Shotwick Rifle Range

With the skies clearing, I decided to head over to the embankment behind the Shotwick Rifle Range this evening and scan the marsh for Shorties.

It’s a bit of a grey area here in more ways than one. Firstly, this part of the marsh is actually in Wales – even though the Flint Bridge is the de facto border – with the boundary passing just south of Burton Point.

Secondly, being M.O.D land I am not strictly sure if I should actually walk along here - although many do – as you risk incurring the wrath of the local farmer with whom I had contretemps number two with this evening!

Not that I am unsympathetic to his argument – even though he could do with a little smoothing-out on the diplomacy front – as he must have to contend with all types of scallywags with dubious intentions.

In truth, I probably wouldn’t go here if it weren’t for the fact that it is so good for watching raptors, especially at dusk as the sun is directly behind you - unlike on the Wirral side of the estuary.

This evening was no exception – an adult female Hen Harrier completely ignored me as it scoured a ditch no more than twenty yards away, but the highlight was unusually close views of a pair of adult Peregrines.

The way they perched spoke volumes about the relationship between the birds with the female clearly wearing the trousers – she was sat on top of a large log whereas the male was on the ground a deferential twenty yards to her left.

I must confess that I suspect I was looking at the same birds I had seen hunting so expertly in unison at Connah’s Quay NR a couple of weeks back - they obviously have a close bond.

With no sign of any SE Owls, I wandered a little further down the track to look at the rifle range. The shooting area looked more like a falconer’s back garden with a female Merlin, two Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk and a ringtail Hen Harrier all sitting on various fence posts bathing in the soft evening light– incredible.

Before the sun dropped behind the Clwydians I had a final look for some SE Owls, but I could only find a couple, with one bird miles towards Neston. To be honest, I think they knew -tonight at least - that they had been horribly upstaged!

Shotwick Rifle Range 15.12.09

Hen Harrier 1 (Adult female)
Peregrine 2 (Pair)
Merlin 1 (Adult female)
Sparrowhawk 1 (Adult Female)
Short-eared Owl 2
Buzzard 4
Little Grebe 1
Shoveler 6
Curlew 20+

Until later