NEWSBIRD

Number 71 July 2006

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Cheshire Barn Owl Report 2005

Black Kite ID • Situations Vacant!

Annual Bird Report Awards 2005 - Results

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY

Chairman : Brian DykeVice-Chairman : Steve Barber

Secretary : David CoggerTreasurer : Clive RichardsRecorder : Hugh Pulsford

6 Buttermere Drive, Great Warford, Cheshire, SK9 7WA. Tel: 01565 880171Email address : countyrec@cawos.org

Membership Secretary : David Cogger113 Nantwich Road, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9HD. Tel: 01606 832517

Email address : memsec@cawos.org

Newsletter Editor : Sheila BlamireWoodruff Cottage, Clamhunger Ln, Mere, Cheshire, WA16 6QG. Tel: 01565 830168

Email address : sheilablamire@cawos.org

Bird News welcomes articles, letters and comments relevant to birdwatching in Cheshire & Wirral.Please either email or post (on disc) your contributions to the Editor at the address shown above.

The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of theSociety, the Council of the Society, or the Editor.

Front cover: Subalpine Warbler by Ray ScallyOther illustrations: Phil Jones, Tom Lowe, Bill Morton, and Jane Turner

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Guest EditorialAnother busy part of the year is upon us again. The records from birdwatchers like yourselveswill have been collated and sorted, a decision made as to which can be included, based on thereport size, and then the compilers, who will have their own particular batches by now, will havebegun their work. Photographs will have been earmarked and articles decided upon.The report team is now in an enviable position as far as photographs are concerned because inrecent years digital cameras have meant an upsurge in local photography. Our old favourites(and I use the term ‘old’ in an endearing fashion) Steve Young and Gary Bellingham have beensupplemented with relative newcomers such as Steve Round, Paul Hackett, Steve Williams, PaulS Hill and John and Sue Tranter. All are superb, very enthusiastic photographers and we arevery fortunate to be able to call on such talent. I have to say though, out of all the recentphotographs taken, one particularly attracted me and it now hangs proudly on my wall. Which one?The Leach’s Petrel of course, taken by Steve Young. It reminds me so much of some of the oceanicpaintings by Keith Shackleton. When you look at his albatrosses and petrels, you can almost feelthe wind on your face and the swell under the boat. Good job they invented Sealegs…..The production of a bird report is no mean feat. It is a complex publication that brings together allthe skills that perhaps only Wall St journalists appreciate, plus some. There is the typesetter toliaise with and then the publisher to work with. It is all about timing and cooperation, deadlines andexpectations, hard work and even tears. The fact that ours is judged to be one of the best in thecountry, says it all.On a completely different subject, my birds have been dying. Not in ones and twos, but in threesand fours. (See separate article under ‘Notes and Letters’.) The autopsy on one Goldfinchshould provide the answer. It is most likely to be an outbreak of salmonella, not avian bird flu, butvery distressing nonetheless.Avian bird flu seems to have gone quiet with little press coverage these days. Not so. An articlein the latest Birding Asia magazine details how some governments are encouraging the killing ofmigrant birds, the draining of wetlands to prevent wildfowl breeding and even the destruction ofBarn Swallow nests. The three main organisations, the World Health Organisation, the WorldOrganisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation are all opposed toculling and the draining of wetlands. They are not a solution to a virus that appears to kill most ofthe birds that it infects and whether it is actually wild birds that are spreading the disease is stillopen to question. Three main causes are highlighted. The legal and illegal transportation ofpoultry around the world, the worldwide trade in captive birds and the use of untreated poultrymanure as fertiliser and feed.There is one main common denominator in this outbreak, and I must add, all the other disastersand conflicts around the world…. human beings. It is just a pity that at a time when scientists aremaking breakthroughs in the field of genetics, taxonomy and DNA, a significant proportion of therest of us seem hell -bent on destruction.Another article in the same magazine is entitled ‘Splits galore: the revolution in Asian leaf warblersystemics’. It gives an insight into the relationship between what used to be a handful of Phylloscopusand Seicercus species and the number of species that actually exist as a result of determinedfieldwork by the Swedes and Germans and as a result of DNA sequencing and state-of-the-artacoustic differentiation. It is intriguing to read but daunting at the same time. If a species of bird can’tbe identified in the field, where does that leave birders and listing? Does it matter?Nearly three hundred years ago, in 1718, a man called Dereham claimed that there were three,not one, British ‘willow-wrens’, based on vocalisations rather than, and as well as, plumagefeatures. He was proved to be correct. We now know them as Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff andWood Warbler. The further splitting of the Chiffchaff complex and other warbler species isalready well under way as I write, but what other surprises are there in store? The July issue ofBird News in the year 2306 will be interesting.

