The Dee and Thereabouts

Month: February 2026

A Different Perspective

(Sunday 22^nd February, 2026)

Over to Royden Park, Wirral this morning. The temperature was 13°C which felt almost tropical, considering that only a matter of days before it had been a very chilly 4°C. The wind (WSW) was light, only picking up later during the afternoon, so a very welcome change in the weather all round.

Gravity-defying Nuthatch

    As we set off from the car park, we saw a gravity-defying Nuthatch on a branch high above us. We watched, fascinated, as the bird demonstrated its acrobatic skill – It didn’t appear to be feeding so much as simply showing off! There was a certain exuberance in this behaviour, so perhaps it was just celebrating the sunshine and the climb in temperature too.

Hazel catkins

    We followed the path that skirts the edge of the walled garden where we saw several coppiced hazelnut trees with their distinctive yellow catkins.

Crocuses

There were other signs of early spring too: snowdrops and crocuses dotted the undergrowth here and there, while buds had started appearing on the branches of trees.

    We passed by the miniature railway and moved through the woods towards the Roodee Mere. As we slowly circled the mere, a troop of Long-tailed tits chattered loudly and excitedly as they leap-frogged from tree to tree. They disappeared as magically as they’d arrived, so no time for photographs I’m afraid!

    We heard a woodpecker but were unable to locate it visually. The largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in the United Kingdom, Green woodpeckers are regularly spotted in this area so we listened carefully for the ‘laughing’ sound that they’re known for (the old country name for the bird is ‘yaffle’), but we listened without success. Maybe another time.

From top: Canada goose; Mallards; Coot

    It’s at this time of year that birds begin to act a bit more territorially and we watched as a honking Canada goose ran across the water flapping its wings and chased away a pair of Black-headed gulls. We’re not sure why, really, as there were Mallards, Coots and Moorhens sharing the mere (though the Moorhens were hiding in the undergrowth, we could hear them)and the pair of Canada geese seemed unperturbed by any of those particular birds. The Black-headed gull is one of the smaller gull species, so shouldn’t really represent a threat. Perhaps it was simply because the gulls’ sudden aerial descent simply startled the geese. Shortly afterwards, the gulls returned unchallenged.

Canada goose drinking, having worked up a thirst chasing off the Black-headed gulls… (they returned later anyway!)

    What was noticeable is that the Black-headed gulls were just beginning to regain their summer breeding plumage: you can see the black colour (really a dark brown) starting to return to the face of the adult bird in the photograph.

Black-headed gull beginning to regain its summer plumage

    The Nuthatch that we witnessed looking at the world through a different perspective earlier had clearly made an impression on Stu: while he didn’t photograph Roodee Mere from an upside-down position, the image here might make you think he had! Certainly viewing things differently makes you think again about your surroundings and is particularly effective here, thanks in large part to the undisturbed clearness of the water.

Roodee Mere through a different perspective

The Important Stuff

After all these physical and artistic exertions, it was only fair that we rewarded ourselves with some suitable refreshments. So, a cappuccino each and a slice of Bakewell tart (Stu) and a slice of Carrot cake (Col) at The Courtyard café. Delicious!

25.02.2026
Nuthatches at Loggerheads

(Sunday 8^th February)

Over to Loggerheads Country Park in Denbighshire this morning. An overcast morning, peaking at 7°C, it was at least dry – for the first time in several days. In fact, the sun came out temporarily, although only as we made our way home! Much of the UK has been hit by a prolonged spell of extraordinarily wet weather so far this year, with many areas flooded, so it was a relief to see that the Loggerheads flood defence works that were completed recently have proven successful. Still, the volume of rushing water in the River Alyn reflected the amount of rainfall that has fallen in recent weeks.

Snowdrops decorated the ground here and there and we saw a few clusters of Jelly ear fungus as we wandered down the Leete path.

Jelly ear fungus

    On an old tree-stump at the water’s edge, we saw Nuthatches darting in from nearby trees to collect nuts which had been left by someone concerned for the winter welfare of the local bird population. They didn’t hang round long, so getting photographs was a bit tricky.

Nuthatch collecting food

We’ve seen crows feeding here before, but this was the first time we’d witnessed Nuthatches helping themselves! Slightly bigger than a Robin, these birds have quite a distinctive shape to them, having large heads and short tails. Their wings and back are slate grey and they have an orange-red underbelly. Their white throat and cheek are separated by a black eye-stripe that always reminds me of a mask-wearing bandit, although perhaps that’s just me!

    There were two Nuthatches and, based on their well-defined colouring, I think they were both males – females tend to have a more muted complexion – and each of them took it in turns to land on the ‘platform’ of the tree trunk. Nuthatches, incidentally, are the only UK birds that can walk up and down tree trunks, which their strong feet and claws allow them to do. (Treecreepers and woodpeckers can walk up but not down). The name Nuthatch comes from their habit of lodging nuts firmly into the bark of trees, then repeatedly pecking at them so as to get to the edible kernel inside.

