The Dee Estuary, on the North Wales / North-West England border, is one of the United Kingdom's premier birding locations for wetland and shorebirds. This Website describes the best Dee Estuary birdwatching areas with detailed maps and latest bird news for dedicated twitchers and casual birdwatchers alike.
Please send any
sightings to: 
Newsletters going back to March 1998 can be read, they are indexed both month by month and by subject matter.
Latest Sightings.... (more)
Apr 29
1 Black Tern (briefly), c12 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Red Kite, 1 Peregrine, 7 Greenshank, 10 Spotted Redshank, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3+ Ruff, 1 Spoonbill and 5 Swift = Burton Mere Wetlands.
460 Bar-tailed Godwit (very high count for that site), 13 Whimbrel and 22 Little Tern, also 2 Garganey (paor) on Warren Farm pool - Point of Ayr.
198 Whimbrel, 500 Oystercatcher, 450 Dunlin, 157 Curlew, 1 Greenshank, 36 Redshank. 3 Swift over high tide - Heswall Shore.
1 female Whinchat, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Marsh harrier (female/imm male and 2 Grasshopper Warbler (heard only) - Leasowe Lighthouse.
1 Puffin briefly off north end, also 1 Cuckoo caught and ringed - Hilbre.
1 Osprey flew north - Gronant.
Apr 28
650 Black-tailed Godwit - Caldy Wildfowl Collection.
30 Sandwich Tern roosting on groyne - Leasowe Castle.
3 Whimbrel on main scrape at 8.35, also 12 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank and 2 Ruff - Burton Mere Wetlands.
116 Whimbrel over high tide this morning - Thurstaston/Heswall.
1 Osprey with fish heaing NE at 1620hrs, last seen heading towards Formby - Meols.
3 Yellow Wagtail (1 'channel' type) by main pool Warren Farm, also 181 Bar-tailed Godwit, 250+ Sandwich Tern and 10 Little Tern - Talacre/Point of Ayr.
1 Barn Owl flew over, plus 2 Wheatear and 2 Stonechat this evening - Heswall Golf Course.
Osprey with fish heading north-east past Meols, April 28th © Allan Conlin
spotted Flycatcher at Leasowe, April 27th © Allan Conlin
Puffin off Hilbre Island, April 25th © Steve Williams (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Grasshopper Warbler at Burton Point reeling away on top of a post, April 25th © David Bedford
Gannets off Hilbre, April 24th © Alan Hitchmough (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Whimbrel on Hilbre, April 24th © Alan Hitchmough (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Whinchat, Burton Point, April 23rd © Mark Woodhead
Lesser Whitethroat, Heswall Fields, April 23rd © Frank Burns
Common Crane off Cottage Lane, Heswa;;, April 22nd © Joe Downing
Whinchat in coastal paddock, Leasowe, April 21st © Graham Connolly
Hoopoe at Gronant, April 20th © Joe Downing (both photos)
Hoopoe at Gronant, April 20th © Richard Speechley
Dark-bellied Brent Goose in the godwit field, Caldy, April 20th © Richard Smith
Wryneck at Burton, April 19th © Carole Killikelly
Wood Warbler at Burton Mere Wetlands, April 19th © Joe Downing
Pied Flycatcher at Leasowe, April 19th © Sean O'Hara
Wryneck at Burton, April 19th © Joe Downing
Wryneck at Burton, April 19th © Sean O'Hara
Grasshopper Warbler in the dunes at Meols, April 18th © Jeremy Bradshaw
Fledgling Stonechat and parent, Leasowe Lighthouse, April 17th © Sean O'Hara
Long-tailed Duck wth Scoter, Hilbre, April 16th © Steve Williams (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Grasshopper Warbler in the sand dunes, Meols Common, April 16th © Jeremy Bradshaw
Black-tailed Godwits, adults now in full breeding plumage,
Caldy Wildfowl Collection April 16th © Richard Smith
Common Whitethroat, Burton Marsh, April 14th © Mark Woodhead
Spoonbill over Burton Point, April 14th © John Hewitt
White Wagtail on tide wrack off Cottage Lane, Heswall, April 13th © Richard Smith
Yellow Wagtail on tide wrack at Heswall, April 12th © Frank Burns
Whimbrel at Leasowe, April 12th © Sean O'Hara
Common Redstart by Wirral Way, Thurstaston, April 11th © Steve Hinde
Sandwich Terns on Hilbre, April 11th © Alan Hitchmough
Common Redstart at Leasowe, April 10th © Allan Conlin
Black Redstart in Ffynnongroyw, April 9th © Andrew Earnshaw
Sardinian Warbler being ringed on Hilbre, April 8th © Alan Hitchmough (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Redstart at Leasowe, April 7th © Sean O'Hara
White Stork over Burton Point, April 6th © Carole Killikelly
Green-winged Teal, Heswall shore, April 6th © Steve Hinde
