DAILY ROUND-UP OF ALL THE LATEST BIRD SIGHTINGS FROM ACROSS CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL

Daily round-up of all the latest bird sightings from across Cheshire and Wirral

10th Sept

Caspian Gull-Widnes-1st-winter at WSR Recycling Centre, Ditton Road (WA8 

Eurasian Spoonbill-Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB-14 still at Bevyl Road Flash

 

9th Sept

Leach's Storm Petrel-2 past-Leasowe

Leach's Storm Petrel and a Fulmar-New Brighton-One on River Mersey

Leach's Storm Petrel-2 past and a Manx Shearwater-Wallasey

Leach's Storm Petrel-6 past and 2 Arctic Skuas-Hilbre Island

Leach's Storm Petrel

(c) Alan Hitchmough

Arctic Skua

(c) Alan Hitchmough

Great Northern Diver-Perch Rock-New Brighton

Little Stint-Meols-Juvenile still off Holylake Promenade

Slavonian Grebe-Acre Nook Sand Quarry-Adult still; also Black-necked Grebe still

 

5400 Black-tailed Godwit - Caldy Wildfowl Collection.

8th Sept

18 (16 juveniles)-Curlew Sandpiper-Still on the River Mersey east of Hale Head Lighthouse; also 3 Little Stints-Hale

1200 Shelduck, 4250 Oystercatcher, 80 Ringed Plover, 65 Dunlin, 2 Juv Curlew, Sandpiper, 4 Turnstone, Ruff, 2 Whimbrel, 1100 Curlew, 3700 Redshank, and an Adult female Hen Harrier-Over high tide - Heswall Shore.

12 Leach's Petrels,14 Manx Shearwaters, Arctic Skua - Hilbre.

(c)Steve Williams

Little Stint at Dove Point-But distant - Meols Shore.

14 Spoonbills, Water Rail, 10 Greenshank & Ruff-Boathouse flash.  

Green Sandpiper-Donkey Stand flash-Parkgate.

7th Sept

11 Brent Geese-This evening - Hilbre.

14 Spoonbills, Little Grebe, Water Rail, 3 Ruff and 14 Greenshanks-On Boathouse Flash - Parkgate.

Osprey- Tatton Park- one over Tatton Mere

Spotted Redshank-Acre Nook Sand Quarry-Four briefly, then flew high west

Curlew Sandpiper- 15+- on River Mersey off Hale Head Lighthouse; also 4 Little Stints still-Hale

6th Sept

5 Stonechats- Along the fence by coastal paddocks - Leasowe Lighthouse.

9 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 2 Whimbrels and a Little Stint-By Little Eye - Hilbre.

Ruddy Shelduck-Widnes-Drake still on River Mersey mudflats off Spike Island

 

Caspian Gull-Widnes-1st-winter on River Mersey sandbank west of old Runcorn Bridge

Little Stint-Hilbre Island-One by Little Eye then flew south this morning

Slavonian Grebe-Acre Nook Sand Quarry-Adult; also Common Scoter

 

Black Tern-Marbury CP-Three Juveniles still at Budworth Mere; use Marbury Country Park car park (CW9 6AT; parking fees apply)

Short-eared Owl-Hale-One from lighthouse

Curlew Sandpiper-Hale-31+ still on River Mersey off Hale Head Lighthouse this morning; also 5 Little Stints

Black Tern-Marbury CP-Two juveniles still at Budworth Mere; use Marbury Country Park car park (CW9 6AT; parking fees apply)

5th Sept

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and 5 Whimbrels - Thurstaston Shore.

Leach's Petrel- At 08.30am - Hilbre.

Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Ruff, Spotted Redshank, 5 Greenshank, 2 Water Rail and 13 Spoonbills-At Boathouse flash - Parkgate.

4 Curlew Sandpipers-Hoylake Shore.

Curlew Sandpiper-Hale-21+ still on River Mersey off Hale Head Lighthouse this morning; also 3 Little Stints

Ruddy Shelduck-Widnes-Drake still on River Mersey mudflats off Spike Island

4th Sept

Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint; 2 skuas-Flew west (probably Arctic) - Meols Shore.

