Dee Estuary Birding

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Site menu:

• Home
• Site Index
• Map of Estuary
• Latest Sightings
• Monthly News
• Site Guides
• Links
• Tide Times

Incorporated Websites:

• Dee Estuary Voluntary Wardens.
• Deeside Naturalists' Society.
• Friends of Hilbre.

More Information:

• 2014 Bird Events.
• Bird Counts.
• Photos of the birds and the Dee Estuary.
• Protection on the Estuary.
• What to Expect Month by Month.
• Birdwatching Walks.
• Bibliography.

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 Web site describes the best Dee Estuary birdwatching areas with detailed maps and latest bird news for dedicated twitchers and casual birdwatchers alike.

July Newsletter now published on this website featuring Rotterdam on the Dee Estuary.

Latest Sightings.... (more)

Please send any sightings to:

July 25
240 Black-tailed Godwit - Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby.
450 Black-tailed Godwit off Cubbins Green, West Kirby, before high tide.
1 Marsh Harrier - Parkgate Marsh.
2 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 850 Dunlin, 4750 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 86 Whimbrel, 1600 Black-headed Gull - Heswall Shore as tide came in.
c600 Sandwich Tern, 250 Common Tern and 1,600 Black-headed Gull  on a very disturbed West Kirby Shore at high tide (between  West Kirby and Red Rocks.
1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hobby, 5 Spotted Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper and 1 Common Sandpiper - Burton Mere Wetlands.

July 24
230 Black-tailed Godwit - Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby.
78 Whimbrel, 2 Pintail, 32 Little Egret, 1 Golden Plover, 820 Oystercatcher, 675 Dunlin, 1 Knot, 1 Turnstone, c4,500 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 1,080 Curlew, 1 Yellow Wagtail (adult), 7 Willow Warbler (Target Road willows) - Heswall Shore as tide came in.
1 Arctic Skua off shore, 795 Sandwich Tern, 81 Little Tern, 149 Common Tern, 2,170 Black-headed Gull, 346 Herring Gull, 227 Lesser Balck-backed Gull and 650 Oystercatcher - West Kirby Shore at high tide (between  West Kirby and Red Rocks.

July 23
380 Black-tailed Godwit - Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby.
1 Hobby over reed bed, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and several juv Yellow Wagtail - Burton Mere Wetlands.
1 Willow Warbler (first of 'autumn'), 1 Yellow Wagtail (very unusual July record), 70 Little Tern and c700 large terns (mostly Sandwich Terns) - Hilbre, for more details see
http://www.hilbrebirdobs.blogspot.com/. 

The July Newsletter includes:

Rotterdam on the Dee Estuary, Tangled up in Knots Norway 2014 and  Forthcoming Events.
Newsletters going back to March 1998 can be read, they are indexed both month by month and by subject matter.
Contact

Photographers - please note there is a wildlife photographers code of practice (www.wildlifeupclose.co.uk/codeofconduct.html), also read Guidelines. Please Maintain a safe working distance from all birds, particularly roosts, so as not to cause unnecessary disturbance.
Ruff at Burton Mere Wetlands, July 21st © Elliot Montieth.	Swallow at Greenfield Dock, July 21st © Jeff Cohen.	Green Sandpiper at Gilroy NP, July 8th © Allan Conlin, see Lighthouse Blog.

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 © 2007 Richard Smith | Template Design by Andreas Viklund | Header Photograph of Black-tailed Godwits © Steve Round.