The pool also held a few Shelduck and a dozen or so flighty Redshank were up and down from their grassy shelter, no doubt sensing the drama of the day! Not far from the pool were a few groups of Little Egret (I counted 12 but there were probably more).
We had a strong north-westerly blowing and the tide forecast was a little under 10 metres, so the pointers were good for fully flooding the marsh and bringing in the raptors attracted by fleeing reptiles, small mammals and birds including Water Rails.
As the tide continued to rise, backing increasingly further up the marsh, a Hen Harrier appeared from the south and swooped fairly low over the marsh, before going down in the grasses to the north-west of us. We had some really good views of this bird over the next hour. And also a Merlin flying low along the river line and often perching way out on a part buried branch.
Next up was a pair of Peregrines flying from the Welsh bank of the estuary directly toward and over us at some speed! Followed by a flock of 28 Pink-footed Geese flying across us from the south. Followed shortly after by a Raven from the same direction.
Then came the days highlight as a Short-eared owl appeared from out on the flooded marsh and almost unnoticed landed on a some driftwood in front of us. After 5 minutes it was up in the air, gliding around majestically in front of for a while before landing in the dry to the north-west. It was soon up again though, gliding around in front of us in a 'one for the cameras' finale before disappearing again.
In truth, the tide never quite fully flooded the marsh up to the wall but who cares? A quality morning and we even forgot about the miserable weather for a while.
Spoonbill feeding at Parkgate
Short-eared Owl over the flooded marsh
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