CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 4TH NOVEMBER 2017

WIRRAL
New Brighton Marine Lake
7 Purple Sandpiper.

Burton RSPB
Egyptian Geese x3 Behind Reedbed
Marsh Harrier x2 Over Reedbed
Knot x5 Main Scrape
Dunlin x15 Main Scrape
Sparrowhawk Back Of Main Scrape
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide
Kingfisher Marsh Covert Hide
Cattle Egret x2 Bridge Screen Pool
Avocet x4 Bridge Screen Pool
Greenshank IMF
Water Rail IMF
Whooper Swan x5 Burton Marsh
Great Egret x4 Burton Marsh

Water Pipit x2

Parkgate
3 Hen Harrier-1 Grey Male.
Thurstaston
Scaup (fem) in channel and 270 Pintail.


Heswall-Riverbank Road
Great White Egret.

Birkenhead Docks
Caspian Gull-2ND Winter

CHESHIRE
Maw Green Landfill Site
Hawfinch in with Thrush flock.

Marbury Country Park
Hawfinch-2 in the Arboretum.

MEGAS IN BRITAIN
PACIFIC DIVER-Probable returning adult today though distant-Marazion-Cornwall.

PIED BILLED GREBE-Setter Marsh-Loch Of Spiggie-Mainland-Shetland.

           

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 3RD NOVEMBER 2017

WIRRAL
Leasowe Lighthouse
Siberian Chiffchaff-by duck pond,327 Great Crested Grebe,Peregrine and 2 Red-breasted Merganser.

Hilbre
20,000 Common Scoter,18 Red-throated Diver,199 Brent Geese,8 Eider and a Purple Sandpiper.

Red Rocks
Cetti's Warbler and 150 Chaffinch.

Hoylake Shore
Mediterranean Gull.

Heswall
580 Pink-footed Geese,3500 Shelduck,230 Pintail,Female Scaup,8 Red-breasted Merganser and 800 Black-tailed Godwit.

Burton Marsh
5+ Great White Egret and 2 Whooper Swan.

Burton RSPB
Goldcrest Behind New Toilet Block
Sparrowhawk Island Main Scrape
Avocet x4 Bridge Screen Pool
Cattle Egret x2 Bridge Screen Pool
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide
Water Rail End Of Boardwalk
Bullfinch x3 All By Wooden Bridge To IMF
Merlin Burton Marsh From Viewpoint
Marsh Harrier Burton Marsh From Viewpoint
Great Egret x7 Burton Marsh From Viewpoint
Whooper Swan x5 Burton Marsh From Viewpoint
Kingfisher Marsh Covert Hide
Golden Plover x107 IMF
Stonechat x2
Water Rail
Ruff X3

CHESHIRE

Brereton-St Oswalds Church yard

1 Hawfinch.

Marbury Country Park

Hawfinch-Reported in the arboretum yesterday.

Nantwich
Hawfinch-Flew SSE over Acton.

            

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 2ND NOVEMBER 2017

WIRRAL
Burton RSPB
Kingfisher Ditch By Wooden Bridge To IMF
Cattle Egret x2 IMF
Ruff x4 IMF
Whooper Swan x5 Burton Marsh
Great Egret x5 Burton Marsh
Marsh Harrier x2 Burton Marsh
Pink-Footed Geese x4000+ Burton Marsh
Barn Owl From Burton Point (In D Shape Barn)
Avocet x3 Bridge Screen Pool
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide

Water Rail Marsh Covert Hide

Heswall Marsh

Great White Egret.

Denhall Quay
2 Marsh Harrier,3 Short-eared Owl,Merlin,2 Hen Harrier (grey male and ringtail)  and a Great White Egret.


Parkgate
Great White Egret and 3 Hen Harrier.

CHESHIRE
Rostherne Mere
Hawfinch-In Church field.

Sandbach Flashes
Great white egret-Railway Flash.

MEGAS IN BRITAIN
COMMON ROCK THRUSH-Adult male still showing well in third quarry; park on the road northwest of Lamb and Fox Pub at c.SO244119 then walk NNE along the footpath for c.1.2km-Pwll-du-Gwent.

PIED BILLED GREBE-Loch Feorlin-Argyll.
              


