

National Trust reserve, Formby, the squirrel walk

I walked back to the station and got the train to Freshfield for a walk around the National Trust squirrel reserve. There wasn't a lot about, and away from the car park what there was about was widely dispersed. All the squeaks and small bird clicks and groans were coming from my joints, I've been spoiled by the warm Spring weather the past couple of weeks. I took a few forays away from the well-beaten paths and was rewarded by a bit more bird life and a walk cushioned by sand and pine needles. There were a few goldfinches and chaffinches in the treetops, a couple of great tits and coal tits, robins sang, and woodpigeons and blackbirds rummaged about in the leaf litter and pine cones. These were all outnumbered by magpies, most of which clattered about between the car park and the asparagus field where a dozen jackdaws were foraging in the stubble. A couple of buzzards soared low over the trees by the asparagus field before being escorted back to Formby Point by carrion crows. I didn't see any red squirrels today nor much evidence of their being around, only a few of the pine cones looked nibbled at, but that gives me an excuse to come back later in the year.

National Trust reserve, Formby 

I walked back into Freshfield and took the train into Southport, thinking that I'd have a look at the marine lake and see if I'd have any luck with the snow bunting or twites but I'd run out of steam. So I got the train home, passing herds of whooper swans on the mosses around Bescar Lane and Langley's Brook. I'll have a soft day tomorrow.