Birds Of A Feather

The weather has been a little bit grim today, so I've been looking through some old images and came across this set from last year...Well only just!
These shots were taken at West Kirby on the Dee Estuary on New Years Eve of last year.
I remember it to be a very cold winters morning, but we had some beautiful sunshine early on.

I love to visit West Kirby in the winter months when the tide is high, because if you're lucky you can witness some amazing scenes as thousands of Waders and Sea Birds arrive en mass and sit patiently on the rocks for the sea to go back out and reveal a feast of crustaceans on the wet sands and mudflaps.

On this December morning there was a flock of around 5000 Knot as well as good numbers of Dunlin, Redshank and Turnstone.
Every now and again something would make the birds restless and that was the cue for some wonderful sights...

The Wirral

A bit of location hopping on the Wirral side of the Dee Estuary this morning...

First stop was Burton Marsh and apart from the presence of 5 very distant Little Egret, the site proved unusually disappointing.

Next it was one of my favourite places and an often overlooked gem...West Kirby Marine Lake.

I arrived as planned at high tide and despite a low bird count and a very choppy sea which threatened to engulf the path that circles the lake, I managed to get close views of Redshank, Dunlin and a single camera shy Turnstone!

The highlight of the day was the drive back towards Parkgate, where I got a real treat, with a very close view of a Red Kite flying along the side of Telegraph Road just north of Heswall.

Parkgate itself was very quiet apart from a further 4 Little Egret and I was disappointed to learn I'd missed the Spoonbill yet again!

Finally it was back to Burton, but this time Inner Marsh Farm.

Hen Harrier and Ruff were just visible at the far reaches of the marsh, with Shelduck and Teal a lot nearer to the hide.

I couldn't resist a shot of this cheeky Grey Squirrel...

The most pleasing event at Inner Marsh was the sound of a very early Cuckoo calling from the woods close to the car park...Although I couldn't see the bird, I was more than happy to hear it because it's the first I've heard in several years!

Spring is here!