Neither Kev @kev07713 nor I had been out birding all week. The birds all seemed to be stuck on Shetland or the Scillies, and with no easterly winds, the migrant fall from Europe that we’d been hoping for was delayed. We started looking for somewhere to visit on Saturday and, as it happened, the winds had been blowing strongly from the west-north-west and west for the previous couple of days, with more of the same forecast for Saturday.
There had been a bit of discussion about what these conditions might bring, so we decided to make a return trip to the Gunsite, between Wallasey and Leasowe on the Wirral. We were hoping for more Leach’s petrels, perhaps a skua or two, but topping my personal wish list was a Sabine’s gull.
Kev picked me up at 6.00am, with the forecast high tide of 9.37 metres due at 11.40 am. This would give us at least three hours of seawatching leading up to high tide, when we hoped our chances of seeing Leach’s petrels and any other seabirds blown closer to shore would be at their best.
The forecast for this stretch of the coast promised a persistent WNW wind of around 20–23mph, with gusts reaching over 40mph. It was going to be a cool day, with temperatures of 10–13°C, extensive cloud and occasional showers, although there was a chance of some brighter spells, particularly around high tide.
On the way, Kev told me that our friends Adrian Sparrowhawk @sparra1959 and Bryan Manston @BManston2222 were also planning to make the journey north. They had dipped on Leach’s petrels during their visit the previous month and were keen to try their luck again, this time opting for a day trip rather than an overnight stay. It sounded as though we’d have some familiar faces joining us for the seawatch, all hoping that the conditions would deliver the birds we were looking for.
As we drew near, we stopped for breakfast, where Adrian and Bryan caught up with us. We then set off together towards the Gunsite, but as we were leaving, news came through of a Leach’s petrel and a Sabine’s gull in the river mouth before 8.00 am. I’d already missed out on my main target bird - perhaps it would hang around and I'd get another chance. To have had a chance of seeing them, we would have needed to leave home no later than 4.30am, even without stopping along the way. It was frustrating to know that both birds had already put in an appearance before we’d even reached our destination, but there was still plenty of time for something to turn up.
We decided to head for the Gunsite rather than the harbour / river mouth, hoping this would give us better views if the birds came through. It was a blustery day, with rain in the air, so initially we used the cars as our hides, scanning the sea with binoculars and scopes. We angled the cars to provide some protection from the worst of the weather, as rain, salt spray and sand pummelled the sides of the vehicles.
Then Kev called out that he had a Leach’s petrel! We all leapt out of the cars as the bird was now directly in front of us, heading left. We’d missed its approach, and both Bryan and I had failed to get onto it. I did have an excuse of sorts, having positioned myself in the back seat behind Kev, to get a better view of the beach and the direction from which we expected the birds to approach. Unfortunately, that plan hadn’t quite worked out, as we’d missed the first petrel coming through, distracted by a gull whose plumage looked interesting enough to warrant a closer look.
Once outside, we scanned the sea in the hope of relocating the petrel, but it had vanished without trace. Before long, we were back in the cars, peering through our scopes and binoculars once more, hoping another bird would come our way and give us a better opportunity.
There was still plenty to keep us occupied, with dunlin, bar-tailed godwits, oystercatchers and turnstones passing through at regular intervals. Common scoters were also on the move, and we picked out a distant Arctic skua, although it was far too far out to offer any chance of a photograph.
We noticed the chap in the car beside us watching something intently and eventually got out to investigate. It turned out that a Leach’s petrel had passed close inshore, so close, in fact, that we hadn’t been able to see it from the car because the wall and the slope down to the water had blocked our view. Damn! That settled it - we weren’t going to miss another bird passing close by and got out the car.
We chatted with a couple of the other birders nearby while Adrian and Bryan retreated to their car for some shelter from the weather. We’d taken the opposite approach, deciding that the best option was to add a few more waterproof layers and brave the elements.
I got talking to another birder who had spent some time at New Brighton and the river mouth earlier in the morning. He’d seen Leach’s petrel there, but all the views had been very distant, which had prompted him to relocate to the Gunsite in search of better opportunities. After a brief chat, he wandered further along the car park to assess the views and see how the conditions looked from there.
Kev called a skua coming our way and we were soon on it, a bonxie (aka great skua), people starting to gather around and watching as the bird flew in from right to left (Wallasey to Leasowe). On the local WhatsApp group there was an update to tell us it was coming our way.
October is a good time to look for bonxies as birds move south from their northern breeding grounds towards their wintering areas in the Atlantic, with some eventually reaching waters off West Africa. Strong WNW winds along the Wirral coast brings these migrating seabirds closer to shore, offering birders a better chance of spotting them. Great skuas are large, powerful, dark brown birds with distinctive white flashes on their wings, often seen flying low over the waves or pursuing other seabirds.
With the excitement over, we returned to scanning the water for petrels as the tide continued to creep closer, gradually swallowing the beach. The sea seemed remarkably close already, despite there still being a considerable time to go before high tide.