            

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 1ST NOVEMBER 2017

WIRRAL
Burton RSPB
Marsh Harrier x3 Burton Marsh
Great Egret x5 Burton Marsh
Goldcrest Burton Point
Cattle Egret IMF
Hen Harrier Over IMF
Sparrowhawk Over IMF
Pintail Border Pool
Green Sandpiper x2 Bridge Screen Pool
Avocet x4 Bridge Screen Pool
Great-Crested Grebe Bridge Screen Pool
Kingfisher Marsh Covert Hide
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide
Water Rail Reedbed Screen
Merlin Tree Marsh Covert Wood
Barn Owl Bird crop Field By Viewpoint (Top Field)
Merlin x2
Kingfisher
Green Winged Teal Marsh Covert Hide
Ruff X10 IMF

Hilbre
8 Purple Sandpiper and 12 Eider.


Heswall
140 Pintail,2 Marsh Harrier,2 Peregrine,Merlin,111 Golden Plover,430 Lapwing,400 Dunlin,900 Knot,2000 Redshank,3 Greenshank,1200 Black-tailed Godwit,45 Bar-tailed Godwit and 570 Curlew.


Denhall Quay
3 Great White Egret,Short-eared Owl and a Hen Harrier (ringtail).

Parkgate
2 Hen Harrier (grey male and ringtail).

Burton Marsh
4 Short-eared Owl,2 Marsh Harrier,Hen Harrier,Raven,Great White Egret, Merlin,2 Stonechat and c700 Fieldfare.

CHESHIRE

Brereton-St Oswalds Church yard

1 Hawfinch.

MEGAS IN BRITAIN
COMMON ROCK THRUSH-Adult male still showing well in third quarry; park on the road northwest of Lamb and Fox Pub at c.SO244119 then walk NNE along the footpath for c.1.2km-Pwll-du-Gwent.

              

BRITAINS RELENTLESS PERSECUTION OF BIRDS OF PREY REVEALED

The new Birdcrime 2016–the sole report summarising offences against birds of prey in the UK–reveals 40 shootings, 22 poisonings, 15 trappings and four other incidents of illegal persecution against raptors. Among the victims were Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcons, Red Kites and Common Buzzards. The evidence suggests these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, with many illegal killings going undetected or unreported, often seemingly through active concealment.CLICK ON LINK

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 31ST OCTOBER 2017

WIRRAL
Burton RSPB
Cattle Egret Border Pool
Pintail x2  Border Pool
Great Crested Grebe Border Pool
Great Egret x5 Burton Marsh
Whooper Swan x4 Burton Marsh
Water Rail Reeds End Of Boardwalk
Grey Wagtail Near Marsh Covert
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide
Kingfisher Marsh Covert Hide
Avocet x9 Bridge Screen Pool
Jack Snipe x6
Mediterranean Gull Main Scrape
Marsh Harrier Over Reedbed
Spotted Redshank IMF
Water Pipit

Red Rocks
Cetti's Warbler, 120 Fieldfare plus hundreds of finches.

Parkgate
Hen Harrier (ringtail).

CHESHIRE

Brereton-St Oswalds Church yard

5 Hawfinch.

Hale

Hawfinch-Flew south over Hale Shore and across the River Mersey this morning.

Moulton

Hawfinch-Over this morning. 

MEGAS IN BRITAIN
COMMON ROCK THRUSH-Adult male still showing well in third quarry; park on the road northwest of Lamb and Fox Pub at c.SO244119 then walk NNE along the footpath for c.1.2km-Pwll-du-Gwent.

STEPPE GREY SHRIKE-Showing well on the moor near the road junction at c.HU575664-Vaivoe-Whalsey.

WILSONS SNIPE-Still at Porth Hellick pool-St Mary's-Isles Of Scilly.

                

HAWFINCH IRRUPTION IN CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL-2017

Hawfinches are one of Britain's scarcest birds and have been seen in mass numbers over the last two weeks due to an influx from Europe. While hurricane Ophelia was spinning anti-clockwise off the west coast of Europe, it was sucking a stream of warm air northwards towards Britain, which has drawn the hawfinches heading for their breeding grounds in Central Europe to the Mediterranean over to Britain. The irruption started in the southeast of England, and numbers have now reached nearly 500 reports, as you can see from the graph below from Birdtrack. 

Historically, seeing a hawfinch in Cheshire and Wirral is a very scarce spectacle. Even though birds are reported annually, they are usually single observer sightings that are flyovers never to be seen again. The last hawfinch that most Cheshire and Wirral birders connected with was the long-staying bird at Marbury Country Park in January 2009.

