Okay it was supposed to be very windy on the Wirral as me and Steve B set off but, it felt like gale force at times! A leisurely start of 9am had us heading towards our various destinations reaching a little stop at Moore N.R. It soon became apparent that even inland the wind would be keeping the birds down so, after checking the usually productive feeders, we carried on with a Nuthatch being the star bird. A Black Redstart that had been showing fairly well on and off at Shotwick boating lake earlier in the week, this had us visiting a place we hadnt been to for a number of years. There is now a large area given up to solar energy with lots of places for a small bird to shelter under. After 20 minutes here the bird was not seen at all so we moved on.
At Burton Point RSPB the car park was very full and we found out that a members group had decided to visit, all in their cars! As we entered the main hide we met Kevin Hughes and little Marie from Macclesfield, we had our usual catch up and worked out our strategy of which area to visit. At this point one of the volunteer wardens told us not to visit the actual Burton Point as it was very windy there! We managed to see Pintail, Marsh Harrier and Spotted Redshank but in the main conditions were quite difficult for the birds and watchers.
We called at Parkgate and West Kirby but as before the wind got the better of us. At Meols (late of Pied Wheatear fame) the tide was coming in so, a few waders were seen mainly Oystercatcher, Redshank also lots of gulls. As high tide got nearer we called in at New Brighton to search the pontoons for Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper in amongst the masses of Redshank that roost here at high tide. By this time it had started raining and conditions were poor, so we sheltered under the area near the various food and coffee outlets. The smell was gorgeous as we watched around 8 Purple Sandpipers and Steve managed to get some pictures. We picked a bad time to return to the car as a sudden shower soaked us. We headed for home through the tunnel and marvelled at the various new buildings that have sprung up in Liverpool (it looks nice now)
