[ColinD]

I had a cracking day out on the Wirral today. We started off at one of my very favourite birding places, Hilbre Island at the mouth of the Dee Estuary.

It was a glorious 45 minute walk over to the island at low tide, with miles of red sandy beaches, and views over North Wales. The walk over was punctuated by the cries of Grey Seals, hauled up on the West Hoyle sand bank, and Curlew, flying over. At the north tip of the island, there were 72 Pale-bellied and a single Dark-bellied Brent Geese. It seemed strange to see geese walking on the beach and swimming in the water, and this flock is a most welcome addition to the winter bird scene at Hilbre, being a fairly recent phenomena.

On the rocks in front of us, Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones and Knot searched frantically for food, and a single Shag sat on the edge of the rocks, drying itself. Out at sea, I was delighted to find a 1st winter drake Long-tailed Duck, my first for the island, and a single drake Common Scoter.

We left Hilbre, and got back to the car at about 12:15pm, and headed south. Our first (brief) stop was Parkgate, where we found an adult Peregrine and a single Little Egret. From here we made our way to Burton Marsh at Denhall Lane. This is one of my favourite spots on the Wirral, and I wasn't disappointed today, with at least 20 Little Egrets and two Short-eared Owls, and lots of ducks. Little Egrets really are common these days.

Finally we called in at Inner Marsh Farm RSPB reserve. Lots of ducks and a good variety of waders, but the star was a Water Rail which fed quite happily right out in the open for several minutes, right in front of the hide, and a drake Green-winged Teal.

[ColinD]

New Years Day and I was up at the break of dawn and off to Hilbre Island for the second time in two days. I parked the car next to West Kirby marine lake, and the first bird of the New Year for me was a stunning drake Red-breasted Merganser. I suppose I must have seen pigeons and gulls flying over on the way, but the R-B Merg was the first bird I consciously noticed and looked at through the bins. It was a good start.

I didn't have a lot of time, needing to be back home by 12:30, so I set off at a quick pace, heading directly for Middle Eye rather than the recognised route to Little Eye. I was confident that this would be ok, because it was low tide and I know the channels around the island well. Even so it took me 35 minutes to reach the north tip of Hilbre.

From here I looked down on the Brent Goose flock on the rocks below. There were more birds than there had been two days ago, with 105 Pale-bellied and 3 Dark-bellied birds. I counted at least 20 juveniles. Also in the flock was one bird with yellow leg rings, marked XX, which I think was ringed in Ireland. I'll make further enquiries about this and post something here later.

Also on the island today: 14 Purple Sandpipers, 200 Knot, 1 Shag, 1 Little Egret, whilst just offshore, 1 Long-tailed Duck and 1 drake Common Scoter.

After a couple of hours on the island, I legged it back to West Kirby and the car, drove through the tunnel, through Liverpool and home for 12:30, to find the rest of the family just emerging from their slumbers, and blissfully unaware of where I had been.

Lots of people heading out to Hilbre when I was on my way back, by the way. I was by no means the only person to start the new year on the island, it's just that very few were as early as me.

A great start to the New Year. Maybe I'll get out again this afternoon.

[halftwo]

Nice two days in different years there Bobby.
Happy New Year to you & all.

[ColinD]

The Pale-bellied Brent with the ring XXYY is a female and was ringed at Álftanes/Skógtjörn, Hafnarfjörður, in Iceland on 10th May 2005. She has also been reported from Langstone Harbour in Hampshire and Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.

In the summer of 2007 she was reported from her breeding grounds at Bathurst Island, which is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory, Canada. Wow - all the way from Arctic Canada to Hilbre. Makes you wonder why they don't just move south in North America rather than cross the Atlantic to Britain.

While I was watching her today, she flew a short distance with four other geese, an adult and three juveniles. Presumably this was her family.

You can see the full report of this bird on the excellent Dee Estuary website at http://www.deeestuary.co.uk/news1207.htm.

[Glaucous1]

Really scenic part of the country - saw my first ever Brent Goose there in the early nineties, one of just three birds present that day.

[Upland Birder]

Hi Bobby,

Enjoyed the read. I am planning to go across to Hilbre in the next couple of months. I have all the details about the crossing. However, from your experience how easy going is it under foot.