2 Leach's Petrels and an Osprey-Headed south-Leasowe Gunsite

2 Black Tern-Acre Nook Sand Quarry

2 Black-necked Grebe-Woolston Eyes NR (permit only)(Adult and Juvenile)-Still on west cell of No. 4 Bed from viewing platform yesterday, but distant and elusive; reserve open from 08:00-20:00, permit and key obtainable at www.woolstoneyes.com

3rd Sept 

Baird's Sandpiper (Adult) showing well, also 3 Curlew Sandpipers and a Juvenile Little Stint - Meols Shore.

Baird's Sandpiper 

(c) Sean O'Hara

12 Spoonbills, Ruff, Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Greenshanks-At boathouse flash - Parkgate.

Juvenile Pomarine Skua-Flew west this afternoon; also Arctic Skua, 3 Little Stints- In wader flock this afternoon - Hoylake.

Curlew Sandpiper-Hale-15-On River Mersey off Hale Head Lighthouse this evening; also Little Stint

Black Tern-Marbury CP-Two Juveniles still off Kid Brook spit at Budworth Mere; use Marbury Country Park car park (CW9 6AT; parking fees apply)

2nd Sept

Curlew Sandpiper-Meols-Two Juveniles off Dove Point

 

Black Tern-Marbury CP-Juvenile still at Budworth Mere; use Marbury Country Park car park (CW9 6AT; parking fees apply)

Eurasian Spoonbill-Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB-16 still at Boathouse Flash

 

Little Stint-Meols-Juvenile-Again showing well on beach below Roman Road

Curlew Sandpiper-Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB-Two Juveniles-At Boathouse Flash; also Juvenile Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank

1st Sept

Little Stint-Showing well off Roman Road again this morning, and at Hoylake at high tide - Meols Shore.

Common Redstart (Female) - Hoylake Langfields.

Curlew Sandpiper-Hale-10 on River Mersey off Hale Head Lighthouse

 

Black Tern-Marbury CP-Still on post at Budworth Mere; use Marbury Country Park car park (CW9 6AT; parking fees apply)

Little Stint-Meols-One still off Roman Road

LONG-TAILED SHRIKE-EASTLEACH MARTIN-GLOUCESTERSHIRE-54 DAYS ON

I last visited this site back in July, shortly after the Long-tailed Shrike first turned up, and with my accommodation only around 30 minutes away, I decided to call in again this afternoon.

The bird, a 1st-summer male, has now been present for an incredible 54 days and has undergone its summer moult, giving it a more adult appearance.

I was pretty overwhelmed by the bird this afternoon. It was showing exceptionally well, often down to just a few metres, and seemed completely unconcerned by the number of birders gathered to watch it.

It was also very active, spending plenty of time hunting and catching beetles and crickets before returning to its favoured perches. Watching it hunting at such close range gave some superb views of its behaviour.

The bird clearly seems to have become accustomed to the crowds by now and showed little sign of being bothered by the people watching it. It simply carried on feeding and going about its business.

Having last seen it back in July, it was great to return and see the bird again, particularly now that it has moulted.

The combination of the close views, active hunting and the bird's relaxed behaviour made for a really memorable afternoon with this remarkable rarity.

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF THE WEEK:1ST-6TH SEPTEMBER 2026

An active jet stream and a series of low-pressure systems arriving off the Atlantic Ocean meant it was another excellent week for west-coast seawatchers and transatlantic wader arrivals, while there were still decent numbers of continental migrants kicking about after late August's big arrival. As it so often does during September, Shetland delivered a bombshell over the weekend. Strap in, autumn is here …Read more>

EGYPTIAN NIGHTJAR-POOL OF VIRKIE-SHETLAND

As I mentioned in my post this morning, I had just spent some time watching an elusive Wryneck at Portland in Dorset before heading back to the Observatory. I found myself sitting in the Observatory garden with Dave Morton and Martin Cabe, enjoying a brew and chatting about the day's birding. We were also planning to get our moth traps out that night, as the winds were turning south-easterly and everything looked really good for a decent night of migration.

Then Dave mentioned something that had caught his attention. A European Nightjar in Malta had recently been identified as an individual of the East Asian subspecies plumipes. Even more interestingly, this raised the significant possibility that Britain's only accepted record of Egyptian Nightjar from Dorset in June 1984 could actually have been this form of European Nightjar. 

