Seaside Sefton

Common gull, Crosby Beach

The weather forecast bode hot and humid so I headed for the seaside for a walk along the coastal path between Crosby and Hightown.

Joining Crosby Beach at Brighton-le-Sands

It had been a clammy morning when I set out but when I got off the train at Blundellsands and Crosby it was cloudy and cool with a brisk North wind. Good walking weather though I felt slightly underdressed in the wind. 

Common gull, Crosby Beach

Oystercatchers, Crosby Beach

Herring gull, Crosby Beach

The birds on the beach were mostly common gulls and black-headed gulls with a few carrion crows here and there. The herring gulls and lesser black-backs were nearly all passing by. I noticed a couple of curlews with a bar-tailed godwit out on the tideline, I didn't notice the couple of whimbrels until they all took flight, spooked by a passing RNLI jeep. Nearer to hand a few oystercatchers kept an eye on passing dog walkers and family parties of pied wagtails spent more time chasing each other round the seawall than foraging for food.

Crosby Beach
With one of the "Another Place" figures

Starlings, Crosby Beach

I walked up the beach to Burbo Bank where the inevitable gangs of starlings lurked about the parked cars hoping for scraps and I joined the coastal path to Hightown.

By the coastal path 

It was relatively quiet along the path, just a few small flocks of linnets and goldfinches and a family of stonechats. A couple of swifts drifted over from the golf course and every so often a swallow or two would pass by. All the action was on the tideline. It was all very nice to look at and the sun fighting its way through the thinning cloud took the chill off the wind.

Coastal path
With everlasting peas and ragworts 

Ragwort and everlasting pea

Bar-tailed godwits

Bar-tailed godwits

The tide was coming in but wasn't making any sort of rush about it yet, it was a few hours before high tide. The first waders I saw were a handful of bar-tailed godwits. A couple of them looked huge compared to the others and I had to keep looking back at the smaller ones to make sure I wasn't misidentifying greenshanks but no, they were scaled-down barwits. I don't see bar-tailed godwits very often and young juveniles rarely so I'm okay about not feeling confident about them first time.

Burbo Bank wind farm

By the coastal path

Sandwich terns

Oystercatchers, Sandwich terns, black-headed gulls and lesser black-backs

Moving along I noticed the flocks of birds starting to gravitate to the sand banks. Dark lines of oystercatchers and curlews curved around the tops where dozens of herring gulls and lesser black-backs had settled down to loaf while shelducks dabbled by the waterline. As I walked along they were joined by black-headed gulls, cormorants and small but very noisy flocks of Sandwich terns.

By the coastal path looking over towards Formby Point

Nearer to shore little egrets, curlews and redshanks shrimped in the shallows. A handful of turnstones settled down on a pile of rocks on the shore. They were joined by four small ducks. I'm used to sea-going mallards along this stretch of coast but was wrong-footed by these sea-going teal. I guess they must have been on the move and this was as good a place as any to settle down for a rest. They did a good job of disappearing out of sight among the rocks.

Blitz Beach

Redshanks and greenshank (centre left)

Redshanks

Ringed plovers and mallards

A little further on, past Fort Crosby, there were more redshanks on the Blitz Beach. (After the late unpleasantness there was a lot of smashed masonry lying about Merseyside so it was put to use as sea defenses.) A couple of dozen of them flew in to roost on an old jetty and they were joined by dunlins and a greenshank. I'm glad I saw the dunlins fly in because I couldn't see them once they'd landed. The mallards just further along were joined by a dozen or more ringed plovers.

Blitz Beach 

Common blue, Hightown Dunes

As the sun made more of an effort more butterflies started to appear in the grass by the paths. Peacocks and common blues skittered through the grass and wall browns sunned themselves on the dunes. Approaching Hightown the beach became busy with linnets.

Alt Estuary 

Sandwich terns, Alt Estuary

Sandwich terns, Alt Estuary

Sandwich terns, Alt Estuary

I had a sit down by the Alt and scanned the dozens of Sandwich terns lining the sandbanks beyond just in case any had long yellow bills. They didn't but you never know your luck.

Harebells, Hightown Dunes