Connah’s Quay, Shotwick, Burton and Parkgate 12th February 2019
We were supposed to go to Frodsham with the birding group on the 12th but they decided they were going to park on the motorway bridge and walk from there. Several people opted out of this for their own reasons but I just thought that there wasn’t much likelihood of seeing anything much there that could not be seen more easily elsewhere, so we decided to go up to the Wirral instead and I think that our decision was vindicated with forty-five species sighted including Short-eared Owl and Hen Harrier.
We started off at Connah’s Quay hoping that we would get some Twite. Given that it was a low tide, I wasn’t over confidant and my reservations were proved right as we did not see any. A chap who was already in the hide said that there had been a few earlier but when he opened the window he had flushed them !! We did get some Linnet but we resolved to try again at hight tide for Twite.
Since we were near Shotwick Fields and a pair of Bewick’s Swans had been sighted there that morning among a flock of Mute Swans, we decided to give that a shot. By the time we got there, they had gone but we got a couple of Black Swans and a Barnacle Goose.
Over at Burton things were fairly quiet though we got the usual good variety of birds. When we looked at the sightings book there wasn’t much in it to get over-excited about so we decided just to go down to the Marsh Covert Hide. The fields outside were unusually full of water so good numbers of ducks were right in front of the hide including a single Pintail. There were lots of Curlew and Black-tailed Godwits and a few Dunlin.
Around 1pm we decided to give Parkgate a shot. When we got to the car park we fell into a conversation with a photographer who specialised in shooting Owls but he had not seen much as yet. We stayed for a bit but then thought we might have a better chance if we went off for a drink at the Boathouse and then came back for a bit later. We hoped that being a little later in the afternoon, birds of prey might be getting nearer to their roost by that time.
We didn’t get a window seat in the Boathouse but, as we were chatting, I saw over Anne’s shoulder a distinctly Owl-shaped bird just outside the pub. I got the briefest glimpse but it stooped down into the marsh looking very like an Owl.
After our spot of lunch and drink, we returned to the Old Baths car park and our photographer friend came over to us and confirmed we had probably seen an Owl. We weren’t sure if it was Short-eared or Barn, but we wailed for a bit longer before getting incredibly close views of a Short-eared Owl – almost too close of telescope and certainly bins were good enough for pretty good views. At one point it seemed to go high up into the air and we soon saw a bit of a challenge between it and a ringtail Hen Harrier. The Harrier flew off pretty sharp though.
Out on the marsh we also had a distant Peregrine so it was a really good day for birds of prey. We had seen a Short-eared Owl already this year but it was a distant affair, not a looking straight into the eyes view. I’m sure it had been a bit heavy on the mascara.
By the end of the day we were convinced we had made the right decision and, in fact, we decided to stay over at the Ship Hotel next week, when there is a high tide, so we could try for the evening roost. Bittern, Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl, male and female Hen Harrier and, of course, Marsh Harrier, have all been seen going into the roost near Parkgate most nights recently, so we are looking forward to that – weather permitting !
Bird Sightings Connah’s Quay 12th February 2019
| Canada Goose | 400 |
| Common Shelduck | 20 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 50 |
| Common Teal | 10 |
| Common Pheasant | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Common Buzzard | 1 |
| Common Moorhen | 2 |
| Common Coot | 20 |
| Northern Lapwing | 30 |
| Common Redshank | 4 |
| Eurasian Curlew | 50 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 2 |
| Rook | 4 |
| Carrion Crow | 6 |
| Great Tit | 2 |
| Eurasian Blue Tit | 2 |
| Eurasian Blackbird | 2 |
| Common Chaffinch | 4 |
| European Greenfinch | 3 |
| European Goldfinch | 4 |
| Common Linnet | 3 |
Bird Sightings Shotwick Fields 12th February 2019
| Pink-footed Goose | 2 |
| Greylag Goose | 20 |
| Barnacle Goose | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 200 |
| Mute Swan | 20 |
| Black Swan | 2 |
Bird Sightings Burton Mere Environs 12th February 2019
| Common Shelduck | 6 |
| Gadwall | 6 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 30 |
| Common Teal | 40 |
| Tufted Duck | 3 |
| Little Grebe | 1 |
| Great Cormorant | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 2 |
| Little Egret | 2 |
| Common Buzzard | 1 |
| Common Coot | 10 |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | 1 |
| Northern Lapwing | 30 |
| Common Redshank | 30 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 10 |
| Dunlin | 4 |
| Black-headed Gull | 50 |
| Cetti’s Warbler | 1 |
Bird Sightings Burton Mere Wetlands, Marsh Covert Hide 12th February 2019
| Common Shelduck | 20 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 30 |
| Mallard | 8 |
| Northern Shoveler | 30 |
| Northern Pintail | 1 |
| Common Teal | 30 |
| Common Moorhen | 2 |
| Common Coot | 6 |
| Northern Lapwing | 50 |
| Common Redshank | 8 |
| Eurasian Curlew | 30 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 30 |
| Dunlin | 2 |
Bird Sightings Parkgate 12th February 2019
| Pink-footed Goose | 1000 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 20 |
| Mallard | 10 |
| Northern Pintail | 1 |
| Common Teal | 8 |
| Common Pheasant | 1 |
| Hen Harrier | 1 |
| Northern Lapwing | 100 |
| Common Redshank | 20 |
| Eurasian Curlew | 10 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 6 |
| Short-eared Owl | 1 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 |
| Carrion Crow | 4 |
| Meadow Pipit | 6 |