Tony Broome

Note: the copy date for the next issue is 16th September - please be prompt

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BLACK KITE Milvus migransBlack K ite is not thatd if f icul t to ident i fy i fyou have seen thembefore. In fact, if youtravel to southernEurope and beyondwhere they are relativelycommo n, one qu ick lygets one’s eye in and theirbas ic shap e and j iz zbecome easily remembered.The issue in Britain is the lackof familiarity which has probablyled to Black Kite being one of the most mis-identified raptors in the country. Add on the fact thatmost records are from southern and south-west areas in spring and it becomes evident that thespecies is still a very rare bird in the north-west of England.Black Kites are slightly smaller than Red Kites and exhibit shorter tails and broader wings,giving a more compact look about them. The wings are long and parallel-sided with a broadtip, usually showing six primary tips rather than the five of Red Kite. The tail is still longcompared to other raptors and is shallowly forked, the fork becoming less apparent whenthe tail is spread. They have a leisurely flapping flight with shallow wingbeats, they glide onsmoothly arched wings and they soar on flat wings. The silhouette lacks the ranginess ofRed Kite which tends to be all tail and long slender wings with a small body. On birds at rest, thewing tips fall roughly level with the tail tip, unlike Red Kite where the wing tip falls well short of thetail tip. The whole feel of the bird is different.

Plumage-wise, adult Black Kites are dark raptors with pale heads and a broad diffuse pale panelacross the median wing coverts. On the underwing, they have a paler area on the inner hand, i.e.the base of the primaries. Juveniles are paler and brighter with a whiter outer hand, theunderbody is streaked paler, the vent is pale, not dark and all the greater coverts are tippedpaler. The head is paler, accentuating a dark eye patch and the upperwing panel is brighter.Black Kites are a dark brown bird, lacking the rufescent tones of Red Kites in all but a tinypercentage of some southern populations.The species most often confused with Black Kite is, without doubt, Marsh Harrier. However,unlike Black Kites, they lack barring on the narrower wings and soar with their wings in a ‘V’.At a distance, when plumage details are impossible to discern, a soaring bird will almostalways show a fanned, rounded tail and along with the more tapered wings, will look a verydifferent bird, jizz-wise.Raptors can be a difficult group to identify and only experience really helps. I remember seeinghundreds of Black Kites perched on overhead wires at a tip near Delhi, looking for all the worldlike lines of giant pigeons. In eastern Turkey they pass through in September in their thousandsand they become so familiar that they are ignored whilst searching for ‘better’ raptors. I’ve alsoseen them in their winter quarters in Asia, in heavy moult, with tails graduated like Magpies, butthey were still distinctive.

They are largely scavengers and will swoop down to pick up carrion and offal. They will also pickup prey items from water including fish and opportunistically take small mammals, birds andinsects. Some mammals as big as hares are occasionally taken and birds as large as youngCoots and ducks, even Cattle Egrets have also been recorded.

Tony Broome

County Rarities

Black Kite by Phil Jones

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Records & RecordingTHE NEW COUNTY RECORDER - HUGH PULSFORDFollowing on from Tony Broome’s ‘Guest Editorial’ in the last Bird News, in which he announced thathe was stepping down as County Recorder, a position he’d held since 1987, we thought it appropriateto print this brief introduction, taken from an email Hugh sent to Council, for those CAWOS memberswho may not know him. Hugh has a tough act to follow but we have every confidence in him andknow that he will make the role his own. He also hopes to visit many of the bird clubs within thecounty, not only to get his face known, but to explain the role of the County Recorder and the workthe Rarities Team undertake, to encourage the submission of records and descriptions, and to takeon board, where possible, any suggestions people may have for a better working relationship. Eds.

