REVIEW OF THE WEEK OF BIRDS RECORDED IN CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL 26TH DEC-31ST DECEMBER 2016

WIRRAL BIRD SIGHTINGS

Leasowe-7 Waxwings flew northeast over the lighthouse on the 28th.

Barnston-10 Waxwings were present on Whitehouse lane on the 28th.

Burton RSPB-A male Hen harrier was present from the reception hide on the 29th.On the 30th a Marsh harrier was over the reserve and another Marsh harrier was over Decca pools on Burton marsh.

Hilbre Island-A Long tailed duck flew past the Islands on the 29th.

Thingwall-A Waxwing was present on the morning of the 29th.

Neston-12 Waxwings were briefly at Pine hey on the 30th.

Parkgate-6 Marsh Harriers were present on the 27th

Thurstaton-58 Brent Geese were feeding just north of the Dee Sailing Club causeway after high tide on the 28th.

West Kirby Marine Lake-6 Brent geese and Goldeneye were present on the 31st.

Riverbank-Heswall-140 Brent geese were present at high tide.

CHESHIRE BIRD SIGHTINGS

Middlewich-6 Waxwings were present on Gorsley close on the 27th.

Frodsham Marshes-2 Little Stints and a Great White egret remained throughout the week.

Hale-A Short Eared owl was present on the 27th.On the 29th, 2 Water pipits were still present on Carr lane pools.

Warrington-There were up to 45 Waxwings present throughout the week around Milner street in the town centre.

Widnes- 3 Waxwings were present opposite Horns garage on Hunts heath road on the 28th.

Lyme Park-A Hen harrier was present on the moor beyond Paddock cottage on the 28th.

Ince Marshes-2 Great white egrets were present on the 29th.

Northwich-8 Waxwings were present in Lidl carpark on the 29th.

Chelford-The Black necked grebe was still present throughout the week at Lapwing hall pool.

Crewe-7 Waxwings were present on the Manchester metropolitan university grounds on the 30th,only 2 were present on the 31st.

Congleton-4 Waxwings were present in trees opposite Aldi on the 30th.

Sandbach Flashes-An adult Iceland gull was present on Elton hall flash on the 31st.

Woolston Eyes-A Siberian Chiffchaff was present on N03 bed on the 31st and 2 were trapped and ringed.

Newchurch Common-The redhead Smew and Red Crested Pochard remained all week.

Marbury Country Park-A Bittern showed well until dusk on the 29th 

PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD SIGHTINGS TO alastairorton72@gmail.com or you can TWEET @CHESHIREBIRDING

MY BIRDING YEAR 2016

2016 started off with me watching my first Cetti's warbler at Witton brook in Northwich a patch first, on the 2nd of January. Later that afternoon Allan Conlin rang me to say that a Pallas's warbler had been found in Heswall, I'd already seen one in Cheshire back in 2005 but I couldn't resist going to see this little eastern gem, little did I know that come to the end of the year the east would play a big part in my birding year.

Pallas's Warbler-Heswall-3 January 2016

All was quiet in the birding world until May when the mega alert went off and I was off down to Cornwall to see Britain's first Dalmatian Pelican.

Dalmatian Pelican-Polgigga-Cornwall-10th May 2016

On the 22nd of May a Black billed cuckoo was found on the outer Hebrides,I made plans and I was watching the bird the next morning.WHAT A BIRD!

Black Billed Cuckoo-Bayhead-North Uist-Outer Hebrides-23rd May 2016

News filtered through on the 5th of July that the BOU had added Chinese Pond heron and Slaty backed gull to the British list, two nice armchair ticks for me.

Chinese Pond Heron-Hythe-Kent-2014

Another patch first for me in July when a Glossy ibis was found at Neumann's flash in Northwich.

Glossy Ibis-Neumann's Flash-26th July 2016

August started off with Britain's first Western Swamphen.

Western Swamphen-Minsmere-Suffolk-2nd August 2016

On the morning of the 6th September my good friend Higgo rang me off the Scillies to say that a Cliff swallow had been found.I was watching the bird by 6pm that night!EPIC TWITCH!

Cliff Swallow-Porth Hellick-Isles Of Scilly-6th Semptember 2016

The Wirral had a Cattle Egret invasion in September where up to five birds were seen at Burton RSPB.

