Hoylake, Leosowe and Parkgate 27th April 2021

We went up to Hoylake for a high tide of 9.9 metres at Noon but, even though we were there a good hour before, the tide was all the way in when we got there. There was still some sand but lots of dog walkers and no birds at all except the odd Cormorant or Shelduck way out on the water. We left a bit confused but headed over to Leosowe to have a look around the lighthouse area. Here we had more luck.

First off, a scan of the water produced little until I eventually caught a small group of Common Scoter. This was a first for the year but with the Covid restrictions every day sees a year tick even though it is nearly the end of April.

We had a look around the bushes and there were Goldfinch and Greenfinch and some House Sparrows and Swallows flying overhead. I could hear what sounded a bit like a Willow Warbler but, in the end, I couldn’t be sure. We walked along the road to the paddocks and got a Mistle Thrush but not much else. After about twenty minutes, though, I latched onto a Wheatear and, after a little while, another appeared. The views were a little distant in the heat haze but definitely Wheatear. A Chiffchaff was singing all the time on what was a lovely day; perhaps a little too overcast but not windy at all – itself a first for us at Leosowe.

We then headed off to New Brighton to see if anything was on the pontoon but there was nothing there but gulls! We had a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea at Cafe Creme and then headed across the Wirral back down to Parkgate – to see if we could see the Spoonbills recently hanging around Parkgate Flash but no luck. We did get a lot of Egrets including half a dozen Great White Egrets. We also picked up a few other common birds – but still year ticks – to add to our modest tally of twenty-eight species and we headed off to Burton Mere Wetlands to see if we could find anything there.

Unfortunately road works prevented us getting to the reserve from the Burton village end and by the time we had driven round to Puddington Lane, it was a little late so we just headed home. Sounds like a modest sort of days birding but we are just grateful to get out at all these days. The tide was a bit confusing – and the total lack of birds surprised us at both Hoylake and New Brighton. I suppose they must have all gone home. It has been such an unusual sixteen months that I think I have lost track of the seasons.

Bird Sightings Hoylake, Leosowe and Parkgate 27th April2021