A Riverside Walk, Battling Against The North Westerly Wind 15th March 2021

One of many Common chaffinches seen singing today.

Daffodils blowing in the wind.

Choppy waters on the river.

Trying to catch up with the"tidal bore".

"Which way should I go?"

Pink footed geese heading towards the estuary.

Distance: 7.0 miles. Climb: Wind assisted GPS readings 662' and 295', but inreality more like 125'.
Time: 2 hours 47 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.5 m.p.h.
Wind: 0 - 18.2 m.p.h. Temperature: 9.2 - 12.6 Celsius.
Group: Martyn.

The forecast for today was marginally better than the one for tomorrow, so I decided I would go for a walk today and watch the cricket tomorrow.  it didn't feel cold, despite the north westerly wind, but heading towards Queensferry on the Wales Coast Path was quite challenging, so much so that I decided to cut my walk short and turned back at the Sealand Drainage Pumping Station. The river was still quite high and the wind was creating waves, so I decided to video it for a while. As I did so, the "tidal bore" came into view and I had a job catching up with the camera as it went past me.

The birds seen were less than usual, but it was good to see and hear Skylaks singing and Lapwings display. I was also surprised to see a skein of >100 Pink footed geese flying parallel with the river heading towards the esturary.

Birds seen or heard tody included: Mallard, Moorhen, Black billed magpie, Woodpigeon, Dunnock, European robin, Common blackbird, House sparrow, Greenfinch, Raven, Carrion crow, Pied wagtail, Great tit, Oystercatcher, Common redshank, Common chaffinch, Great cormorant, Goldfinch, Winter wren, Black headed gull, Lapwing and Pink footed goose.

As they say this was a good walk to blow the cobwebs out of your hair, but alas that doesn'tapply to me!

A Saltney Riverside, Duke's Drive and Eccleston Round 13th March 2021

A Rainbow in the sky - enough to encourage me to get ready for today's walk.

Primroses starting to show.

St., Mary's Church at Eccleston.

No chance of catching the ferry today.

View from our lunch spot.

Great cormorants go fishing near Salmons Leap.

A female Goosander near Salmons Leap..

A male Goosander near Salmons Leap.

A male Goosander tries walking on water.

No al fesco dining at The Riverside, Saltney today.

Distance: 13.3 miles. (9.3 miles with Roger).
Climb: GPS wind assisted readings 1369' and 692', but really more like 440'.
Time: 5 hours 44 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.8 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.3 m.p.h.
Wind speed: 0 - 16.2 m.p.h. Temperature: 8.6 - 10.1 Celsius.
Martyn and Roger.

When I got up this morning, it was raining heavily and made me wonder "should I really be going for a walk today?".

However just before it was time to get ready, I went into my backyard and saw a rainbow - a reminder of better things to come.

In fact the weather was pretty good, mainly dry, only a couple of brief showers and despite the often strongish wind, it never felt cold.

As expected , it was quite muddy in places along Duke's Drive and especially so along the river towards The Meadows. The river was quite high, almost covering the weir. 

We did encounter more people today than usual, including two of my former colleagues Carol and Karen from Upton High. , We had anticipated that we would see more people as we approached the Suspension Bridge . Lots of people were out walking between The Meadows and the Old Dee Bridge, but we still managed to find a spare bench on which to sit and enjoy our lunchtime refreshments. Just as we were getting ready to set off again, the Black headed gulls all suddenly took to the air, and looking up it was a passing Peregrin falcon.

Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, European robin, Blue tit, Great tit, Grey heron, Mallard, Black billed magpie, Woodpigeon, Great cormorant, Goosander, Black headed gull, Greenfinch, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Moorhen, Peregrin falcon and (on the section towards Saltney Ferry Footbridge - Raven, Redwing, Oystercatcher, Long tailed tit).

Overall an enjoyable walk, finishing in warm sunshine and lasted long enough for me to clean my boots outside and allow them to quickly dry in the wind and sunshine.

A Skylark Walk Before The Gales Arrive 9th March 2021

A Raven on one of its favoured perches.

A male Goosander on the River Dee.

A female Goosander goes fishing.

"I've got a fishbone stuck in my throat."

A Lapwing on the field, south east of the Sealand Drainage Gutter.

Blackthorn blossom has started to appear.

The Common kestre perched on the wire near the Queensferry Blue Swing Bridge.

The Common buzzard decided it wasn't waiting to have its photo taken.

