Recce of Heswall Bank : 30th July 2014
When we left Burton Mere Wetland we decided to do a little recce of Heswall Bank which I had been curious about. I had read an article on the internet on Heswall Bank which also had a very good hand-drawn map of the area from a birding point of view. This article describes the area from a starting position at the end of Riverbank Road where there is some parking. It also describes it as one of the very best places to see waders at a high tide
The Dee Estuary Birding web site says the following :
Heswall Shore
“In October every year in the region of 8,000 to 10,000 Shelduck are seen here, a spectacular sight. The marsh starts at Heswall affording good shelter both for boats and birds. The channel (or gutter) comes within 50 foot of the shore which gives excellent views of the numerous Teal feeding in it. The marsh edge is a major roost site for both Curlew (2730 max in 2000) and Redshank (7580 max in 2000). A large flock of up to 1,000 Blacktailed Godwit can often be seen feeding on the mud by Heswall Fields. Peregrine Falcons, Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owls are often seen hunting over the marsh.
I cannot think of many better places than Heswall shore on a mild Winter’s day, walking along the beach just watching these thousands of birds. Get down here two hours before high water when the birds are concentrated near the shore for really spectacular views, but it’s excellent here at any time.”
Thurstaston Country Park and Shore
“The park and nearby Wirral Way has thickets of blackthorn, hawthorn and brambles – all excellent nesting sites and holding a mass of berries in the Autumn, attracting Fieldfares and Redwing. The fields nearby hold feeding flocks of Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatchers in the Winter with breeding Skylarks in the Spring.
The shore here is a major feeding area for Shelduck, Oystercatchers, Knot and Dunlin. Walk out on the causeway by Dee Sailing Club and it is like being in the middle of one of the better RSPB films, completely surrounded by the sight and sounds of the birds. Numerous Herons feed in the nearby channel which attracts the birds at all states of the tide. Visit Thurstaston shore 3 hours before a big high tide and you will be rewarded with the sight of these thousands of birds slowly being pushed up river resulting in a concentrated mass close inshore.”
All this sounded very interesting but we were aware that it was not a particularly high tide and that it not being winter the site may not be at its best for roosting birds. Still we wanted to check it out since we had a little time ,so after a quick spot of lunch at Burton Manor we headed off to Heswall. It may be possible to walk all the way from Parkgate to Thurstaston but I had a feeling from the maps that perhaps we would run into some water in the way so we decided to drive from Parkgate up the hill to the A540 and then wiggle our way (there is no straight-forward way) down to the Sheldrake Restaurant at the end of Banks Road. (The quoted web site abive has a starting point of Riverside Road which is nearer to the Parkgate end of the Wirral. There is either a car park at the bottom of Banks Road, just past the restaurant or it is probably easier to park before the restaurant where there is ample parking on the left. You then walk down past the rather posh restaurant and then at the bottom turn to your right.
When you do this I believe you have Heswall Bank on the left. What we saw was a couple of small islands covered in vegetation but I believe in winter this becomes a huge bird roost. You can walk past the boat yard and along the path to the left and you get to “marsh island” and Heswall Gutter or you can go to the right past “mud island”. If you continue along here you end up with Heswall Fields (NT) on the right and the mouth of the River Dee on the left. If you continue along here you come to the beach and then to Thurstaston Country Park. At the end of Heswall Fields I believe that there is a cut-through to the Wirral Way which is the old railway line and that runs right to Thurstaston Country Park visitor centre. The Wirral Way is actually 12.2 miles long and runs from West Kirby to Hooton in Chester. There are some cut-throughs from the coastal path to the Wirral Way though they may involve crossing the odd field.
This is something that we must look at in winter.