To give you some background on myself, I have been a keen ‘local’ birder in Cheshire and Wirralsince I moved up to the south Manchester area in the mid-1980s. Historically, my birding hadstarted as a schoolboy in south-east London; one of my teachers was a keen birdwatcher andlicensed ringer, and with the late Peter Grant living just down the road, much of my formativeyears was spent with them at bird observatories like Dungeness and Spurn. This developed intolocal patch watching and expanded into countrywide birding from the mid-1970s onwards, includingexperience abroad, particularly in Europe. Birds have always fascinated me.From a CAWOS perspective, I have been a compiler of the county Bird Report during the 1990s,a member of the County Rarities Team since 1990 onwards, and a regular contributor to ourexcellent Bird News doing articles on identification of birds classed as county rarities. I have alsohad several interactions over the years with the British Birds Rarities Committee. I have recentlycompleted training for my C ringing permit, and I am a member of the South Manchester RingingGroup, and associate member of the Merseyside Ringing Group (since I do quite a bit of myringing at Woolston Eyes). My local patch is Great Warford and around the Alderley Park sitewhere I work (I am Chairman of the Natural History Society here) and much of my birding isfocused here, but routinely spiced by visits to various sites countywide, including out onto Wirral.I appreciate that the Recorder position is one of the external faces of CAWOS and its Council andmembers, and as such requires a certain level of both ornithological and personal skills. I believeI have the expertise and experience in the former, whilst my working environment as a GlobalProduct Director at AstraZeneca involves me in leading multi-cultural, cross-functionally skilledproduct teams, and as such I feel I can bring the necessary ‘people’ skills to the role, includinggood communication and organisational skills, analytical thinking and concern for impact.

Clearly, as I know Tony well we can work together to execute a smooth handover of responsibilitiesand I can also come up to speed on the Council activities through interactions with its members.

CommentFollowing consultation with county recorders and records committees, BBRC decided to take anumber of Britain’s best-loved rarities off the list of species it considers for records from January1st 2006. The species involved have all exceeded 200 records in total and 100 in the last 10 years.In most cases, the identification is relatively straightforward and well known, but the pitfalls aremany and descriptions submitted to the county Rarities Team will still have to be of a suitablestandard. Ex-BBRC does not equate to ‘common’. Of these I guess the one that most countyrarity panels will be dreading (apart from perhaps Wilson’s Storm Petrel!) is Black Kite.

So far we have only had two records accepted for Cheshire and Wirral, which included the well-watched bird at Moore in May 2005. The first was a bird seen trying to catch ducklings atDoddington Pool on June 2nd 1980, possibly also noted later at Oulton Park Lake. Europeanpopulations are, however, continuing to spread north and west, so perhaps it will only be a matterof time before birds breed in the UK.

Hugh Pulsford

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FROM THE RARITY COMMITTEE ARCHIVESThis article is intended to provide some discussion on a historic record, which for one reason oranother, was particularly interesting and/or problematical to identify.

There may be a few CAWOS members who remember a sighting of a wagtail at Hale in April 1986which, initially, was thought to be a Citrine Wagtail. In those days, spring Citrine Wagtail recordswere almost non-existent, so it attracted quite a bit of attention. However, as it wasn’t an adultmale, and given most birders’ lack of experience with this species, there was considerabledebate as to its identity.

We reproduce here an excellent set of field notes and comments taken by Julian Hough (with hispermission) on 22 April 1986 of the bird in question.

