Flint

Juvenile kestrel

I've been laying covetous eyes on the hudsonian godwit at Burton Mere on the Dee Estuary but I've scoped the logistics of getting there too often to entertain the idea of going there to see it. It then moved over the river to Flint and was still there late on last night. Flint's dead easy to get there from here (it's a quicker journey than getting to Leigh) so off I went.

Flint Castle 

I caught the Llandudno Junction train at Oxford Road and got off at Flint. It was a bright, cloudy day with a fresh breeze. I walked round the corner to Flint Castle. It was high tide and the castle afforded good views of the redshanks roosting on the nearby marsh with a lot of black-headed gulls and mallards. Out on the river dozens of lesser black-backs and herring gulls loafed on the water. A small flock of oystercatchers flew upstream and I found a couple of curlews and a single black-tailed godwit by the water's edge.

Flint Castle 

I spent a while having a look round the castle, which is worth the having a look round. As I was crossing over to the Great Tower a juvenile kestrel flew over and sat on the wall to have a look at me. It flew off but didn't go far, it came back and landed pretty much in the same place not long after.

Juvenile kestrel 

Juvenile kestrel 

Leaving the castle I walked round onto the Flint Marsh Walk, a very good path abutting the marsh with the water lapping by its foot at high tide. There was more water and less redshanks but plenty of black-headed gulls and mallards. About a dozen house martins zipped about over the path at head height. More herring gulls and lesser black-backs passed down the river and three common gulls danced for worms on the football pitch by the path. Large whites and speckled woods fluttered about the hedgerow further down the path and robins and chiffchaffs called in the trees.

Black-headed gull 

There was a small knot of birders at the end of the path. It didn't look too promising, they were all scanning in different directions. I couldn't see any waders about until a couple of small flocks of oystercatchers flew upstream. More oystercatchers flew by, as did a flock of about a dozen black-tailed godwits, all of them very definitely black-tailed godwits. I was looking for any of them with black underwings, diagnostic of hudsonian godwit. I wasn't the only person not to have any luck, nobody had seen it today. That flock of a dozen godwits was a one-off, there were no further waves coming in and even the oystercatchers slowed down to a few individuals. There was a lot of river out there for any waders to be roosting in, it was just our bad luck they weren't here.

River Dee, looking upstream towards Connah's Quay 

I was almost the last to go. I checked to see if the hudsonian godwit had been seen today over on the other side of the estuary but there were no reports. There was a report of a juvenile Sabine's gull seen flying down the estuary earlier on, though, so I made sure to be checking all the small gulls passing by (they were all black-headed) the same way I'd been checking all the starlings and redshanks fossicking in the marsh (they were all starlings and redshanks). As I was going another birder was coming along. We both remarked on the sudden clouding over and how fresh the weather had become and I wished him luck.

I had plenty of afternoon to play with so I had a wander round the foreshore downstream of the castle. There's a road going round the industrial estate and part way down a path branches off towards the shore. This in turn divides into two, one path following a high bank, the other following the shoreline. I took the muddy path.

Flint foreshore 

A couple of migrant hawkers patrolled the trees by the little creek at the start of the path. Goldfinches twittered, woodpigeons and collared doves sang, chiffchaffs squeaked. Low overhead a mixed flock of house martins and swallows were joined by a couple of swifts as the clouds got heavier.

Out on the river small groups of herring gulls — none more than half a dozen birds — and a few lesser black-backs and black-headed gulls loafed on the water. A few cormorants flew upstream. The weather was closing in but I was enjoying the walk and the scenery was good, the landscape taking on a grey and brooding air as the clouds darkened. As I turned the corner onto the creek leading to the dock a couple of teal flew in and mingled with the herring gulls that were having a bath.

Flint Castle from the foreshore 

I rejoined the path on the bank and walked down to the end where it meets the end of the road. I walked back to the station, passing a noisy family of great tits near the castle car park. It started raining just as the train arrived.

The godwit was reported again this evening at quarter to seven but was only giving distant views. It would have been a nice lifer to get but I had no complaints, I'd had a nice day out.