Appeal for Voluntary Wardens at Gronant

Dee Estuary Voluntary Wardens Annual Report 2000

For the first time the Dee Estuary Volunteer Wardens have produced an annual report, written by Chris Butterworth. The report covers the year 2000 and not only details the nine species of waders regularly counted by the wardens but also a total of 105 other species observed along West Kirby shoreline from the Marine Lake to Red Rocks, plus the island of Little Eye. The report is available from Chris Butterworth, 247 Greenbank Road, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside - please include cheque (made out to Chris Butterworth) for £1 to cover P&P. This wardening scheme has been recognised as the longest running such project in the world and is the only source of long term data on the correlation between bird numbers, beach usage and disturbance.

Cheshire and Wirral Bird Report 1999

The Cheshire and Wirral Ornithological Society  have once again produced an excellent report. There is the usual comprehensive yearly review and systematic list. The list alone is 85 pages long and includes a lot of detail on each species. WeBS counts for the whole of the Dee and Mersey Estuaries (not just those bits falling within Cheshire) are shown for wetland birds. The species list is greatly enhanced by eight very good colour photographs.

In addition there is Tony Broome's entertaining article on the discovery of a Terek Sandpiper at Frodsham, a new county record. The report on bird ringing is fascinating with the longest recovery being a Turnstone ringed at New Brighton found 3770km away at Baffin Island, Canada. The Raptor Study Group demonstrates the remarkable increase of the Common Buzzard in Cheshire and Wirral, from 7 pairs in 1992 to 184 pairs in 1999/2000 (not all pairs have been confirmed to breed). An article on the Breeding Bird survey in Cheshire (1995 to 1999) shows the varying fortune of different species but demonstrates a most welcome increase in Lapwings and Sky Larks. 

A must for anyone with an interest in Cheshire and Wirral Birds.

The report can be obtained from: P.Brewster, 23 Verdin Close, Moulton, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 8RL. Price is £5.70 including P&P, make cheques out to CAWOS. 

Wetland Bird Survey Data

At the suggestion of the Dee Estuary WeBS coordinator I have re-arranged the WeBS data so that they show a complete winter's figures, rather than a calendar year - in line with normal Wetland Bird Survey reporting. The following years' data are now available - 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000. These can be accessed from the Bird Counts page. For a much more detailed insight into the 1999/2000 counts read the Dee Estuary WeBS Annual Report which is available from Colin Wells, Burton Point Farm, Station Road, Burton, Cheshire for £4.00 including P&P. This has a description of the status of all the wetland birds, including graphs showing trends back to 1980. A review/ summary of this report was shown in the December 2000 Newsletter.

Bird Counts

Wetland Bird Survey Count for Heswall Shore - (Kindly provided by the Wirral Ranger Service). 11th February.
Great Crested Grebe 3, Cormorant 2, Pink-footed Goose 100, Shelduck 720, Teal 1200, Mallard 77, Pintail 50, Red-breasted Merganser 7, Oystercatcher 6,400, Golden Plover 33, Lapwing 270, Knot 300, Snipe 4, Black-tailed Godwit 493, Curlew 880, Redshank 1060, Black-headed Gull 63, Common Gull 39, Herring Gull 30, Greater Black-backed Gull 3, Kestrel, Merlin. Peregrine Falcon and Sparrowhawk.

West Kirby high tide roost, highest count for February carried out by Dee Estuary Volunteer Wardens - 10th February.
Ringed Plover 260, Grey Plover 1,100, Knot 10,000, Sanderling 50, Dunlin 7,000, Bar-tailed Godwit 1,000 and Redshank 200. 

Wetland Bird Survey count for Flint and Connah's Quay - (Kindly provided by the Deeside Naturalists' Society). 11th February.
Cormorant 75, Shelduck 86, Gadwall 9, Teal 983, Mallard 92, Shoveler 2, Tufted Duck 4, Goldeneye 2, Oystercatcher 639, Knot 280, Dunlin 32, Black-tailed Godwit 1500, Curlew 44, Spotted Redshank 2, Redshank 277, Greenshank 2.

