The Dee and Thereabouts

Category: Wirral

Hungry Heron

(Sunday 31^st August, 2025)

    Over to Roydon Park on the Wirral Peninsula this morning. We took a little excursion into the woods and sat on a bench underneath a beech tree, just looking and listening. Occasionally runners and walkers passed by, the walkers often with dogs accompanying them, the dogs bounding excitedly at the thousand and one aromas that assaulted their senses. Apart from the raucous rattling of one unseen Magpie in a nearby tree, however, it was generally quiet, although I would say soothingly so. One of the many benefits of getting out and about in nature is that it only takes a few moments before your anxieties begin to wash away and you adapt to the rhythm of your natural surroundings.

    Grey heron with its breakfast

Eventually, we exited from the woods and detoured to Roodee Mere, the lake near the miniature railway. A Grey heron was standing motionless on a raised platform in the mere, though we could see that its eyes were closely scouring the water for its breakfast. Several minutes went by when it suddenly lunged into the water and retrieved a fish. Stu managed to photograph the heron with the unfortunate fish in its beak.

The Grey heron trying a different vantage point

We watched a little longer, and we were amazed to see this persistent bird transfer itself to a low branch of an oak tree that was overhanging the water, then conceal itself in the foliage. As it flew to this new vantage point, it really did bring to mind a Pterodactyl. Mind you, I’ve never actually seen a Pterodactyl – I haven’t been around quite that long – but I’m sure you know what I mean.

   Moorhen chick following its mother

There were quite a few Mallards swimming on the water, and Moorhens too: we watched one chick trailing its mother as she determinedly led it away from the heron. (Grey herons will take Moorhen chicks if the opportunity is there, so the mother was right to be cautious). The far side of the mere was bedecked with lilies and other floating vegetation, and we watched in amused fascination as another family of Moorhens, chicks and parents, walked from one lily pad to another with their distinctive high-stepping gait.

    Moorhen chick looking for a comb

Despite the odd gust of wind, it was a relatively warm 19°C and we saw several butterflies flying about at the mere’s perimeter, including Meadow browns, Small whites, and Speckled woods.

The important stuff

Retiring to The Courtyard Café for our well-earned edibles, we very nearly came to blows as there was only one Bakewell Slice left! Fortunately, common sense prevailed and so we sat down and enjoyed Lemon Drizzle cake (Stu) and the aforementioned Bakewell (Col). Marvellous!

04.09.2025
Birds, Butterflies and Belugas

(Thursday 21^st August, 2025)

    Over to the RSPB wetlands at Burton on the Wirral peninsula today with my mother, my youngest brother, Michael, and his eldest daughter, Sophie. None of them had visited here before. The sun came out from time to time, but it was otherwise overcast. When we arrived, we were told that a Bittern had been seen at the reedbed: it showed itself twice during the time that we were there, but not in our presence I’m afraid!

    A Greenfinch and a Great tit were taking it in turns to visit the feeder, just beyond the visitor centre. While absorbed in this sight, we noticed movement in the undergrowth, and after a few moments we saw several rats shuffling along stealthily: they looked very well-fed and were obviously regular visitors to the ground beneath the feeder, capitalising on all that the birds habitually spilled.

    Above: Mallard on tree trunk (Photo: Sophie)

We meandered around the mere, noting a Mallard squatting on the upper part of a tree-trunk that was half-in, half-out of the water, and a pair of Moorhens that were investigating the edge of the shore for food. While we were looking over at some Canada geese that were swimming at the northern part of the mere, there was a commotion in the water nearby: a Cormorant surfaced, took a few breaths, and then dived in search of fish again. A chance now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t sighting which we were all happy to have witnessed.

Left: Comma – note the distinct white mark that gives the butterfly its name, and Right: Speckled wood (Photos: Sophie)

There were plenty of butterflies today, including Small whites, Green-veined whites, and lots and lots of Speckled woods. In fact, as my niece, Sophie, was focussing her camera-phone on one Speckled wood that was stretching out its wings atop a leaf, a pair of them were spinning around each other as they passed. Sophie also managed to photograph a Comma, its wings upright, and another butterfly which we suspect is a Dark-green fritillary, though we can’t be sure. This is guesswork really, as camera-phones are limited in the photographic detail that they capture, so the resultant picture isn’t exactly pristine. However, given the area that we were in – ancient oaks predominantly – and the fact that the commonest fritillary in the United Kingdom is the Dark-green, we’ll plump for that. (Please let us know if you have other thoughts).

