Thirty-three
members and friends set off from Stockport for our first trip of 2019. Three
sites on the Wirral were our destination and daybreak had hardly broken when we
pulled up at the first of the scheduled stops. Arriving at New Brighton the
coach dropped us off outside Morrisons as per normal. We all headed over to the
Marine Lake and eagerly scanned through the birds on the pontoon.
Our
first target bird of the day was quickly found, with two Purple Sandpipers
identified amongst the flock of Dunlin, Turnstone and Redshank. The lake held a
family of Mute Swan and both Black-headed and Herring Gulls. A walk over to the
sea wall produced very little. The sea was relatively calm and the tide was in.
Out in the Mersey mouth there were plenty of Cormorant fishing with a group of
Oystercatcher perched up on the rocks. We added Common Gull to the list and a
couple in the party saw very distant Common Scoter.
 |
| Oystercatchers (Alan & Glo) |
Back
at the pontoon on the Marine Lake we discovered more waders had flown in and we
counted seven Purple Sandpiper in total. Dunlin numbers had increased include
one well marked bird that was roosting. Originally identified as a possible
Sanderling it wasn’t until it took its relatively huge bill out from under its
wing that we were able to conclude its identification as a Dunlin. It was
certainly distinctly different and probably of a different race to those around
it.
Returning
to the coach we took the short journey over to Parkgate. The group split up
with some heading towards the Old Baths and others to Donkey Stand Flash. The
group that viewed Donkey Stand Flash were rewarded with excellent views of a
male Hen Harrier, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and a Short-eared Owl.
 |
| Marsh Harrier (Alan & Glo) |
Those
that headed to the Old Baths connected with the male Hen Harrier (and a
female/immature bird), up to three Marsh Harrier and the Peregrine. Both groups
picked out several distant Great White Egret as well as the now widespread
Little Egret. On the various pools we found Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing
with Teal, Mallard, Shoveler and Wigeon.
A
couple of pairs of Stonechat were found, with flocks of distant Skylark, Linnet
and the odd Meadow Pipit out on the marsh. Overhead a Raven croaked. Distantly,
we could see flocks of Pink-footed Goose moving around far out on the marsh.
 |
| Lapwings over Parkgate (Alan & Glo) |
In
the fields behind the Old Baths car park a single Fieldfare was seen, and a few
lucky observers had views of a Green Woodpecker. Holly did her good deed for
the day by calling in a lost dog wandering the salt marsh. Viewing the dog tag
around its neck with binoculars from the sea wall Holly rang the owner and they
were eventually gratefully reunited with their dog.
With
that excitement over we returned to the coach and made the very short journey
to Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve. Walking through the woodland adjacent to
the carpark we were rewarded with good views of Treecreeper and Nuthatch. A
party of Redwing moved through the trees and we picked up the commoner tit and
finch species.
 |
| Lapwings (Alan & Glo) |
On
accessing the reserve most people set up their scopes to view the distant swan
herd in the fields adjacent to Shotwick Lake. Mute and Whooper swan were
quickly picked out and, with a bit of effort, a single Bewicks swan was also identified.
The pair of feral Black Swan were also in the same field to provide us with a quaternary of swan species.
The next stop for most people was by the screen looking
through the reed bed. Bearded Tits had been well observed in this location over
the last few days. Unfortunately, whilst many of the party had fleeting views
of a single bird, most had nothing. A Cetti’s Warbler sang from deep within the
reeds.
 |
| Sunset over Burton Mere (Holly Page) |
The various pools on the reserve held Tufted Duck,
Pintail, many Wigeon and a single Egyptian Goose of unknown origins. A Green
Sandpiper was also recorded. A walk up to Burton Point produced Kestrel,
Linnet, Fieldfare and a squeaking Water Rail. From the point scoping out over
the marsh we located distant Merlin and Buzzard as well as further Great White
Egrets.
A good day had produced 87 species identified by the society.
 |
| Sunset over Burton Mere (Holly Page) |
Species seen:
| Mute Swan |
Water
Rail |
Song
Thrush |
| Bewicks
Swan |
Moorhen |
Redwing |
| Whooper
Swan |
Coot |
Mistle
Thrush |
| Pink-footed
Goose |
Oystercatcher |
Fieldfare |
| Greylag
Goose |
Lapwing |
Blackbird |
| Canada
Goose |
Purple
Sandpiper |
Cetti's
Warbler (H) |
| Egyptian
Goose |
Turnstone |
Goldcrest |
| Shelduck |
Dunlin |
Wren |
| Mallard |
Green
Sandpiper |
Great Tit |
| Gadwall |
Redshank |
Coal Tit |
| Pintail |
Black-tailed
Godwit |
Blue Tit |
| Shoveler |
Curlew |
Long-tailed
Tit |
| Wigeon |
Snipe |
Bearded
Reedling |
| Teal |
Black-headed
Gull |
Nuthatch |
| Tufted
Duck |
Common Gull |
Treecreeper |
| Common
Scoter |
Herring
Gull |
Magpie |
| Pheasant |
Great
Black-backed Gull |
Jackdaw |
| Little
Grebe |
Lesser
Black-backed Gull |
Rook |
| Cormorant |
Stock Dove |
Carrion
Crow |
| Little
Egret |
Woodpigeon |
Raven |
| Great
White Egret |
Short-eared
Owl |
Starling |
| Grey
Heron |
Green
Woodpecker |
House
Sparrow |
| Marsh
Harrier |
Great
Spotted Woodpecker |
Chaffinch |
| Hen
Harrier |
Skylark |
Linnet |
| Sparrowhawk |
Meadow
Pipit |
Lesser
Redpoll |
| Buzzard |
Pied
Wagtail |
Goldfinch |
| Kestrel |
Dunnock |
Greenfinch |
| Merlin |
Robin |
Bullfinch |
| Peregrine |
Stonechat |
Reed
Bunting |
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