Thanks

Dean

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by eastaytonbirder

Really scenic part of the country - saw my first ever Brent Goose there in the early nineties, one of just three birds present that day.

The history of the Brent Goose on Hilbre is quite interesting. Although never particularly common, up until the 1990's the overwhelming majority of records from the island were of Dark-bellied Brent (which of course is the common race in most of England). In his book, "Hilbre, the Cheshire Island" (otherwise known as the Hilbre bible), J.D. Craggs says that "The great majority [occuring on Hilbre] are Dark-bellied, with perhaps only c30 pale-bellied birds over the whole recording period [1957-1977]".

Then in the mid-1990s, things began to change, and Pale-bellied birds began to occur more frequently, and now the flock peaks annually at just over 100 birds in January.

Of course there are two populations of Pale-bellied Brent which winter in the UK. By far the biggest is from Arctic Canada and winters mainly in Ireland. The second population is about 2 - 3000 birds which winter at Lindisfarne, and breed at Svalbard (Spitzbergen). We now know for certain that at least one of the Hilbre birds is from Canada, and presumably the rest are as well.

Ironically, the change in status of the two races at Hilbre, mirrors the change which took place on Lindisfarne many years earlier. Although Pale-bellied Brent was historically the goose of Lindisfarne, by the early 1900s, they had been replaced by the Dark-bellied, which occurs all down the English east coast. In his book "A Naturalist on Lindisfarne" (1946), Richard Perry says that the flocks were Dark-bellied. However in the 1950s the Pale-bellied birds returned, and when I was there in the 1990s, about four fifths of the brents were Pale-bellied.

Would it surprise anybody to know that my two favourite birding places in the UK are Hilbre and Lindisfarne???

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by Dean Powell

Enjoyed the read. I am planning to go across to Hilbre in the next couple of months. I have all the details about the crossing. However, from your experience how easy going is it under foot.

Hi Dean,
Depends how stable you are on your feet. You're walking across a firm sandy beach. When you get near to the islands you may need to walk on rocks which can be a bit slippy, but no real problems. At this time of year I always go in wellies because the sand is usually wet and it splashes up as you walk. In summer I usually go in shorts and bare foot and take my boots with me in my rucksack.

The main thing is make sure you know the tide on the day you go. There's no problem staying on the island over the tide, many people (including myself) do it all the time, but you will be on for around 5 hours. Also you don't wan't to get halfway across and meet the tide.

Also, I'd always check out Richard Smith's website for the latest news and tide table. http://www.deeestuary.co.uk/index.html.

[Upland Birder]

Hi Bobby,

Thanks for the info. I am very stable on my feet and have done quite a lot of mountain and coastal walking over the years. I guess I was particularly thinking about how stable the sand is underfoot during the crossing. Don't want to end up sinking in quicksand!!

I agree with you on the Dee Estuary website. Its excellent!! I read it regularly.

Might see you on there one day who knows.

Dean

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by Dean Powell

Thanks for the info. I am very stable on my feet and have done quite a lot of mountain and coastal walking over the years. I guess I was particularly thinking about how stable the sand is underfoot during the crossing. Don't want to end up sinking in quicksand!!

The sand is very stable. I'm not aware of any quicksand areas on the Dee. They recommend that you walk from West Kirby and around the back of Little Eye rather than take the direct route to the main island, but that's because the sand isn't completely flat and has various channels which can be deep if you go the wrong way. That's the only real hazard. However I slipped on some rocks the other day and was lucky not to break a bone.

Might see you on there one day who knows.

Let me know when you are going. I'm always looking for an excuse to visit.

[Upland Birder]

Thanks Bobby,

I'll be in touch.

Dean

[ColinD]

I wasn't expecting to be able to visit Hilbre today, after watching the weather forecast from mid-week onwards. Typically the forecasters were wrong, and apart from a few squally, wintery showers overnight and this morning, it wasn't a bad day. Generally sunny, non of the predicted frost and not much worse than a moderate, slightly chilly breeze.

