CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS & UK(MEGAS)

June 18th

National Mega News

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

3 Spotted Sandpiper and a Eurasian Spoonbill- Still on Centenary Pool from Border Hide-Burton RSPB

June 17th

National Mega News

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Garganey-No3 bed-Woolston Eyes-Permit Only

c40 Swift over inland fields - Leasowe Lighthouse.

Hobby in off the sea - Dove Point, Meols.

June 16th

National Mega News

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Common Quail- Three singing still in the wheat field opposite Burnt Mill Farm and two Channel wagtail-Within way-Hale

Curlew Sandpiper-Still on Centenary Pool from Border Hide-Burton RSPB

Ruddy Shelduck-One on River Mersey viewed west from Halfway House-Norton Marsh

June 14th

National Mega News

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Common Quail- Two singing still in the wheat field opposite Burnt Mill Farm and two Channel Wagtail-Within way-Hale

Curlew Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank-Burton RSPB

Eurasian Spoonbill-Four on Frodsham Score viewed distantly from Hale Head Lighthouse-Channel Wagtail-Singing male in potato field at end of Within Way viewed from River Mersey footpath-Hale

June 14th

National Mega News

Bridled Tern-One briefly over scrape then flew south out to sea-Minsmere RSPB-Suffolk

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Western Sandpiper

(c)Owen Parsons

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Common Quail- One singing still in the wheat field opposite Burnt Mill Farm-Hale

Curlew Sandpiper-Still on Centenary Pool from Border Hide-Burton RSPB

June 13th

National Mega News

Bridled Tern-Coquet Island-Northumberland

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Western Sandpiper

(c)Owen Parsons

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Curlew Sandpiper-Still on Centenary Pool from Border Hide-Burton RSPB

Woodchat Shrike- Still on pylon by Bridgewater Canal at 53.3305, -26520; park in housing estate near Norton Station Road, Runcorn (WA76RG), and walk east along Red Brow Lane to reach canal towpath.

Woodchat Shrike

(c)Elliot Montieth

June 12th

National Mega News

Bridled Tern-Ythan Estuary-Aberdeenshire

Western Sandpiper-Maidens-Ayrshire

Western Sandpiper

(c)Owen Parsons

Cheshire and Wirral Bird News

Common Quail- One singing still in the wheat field opposite Burnt Mill Farm-Hale

Woodchat Shrike- Still on pylon by Bridgewater Canal at 53.3305, -26520; park in housing estate near Norton Station Road, Runcorn (WA76RG), and walk east along Red Brow Lane to reach canal towpath.

Woodchat Shrike

(c)Elliot Montieth

SCOTLAND ODONATA WEEKEND DAY 3 and 4

Day 3

After successfully seeing all our desired Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), the focus shifted to birding and observing other wildlife during the trip.

Osprey

Black Throated Diver

Small White Orchid

New Moths recorded in the three nights we trapped:

A great weekend ended so quickly, and all target species were seen. 

Day 4

I said my goodbyes and left the accommodation at 10.00am this morning after a superb weekend and headed south, calling in at Maidens in Ayrshire on the way home. There has been a Western sandpiper here since November 2024, having masqueraded as a 'Little Stint'. My plan was to see it on Thursday, but those plans had changed. 

On arrival, the weather was terrible; it was raining, so I held out in the car till it passed. I went looking for the bird, but there was no sign of it, so I started to head home. Half an hour later, I got a phone call from Dan that it's back in the harbour! There was a quick turnaround, and it was running around in front of me.

Western Sandpiper

The bird has some kind of parasite problem around the bill area, and the bird is clearly in distress, with blood around its neck and throat. A nice bird to see anyway, anyway, I eventually got home just after 9.00pm after a cracking weekend.

SCOTLAND ODONATA WEEKEND DAY 2

After opening the moth traps this morning and catching some good moths for the area, we headed north under the sun beaming down on us to our first stop, Beinn Eighe in the Highlands.

Beinne Eighe

After arriving on-site, we crossed the peatland, and it wasn't long before I spotted my first Northern Emerald darting past me. Eventually, one landed on the heather, and Dan captured a fantastic photograph of it basking in the sun.

Listed as Near Threatened in the British Odonata Red List 2008. The Northern Emerald is restricted to north-west Scotland, where its known range has increased since about 1990.

