I took a trip over to the Wirral Satdee morning in the company of Mark Murphy. It’s been nearly two years since I visited my old stomping ground, so it was a pleasant change to reacquaint myself with the area.
We started early doors at Denhall Lane on a glorious clear, frosty and mercifully wind free morning. First bird out of the hat was a belter: a Great White Egret that flew overhead on a course, no doubt, to its regular haunt of Parkgate Marsh.
Decca Pools was encouraging; although the assembled wildfowl was scared off by a hillbilly farmer who had decided he had just enough time to shoot something before he settled down to watch his collection of Jeremy Kyle DVDs.
This didn’t affect the owls thankfully and it wasn’t too long before we enjoyed incredible views of two Short-eared Owls that flew so close there was no need for binoculars – a good job too as MM’s new pair of field glasses were steamier than a Fred Dibnah documentary.
Neston Old Quay was next, with fingers crossed, Water Pipits to follow. They didn’t, perhaps our chances had been scotched by our lousy field craft as when rolled up a probable flew up stream and into cover never to return.
We waited. And waited, but nada. Their no show made even more galling when I read later in dispatches that one had been seen at the sewage works and two later on near the bridge.
Compensation was at hand however in the form of an immature Spoonbill picked up roosting behind Neston Reedbed. Strange, but I would have quite happily swapped it for a humble Water Pipit having only ever seen two, ever.
The last half an hour was spent grilling Parkgate Marsh for any raptors. Incredulously after four hours in the field we had not logged one bird of prey and our luck didn’t change at the Donkey Stand Flash with a hazy blob of a Buzzagrine way over towards Flint the closest we got.
Until later.
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