High spring tides on the Wirral over the last couple of days of February and first few days of March provided some excellent opportunities for photographing wintering waders along the Wirral Shore. As the tide comes in the thousands (well tens of thousands) of waders have their feeding areas flooded and are pushed to close to the edges of beaches / saltmarsh at Hoylake, Meols, Leasowe and New Brighton, where they can be seen (and photographed) from the promenade. Alternatively if you don't mind getting a bit damp, you can get low down on the beach / saltmarsh for some low-level shots.
Thursday 27 February
On 27 Feb I went to New Brighton, stopping first in the car park at the North Wirral Country Park. Once the dog walkers had dispersed as the tide came in, Sanderling and Turnstone fed on the water's edge along with small numbers of Redshank and Oystercatcher. As the tide covered most of the beach, I headed for the Marine Lake at New Brighton: the pontoons here provide roosting places for Turnstone, Redshank and a small number of Purple Sandpiper. After a coffee, as the tide started to retreat I walked over to Perch Rock and managed a few shots of the Turnstone amongst the waves.
Sanderling
Leucistic Sanderling at New Brighton on 14 Feb - the previous high tide visit I made.
Leucistic Sanderling at New Brighton on 14 Feb.
Leucistic Sanderling at New Brighton on 14 Feb.
Oystercatcher
Oystercatcher roosting just behind the North Wirral Country Park Car Park at Derby Pool
Oystercatcher roosting just behind the North Wirral Country Park Car Park at Derby Pool
Turnstone at Perch Rock
Turnstone at Perch Rock
Turnstone at Perch Rock
Purple Sandpipers roosting with Turnstone and Redshank on the Pontoon at New Brighton Marine Lake
The car park at Perch Rock and beach also held quite a few Starlings and Pied Wagtails
Starling in the Perch Rock Car Park
Pied Wagtail on the beach at Perch Rock
Friday 28 February
On the Friday, I met up with friends, Brian Tollit and Jeff Clarke, at Hoylake with the aim of walking along towards Meols and then walking back as the waders got pushed along by the tide. Knot, Dunlin and Redshank dominated the flocks with Curlew, Grey Plover and Oystercatchers adding to the numbers.
Redshank feeding as the tide started to ebb.
Turnstone on the incoming tide
Curlew - catching a few rays of sunshine
Knot
One the best spectacles of the high tide roosts is the sheer number of waders and the their murmurations as they take flight.
Waders murmuring
Sunday 2 March
Sunday was the highest of the tides in this cycle, so I headed to Meols and Hoylake, parking at Meols a couple of hours before high tide, I slowly followed the tide in towards Kings Gap at Hoylake. Waders were soon on the move, and by 11.30 were starting to gather off Hoylake. However as the tide continue to come in the available mud / sand for the birds to roost on was vanishing under the water and birds spent longer and longer flying up and down the coast and even out over the turbines looking for roost sites. As soon as the tide ebbed and exposed the mid / sand, the waders started to land and resume feeding.
The species mix was similar to previous days, with the addition of a single Black-tailed Godwit and two Little Stints, all of which evaded the camera.
Oystercatchers heading towards Hoylake
Brent Geese at High Tide
Waders looking for somewhere to land
Within the next month many of the waders will be returning to their Arctic breeding grounds. It will probably be the autumn before I concentrate on wintering waders again, although the moors in the Peak District will hopefully provide some photo-opportunities for breeding plumaged Golden Plover.
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