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BACK TO THE MANCHESTER BIRDING WEBSITE HOMEPAGE -> Manchester Birding Forum -> Cheshire and The Wirral -> Cheshire River Mersey Sites (north of the river)
Post Info TOPIC: Cheshire River Mersey Sites (north of the river)
John O'Neill


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Cheshire River Mersey Sites (north of the river)
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Gatewarth
yesterday pm
Warbler sps for year here reached eight with several Whitethroat singing from bushes on grassed over tip area.
Numbers of Reed Warblers and Blackcap into double figures. Six m Blackcaps all together in one of the taller willows seemingly vying for the tree as their territory, all singing and chasing others off.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
"Site Tick" yesterday PM
M Goosander in main creek by Windpump

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
yesterday PM

1 Common Sandpiper feeding in main creek close to Windpump.

At least 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling from field sloping down to the Ferry pub.
2 Blackcaps singing brought warbler count for the year to date to 7

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
yesterday PM

First Swallow of year
Lesser |whitethroat still present, singing a lot more and moving up and down the main hawthorn hedge at top of riverbank. Hopefully settling up territory.

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John O'Neill


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Fiddler's Ferry - Gatewarth
AM
Not been able to get down here for a while so, despite typical Spring conditions (Hail, Rain, Wind) not surprising that the number of warblers seen / heard were up on previous visit...

1 Reed Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
4 or 5 Willow Warblers
At least 10 Chiffchaff
4 Cetti's Warblers

Also one or two Skylark sighing

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges - Gatewarth
yesterday AM

First Willow Warbler of year
At least 10 Chiffchaff .


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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
Yesterday
7 Chiffchaff seen and/or heard .

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth

At least 2 Chiffchaff singing on site this PM

Mute Swan nest had M and F birds in / around it on canal

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
AM
20 plus Golden Plover on River
A few Curlew on far side fields
1 Kestrel hunting. The only raptor present despite high tide.


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Terry Long


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The cattle Egret was also distant but I have ticked that one for the year

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Terry Long


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On further reflection I don't think it was a wood sandpiper. I do have it on video but it's a weird acting muddy legged redshank

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
AM
Bit of a Red Letter Day as the last of the paths still closed for the now completed works was finally re-opened. Access to the site now unrestricted.

4 Little Grebes together on canal (2ad 2 juv)
1 Kestrel
1 Jay
Relatively large loose flock of finches along hedges, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch 100 plus birds.

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Terry Long


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Both Cattle and Little Egret on the marsh between warf and spikey today. Cattle Egret patch tick for me. Cetti's warbler and Raven other highlights

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Andy Slee


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I have added a post onto the Richmond Bank thread as you can get down to the river and get good views over the bank now the filter station works have finished.



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Terry Long


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No other sign of the large robin on the bongs but decent flock of redpoll there. No pale ones though

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Terry Long


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Sorry lock gates at spike island and the old jubilee bridge on the snig side

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Andy Slee


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Terry Long wrote:

Wood Sandpiper by the lock gates on sandbank today. Unseasonal I know. Also Rock Pipit by bridge

 Which bridge Terry? Ta, Andy



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Terry Long


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Wood Sandpiper by the lock gates on sandbank today. Unseasonal I know. Also Rock Pipit by bridge

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry- Gatewarth
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F Grey Wagtail at horse paddock midden piles. Looking beautiful in bright Winter sunshine. (The wagtail...not the middens.)

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Terry Long


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Nice one Andy great stuff. Unfortunately I've not been able to do it for a couple of years. I used to do Widnes waterfront to spike island

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
Early PM
Scattering of snow on ground. Standing water and most of canal iced over.
3 or 4 Siskins in canalside alders.
Great Spotted Woodpecker calling nearby
2 Little Grebe on canal
1 Kestrel hunting over the area where work recently finished.
Small numbers of Fieldfare over
2 Buzzards hunting in tandem on far bank putting up flocks of Curlew (30plus birds) and smaller numbers of Lapwing.


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Andy Slee


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Terry Long wrote:

Anybody regularly birding the cheshire mersey estuary , have you considered submitting counts as a weBs counter ?
The currents weBs team is seriously undermanned in our attempt to map the estuary , some more info on the mersey estuary weBs facebook page or contact the area co-ordinator of the team on dermot.smith@fsmail.net

 I've picked up Norton Marsh / Fiddlers Ferry / Penketh Bank & Bar since last summer.

 

Also got the Gatewarth / Richmond Bank section for the 2024 Win GS Gull Survey.



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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
AM
Access to River possible as most tracks reopened and extensive works appear to be completed.

3 juv Stonechats around midden piles in horse paddocks
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker in canal side trees.

30plus Lapwing on sandbanks.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
AM
A windswept Little Egret in field by Ferry Pub carpark was the first I've seen all year on site.

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges

4 or 5 Goldcrests in with usual roving flocks of Long Tailed Tits this morning.

