Winning tip: Wheatears by the Mersey, Cheshire
The lighthouse, and the giant’s grave, in Hale village, near Liverpool, may attract many visitors to this Cheshire outpost east of John Lennon airport, but in spring, birdwatchers flock here for a different reason. The juxtaposition of the Mersey coast, saltmarshes, fields, woodlands and nearby Carr Lane Pools, provide welcome stopping off points for weary migrant bird species. First sightings of wheatears in the fields are harbingers of spring. Social media is soon buzzing with reports of buntings, warblers, whinchats, swallows and swifts. Few sites offer an opportunity to see such avian diversity in adjacent habitats. Accessible by car, cycle or public transport, Hale village presents an unmissable spring spectacle.
halevillageonline.co.uk
Jennifer Jones
