The Wirral; New Brighton, Parkgate and Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve

 12^th January 2020

(New Brighton - J Wharton)

Weather:  Cloudy, mild

Members and friends:  33                      Driver: Glenn

Thirty-three members and friends set off from Stockport for our first trip of 2020 to our usual destination of the three sites on the Wirral. Our first stop was New Brighton and the coach dropped us off outside Morrisons as per normal. Those that didn’t head straight for the café walked over to the Marine Lake and were greeted by a large group of waders on the pontoon, under the colourful bottle sculpture. The 8m long sculpture is made of recycled plastic, titled “message in a bottle”. It was erected in 2018 to highlight the issue of plastic pollution. Apparently, it lights up at night!

Immediately we picked out a couple of Purple Sandpipers amongst the flock of Dunlin, Turnstone and Redshank on the pontoon. After a bit of searching from different angles eight birds were recorded. The lake held a couple of Cormorant and both Black-headed and Common Gulls. A walk over to the sea wall produced very little. The sea was rough, and the tide was in. Out in the Mersey mouth there were a handful of Cormorant and a Great Black-backed Gull.

(Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Redshank, Turnstone - T Kelso)

After a provisions visit to Morrisons we re-embarked on the coach and headed over to Parkgate. Alighting the coach, we were greeted by views of Great White Egret and Little Egret out on the saltmarsh. Two Marsh Harrier were in view and we quickly picked out a distant male Hen Harrier. A Kestrel hunted close by giving excellent views as it hovered literally over our heads.

Grey Heron, Mallard, Wigeon and Teal all were found on the adjacent pools and in the distance the group could see flocks of Pink-footed Geese moving around the saltmarsh. Redshank were also present with flocks of Lapwing that rose every time a Marsh Harrier was in the vicinity. We picked out a couple of distant Peregrines resting up on a log and a few of the group recorded Stonechat.

(Kestrel - J Wharton)

Walking down to the Old Baths we quickly connected with Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew. A flock of Pink-footed Geese came down to one of the nearer pools and gave good views as they drank and preened. Overhead Skylark moved out onto the saltmarsh and Shelduck could be seen distantly.

In the fields behind the Old Baths car park a large flock of Redwing was found. They were joined by the odd Song Thrush and Blackbird. Flitting between the field and the adjacent hedges was a large flock of Goldfinch with small numbers of Chaffinch, Greenfinch and at least two Linnet. At the back of the field a Jay was seen foraging in the long grass, with Moorhen, Wood Pigeon and Pheasant also recorded. A Buzzard passed overhead.

(Redwing - T Kelso)

We returned to the coach and made the very short journey to Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve. The wind had picked up and we drew a blank on woodland species as we made our way to the reserve carpark from Puddington Lane. Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush and Pied Wagtail were noted in the adjacent fields.

On accessing the reserve we quickly recorded Kestrel and Marsh Harrier. Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Black-tailed Godwit were all in the pool in front of the reception hide. A few of the group picked out two Spotted Redshank and we also recorded Dunlin and Ruff at this location.

(Black-tailed Godwit - A. Barrett)

A walk around the reserve added little to our day list. Pintail, Tufted Duck and a Nuthatch on the feeders were all new additions. As was very brief views of Cetti’s Warbler as it flashed through vegetation. A Peregrine came through the reserve, at low level, scattering duck and waders.

The adjacent shooting range was very active and along with the strong winds meant very little time was spent at the Hillfort viewing point looking over the saltmarsh. A pair of Mute Swan with a previous year’s offspring were noted along with a scattering of corvids.

A good day had produced 76 species identified by the society.

Mute Swan	Oystercatcher	Robin
Pink-footed Goose	Lapwing	Song Thrush
Greylag Goose	Purple Sandpiper	Redwing
Canada Goose	Turnstone	Mistle Thrush
Eygptian Goose	Dunlin	Blackbird
Shelduck	Redshank	Cetti's Warbler
Mallard	Spotted Redshank	Great Tit
Gadwall	Black-tailed Godwit	Coal Tit
Pintail	Curlew	Blue Tit
Shoveler	Snipe	Long-tailed Tit
Wigeon	Ruff	Nuthatch
Teal	Black-headed Gull	Magpie
Tufted Duck	Common Gull	Jay
Pheasant	Herring Gull	Jackdaw
Cormorant	Great Black-backed Gull	Rook
Little Egret	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Carrion Crow
Great White Egret	Stock Dove	Raven
Grey Heron	Woodpigeon	Starling
Marsh Harrier	Collared Dove	House Sparrow
Hen Harrier	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Chaffinch
Buzzard	Skylark	Linnet
Kestrel	Meadow Pipit	Goldfinch
Merlin	Pied Wagtail	Greenfinch
Peregrine	Grey Wagtail	Reed Bunting
Moorhen	Dunnock
Coot	Stonechat