Category Archives: RSPB Burton Mere

RSPB Burton Mere, with lots to see even on a chilly, very grey day

Stonechat on a Great Reedmace

Burton Mere is one of my favourite places to visit in the area, and I am there fore more frequently than I post about here. I usually wait for a sunny day, but my most recent visit was on a very grey day with light barely filtering weakly through uninterrupted cloud. Although I don’t know a great deal about birds beyond my garden, I was lured out by the promise, on the RSPB Burton Mere Facebook page, of Great White Egrets. I have seen Western Cattle Egrets many, many times in Egypt, where they are ubiquitous and lovely, but had never seen the Great White. I was tremendously lucky to be there when there were eleven on them standing on the edges of the woodland ponds and perching on low branches in the small lakes behind the estuary. They were magnificent, the size of herons and infinitely more visible against the dark foliage. It was a real, simple pleasure to stand and watch them preening and chattering.

Great White Egrets

I was also lucky to see a colourful stonechat on a Great Reedmace (more commonly known as bulrush). They rarely perch in one place for very long, and are easily startled but it paused near enough for me stand and watch for a moment, and for my camera to pick it out quite clearly. In the everyday world beyond the nature reserve my camera usually attracts comment because of the zoom lens attached to it, a good 5 inches long, but at Burton Mere this is a baby amongst giants. Lenses so long that they have to be supported on monopods and brackets are part of the standard kit, some of them painted in camouflage patterns. Fortunately, binoculars are available to rent for the day in the RSPB reception area.

I usually take photos of the trees and plant life as well as the birds, and in the undifferentiated greyed out textures of the day, I decided to make a game of it and concentrated on taking photos that might convert well to black and white instead. Some of the results are below. At the end of the afternoon a burst of sunshine broke through, painting one of the meres in pure gold, providing a lovely contrast to the darkening shadows.

Opening hours for RSPB Burton Mere and its cafe, together with other useful information, are on the RSPB website at https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/dee-estuary-burton-mere-wetlands.

My other posts about Burton Mere are on here on the blog, all of which can be found at https://basedinchurton.co.uk/category/rspb-burton-mere/

Pintail ducks

There were plenty of Redshanks to see, both wading in the silt and foraging in the grassy areas around the mere.

Redshanks in flight

Short video on the day, only 40 seconds, showing pintail ducks and redshanks very busily and noisily foraging in the grass on the edge of the mere. The sound at the end is someone entering the hide and walking across the wooden boards.

Cooling walks at RSPB Burton Mere on a seethingly hot day

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My third visit to the RSPB nature reserve at Burton Mere on the southwest Wirral was made particularly remarkable by the unprecedented and indeed record-breaking levels of heat in late June. Thankfully, Burton Mere offers an excellent balance of sunny board walks and leafy pathways and tracks, as well as cool hides, and there was a slight breeze from the Dee even where other areas locally were perfectly still. The reed beds and woodland walks were delightful on such a hot day, and there were two different types of wild orchid in flower, which were something of a treat. There were plenty of birds to see cooling down in the water, with the furthest hide, Border Hide, as busy with a wide range of wading birds as it had been on both my earlier visits. Apologies for the wildfowl photographs, which are at the absolute limit of the range of my camera lens. A full daily list of what has been spotted is always posted on the RSPB Burton Mere’s Facebook page to give an idea of what to look out for. I was particularly glad to see the avocets with their upward-curving beaks and distinctive black and white plumage. Avocets had become extinct as residential breeding birds in Britain prior to their reintroduction in 1947. According to the RSPB website, over half of those breeding in the UK today are still on managed wetland reserves. There were plenty of them at Burton Mere this week.

