Category: Solo Days Out

Birding on Days Out

Parkgate, Riverside Road, Neston Old Quay, and Burton Mere Wetlands 25th October 2022

The birding group day out on the 25th October took in a range of sites on the Wirral, starting off with Parkgate where there was a 9.5 metre high tide at 11:48am – not particularly high but it was a beautifully sunny, clear day with fantastic visibility all the way over to Wales.

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Burton Mere Wetlands and Parkgate 6th September 2022

Despite predictions, we had fair weather for a trip up to Burton Mere Wetlands. Despite there being quite a lot of rain recently, water levels were fairly good and afforded us decent views of a few waders, especially Sandpipers.

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Burton Mere Wetlands 21st August 2022

After quite a long period of inactivity on the birding front, due mainly to very wet weather (we stayed at home) followed by very hot weather (we sat in back garden trying to keep cool), we eventually had a day out – or at least a few hours out – at Burton Mere Wetlands on 21st August 2022. We didn’t expect too much of interest but, in the end, managed to get a good range of species including four year ticks.

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Burton Mere Wetlands 7th June 2022

The first birding group outing of the month was to Burton Mere Wetlands. It was a reasonable morning but with only a few notable birds. The first was an adult Mediterranean Gull with a juvenile, a year tick. The second was a single Pintail, both of these from the bridge screen and then, from Inner Marsh Farm hide, a single Wigeon. Other than that it was a quiet morning at BMW.

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Titchwell Marsh RSPB, Holmes Dunes NWT and around Thornham 15th May 2022

On the 14th we mainly got settled in at the cottage and got supplies in from the shops in Hunstanton. We did stop off for a bit at the cliffs for the usual Fulmar but also got year tick Linnets there and also a couple of Whitethroats singing in the hedgerows on the edge of the cliff. The 15th was our first real birding around the Thornham area. I started the day with a walk from the cottage to Thornham Harbour going via the reed bed where there were lots of Sedge Warblers singing and showing well. I saw a House Martin which has not been that common this year and other birders have mentioned this as well.

After my walk, we regrouped and set off for Titchwell Marsh RSPB reserve just a mile or so down the road from where we were staying.

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Burton Mere Wetlands 19th April 2022

The birding group had a morning out to Burton Mere Wetlands on 19th April. The rain held off to give us a nice Spring day and the birds were definately full of spring themselves with lots of Wrens, Cetti’s and other small birds dashign around everywhere collecting nesting material and some even seemed to be collecting food items indicating nesting was happening – perhaps even chick rearing already!

So, apart from the general joy of Spring in the air we also got some year firsts as the warblers arrive for the breeding season.

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Burton Mere Wetlands 11 April 2022

A morning out to Burton Mere Wetlands promised the possibility of Garganey as well as all the other usual species. As it happened, we got four new year ticks and some very good views of a bird that had proved very elusive on a previous visit.

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Hoylake, Wallasey Beach, New Brighton, Denhall Quay 3rd February 2022

We took the opportunity of going to Hoylake for a high tide of 10 metres at 12:30pm. It was a rare wind-free day and so it turned out to be very pleasant and the day was made all the better by views from a few feet of a Snow Bunting feeding on the ground just outside the lifeboat station. But that bird was not the only Snow Buntings of the day.

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Burton Mere Wetlands, Parkgate and Denhall Quay 20th January 2022

A cold sunny day took us up to the Wirral on a cold but dry day. We got some good birds and, of course it being January, some good “year ticks” right at the start of the birding year that we hope will be better than the last two Covid dominated years.

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Hoylake, New Brighton and Denhall Quay 4th January 2022

A High Tide took us up to the Wirral for the first birding outing of the year. Despite the tide not being particularly impressive, it stopped just as it turned pas the lifeboat station, we still got a good relatively small numbers of birds. Further stops at New Brighton Marine Lake and Denhall Quay added a few more, very desirable birds to our day list and, because it is the first birding trip of the year, lots of year ticks.

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