Birding Group Day Out to Hilbre Island 16th February 2012

Birding Group Day Out to Hilbre Island 16th February 2012

The weather forecast was a bit doubtful for our day out to Hilbre but the rain managed to stay off for the morning at least. It was around 10.30am before we set out from the pier across the sands to Little Eye, turning right there via Middle Eye to the main island. the wind was howling and it was pretty cold but the walk was well worthwhile when our first sightings on the island were half a dozen Brent Geese sitting on the rocks below. A single Shelduck put in an appearance and we saw Turnstones bobbing around amongst the rocks at the waters edge. The few Brent Geese to be seen here were dwarfed by those on the north eastern side of the island.

On this side of the island there were many more birds with a couple of hundred Brent Geese roosting in a group. There were also around 400 Oystercatchers there and 100 Redshank. A few Curlew on their own or in isolated pairs were to be seen. The total for Turnstones was probably around ten. By far the biggest topic of conversation was (as last time) the identification of a number of waders. One of the group always wants to see a Little Stint but in their winter plumage the few waders that get everyone scratching their heads seem to elude definitive identification by us. We did agree that some of the birds were Dunlin but there were other waders that were more confusing. One might conclude after much to-ing anf fro-ing on the subject that they must be Knot because they are “knot anything else” as the adage goes but we never seem to wholeheartedly agree. They could, of course have been Ruff which are also notoriously variable.

It was a shame that we did not see some of the species recently observed there such as Purple Sandpiper and it was also disappointing that any songbirds were obviously laying low. Between gusts of wind you could sometimes hear chattering coming from the gorse but nothing was showing for us.

As the day went on the weather deteriorated a bit and as West Kirby disappeared in the drizzle we decided to return to the mainland. It would have been desirable to remain on the island and see what showed up during the course of the afternoon but for most people it was more important to get back before the rain came down. In the end there was only a little rain – though it wad driven by the wind – but the weather wasn’t conducive to sitting around. A curiosity was that we saw a dead Cormorant on the island and, as always happens, you can’t help but wonder how it dies.

Bird Sightings : Hilbre Island