Cattle Egret-Burton RSPB-13th September 2015

There was some great news for my good friend Allan Conlin at the beginning of October who had found Cheshire and Wirral's first Western Sandpiper at Hoylake and Meols from 19th-24th September 2012!At last the bird had been accepted and this represents the 9th record for Britain.Well done mate!

Cheshire and Wirral's first Western Sandpiper

(C)S.Williams

I spent the last week of September on the Isles of Scilly and had a great weeks birding, but did miss Yellow billed Cuckoo and Eastern Kingbird.THEY'LL BE ANOTHER!

On the 9th of October I took a phonecall off of Simon Slade that a Siberian Accentor had been found on the Shetlands, another first for Britain.Plans were made and I was watching the bird the next day.Little did we all know whilst watching this bird that there would be an invasion of these birds in Britain.

From early October, we were treated to a robust easterly airflow out of Asia which delivered to Britain not only the Accentors, but a surfeit of other eastern rarities:Sakhalin/Pale-legged leaf warbler,Black faced bunting,Dusky thrush,Siberian thrush and Two barred greenish warbler,along with multiple Pine buntings,White thrushes,Eastern black redstarts,Brown and Isabelline shrike's.These have been backed up by a generous supply of more expected rarities and scarcities such as Red flanked bluetails,Dusky and Pallas's warblers and our greatest inundation yet of Yellow browed warblers.

Siberian Accentor-Mossy Hill-Shetland-10th October 2016

To say that this autumn will go down in history for one of the most phenomenal rarity events of all time is not hyperbole as October concluded ,a full 182 had turned up in northern Europe over the course of the month:66 in Sweden,58 in Finland,12 in Britain,10 each in Germany, Poland and Denmark, eight in Norway, seven in Estonia,six in Latvia and four in Lithuania.

It wasn't over:early November saw more in Finland,Sweden,Norway,Denmark,Latvia, Germany,Poland and Estonia.One last British bird (for now) was at Avoch,Highland,from 6–9th-it had the honour of being fitted with a British Trust for Ornithology ring.

Cheshire and Wirral also had a Yellow browed warbler inundation with 35 records being recorded.I managed to catch up with one at Houghton Green Pond in Warrington.

Yellow Browed Warbler-Houghton Green Pond-14th October 2016 

I went over to Beeley in Derbyshire on the 6th of December to see my second Dusky Thrush for Britain.

Dusky Thrush-Beeley-Derbyshire-6th December 2016

Britain's first Masked Wagtail (Moticilla alba personata) was identified in the small village of Camrose in Pembrokeshire on the 29th November.

Masked Wagtail-Camrose-Pembrokeshire-9th December 2016

On the 12th December the BOU announced that it had accepted Acadian flycatcher and Chestnut Bunting onto Category A of the British list, taking the number of species recorded to in Britain to 605.

Chestnut Bunting-Papa Westray-Orkney-26th October 2014

On the 27th December a Blue Rock Thrush was found in someone's garden in Stow on the Wold in Gloucestershire.The bird has caused much discussion but I went to see it and will wait on the decision of the BBRC.

Blue Rock Thrush-Stow-on-the-Wold-Gloucestershire-28th December 2016

Another great year birding in Britain and hopefully this time next year I will have hit the magic 500 species,only eleven more needed!I cant finish this year's summary without mentioning two very close friends that passed away this year,who I spent much time with birding Kenny Dummigan and Pete Antrobus,both birding legends who will be sadly missed by all that new them.

AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGIST'S UNION AND THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY MERGE TO FORM AOS

Two of the oldest and most influential professional ornithological societies in the world have legally merged, forming the American Ornithological Society (AOS), an organization devoted to advancing research focused on birds in the Western Hemisphere, promoting their conservation, and training the next generation of scientists.CLICK ON LINK

HAS THE WEATHER PLAYED A ROLE IN BRINGING UNUSUAL BIRDS TO BRITAIN DURING 2016?