So after watching my sons football game this morning (which again we didn't expect to be played), I set out for Hilbre at about 14:15. I knew that there had been Snow Bunting at Little Eye, but I didn't expect to see them because there were a lot of folk walking across, with dogs off the leash and kids running about and shouting. However, on arrival at Little Eye, I found the birds almost straight away, and I was surprised at how close they were.

Very obliging little birds, a stunning male with a female, they didn't seem particularly bothered by all of the activity around them. In fact I didn't once see them fly, because they preferred to walk away from anybody who got too close. Great birds, and the first I have seen for a while.

Then it was on to Middle Eye and Hilbre itself. At the old lifeboat launch, I found a sheltered spot behind a rock, and looking down onto the rocks below, I had breathtaking views of eight Purple Sandpipers and a few Turnstones. They didn't seem to notice me as they chased each other around, and fed on the edge of the tide, and I could hear their calls. On the West Hoyle sandbank opposite I could see about 100 Grey Seals hauled up, and occasionally I could hear their moans.

I dropped down onto the rocks, and walked back along the east side of the island. Here there were lots of waders, including a couple of hundred Knot and Turnstones. On the other side of the narrow channel I counted at least 130 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, with five Dark-bellied.

I got back to the car having had a wonderful afternoon, and drove home through the tunnel, through the City of Culture, just as the swarms of Liverpool FC fans were making their way along the streets to Anfield. There are lots of things wrong with Merseyside, but it's still a great place to live, with a combination of scenery and culture which is hard to match anywhere in the UK.

[Upland Birder]

Hi Bobby,

I enjoyed the read. Once again a great report & some nice species there including the seals. The Snow buntings must have been superb. Hilbre and the Dee Estuary never fail to please from a birding perpspective.

Dean

[ColinD]

Just returned from and aborted visit to Hilbre . I just wasn't capable of making it across today, either physically or mentally. Never thought I hear myself say that.

I thought it would be the perfect day, with strong North Westerlies forecast and one of the highest tides of the year. I prepared well. I had six layers of clothes on, I took an ample packed lunch and a flask. I consider myself fairly fit thanks to all of the bike riding I do. I left the house an hour earlier than I would normally have done, to take into account the strength of the wind and the height of the tide. However, by making that last decision, I had already laid the first seeds of doubt.

As I approached West Kirby at 6:30am this morning, it began hail stoning, and soon they were coming down with incredible ferocity. Did I really want to spend 6 hours on an exposed island in weather like this? The doubts began to grow. Soon though, the hailstone eased, and the sun came out, and my worries went away. For now.

I got to the car park and there was not a single person about. It looked like I was the only birder daft enough to attempt the crossing. It quickly became apparent that this was an exceptional wind, and I had to hold the car door as I got my stuff together. As soon as I started walking I was nearly blown off my feet. The doubts returned.

I got onto the beach and it was like being hit by an express train. Rarely have I experienced anything like it. I physically could not get myself to walk towards Hilbre. I was constantly being forced to the left of the island. Even more worrying, after just a few short paces, the water was over my ankles. Normally, four hours before the high tide (as this was), it would have been nothing but sand. Looking in the direction of wind, there was a large amont of water being blown towards me. My concern was getting so far out that I couldn't get back, but not be able to go forward at a fast enough pace either, with the possibility of having to spend the tide on Middle Eye. Not a pleasant thought in these conditions.

I battled on for another couple of hundred metres. At times I could barely breathe, and it was a bitterly cold wind. I stopped for a moment, looked at the island and turned back. After a few paces, I called myself a wimp, and turned back again towards the island. Another hundred paces, a huge gust nearly knocked me over again and that was it. I was mentally destroyed, too many doubts in my mind, and physically I just wasn't up to it. I could hardly breathe, and it was a struggle to walk in the direction I needed to go.

I got back to the car, slung my stuff on the back seat and drove home in a state of depression. Can't see myself going out birding again this weekend unless the winds die down. No chance of me getting my bike out in this.

Oh well, can't always be lucky I suppose. I guess I'll never make the SAS now....

[halftwo]

A good decision, Bobby, couldv'e been dangerous rather than treacherous. Sounds like you had a blast - of the wrong kind.
You wouldn't have been able to hold your bins still to see owt anyway.
H

[Upland Birder]

Hi Bobby,

Sometimes the right judgement leading to a good decision has to be made when faced with unstable weather conditions. Today you made the right judgement and decision. There will always be another day.