    Above: Dark green fritillary? (Photo: Sophie)

Regular readers will remember that on Sunday just gone (17^th August), we reported lots of small flocks of Canada geese orbiting the marshes nearby. Judging by the amount of Canada geese at the wetlands today, they had all ended up here! They were by far the most numerous bird species to be seen from the main Reception area and also from the Bunker hide, and now looking from the Marsh Covert hide, it seemed that all we could see was Canada geese. However, as if to dispel this idea, Sophie suddenly drew our attention to a Common buzzard that she’d spotted circling to the south, and which rapidly rose in the air on the thermals. We all watched it through the windows, noting its large size even at a distance.

    A number of orange-red dragonflies shadowed us along the paths between the Marsh Covert and Border hides and seemed, at times, to be leading us onwards. These are Common darters, and we even saw one pair mating while they were in flight. A Marsh harrier crossed close overhead and, while we didn’t manage to photograph it, we did have a clear view of its underwing, which was the distinctive grey, fringed with black outer feathers, of the male.

    From the Border hide we could see lots of Greylag geese, Lapwings, and Black-tailed godwits, and we also observed a couple of Redshanks on the far bank and some Teal on the isle nearby, just visible amongst another group of Greylags. On the return journey, just as we emerged from the small copse, a Kestrel flew across our path.

   Above: Common reed

Sophie and I detoured to the reedbed to see if the Bittern was there, but sadly not. As I mentioned at the very beginning of this article, the Bittern was only eluding us – it seems that everybody else saw it that day! A lucky few also saw a Kingfisher and a Hobby. Maybe another time, but I do know that Michael, Sophie and my mother were thrilled to have seen so much during their visit. As we emerged from the reedbed viewing spot, my mother, who was waiting with Michael, said: ‘Did you see the big bird, then?’ I thought we’d missed a Heron or an Egret or another large bird, but she meant the Airbus Beluga which had just flown past. Very amusing!

The important stuff

All four of us had cappuccinos, accompanied by Blueberry muffins (Sophie, Michael, and my mother) and a very tasty vegetarian pastie (Col). Awesome!

22.08.2025
Geese on the Wing

(Sunday 17^th August, 2025)

   Over to Burton Marsh this morning on the western side of the Wirral peninsula. After parking up, we followed the path north-westwards towards Neston, flushing out a male Pheasant from the marsh scrub as we walked close by, although it was completely accidental. It was a little hazy looking over the marsh towards the Flintshire Bridge, but this quickly cleared during the morning.

We saw several separate flocks of Canada geese flying over various sections of the marsh’s broad expanse. (I should call them ‘skeins’ of geese as they were all flying, but the term seems a little pretentious somehow). We were fortunate that one small flock passed quite close above and we witnessed two of the geese move from the rear to the front, which is something that neither of us had seen before other than on television. As the pair moved up, the flying-V formation was somehow maintained. The photograph below captures the moment just after the two Canada geese had changed positions with the rest of the birds.

    I believe that Canada geese resident in the United Kingdom are viewed as non-migratory, although I can guarantee that my local golf-course pond will be absent of Canada geese and Greylag geese for the winter months again this year, so they must go elsewhere within the country. (Mind you, I think that the two pairs of Moorhens that remain here, near my home in North Wales, breathe a sigh of relief at their temporary absence!) I only mention this because I’m convinced that the numerous (let’s be pretentious) skeins of Canada geese flying over the marshes were stretching their wings to keep in trim for a longer flight to be taken soon – perhaps to the eastern part of the country? Whatever the reason, the geese were very active this morning. One group of about seven geese had two stragglers trying desperately to catch up with the rest of their companions: we immediately named them ‘Colin’ and ‘Stuart’, to nobody else’s amusement but our own!

Still chortling at our amazing wittiness, we observed lots of Swallows zipping low down over the marsh gathering and eating as many insects as they could, in order to help ready themselves for the 6,000 mile journey back to South Africa and Namibia, where they will over-winter. We saw hundreds more Swallows later, massing on the telephone lines by Net’s Café, where we inevitably ended up so as to satisfy our demanding stomachs.

