Scarce and Rare Birds on the Wirral

With a period of Easterly winds the Wirral got more than it's usual share of rare and scarce birds over the last week or so. At Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve (or BMW as it is known) there was a good list including a Red-necked Phalarope, Cattle Egret, Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpiper. Some of these were present for most of the week, if not longer.
Tied in with some high tides I spent a couple of days out with the camera to see what could be done. BMW isn't great for photography and from the old hide unfortunately the birds are a little distant. So this would only be good for record shots. Still, I had a go and managed to photograph the Red-necked Phalarope and Pectoral Sandpiper.

Red-necked Phalarope

Pectoral Sandpiper

On the North Wirral coast I photographed Curlew Sandpiper on the beach at Hoylake and the diminutive Little Stint which was roosting with about 500 Dunlin at Leasowe.

Curlew Sandpiper

Little Stint

Here are some of the more common species I encountered in a productive couple of days with a bit of decent sunshine.

Dunlin (It's not marching)

Grey Heron

Mute Swan

Ringed Plover (juvenile)

Sanderling

Waxwings

This winter has seen one of the biggest invasions of Waxwings into the UK. Tens of thousands of them have moved southwards through the country over the last couple of months. I couldn't resist going out and adding more images of these to my already large collection. I wanted to try and get shots of them on the ground, as this would be generally a little different from the majority of my photographs of them. At first light they were coming down onto the grass to feed on the berries they had displaced from the trees. The low sun and the frosty ground really enhanced them. I also took some large group shots of them in the trees and it only really leaves me with flight shots still to do.

Desert Wheatear

I took a trip to North Wales today. Part of the day was spent photographing the Desert Wheatear at Rhyl.