With our position on the edge of northwest Europe, the UK receives air masses from all points of the compass during the year adding to the natural variability of our weather. This fact is known by meteorologists and birdwatchers because when air masses approach the UK during bird migration times – principally spring and autumn – then exotic birds from other parts of the world can unexpectedly arrive on our shores.CLICK ON LINK

HOW TO REPORT COLOUR RINGED WAXWINGS

The UK is currently experiencing its largest Waxwing invasion in three winters, with birds being reported up and down the country throughout November and December 2016.CLICK ON LINK

AUTUMN ON A BOAT

I've been lucky enough to work offshore on boats in many parts of the world over the past eight years, in that time watching penguins and albatrosses in the Falklands, boobies and frigatebirds in the Caribbean and shearwaters and skuas off Africa.CLICK ON LINK

BLUE ROCK THRUSH-STOW-ON-THE-WOLD-GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Pictures were released yesterday of a bird that had been present for over a week in a private garden CLICK ON LINK on Twitter,the bird was identified as a BLUE ROCK THRUSH!The usual phone calls were made and lifts were sorted out for the next morning.On arrival the bird was sat in a tree in a private garden before dropping down to feed on the floor.The Blue rock thrush eventually flew up on to a chimney pot and eventually showed really well.

BLUE ROCK THRUSH

This bird has caused much discussion about its whereabouts since first being identified.Is it wild or an escape,drooping left wing,gammy foot,time of year.All I can say is the birds feet were fine after good views,the wing was damaged and for the time of year after the autumn we have just had nothing would surprise me anymore whats out there waiting to be found.At the end of the day I can't be doing with all this over offensive analysis I will leave that to the powers that be to decide and just go out and see birds.It's a cracking bird that many birders today enjoyed as you can see from the photo's below.

TWITCHERS THAT WEREN'T SAT BEHIND THERE COMPUTER SCREENS TODAY

Anyway moan over and everything crossed the bird will be accepted.

If accepted this will be the seventh record for Britain:

2007

Radnorshire

Caban Quarry, Elan Valley, male, 11th April, photo.

2000

Cornwall

Geevor, Pendeen, first-summer female, 14th to 18th May, photo.

1999

Cornwall

Cot Valley, St Just, male, 25th October; possibly same as Scilly.

1999

Isles of Scilly

Porthloo, St Mary's, male, 14th to 15th October, photo.

1987

Caernarfonshire

Moel-y-gest, male, 4th June.

1985

Argyll

Skerryvore Lighthouse, SSW of Tiree, first-summer male, 4th to 8th June when found dead, now at Natural History Museum, Tring (BMNH 1986.2.4).

REVIEW OF THE WEEK OF BIRDS RECORDED IN CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL 19TH DEC-25TH DEC 2016

WIRRAL BIRD SIGHTINGS

Thurstaston Shore-2,900 Black-tailed Godwit,200 Bar-tailed Godwit,700 Pintail and 1 Raven flew over on the 19th on the rising tide. 730 Pintail,190 Teal,3000 Knot,2600 Black-tailed Godwit were present on the 21st.c2,500 Black-tailed Godwit and c5,000 Knot were present on the 22nd.

West Kirby-7 Brent Geese briefly landed on the Marine Lake on the 24th along with  2 Goosander (redheads).At Newton on the 23rd a Short eared owl was seen late afternoon flying east.On the 24th a Brambling was present with Chaffinches.

Burton RSPB-Two Great white egrets were present on Burton marsh on the 22nd and four Marsh harriers were over the reserve.

Heswall Shore-182 Golden Plover and 970 Lapwing were present on the 22nd.

Neston Marsh-Two Hen Harrier's (1 grey male) and 3 Short-eared Owl were seen on the 22nd.

CHESHIRE BIRD SIGHTINGS

Sandbach Flashes-A Great white egret was present all week.

Frodsham Marshes-Three Little stints were present on the 24th and then two showed daily for the rest of the week.

Chelford-Lapwing Hall Pool-The Black Necked grebe was present all week.

Newchurch Common-The redhead Smew remained all week.

Hale- Two Water pipits remained on Carr lane pools until the 24th.

Richmond Bank-An adult Caspian gull was present on the 19th and a Cetti's warbler was in the scrub adjacent to viewing point.

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF RARE BIRDS THIS WEEK IN BRITAIN 14TH-20TH DECEMBER 2016

REVIEW OF THE WEEK CLICK ON LINK
BY JOSH JONES

WINTER SPECTACLES:TEN TOP UK STARLING MURURATIONS

Like clouds of smoke, large flocks of Starlings roll and churn through the evening sky, creating ever-changing shapes as they gather before diving into their chosen roost sites

CLICK ON LINK

WWT 'HUMAN SWAN' FLIES HOME

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) conservationist Sacha Dench flew into Slimbridge, Gloucestershire,on Friday in her paramotor,completing a record-breaking three-month journey following Bewick's swan on migration from Russia.CLICK ON LINK

REVIEW OF THE WEEK OF BIRDS RECORDED IN CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL 12TH DEC-18TH DEC 2016

WIRRAL BIRD SIGHTINGS

West Kirby-A Great White Egret flew from Leasowe towards Thurstaston over Newton on the 12th.