Willow Warbler at Leasowe, April 6th © Sean O'Hara
First light and the Pink-footed Geese are leaving the estuary in their thousands
Hilbre, April 6th © Alan Hitchmough (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
This Raven was on Hoylake Beach and looked like it was burying something, but every so often it ruffled all it's
feathers up and arched it's back by lifting it's tail up, April 2nd © Richard smith
Green-winged Teal at Heswall, April 1st © Steve Hinde
Little Gull at Burton Mere Wetlands, March 31st © Mark Woodhead
Pair of Garganey at Burton Mere Wetlands, March 30th © Joe Downing
1st winter Common Gull at Greenfield Dock, March 30th © Jeff Cohen
Little Gull at Burton Mere Wetlands, March 28th © Carole Killikelly
A nice range 0f plumages at Caldy Wildfowl Collection as the Black-tailed Godwits moult into
breeding plumage, March 28th © Richard Smith
Little Ringed Plover at Burton Mere Wetlands, March 22nd © Jason King
Russian White-fronted Goose at Thornton Hough, March 22nd © Richard Whitby
Sandwich Tern at Hilbre, March 21st © Chris Williams
Wheatear walking along the top of the sea defence, Hoylake, March 21st © Joe Downing
A nice selection of species at Caldy Wildfowl Collection, March 21st © Richard Smith
ChiffChaff on Hilbre, March 21st © Alan Hitchmough
Ring Ouzel in garden in Pensby, March 20th © Steve Hinde
Knots feeding at Meols, March 18th © Richard Smith
Green-winged Teal at Heswall (off Target Road), March 17th © Steve Hinde
Wheatear in 'Hoopoe Hollow' paddock, Meols, March 14th © Alan Hitchmough
Wheatears in 'Hoopoe Hollow' paddock, Meols, March 14th © Steve Williams
Dark-bellied and Pale-Bellied Brent Geese on West Kirby Marine Lake, March 10th © Mark Woodhead
Common Scoter on West Kirby Marine Lake, March 7th © Joe Downing
We don't often get the opportunity to take close-ups of Common Scoters, and this photo taken by Joe is escellent!
Black Redstart at Meols, March 6th © Sean O'Hara
First Wheatear of the spring! Hilbre, March 5th © Matt Thomas
Black-tailed Godwit already in full breeding plumage with w/pl knots in the background
at Thurstaston, March 5th © Richard Smith
Siskins in oak trees at Stapledon Wood, Caldy, March 4th © Richard Smith
Male Hen Harrier flying past Hilbre, March 1st © Alan Hitchmough
Spoonbill at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 27th © Keith Scovell
A Spoonbill with Avocets at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 25th © Les Hall
Stonechat on Hilbre, February 25th © Steve Williams (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits at Hoylake, February 19th © Richard Smith
Redshank roost at West Kirby Marine Lake, February 18th © David Senior
Short-eared Owl on Parkgate Marsh, February 17th © John Crook
Common Scoters off Hilbre, February 15th © Alan Hitchmough (Hilbre Bird Observatory)
Water Rail at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 15th © Ian McKenna
Purple Sandpiper on rocks, Wallasey Shore, February 14th © Joe Downing
Short-eared Owl at Parkgate, February 13th © John Kane
Drake Scaup, West Kirby Marine Lake, February 7th © Joe Downing
Cattle Egrets at Burton, February 7th © Richard Whitby
Short-eared Owl at Denhall Quay, February 4th © Paul Liversage
Water Rail at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 4th © Mark Woodhead
White-fronted Goose at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 3rd © Jake Goswell
Knots in flight and Brent Geese on the shore, Hoylake, February 2nd © Bruce Hogan
Kingfisher at Burton Mere Wetlands, February 1st © David Thompson
This
is a wholly
independent
web
site and unless
where specifically stated has been written and maintained by myself,
Richard Smith. I do receive articles for the newsletter from time to
time for which I am very grateful, and also various people kindly
donate photographs and sketches. l rely to a large extent on people
keeping me informed about the birds they have seen - this, more than
anything, is what keeps the website going. Note that everything on this
website is subject to © copyright although some material may be
available for non-commercial use - but please ask first! Lastly, 'Dee
Estuary Birding' is just the name of this web site - it is not the name
of an organisation or society.
Copyright © 2020 Richard Smith | Header Photograph of Black-tailed Godwits © Steve Round.
Copyright © 2020 Richard Smith | Header Photograph of Black-tailed Godwits © Steve Round.