Carrion crow reminding the Nuthatches of its territorial rights

    Eventually, a Carrion crow alighted on the trunk, at which point the Nuthatches sensibly took refuge in the nearby trees. The crow didn’t seem to be feeding – it was probably just reminding its avian cousins that this was its territory!

Bat hanging around

    We continued down the path to the wooden bridge where the Bat likes to hang out. It’s hard to believe that, where these torrents of water were flowing so forcefully today, that the river can be reduced to a trickle, or even dry up completely during long spells without rain, particularly in the summer months.

The River Alyn at full spate

    The birds were evidently enjoying this particular change in the weather as much as we were: we saw Chaffinches, Blue tits, Great tits and Woodpigeons making the most of it. We spotted a couple of our old friends, too: first, the White-throated dipper presented itself for a photo-opportunity and then we saw the Grey wagtail who was trawling along the sandy mud of the far riverbank. Always a pleasure to see these two birds.

White-throated dipper

Grey wagtail

The important stuff

Over to The Mill House café (Tŷ’r Felin), where we had our customary cappuccinos and a cake each – Toffee Biscoff for Stu and Vegan Cookie for Col. It was still dry but we sat inside by the Mill anyway. Very pleasant.

12.02.2026
At the Old Baths

(Sunday 25^th January, 2026)

We’d had reports of Short-eared owl sightings at Parkgate, specifically in the area around the Old Baths, just beyond The Boat House pub. So, we parked up and scanned the marsh. Short-eared owls largely hunt during the day, particularly in the late afternoon. Today, unfortunately, was not our day for seeing any. (A Short-eared owl was seen and photographed that day – surprise, surprise, in the late afternoon! Ah, well. Maybe next time…)

    We may not have seen any owls, but we did see a couple of Marsh harriers and a Kestrel (all female): we were certainly in a good viewing spot.

Marsh harrier (female)

There were flocks and flocks of geese honking their way across and around the wide estuary sky. Many were Pink-footed geese and we also saw Canada geese and some Brent geese, although we didn’t get any clear photographs of the latter. (It was quite misty in the distance – as you can see from the photographs).

Canada geese

    Kestrel (female): she’s in the centre, to the right!

The kestrel hovered characteristically, before dropping down and settling on the post (which I believe was where our elusive Short-eared owl perched later!) This behaviour is well established in kestrels, particularly in the winter months when the birds want to conserve energy – hovering is what Kestrels are known for (‘windhover’ is the archaic name for the bird), but it’s generally a less-preferred hunting strategy than perching. Here, we do tend to see Kestrels hovering more because there are far fewer vantage points on the marshes – apart from the odd post, of course. They’re a joy to watch when they are hovering, head down facing the ground, while they make minor aerodynamic adjustments with their wings and fanned-out tails in order to maintain their position.

Kestrel using the post as a vantage point

    Kestrels are so keen-sighted that they can see ultraviolet light, which enables them to detect urine trails left by their prey! They’ll hold their position and then suddenly swoop – they’re wonderful to watch, but you can see that these actions do take up reserves of energy.

    While we still commonly see Kestrels over the marshes – more usually hovering – their numbers declined by 37% between 1995 and 2023[1], although it’s difficult to pinpoint a specific reason. Suggestions for the decrease in number include habitat loss through farming practices; secondary poisoning (through eating voles and mice that have consumed rat-poison); and their chicks being subject to predation from corvids and other birds of prey, such as Goshawks.

    It probably doesn’t help that Kestrels don’t build nests, preferring to take over those abandoned by other birds, or to use natural cavities such as tree hollows or cliff ledges – they’re not fussy, just so long as they don’t have to do any construction work themselves! The Kestrel population in the UK is being monitored jointly by BTO/JNCC/RSPB[2] as well as other bodies such as the Hawk Conservancy Trust.

Ghostly power station in the mist

    Eventually, we moved to the Donkey Stand at the opposite end of The Parade, where a third female Marsh harrier appeared flying low over the marsh. (It may possibly have been one of the two that we’d seen earlier at the opposite at the Old Baths). We also saw several Mallards and some Teal on the nearby stretch of water, but no photographs I’m afraid.

Marsh harrier (top right) near Donkey Stand

    Although I remember seeing a couple of Little egrets, I have no recollection of seeing this Great white egret below disturbing several Pink-footed geese, which Stu photographed. I must have been concentrating on something else! Talking of which…

Great white egret and Pink-footed geese

The important stuff

Over to Ness Gardens for refreshments. A cappuccino and a generous slice of Bakewell tart each. Very nice, and well-deserved!

[1] Information from Bird Trends Explorer, BTO data.bto.org/trends_explorer/?species=Kestrel

[2] British Trust for Ornithology / Joint Nature Conservation Committee / Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

01.02.2026