The wind is roaring over here in the Staffordshire Moorlands as well. Lets hope things settle

Dean

[Johnny1]

We cancelled a visit to North Wales to see the Hoopoe etc.a couple of weeks ago when it was blowing a hooley. Turned out we made the right decision as they'd closed the Thelwall viaduct so we'd have been stuck in traffic for hours. None of us wanted to cancel but it turned out to be the right decision. I don't think the Hoopoe fancied the wind neither as it wasn't reported again after that day.

[ColinD]

It was a nice evening, so I decided to take the opportunity and nip out to Hilbre today. It was very quite, both for people and birds. There were about 100 Oystercatchers, four Knot and a Curlew on the rocks, and on the West Hoyle sandbank, about 100 Cormorants, alongside 100 Grey Seals.

On the island isteslf, there were about 10 Meadow Pipits and eight Linnets, including one spectacular singing male.

Lots of thrift in flower, and Bladder Campion and various other species which I can't name. Still a glorious location.....

[ColinD]

I decided to take advantage of a mid morning low tide to get across to Hilbre at 8am today and what a glorious morning it was. Beautiful blue skies, warm even at 8am and not a breath of wind. The sea was like a mill pond.

There were lots of Sandwich terns flying about, but most were resting on the beach. I estimated about 800, and what a noise they made. There was no missing them! I also counted about 10 Common Terns.

On the West Hoyle Bank, there were about 150 Grey Seals, plus a lot of gulls. As I watched, a pale phase Artic Skua flew along the sand bank, harrasing any gulls it came across. Later I saw the same bird flying around the north side of the island, where it joined two dark phase birds, which harrased the Sandwich Terns. Obviously, it's great to see skuas in storms, but today I was pleased to see them chasing terns over a flat calm sea. Perhaps not quite as atmospheric, but much better conditions for getting a good look at them.

I bumped into one of the guys from the bird observatory, and he took me on a tour of the heligoland traps. We caught three Willow Warblers, and ringed one of them.

Apart from the birds, today I also saw Short-tailed Field Vole and a number or butterflies, including 10 Graylings, 50 Green-veined Whites and a Red Admiral.

[halftwo]

Good day out there Bobby. Nice to hear you saw GV whites (amongst the rest) as I have not seen any in months. The other whites - no probs, but GV - none.

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by halftwo

Good day out there Bobby. Nice to hear you saw GV whites (amongst the rest) as I have not seen any in months. The other whites - no probs, but GV - none.

Hilbre apparently had a "fall" of up to 100 Green-veined Whites on Friday.

Have you seen this website BTW?

[ColinD]

The rest of the family were out at various places this evening, so I took a spur of the moment decision and headed out to Hilbre Island for the second time in a week. Low tide was 1840, and I arrived at West Kirby 10 minutes earlier, and set off on the 35 minute walk to the main island.

The beach was almost deserted, with just three other people walking a long way ahead of me. At Little Eye I disturbed a couple of Whimbrel, in fact they gave me a bit of a fright as they flew up in front of me with their distinctive 8 note call. Later I saw another two near the main island.

There seemed less birds around than when I visited on Saturday, but when I reached the north tip of Hilbre, I could see that there were really just as many, it was just that they were more grouped together.

I don't normally carry my tripod to the island, so I found a suitable rock to rest my scope on and scanned the flock of terns resting on the sand of the East Hoyle Bank.

They really were a magnificent sight, mainly Sandwich Terns, about 800 I estimated, with a fair mixture of adults and juveniles. With them were Common Terns, and their numbers had clearly risen since Saturday, with at least 100 birds resting. I also managed to pick out four adult Arctic Terns, two on the sand and two flying over.

Apart from the Whimbrel, there were a few other waders which included about 50 Curlew, 300 Oystercatchers, 20 Turnstone (many in stunning summer plumage), 10 Redshank, and a single Knot.

Apart from the birds, I was quite interested in the Rock Sea-lavender which is quite common on the main island, and there were at least 150 Grey Seals on the West Hoyle Bank.

