CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD NEWS

COVID-19: Please adhere to current government advice and do not travel to see a bird. Where relevant,comply with recommended  social distancing measures.

A message from Burton RSPB this afternoon

RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands has reopened. Opening times 0900 to 1700hrs. The hides and visitor Centre remain closed but toilets are available. Car parking is limited.

June 19th

Corn Bunting-Fanny's croft-Alsager

Corn Bunting

(C)Paul Bebbington

June 18th
3 Spoonbill - Parkgate.
Channel Wagtail-Rixton
2 Black Necked Grebe-Lapwing Hall Pool-Chelford

June 17th
Corn Bunting-Fanny's croft-Alsager
Common Quail-Singing male along Lever Causeway-Prenton
2 Little Gull-Weaver bend-Frodsham Marshes
Quail heard in field by RAF monument-Saughall Massie Road, West Kirby.
3 Spoonbill - Parkgate.
2 Peregrine off Meols.
Pod of Dolphins seen well from Red Rocks and Hoylake swimming east this morning.
13 Sedge Warbler (singing) and feeding of young observed,Reed Warbler and a  Marsh Harrier - Burton Marsh.

June 16th
4 Black Necked Grebe-Lapwing hall pool-Chelford
Quail heard in field by RAF monument-Saughall Massie Road, West Kirby.
1st Summer Little Gull-Weaver bend-Frodsham Marshes
Pair Tufted Duck,43 Little Egret,7000 Knot,26 Redshank,243 Curlew,2 Whimbrel, 515 Black-headed Gull - Thurstaston Shore.
3 Spoonbill - Parkgate.
Red Kite over Irby.

June 15th

Avocet,2 Juv Goosander and an Osprey-Flew west-Neumann's Flash-Northwich

Goosander

(c)G Baker

3 Spoonbill-Burton Mere Wetlands.
Siskin on feeder in Newton garden.
Quail heard in field by RAF monument-Saughall Massie Road, West Kirby.
June 14th
1st Summer Little Gull-Weaver bend-Frodsham Marshes

June 13th
7,000+ Knot off Caldy this morning.
Black Tern-Adult and 1st Summer Little Gull-Weaver bend-Frodsham Marshes
Channel Wagtail and Great White Egret-Hale
Wood Warbler-Macclesfield Forest
Rosy Starling-Adult-Frodsham Marshes
Common Quail-Males still singing along Smethwick Lane-Brereton

June 12th
Rosy Starling-Adult and 1st Summer Little Gull-Frodsham Marshes
Common Quail-Male still singing in field south of lay-by along Child's Lane-Brownlow
Eurasian Spoonbill-Neumanns Flash-Northwich
Kingfisher along River Birket - Lingham Lane, Leasowe Lighthouse.
3 Spoonbill - Parkgate.
2 Grasshopper warbler,Stonechat and a Cetti's Warbler - Burton Point.
Mediterranean Gull (1st summer) - Cubbins Green, West Kirby.

June 11th
Common Quail-Males still singing along Smethwick Lane-Brereton
Hobby,35 Swift,6 House Martin and 30 Swallow over sewage works - Target Road, Heswall.
5 Goosander by Dee Sailing club causeway - Thurstaston.
Black necked Grebe-32 (17 adults and 15 young) on No.3 bed-Woolston eyes
Rosy Starling-Adult and Great White Egret-Frodsham Marshes
Channel Wagtail-Rixton

June 10th
c1,000 Knot seen in flight over Caldy Blacks.
Great White Heron,Raven and an Immature Marsh Harrier (male) - Burton Marsh.
Spoonbill,Cuckoo,Avocet and 2 Little Ringed Plover-Neumanns Flash-Northwich

Spoonbill images from this morning

(C)Malc Curtin and John Gregory

8 Pairs of Black Necked Grebe-Woolston Eyes
Common Quail-2 males singing at Child Lane and Yellow Wagtail and Hobby-Astbury Mere
Red Kite and 2 Spotted Flycatcher-Little Budworth Country Park
2 Crossbill-Delamere Forest

June 9th
Common Redstart-Male-Female with young and 2 Spotted Flycatchers-Little Budworth Country Park

COMMON REDSTART

(C)Malc Curtin

Common Quail-2 males singing at Child Lane early evening-Astbury Mere

Black Necked Grebe-eight pairs currently rearing broods-Woolston Eyes

Common Quail-Male still singing off Moss Lane by iron gate at c53.1746,-2.2902-Brereton

Channel Wagtail-Male still by Holly Bush Lane-Rixton

Eurasian Spoonbill-3 then flew off to north-east-Neumanns Flash-Northwich

SPOONBILL

(C)Greg Baker

Marsh Harrier,Spoonbill and 2 Great White Egret near the Boathouse - Parkgate.

