Latest Cheshire & Wirral Bird News

 

20th October

Woolston Eyes NR (permit only)

Little Stint-Probable flew northwest through No. 4 Bed with two Dunlin and Common Scoter-Juvenile: reserve open from 08:00-20:00; permit and key obtainable at www.woolstoneyes.com

BirdGuides Review of the Week: 12th-18th October 2026

What a lively few days that was! October is so often the month of megas, and this week lived up to high expectations, with no fewer than eight breaking megas sounding on the BirdGuides app during the week. Read more>

Latest Cheshire & Wirral Bird News

19th October

Woolston Eyes NR (permit only

Water Pipit-One at No. 4 Bed; reserve open from 08:00-20:00; permit and key obtainable at www.woolstoneyes.com.

Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB

Eurasian Bittern-Reedbed screen.

Chestnut Bunting returns to the headlines 11 Years after my own sighting

19th October 2015 was a memorable day for British birding, when another Chestnut Bunting was found on Papa Westray in Orkney, where it remained for 11 days. I was lucky enough to see this bird myself 11 years ago, and it was eventually accepted by the BBRC.

Earlier British records of Chestnut Bunting were affected by concerns about birds from the captive bird trade. Four records have also been placed in Category E, all from Shetland. These involved a male on Foula in July 1974, a first-summer male on Fair Isle in June 1986, an adult female on Out Skerries in September 1994 and another adult female on Fair Isle in September 2002.

Now, just one day short of the 11th anniversary, Brydon Thomason found Britain's second Chestnut Bunting on Unst late on 18th October. This is a first-winter female and another exciting record for Shetland.

I've attached my original sighting of the Papa Westray bird, which was a memorable one for me and a record that was eventually accepted by the BBRC.

A Chestnut Bunting on the edge of Britain. Read more>

Chestnut Bunting Accepted – A Landmark Decision. Read more>

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.

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.

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!

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!