The Beluga ST3 waiting to be given the OK to take off.

The Beluga ST3 approaches the runway.

The Beluga ST3 takes off.

A Redwing in a tree near Cop House Cottages.

Distance: 9.8 miles. Climb: 203'.
Time: 4 hours 27 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Wind speed: 0 - 8.2 m.p.h. Temperature: 9.0 - 13.0 Celsius.
Group: Martyn.

Gale force winds and lots of rain on on the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, so I decided I needed to take advantage of the relatively good forecast for today.

The highlight today was seeing high in the sky, two Skylarks as they sang above the fields. I did hear a third Skylark singing, but wasn't able to spot it.

Another delight today was seeing a Lapwing briefly displaying ove one of Beeches' Farm fields.

Birds seen or heard today included: Moorhen, Mallard, Herring gull, Collared dove, Goosander, Raven, Redwing, Long tailed tit, Winter wren, Great cormorant, Dunnock, European robin, Common blackbird, Black headed gull, Lesser black back gull, House sparrow, Woodpigeon, Common redshank, Jackdaw, Great tit, Blue tit Common chaffinch, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Common kestrel, Common starling, Black billed magpie.Fieldfare and Common buzzard.

A slower than usual overall walk average, largely due to waiting for the Beluga ST3 to take off, although I did spend a little time chatting to Archie Welsh and a "birder" I last saw at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB more than 12 months ago, and of course there is always the odd dog walker or two that wants to engage in conversation with a willing ear!

This is the first time for quite a while that I have walked to Queensferry on the Wales Coast Path and returned on the Riverside Path on the opposite side of the river.

Overall an enjoyable walk with the added bonus of not needing to clean my boots.

A Saltney Riverside, Old Dee Bridge Round with a Little Extra 6th March 2021

A Grey heron goes stalking.

A Fieldfare next to the Wales Coast Path.

One of the Long tailed tits spotted today.

A close up of another or maybe the same Long tailed tit.

An delightful splash of yellow miniature Daffodils on Castle Drive,Chester.

Chester Weir and The Groves.

A male Goosander near Chester Weir.

A female Goosander near Chester weir.

A pair of Teal on the River Dee.

Distant views of a Little egret on the bank of the River Dee, north west of Saltney ferry Footbridge.

Distance: 13.4 miles (8.0 miles with Roger). Climb: 185'.
Time: 5 hours 47 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.8 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.3 m.p.h.

Wind speed: 0 - 5.2 m.p.h.  Temperature: 3.9 - 10.0 Celsius.
Group: Martyn and Roger (for the first 8 miles).

A dry cool day with sunny periods was the forecast for the day. Had i realised it would have felt so warm when the Sun shone after lunch, I would have made this anothe March shorts day. Instead I wore my Winter Paramo gear and lost 1.2 kg on the walk.

It is always pleasant to walk on the riverside, especially if you forget about all of the cyclists that didn't use a bell on approaching from behind and the bird seemed somewhat lacking until you actually make a count.

Birds seen or heard today included: Collared dove, Moorhen Mallard, Dunnock, European robin, Greenfinch, Blue tit, Common blackbird, Great it, Long tailed tit, Raven, Common chaffinch, Grey heron, Great cormorant, Woodpigeon Black billed magpie, Redwing, Fieldfare, Black headed gull, Herring gull, Lesser black back gull, Common gull, Goosander, Common buzzard, Carrion crow, Teal, Jackdaw, House sparrow, Feral pigeon, Winter wren, Little egret and Common redshank.

We also saw a couple of Small tortoiseshell butterflies , another sign that Summer is on its way.

Perhaps the best sighting today was watching a few never still Long tailed tits in a tree before lunch or maybe the four mewing Common buzzards seen after lunch.

Our planned lunch stop at Edgar's Field had to be aborted when all the benches were occupied. We headed off towards the Old Overleigh Cemetry, but ended up using a bench overlooking The Dingle next to the Overleigh Roundabout. Not a perfect spot, but at least we were in the warm sunshine.

After parting company with Roger at River Lane, I decided that I would extend my walk to see if the Bewick's swans were in there usual field, having seen on the Dee Estuary Birding Site that four Bewick's swans had been seen at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB. No Bewick's swans seen today, so they must have liked what they saw at Burton Mere.

Overall a very enjoyable walk, lasting nearly six hours in all.

