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

19th August 2026

Slavonian Grebe-Acre Nook Sand Quarry-Adult still from Whisterfield end

Garganey-Sandbach Flashes-Female-type still at Elton Hall Flash

Spotted Redshank-Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB-Still at Boathouse Flash; also 9 Eurasian Spoonbills still

Wood Sandpiper-Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB-Three at Boathouse Flash

18th August 2026

Curlew Sandpiper-Meols-Adult still on beach off Sandhey slipway

Eurasian Spoonbill-Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB-10 still at Centenary Pool from Border Hide this afternoon; use reserve car park off Puddington Lane (CH64 5SF; open 09:00-19:00, £7 entrance fee for non-RSPB-members)

Red Knot-Woolston Eyes NR (permit only)-Injured adult still on east cell of No 4 Bed from viewing platform; reserve open from 08:00-20:00, permit and key obtainable at www.woolstoneyes.com

Garganey-Sandbach Flashes-Female type at Elton Hall Flash

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF THE WEEK:10TH-16TH AUGUST 2026

In just about any other circumstances, you would scarcely be able to stop birders from discussing a first-for-Britain New World warbler. Such is the controversial nature of ship-assisted passage, however, that this week's record in Merseyside was met by most birders with little more than a disinterested shrug. Read more>

FIRST BRITISH YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER DOCKS AT LIVERPOOL

A Yellow-throated Warbler was photographed at Liverpool Docks, Lancashire, yesterday [13 August 2026]. Read more>

GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER-ACCEPTED AS A CATEGORY A SPECIES OF THE BRITISH LIST

The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has made the following decisions about the British List: Read more>

TWO NIGHTS OF MOTH TRAPPING AT PAMBER FOREST-HAMPSHIRE

I spent two enjoyable nights this week at Pamber Forest and Silchester Common with my good friend Alan Lewis, doing some late-night moth trapping. We had a fantastic couple of nights, with some really quality moths recorded.

Pamber Forest and Silchester Common is an area of woodland and heathland in Hampshire and is designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Pamber Forest contains mature deciduous woodland, with hazel coppice dominated by mature oak, creating excellent habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, including some very interesting woodland moths.

Pamber Forest

The main highlights of our two nights were three spectacular Underwing species: Light Crimson Underwing, Dark Crimson Underwing and Red Underwing. We were particularly lucky to see them coming to a sugar solution that we had smeared onto the trees and hung up sugar ropes.

Alan applying the sugar base to the trees

Sugar ropes

Red Underwing

Dark Crimson Underwing

Light Crimson Underwing

Light Crimson Underwing and Dark Crimson Underwing were new moths for me, so to have the opportunity to see them at such close quarters was absolutely fantastic.

Seeing these impressive moths emerge from the darkness was one of the real highlights of the visit. Underwings can be easily overlooked when resting during the day, but when they reveal their brightly coloured hindwings, they are truly spectacular moths.

We also recorded Small Black Arches, another excellent woodland species. It is a localised moth in Britain, occurring mainly in the southern counties, and is associated with mature deciduous woodland. Its larvae are believed to feed on oak (Quercus), making the mature oak woodland at Pamber Forest particularly suitable habitat.

Small Black Arches

A fantastic couple of nights, some exceptional moths and a very memorable visit to Pamber Forest, which really delivered.

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF THE WEEK:3RD-9TH AUGUST 2026

Summer 2026 will go down in the history books for its simply stunning rarities, with surreal events on the Northumberland coast this week adding further to the special tale. There was plenty to enjoy up in Scotland, too, and exciting news from Suffolk. Read more>

A DAY CHASING TWO RARE BUTTERFLIES

Jenna and I had had this trip booked in for the last couple of weeks, as soon as we heard that the Long-tailed blues were on the wing in Brighton, Sussex. The added bonus was that five Queen of Spain fritillaries had also been found in Hampshire, so we decided to visit both places and make a day of it.

We left Cheshire at 5:00am and made good progress, arriving in Brighton around 10:00am. We parked the car and headed towards the TV antenna, where we soon met a few people who were already on site.

It wasn't long before we had our first sighting of a Long-tailed blue, and eventually five were seen bombing around. Hardly any would settle, though, so I could only get record shots when they landed briefly.

Broad-leaved everlasting pea, the Long-tailed Blues' foodplant

The long-tailed blue is a small, rare butterfly in the UK, mainly found in southern England, and is on the wing from July to September. With its bright blue wings and distinctive little tails, it is a really smart-looking butterfly.

I've always wanted to visit this site, and it was nice to see a good crowd of people who had travelled from all over the country, like ourselves, to see this butterfly. After getting some good views, we had some lunch. Moving on from here, we headed to Monk Sherborne, hoping to get Jenna a new butterfly for her list,  the Queen of Spain fritillary. 

After a couple of hours, we arrived on site and took the short walk to where they had been seen. As soon as we arrived, Jenna noticed one sitting on the gravel track, and it was showing really well.

The Queen of Spain fritillary is a striking orange butterfly and is a scarce migrant and occasional resident in the UK, so it was a great butterfly to see.

Over the next hour, we managed to get good views of two individuals. Jenna was made up as she had never seen one before, so it was a new one for her list. After some good views, we headed home following another good day in the field, with a few more lifers added to the list.

A CRACKING EVENING WITH A WOOD SANDPIPER

Whilst working down in Didcot, Oxfordshire, this week, news came through that a Wood Sandpiper had been found only a few miles down the road. So, I headed over to have a look and was rewarded with cracking views of this superb little wader.

It was great to watch it feeding around a small pond that, thankfully, looks set to be saved, although the future of the surrounding area appears bleak with plans to build houses nearby. It just goes to show that even a small pond, with a bit of shallow water and a muddy scrape, can attract something special. You never know what might turn up, and local patches can produce some fantastic surprises.

Wood Sandpipers are now on the move as autumn migration gets underway. After breeding across northern Europe and into western Siberia, they begin heading south from mid-summer onwards, with many stopping off at wetlands across Britain to rest and feed. August is a brilliant time for finding these elegant waders, and evenings like this are a great reminder that even the smallest wetland can be full of surprises.

The evening was made even better by enjoying some quality time out birding, and watching the sun set over a sunflower field was the perfect way to finish off a memorable evening in Oxfordshire.