Common mallow, Meadowsweet, Yellow iris, Common hemp-nettle (the leaves of which don’t carry a sting but can nevertheless be an irritant to skin) and Crab apple trees bordered the lanes. Fruits were also supplied by Hawthorns (haw berries) Blackthorns (sloes) and Dog roses (rosehips). The thorny thickets formed by these shrubs and trees are also ideal for nesting, as they help offer protection from predators.

    Teasel, Blackthorn, and Common hemp-nettle

The important stuff

As mentioned above, we concluded the day’s outing at Net’s Café, where we both had our usual cappuccinos – accompanied by a Chocolate Brownie (Stu) and a slice of Cinnamon and Apple cake (Col). Scrumptious!

21.08.2025
Bird-ringing at Ness Gardens

(Wednesday 13^th August, 2025)

    Over to Ness Botanical Gardens today for the bird-ringing demonstration being held by the Merseyside Ringing Group. The team had set up mist nets between poles on known or suspected flight paths earlier in the morning, and these nets enable the birds to be caught safely. Each bird is identified by species, sexed (although this is often quite difficult with young birds), weighed, measured from shoulder to wing-tip, and tagged with a unique identifying ring, which is placed around one of their legs. Similar data is recorded for those birds that have been ringed previously and, in this way, a picture can be built up of the behaviours, migratory patterns, population size and general health of the various species of birds.

    Above: Greenfinch and Great tit being held prior to release

Quite a variety of birds were captured, including Blue tit, Great tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blackcap, Chiff-chaff, Dunnock, Blackbird and a Robin. The Ringing Group were all very knowledgeable and engaging, each patiently instructing various members of the audience on how to safely hold the birds and to safely release them back into their habitat. Sometimes, a bird may be temporarily disorientated, which is why you’re advised to offer a supporting hand beneath them, in case they should fall. When I released the Robin, for example, it remained in my supporting hand for a few seconds before eventually flying off. It was great to see the pleasure on people’s faces – young and old – as they held the birds then released them. Pure joy, really!

    Above: Chaffinch and Robin

If you do get the chance to attend a bird-ringing demonstration, you’ll find that not only do you get to see birds in close-up, but that you learn more about them through this close attention. For instance, I didn’t know how fond of blackberries the Blackcap is, until one of the bird-ringers smoothed back a male Blackcap’s feathers on its belly: this revealed the dark stain of blackberries on the bird’s skin beneath, and we could see the evidence on the bird-ringer’s fingers as well!

    Above: Blackcap (male)

Although we did go up to the viewing point for a few minutes, to look across at the Welsh hills, it was a very hot and sunny day (26°C). This was fine while we were in the shade, but not so bearable out in the open.

The important stuff

The café was very busy here today – there were several other events on at the same time (it was Celebrating Nature Day at Ness Gardens today) – and the extra bodies were adding to the general heat. We decided to chance it and drove down to Burtons at the Manor in Burton village. We managed to park and we sat outside, sipping our cappuccinos and chomping on Orange Clementine Cake (Stu) and Victoria Sponge (Col). Marvellous!

18.08.2025
Bittersweet Memories

(Sunday 3^rd August, 2025)

    Over to RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands today and, even though we arrived shortly after 9:00 am, it was already busy. We had been informed that there was a flock of Yellow wagtails in one of the fields inland from the Bunker Hide, so we headed through the south-easterly gate and, just past the hide, we joined several folks who were each aiming cameras, binoculars or ‘scopes at a small herd of cattle in the nearby field. Of course, everyone was actually focussing on the tiny Yellow wagtails next to the cattle: these were darting about, collecting grubs and insects from around the ground that had been disturbed by the cows’ movements. Most of the cows were lying down predicting rainfall, but the wagtails were busily hopping about regardless. The birds were quite some distance away, so the photos aren’t great, but you can see the difference in scale. (The Yellow wagtail is to the bottom right of the picture).

