We had a birding group visit to the Wirral scheduled for the high tide on the 9th April but with a storm developing overnight and in full force during the day, most of the group decided to stay at home. Anne and I and three others in a car from Didsbury braved the weather, though, and hoped for the best.
Continue readingCategory: High Tide
Mar 23 2023
High Tide at Riverbank Road and Burton Mere Wetlands 23 March 2023
We had a second go at a high tide a couple of days after our first visit when the tide was much better; 10.1 metres at 12:12pm. We started out at Riverbank Road on the Wirral. It was a bit wetter than on the Tuesday but the weather helped the tide come in a long way there. Unfortunately we didn’t see any Short-eared Owls or Hen Harriers- they have been scarce this Winter. In fact, we did not get a Marsh Harrier which is unusual – they must have been full up already!
Continue readingFeb 23 2023
High Tide Birding on the Wirral 21st and 23rd February 2023
The birding group had a morning out to Brockholes planned but because there was a high tide on the Wirral, we decided to there ourselves. We hadn’t had a high tide there this year because we had been on holiday in Lanzarote and, since the February high tides are usually good, we decided that that was what we would do.
Continue readingOct 25 2022
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.
Continue readingOct 11 2022
Hoylake and Burton Mere Wetlands 11th October 2022
We joined the birding group on our first group day since our Scotland trip and it was for a high tide on the Wirral – 9.5 m at 12:48pm. With such a late tide we were able to stop off at Moels first, where we saw a small flock of Common Scoters out at sea on a quiet, sunny day. There were also the usual Redshanks, Shelducks and Dunlin but we only stayed a little while before going on to Hoylake to meet the rest of the group.
Continue readingFeb 03 2022
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.
Continue readingJan 04 2022
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.
Continue readingApr 27 2021
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.
Continue readingSep 18 2020
Hoylake & The Wirral 18th September 2020
We went to the Wirral again on the 18thfor a high tide of 9.9 metres at 12:30pm. It was a beautiful day and totally still which is rare for Hoylake which is where we started. It must have been the lack of an onshore wind that caused the tide to stay out so much. It did turn past the lifeboat station but there was still plenty of sand left – sand which is rapidly becoming a field as the greenery continues to grow on it. This is a recognised problem and they are dealing with it but it is taking a while for them to sort it out.
Continue readingMar 10 2020
Birding Group High Tide Burton Mere Wetlands and Parkgate 10th March 2020
Another Tuesday of mixed weather (and perhaps the coronavirus) led most of the birding group to stay at home and only two of us went up to the Wirral for a high tide of 10 metres at 11:30am. As it happened, the weather wasn’t that bad overall and it was worth the trip for one or two nice birds and a good inflow of water at Parkgate.
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