The RSPB had advertised a high tide event at Parkgate in the Wirral around the 21^st of February.  A 10.1m tide was forecast all it would need is a good wind.  The last time I visited a spring high tide  in this area may have been 6-7 years ago.  

I had visited the Wirral in October and we had luckily crossed paths with a Pallid Swift.  It was my first ever Pallid Swift and first ever October Swift!   

I let know PaulB know so he could book time off work.  He had never been birding to the Wirral and I thought why not start on a high?  Craggy and AndyY were also ready. 

PaulB picked me up just after 6.30am and then the others and we arrived at our first spot, New Brighton just after 8.30am.  Purple Sandpipers were often found on the jetty at the Marine Lake and there a minimum of 4 present along with Turnstones, Redshank and Dunlin.  Purple Sandpipers were only found at a handful of locations on the North West coastline and very rarely recorded inland.  They were not present in late October. 

Sadly, they were roosting and only occasionally moved.  I wanted to take some decent photographs but sadly this was not to be!  It was the first time Paul had seen this species.  This was the first time I had visited this spot when it was sunny.  Usually, it was bad weather that pushed the birds onto the marine lake.      

Other species noted around the Mersey Estuary and in the vicinity of the Marine Lake included Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Starling, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Buzzard, Robin and Great Black Backed Gulls. 

Our next stop was Hoylake shore and here we saw Common Gull, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeons feeding in the shoreline vegetation, Shelduck, Curlew, Grey Plover, Sanderling, Redshank, Dunlin, Black Headed Gulls, Great Black Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Cormorants, Oystercatchers, Curlew, flying waders in the distance which were probably Knot and in the gardens Dunnock, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long tailed Tit, Robin, House Sparrows, Starlings, Goldfinch, Magpies too.   

The tide was coming in fast pushing the waders closer to us. 

Next stop was Red Rocks Nature Reserve where the water had come in very close.  We managed to see Little Egret and some Meadow Pipits flew over.  A Seal was spotted and further in the distance flocks of Brent Geese flew upstream.  I wish the Brent Geese were closer because they have one of the most evocative calls of any birds.  Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre were all surrounded by water and roosting on the land not covered by water were Oystercatchers galore, larger Gulls and Curlews.  AndyY spotted Knot here too. 

With over an hour left to the high tide we headed off to Parkgate.  We managed to add Collared Dove on the way.  On arrival Marsh Harrier were spotted quartering over the marsh flushing smaller.  Pink Footed Geese were active and there were probably thousands.  Skylark, Redshank, Great Egret, Wren, Teal, Stonechat, Mallard, Lapwing, Moorhen, Wigeon, Canada Geese, Chaffinch called from the hedges, Pintail, Shoveler, Snipe, Pheasant, Grey Heron,  Curlew, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit were also present.  We scanned for the stars of the high tide which were the raptors but other than a number of Marsh Harriers and that Sparrowhawk, no other raptors appeared.  Craggy had moved closer to the RSPB Stand and had a flyover Red Kite and earlier a Peregrine was noted by others.  No Merlin, Hen Harrier and Short Eared Owls in fact very few reports of the latter from anywhere in the North West  this winter.

A Long Billed Dowitcher had appeared at Burton Mere our next stop.  Will it be there on our arrival?  This was one of the reasons we left the High Tide earlier.  The lack of raptor activity and the tide being far out made it a very uneventful event.  There were lots of birds but very far away.  The small mammals which were picked off were very distant.  There wasnt a single Kestrel noted!  We were parked on a single-track lane leading to the boathouse car park.  We had to leave earlier than those parked in the car park as we were facing them.  If not, we could be stuck and precious time could have been wasted watching cars pass by. 

At this point we would have stopped at Nets Café but it was just after 12 and Paul had to set off by 3pm, so he could make it in time for football.  We arrived at Burton Mere and made myself a tea and bought a choc chip flap jack, of course after being told the Dowitcher had disappeared.  On the road and before hitting the visitor centre we saw Robin, Great tit, Nuthatch, Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Wren, Redwing, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Pink Footed Geese flying over and a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard.  From the main visitor centre we saw Greylag, Teal, Pheasant, Black Headed Gull, Canada Geese, Wigeon, Shoveler, Black Tailed Godwit, Coot, Redshank, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Lapwing, Whooper Swans.

We walked around the other hides and added Song Thrush, Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Jackdaw, Dunnock, Magpie, Crow, a very showy Great Egret and heard both Water Rail squealing and a Cettis Warbler exploding.  We heard a minimum of 6 Cettis Warbler around the reserve.  Long Tailed Tit, Curlew, Gadwall, Oystercatchers, Grey Heron, Woodpigeons, Goldeneye (?), Buzzard, Barnacle Goose, Pintail, Raven, Rook, Little Grebe, Ruff, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Jay, Egyptian Goose and a yaffling Green Woodpecker added themselves onto the reserve list.  A probable Chiffchaff (?) was also seen but unconfirmed.             

It was 3pm and we decided to head off.  The Long Billed Dowitcher sadly was not seen.  Strangely it was also present in October where it went AWOL on my last visit.  This was probably the same bird which was visiting Marshside and Martin Mere in Lancashire a few years back  and it also had a stop at Burton Mere then.  Long Billed Dowitchers are national rarities with only around 10 records maximum a year annually although how many sightings are the same bird will never be known. 

We managed to miss some other species present at Burton Mere such as returning Green Sandpiper,  Mediterranean Gull,  Avocets, Cattle Egret and a Russian White Fronted Goose.  A Spoonbill was noted at Red Rocks which we missed.  The Long Billed Dowitcher did not show until after a few days and then again only for an hour.  It would have been the star bird of the day.  Redpoll, Water Pipit, Eider, Red Breasted Merganser, Scoter would have been present at various points but we missed them.  Short Eared Owls were noted to the West of Parkgate at Heswall.  A minimum of 20 birds we missed even more common species such as Fieldfare which I am sure would be wintering somewhere on the Wirral coast. 

This was a pretty average high tide.  Not a bad day with a good mix of species but I think we were all a bit disappointed.  No one could predict what we would and would not see.  It was Pauls first visit to Burton Mere Wetlands which is probably one of the top nature reserves in the North West for breeding birds, wintering birds and rarities.  We did need more time and it would be nice for Paul to see the reserve in the summer to get a different feel of the reserve.  Oh and somewhere along Parkgate rodents were seen escaping the rising water levels but not where we were.