    We moved on to the picnic area but didn’t stay long as a faint drizzle began to fall, so we sought somewhere a little less exposed to the elements. Retracing our route, we headed back to the Visitor Centre, emerging at the opposite side. Several Coal tits were retrieving snacks from the feeder as we passed. The drizzle having stopped now, we took a slow amble around the mere, seeing Mallards, Northern shovellers and Canada geese here and there. As we approached the reed screen, we could see what looked like a male Marsh harrier in the distance, although he (if a ‘he’) wasn’t around long enough to clearly identify, and quickly disappeared into the distance.

    There was plenty to be seen from the Border hide today, including Coots, Shelducks, Greenshanks, Moorhens, Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings. Separately stalking the shallows on the far bank, were a Great white egret and a Grey Heron.

Each bird studiously examined the fringes of its section of the pool before deftly stabbing below the surface for food. A little nearer by was a large gaggle of Greylag geese, quietly relaxing on the water. We noticed a completely white goose which was happily preening itself and feeding amongst them, and this was presumably a genetic throwback: apparently, the geese that were originally domesticated by humans were derived from the Greylag. As we made our way back, we saw a skein of Canada geese flying low, presumably coming into land, and Stu got a good picture of them I reckon.



To the side of the path, we recognised the distinctive shape and colouring of a flower that we’d seen along this way previously. Its purple flowers are often swept back, which emphasises the protruding yellow stamens: to me, the flowerhead resembles a colourful throwing dart, but maybe that’s just me. I looked up the plant later and discovered that it’s called Bittersweet. The berries, while benefitting some birds such as thrushes, are poisonous to humans although historically parts of the plant were used medicinally. (The bitterness of the plant left a sweet aftertaste, hence its name). Perhaps more importantly, Bittersweet can intermingle with other climbing plants to offer dense shelter for animals and birds.

The important stuff

Back at the café, I had a toasted tea-cake with my cappuccino. Stu’s cake – a glorious pink and yellow concoction – looked unappetizingly high in sugar and saturated fats, although neither of us can remember what it was called. A mystery then, although I believe that he still went home and complained to his wife that he was hungry!

13.08.2025
A hot day at Burton Mere

(Sunday 13^th July, 2025)

    I went across to Burton Mere Wetlands today. It was a hot 28°C but slightly cooler than yesterday’s 32°C. Naturally, there were lots of birds at the Wetlands including Canada geese, Greylag geese, Mallards, Moorhens, Shovellers, Shelducks, Black-headed gulls and Avocets. There were also a few Black-tailed godwits and lots of Knots at the Scrape, and both species were in their stunning brick-red summer attire; and from the Border hide I saw what looked like several hundred Lapwings.

    I’m certain I missed many more bird species: I have to admit that my attention was more focussed on the number and variety of butterflies on display. Because the butterfly number was so low in the UK last year, it’s been very comforting to see how much more numerous they are this year. Today at the wetlands there were Small whites, Large whites, Red admirals, Speckled woods, Small tortoiseshells, Commas, and Meadow browns.

    All of these moths and butterflies – and various bees, hoverflies and other insects – are drawn to the various plants of the marshland. The Meadowsweet is a lovely, creamy colour and smells wonderful (well, it’s there in its name of course); and Tufted vetch is particularly abundant at present. There is clover – both red, and white – and Red campion as well as many, many more wildflowers and plants that play their part in attracting these pollinators. In fact, visitors (adults and children) are encouraged to look and see what’s around them.

    I noticed several large, light-brown mushrooms at the base of a dead tree just off one of the paths. For all that I’m a fun guy, I know very little about fungi (oh dear…!) so I had to look these up later. The mushrooms are known as ‘Dryad’s saddle’ which is a name that relates to supernatural beings from Ancient Greek mythology. I imagined these dryads (tree-nymphs) resting while taking a break from their usual activities, which are essentially dedicated to protecting the tree or trees in their charge. As you can see, the mushrooms grow one above another almost in ladder form, and I imagined the tree-nymphs had scampered up them to conceal themselves at my approach. It obviously worked because I didn’t see any at all that day!

    The visitor’s centre has a couple of whiteboards on which the current day’s sightings and the previous day’s sightings are listed. This is not just confined to birds, but also butterflies, moths, and plants and wildflowers. I think this is a great idea: inevitably, you miss things, so it’s good to check the boards. Not so much to see what you’ve missed, but more to give you an idea of the variety of flora and fauna that’s around you, just waiting for you to discover on your next visit. I’d seen a couple of Common blue damselflies and one Brown hawker dragonfly as I headed back from the Border hide, but only back at the visitor centre did I learn that the Five-spot burnet moth inhabited the area. And I only learnt this because somebody listed it on the whiteboard. Now I know, of course, you can guarantee that I’ll never see one here!