There were only a few other human visitors, and when I paused at the welcoming café on my way out, for a delicious latte and an ice cream at an outside table in the shade, I was in splendid isolation, accompanied only by a small jackdaw, which eyed my ice cream with all the optimism of one who is regularly fed by visitors. The heat has clearly deterred many visitors, but it was easy enough to avoid extensive periods of exposure to the sun. Because of the heat, taking water is a strongly recommended precaution, but if you forget to take your own the café sells bottled water as well as other cold drinks.

Visiting details can be found on the RSPB Burton Mere website here. If combined with the Ness Botanic Gardens, only 10 minutes away, this could make a good day out. Both have cafés for lunches and other refreshments, and both have plenty of parking.

My previous post about RSPB Burton Mere, with much better photographs of the bird life, is on the blog here.

Bee orchid

Southern marsh orchid

View across the marshes to Burton Point, where the purported hillfort is located on the RSPB land (look out for the sign posts)

My somewhat shaky video of the view from the Border Hide at Burton Mere, taken on my camera balanced on one of the Border Hide window sills. I love the cacophony of bird calls (just under 2 minutes long).

The small and rather puzzling Burton Point Iron Age promontory fort on the Wirral

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Burton Point from below

The earthworks at Burton Point have been consistently dated to the Iron Age, and the site has usually been described as a promontory hillfort. This post is about the prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval history of the site, with a particular focus on the Iron Age.

The footpath over the railway leading to the viewing platform in the wooded area within the RSPB wildlife reserve, and the earthworks below. Source: Google Maps

The site is located on a former promontory at the end of a headland at the western edge of the RSPB Burton Wetlands nature reserve. You may see older websites saying that Burton Point is on private land, but this has now changed and entry to the viewing point over the defences now simply requires a ticket via the RSPB reception area. The site is served by good footpaths and signposting and includes basic interpretation signage to give visitors some idea of what might have been there during the Iron Age. As the RSPB reserve is really excellent (I have written about it here) it makes for a great day out even for people who are not particular bird aficionados.

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the footpath in the above imgae

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the approach along the footpath from the RSPB reserve, highlighted in red

Do note that on the whole, there is not a lot to actually see. The Iron Age defences are on the other side of a fence, with notices not to cross the fence, so exploring the bank and ditch would be trespass. Even though you are overlooking the defences, it is not at all easy to make out what is going on. The other approach is to take the cycle track that runs near the base of Burton Point to try and get a look at it from below, but here again it is difficult to make out where the defences are located and how they would have been deployed to protect an Iron Age settlement. The best way to get a good look of the site is from above, and you can do this by viewing the Mister Drone UK video of the site, which is by far the most effective way of understanding the relationship between the different parts of the site and the modern landscape and former riverscape.

Archaeological phases

Between 2005 and 2006 the University of Chester undertook three field surveys: contour, topographical and geophysical, as well as a documentary review to track down any historical reference to the site in contemporary records. These were reported by Gary Crawford-Coupe in the Journal of Chester Archaeological Society in 2006.

As you can see in the 1689 map above, it was a very noticeable promontory, with the river channel running along its base, offering clear views upriver towards Chester, and downriver towards Hilbre Island, which we could see on the day. The visibility of Hilbre will depend to a great degree on the weather, but this was the hottest day of the year to date, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Opposite, on the Welsh side, is Flint Castle which, like Burton Point, is now set back from the river by a long margin of accumulated silt, but was right on the water’s edge when it was built in 1277.

The four main periods of archaeological evidence proposed for the site are Neolithic, Iron Age, Medieval and 17th century. The site was quarried extensively for red sandstone, which has caused changes to its appearance. These are discussed by Gary Crawford-Coupe’s 2006 paper, based on the University of Chester’s field surveys, which is the best source of collated information, and can be downloaded free of charge from the Archaeological Data Service (see Sources at the end).