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges
1 Grey Wagtail over canal
Water Rail calling from reeds.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth

1 juv Little Grebe on canal
Mute Swan pair with 3 young
1 Juv Male Kestrel
1 Buzzard

Lots of classic Autumnal sights (unsurprisingly) A Jay carrying a large Acorn in its beak; Flocks of Starlings on pylons ; 20 plus Pied Wagtails feeding on ploughed field inc many young birds.

Main site still inaccessible, no sign of work scheduled to finish months ago being completed. The work on the brook outflow near the Stables has finished though, and the horse fields returned to grass.




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John O'Neill


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PM Sankey Bridges

Small numbers of post breeding tits and warblers flocking in canalside trees, mainly Long Tailed Tits
Two Reed Warblers still singing very half heartedly in reeds.




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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry Marina
Poor year for swans on the canal, only one nest seems to have produced young. 2 juv Mute Swans with parents at the marina.
Kestrel hunting over was been mobbed by swallows.

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges- Gateewarth
Yday AM
Pair Bullfinch
Several Herons including young birds
Reed Warblers seem to have got their second wind, more singing today than recently.

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry-Gatewarth
Pair of Grey Partridge in horse paddocks.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
At least two broods of fledged Reed Warblers in the canal reeds.

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Terry Long


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2 immature type Caspian Gull just west of the Runcorn bridge also Peregrine knocking about

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges 2pm
F Sparrowhawk making concerted attempts to take at least one of a family group of Long Tailed Tits in canalside trees.

Gatewarth
Cuckoo calling from Old Tip area. First for me for two years here. (To be fair, access has been extremely difficult in that time)

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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges
Reed Warblers singing in reeds , very densely packed. Twenty plus singing males.



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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
Two new warbler species on site since my last visit....Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers.
This brought the number seen here year to date to nine.
Seven seen today, including Lesser Whitethroat, still singing from same area I saw it three weeks ago.

Also seen, a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling repeatedly as flew into a small stand of trees near canal.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
830pm
2 Grasshopper Warblers heard reeling ,1 seen

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John O'Neill


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Cheshire River Mersey Sites (south of the river)
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Y/day evening
8.00-9.00pm
At least 3 Grasshopper Warblers reeling

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
AM
At least 4 Reed Warblers in canal reeds
3 active Mute Swan nests between Flddlers Ferry and Sankey Bridges

Access to site proper remains difficult so I was pleased to manage to see a pair of Grey Partridge (mobbed by a Lapwing) and a Lesser Whitethroat this morning.


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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry
4 Swallows

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
Yesterday pm

Less April Showers more Torrential Downpour in heavy rainfall late yesterday afternoon.
2 or 3 Willow Warblers and 1 Blackcap singing.
10 plus Chiffchaff and at least 2 Cettis Warblers.

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Terry Long


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Cetti's Warbler seem to be residents now in the canal reeds adjacent to Widnes Warth, they almost certainly must have spread from the cetti's that's been further up the canal in Penketh for a good few years now

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Andy Slee


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RE: Cheshire River Mersey Sites
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Youngest daughter loves Spike Island and the chemical museum. So we went to visit there this morn on the promise we walk from Pickering Pasture "as it was such a nice day"........which of course meant stopping at the picnic bench halfway, just before the Runcorn rail/road viaducts at Parsonage Road for a look at the ducks/waders/gulls and a very obliging birder already there put me straight onto the Kumlien's Gull on the West Bank sandflats. (I must admit, I'd have had it as a white-winger but not got the diamonds diagnostics for Kumlien's...but right place right time fluke!). 30 years to the date of my first Iceland Gull at Mersey Road the other side of the bridge.



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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth - Sankey Bridges
pm
Both pairs of Mute Swans have started to nest in canal reeds,.
At the opposite end of the size scale, a Wren was seen collecting and carrying moss to a hidden nest site in the canal wall.

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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
PM
Walk up canal towpath.
1 f Grey Wagtail in waterlogged horse paddocks.
10 plus Chiffchaff , including several in reeds at canalside.
1 Cettis Warbler


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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
pm
At least seven Chiffchaff singing
1 Cettis Warbler
5 plus Buzzards
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Treecreeper
Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
AM
2 Chiffchaff singing
1 Cettis Warbler
5 plus Buzzards soariung over. Vocal.



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John O'Neill


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Fiddlers Ferry Marina
1 f Grey Wagtail

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Terry Long


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Still plenty of Teal around Widnes Warth around 100 in and out of the brooks with Shelduck, Redshank, Curlew and Lapwing dotted around.Also picked out a few Meadow Pipit on marsh. There was 2 Raven was on Tanhouse Lane

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Andy Slee


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Wigg Island 11:30-12:15pm

Two Buzzard, Pied Wagtail, 106 Shelduck on the Mersey before the high tide came, 17 Curlew, one Redshank, seven cormorant and 17 Siskin in the Alders where the path from the Ship Canal comes in.



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