Welcome to the Dee Estuary – What’s Happening This Month

*

Welcome to the Dee Estuary – What’s Happening This Month *

Welcome to the Dee Estuary page — a simple, practical space for local residents who want to stay connected to what’s happening along the shore.

On this page you can sign up for Sarah's newsletter about seasonal wildlife notes, recent sightings, tide-related changes and information about upcoming in-person, guided walks and workshops in the local area. Please complete the sign-up form to stay in the loop.

Please find details of current, forthcoming in-person events below.

If you live in Wirral, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales or surrounding areas, this page offers an easy way to keep in touch with local nature.

It is separate from the reflective writing shared on Substack which covers Sarah’s wider community.

Seasonal wildlife notes

New Moon on Sunday 18th January brings high spring tides.

Winter visitors are feeding at the estuary and surrounding fields and hedgerows, look out for redwings on berries, curlews on mudflats and pasture, plus large flocks on ponds at Parkgate including pintail, teal and shelduck and finally, huge numbers of Pink-footed geese spread across the marsh at low tide.

Recent sightings on the marsh includes short eared owls, marsh harriers, heron and lots of egrets.

Freezing temperatures and snow have made our landscape look magical.

Small but still impressive murmurations along the Heswall shoreline at dusk.

Full Moon on Sunday 1st February 2026 brings higher tides.

New Moon on Tuesday 17th February 2026 brings higher spring tides over subsequent days and nights.

This page is used for local events and information about the Dee Estuary — it is different from Sarah's reflective Substack newsletter which you can sign up for separately here.

Forthcoming Local Events

A bird of prey flying low over a field of tall, golden grass with mountains in the background.
Dusk On The Dee – Monday 16th February 2026, 4.30pm
£20.00

Join Sarah for a gentle sunset walk along the Parkgate promenade and Old Baths area, followed by a drink and reflective writing session inside The Boathouse pub. We’ll meet before sunset and walk the edge of the marsh, noticing shifts in light, tide, sound, scent and movement as the day falls into evening.

This isn’t a bird ID walk, although you will see plenty – it’s a simple experience designed to help you slow down and connect to place and turn those field notes into something beautiful and tangible through the creativity of writing. The new moon on Tuesday 17th February will pull high, spring tides further up the estuary, making the timing of this particular dusk walk an exciting time to fuel your words.

After the walk, we’ll head inside The Boathouse as a group, to warm up with a drink (purchased individually) and settle into thirty minutes of gentle reflective writing. Sarah will offer a couple of prompts to help you begin and shape your words. There are no expectations to share your writing unless you want to – this part is just for you.

Venue: The Boathouse Pub, Parkgate

Price: £20 including hot drink

Date: Monday 16th February 2026 4.30pm

Parent and Child Nature Haiku Workshop – Wednesday 18th February 2026 1.30-3pm
£20.00

Unleash your child’s natural creativity and brush-up on their writing skills with a gentle, fun, creative writing poetry session designed for families who want to slow down together.

We’ll begin with a short noticing walk to gather sensory details from the natural world, then return indoors to turn these observations into simple three-line Haikus.

No experience needed — this workshop is playful and approachable, offering parent and children a chance to create together. Each pair will leave with one (or more) completed Haiku carefully penned onto coloured card, ready to display at home or keep as a memory of the day.

Sarah is an award winning nature writer currently studying an MA in Nature and Travel Writing. With many years experience working with children and holding a current Enhanced DBS, she is well placed to lead this workshop. Her work has featured in Bird Watching and Country Walking magazine and she writes for her local community publication Heswall Magazine.

Wednesday 18th February 2026 (Half Term)


£20 (includes parent & child place plus hot drink for adult at Benty Farm cafe and all materials)


Age range: 6-9 approx


Length: 90 minutes

Wetland with tall grasses, water, and a flock of birds flying over the water, with rolling hills and houses in the background.
Birds on a sandy beach with ocean waves, with wind turbines and yellow boats in the background under a blue sky.
A seagull standing in shallow water with one leg raised, surrounded by grass and reflections on the water's surface.
A white egret standing among tall grasses on a sandy beach.
Two sailboats on a muddy shore with wind turbines in the background and an ocean in the distance.
A herd of highland cows grazing on a green field with trees in the background.
Offshore wind turbines in the ocean.
A peregrine falcon perched on a metal ledge, with an industrial background of pipes and wooden plank overhead.
A bird of prey soaring in a clear blue sky with its wings spread wide.
A group of birds flying across the sky over a grassy landscape with distant trees and rolling hills in the background.
A bird of prey, likely a kestrel, perched on top of a white pole against a pale blue sky background.
Two cows grazing on a grassy field near a lake, with salt flats and water in the background.
Three cormorant birds perched on a man-made birdhouse mounted on a pole against a gray sky.
Two shorebirds with orange legs and brown-gray bodies standing on a rock in the water, one facing forward and the other facing away.
View of the ocean with waves lapping against the rocky shore, a distant landmass on the horizon, and partly cloudy blue sky overhead.
A group of black and white birds on a grassy shoreline near water.
Two shorebirds with long, curved beaks walk on a grassy field.
A landscape view of a sunset or sunrise with dark clouds, a distant horizon, and a fence post in the foreground.
Marsh harrier flying low over a field of tall, golden grass with hills and trees in the background.
A wooden park bench with flowers resting on it, facing a large body of water under a cloudy sky.

For deeper essays, monthly Almanacs and writing shaped by the rhythms of tide, moon and everyday life, you can subscribe to my Strandlines newsletter on Substack.