Neolithic

View along the Dee Estuary to the northwest towards the coast from the former riverbed under Burton Point

Although there are scatters of Mesolithic lithic finds on the Wirral dating to the earlier and later Mesolithic, examples of which were found in the nearby village of Burton, there is nothing dating to this period at Burton Point. Three interesting finds dating to the Neolithic were, however, found, discussed in Crawford-Coupe’s paper. There were two arrowheads, one tanged and one transverse, and a polished axe head from Graig Lwyd in Penmaenmawr. Graig Lwyd axes were found over a wide area and represent a successful trading network.

Iron Age

The site

Fortification at Burton Point, consisting of a bank and ditch

The site has not been excavated so recognition of a site and its interpretation as an Iron Age promontory fort has mainly been a matter of the presence of a bank and ditch. The bank and ditch arrangement is referred to as a glacis type (in which the bank runs directly on a diagonal slope into the ditch). The site has produced no further late prehistoric information, and no diagnostic artefacts have been recovered although it should be noted that the lack of finds from the Iron Age in the Cheshire area is entirely typical. The main object type discovered from Iron Age sites is VCP (Very Coarse Pottery), a distinctive coarse pottery used for transporting salt, but none of this has been found at Burton Point to date. In spite of this lack of corroborating evidence, most of those who have inspected and commented on the site have been confident that this is indeed a small Iron Age promontory hillfort that could have supported a small population, perhaps little larger than an extended family. It was first registered as a Scheduled Monument in 1913 and in 1979 the schedule was modified to include a larger area.

Artist’s impression of Maiden Castle on Bickerton Hill, overlooking the Cheshire Plain to the west, which in an interesting experiment had a clear line of sight to Burton Point. Produced by the Habitats and Hillforts Project 2008-2012. Source: Sandstone Ridge Trust

There is good circumstantial evidence to suggest an Iron Age date for the Burton area. Burton Point was also well positioned for visual communication with contemporary sites, as discussed by David Matthews in 2006 and Erin Lloyd Jones in 2019. A 2011 experiment, the Hilltop Glow event, organized by the former Heather and Hillforts project, demonstrated that Burton Point and reported on the BBC (BBC News March 2011) was one of ten Iron Age hillfort sites (on the Clwydian Range, Halkyn Mountain, the mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, and at Burton Point) that determined which sites could be seen from one another when torches were lit. The BBC report of the experiment quoted Heather and Hilltops representative Erin Robinson, stating that Burton Point was visible as far away as Maiden Castle at Bickerton Hill, 25km /15.5 miles (shown above), as well as nearer sites on the Clwydian Range. Burton Point would also have been in the proximity of Iron Age sites 129 and 154 at Puddington Lane in nearby Burton Village, which confirm that a later Bronze Age and Iron Age presence were in this area. By boat, Iron Age settlements in both Chester and Meols would have been within easy reach: Iron Age settlement features were found during the excavations of the Roman amphitheatre in Chester; and at Meols a number of Iron Age finds, including coins, have lead to suggestions that Meols may have been a trading port with connections to both north and south along the coast at that time.

Burton Point LiDAR image from the Atlas of Iron Age of Britain and Ireland (EN3190). The line leading diagonally from northeast to southwest is the footpath leading to the viewing area.

There are however some features that remain puzzling. If this is supposed to be a settlement on a promontory, separated from the rest of the headland by a bank and ditch, it is remarkably difficult to understand its form from what remains, whether you are overlooking the site, looking up at it from below, or examining maps, LiDAR imaging or aerial photographs. This is partly due to quarrying and erosion, but also because it is impossible to walk over what remains of the site, which is fenced off. However, what may have been the Iron Age defences appear to be set below what remains of the headland. This means that the settlement on the promontory would have been lower than the headland behind it, a strategic disadvantage if the bank and ditch were defensive rather than merely statements of territory or prestige. On my first visit it seemed counter-intuitive that this was a promontory hillfort because the defences were only around 20ft above the river bed. Once the term “fort” is removed from the equation, it is still puzzling, and although a short stretch of bank and ditch were visible, they were below the level at which we were standing on the headland behind the defences, a few feet higher than the defences. Faint heart never won fair hillfort, so a few days later I parked up near the cycle track that runs around the base of Burton Point and had another look from what would have been the Dee riverbed, from where the headland clearly rises above the level of the defences. The Mister Drone footage and the above LiDAR image, which I found only later also indicate that the defences were below the headland behind it.

