(Sunday 22nd March, 2026)
Over to the RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands on the Wirral side of the Dee Estuary this morning. Although a little overcast, it was dry with a very light westerly breeze, and the temperature was a decent enough 11°C. We arrived about 09:15 and already the car park was quite full.
From the visitor centre we saw Avocets, Lapwings, Mallards, Coots and Moorhens feeding and generally gathering together, though some remained in their respective groups. There was a pair of Mediterranean gulls amongst the many Black-headed gulls that had settled on the islet. And a few Northern shovellers glided through the shallow waterways too.
Top: Avocets, Northern shovellers and Canada goose. Middle: Black-headed gull. Bottom: Lapwing.
We watched as first one Marsh harrier came in from the marsh, then saw two of them flying together. We watched them both sky dancing, which is the term used to describe their aerial courtship ritual and often involves the male passing food to the female in mid-flight, although I’m not sure that this happened between the two birds we were watching today. Unsurprisingly, the birds in and around the scrape were being vigilant every time the harriers appeared.
Above: Marsh harrier (male). Below: A flock of Shelducks and the harrier share the sky.
We wandered down to the picnic area beyond the Bunker Hide. Last year we saw Yellow wagtails on the fields inland from the estuary. None this time, although we saw a few Greylag geese and Canada geese here and there. They had presumably sought a more peaceful sanctuary away from the noise and traffic of the main scrapes!
Greylag geese happy to get away from it all
Mind you, some of the geese clearly preferred the water. We watched these Greylags and Canada geese as they flew across the marsh and came into land.
We’d heard the loud shrieking of a Pheasant earlier when we were near the picnic area. I’m not sure if this was the same bird on the other side of the visitor centre, but I’m glad we saw it close up: you tend to forget how colourful these birds are – well, the males at least. Actually, I think this is something we tend to do with a lot of the more common birds and wildlife in general. In our determination to see and record animals seldom if ever before seen, I think we sometimes overlook those that we see regularly. (I live near a couple of Pheasant farms and see the birds often, so I can be almost oblivious to the sight of them, although I don’t think you could ever be oblivious to their call!)
Pheasant
A Grey heron flew over in that ungainly way they have while we were focussing on the birds that were busying themselves near the feeder, mostly Great tits and Blue tits. We also spotted a Wren on a nearby branch before it flitted away and we’re pretty sure we saw a Reed warbler as well. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a photograph.
Blue tit chomping away while another waits its turn.
Marsh marigolds
However, I’m pleased to say that Stu managed to get a photograph of a Grey squirrel. What’s remarkable about that, I hear you ask! Well, regular readers of these pages will know that squirrels don’t usually hang around long enough for him to capture on film. But the Burton squirrels evidently hadn’t heard of the international embargo against this blog’s photographer and two of them were happy to display their acrobatic skills for us. Very entertaining they were too! And we’re both very grateful that at least one of them was happy to have its photo taken!
A Grey squirrel which, unusually, didn’t disappear as soon as Stu got his camera out!
I mentioned earlier that the car park was very busy even shortly after nine in the morning. Obviously Burton Mere Wetlands is a popular place to visit but people may have also been enticed by the chance of seeing the otters which have been seen here recently. I’m not sure at which part of the reserve you’re likely to see them, although the staff at the visitor centre should be able to help. We didn’t see any otters but still enjoyed our visit immensely.
The important stuff
We had our usual cappuccinos with a slice of Carrot cake (Stu) and a Toasted teacake (Col). Very nice!