Well, that got us talking. We sat there discussing Egyptian Nightjar, the old Dorset record and just how incredible it would be to see one in Britain again. Then, completely out of the blue, Dan Pointon texted me.

“Egyptian Nightjar, Pool of Virkie, Shetland!” HOLY SH*T.

We had literally just been sitting there talking about the species, and now an Egyptian Nightjar had just been found in Britain. Utter madness!

The bird had originally been flushed from Roger Riddington's driveway as he was leaving his house. It then disappeared for about an hour before being relocated on the beach rocks next to his house. That was enough for me. Panic immediately set in. I went straight onto the Loganair website, booked a flight, said my goodbyes, and I was off, heading north!

The Nightjar stayed there all afternoon, roosting, before eventually flying west at around 10:30pm and disappearing from view. I knew this was always going to be the problem; a bird like this wasn't going to hang around forever, and the chances of it returning to exactly the same roosting spot seemed pretty remote. But there was no way I wasn't going. This was a total blocker. I simply had to go.

Once home, I managed to get my head down for a few hours, knowing my flight from Glasgow wasn't until 10:00am the following morning. At 3:00am I left Holmes Chapel and met up with Dan Pointon at Lymm Services in Warrington. I jumped in his car, and we headed north towards Glasgow. As we travelled north, dawn started breaking over the mountains of the Lake District, and then the news came through: the bird was still there. Even better, it had returned to the beach, just a few metres from where it had been the previous evening, and was sitting there roosting. Unbelievable! The euphoria in the car was something else. All we needed now was for it to stay there until we arrived.

The news was quickly passed around to everyone else heading north, with birders travelling from all over the country to try and connect with this incredible bird. The forecast for Shetland was awful: torrential rain and strong winds. For once, we were praying for terrible weather! We just wanted that bird to stay put.

Finally, Shetland. The flight went really well and, as we approached the islands, the excitement was building. Shetland's finest, Phil Harris, Matt Willmott, Roger Riddington and Paul Harvey, were keeping an eye on the bird for us, and then came the news we desperately wanted: it was still there. We landed in absolutely atrocious weather. Driving rain and strong winds were sweeping across Shetland, but there was no hanging around. Paul Harvey picked me, Dan and Fred Fearne up, and we headed straight for the bird.

When we arrived, Phil Harris and Matt Willmott already had the telescope on it for us. A massive thank you to both of them. They had been standing out there in the driving rain and wind, absolutely soaked through, making sure the bird was still there for everyone arriving. And then I looked through the scope.

There it was. Egyptian Nightjar. What a bird!

(c)Simon King

(c)Ash Howe

The bird was just sitting on the beach rocks and had even worked its way underneath a boulder to shelter from the rain. By now everyone had arrived. Certain birds on the British List have almost mythical status, and the Egyptian Nightjar has always been one of them. It is one of those species you talk about, dream about and wonder whether you'll ever actually see in Britain. And somehow, unbelievably, we were all standing there together watching one.

We made it! What a bird!

(C) Adrian Webb

Previous Sightings

The first British record dates all the way back to 23 June 1883, when a bird was shot at Thieves Wood near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. Gamekeeper Albert Spinks collected it, and it eventually joined the collection of Joseph Whitaker, now widely regarded as the “Father of Nottinghamshire Ornithology”. That bird became a famous part of Nottinghamshire's birding history.

The Egyptian Nightjar is in the Mansfield Library

Then, over 100 years later, came the Dorset bird.

On 10 June 1984, an Egyptian Nightjar was seen by a single observer at Portland Bill. For decades it was accepted as Britain's second record, but now, following the identification of the plumipes European Nightjar in Malta, there are questions about whether that Dorset bird really was an Egyptian Nightjar at all.

After many an hour watching the bird, we eventually had to leave to get the Northlink ferry home. I had some tea on the boat and a celebratory pint with the lads and watched the sun go down after an epic trip.

I then slept till I was woken in the morning as the boat docked in Aberdeen. A bus back to Glasgow followed, and I was home by 5.00pm. What a twitch, and one that I'll always remember!