22 APRIL 1986 – HALE SHORE NR WIDNESAfter an hour, the wagtail, which had been identified as a Citrine Wagtail and seen by manyobservers, flew in, giving good views. After watching the bird for some time, I was in no doubt atthe time that the bird was a female Citrine Wagtail. I had expected, however (and noted at thetime), a pale surround to the ear coverts that is characteristic of first-year birds and according tothe Shell Guide also a feature of females. Having never seen a Citrine before, I put this to theback of my mind, and concentrated on the other field characters out of the 30 or so other Britishrecords. Most of these have been first-year birds in autumn. There have not been many springrecords (if any) of females and I suspect this may be the earliest ever. However, features led meto believe this may not be 100% Citrine Wagtail.

Bill: Structurally different from Yellow Wagtail, appearing stouter and longer in shape. Black incolouration, with lower mandible appearing slightly upcurved.Head: Pale grey crown and ear coverts witha pale yellow supercilium. No pale surroundto ear coverts that is characteristic of Citrine(especially first-year individuals).Upperparts: Pale grey with olive rump (Citrineshould not show olive rump?), median andgreater coverts black, tipped broadly withwhite creating double wing bar. Tertials, longand b lack, edged conspicuously white-blackish secondaries and primaries.

Tail: Black with white outer tail feathers.Underparts: Yellow, strongest on vent.Overall colouration less intense and morewashed out than on Yellow Wagtail.Legs: Black, appearing distinctly longer thanYellow Wagtail.

Call: Similar to Yellow Wagtail’s ‘tsreep’. Expected the call to be more of a ‘buzzing’ call.Lack of identification criteria is obviously a restricting factor as well as lack of experience of thisspecies. Indeed, this is a strange bird showing well-defined characteristics of Citrine (wingstructure, upper part colour, longer legs, stouter bill?) but there are several features againstCitrine (lack of pale surround to ear coverts, olive rump and call). Perhaps the bird is a hybrid,White x Yellow or Yellow x Citrine or a new species which has been overlooked. I find the lattervery doubtful and expect that the bird is a variant Yellow Wagtail.

Julian Hough

CommentWith hindsight and based on current knowledge, it is clear that this bird was not a Citrine Wagtail.This is based not only on the key points that Julian makes but also that the combination offeatures shown do not have the right suite of plumage details for Citrine Wagtail. You can rule outadult male in breeding plumage purely on the crown and facial colour. If it had been an adult

Notebook sketch byJulian Hough

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Some of the records may be unauthenticated and therefore will require review by the Society’sRarities Panel or the BBRC. This report covers the spring period from March to May.

Recent Reports

SITE REPORTS

Chester area45 Bewick’s Swans were in fields near Shotwick on Mar 18th. A Red Kite was noted west ofChester on May 12th. The first Swift was noted over the Gowy Meadows on Apr 25th, with HouseMartins at Backford on Apr 8th along with Yellow Wagtail. Up to five pairs of Pied Flycatchers werenoted at Burwardsley on May 10th and a possible Serin at Backford on Apr 20th.

Crewe & Nantwich areaA Little Egret was in the Sandbach area between Mar 11th and 22nd, and another at CombermereFarm on 30th. Wildfowl of note included 568 Wigeon at Sandbach on Mar 15th, two Mandarins hereon Mar 12th, up to five Goosanders in the Sandbach area during Mar and two at Chapel Mere onApr 13th. A Goshawk was at Peckforton on Apr 23rd, an early Osprey at Combermere Farm onMar 19th with others at Burwardsley on Apr 12th and Deer Park Mere the next day. A Merlin wasin the Sandbach area on Apr 20th and 22nd and a Hobby was at Elton Hall Flash and CombermereFarm on Apr 18th. The first Little Ringed Plover was at Elton Hall Flash on Mar 21st with five on Apr4th, 188 Black-tailed Godwits were at Sandbach on Apr 29th with three Whimbrel on Apr 20th.Iceland Gulls were noted at Elton Hall Flash from Apr 14th to 17th and Hurleston on Apr 25th. ACommon Tern was at Sandbach on Apr 27th with a Black Tern at Watch Lane Flash on May 7th.Cuckoos were noted at Peckforton on Apr 22nd and Watch Lane Flash on 27th, an early Swift wasat Nantwich on Apr 16th. Over 1000 Sand Martins were at Bar Mere between Apr 6th and 13th, aSwallow was at Doddington and House Martins at Edleston on Mar 24th, 250 Pied and 10 WhiteWagtails were noted at Deer Park Mere on Apr 2nd with 25 Yellow Wagtails at Combermere Farmon Apr 22nd. Redstart and Whinchat were noted on Apr 27th at Peckforton and Maw Greenrespectively, 3000 Fieldfares were at Hurleston on 23rd Mar with a late bird at Wrenbury on May10th. 25 Tree Sparrows were at Elton Hall Flash and 350 Bramblings at Moss Wood on Mar 5th, aHawfinch at Wistaston between Mar 23rd and 28th, at Nantwich on Apr 1st and 12 Crossbills atFields Farm Flash on Apr 1st.