Burton RSPB-A Green Sandpiper was present on the 12th.3 Marsh Harrier's were over the reserve on the 13th and a male Hen harrier was seen on the 14th.There were 3 Short eared owls over burton marsh on the 18th.

Hoylake Shore-1,200 Bar-tailed Godwit,16,000 Knot,140 Sanderling,100 Grey Plover, 2,000 Oystercatcher and 3,500 Dunlin were present on the on the 13th

Thurstaston Shore-1,550 Pintail after high tide on the 13th this is thought to be a site record,1,500 Pintail, 123 Golden Plover, 600 Dunlin, 270 Knot, 1 Greenshank, 2400 Black-tailed Godwit,on the rising tide on the 14th.400 Pink-footed Geese were  feeding in a field below Dungeon Wood by Wirral Way on the 15th.2,700 Black-tailed Godwit, 700 Pintail and 180 Bar-tailed Godwit were seen on the rising tide on the 15th.

Heswall Shore-1 Snow Bunting,1 Greenshank and 2,300 Black-tailed Godwit 
1 Peregrine and 600 Pink-footed Geese were seen on the 13th.

Heswall-Riverbank Road-248 Brent Geese, 2000 Pintail, 12 Red-breasted Merganser, 12 Little Egret, 2 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 1 Short-eared Owl at high tide 14th.195 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 9 Red-breasted Merganser, 23 Little Egret, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 2 Greenshank  at high tide on the 15th.235 Brent Geese,9 Red-breasted Merganser,7 Little Egret 2 Merlin together-male and female,1 ringtail Hen Harrier at high tide on the 17th.

Neston Old Quay-6+ Marsh Harrier were seen on the 13th.


Denhall Quay-1 Merlin,1 Hen Harrier and 5 Marsh Harrier were present on the 13th.


Leasowe Lighthouse-c20 Scaup were off the lighthouse on the 14th.

Meols-7,000 Knot roosting off Roman Road before high tide, they were flushed by the tide at 9.40am and flew towards Formby followed 10 minutes later by a larger flock of c10,000 Knot coming from Hoylake direction on the 15th.175 Great Crested Grebe and c500 Common Scoter were seen  at high tide on the 17th.

Parkgate-2 Hen Harrier (male and ringtail),2 female Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Great White Egret and 3 Little Grebe on the Donkey Stand pool over high tide on the 15th.A Marsh harrier was seen on the 18th.

Seacombe-A Glaucous gull flew north past the ferry station on the 17th.

Hilbre-1 Scaup (drake) and 117 pale-bellied Brent Geese were present on the 18th.

CHESHIRE BIRD SIGHTINGS

Shocklach-A Common Crane flew west over fields towards the River Dee near Caldecott Green on the 14th

Newchurch Common-The redhead Smew and the Red Crested Pochard remained all week

Marbury Country Park- 2 Little egrets were on Budworth mere on the 14th.3 Ruff were on Neumann's Flash mid morning on the 13th.The Little egret numbers increased by the 16th with 4 at the east end of Budworth mere.

Macclesfield-A Waxwing was seen on Union Street near B&Q on the 16th.

Pickmere Lake-A  1st-winter drake Scaup was present on the 16th.

Hale-2 Water Pipits were still present at Carr lane pools on the 17th and 18th.

Pickerings Pasture-A Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint were seen on the 17th.A Yellow legged gull was seen on the 18th.

Chelford-Lapwing Hall Pool-The Black Necked grebe has been present all week.On the 18th 9 Tree Sparrows were seen around the hedgerows of the pool.

BLACK NECKED GREBE

Frodsham Marsh-On the 18th a Water Pipit flew from N06 Tank and a Little Stint was present at high tide.Frodsham score held a Great white egret as well.

Moore Nature Reserve-An Adult Yellow legged Gull was seen on the 16th at Birchwood pools.

Sandbach Flashes-The Great white egret and Juvenile Glaucous gull were present on the 14th.