After a quick refreshment we joined the other avid seawatchers in the hide and waited for the fun to begin. 7 solid hours and a very numb bum later we'd amassed in incredible list of birds. See the Hilbre Blog for full details. Birds included a juvenile Sabine's Gull seen only by two of us as it was to far to the left for others to see and couldn't be seen by observors on the slipway.
Leach's Petrels gave good views as they worked their way back to the open sea and we counted a good Bakers Dozen.
Brilliant stuff. With Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Red-throated Divers and Manx Shearwaters passing in good numbers we were kept busy - although the hide went distinctly quiet when news came through that the ever vigilant Seaforth Crew had got a Wilson's Petrel in the Mersey Mouth and that our old muckers 'Skipper' Conlin and his faithful manservant Kendo Nagasaki had twitched it from the New Brighton side and saw the bird after being talked onto the location by the Seaforth lads but had poor and distant views. Nice one lads.
After leaving my sandwiches in the Obs Mark and Steve kindly shared their lunches with me - including some delicious homemade pizza. Certain people scoffed all theirs.................................
With a juvenile Sabines Gull on the foreshore at Meols being a County lifer for Mark we declined Doreens kind offer of another brew and pegged it acorss the sands for a distant glimpse of my third Sabs in two days.
A fantastic day was rounded of by superb views of Little Terns feeding in one of the channels off Middle Eye.
Local birding doesn't get much better than this!
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