female, or a first-year spring bird, it would not have had such clean underparts, the flanks shouldbe greyish too, and the upperparts would have been darker, without any olive colour to the rump.Add the lack of any evidence of the pale yellow surround to the ear coverts and the more YellowWagtail call, and even the pro-Citrine jizz and structure can’t help you confirm identification. Itshould also have had a noticeably longer tail than Yellow Wagtail, but this feature was notcommented on. So what was it?Given the diversity of the ‘Yellow Wagtail’ complex with at least eight races in the WesternPalearctic alone, along with the frequent occurrence of racial hybrids, and migration patterns, itis tempting to suggest it belongs to a hybrid of two of these races. But a grey crown andupperparts combination are not found in any ‘Yellow Wagtail’ that has a yellow supercilium, so youstart to struggle to guess its parentage. Perhaps, as Julian comments, it is a hybrid White Wagtailwith a Yellow Wagtail, but I would have felt such a hybrid would show more pro-White Wagtailcharacteristics. So perhaps we are left with a Yellow Wagtail x Citrine Wagtail hybrid. We knowthat such hybridisation has occurred in Poland, and the sum of the plumage features points moreto a mix of Citrine Wagtail with a race of Yellow Wagtail.

Of course, the above comments are supposition, but the experience clearly does show the valueof good field notes and keeping an open mind when watching something a little unusual.

Hugh Pulsford, County Recorder

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Ellesmere Port & Neston areaLittle Egret numbers at Burton peaked at 24 on Mar 31st. Wildfowl highlights included a RuddyShelduck at Inner Marsh Farm on Apr 30th, Garganey at Inner Marsh Farm on Apr 17th with threeon May 5th, whilst a drake Eider at Neston Old Quay on Mar 31st was an unusual record, 23 Red-breasted Mergansers were at Parkgate on Mar 29th and two Goosanders on Mar 1st. Raptors ofnote included Red Kite over Little Stanney on Mar 15th, Marsh Harrier at Burton on several datesand Neston reed bed on Mar 27th, Osprey at Little Neston and Parkgate on Apr 20th and Hobby atInner Marsh Farm on May 3rd and 10th andGreat Sutton on May 25th. At least 12 WaterRails were noted at Parkgate on Mar 1st

and 20+ on Mar 30th, a Spotted Crakewas here on Mar 29th into early Apr. AnAvocet appeared at Inner Marsh Farmon Mar 27th with three on May 8th andfour on 19th, a pair with four young werenoted on May 25th three of whichremained at the month’s end. Otherwaders of note inc luded PectoralSandpiper at Inner Marsh Farm on May28th, c10 Jack Snipe at Parkgate on Mar1st, 1400 Black-tailed Godwits at InnerMarsh Farm on Apr 28th, two Greenshankon Apr 17th, and a Wood Sandpiper at InnerMarsh Farm on May 3rd to 7th.A Long-eared Owl was at Neston marsh on Mar 30th, a possible Wryneck was at Ness on Apr 27th,with eight Water Pipits at Parkgate on Mar 30th and five at Neston Old Quay on 31st. Migrantsincluded 15 Sand Martins at Inner Marsh Farm on Mar 27th, Swallows at Parkgate on Mar 29th, withHouse Martins the next day, then Yellow Wagtail at Burton on Apr 1st, Redstart at Parkgate on Apr15th, Ring Ouzel at Parkgate on Apr 3rd, an early Whinchat at Neston marsh on Mar 30th, GrasshopperWarbler at Parkgate on Apr 16th with a Cetti’s Warbler reported from Neston reed bed on Apr 2nd.Elsewhere, the two Marsh Tits remained at Stanney Woods, a Great Grey Shrike was at Burtonon Apr 4th, whilst a Mealy Redpoll was noted with 10 Lesser Redpolls at Rivacre CP on Mar 9th. 12Twite were at Burton on Mar 11th.