Other Odonata on site we saw were:

Golden Ringed Dragonfly

Common Hawker

Target number two on our list: Surely, the Azure Hawker wouldn't be that hard to find. We continued along the road, and our next stop was the Bridge of Grudie. What a place this was! The scenery was absolutely stunning. Now, all we needed to do was find the Hawkers.

River Bran

We all split up when we arrived, and the search began. I walked along the riverbank and found a spot to cross. Soon, I came across some peat pools. At first, I noticed a White-faced darter dragonfly zoom past me before it landed, and then another one flew around the pool.

White-faced darter

Just as I had taken the top photograph and was putting down my camera, a Hawker zoomed in from over the heather. It was an Azure Hawker, and then another one appeared. They flew around for a while while I frantically tried to make phone calls to the others. I watched the two of them for a good five minutes; then, one flew north and right out of view. Unbelievably, the other one landed on my moth net. I took a few shots with my camera, hoping they would be in focus.

Azure Hawker

Listed as Vulnerable in the British Odonata Red List 2008.Found only in Scotland, with a scattered distribution in the Highlands.

Dan eventually arrived, and the Azure provided us with a great performance, but it never landed as we all watched it fly high over the river. Amazing! All target species were recorded in less than 24 hours.

Me and Phil, after seeing the Azure Hawker.

The early afternoon unfolded as we gathered around Glen Torridon for lunch, surrounded by breathtaking scenery.

Glen Torridon

After leaving Glen Torridon, the search for Brilliant Emeralds at Loch Bran proved unsuccessful, with only Downy Emeralds being seen in good numbers. Despite spending several hours looking, the target species was not found. 

An Osprey was also seen and a Juvnile Crested Tit in the area.

Osprey

Crested Tit

After a long day, we headed back to the accommodation, shattered.

SCOTLAND ODONATA WEEKEND DAY 1

I organised a trip last year with Dan Pointon to try and see Scotland's "big three" odonata: the White-faced Darter, Azure Hawker, and Northern Emerald. These three species are notable because they are mostly found in peatland habitats in Scotland, with the Azure Hawker and Northern Emerald primarily located in the northern part of the country. I had previously seen White-faced Darter, so my goal was to try and see a Northern damselfly.

As the weekend approached, the weather wasn't looking great for observing Odonata, but thankfully, it improved, and we were able to go on the trip as planned.

I left the house mid-morning and drove north, planning to see a long-staying Western Sandpiper in Ayrshire. However, news broke that a Bridled Tern had been found in the tern colony on the Ythan Estuary in Aberdeenshire. There was also a Broad-billed Sandpiper present from a few days prior, along with an Iberian Chiffchaff further south, so I decided to change my plans.

Let the weekend begin!

I arrived at Tentsmuir in Fife early in the afternoon and took the short walk to where the bird had been seen, meeting up with two other birders.

Tentsmuir

It wasn’t long before the Iberian Chiffchaff started to sing and eventually showed itself at the top of the pine trees.

Best shot I could get of the Iberian Chiffchaff

After enjoying some great views of the bird, I heard news that the Bridled Tern was still present, so I headed north. A couple of hours later, I arrived on site and met up with Dan and Owen Parsons, who was working in Inverness. They greeted me with the unfortunate news that the bird had flown out to sea! Fortunately, by the time I reached the shoreline overlooking the tern colony, the bird had returned and was resting on the beach.

What a bird and only my second for Britain

After enjoying good views of the bird, we made our way further down the estuary in search of the Broad-billed sandpiper. However, due to time constraints and with no sighting of the bird, I had to let this one go as I wanted to get to our accommodation. Fatigue was starting to set in.

Dan, being Dan, called me while we were driving and said, "I reckon we should give these Northern damselflies a try before we head back." I replied, "Go on then, we'll give it a go." Upon our arrival, we parked the cars and walked into a small clearing, where there was a small pool. As soon as we reached the end of the boardwalk, we managed to spot one resting on a reed.

“Spades” symbol marking at the top of the abdomen

Northern Damselfly on the list! Listed as Endangered in the British Odonata Red List 2008. This species is restricted in the UK to the Scottish Highlands.

We had one of our target species on the list and two to go. Next, we headed to our accommodation in Boat of Garten, Cairngorms, where we met Mr. Stoke-On-Trent, Phil Jones, who had already ordered us food. What a star!

After eating, we headed out with our moth traps and set them in place for the night's catch.

Dan and Phil, setting up the traps

What a day, bring on tomorrow.