New Brighton's Leach's Petrel festival

Leach's Petrel

Sweeping over the Mersey

 Shelter with a view (of a kind)

Close flypast

 A growing audience

Those who braved the walk were rewarded

 Grey Phalarope

 Grey Phalarope

 Grey Phalarope

Atmospheric image of lighthouse 

 

You can have some bad idea's as a birder and this was going through my mind as I headed up the M6 through Storm Aileen to the tip of the Wirral to hopefully experience a real Autumn treat. 

Heavy rain greeted me at New Brighton but thankfully there was a space in the shelter that over looked the Mersey and the sea. Westerlies were battering the coast so it was a case of just biding my time before I could hopefully record my third lifer inside two days. 

A quiet first ten minutes started the session but then quickly changed with my first Leach's petrel flying out of the Mersey. Larger than a Storm Petrel, the bird's forked tail was distinctive along with the very strong wing beats. Over the next two hours I saw approximately 16 petrels at various distances. When the rain receded I walked
down to the beach when one of the Petrels came with 10 feet. I must say this was an amazing experience to see the birds at such close quarters in a very atmospheric industrial setting. The final day count was 50+. 

I'd picked up a Grey Phalarope avoiding a Peregrine from the viewpoint only to lose it in flight. When reaching the shoreline the Phalarope was sat on the waters edge not at all fussed with the attention from myself and one other birder. 

Other sightings included a Common Scoter & Arctic Terns.