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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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Fiddlers Ferry - Gatewarth
6.00pm ish

1 Whinchat (juv/f) in horse paddocks, flitting between fences and ground.
1 Swallow.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
6pm ish

Juv M Marsh Harrier hunting over fields on far side of River.
2 as Little Grebe with 2 fully grown young on canal.
10or so Swallows, adults and jus, over.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
PM
1 Common Sandpiper on the River.

1 juv Little Grebe on the canal.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
PM
Canal

Pair of Little Grebe energetically feeding two very small, very vocal and very cute fledged chicks .

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
PM Yesterday
3 Little Egrets on River.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth AM

Grey Wagtail Horse Paddocks

Fledged / young birds on site included several Swallows, 1 Kestrel (m) , 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker


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John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges - Gatewarth
Mute Swan pair at Sankey Bridges had 4 fledged young.
The only Swift nest site locally I am aware of, behind the Sloop Inn, also had young birds fledged.
Other fledglings on site included Goldfinch, Willow Warblers and/or Chiffchaff , Reed Warblers.



-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 8th of July 2024 08:41:12 PM

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John Williams


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Gatewarth

A Spotted Flycatcher was seen in woodland near the wind pump this afternoon.



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John Williams
John O'Neill


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Sankey Bridges - Gatewarth
PM
high tide
1 Common Sandpiper by main outflow channel near wind pump
2 Buzzards
Pair Mute Swans nesting by car park at Sloop Pub


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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
yesterday PM

1 Little Egret on River
1 Kestrel
Small post breeding flocks of Starling and Goldfinches.

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
Lesser Whitethroat particularly vocal today, flitting across the main path into various bushes as it moved. Showing well briefly..

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John O'Neill


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yesterday 730pm ish

No Grasshopper Warblers heard, seem either late or lacking this year
Second site tick in a month. a sole Avocet on River
Pair Grey Partridge

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
Swallows nesting at Penketh Hall Stables
1 possibly 2 Lesser Whitethroat singing

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John O'Neill


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Gatewarth
AM
Lesser Whitethroat and a Cettis Warbler both showing surprisingly well (ie, at all) when singing

Tawny Owl heard . Sounded like a young bird.

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John O'Neill


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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
PM
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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