Hilbre.

Mark Payne and me took a trip over to Hilbre last weekend to do a bit of seawatching over the high tide - high it certainly was with the water sloshing around the base of the steps leading up into the seawatching hide. If the wind had been coming from the NW I reckon we would have been stranded for a couple of hours.

Not as many birds as we'[d expected and nothing unusual but good numbers of Red-throated Divers, Common Scoter & Great-crested grebes. There also seemed to have been a wreck of Auks as large numbers of Razorbills and a few Guillemots were seen heading west before the high tide.

8 Purple Sandpipers roosted on top of the cliff by the tide gauge until they were disturbed by a visitor.

The garden is continuing to attract Redpolls with 6-7 Lessers and now 2 Mealys visiting regularly. The sunflower hearts have also attracted a male Bullfinch that's unringed so not one of the ones from the spring of last year. The male Blackcap is still around with two birds seen on once occasion during the week.

Highlight though was this Treecreeper on an oak tree by the pond. I can't remember the last time I saw one locally outside of Stanney Woods.