Even so, the bank and ditch may have been more symbolic than actually defensive. Speculating wildly, if the promontory was occupied for its views or as a trading point, the defences could have been built to control access to and exit from a specialized site. In this case, or any other function for the site (including domestic settlement) the bank and ditch could have had more to do with a statement of territoriality and prestige than any actual threat.

The surveys undertaken by the University of Chester (Crawford-Coupe 2005) were unable to provide definitive data to substantiate the proposed dating. The tangle of tree roots prevented any detection of sub-surface structures.

There are alternative suggestions. After his visit to inspect the site in November 1950, Professor A.W. Lawrence, thought that the earthworks represented quarry upcast prior to starting a new quarry (Historic England Research Records Monument No.67150). The same source puts forward the possibility that even if it is accepted that the bank and ditch are defensive, they could represent “a Dark Age Celtic Fort,” partly based on the possibility that the parish name Burton may be derived from Burh-tun, meaning “farm/dwelling by the fort.” The CHER record (9/1) mentions, without a reference, that “[i]t has been suggested that it maybe the military base of the Dane, Hingamund.”

The site continues to interest those researching the Iron Age and has been mentioned in subsequent reports on other sites, placing it in a wider regional context. As Crawford-Coupe points out, matters are unlikely to be clarified until an excavation takes place.

Composite map showing the distribution of Iron Age sites in northwest England and north Wales. Sources: I combined the two maps from Ritchie 2018 and Nevell 2025

Roman

For those wondering whether there may have been a Roman trading post or watchpost here, perhaps part of a network with Meols, both reasonable thoughts given the notable lines of sight on a clear day, a single Roman brooch was found (SMR-no.59). A single object cannot be extrapolated into a whole site or a particular set of activities but the discovery is still interesting, particularly as there was a find of another Roman brooch (SMR no.56), a fibula-type, in a field opposite Ness Gardens only 1.5 miles / 2.4 km away from Burton Point. I have not yet found a detailed account or image of either brooch.

Medieval use and quarrying

Flint Castle on the Dee Estuary, opposite Burton Point

After the site was abandoned in the Roman period, it is thought that it was used for stone quarrying by Edward I for Flint Castle, together with stone from Ness where Edward kept a small garrison. Most of the stone used for Flint Castle was yellow sandstone, that tends to look rather grey today, but red sandstone that could have been quarried from Burton Point and its vicinity was also used as infill and for some inner stonework.

Richard II’s Cheshire archers are thought to have embarked from Burton Point on the expedition to Ireland in 1399.

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

As has already been mentioned, in the Middle Ages the channel of the Dee is thought to have run up to the base of Burton Point, and there are various records of requests for access to the small headland for mooring, unloading and storage. The University of Chester survey published in 2006 noted a section of wall and some pavings, which may have had something to do with these requests, but it is all fairly ambiguous.

1732 map of the river Dee and estuary showing Burton Point. Source: sustainablebeach.co.uk

In 1889 it was reported that 29 burials were found, all interred orientated east to west, with no grave goods. An east-west burial is consistent with a Christian burial, but that does not narrow it down much. When the skeletal remains were examined, there were no marks to indicate how they died, which seems to rule out a Civil War explanation, but leaves the possibility of plague or shipwreck. A shipwreck was recorded for 1637. Shipwreck victims may or may not have incurred injuries during the wrecking of the ship, but plague would have left no signs at all and would be consistent with such a remote burial, unconnected with a church and consecrated land.

