8th June 2023

 Weather: E force 4/5    haze

 Shelduck attempting to breed around the islands has become problematical since the advent of regular visits by a fox (or foxes), so it was especially pleasing this morning when a pair was seen escorting their young off the island.

They were watched leaving the other side of the gutter opposite Niffy bay and heading south east towards the West Kirby saltmarsh. When they were more than halfway across they redirected to a more southerly course and so their final destination was uncertain. It does seem however that they sucessfully negociated the hazards of the journey as a search of the shore in the area a little later found no evidence of mishap.

 The second good sighting of the morning by our obs member was a Purple Sandpiper at the north end (found yesterday by Matt Thomas).

There are odd records in many recent years of a summer bird but usually more into the late summer rather than June.

 

 Its usual companion at the north end in winter is the Turnstone, 5 were still hanging around, one in fine summer plumage.

Thirteen  Ringed Plover and 9 Dunlin were noted on the reef south of Middle. The first autumn Black-headed Gulls have started to arrive in the area, there were 8 in the gutter and then a build up of 116 between Little Eye and Weat Kirby. Two Kestrels were hunting the island and are suspected of being from the Royal Liverpool Golf course and are feeding young.The male was seen to catch a Short-tailed field Vole. A couple of dozen Sandwich Terns were the only sea birds noted.

Photos SRW