CORNWALL, DEVON & PORTLAND — A SEPTEMBER ADVENTURE

Thursday 3rd September

With work finishing this afternoon and the forecast showing north-westerly winds for the following day, I decided it was time to head south-west. The plan was to make the long journey down to Cornwall and hopefully get a good sea watch in at Pendeen the next morning.

I arrived in Cornwall just after 7:00 pm and, rather than wasting the evening, decided to put the moth traps out at Church Cove on The Lizard.

Church Cove

It was a fairly quiet trapping session, although over 100 Large Yellow Underwings were attracted to the lights, along with a few other species.

L-album Wainscot

Angle Shades

Square-spot Rustic

Friday 4th September

I arrived at Pendeen at first light, where I was joined by a good number of enthusiastic birders, all hoping that the north-westerly winds would produce a memorable seawatch.

Pendeen

Birders on site

The five-hour session didn't quite live up to expectations, but there were still some good birds to keep things interesting. The highlights for me were:

2 Great Shearwaters

4 Balearic Shearwaters

25 Sooty Shearwaters

28 European Storm Petrels

2 Whimbrels

400+ Manx Shearwaters

The sight of the shearwaters moving offshore was certainly worth the early start, and although the hoped-for mega didn't materialise, it was still an enjoyable morning of seawatching.

After lunch, I headed north into Devon for another target of the trip, although this one wasn't feathered! A few weeks earlier, Alan Lewis and I had visited Hartland Point, where we'd managed to trap Scarce Black-neck, but the Black-banded Moth wasn't on the wing at the time. I was hoping that a few more weeks would make all the difference.

I arrived a few hours before sunset and set up my three traps in the areas I'd chosen. 

Hartland Point with Lundy Island in the distance

As darkness fell, things were looking rather quiet moth-wise, probably due to the north-westerly wind.

Then, just before midnight, things changed. I checked one of the traps, and there it was: Black-banded Moth! I was absolutely made up. After the long journey and another evening spent standing around the traps, finally getting the target was a brilliant result.

Saturday 5th September

By morning, I'd only trapped the one Black-banded Moth, but that was enough. Target achieved!

In Britain, Black-banded Moth (Polymixis xanthomista) is a highly localised coastal species, found mainly along the rocky coasts of Devon and Cornwall, with populations also occurring in south-west Wales and the Isle of Man. It has also been recorded in North Anglesey.

The species is strongly associated with exposed coastal habitats, particularly rocky and stony cliffs and slopes where Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima) grows. These sites are often exposed to salt spray and high tides, and the moth is rarely encountered far inland. Adults are mainly on the wing in late summer and early autumn, with September and October producing the majority of records.

I then packed up my traps and headed towards Portland Bird Observatory in Dorset, where I planned to spend some time birding and do another moth-trapping session at Freshwater Bay.

On arrival, I was met by my good friend Dave Morton, who had just found a Beautiful Gothic on the wall around the observatory. It was a new moth for me, so I was delighted to arrive and immediately add another species to my list.

Beautiful Gothic

The afternoon was spent in the quarry trying to connect with a Wryneck.

It was incredibly elusive, disappearing for long periods and testing everyone's patience, but eventually it showed really well. I later found myself sitting in the observatory garden with Dave and Martin Cabe, enjoying a brew and chatting about the day's birding. Then Dan Pointon texted me.

Egyptian nightjar, Pool of Virkie, Shetland!  “Holy sh..!” 

That was enough. Panic immediately set in. I went straight onto the Loganair website, booked a flight, said my goodbyes and was off, heading north!

DOTTEREL-GREAT ORME-LLANDUDNO-CAERNARFON

After a busy bank holiday weekend, Jenna and I decided to have a run out in the car to the Great Orme in Llandudno this afternoon. A juvenile Dotterel had been present over the last few days, so we headed over there in the hope of catching up with it.

On arrival, it took us a little while to locate the bird, but eventually we found the juvenile on the limestone pavement. The bird showed really well, and we were able to watch it from only a few metres away. It was a particularly confiding bird.

I haven't seen a Dotterel for years, so it was especially nice to get such good views of one again. It's always great when a bird you've been hoping to see performs so well. 

A really enjoyable afternoon out on the Great Orme and a fantastic bird to finish the bank holiday weekend with!