Visit to Hoylake for High Tide : 23rd August 2013

Visit to Hoylake for High Tide : 23rd August 2013

We left Burton Mere Wetlands with enough time to get up to Hoylake. As we arrived there were already a few birders on the prom and the birds were already quite a way in – indeed, much closer than they had been earlier in the year when we were last here. We parked up and got the scopes out. The first thing you noticed was that the birds were quite different from those that had been there in Spring. This time there were mind-boggling numbers of Ringed Plovers ; the official count was 1,100. There were also great numbers of Dunlin; again the official count was around 2,500/ But these were not the only birds present in significant numbers.

Mixed in with the Dunlin were numbers of Sanderling and at theback ont he waters edge there were a few Golden Plovers. The other large flocks were Terns, mainly Sandwich Terns but also Common and a few Little Terns. There were a fair number of Oystercatchers and further out on the water large numbers of Gulls. As we watched for more Terns flying in we caught sight of two Marsh Harriers coming in off the sea ! Among the birds feeding on the sand there wer two Bar-tailed Godwits.

In other words it was another fantastic few hours at Hoylake, made all the more interesting by the large numbers of Ringed Plovers. I’m usually more than happy if I see half a dozen ; now it might take a couple of thousand to impress  me !

Bird Sightings : Hoylake