Wirral

Kingfisher, New Brighton

We're having alternate days of Late Summer and Autumn and today was an Autumn day, largely overcast with a brisk wind. I was still feeling a bit delicate so I thought I'd head over to New Brighton and get a bit of sea air.

I got off the train at Wallasey Grove Road and walked down to the lifeboat station at the end of Kings Parade. Swallows and house martins hawked low over the fields by Bayview Drive as I walked by.

Wallasey Beach

It was an hour and a half before high tide and there was still — just — enough beach for a few dogs to take their owners for a walk on. Flocks of oystercatchers made a racket as they tried to fit one last feed in before heading off for high tide roost.  It wasn't long before the tide was lapping by the sea wall.

Wheatear, New Brighton 

Herring gulls, lesser black-backs and common gulls loafed on the rapidly diminishing beach. There were scores of herring gulls on the fields on the other side of King's Parade. A wheatear skittered about on the rocks on the sea defences. I was trying to get a photo of it when I heard a familiar unfamiliar call and a kingfisher shot by.

Herring gull, New Brighton

Herring gull, New Brighton 

Cormorants, New Brighton 

I did a bit of seawatching as I walked the Parade. Nearly all the birds out in the estuary were large gulls or cormorants, every so often a flock of oystercatchers would dash by. The wind was strong enough for even the lesser black-backs flying into it to have the ponderous beat of a great black-back. I was a week or two early for Leach's petrels but I kept looking just in case. After all, I'd have said it was a couple of months early for seaside kingfishers. Every so often I'd catch a small dark shape over the water and it would turn out to be a bit of wind-tossed seaweed or the shadow of a gull caught by part of a wave. Still, don't look don't find.

Turnstones and black-headed gulls, New Brighton 

The pontoons on the Marine lake were busy with scores of turnstones and perhaps a couple of dozen redshanks. The waders were comfortable enough in the company of black-headed gulls but quickly moved away from the herring gulls that muscled in on the end pontoon.

Turnstones, New Brighton 

I'd had my walk and given the lungs a bit of a workout but it was still only lunchtime. I thought I'd head over to Hoylake to see what was on the beach over there. I panted my way up the hill to the station to get the train to Manor Road. Except that as we pulled into Birkenhead North the West Kirby train pulled out and the next one was cancelled. So I walked down the road and got the 407 into Hoylake.

Oystercatchers, curlews and common gulls, Hoylake 

I was feeling decidedly seedy, I'd obviously overestimated my miraculous powers of recovery after a cold, so I decided I'd get off at Manor Road, walk down Hoyle Road to the lifeboat station, have a look round the beach then call it a day. Which would have been dead sensible but you know how things are.

Raven, Meols

The tide was rapidly retreating and the roosting oystercatchers were getting noisy and twitchy. The cormorants and some of the curlews were following the tideline and small flocks of redshanks and dunlins were exploring the newly exposed mud. Ones and twos of common gulls and black-headed gulls fossicked about or loafed in the shelter of tussocks of grass. A few dozen herring gulls loafed on one of the mudbanks further along. Closer by it was a devil of a hard job finding the handful of pied wagtails. A flock of dabbling mallards were a bit easier. I had a couple of reminders that familiar birds can take on unfamiliar shapes in moult with a square-tailed raven (I instinctively look for a long, diamond-shaped tail) and some swallow-tailed herring gulls missing their middle tail feathers.

Mallards, Meols 

As I walked along more and more oystercatchers peeled off the mudbanks and flew out to start feeding on the open mud, making a fair racket as they did so. The hundreds of redshanks scattered about were only slightly quieter. There was a sudden rush of waders from the mudbanks. I scanned them, looking for anything that wasn't a redshank or an oystercatcher and found a greenshank standing out by having a pale body and dark wings. By this time all the waders and black-headed gulls were up off the mudbanks opposite the lifeboat station. I quickly found the peregrine that had put them up. It made a few unsuccessful passes before flying out to buzz the cormorants on the tideline before flying out into the bay.

Little egret, Meols 

I was halfway down Meols Promenade. I didn't fancy retracing my steps to Manor Road and the idea of traipsing over to Meols Station didn't suffuse me with anticipated joy. So I carried on walking. There'd been a few little egrets on the beach at Hoylake, there were more dawdling about by the base of the revetment with more redshanks. A still gingery red knot flew by but didn't settle.

Little egrets and black-headed gulls, Leasowe

As always the groyne marked a distinct change in the birdlife. This time there were a lot fewer redshanks and a hell of a lot more little egrets, including a couple of dozen shrimping in the small pool by the groyne.

Little egrets and black-headed gulls, Leasowe

Little egrets and black-headed gulls, Leasowe

Leasowe Common 

It had been good walking weather but I was starting to make heavy weather of walking into the wind so I dropped down into Leasowe Common to see what was about. A flock of swallows and sand martins hawked low over the trees and bushes by the path, the swallows sometimes coming in at ankle height. There were more swallows, this time with house martins, over the pool. I listened in vain for any warblers or passage migrants until I caught the upbeat squeak of a willow warbler in the hedgerow by the lighthouse.

Kerr's Field 

Kerr's Field was quiet save a couple of dozen woodpigeons. It was a weary trudge to Moreton Station.

I was at Lime Street waiting for the Warrington train that got cancelled when I saw the reports of a Wilson's phalarope showing well at Marshside. This would be a lifer for me. Did I have the energy to bob over to Southport? Sadly not. I'll just have to hope it's around tomorrow. I got the Manchester Airport train that goes via St Helens, got off at Patricroft for the bus to the Trafford Centre and got home quicker than I would have done had the Warrington train not been cancelled. Life's like that sometimes.

New Brighton Lighthouse