Final Comments

Imaginative reconstruction of how an Iron Age site may have looked

Given that no roundhouses or any indications of palisades have been found at the site, this information sign represents a profound act of imagination based loosely on structures found on other Iron Age sites in the general area.

Partly due to erosion and quarrying that have obliterated most of the site, and partly due to the position of the defences at a level lower than the main headland, the site is not particularly easy to understand as an Iron Age defended promontory settlement. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted as such, demonstrated by the University of Chester report published in 2006, and its inclusion in discussions of the Iron Age in the area, its presence on distribution maps of Iron Age sites and its inclusion on online Atlas of Iron Age Hillforts in Britain and Ireland. There do remain questions about the overall plan of the proposed late prehistoric settlement.

Sources

Books and papers

Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. 1. Introduction. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/1.html

Crawford-Coupe, Gary 2006. II. The Archaeology of Burton Point. Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, p.71-90
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_080/JCAS_ns_080_071-090.pdf

Gregory, Richard A. and Mark Adams with contributions by Denise Druce, Laura Griffin, Chris Howard-Davis, Gwladys Monteil, Elaine L. Morris, Rob Philpott, Ian Smith and Adam Tinsley 2019. Excavation at Two Cropmark Enclosures at Puddington Lane, Burton, Wirral, 2010–2015.
Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, 2019, p.1–69
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_089/JCAS_ns_089_001-070.pdf

Griffiths, David., Robert A. Philpott, Geoff Egan and contributors 2007. Meols, the Archaeology of the North Wirral Coast. Oxford University School of Archaeology: Monograph 68: Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford.
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/meols_sal_2007/downloads.cfm

Lloyd Jones, Erin 2019. Connections between the hillforts of the Clwydian Range and the wider landscape. Unpublished PhD, Bangor University
https://pure.bangor.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/22607372/2017_Jones_EL_PhD.pdf

Matthews, David J. 2006. Mapping hillfort intervisibility and its potential to define Iron Age tribal areas in the northern and mid Marches. Unpublished MA Thesis

Matthews, Keith J. 2001. The Iron Age of Northwest England: A socio-economic model. Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 76, p.1-51
https://www.academia.edu/900876/The_Iron_Age_of_North_West_England_A_Socio_Economic_Model

Morgan, Victorian and Paul Morgan 2004. Prehistoric Cheshire. Landmark Publishing

Nevell, Mike 2025. Northwest Regional Research Framework: Later Prehistory
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

Philpott, Robert A. and Mark H. Adams and contributors 2010. Irby, Wirral. Excavations on a Late Prehistoric Romano-British and Medieval site 1987-96. National Museums Liverpool

Ritchie, Matt 2018. A Brief Introduction to Iron Age Settlement in Wales. Internet Archaeology 48. https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/2/1.html

Silvester R.J. 2018. 4. North-east Wales and the Cheshire borderlands. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/toc.html

Wilmott, Tony and Dan Garner 2018. The Roman Amphitheatre of Chester, Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology. Oxbow Books

Websites

ARCHAEOdeath
The Archaeology of Burton Point: The Heritage Open Day at Burton Mere RSPB
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/16/the-archaeology-of-burton-point-the-heritage-open-day-at-burton-mere-rspb/

Atlas of Hillforts in Britain and Ireland
EN3190 – Burton Point. Gary Lock and Ian Ralston 2012-2016
https://tinyurl.com/mrxeu34s

Based In Churton
Exploring Maiden Castle Iron Age Hillfort, Bickerton Hill (mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge)
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-8Az
Sunshine, archaeology and great views at Caer Drewyn Iron Age hillfort at Corwen
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-4ft
Hillforts and amazing views – and why is there an Egyptian temple on the top of Moel Famau?
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-9dE
The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-7QS

BBC News
North Wales Hillfort Test of Iron Age Communication
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-11832323

Heritage Gateway
Historic England Research Records Monument Number 67150.
https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=67150&resourceID=19191

