Wirral High Tide

I've been spending a bit of time on the Wirral recently. Last Saturday I went to see the Laughing Gull at New Brighton Marine Lake. A new species for me and quite a distinctive one for a 'gull'. I even managed to pick it out with just the Bins from the other end of the lake which is pretty good for me given my dislike of Larids! I would even go as far as to say its actually quite an attractive gull, and it was a lifer so a double bonus. Unfortunately my camera batteries ran out and the photo from the phone wasn't even worth posting.

I also went to Burton Mere Wetlands, which is the 'new' RSPB reserve on the south western shore of the Wirral. Its quite an attractive place, but I can't think of anything you wouldn't see out on the estuary itself without the annoyance of large groups taking over the hides and generally being disruptive. I think I am just becoming less tolerant in my middle age. The thing is I wouldn't mind if these were kids or even families, but they're not. They tend to be the 'older' age groups and they really should know better as they seem to be quite experienced. At least you'd assume so given the amount they must spend on their optics and clothing.

Anyway. I was back again today at Meols for the high tide. It was much quieter - for birds and people!

The expected species were on show and the only 'unusual' thing was a Glaucous Gull that I noticed immediately on getting out of the car. Unfortunately it moved off pretty quickly and when another birder came along it had long gone.

Most birds were quite distant, and the haze wasn't great but it was possible to see quite a number of Common Scoter whizzing around. Waders were in short supply though, with just a few Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatchers. As you can see below, these were quite distant - these shots were on full 20x zoom.

So, I headed off to West Kirby to see if that was any better. Unfortunately it was really busy with walkers, windsurfers etc so birds were in even shorter supply. So what was supposed to be a full day ended up just a few hours instead, but still enjoyable.