The important stuff

I went to the café and had a lovely cup of tea and a slice of Sour Cherry and Pistachio cake, which left me fully restored after the morning’s exertions in the sun. Lovely!

28.07.2025
Bald as a Coot

(Sunday 29^th 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.

16.07.2025
Purple and Scarlet

(Tuesday 17^th June, 2025)

    My brother and I went to RSPB Burton Mere today, on the Wirral Peninsula. From the huge reception window, looking out to the Scrape, we saw lots of Avocets with their young and perhaps even more Black-headed gulls. Closer towards us, in the relative quiet of the inlet, we saw a Tufted duck watching its brood with its distinctive yellow eyes.

    As we passed the feeder at the beginning of the trail, we saw Coal tits taking food away to dine in secret, which seems to be their habit. There was a single Northern shoveller at the Mere, and a pair of Mallards further beyond it, half-concealed by overhanging foliage. We disturbed a Grey heron, which flew away from the treetops in its ungainly manner: the branch on which it was resting must have been sturdy!

    At the reed hide we saw a Great white egret, elegantly patrolling the waters. There were a couple of keen photographers that had set up here, and I’m sure that they were rewarded with some great shots. As we continued along the trail, a Spoonbill flew over us carrying what looked like a long twig in its beak, which we guessed might be nesting material. It was flying in the direction of the Mere.

    At Marsh Covert were Coots, Moorhens, Canada geese, Lapwings, Redshanks and one Little egret probing the edge of the pool. At Border Hide, amongst the species already mentioned, we saw a small group of Black-tailed godwits, a huge colony of Knots, many of which had their lovely red-orange breeding plumage, Jackdaws, Crows, and Magpies. A first for me was seeing some Teal – there were just the three – and I must admit I felt quite chuffed!

    Although we visited Burton Mere primarily to see birds, there are other non-avian attractions to pique your interest. There were Common blue damselflies and White-tailed bumblebees, and we saw three Small whites, a Red admiral, and a courting couple of Gatekeepers. Most impressive, though, was the Scarlet tiger moth, wings unfurled to regenerate in the sun, which my eagle-eyed brother spotted.

The moth is diurnal and quite exotic looking and, on returning to the visitor centre later, we saw that somebody else had reported seeing it: yes, the Scarlet tiger moth was listed on the whiteboard alongside all the birds, so my brother was very pleased!

    Amongst the flora were several Spotted orchids and some other orchids with dark purple flowers, which I confess I didn’t recognise. While there are obviously much more plants than recorded here, there were Buttercups, Daisies, Tufted vetch, Red dead-nettle, Teasel, Hogweed, Hedge parsley, Herb robert, Red clover, Red campion, and Bulrushes. (Apparently the Bulrush is properly known as Great reedmace, which is something I have recently learned. But I know what I mean!)

    We had a quick look from Bunker Hide, which offers a different perspective of the Scrape. It was actually the picnic area further on that we enjoyed: this offers a wide, open vista and a male Stonechat obligingly flew across in front of us and perched atop a small tree. House martins or Sand martins circled at speed, but to be frank I wish that occasionally these birds would slow down, not least so that I could actually identify them!

    As ever, a rewarding place to visit.

15.07.2025
Fresh after the heatwave

(Sunday 22^nd June, 2025)

    Over to Burton Marsh this morning with Stu. We’ve just had temperatures above 25° C for three consecutive days both sides of the Dee estuary – i.e. North-east Wales and West Wirral). Although the sunshine was welcome, the heat was sultry. This morning there was a stiff WSW wind blowing, and the odd drop of rain, which together had driven away the sun. Unsurprisingly, not many of the birds was willing to come out and play – the change in the conditions felt more like spite than respite!

    We did see a Little egret shadowed by its partner. Both birds disembarked in a long channel of water some distance out, which was mostly occluded by marshland. Even through binoculars, we were unable to see any other activity. The egrets didn’t stay long and soon returned north-eastwards towards Neston.