Halton areaAn Osprey was over Runcorn on Apr 23rd, with a Merlin at Hale on Apr 22nd. Two Whimbrels wereon the Mersey at Hale on Apr 22nd with a singing Grasshopper Warbler nearby. Up to 10 LesserRedpolls were in the Hale area on Mar 14th.

Macclesfield areaTwo Black-necked Grebes visited Rostherne on May 6th, two Whooper Swans were in the Peover/Ollerton area on Apr 14th. Wildfowl included six Mandarins at Trentabank Reservoir on Apr 24th,six Goosanders at Styperson Pool on Mar 11th and a redhead Smew at Tatton on various datesin Mar. Two Hen Harriers were reported from an area of the Peak District on the county borderon Apr 14th, an Osprey was over Rostherne on Apr 5th with another on May 1st, Goshawks werereported at Macclesfield Forest and Henbury on Apr 24th and 30th respectively. 15 GoldenPlovers were noted at Three Shires Head on Mar 19th, whilst a Woodcock was at Higher Poyntonon Mar 20th. A Whimbrel was over Rostherne on May 3rd. Two Arctic Terns at Rostherne on May1st were the only terns reported. This site also had three Cuckoos on May 14th, a single at Martonon Apr 21st was the only other record received for this species.The first Swifts were over Adlington and Rostherne on May 1st. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckerswere noted at Redesmere. Sand Martins were at Tatton on Mar 25th, Swallows at Rostherne andHouse Martins at Poynton on 28th. Two Yellow Wagtails at Adlington on Apr 15th were the only onesreported, Wheatears were at Cut-thorn Hill on Apr 4th whilst Ring Ouzels were at Danebower on Apr1st with eight at Cut-thorn Hill on Apr 19th. Two Redstarts and a Pied Flycatcher were at Tegg’s Noseon Apr 17th with three at Lyme Park on Apr 29th, Lesser Whitethroats were along the Middleton Wayon May 1st and Rostherne on 7th. Two Spotted Flycatchers were at Tegg’s Nose on May 9th.

Spotted Crake by Phil Jones

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Vale Royal areaA Ruddy Shelduck was at Dutton Lock on Mar 30th, a Garganey at Haydn Pool on May 5th and 19th

with another at Neumann’s Flash on May 9th and 13th, nine Common Scoters were at Marbury CPon May 9th with two Scaup on the Weaver Bend on May 16th. A Goshawk was at Marbury CP onMay 7th, an Osprey was over Marbury CP on Mar 29th with one over Neumann’s Flash on Apr 11th

and Hobby at Vale Royal Locks on May 5th and Marbury CP on 6th. Waders of note included twoAvocets at Frodsham on May 11th, Little Ringed Plover at Neumann’s Flash on Apr 1st, Temminck’sStint at Neumann’s Flash on May 9th, 72 Black-tailed Godwits at Neumann’s Flash on Apr 9th withc100 at Frodsham Marsh on Apr 28th, a Bar-tailed Godwit at Ashton’s Flash on Apr 16th, 54Whimbrel at Neumann’s Flash on May 6th, eight Common Sandpipers at Marbury CP on Apr 15th,Wood Sandpiper at Neumann’s Flash on Apr 21st and Marston on May 3rd and female Red-neckedPhalarope at Neumann’s Flash on May 24th. A Sandwich Tern was at Marbury CP on Apr 23rd