8th June

European Bee Eater-One hawking over farmland then flew over A55 towards Chester this afternoon-Eccleston

Common Quail-2 males singing at Child Lane early evening-Astbury Mere

Common Quail-Male still singing off Moss Lane by iron gate at c53.1746,-2.2902-Brereton 

38 Little Egret,223 Oystercatcher,16 Grey Plover,58 Knot,27 Dunlin,6 Whimbrel, 217 Curlew,6 Redshank,545 Black-headed Gull,190 Lesser Black-backed Gull - Heswall Shore.

Quail heard in field by RAF monument - Saughall Massie Road, West Kirby.

June 7th
Kittiwake-At least eight flew north-west over No 3 Bed (site still closed)-Woolston Eyes

Adult Little Gull and Channel wagtail-Hale

Common Quail-Male singing at the bottom of Station Road-Burton Marsh

Rosy Starling-Probable briefly in private garden by St James Ave/Weston Grove on Wednesday-Newton-Chester

June 6th

2 Black Tern and 2 Avocet-Neumann's Flash-Northwich

BLACK TERN

(C)Greg Baker

European Storm Petrel-Past Gunsite-Leasowe

European Storm Petrel-1 off Harrison's Drive moving out to sea-Wallasey

European Storm Petrel-1 lingering mid-river on the Mersey-New Brighton

European Storm Petrel-2 flew north out of the River Mersey between 05:23 and 07:05; also 21 Manx Shearwaters and 4 Arctic terns-Seacombe

2+ Storm Petrel in Mersey mouth,also 3 Whimbrel and Kittiwake - New Brighton.

3 Storm Petrel - Wallasey Shore off Lifeguard Station.
Storm Petrel off Hoylake but distant.

June 5th
50+ Manx Shearwater past seen from a windy Hoylake Shore between 9.30 and 10.30am.

June 4th

Common Quail-Two singing males still near Decca Pools-Burton

Great White Egret and possible Iberian Chiffchaff reported singing near start of track at Harp Inn end-Burton marsh

Garganey-Drake-Frodsham Marsh

Smew-Of unknown origin-Newchurch Common

Common Quail seen in flight in field by RAF monument - Saughall Massie Road, West Kirby.

2 Whimbrel - Thurstaston Shore.

Osprey - Burton Marsh.

ASIAN DESERT WARBLER-HOLY ISLAND-NORTHUMBERLAND-16TH-JUNE 2020

At last, the first twitch of the year, and on Holy Island, Northumberland, a strange-looking Sylvia warbler, thought initially to be a female-type Subalpine when found yesterday, miraculously morphed into an Asian desert warbler later that evening.

I was off tomorrow, so I got my stuff sorted out and set off just after 3.30am. I had a good run on the motorways and had news that the bird was still present whilst driving up there at around 4.30am.I arrived on site just after 7.30am and soon got directions on arrival where the bird was showing.On arrival, this was the view I was greeted with; it was in there!

I saw Sam Viles, who put me straight on the bird!

What a little cracker! The bird was so active, feeding and flitting around in the foliage. The bird then flew over to the next pine and then flew again over sand dunes but was refound after a good ten minutes in another area, and I watched it for the next couple of hours. 

Well, at last, this had put to bed the 20-year wait for a twitchable individual. It is still a remarkably rare bird in Britain, with just a dozen records, half of which came in a crazy five-year spell in the late '80s and early '90s. Aside from a single-observer record in Kent in November 2012, we have to look back as far as the turn of the century for another example, when one spent five hot spring days basking in the Spurn recording area in May 2000, undoubtedly making the Holy Island individual a real rarity.

On my way home, I connected with another Rosy starling at Collingham in North Yorkshire, which showed really well feeding on wild cherries. This was my second adult male in a week.

BIRDGUIDES PHOTO OF THE WEEK-10TH-16TH JUNE-2020

CLICK ON LINK

BIRDGUIDES REVIEW OF RARE BIRDS THIS WEEK IN BRITAIN 10TH-16TH JUNE 2020

CLICK ON LINK

ROSE COLOURED STARLING-FRODSHAM MARSHES-11TH JUNE 2020

Rose-coloured starlings breed in eastern Europe and have irrupted across western Europe in response to food shortages since the middle of May. There have been reports of flocks reaching Italy & southern France.It has been a week awash with pink-rosy starlings, and they seemed to be everywhere in Britain, with well in excess of 50 birds reported.

A male bird was found yesterday afternoon at Frodsham Marshes on No. 1 tank with a flock of starlings. I couldn't make it that afternoon due to work commitments, but thankfully the bird hung around until the next day!

On arrival, I got distant scope views of the bird flying around on the embankment of the mersey canal, and then the flock of starlings flew right and headed down the river weaver. The views were distant and not that good, so I drove down to the old log carpark and walked up the river.

As I was walking along the river, I found the starlings roosting by the river, and a rose-coloured starling was just sitting in with them. What a stunning bird and a much-awaited county tick for me after seeing so many in Britain.

Previous Cheshire and Wirral records:

Middlewich-24th-26th June 1976
Winsford-Adult seen and photographed, 14th June 2007
Wirral-Adult-news couldn't be released due to access issues (15th May 2014).