Wading Birds

 Today I had my first proper outing of the year. The sun was out, the temperature was in double digits and the top came down on the car as i headed off to Dunham Massey where there is a fabulous garden and deer park, maintained by the National Trust. It is 2 years since my last visit so it was nice to get back. I was able to photograph some spring flowers, some water fowl and of course some of the deer that live wild in the park.

I was really pleased when I got home to upload the pictures and start to work on them when I realised I also had a few pictures from last week when I had been for a walk along the waterfront near my home.

So before I get into the pictures from Dunham Massey here are a few shots of some of the waders that grace our shores.

The first two pictures show a couple of Black Tailed Godwit. I am not very good at recognising some of our waders because from a distance I find it difficult to differentiate, however these I was quite confident in my identification.

Pictures in most  of my guide books show these birds in their breeding plumage which is a bit richer than these two however it can be differentiated from the bar tailed godwit because it is larger in size, has longer legs and has a long, slightly upturned bill which is black at the end.

The bird in the other pictures is a Common Redshank, easily distinguishable by its bright red legs (hence the name) and its straight red bill, although in these images its bill is covered in mud as it has been searching for worms, molluscs and crustaceans. These are quite nervous birds generally so it was nice that this one did not fly away.

Going Green

 Offshore wind farms are popping up around the coast and getting ever larger. Not everyone is a fan of them but to be honest apart from the initial noise of the pile drivers during the construction phase I have not minded this one in Liverpool bay. It extends for miles and no doubt provides green energy for many thousands of homes.

I actually think the expanse of turbines looks quite cool and although they are quite a long way offshore there are times when atmospheric conditions are right that they  appear much closer than they really are. On the day I took this picture i liked the layer of mist around the base of the turbines which lends a slightly ghostly effect as they rise out of the mist against the flat backdrop of the cloudy sky.

A Stunning Display

It is hard to convey the full spectacle of this "murmurating" flock (I am not sure that is a word, I have just verbed a noun) of Knot and these pictures only show a small proportion of the flock as a whole. It really was an absolute treat on Tuesday lunchtime as the 10m Spring tide brought the waders close inshore to feed.

I had been out for a walk without my camera and was surprised to see a large number of twitchers gathering at different points along the promenade. I stopped to speak with a couple who informed me that there was a mixture of different species, including Redshank, Dunlin, Knot, Oystercatchers, Curlew and Ringed Plovers. Some I could recognise but others I was not sure of so it was nice to listen to someone who was in the  know.

Another couple of avid bird watchers let me use their spotting scope to get a close up view of the birds as they crept closer to the shore ahead of the tide. 

Spring tides happen regularly but 10m tides are not so common so when they do occur it provides a real spectacle as the number of species that feed out in the bay becomes apparent and it was not only twitchers but other walkers who stopped to enjoy the sights and sounds of so many thousands of birds.

Learning that the tide would reach its full height at 12:40 meant I had enough time to go home and get my camera and then nip back to take some pictures. The light was, as you can see pretty poor so it wasn't possible to get clear and detailed close up shots of the birds, a fast shutter speed was needed but that increased the ISO and then the grainy images were quite frankly very poor.

Instead I concentrated on some wider shots and although the flocks of birds were mostly wading in the shallows feeding every now and then something would spook them and with an incredible whooshing sound thousands of birds would take to the air and fly in the amazing formations you see above before settling to feed once again.

I think the majority of birds were Knot but I am sure there are others mixed up in there too.

I am particularly pleased with the first image which shows a large flock taking off and then the final image which has the flock starting to spread out with the wind turbines of Burbo Bank in the background, I like this shot because the flock of birds forms a layer in the sky which follows the lines and layers of cloud, the sea and the shoreline.

I feel really privileged to have witnessed this, had I not gone for my walk when I did I would have never known this was going to happen and now I know to look out for the next high spring tide so I can go down again, and hopefully next time the light will be a little better. But hey, I am definitely not complaining.
 

Light The Way

 

In the first of today's images you can see the lighthouse which stands at the end of Stanley Road in Hoylake, it overlooks Liverpool Bay, the Dee Estuary and the Royal Liverpool Golf Course. It is not an active lighthouse but is a replica of one of the four lighthouses that were built along the Wirral coastline to guide shipping into Liverpool (two were in Hoylake and two in Leasowe) none of which are  now active.