followed by Common Tern on 27th with 15 on May 4th, and an Arctic Tern on Apr 22nd, elsewheretwo Little Terns were a good record from Neumann’s Flash on May 2nd with two at Marbury CP on22nd, a Black Tern was at this latter site on Apr 21st.Swifts appeared at Frodsham Marsh and Marbury CP on Apr 20th, a Hoopoe was over FrodshamMarsh on Apr 20th. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were noted at Marbury CP. A possible RockPipit was at Marbury CP on Apr 8th. A Redstart was at Moulton on Apr 20th, with another atFrodsham Marsh on 23rd, along with three Tree Pipits. A Grasshopper Warbler was noted atWitton Brook on Apr 19th, Reed Warbler at Haydn Pool on 13th with Sedge Warbler on 9th, twoLesser Whitethroats at Dairyhouse Meadows on Apr 22nd, Wood Warbler at Marbury CP on Apr27th and Spotted Flycatcher here on May 2nd. A Mealy Redpoll was at Ashton’s Flash on Mar 1st.

Warrington areaA Black-necked Grebe was at Woolston Eyes on Mar 26th with two at Houghton Green Flash onthe same day, max counts noted were 30 at Woolston on Apr 29th and seven at Houghton Greenon Apr 12th. A Garganey was at Woolston Eyes on May 20th, five Common Scoters were atHoughton Green Pool on May 1st, with a Goosander at Fiddler’s Ferry during Mar. MarshHarriers were at Fiddler’s Ferry and Woolston during early May, Hobbies were at Lymm andWoolston Eyes on Apr 29th with at least two at Risley Moss from mid-May. Two Little Gulls wereat Woolston Eyes on Apr 25th, four Mediterranean Gulls at Arpley with an Iceland Gull on Mar 4th,Iceland Gull at Gatewarth on Mar 11th and a Caspian Gull at Moore on Mar 15th. A Kittiwake wasat Fiddler’s Ferry between Mar 26th and 31st.Eight Green Woodpeckers were in the same tree at Moore NR on May 9th. Six GrasshopperWarblers were singing at Gatewarth on Apr 23rd with nine at Woolston Eyes on 25th, a Yellow-browedWarbler was at Fiddler’s Ferry on Mar 5th, and a Pied Flycatcher was at Moore on Apr 20th. A flockof 45 Lesser Redpolls were still at Moore onApr 21st with 100 at Woolston Eyes during Apr.

Wirral areaSix Red-throated Divers were at Hilbre on Apr25th with a s ingle Black-throated Diver atHoylake on May 24th. Two Slavonian Grebeswere at Hilbre on Mar 21st. Seabird passageincluded 140 Manx Shearwaters off Hilbre onApr 25th, a Sooty Shearwater off Leasowe onMay 28th, 350 Gannets off Hilbre on Apr 25th

with 100+ off Hoylake on May 5th. Wildfowl ofnote included 88 Brent Geese at Hilbre on Mar14th, two Garganey at West Kirby on May 1st,an Eider off New Brighton on Mar 25th, andGoosander at Red Rocks on Apr 8th.A Red Kite was at Thurstaston on May 7th,Marsh Harriers were noted at Heswall on Mar29th and Hilbre on May 8th. During April Ospreysappeared at Red Rocks on 5th, Thurstaston on9th, Barnston on 17th, New Brighton on 21st,

Red Kite by Phil Jones

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Hoylake on 22nd with May records from Hilbre on4th, West Kirby on 6th, Hilbre on 10th, Red Rocks on14th and West Kirby on 17th. A Hobby was noted atWest Kirby on Apr 24th with another at Leasowe on28th. An early Quail was at Leasowe on Apr 24th.Wader counts of note included 1100 Grey Ploversat Heswall on Mar 25th, 12,000 Knot at Hoylake,with 200 Sanderlings on Mar 4th and 12,000 Knot atThurstaston on Mar 9th. A Whimbrel was at RedRocks on Mar 22nd, three were at West Kirby and20 over Barnston on 19th, a good count of 3600Redshank was made at Heswall on Apr 10th.

