(Sunday 15th March, 2026)
Over to Parkgate on the Wirral Peninsula this morning. It was dry and reasonably bright to begin with and it reached 10°C while we were there. We started off at the Old Baths but there was a fierce wind (SSW) blowing from across the Dee, directly at us, which meant that it was difficult for us to focus our binoculars and cameras without them shaking.
We counted four Avocets in the channel and two Little egrets nearby, and there were several small flocks of geese circling the marsh, but for the most part the birdlife was staying low and out of the wind!
Pink-footed geese
We transferred to the Donkey Stand at the opposite end of The Parade where, somehow, the wind seemed to have eased. There were several Black-headed gulls on the little island in the middle of the Flash, all of which were making plenty of noise. We just thought it was the gulls making their normal racket until we saw two Marsh harriers flying low over the marsh, which is when we realised that they’d actually been sounding the alarm. The harriers quickly swept past and arced back towards a clump of reeds in the distance.
Black-headed gulls
Where earlier we’d seen two Little egrets, here there were two Great white egrets stalking separate sections of the marsh. The latter are much larger birds and have yellow beaks throughout most of the year but, during the breeding season, their beaks become black. You can see that the beak of the Great white egret in the photograph below is just beginning to change to black at the tip.
Great white egret. Note the yellow beak just beginning to turn black.
Although the wind had lessened, we could clearly see that it was raining over on the Welsh side of the Dee. Inevitably, the rain reached us before too long and we brought forward an early end to our visit. Never mind – there’s always next time!
Great white egret flying into the wind
The important stuff
Today was Mothering Sunday and any chance of finding a café with a spare table was clearly going to be difficult, so we repaired to Chez Col where we both enjoyed a chocolate mini-roll and an orange Kit-Kat each, washed down with a – dare I say it, as I made it – lovely cup of tea!
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