An After Cricket Stroll to Cheer Me Up 4th March 2021

Al fresco dining awaits on The Riverside, River Lane, Saltney, but look out for high tides!

You can just see a Long tailed tit feeding on a Coconut.

A male Common chaffinch lets you know this i his territory.

The Dee Bore approaches as the wind gets up.

The Dee Bore gets even closer.

Bewick's swans again.

The Beuga ST takes off from Hawarden Airport.

Selfheal in flower next to the Wales Coast Path.

Distance: 7.1 miles. Climb: 75'.
Time: 2 hours 51 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.5 m.p.h.
Wind speed: 0 - 4.2 m.p,h. Temperature: 6.2 - 9.0 Celsius.

Group: Martyn.

After watching England dtruggle in their first innings against India, I decided I needed to let the singing birds cheer me up and set off for the riverside.

Around mid-day is not a good time to hear birds singing, but at least the Dunnock  and Song thrush did their best, as did the Common blackbird singing at 05 -14 in the street near my house.

Once again it was good to see the Bewick's swans grazing in the same field that I seen them for over a week.

However the bonus today was seeing the Dee Bore for the second time in March and on a day I hadn't intentially set off hoping to see it. In fact I ended up chatting to a couple who heard the approaching tidal bore and were able to around and see it for the first tme.

Birds seen or heard today included: Moorhen, Mallard, Dunnock, Common blackbird, European robin, Blue tit, Long tailed tit, Woodpigeon, Herring gull, Great cormorant, Song thrush, Black headed gull, Common gull, Common redshank, House sparrow, Black billed magpie, Redwing, Fieldfare, Common starling, Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Raven, Common buzzard, Collared dove, Oystercatcher, Feral pigeon and Bewick's swan.

A good walk, dry and cool at times, but finishing in sunshine.

An Early Morning Walk as The Sun Comes Up 3rd March 2021

Part of the dawn chorus by the riverside in Saltney.

Looking towards Saltney from the Saltney Ferry Footbridge.

Looking towards the Higher Ferry Footbridge from the Wales Coast Path.

Looking towards the Queensferry from the Wales Coast Path.

Distance: 3.8 miles. Climb: 85'.

Time: 1 hour 21 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.8 m.p.h.
Wind Speed: 0 - 5.2 m.p.h. Temperature: 3.7 Celsius.
Group: Martyn.

I set off just after 06-00, hoping to catch the Sun as it came up. Unfortunately there was too much cloud cover, so the hoped for spectacular red sunrise influenced by the desert sandstorm wasn't on show.  Nevertheless it was still an opportunity to catch up with some of the late risers adding their pitch to the dawn chorus.

Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, Dunnock, Winter wren, Song thrush, Blue tit, Great tit, Greenfinch, Collared dove, Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Feral pigeon, House sparrow, Black billed magpie, Black headed gull, Lesser black back gull, Herring gull, Common starling and House sparrow.

Even at this early hour, I wasn't alone, one walker, a dog walker, jogger were already out, as well as a few cyclists (not all on their way to work).

A Cool St., David's Day Stroll 1st March 2021.

A misty start to the stroll along the Wales Coast Path on the way to Queensferry.

The tidal bore on the River Dee near the Airbus Barge Dock.

One of the four Whooper swans near Deeside House.

A distant Little egret next to the Sealand Drainage Gutter.

The resident Common kestrel looking down on me.

Young people having fun on a motor bike on the other side of the river.

The only Daffodils that I saw that didn't look as though they had been deliberatley planted there.

Beluga ST 1 coming into land.

Distance: 9.9 miles. Climb: 125'

Time: 4 hours 2 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.4 m.p.h.
Wind speed: 0-5.2 m.p.h. Temeperature: 6.8 - 9.0 Celsius.

A little misty at first and at tims feeling quite cool, although it felt very pleasant when the Sun came out. on this occasion, I hadn't set off hoping to see the tidal bore, heard a noise coming from the river and turned round to see  the bore approaching.

The Whooper swans were still grazing in the same field, but the sound of Skylarks singing was a joy to hear, although I still wasn't able to actually spot one.

Birds seen or hear today included: Collared dove, Common blackbird, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Dunnock, European robin, Common starling, Blue tit,Great tit, Winter wren, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Black headed gull, Little egret, Common redshank, Common buzzard, Goldfinch, Carrion crow, Long tailed tit, Pied wagtail, Black billed magpie, House sparrow, Common kestrel, Whooper swan and Sylark.