Historic England
Promontory fort on Burton Point 550m south west of Burton Point Farm
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1013298?section=official-list-entry

Mister Drone UK
Burton Point, Iron Age Fort Remains search by drone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9izFQLB148

Northwest Regional Resource
Introduction: The Later Prehistoric Resource. 1200BC-43AD. Compiled by Michael Nevell, with contributions.
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

A Sustainable Vision for Hoylake Beach
The Curious Case of the Cheesemongers (for the very useful 1732 map of the Wirral)
https://sustainablebeach.org.uk/index.php/evidence-and-data/library/the-curious-case-of-the-cheesemongers/

The view across to Wales from the foot of Burton Point

The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands

The RSPB wetland reserve

Greylag geese with their bright orange beaks at the RSPB’s Burton Mere

Several miles of wetland are enclosed within the RSPB reserve, which attract thousands of birds of many different species, with the river Dee invisible along the far edge of north Wales. The canalization of the Dee, completed in 1737, completely changed the environmental conditions of this part of the estuary, forcing the river to run along the Welsh edge of the estuary. The canalized channel of the Dee is not visible from the nature reserve, but the miles of wetland are lovely. There are huge expanses of pond and small lake, as well as flooded wetlands in the distance. On a bright day with blue skies overhead it is gorgeous. The reserve backs on to farmland at the rear, includes a woodland walk, and has a very attractive red sandstone railway bridge crossing the tracks below and even boasts the remains of an Iron Age hillfort which, if somewhat puzzling as an archaeological entity, has lovely views along the estuary towards Hilbre Island and across to north Wales.

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For bird watchers there is an enclosed viewing room where the ticket office is located, and throughout the reserve there are coverts and hides like the one above, all of them with benches, and all with windows suitable for both seated and standing visitors, and there are also viewing screens and viewing platforms dotted throughout.

For less specialist visitors there are some splendid wending walks through the reserve, where water-loving plant and tree species abound, many in flower or producing berries at this time of year, and all providing a myriad of colours and textures over a base of deep greens and rich browns, which provide excellent resources for insect life. The plants are so dense that where there is water running beneath boardwalks the water is scarcely visible.

The walks are all nice and even underfoot, many of the boardwalks coated in wire mesh to prevent them becoming slippery, and it is all beautifully maintained. Being located on the side of the estuary, the nature reserve is nearly all on the flat. All the main walks are wheelchair friendly, as are the hides and coverts. There are actually four miles of signposted walks, as well as the woodland walk, which takes about half an hour. There are plenty of benches dotted around for a moment of relaxation and contemplation. Burton Point, at the furthest end of the nature reserve, is a tiny headland, which involves walking a short way up a slight slope and an informal footpath, and offers some great views along the estuary. It is supposed to be the site of a small Iron Age promontory hillfort, but the evidence for this is difficult to see, although an interpretation sign does its best to offer a visualization of how it may have looked.

Even if you are not a regular bird watcher, the water birds are fascinating. There are plenty of information boards showing what you are likely to see, and there is a whiteboard in the reception area showing a list of what has been spotted on a given and previous days. Binoculars and cameras with enormous lenses (one of them in camouflage colours!) were very much in evidence and I soon found at why – my nice all-round lens, a 28-300mm zoom, was struggling desperately at its top end, and something much more powerful would have been helpful. Do note that you can hire or buy binoculars from the reception area to get a better view of what birdlife is spending its time on the wetlands. At this time of year the geese dominate, both in numbers and in voice. Their honking can be heard wherever you are in the reserve, even when you can’t see them, There were Canada and greylag geese in great numbers, and a handful of Egyptian geese sunbathing on the far side of one of the stretches of open water, but there are plenty of other species too.

Greylag geese at the RSPB's Burton Mere nature reserve

There was something distinctly conversational, and rather cross, going on here, and you should have heard the honking!

