Bits of Birdwatching Stuff: Crosby

Saturday 16 December 2023

Crosby

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

It was a lovely day for a trip to the seaside so I got the trains to Waterloo and walked down to Crosby Marine Lake where a black-throated diver turned up yesterday. It was reported as showing well from the sailing club so instead of walking down to the boating pond as usual I carried straight on to the lakeside and stared out into the sunshine. Lots of cormorants and black-headed gulls but no diver.

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

Luckily there was a small knot of birdwatchers over on the other side of the play area and with the help of a couple of them I eventually got on to it. It had been doing a circuit of this half of the lake and at this point it was furthest away from us. It was tricky to keep track of it: it wasn't on the surface for long, staying underwater for long dives, and it was a fast swimmer so each time it came up for a breather it was a long way from whence it disappeared. Then we had a stroke of luck, its tour of the lake brought it close to this bank and we had some cracking views of a very attractive bird.

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

I'd recently boned up on the identification of black-throated divers after misidentifying one in a friend's photo recently (my excuses for not identifying it as a black-throated diver would convince anybody who didn't read them). It was a high contrast bird, startlingly so in this high contrast light with the sun behind it, and it had a straight, slim dagger of a bill.

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

It was a friendly group of birdwatchers, some of whom took pains to make sure that newcomers found the bird. Passersby enquired about the fuss and were told what was going on and when the diver was being cooperative they were shown what we were looking at.

Common gull, Crosby Marine Lake

I took my leave of the diver and walked round the lake. Pied wagtails and small flocks of starlings rummaged round in the grass by the paths. A flock of about fifty herring gulls loafed on the bank of the boating pond with a couple of dozen coots, and more starlings and wagtails. There were more coots and herring gulls on the lake and a few dozen black-headed gulls and handfuls of lesser black-backs and common gulls. Mute swans mugged small children for bread, tufted ducks dozed in the sun and a dozen carrion crows bounced about on the far bank bothering each other more than they were looking for anything to eat.

Cormorant, Crosby Marine Lake

There was a steady stream of cormorants and large gulls overhead going to their high tide roost on Seaforth Nature Reserve. The tide was coming in but there was enough beach for the crows to rummage about on. Black-headed gulls foraged along the timeline while far out in the estuary herring gulls and great black-backs towered in the wind above the waves.

Rabbit, Seaforth Nature Reserve

I walked along the perimeter fence of the nature reserve peering in. There weren't many small birds about, just a couple of linnets and a robin and the rabbits had the grass to themselves.

Shelduck, dunlins, redshanks and black-headed gulls, Seaforth Nature Reserve

A few hundred black-tailed godwits had come in to roost with the crowds of black-headed gulls though it was the redshanks and oystercatchers making all the noise. There were a few curlews and shelduck and small flocks of dunlin weaving about the crowds. scanning round I found the flock of gulls included a dozen or so common gulls and a second-Winter Mediterranean gull and there were at least half a dozen bar-tailed godwits feeding at the margins.

Shelduck, black-tailed godwits, redshanks and black-headed gulls, Seaforth Nature Reserve

Moving along there was a crowd of herring gulls, Canada geese and cormorants on the pool by the hides and a drake goldeneye amongst the raft or coots and tufted ducks.

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

I dropped down to the path by the lake hoping to catch sight of the diver with the sun behind me. Eventually I was rewarded as it paraded up and down by the sailing club verandah. The knot of birdwatchers standing there were getting some very close views. In this light I could see that this wasn't an adult bird, pale fringes to the feathers on its back and wings giving it a scaly appearance.

Black-throated diver, Crosby Marine Lake

Eventually I decided to move on. I got the train to Hall Road and walked down to the top of Crosby Beach. The tide was high and the wind very blustery, the black-headed gulls and common gulls hanging in the breeze. A hundred or more starlings worked the car park, trying their best to not let anybody pass by without a donation.