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| Looking towards Leasowe lighthouse from path to Meols |
The Leasowe
light brigade (8 of us in total - not even a squad really) joined Chris bright
and early on Saturday. A wonderful
cheery sunny morning with clear views across the river to the wind farm and Formby
dunes.
Arriving
at the car park it was obvious others had the same idea, besides the early dog
walkers, a multitude of birders, telescopes at the ready where either in situ
on the sea wall searching through the gulls, or beating a path to the Lingham
lane area, where we were to follow. Not a sign of the Iceland gull, but really
nice views of a gang to terns, commons and jazzy sandwiches!
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| Wheatear -Paddocks Leasowe - L Bimson |
On our
way, hardly a charge but more of a spring saunter inland, were it was noticeably
warmer than on the raised embankment path. The area around Leasowe lighthouse includes
scrubland, areas of standing water, wildflower meadows and reedbeds. We
headed down the footpath leading to the paddocks; this whole area behind the coastal
embankment is a haven for resting migrants and nesting birds. Chiffchaff and
blackcaps were amongst the more common finches in the shrubs and hedges. Early swallows
sweeped the fields. Our pal Sean had
visited during the week and had reported wheatear, whinchat and redstart, so we were pleased to see the first of our
targets, a striking wheatear popping about
the fields with others such as linnets, meadow pipits, skylarks and white wagtails,
in fact wheatears turned out to be plentiful, over half a dozen in one paddock. Or second quarry a whinchat was seen
distantly through John’s scope further a field, but had flown by the time we
got to a closer vantage point.
Moving on
to Park Lane by the farm, a party of birders put us on to the spot the redstart had been seen, sure enough
a little further down the lane a couple of telescopes were trained on it! What
a beauty, a striking male redstart perched in a field edge shrub, flitting down
to the grass and back...marvellous.
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| Stonechat -N prendergast |
No sign of
the whinchat so we headed back towards the coastal path which gave us good
views of the shore line and of the enclosed common/sandy area. This was to
prove fortuitous. Whilst observing some splendid feisty stonechats, sparrows,
linnets and goldfinches in a patch of flowering gorse, a whinchat was seen
being mobbed by a male stonechat, not happy the other chat was on his patch!
Looking
out to sea we focused our attention on a mixture of feeding waders, as well as a
little egret and a curlew, no whimbrel today.
Returning
through the reed bed area we discussed and observed the differences between
chiffchaff and willow warbler, the legs have it apparently; chiffchaffs always
dark, willow warbler more pinkish. More blackcaps recorded and a reed bunting,
sedge warbler heard but not seen. As well as the migrants, the warmer weather had
brought some others out to play. Peacock and Tortoiseshell butterflies flitted
about, huge bumble and red-tailed bees explored the grassland, and a yellow
flourish of daffodils, primroses and celandines lifted their heads to the blue
skies.
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| Male Blackcap at leasowe- N prendergast |
Time to
leave, however a detour was in the air, a desperate twitch ensued, apparently a
blue winged teal was sunning itself at the old RSPB Inner Marsh farm
pools. Well it was only 25 minutes away
as the crow flies.
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| Kestrel at IMF -N prendergast |
Arriving at the
reserve, we were told it was showing well and had been snoozing in front of the
hide for 3hrs, however our grand day out was about to end on a slightly sour
note, as we approached said hide, the birding community were telling us the
bird had moved, as it happened it had moved to the furthest pool from the hide,
beyond binos! An enclave of birders with
telescopes packed the far end of the hide, promising if it came into view they
would give is a gander, but they weren’t giving up their seats! After 30mins or so we resignedly gave up the
twitch, jobs to do, people to see…we left the enclave to their vigil. Still the avocets and godwits were resplendent
in the sunshine, and the newly arrived whitethroats were ticks for the day.
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| Oystercatcher and avocets IMF - L Bimson |
Our
Wirral Day list : 64 species
Little
egret, grey heron, mute swan, canada goose, shelduck, gadwall, teal, mallard, shoveler, tufted duck, common scoter, buzzard, kestrel, pheasant, moorhen,
coot, oystercatcher, avocet, ringed plover, lapwing, dunlin, black tailed
godwit, curlew, redshank, turnstone, black headed gull, lesser black backed
gull , herring gull, sandwich tern, common tern, wood pigeon, skylark, sand
martin, swallow, meadow pipit, white wagtail, wren, dunnock, robin, redstart,
whinchat, stone chat, wheatear, blackbird, house sparrow, mistle thrush,
whitethroat, blackcap, chiff chaff, willow
warbler, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, magpie, jackdaw, rook, carrion crow,
starling, chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, linnet, reed bunting.
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| River Birket, Leasowe |
Bimo