Of the smaller water birds, as well as the familiar moorhens, coots and mallards, there were gorgeous lapwings and a variety of small wading birds, with slender legs and long beaks, including a common sandpiper that was distinguished by its rusty coloured plumage. There were multiple grey herons looking like statues, waiting patiently for unsuspecting fish to swim by, and I spotted some tiny little fish in one of the ponds near the cafe which are presumably a popular part of the herons’ dietary intake. There must be lots of reed-loving birds hidden in the wetlands, successfully shielding themselves from prying eyes. There was apparently a spotted redshank, which was causing some excitement among the better informed bird watchers in one covert, but although I followed the directions that a father was giving his son (along the lines of – left of that greylag goose walking in front of that moorhen and then two back and one over) I was unable to spot it. Bird feeders dotted around were attracting blue tits and great tits in great numbers and there were pied wagtails in some of the many trees that line the edges of some of the paths. There’s an A-Z of bird species on the RSPB website.

One of many grey herons, on the hunt for unsuspecting fish

This is a super place to visit, and seasonal changes in bird and plant life mean that there will always be something new to see, and there are plenty of butterflies, bees, dragonflies, damsonfiles and other insects to observe if you look carefully. The grasshopper in the image below was particularly well camouflaged, and apparently there are sometimes lizards sunbathing in the sunnier patches. On Burton Point there are rabbit warrens, and according to some of the signage (much of it directed at children, but still informative to older visitors) the local animals have a vibrant night life.

Spot the grasshopper

Regarding the hillfort on the promontory, Burton Point, there are websites that say that the small headland on which the site is located is privately owned and should not be entered without permission, but this is in fact now included in the RSPB reserve and is served by good footpaths and includes interpretation signage to give visitors some idea of what was here. I’ll talk more about this site on a separate post.

Burton Point, a low promontory that overlooks the Dee estuary and is the possible site of an Iron Age Hillfort. In this photograph the footpath at far right leads into the woodland, where a vantage point looks down on the fortifications, but you can also see what remains of the fortifications at the far left of the photo where an earthwork is clearly visible

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Visiting the RSPB reserve

Meadow Brown butterfly beautifully camouflaged

The RSPB reserve is very easy to find, although if you rely on that Google SatNav, please note that mine, having been asked to find “RSPB Burton” informed us we had reached our destination before we had actually arrived. Fortunately, if you use the What3Words smartphone ap, which is stupendous (narrowing locations down to metre-sized locations) you can find it at ///readings.sideburns.handicaps. Other details can be found on the RSPB website which includes the address, postcode, as well as details of the current ticket price and full details about what the nature reserve offers the visitor: https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/dee-estuary-burton-mere-wetlands.

The RSPB site has been very well thought out, and is very welcoming. A single lane road from Puddington Lane has speed bumps and plenty of passing places, leading to a well-sized car park. Entrance is via a building with a look-out over the estuary. The entrance fee is £7.00 at the time of writing (July 2025), which helps to support the charity. There is a nice modern cafe on site, which sells tea, very good coffee, cold drinks and snacks. This is also where the toilets are located. There is a small shop next to the ticket desk that sells gifts, books and bird food.

I have been following the RSPB Burton reserve on Twitter for a couple of years, without ever having managed to get there, and every day they take a photograph of their whiteboard to give you an idea of what species have been observed recently so that you know what to look out for. You can find this at https://x.com/RSPB_BurtonMere. There is a placeholder for them on Bluesky but no content just yet.

I rarely give an opinion about wheelchair use, but there were actually several wheelchairs users out and about today. It would not be possible to get wheelchairs up to the Burton Point hill fort, or navigate them down one or two of the little tracks that run at the back of the reserve, but all of the coverts and hides are wheelchair friendly and, for both wheelchair users and children, the viewing windows extend from low to high for both seated and standing visitors. The same comments go for those with unwilling legs.

Dogs are not permitted, and nor are drones.