Al Orton's Birding & Wildlife Blog

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Latest Cheshire & Wirral Bird News

18th October

Redes Mere

Glossy Ibis-One flew over.

Parkgate Marsh/Gayton Sands RSPB

Spotted Redshank-Four still at Bevyl Road Flash.

Saturday, October 17, 2026

Latest Cheshire & Wirral Bird News

October 17th

Saughall

1,000 Pink-footed Geese flew south this morning.

Lower Heswall

760 Jackdaws flew SE in several flocks.

Hilbre

90+ Skylarks over, and 308 Brent Geese.

Burton RSPB

3 Whooper Swans and 6 Green Sandpipers.

Burton Marsh

Short-eared Owl.

Thursday, October 15, 2026

St Agnes – a day of birding and wildlife

This morning, Marc, Owen, and I headed over to St Agnes on the boat, hoping to see a Red-eyed Vireo that had been present for the last two days.

Before heading off to look for the bird, I first visited my good friend Bob Dawson, who lives on St Agnes. Bob had kindly saved two moths for me that he had trapped, a Scar Bank Gem and a Blair’s Mocha, both of which were new moths for me.

Scar Bank Gem

The Scar Bank Gem (Ctenoplusia limbirena) is a very rare migrant to Britain, with fewer than 50 records nationally. It normally occurs across Africa, parts of Asia, and the Canary Islands, but occasionally makes its way to Britain in autumn. It is a cracking-looking moth, with a distinctive violet sheen to its wings.

Blair’s Mocha

Blair’s Mocha (Cyclophora puppillaria) is another scarce migrant moth that arrives from southern Europe and North Africa. It has pale brown wings with darker lines and small eye-like markings. Both were great moths to see, so a big thank you to Bob for saving them for me.

After saying our goodbyes to Bob, we headed off to look for the vireo.

St Agnes Lighthouse

We spent the whole day searching, along with around 30 other birders, but unfortunately we just couldn't find it.

I haven't been to St Agnes for years, and I was soon reminded that the vegetation and access for birding can make it a real nightmare when trying to find birds. Despite the disappointment of missing the vireo, we did manage to see two Yellow-browed Warblers and a Black Redstart during the day.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Black Redstart

Just before leaving the island, we visited a small rockpool to look for Giant Gobies, a really rare fish. We managed to find three of them, which was a nice way to finish off our visit to the island.

Giant Gobie

The Giant Goby (Gobius cobitis) is a large, scarce fish found around rocky shores and shallow rockpools in parts of southern and western Europe, including the south coast of Britain and the Isles of Scilly. In Britain, it has a very restricted distribution and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an important species to look out for when exploring our rocky coastline.

Although we dipped the Red-eyed Vireo, I was made up with the two new moths from Bob and seeing three Giant Gobies. You can't win them all when birding, but at least we had a few other things to keep us going!

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

A pelagic, an Isabelline Shrike and a Scilly first

Well, today was all about a pelagic. Almost as soon as we left St Mary's, the gulls began following the boat, and within minutes a superb first-winter Caspian Gull joined them. A second-winter bird also showed further out at sea.

Caspian Gull

It wasn’t the busiest of pelagics, but one sight will stay with me for a long time. We came across 80–100 Grey Phalaropes feeding on the open sea, with little flocks of three to 25 birds bobbing about on the waves, while others flew around in tight groups. I had witnessed this years ago on one of these pelagics and wasn’t expecting to see it again. What an incredible sight!

Grey Phalarope

A few Manx and Sooty Shearwaters also showed well, along with a Great Skua, five Puffins and a more distant Arctic Tern.

Gannet

Sooty Shearwater

Great Skua

As we headed back towards land, news broke that an Isabelline Shrike had been found on St Mary’s. With the recent taxonomic changes involving these shrikes, identification can be complicated, particularly with first-winter birds. DNA also isn't always reliable for separating Isabelline and Red-tailed Shrikes. Thankfully, I don’t need Daurian or Turkestan Shrike, so I could just relax and enjoy the bird without worrying too much about the identification.

A huge thanks to Joe Pender, Bob Flood and the Sapphire crew for another fantastic day out at sea. I really enjoyed it.

Once back on dry land, I wasted no time heading over to Porth Hellick to see the shrike, getting a lift from my good friend Higgo. The bird was showing as soon as I arrived, perched up on a rock before flying down onto some bracken, where it showed really well.

Isabelline Shrike Sp

Leaving the bird to the crowds, I moved on and had a quick look at another potential Wilson’s Snipe before heading off to see Mick Scott, who had trapped a Southern Field Cricket, a first for the Isles of Scilly! Mick and his son Will had kindly invited me to share in their excitement after finding this cracking insect. What an absolute beast! I was lucky enough to see it rubbing its wings together, making an impressive noise for such a little creature. A fantastic find by the lads, and a real privilege to share the moment with them. Huge congratulations to both!

Southern Field Cricket

It was only a few months ago that I saw my first Verge Cricket with Alan Lewis at Porthgwarra in Cornwall, so it was great to see another migrant cricket.

A quick stop at Lower Moors produced another excellent view of the other Wilson’s Snipe before I called it a day.

Wilson’s Snipe

What a day, with some fantastic seabirds, a cracking shrike and a first for the Isles of Scilly. Tomorrow, I’m off to St Agnes with the lads. Can’t wait for another island adventure!

Latest Cheshire & Wirral Bird News

14th October

Marbury Country Park

Glossy Ibis-Still in the field north of Budworth Mere.

Rostherne Mere

Caspian Gull-At least one adult roosted yesterday evening.

Cholmondeley

Black Tern-Juvenile still at Deer Park Mere.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

A relaxing morning and a Surf Scoter boat trip

After a few days of rushing around, I had a well-deserved lie-in, enjoyed a nice breakfast, and chilled out until mid-morning, when I headed out for a walk around the Garrison with my good friend Higgo. The birding was quiet, but the views across this beautiful archipelago were fantastic.

Looking down from the Garrison to Hugh Town

Higgo getting his steps in

A view from the Garrison looking over to St Agnes

As I headed back into town, news broke that a juvenile Surf Scoter had been found off Bryher at Church Quay. I had seen a Surf Scoter on the Isles of Scilly back in 2017, but I fancied a boat ride, so Higgo and I headed out to see if we could catch up with the bird. It didn't take long to find the Surf Scoter from the boat.