Morecambe Bay from Humphrey Head Sunlight and an ebb tide create pattern as sand-bars show through the water. We sit on lichened rocks looking out to Morecambe Bay, entranced by the constantly changing light. Behind us, to landward, the sky is deep blue. Arnside Knott is no more than a shadow.
The low winter sun casts a gloss and sheen, like pewter. There's a bracing cold wind and the open sea looks choppy. Male eider in flight, alighting beyond the point of Humphrey Head, dipping and diving, back-lit in silhouette, a group of four. At low tide the best feeding grounds are the shallows, sand banks and shoals where fresh water from the River Kent mingles with salt water. A stark and beautiful winter sea-scape.
Along the limestone ridge of Humphrey Head hawthorn are bent low by the prevailing south-westerly winds.
Deep mud-channels cut through the salt marsh east of the limestone ridge. The track we seem to follow is soon lost and the ground becomes sodden and squelchy. Mature oaks overhang the low cliff and a dark pool is fenced off by barbed wire. Egrets fly from the oaks and come down on the far side of a channel. At last, a gate appears and we head back onto a track and to the car.
Along the limestone ridge of Humphrey Head hawthorn are bent low by the prevailing south-westerly winds.
Deep mud-channels cut through the salt marsh east of the limestone ridge. The track we seem to follow is soon lost and the ground becomes sodden and squelchy. Mature oaks overhang the low cliff and a dark pool is fenced off by barbed wire. Egrets fly from the oaks and come down on the far side of a channel. At last, a gate appears and we head back onto a track and to the car.
Over the New Year we chose to explore coastal locations about Morecambe Bay, and their birdlife. In winter, upland breeding birds migrate to the coast and there are passage migrants too. Estuaries and salt marsh are rewarding habitat to study, if you read the tides aright. An incoming tide pushes flocks toward the shoreline where birds feed in seaweed and wrack. And on organisms brought in with sediments. As shoals, sandbank and mudflats are submerged birds gather and will huddle together to roost until the tide begins to ebb once more and their feeding grounds are exposed.
Coast and estuaries are best for winter birding, as we discover. The choice was determined by weather conditions. Late December 2024 saw a longish spell of mild and misty weather, with a persistent drizzle that saturated the ground. 30th December on Humphrey Head saw sunlight and louring skies. New Year's Eve was a day of heavy rain with consequent flooding. Destination Glasson, once on minor roads we drove through floodwaters, by flooded fields. The drive to South Walney on New Year's Day was breathtaking. Floodwaters had turned to ice and frost sparkled in sunlight.
Coast and estuaries are best for winter birding, as we discover. The choice was determined by weather conditions. Late December 2024 saw a longish spell of mild and misty weather, with a persistent drizzle that saturated the ground. 30th December on Humphrey Head saw sunlight and louring skies. New Year's Eve was a day of heavy rain with consequent flooding. Destination Glasson, once on minor roads we drove through floodwaters, by flooded fields. The drive to South Walney on New Year's Day was breathtaking. Floodwaters had turned to ice and frost sparkled in sunlight.
RSS Feed