Red Rocks Bird Watching and Nature on the Wirral Peninsula Coast Red Rocks Red Rocks consist of two main habitats, south, towards West Kirby, are Red Rocks Marsh and sand dunes and to the north Hilbre Point overlooking Bird Rock and East Hoyle sand bank. Red Rocks Marsh is a nature reserve part of which maintained by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. It is a 28 acre site of brackish marsh and sand dunes open to the public. The marsh attracts a considerable variety of migrants on passage in spring and autumn. The reed beds contain breeding Sedge and Reed Warblers in spring and summer whereas the sand dunes are full of sky larks and occasional Stonechat. The reserve is also home to over 50 species of flowering plants and the rare Natterjack Toad. Hilbre Point is an excellent place for sea watching. Arrive an hour and a half before high tide and the advancing sea should push a steady stream of species past you, including large flocks of Oystercatchers, Redshank, Knot and Dunlin, some of which will alight on Bird Island just off the point. Among other birds regularly recorded during sea watches are Red Throated Diver, Great Crested Grebe, Common Scoter, Guillemot, Kittiwake and misc. Terns and Skuas.

Hoylake Beach Hoylake  The shore at Hoylake by the Life Boat Station is a high tide roost for waders during medium to neap high tides. Hundreds, if not thousands of Oystercatchers, Knot, Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit and Redshank should be seen, especially in the autumn and early winter. Flocks of Knot as big as 30,000 are sometimes seen, a magnificent sight. Further down towards the old baths and slipway beyond the flats become quite muddy and consequently are feeding areas for a good selection of waders, gulls and Shelduck. On the inland side of Hoylake are a group of marshy fields called the Langfields. This area, often flooded in winter, is always worth checking out for a good selection of wildfowl. Any marshland bird can turn up here.

Meols Sunset Meols Meols promenade, an extension of the promenade at Hoylake, is an excellent spot to observe waders at low tide. A channel runs close to the shore here and this attracts the usual Oystercatchers and Redshank along with a good variety of other species including Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover. A particularly good spot for viewing these birds is at the end of Roman Road, there is even a shelter provided! Stand here as the tide comes in during winter and the birds feeding on Mockbeggar wharf to the east move off in huge flocks, flying past on their way to high tide roosts at Hoylake and Point of Ayr.  From the east end of Meols to New Brighton promenade stretches a large concrete embankment protecting the low lying land behind. The embankment affords good view points both at low tide to see the waders and high tide for sea-watching. In September during the Autumn passage this is the best place in Britain to see Leach's Petrel, be there two hours either side of high water during a strong to gale force North West wind. 300 were seen in one day in 1997. These and other birds such as Shearwaters get blown into Liverpool bay and the mouth of the River Mersey whence they make their way along the Wirral coast and back out into the Irish Sea past Hilbre Island. The sand banks here are called Mockbeggar Wharf, named after Mockbeggar Hall - otherwise known as Leasowe Castle - the name Mockbeggar apparently being an old sailors' term for a lone house. Low tide Wetland Bird Survey counts show that some species feed almost exclusively here (rather than the Dee Estuary itself), namely Ringed Plovers, Grey Plovers, Sanderlings and Bar-tailed Godwits. In addition it is a major feeding area for Knot, counts of over 20,000 not being uncommon. This Birdwatching and Nature section is an extract from the Dee Estuary Birding Website used with the permission of Richard Smith. For Daily updates of Dee Estuary bird news and a monthly newsletter packed full of interesting and up to date birdwatching articles log on to the dee estuary website

View towards West Kirby West Kirby West Kirby shore between the Marine Lake and Red Rocks is a high tide roost for thousands of waders. Unfortunately it is subject to disturbance although voluntary wardens have improved the situation in recent years.  In the winter months Dunlin and Knot should be seen in their thousands with Bar Tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and Grey Plover. The Marine Lake can hold Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers and Cormorants but get there early before the windsurfers drive them off. Long-tailed Duck occasionally visit. The shore on the Caldy side of the lake (next to West Kirby Sailing Club) is much more muddy than the north end, holding good numbers of feeding waders at low tide, Turnstones are a particular feature next to the Sailing Club. Carrying up this shore leads to Cubbins Green, an area of grass, scrub and brambles which might hold some interesting migrants or breeding warblers in the spring. Gilroy Nature Park at the inland side of the town is a locally maintained lake holding good numbers of duck, mainly Mallard but small numbers of other duck such as Tufted and Pochard can also be seen.

Caldy Off Caldy steps are Caldy Blacks, a mussel bed which should hold large numbers of waders and gulls, particularly Oystercatchers. A channel comes close to the shore here and stays close all the way beyond Heswall, affording marvelous views of the birds at all states of the tide. Caldy Hill on the far side of Caldy is an area of heathland, gorse, birch wood and mature mixed woodland. A very pleasant place for a stroll with excellent views over the estuary towards Wales and Hilbre Island. In the spring it will be teeming with Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. All three Woodpeckers, Jays, Nuthatches and a variety of Warblers and Tits can be seen at Stapledon Wood. The fields below Stapledon Wood often hold good numbers of feeding Curlew and Oystercatchers. One of the more unusual species to be seen in the wood was a Little Auk, blown there during Autumn gales a few years ago.

View of Hilbre Island Hilbre Island Hilbre Island is part of a local Nature Reserve maintained by the Wirral Borough Council. There is a bird observatory on the Island who's members have produced their own web site, www.hilbrebirdobs.co.uk. The observatory issue an annual report and bird checklist, see the web site for details. Almost anything can turn up at Hilbre during migration. Sea watches can be particularly productive typically producing Skuas, Gannets, Manx Shearwaters, Leach's Petrel, Kittiwake and Little Gull. In the sea around the Island a good selection of Divers, Grebes and sea ducks can be observed, including Red and Black Throated Diver, Great Crested Grebe, Scoters, Scaup, Long Tailed Duck and Eider. Purple Sandpiper are a Hilbre speciality being present from November to April and over 200 Turnstones are to be seen on the rocks surrounding the Islands. July and August is the time to observe Terns, good numbers of Common, Arctic, Sandwich and Little Tern pass the Island in a steady stream. Many terns use the sand banks around the island as a low tide roost. At high tide all three islands (Hilbre, Little Hilbre and Little Eye) are used as high tide roosts by a large number of waders. To the south of Little Eye are the Tanskey rocks, best seen from either Little Eye or the outer wall of West Kirby marine lake they attract large numbers of waders and Shelduck at low tide. Look out for Turnstones and Curlews in the rock pools. The building in the middle of the photograph is The Hilbre Bird Observatory. If you hear a weird moaning sound whilst visiting the Island, don't worry, it is just the Grey Seals. At low tide they can be seen laid out on West Hoyle Bank to the west of the Island with a maximum of 400+ in August. Dolphins and porpoises are also occasionally seen but you will be extremely lucky to see any.