    There were some Blackbirds, a Robin, and the usual indefatigable Crows. (I caught a glimpse of what I thought might have been a Cetti’s warbler, but it was too brief a glimpse for me to be certain – I shall look out next time).

Despite the absence of the birds, there was still plenty to see.

Meadowsweet abounded and we did the obvious and held the creamy yellow flowers to our noses – oh, what a lovely smell, as the name says really. The Common mallow is a quite lovely plant too, I think, with its tall stem and large flower-heads. The five grooved petals are lilac-pink with dark stripes.

There was Tufted vetch, splashes of Dandelion, and Field bindweed. I had to look up the latter when I got home. Although the flower shape is obvious on reflection, it was the pale pink and white colours of the petals that threw me. One flower that I did recognise was the Yellow iris, which are also known as Yellow flag (but not by me). These flowers were all a little further out on the marsh and I suppose that they are an indicator of where the water channels and pools lie.

The important stuff

    After all this hard work, Stu and I retired to Nets Café to sample the cakes on offer: I had a lovely slice of Bara Brith to go with my cappuccino, while Stu had Coffee and walnut cake with his. Very pleasant.

14.07.2025
An Avian Array at RSPB Burton

(Sunday 25^th May, 2025)

    Stu and I went across to Burton Mere Wetlands, the RSPB’s nature reserve on the Wirral. It was very windy as we got out the car, so it was good to get inside the relative calm of the visitor centre. Initially, it was just us and the staff, but that soon changed as people began to arrive. I tried to list what we saw – we were pointing out different species to each other like excited children – although one or two observations may be wrong. (I’ve indicated where we were uncertain). There was certainly plenty for us to see!

    There were lots of Avocets, many of which had paired, and some of which were schooling their young – although it looked like the chicks were managing the distinctive ‘scooping’ action in the shallows without any instruction. There were a couple of Oystercatchers and, looking closer, we realised that these also had chicks, which they were keeping close by. As I was watching the Oystercatchers, I caught a glimpse of a couple of ducks leading their brood of six ducklings against the current to a quiet spot where there was just a lone Black-headed gull and a foraging Moorhen.

At first, I thought that the ducks were Mallards but something didn’t quite add up. I looked again and saw that the male had a cinnamon underbelly, unlike the Mallard drake, and that his bill was distinctly wider: thus did I spot my first Northern shoveller (with help from my bird identification book!)

    There were four Shelducks, a Crow and a Magpie amongst a host of Black-headed gulls. So far, so good. However, I then saw what I at first thought were Goldeneyes, a species I had never encountered outside of a book. My reasoning was simple: they had yellow eyes. It was only later that I found out that the UK also hosts other yellow-eyed ducks including Tufted ducks and Scaups. (I discounted the Northern shoveller due to its plumage differing, although this too has yellow eyes). Unfortunately, the only thing I can be sure of is that my original assessment that they were Goldeneyes was wrong: I thought Scaups because I couldn’t see any tufts, but I believe these are rarer than Tufted ducks in our UK waters. It shall remain a mystery.

    We exited the visitor centre and travelled around to the hide a little bit further west. On the way we took in marsh marigolds, red campion, buttercups, pyramid orchids, hogweed and teasel. There were a couple of male Chaffinches arguing over some seeds in one of the feeders, and we were lucky enough to see an almost motionless Little egret move from its reedy hideout in one of the ponds. Stu took some photographs of a Canada goose – or, rather, the slender neck and head of a Canada goose as it peered above its section of reeds too. We looked in vain for the Marsh harrier that can often be seen from this hide: perhaps next time.

    We then moved to the farthest hide where we saw a Lapwing duo and about a dozen or so Black-tailed godwits probing the shallow waters with their long orange and black bills. These godwits were all displaying pale orange to brick-red plumage, which I am informed is its ‘breeding plumage’, although there is no evidence of chicks just yet*.

The important stuff

    We then went to the café for our customary cappuccinos, which we thought prudent to accompany with lemon (Stu) and blueberry (me) muffins, which rounded off a lovely morning!

*Apparently, very few Black-tailed godwits actually breed in the UK, although no-breeding numbers are increasing rapidly as a result of agricultural changes in Iceland, where most of the UK birds come from (Black-tailed Godwit | BTO)

13.07.2025