How to see Leach's Petrel (1 Viewer)

[Jane Turner]

yes that should work!

 

[Jane Turner]

Started at Fort Perch 8-10am only a few Manxies, Common Scoters and a Razorbill. Then went to Leasowe 10-11am very poor here just 1 Bonxie and a few Manxies. So headed to the lifeboat station at Hoylake 11-2pm and what a vast improvement? 1 Sabines Gull & a prob, 1 prob Grey Phal, 10+Bonxies, 8+Arctic Skuas, 2 RT Divers & 7 Common Scoter.

Cheers
Jason

Should have come in for a cuppa Jason. Could have donewith a second pair of eyes... 2-3000 waders that I didn't look at well

 

[yoyo]

Didn't even attempt to go through the waders. 1 Curlew Sand at Meols I forgot about.

Cheers
Jason

 

[jwreeves]

Ended up spending a couple of hours at new brighton, best bird was a sandwich tern! Might be back up sunday if the conditions look good

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Anyone know where the report of 2 Leach's past Leasowe gunsite over high tide yesterday came from?

Send Dee Estuary a PM i'm sure he'll be able to tell you.

CB

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Jane, whats likely to be the best spot tomorrow first thing? and is it likely to be any good. The forecasts i've seen seem to show the winds abating.

CB

 

[Jane Turner]

Fort Perch lookint out to sea, or a little further west (if there are no sand banks exposed)

20mph wnw since midnight.

 

[Secret Twitcher]

Any movement over there yet?

 

[Jane Turner]

nothing much Arctic Skua and a few Sarnies off here so far

 

[Secret Twitcher]

Nothing at New Brighton according to a couple of birders there early am. Now trying the gunsite. Wind feels SW unless my bearings are wrong...

 

[Jane Turner]

its certainly no better than W, but the visibility is the bigget problem. I can see Morecambe bay gas rigs and Snowdonia clear as a bell, so can the sea birds. There is passage (Gannets) , but its out well west of me and beyond the wind farms

 

[Jane Turner]

Long-tailed Skua from Hilbre, but no Leach's

 

[Youngbirder35]

Would it be worth a go tomorrow or is the wind not strong enough?

 

[Jane Turner]

Its not windy just now and what there is is round to the SW - which would make the Fylde a better bet.

http://magicseaweed.com/METARStationHome.php?region=1
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/crosby_latest_temp_graphs.html

However there is stuff out at sea, so it will be more like 10-12 hours of blow rather than the normal 36-72 to bring stuff in.

Last Friday it only took 12 hours to produce good seabirds.

 

[yoyo]

Seems to be swinging NW through the early hours and gaining some strength. After a small job in Maghull in the morning a few hours looking out to sea may be in order.

Cheers
Jason

 

[Jane Turner]

I'd wait to see what it does overnight - almost calm here at present but absolutely pissing down (which will help with the 60 mile+ visibility)

 

[Rob Smallwood]

There have been a trickle of Leach's further north so as Jane says there will be birds out there - I predicted a few tomorrow last week and still think there might be a few but Wed certainly looks better. Good luck - if you don't look you'll definitely see nothing!

 

[Youngbirder35]

Cheers everyone, I think i'll give it a go on Wednesday. Where do you think will be the best place. I tried New Brighton on Thursday with no success so maybe somewhere else might be better?

 

[Jane Turner]

Think like a bird.... you want to go south and follow the coast, ideally out of range of things that can eat you. You are only going to go up the Mersey if you have no choice (a mega wind up your backside) or you can't see properly (at night or in dodgy visibility)


New Brighton is best in a monster NW gale or first thing in the morning. How far west you need to go to get action is a function of how strong the birds can fly, how strong the wind is and what the visibility is like. Yesterday I could see Snowdonia and almost Coniston.... it wasn't windy and consequently the birds were cutting the corner missing out Wirral completely - heading from just in sight of land at Formby to presumably just in sight of land off the Great Orme. I could make out birds as dots, out in and past the wind farm. Had it been a little less clear and or a more blowy, the big stuff would be visible from west Wirral. In huge gales the weak flying birds, petrels, Sabs and LT Skuas end up in the Mersey mouth, whilst the majority of the skuas, shearwaters, kittiwakes and gannets are best seen from Hilbre and Hoylake. (Though Bonxies do seem to like the Mersey mouth as a food source)

The wind and squalls woke me up at about 4am and its blowing plenty strong enough to bring birds in... I'd expect stuff to appear after the tide today and continue into tomorrow. If it starts raining, that would be better.

 

[Jane Turner]

Looking at Magic Seaweed... your best chance would probably be this afternoon from the gunsite