Wetland Birds Survey count for Hoylake Langfields - fields inland of Hoylake (with thanks to C. Butterworth). 11th February.
Grey Heron 3, Mute Swan 3, Pink-footed Goose (feral) - 1, Canada Goose 1, Muscovy Duck 1, Mallard 39, Moorhen 22, Coot 4, Oystercatcher 14, Lapwing 38, Redshank 6, Black-headed Gull 480, Common Gull 92, Herring Gull 11, Peregrine Falcon 2, Sparrowhawk 1, Grey Partridge 3 and Water Pipit 1. 

No count from Inner Marsh Farm this month.

A count of 121 Bewick's Swans on Burton Marsh was the highest of the winter, a pleasing return to the numbers seen three years ago. Other wildfowl include a pair of Smew and a single Ruddy Shelduck both at Inner Marsh Farm. Pink-footed Geese are still around including two flocks totaling 320 birds seen during one the Parkgate High Tide Birdwatches. The record number of 39 Brent Geese were still at Hilbre at the beginning of the month but had dwindled to 10 by the end. 

We had two glorious birdwatches at Parkgate, one on the 9th in lovely sunny weather and the other on the 10th a bit damper, but the tide came in further to make up for it. It was estimated that a remarkable 11 Short-eared Owls were seen on the 10th plus plenty of Water Rails and the usual masses of wader and duck.  

The cold sunny weather mid-month brought in 30,000 Knot to Dawpool bank off Caldy and Thurstaston together with several hundred Black-tailed Godwit. Oystercatchers are noticeably more plentiful this winter and this area is as good as any to see many thousands.

Other notable sightings were 80 Twites off Flint, a Peregrine Falcon chasing a Merlin over Hilbre Island, 12 Waxwings on Thurstaston Hill and a single Mediterranean Gull at Inner Marsh Farm.

The Greenfield Valley bird survey continues, the total is now 54 birds. Click here for a complete list.

What to expect in March: The foot and moth epidemic has rather put a dampener on birdwatching at the moment but there are still plenty of areas around the Dee Estuary away from farmland where it is safe to go. Click here for more info.

The Spring migrants should start to pour in from the middle of March onward. As last year I want to tabulate the first sighting of each species so if you see an early migrant please me. Here is the table from 2000 compared to 1999.

 

Species	First Sight 2000	Location	First Sight 1999
Wheatear	12th March	Burton	12th March
Whinchat	13th March	Leasowe	Late April
ChiffChaff	13th March	Thurstaston	17th March
Sand Martin	16th March	IMF	27th March
White Wagtail	17th March	Hilbre	mid March
House Martin	23rd March	Hilbre	Late April
Willow Warbler	27th March	Neston	2nd April
Blackcap	31st March	Heswall	Late March
Swallow	2nd April	IMF	8th April
Cuckoo	25th April	IMF	mid April
Swift	27th April	IMF	late  April

Many thanks go to Gareth Stamp,  Brian Grey, Wendy Allen, Carl Clee, John Gittins, Jeff Clarke, Cathy McGrath,  Mike Hart, Iain Douglas, John Kirkland, Bill Owens, Martyn Jaimeson, Chris Butterworth, Frank Gleeson, Mark Feltham, Paul Hurley, Robert Lister, Alec Cheney, Magali Pascal, Jon Williams, Maurice Berry, Nick Moss, Colin Jones, Jonathan Clarke and the Dee Estuary Volunteer Wardens for their sightings during February. I rely on the goodwill of people like this, unlike some commercial sites I cannot offer financial inducements!

March Highest Spring Tides (Liverpool) 
10th March, 11.45hrs 10.2m. (all times GMT)
11th March, 12.27hrs 10.3m.
12th March, 13.10hrs 10.2m.
See Tides page for full tide table.

Note that the marsh at Parkgate may be covered when tide height is 9.8m or over, dependent on weather conditions. Low pressure with strong north-west wind will create higher than expected tide, high pressure with southerly wind means lower than expected tide. 

Note: Many of these forthcoming events are extracted from 'Birdwatchers Diary 2001', which covers both the Dee and Mersey regions. Copies available from the visitor centre at Thurstaston, Wirral Country Park 0151 648 4371 or by from myself as a 1.8mb zipped file.