There were two high tides on the Wirral this month – 22nd August (13.48hrs 9.7m) and 23 Aug (14.30hrs 9.7m). We opted to go on the first day despite there being some weather warnings. As it happened it stayed dry but there were strong winds. We started of fat Meols before dropping down to Hoylake where we sheltered from the wind by the lifeboat station
We were told by some neighbours who had been out dog walking that two adult Barn Owls and two chicks had been seen in a field near Brookburn school. The weather has been dry some days and wet others so we took the chance on the next day it was dry and we were not disappointed.
It had been a while since we were last at Burton Mere Wetlands so we were glad to get back to some decent birding. Our reward wasn’t to see any new species but we did see some nice birds and a pair of birds we had only ever seen singly.
The summary for July is simple – no birding at all apart from the back garden. This was due to a combination of wet days, hot days and all the birds laying low in the countryside after the breeding season.
Birding Group Schedule Autumn 2024
Total Species for 2024 so far: 134
The last birding group morning out of the “term” was to Marbury. It was a very hot day and, although we didn’t see much special, we did get a single yer tick – a Kingfisher. The woods were full of the singing of Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Wrens.
We decided to have a few days in North Wales taking in RSPB Conwy, Llanferfechan, Holyhead Fish Docks, Cemlyn Bay, RSPB South Stack, Bodnant Gardens and Gronant Dunes. As luck would have it, we managed to get three days of really sunny, wind-free weather – a rarity for north Wales. We managed to get forty-seven species and eight year ticks over the three days.
The birding group went to Burton Mere Wetlands on 11 June. It was a cold morning but gradually warmed up. The highlight of the morning was the sight of 120 Bar-tailed Godwits on the main scrape – a very unusual event.
After our visit of the previous day to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, we chose to stay overnight at The Pine Marten hotel right next door to RHA Harlow Carr gardens. The idea wasn’t to be birding but the gardens were such a fantastic habitat for birds that we notched up twenty-three species including a year-tick Spotted Flycatcher.
