Baby Birds raised on the Beach

You wouldn’t believe it to be possible, but among the beach-goers and dog walkers, sometimes, there are baby birds raised on the beach. Plucky little mothers occasionally create a ‘nest’ and lay their eggs and raise a chick or two!

Different Habitats

The main central section of Cleveleys beach, against the stepped sea defences, is tidal and covers twice a day with water. Clearly, nothing is ever going to make a successful nest in this area!

But just past the central sandy beach the habitat changes to the shingle of Rossall Beach. It looks hostile but is actually a rich habitat for wildlife. The top reaches don’t generally cover at high tide. You’ll often see multiple strandlines where the different heights of tide have washed seaweed to shore.

This beach is a bird hotel. Throughout the year it’s either a home or stop-off point. Hundreds of migrating birds stop off here as they make their journeys backwards and forwards around the world. Tiny little things, flying thousands of miles a year!

Baby Birds raised on the Beach at Cleveleys

Look carefully, there’s a Ringed Plover right in the middle of the next shot. Seen on Rossall Beach one year, in the last week of June, carefully looking after it’s tiny little chick. The baby and parent called to each other – then baby went underneath the parents warm feathers to rest. The chick had been raised on the public, pebble beach. The tide comes in and out twice a day and dog walkers are around all the time. Surely that’s as big an accomplishment as flying around the world!

You’ve got to be sharp eyed to spot them – they’re so well camouflaged against the pebbles. Take your eyes off them and they’re gone. You can only really spot them when they move, or make their distinctive peeping sounds. They are superbly well disguised against the stones and completely blend in.

The thing that often gives these plucky mothers away is how they behave when you get close to the nest. They’ll usually make a big dramatic production to lure you away from their eggs or babies. Holding a wing out as if it’s broken they do the injured bird routine, taking you away from their babies!

Nesting in the Middle of a Building Site!

This little bird might seem marvellous enough, nesting in a public open space. But in the summer of 2023 it got even more curious!

With the Wyre Beach Management Scheme in full swing, one plucky little mother decided to lay her eggs in an even more incredible spot. With just a few feet between the public footpath and the haul road for the big trucks and diggers, this bird built a nest in the most precarious place. But once spotted, she was provided with her own security fencing in the form of a few cones and some barrier tape!

Round-the-World Flights

These birds fly thousands of miles each year between Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and South Africa – pausing at Rossall Beach to rest and refuel.

If you see flocks of birds resting on the pebbles at high tide, please don’t disturb them if possible. They are conserving vital energy for their long flights. With the tide in their feeding grounds are covered and they need to conserve energy. When the tide goes out again they can eat their next meal, of marine life left by the retreating water.

Dogs are allowed on the shingly Rossall Beach throughout the year. But if you see birds feeding along the waters edge please don’t let your dog run at them.

Look out for the information boards at Rossall Beach. One of them is all about the birds and animals which you might see in the area.