RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands : 3rd February 2015

RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands : 3rd February 2015

The first birding group outing of February was to RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands and like our last visit to this site 20th December 2014 there was a lot of frozen water on the site. The main pool in front of the Reception Hide was not as totally frozen as before so there were some Mallards, Wigeon and Teal looking very cold on the water/ice and also a couple of Black-tailed Godwit adding a little interest. Broadly speaking, however, it wasn’t heaving with birds. Our main aim this visit was, however, to go to the newly opened at Burton Point and this was very interesting indeed.

We walked in the direction of the Inner Marsh Farm Hide but when we got to the old path from the farmhouse we walked up to the railway bridge. Crossing this we reached a gently sloping field with a dry-stone wall along one edge. We imagined that this would attract plenty of Wheatear in the spring. From the other side of this small field (lawn really) you could see all the way over the main bodies of water that are contained within the reserve and since it was such a beautifully fine sunny (and cold) day we could see for miles and miles all the way to the Welsh side of the River Dee. It was even possible to see Shotwick Boating Lake in the distance. We had been there on the 24th December 2014 and we saw all four species of Swan on that day. With the scopes at full magnification we could pick out a similar scene today but from such a long way away that you could only tell that they were Swans. There was an impressive collection of the. To the right of the main body of Swans we could also see a substantial flock of Geese and we were confirmed in our impression that they were Pink-footed Geese bu a report on the Dee Estuary Birding web site in thinking that this is indeed what they were. A report for that field the day before said the flock was 1,000 birds. When we later saw them in flight we could easily think that correct.

The impressive view in this direction was just the start as the apex of the field had a view of the whole marsh that was wonderful to behold with all the sites one is used to visiting or, at least, hearing about laid out before you on the clearest and crispest of winter’s days. In a small field just before the edge of the marsh was a large group of Fieldfares, close enough to afford us brilliant views. We also noted that some of the birds were remarkably different in size. None of us knew if this was as a result of sexual dimorphism in Fieldfares (incidentally I found a brief summary of some findings on this subject here) but a reserve warden suggested that it was possible that they might be two different flocks originating in different places but feeding together here. Anyway, it was a great chance to look closely at this most beautiful of winter thrushes. Whilst we were scanning the marsh we saw several Little Egrets but one flying bird stood out and turned out to be a Great White Egret.

On the wall side of the field the whole of the coastline northwards was spread out before us up to Thurstaston and beyond. The warder we spoke to said that sometimes the marsh is home to up to eight Short-eared Owls. In fact the BMW site is home to five species of Owl. He himself, had seen a Long-eared Owl the day before down by the steps leading to the Inner Marsh Farm Hide. A couple of days before that he had seen a Barn Owl and, of course there are a couple of pairs of Little Owls. He didn’t mention recent sightings of Tawny Owl but he said they were present on the site somewhere.

This newly opened section of the site was definitely the high point of the day. We did drop back town to the IMF hide but it was very quiet indeed and we didn’t manage to see the Long-eared Owl either. We did see the Pinkies flying as we went back down to the Reed Covert Hide which was also very quiet. On our way back to the Reception Hide there were plenty of Finches and Tits and Reed Buntings and some Stonechats. We got a quick look at a Greater Spotted Woodpecker by the old fish pond but that was pretty much it.

A last look for Little Owl over by the barn did produce a pair of Crows mobbing what looked like it must be a Merlin but the group soon flew into the low sun.

A quick visit to  Parkgate for lunch in the Red Lion polished a wonderfully bright, clear and sunny winter day and although the birding wasn’t the best ever it felt like a great day to be outside wandering around this fantastic reserve and seeing fro Burton Point the sheer scale of the whole reserve and how it links to the reserves on the Welsh side of the Rive Dee.

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Reception Hide

Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Environs