(Sunday 29th June, 2025)
Over to Wirral Country Park this morning. The fierce westerlies of the last couple of days subsided overnight to leave just a faint breeze: very tranquil! We arrived at low tide, which meant that most of the birds had fed much earlier as it began receding, leaving only a few stragglers on Thurstaston beach. There was a Little egret paddling in one of the channels, and three Shelducks nearby. We heard Oystercatchers calling and there was the usual scattering of Common crows on the broad expanse.
Above the beach, on the pond nearest the Wirral Way path, there were several Mallards and a pair of Coots with a juvenile shadowing them: unlike its parents, this youngster didn’t yet have the white beak and frontal ‘shield’ above the beak, nor the contrasting black plumage. Instead, its plumage is grey (and paler underneath), as is its beak.
The beak and frontal shield change to white after about twelve months. The saying ‘as bald as a Coot’ is ascribed to this featherless section of the adult bird’s head. If you didn’t know this already, now you do!
We noticed the abundance of food for the local wildlife: Blackthorns were bulging with sloes; Hawthorns were vigorously readying their haw berries; Dog roses were flowering, although we didn’t see any rosehips; and there were Crab apples aplenty. Pockets of Dandelions and patches of Tufted vetch added splashes of colour amongst the Stinging nettles and Hogweed. For me, there’s always been something special about Reedmace (I’ve long referred to these plants as bulrushes and, apparently, I’m not alone!). They look exceptionally lovely with their velvety brown flower heads and long, grass-like leaves and somehow ‘belong’ in waters like these ponds.
Heading towards the main pond by the park’s entrance, two or three solo Small white butterflies fluttered by, and a pair of Meadow browns encircled each other. Four juvenile Canada geese swam in the pond: they were still somewhat smaller than their nearby parents, but clearly fit and healthy. Eagle-eyed Stu spotted a Terrapin in the water and took some photographs. It kept bobbing its head beneath the water – presumably searching for food – although it (and its shell) stayed floating on the surface. We first saw two Terrapins in this pond a few years ago now, and hadn’t seen either of them since, so it was a nice surprise to see that one, at least, was still going.
That well-earned moment
We finished off at Flissy’s café with a very tasty Bakewell slice each.
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