Today I was in the Leasowe lighthouse area from 11.30 - 1.30 where a total of 15 Leach's Petrels flew close by. They must have had quite a battering to get this far but it seems their troubles were only just starting. Some were in obvious distress pattering and resting on the water, one was harrassed incessently by a Herring Gull and another repeatedly stooped on by a juv Peregrine. We watched this for some time as the Petrel took rapid avoidance jinks and flicks but eventually it must have succumbed as later the Peregrine flew by clutching prey. One guy with a dustbin sized lens managed 2 or 3 shots and by zooming in on the image it was clearly a Petrel. Nature red in tooth and claw as they say.
Spent most of our time at Leasowe Gunsite where we had excellent views of the Leachs - some quite close to dry land - 9 birds in total. Also a really close in Manx Shearwater. The Gunsite is a good place to view especially on a day like today - just park facing the sea and away you go!!! Other species included Common Gull, Guillemot, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Knot and Redshank.
Just noticed that Dee Estuary Birding have reported 100 plus Leachs past Hilbre and 50 plus at New Brighton - so it looks as though the gut feelings of a sea watching novice were not too far off the mark!!
That's amazing for you to see so many Leach's Pets - hope that I am as fortunate tomorrow. Where do you suggest as the best place to watch? - I was thinking of starting at the usual place, New Brighton where I normally find them and then moving on to Red Rocks what do you think?
With the winds strongly in the west it was no surprise to see the odd Leach's report from Cumbria down to Fomby.
Formby will probably be the best bet for tomorrow but with the winds turning to the NW by Wednesday I think the Wirral/New Brighton might be the place to be....
Another interesting and not much known sea-watching point in Wales is Porth Ysgaden on the Llyn. I was there 2 mornings in a row a few weeks back whilst camping near Nefyn. We had 1000s of Manx - too many to count but a rate of about 10 a minute in a strong SW wind going to and from Bardsey with no apparent difficulty they are such great flyers. We also had 2 Great Skuas and 100s of Gannets and Kittiwakes. How good could it have been in a wind backing to NW? It's not in the new Where to Watch Birds in Wales (though oddly the much inferior Porth Dinllaen near Nefyn is) but is in the brilliant Best Birdwatching Sites in North Wales where the authors say it is the 'most reliable site in North Wales for Storm Petrel' though this species remains stubbornly off my life list I'm fairly new to sea-watching - a birding art all on its own. There is the gable end of a ruined house to shelter behind too - unless the wind is blowing at 90 degrees to the shore!
Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua and Sabine's Gull all reported so far this moring off Point Lynas.
I met the chaps who had the good haul at Point Lynas this morning, later in the morning at Shotwick, wish I'd have got up a little earlier and headed out to either coast! Do agree though east is taking all the awards at the moment. Whole flocks of sabs and long-tailed skuas must be quite a sight. Henry.
It's just as easy (if not easier) to get across to the east coast though, where the seawatching has been far better and there's a chance of dropping in on some of these migrant passerines too!
Looking at the wind forecast, we are about to get some huge SWerlies and on sunday they might swing to NW but not very strong, still a perfect time of year to look for your first Leach's of the year. Thanks. Henry.
Just checked the BBC weather site and it aint looking good for this weekend.The low will be centred over southern England and wont produce any westerlies up here.p>
Get over to Hilbre you lazy sods! It's only a 2 mile death defying wade through sinking sludge. We had hundreds of Leach's on a single day in September 2001 (or maybe 2002?) whilst other areas on the north Wirral shore were getting far less. I reckon the increased elevation makes it far easier to pick them up when the waves are rough, which it always is when they're passing. And if there are Peregrines around you can get great views of them battering the poor knackered petrels - if you're into that kind of thing.
And don't forget to have the childish squabbles with other people over skuas - they're ALWAYS ARCTICS!!! - Long-tailed and Poms don't even exist, they're just illustrated in Collins for a laugh . And remember that ALL juvenile Sabine's Gulls are Kittiwakes unless you're on a boat being violently sick. Sabine's Gulls have never been reliably seen from land, other than at Audenshaw a couple of years ago and at Westport Lake yesterday. They are the only two acceptable records.
Looking at the wind forecast, we are about to get some huge SWerlies and on sunday they might swing to NW but not very strong, still a perfect time of year to look for your first Leach's of the year. Thanks. Henry.
Thanks for the info Pete on seawatching at PoA, sounds quite fun getting tucked down into the dunes. If it's windy I could always build a hide (of sorts) out of sand as well! I got up to the little orme in Conwy on a september day last year and had a Leach's along with plenty of the 2 commoner skuas and a Sooty Shearwater, one of my favourite seawatches to date as I was only there for a couple of hours and saw so much. It's a little far from manc to drive just for a seawatch though, but if birds are being reported there (quite often reported on www.northwalesbirding.co.uk) then there are others to find at the other sites mentioned previously, a good indicator. Thanks. Henerz.
Gunsite just SW of New Brighton can be a good spot - particularly if shelter is your priority as you can watch from your car.
Leasowe often gives the closest views but shelter is limited to what you can wear.
Both the above usually need a couple of days of strong N/W's - petrels in particular can head straight out of the Mersey otherwise rather than hugging the coast.
Also watch the tides - the north Wirral coastal path can be a long way from the sea at low tide, rising tides and just after high tide are usually best, although I remember a memorable time at Leasowe at low tide on the 3rd of 4th day of a real blow when Leach's were struggling over the sand inland of where I'd walked out too.
Recently the Little Orme has become popular for sea-watching and the increased coverage has led to increased sightings of petrels, skua's and shearwaters.
Finally, Crosby Marina and Formby Point are both good spots, but again shelter is in short supply.
PS - I've used XCweather for a while - it's pretty accurate and reliable.
Never actually used the hide,I usually get tucked into the sand dunes at the Point of Air,it gives a bit of height,and bit of shelter from the wind.I prefer it to New Brighton,but its a bit further to travel,an important consideration with the price of fuel.I've personally seen 20+ Leach's Petrels from here in a couple of hours on the right conditions,also good for Skua passage as well.
PoA isn't probably recommended this year as the hide has been vandalised beyond use Pete. The whole front had been demolished last time I went. Any good hiding places to view from on the wirral? Great weather webste by the way, thanks for telling us. Henry.
With the Autumn seawatching almost upon us(given the right wind conditions)its worth checking out the following site which gives a breakdown of wind speed and direction for the next 6 days.Go onto xcweather.co.uk and put your arrow onto any site,it will then show the wind speed/direction for that area.The classic conditions at New Brighton are 2 or 3 days of strong S.W. winds followed by a strong N.W. Most of the birds will be seen on the day of the N.W. wind.The Point of Air,at the mouth of the Dee Estuary can also be very good under these conditions.Lets hope we get some low pressure wazzing across the Atlantic between now and mid October.
. And remember that ALL juvenile Sabine's Gulls are Kittiwakes unless you're on a boat being violently sick. Sabine's Gulls have never been reliably seen from land, other than at Audenshaw a couple of years ago and at Westport Lake yesterday. They are the only two acceptable records.