JMikeB said:
Hi Jonathan
I was at IMF early on Sunday. To be fair, although I didn't exactly plan it that way, I ended up doing something of a whistle stop tour of the north west. I started at Crosby at 7-30 (took me an hour to find a Med Gull), then went to IMF where the hide was full of a birding group from somewhere east of Manchester. But for one kind chap giving up his seat for half an hour I wouldn't have seen anything here and I was on the verge of giving up. Parkgate next and finished the afternoon with a Black Tern at Frodsham on the way home.
Although I was disappointed at the tide not covering the salt marsh, I still had a cracking days' birding. Also thought I briefly saw an Osprey at Frodsham - was very high and flew west into the sun before I could get a scope on it. Given I have never seen one outside Scotland plus the time of the year I am not brave enough to claim it!
Hi Mike,
Saturday at Parkgate was a bit of a let-down. We'd set off at 6.00am to go to IMF. I've not been there early for some time - last time we got on at 5.00am! On Saturday the gate was closed with a sign saying 'open 9.00am'. We had a drive down to the marina at Hoylake, then came back to Parkgate and a walk along the golf course. Had great views of a juv. male peregrine that flew right past us, then out onto the marsh, where I think it must have knocked something down (though we missed that bit!) as it spent ten minutes trying to drive off crows that seemed intent on stealing whatever it was. Eventually it succeeded and landed on the marsh. Full tide at Parkgate, as Sandra says, was a wash-out (or not, as the case was!); a peregrine far out on the marsh (my mate spotted another somewhere over on the Welsh side, though I couldn't find it, he has incredible eyesight!) and a buzzard, several egrets and lots of distant waders and ducks. We then went to New Brighton and got a few shots of roosting turnstone, etc. Wish we'd gone to Frodsham!
Sunday started off even better! Got to Marshside at 7.00am only to realise my binocs weren't in my bag. Walked along the road beside Crossant Marsh for twently mins, using a pair of cheap Bressers I always keep in the car, but decided I couldn't spend a full day birding with them, so drove all the way home and back to get my binocs!
We sometimes do the 'northern leg' of your journey on Saturday - Crosby Marina at dawn then on to Marshside for the morning, followed by an afternoon at either Martin Mere or Leighton Moss - can be a long day if we wait for the red deer in the evening at LM!
Went to the lakes I told you about down Silver Lane last night. Nothing unusual on the lakes – tuffties, pochard, four little grebes, etc., but I did see a male merlin flying over the tip.
Jonathan