         THIS BIRD WAS PRESENT AROUND MARBURY PARK UNTIL EARLY MARCH

(C)P.WOOLLEN

The first sighting of our counties influx was seen on the morning of the 14th October at Bidston Moss nature reserve on the Wirral by Elliot Montieth, which again was a flyover bird. As the days went by, other sightings were recorded in the county, as the map shows below.

26 HAWFINCHES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL SINCE THE 14TH OCTOBER

With all the sightings of Hawfinches being flyover birds, news broke on Sunday that five birds had been found around a churchyard at St. Oswald's in Brereton. I couldn't make it to see the birds on Sunday, but I did connect with them today. 

PHOTOS BY MALC Curtòn 

AND PHIL LOCKER

PHOTO OF THE WEEK 24TH OCTOBER-31ST OCTOBER 2017

CLICK ON LINK

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF RARE BIRDS THIS WEEK IN BRITAIN-25TH-31ST OCTOBER 2017

REVIEW OF THE WEEK CLICK ON LINK

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 30TH OCTOBER 2017

WIRRAL
Burton RSPB
Bullfinch x2 Along Path To IMF
Golden Plover IMF
Cattle Egret IMF
Great Egret x5 Burton Marsh
Marsh Harrier x3 Burton Marsh
Kingfisher Marsh Covert Hide
Cetti`s Warbler Marsh Covert Hide
Reed Bunting Marsh Covert Hide
Ruff x5 Marsh Covert Hide
Linnet x25+ Railway Bridge
Avocet x4 Main Scrape
Pink-Footed Geese Main Scrape

Burton Marsh

3 Short-eared Owl,2 Marsh Harrier,Merlin.

Red Rocks

Cetti's Warbler,10 Brambling and 385 Chaffinch.

CHESHIRE
Astbury Mere
Hawfinch-1 Over south.

Brereton-St Oswalds Church yard

5 Hawfinch.

Pickerings Pasture

Yellow browed warbler-One calling and seen briefly in trees on United Utilities' path-Pickerings pasture.

MEGAS IN BRITAIN

COMMON ROCK THRUSH-Adult male still showing well in third quarry; park on the road northwest of Lamb and Fox Pub at c.SO244119 then walk NNE along the footpath for c.1.2km-Pwll-du-Gwent.

               

OFFICIAL LIST OF BRITISH BIRDS INCREASES BY EIGHT SPECIES TO A HEADY 610 IN 2016

There was an age of birdwatching innocence when the only way to hear if things were about was by calling a quaint Norfolk tearoom.CLICK ON LINK

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS AND UK MEGAS 29TH OCTOBER 2017

WIRRAL
Leasowe
Melodious Warbler on Lingham Lane near bridge,Yellow-browed Warbler near duck pond,7 Fieldfare and a Kingfisher.

Heswall
132 Pintail,87 Golden Plover,515 Lapwing,350 Knot,3000 Redshank,2 Greenshank,500 Black-tailed Godwit and 67 Fieldfare flew West.

Wallasey
Leach's Petrel.

Burton RSPB

Water Rail IMF
Whooper Swan x7 IMF
Pintail Border Pool
Kingfisher Reedbed Screen
Cattle Egret Marsh Covert Hide
Ruff x5 Marsh Covert Hide
Great Egret Flew Over Scrape
Marsh Harrier Immature Over Reedbed
Linnet x30+ By Railway Bridge
Fieldfare Near Railway Bridge
Green Woodpecker By Railway Bridge
Short-Eared Owl x5 Burton Marsh
Mediterranean Gull x2 IMF

Curlew Sandpiper IMF

Denhall Quay

7 Short-eared Owl,Great White Egret,2 female Marsh Harrier,13 Snipe and a Ruff. 

CHESHIRE

Hale

5 Great White egrets and a Hawfinch over Lighthouse land.2 Water pipits on Carr Lane pools.

Brereton-St Oswalds Church yard

5 Hawfinch.

Mollington

Firecrest-Female again in private garden.

Bickerton Hill

Hawfinch-2 in Churchyard.

Appleton Thorn

Hawfinch-3 a in bush on farm north of B5356 near village then flew high southwest. 

MEGAS IN BRITAIN

COMMON ROCK THRUSH-Adult male still showing well in third quarry; park on the road northwest of Lamb and Fox Pub at c.SO244119 then walk NNE along the footpath for c.1.2km-Pwll-du-Gwent.