Also today, but not seen by me, three Black Terns. They were probably still there, but it's a big beach at low tide, and there's lots of white dots for as far as the eye can see.

[ColinD]

After it's recent run of good birds, which included Great Northern Diver and Rough-legged Buzzard, I decided to go out to Hilbre this afternoon. As usual, I was there pretty much "after the Lord Mayors show", but still, I had an excellent day.

Star birds were a couple of very obliging Snow Buntings, the one on Middle Eye was expected since it's been there for a few days, but the bird on Little Eye was something of a surprise. Great little birds, and both quite tame, allowing close approach.

On the rocks at the north end of the main island, the flock of Pale-bellied Brent Geese has reached 104 birds (see photo). Hopefully they may break 200 later in the year. Also on the rocks, a female Eider, 3 Purple Sandpipers, a selection of other waders, a Shag and a Common Seal hauled up. The "Common" Seal of Hilbre is actually the Grey.

The Great northern Diver was seen this morning but I couldn't find it this afternoon. Probably still in the area, but it was low tide when I was there. The Rough-legged Buzzard was last seen yesterday morning.

[ColinD]

Having just returned from SW Spain and Portugal a few days ago, I was expecting this weekend to be something of an anti-climax from a birding point of view. This morning I looked at bird guides, then at the weather, and neither looked particularly appealing. So I decided to head out to Hilbre Island, because it's a place where I rarely fail, and I was rewarded with some quality birds.

I arrived at West Kirby at 13:30, and started by having a look over the Marine Lake. There were four Red-breasted Mergansers at the south end, including a stunning male, and two Goldeneye, but the bird I was really looking for was the Great Northern Diver which has spent the past week at the north end of the lake. A great big thug of a bird, with an impressive looking forehead and a dagger like bill, it performed well, diving frequently, at close range.

Then I set off for Hilbre. On the way out I failed to find the Snow Buntings which have been around Little Eye and Middle Eye, but did come across two Little Egrets feeding in the channels.

At the north end of the main island there was the usual flock of Brent geese feeding in the tideline rocks. They now number 119 Pale-bellied birds and 3 Dark-bellied. I thought I caught a glimpse of a yellow ring on one of the birds, which may indicate the return of the bird from previous years that breeds in arctic Canada. I couldn't be sure though. Also on these rocks a decent selection of waders, including 5 Purple Sandpipers.

On my return to the mainland, I had another look for the Snow Bunting, and found five birds, two males and three females around Little Eye. They were fabulous birds, quite unconcerned by my presence, I just sat on the rocks and watched them feeding at my feet about 10 feet away. Largely white, black and brown, with orange bills, they are quite dumpy looking buntings with short tails. Little Eye gets more disturbance than any of the islands, because it is the nearest to the mainland and it is just a tiny outcrop of rock, yet these arctic buntings persist in staying here, amongst the shouting, playing kids and dogs off the leash.

[ColinD]

What a great morning to be on Hilbre! The sky was brilliant blue, the sand was red and the sea was like a mirror, with not a breath of wind. Most remarkably, there was ice on the sand and when I reached the main island, there were icicles upto a metre long hanging from the cliffs, and the track up to the island was like a skating rink, and dangerous to walk on. Even some rock pools were iced over. I've never seen it like that before.

It was so quiet that I could hear the Brent Geese calling from nearly a mile away. I found the flock on the north tip of the main island, now grown to 131, they showed really well in the bright sunlight.

There have been good numbers of Purple Sandpipers this winter, with over 20 counted, but today I only managed to see two. Also from the north tip, many Oystercatchers and Turnstones, and a few Grey Plovers, Knot and Sanderling. Out on the West Hoyle Bank, I could hear around 100 Grey Seals moaning. It really was a haunting sound this morning, in those conditions, and with no other person on the island.

I had parked the car in West Kirby, but half way back, I decided to head for Hoylake Red Rocks instead, where there had been a Black Redstart recently. No sign of the Redstart today, but I did manage to find a Snow Bunting perched on a wall.

The walk back to West Kirby was along the saltmarsh, where thanks to various dogs off the leash and running wild, I managed to see two Jack Snipe, flushed off the marsh.