Today I headed off up to the Wirral coast for the afternoon to see what delights were around Parkgate Marsh. Previous visits have produced hen harrier, short-eared owl, peregrine and merlin hunting over the saltmarsh. It's still a little early in the year for that excitement but the birds present didn't disappoint.
In between showers I clocked up a personal best of 28 greenshank, 17 lapwing, 4 snipe, 6+ little egret, 2 black-tailed godwits, 3 little grebe, 1 redshank and several curlew out across the marsh in between the showers. There were small groups of swallows passing through, eventually totalling 24 birds. As well as the birds, its customary to visit the local chippy and ice cream shop to top off the experience!
If you've never been to Parkgate Marsh for the high tides I'd thoroughly recommend it. The tide completely covers the marsh and hits the seawall when its over 9m in height, flushing everything up just in time for the raptors! Its not that uncommon to see thousands of waders, geese and ducks take to the sky along with the odd water rail. You might even see a few mammals caught short. I've personally seen fox swimming back to land and a mole disappear up a drain pipe trying to escape the rising water.
Keep an eye on the Dee Estuary blog to see what has been around, and the dates for the next high tide over 9m - http://www.deeestuary.co.uk
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