A couple of geese flew in and passed by - Brent geese, and our first of the autumn. Their return from Arctic breeding grounds to the UK's coasts and estuaries is another welcome sign that the autumn and winter season is getting underway. Dark-bellied Brent geese arrive from Siberia and Russia, while light-bellied birds come from Greenland and Canada, with some populations breeding on Svalbard. They are often seen gathering in flocks on mudflats and saltmarshes, where they feed throughout the winter months.
An estimated 135,000 Brent geese migrate to the UK each winter, according to official data collected by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO); about 90,000 - 100,000 dark-bellied, 35,000 - 40,000 light-bellied.
Our pair were light-bellied Brent geese, with clean, pale greyish-white underparts contrasting sharply with their jet-black chests. Dark-bellied Brent geese, by comparison, would have a much darker, smoky grey belly that blends more closely with the black breast. It was a welcome little bonus while we continued scanning the increasingly turbulent sea for our main targets.
Conditions seemed to be worsening by the minute, with the wind strengthening and sand stinging our faces whenever we turned into it. Our pockets were gradually filling with sand, and we had to be constantly mindful of where we pointed our camera lenses to avoid the worst of the salt spray and flying sand.
Out at sea, things were becoming increasingly wild. Waves crashed into one another, throwing spray into the air, while the water churned into a swirling mass of foam and sand, taking on that familiar muddy brown colour after a spell of strong winds. White water surged in every direction, with spray hanging in the air and the whole sea taking on a restless, untidy appearance. It was certainly living up to the forecast, making conditions challenging for both birding and photography but was the conditions we were hoping for as it would increase our chances of seeing our target birds.
News came through from New Brighton and Wallasey that up to three Leach’s petrels might be heading our way, adding to the anticipation. The birder who had wandered off to check conditions at the other end of the car park returned and, after a brief chat, retreated to his car for some respite from the weather. However, when he spotted us excitedly pointing out to sea, he quickly rejoined us to watch the approach of a Leach’s petrel.
The bird appeared to be following in the wake of a gull, keeping low over the turbulent water with the gull higher. As they drew closer, the gull pulled ahead, leaving the petrel to shear through the crashing waves and dart between the troughs. This was much closer than our earlier encounter and finally gave us a chance to try for some photographs. A lifer for Bryan and Adrian.
The bird would disappear completely below the height of the waves, only to reappear moments later, skimming effortlessly through the gaps between the crests. Watching it negotiate the rough sea at close quarters was quite a sight, and a reminder of just how well these little seabirds are adapted to life in the open ocean.
I chatted some more to the other birder standing with us and eventually I realised who it was, Carl Moorhouse @manchesterbirder.bsky.social. We've talked on the internet and often read each other's blogs - his at https://themanchesterbirder.blogspot.com. His blog has a conversational, humorous style, mixing personal experiences with detailed bird observations and interesting snippets of natural history. It brings birding trips to life through descriptions of the weather, landscape, the anticipation of finding a bird and the occasional frustration along the way. The writing feels informal and engaging, with a touch of dry humour and a strong sense of camaraderie among birders. It is always well worth a read.
We watched as more Leach’s petrels passed through, although these birds were back to being more distant. By this point, we reckoned that around nine or ten had been reported moving through the area. There was some confusion, however, as reports coming in from Wallasey and New Brighton were occasionally followed by confirmation of sightings at the Gunsite, despite none of us having seen the birds. The birders further down the car park hadn’t seen them either, including a group who had been at New Brighton earlier when Carl was there. We never did establish who was picking up these additional birds, so the numbers remained a little uncertain.
We did manage another sighting of an Arctic skua, but it was way out offshore and offered little more than a distant view against the turbulent sea.
Eventually, we suggested to Adrian and Bryan that we would head round to Wallasey to see what was happening there, leaving them at the Gunsite. Despite our three visits to the area, we’d never tried the spot by the RNLI Lifeguard Station on King’s Parade, so it seemed worth a look.
We parked up and made our way down onto the beach, where we noticed a group of birders with their scopes taking shelter behind the Lifeguard Station. Perhaps this was a good alternative when the tide was high, but by now the sea had receded quickly, leaving a vast expanse of exposed sand.
Further out on the beach, we spotted three birders / photographers. When we joined them, they explained that they were waiting for Leach’s petrels but hadn’t seen any yet. Unless a bird came right in along the water’s edge, the lack of elevation above the sea meant views were likely to be rather limited. That said, there had been some excellent photographs and videos taken here the previous month, when Leach’s petrels had done precisely that.
The tide was racing out, though, and anyone hoping to connect with the birds would need to keep moving down the beach to follow the water’s edge. After a quick look around, we decided we’d had enough for one day. We made our way back to the car, content with our day’s birding, and set off for home.
Year list: 295 (mine) - BUBO: 290.
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