There is a small slipway onto the beach near Red Rocks which on a summer day (or any day for that matter) is a nice spot for a walk or to relax and enjoy the scenery. It is also a good spot on a clear night to observe, or even photograph the night sky, looking west out into the Irish Sea or south along the Dee estuary (although that direction does suffer with light pollution from the towns along the river's edge) there are so many stars to be seen..

The second image shows Hilbre Island, there is a small,  functioning lighthouse on the island but it is a simple white tower with a red LED beacon that can be seen up to 5 miles away.

The island has an interesting history and as a nature reserve it is designated a  Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Cut off by the high tide it is possible to walk across to the island when the tide goes out, to explore rock pools, observe the flocks of wading birds and watch the grey seals that live on a nearby sand bank and swim around the island. 

The island has been occupied on and off since the stone age, it has been a site of pilgrimage with a monastic cell established there between 1080 and 1550. The monks were responsible for maintaining a beacon for shipping and on the island in the late 1600's rock salt was produced on the island.

The two images were taken on the same day. The shot of Hilbre island was taken first and then a short while later as the weather conditions improved the second shot of the lighthouse and the reflections on the beach things appear so much brighter because of the low winter sun.

Race For The Prize

 I wouldn't normally post some many pictures in one go but as i have added an album of pictures already to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/chipster63photography I thought I would go for a selection of my favourites and let you follow the link above to see the rest of the shots that go with this selection.

This weekend has seen the National Sand yacht regatta hosted at Hoylake. I was at a bit of a loss trying to think of something to do, the weather wasn't too great and I also didn't want to travel too far so I walked down to the local beach. I could see the yachts way out on the beach and warning notices everywhere that racing was in progress so I marched off across the sand to see what was what.

I could tell as I approached that there were no spectators and started to worry that I would be in the way. I am not a normally outgoing person so I was also a little nervous about how I would approach a bunch of strangers focused on their sport. I needn't have worried. 

I was greeted warmly and the participants were happy to talk about the sport, the rules, the speeds, the risks and some of the international events they have been to. They were happy to let me photograph the event and even offered to take me down to different spots where I could get some good shots. I couldn't have felt more welcome and I am so glad I made the effort to go see.

I was amazed that the competitors were not young men, there were men and women mostly around my age but some of them were much older, one guy a several time champion in his class and running second in this years championship was 78 years old. That is pretty impressive when you think these craft will travel over 60mph and in places they will even completely leave the ground. It is definitely not for the faint hearted.

This was also my first proper attempt to photograph a sporting event, I am pleased with the results so if you do like the images above please click the link to my facebook page to see more.

Evening Sun

So tonight I am sharing a selection of pictures captured using my mobile phone.

I had gone for a walk after dinner to try and clear my head after a couple of stressful days. It was quite cool due to the strong wind but the scenery was beautiful as the sun was setting across Liverpool Bay and although I was walking quite fast I couldn't ignore the wonderful views and it certainly helped to release some of the stress.

I'm so lucky to live so close to the sea and we get a lot of fantastic sunsets just like this.

Walking away from the seafront I noticed the moon reflecting the last of the sunlight creating what I think is a pink and blue sky. I know that I may very well be wrong about the colours but whatever the colours this is a beautiful sky and a beautiful end to my day.

Hoylake Past

Hoylake is a small seaside town on the Wirral Peninsula with a population of around 6,000 people (13,000 in the council ward which includes Meols).  The town has a long history including being the place where in 1690 King William 3rd set sail for Ireland with an army of 10,000 men.  More recently the town has hosted the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

The pictures I have posted in today's offering show scenes of Hoylake's past.  The Town Hall Clock remains the only indicator of the local council office which is now a job centre. The chocolate shop has long since ceased trading and the lifeboat has now moved to a spanking new boathouse further along the promenade. The fire house which in this picture was a mortgage brokers and antique centre is now a gym.  

Hoylake like most other towns is constantly changing and evolving so when I stumbled across these pictures which I had taken over 10 years ago I thought it was good to share them with you.

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