An Arctic Skua was at West Kirby on Apr 9th, three off Hilbre on May 7th and two off Leasowe onMay 29th, a Great Skua was noted off Hilbre on Apr 7th. An exceptional count of 637 Little Gullswas made from Hilbre on Mar 20th with birds also noted from Hoylake, Leasowe and New Brighton.A Laughing Gull was reported from Hilbre on May 14th. Two Sandwich Terns were off Leasoweon Apr 4th followed by Common Tern at Hilbre on 8th, Arctic Tern on 26th and Little Tern on May 3rd.200 Guillemots and 300 Razorbills were off Hilbre on Apr 25th. A Turtle Dove at Thurstaston onMay 26th was the only record for this species received for the county during this period. The firstWirral Cuckoo was at North Wirral Coastal Park on the late date of Apr 29th.The first Swift was at Red Rocks on the early date of Apr 16th. An Alpine Swift appeared atBarnston on Apr 13th remaining until 22nd before reappearing at Moreton on 24th. A Hoopoe was atLingham Lane on Apr 16th. The first Swallow was at Red Rocks on Mar 25th with House Martin atLeasowe on 29th. Three Tree Pipits were at Hilbre on Apr 15th with a Red-throated Pipit reported overLeasowe on May 13th. 37 White Wagtails were present at Hoylake Langfields on Apr 10th. Redstartsappeared at several north Wirral sites during mid-late Apr, a Black Redstart was at Heswall onMar 24th, 20 Wheatears at Leasowe on Apr 2nd, and a Ring Ouzel was at Leasowe on Apr 15th.Both Grasshopper and Sedge Warbler appeared on Apr 15th, a possible Dartford Warbler was atThurstaston on Apr 22nd. A male Subalpine Warbler was present on Hilbre from Apr 30th to May 8th

although rather elusive. A Lesser Whitethroat was at Caldy on May 10th, the first Whitethroat wasat North Wirral Coastal Park on Apr 17th with Wood Warbler at Stapledon Wood on Apr 23rd. Goodpassage of Goldcrests was noted at West Kirby and Caldy Hill on Mar 6th with at least 60 and 20birds involved at the respective sites. A Pied Flycatcher was noted at North Wirral Coastal Parkon Apr 22nd with three Spotted Flycatchers at the same site on May 3rd. A Great Grey Shrike was atLeasowe on May 1st, a Chough reported from Greasby on Apr 13th with a Serin at Hilbre on Apr 28th.

Tony Parker, 41 The Park, Penketh, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 2SG. Tel: 01925 726986Email: tonyparker@cawos.org

Thanks/acknowledgements to: Birdcall, Birdguides, Birdwatching Magazine, Dee Estuary website, Jack Canovan(Rostherne Mere), Moore NR website, Keith Massey (Fiddler’s Ferry), Macclesfield RSPB, SECOS, NNHS andanyone else who passed records on.

MERES AND MOSSES MONTH – A NEW ANNUAL FESTIVALThis is an event, to take place in August 2006, organised by the Cheshire and ShropshireWildlife Trusts. The aim is to highlight the natural importance and unique quality of theseinternationally rare habitats in Cheshire, Shropshire and the north-west Midlands. Themosses and meres were formed at the end of the Ice Age and have since developed adistinctive wildlife, which is often under threat.The festival will include guided walks, art and photography workshops, wildlife-watchingactivities and festivals at Cholmondeley Castle on 26th-27th August and at Wood LaneNature Reserve, Ellesmere on 2nd September.More details can be found on the website: www.meresandmossesmonth.info or from theCheshire Wildlife Trust on 01270 610810. It is hoped that the festival will become anannual event so a good start is essential.

Hoopoe by Jane Turner

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CHESHIRE BARN OWL REPORT 20051. IntroductionThis report collates data from the West, Mid Cheshire, South Cheshire and Wirral Barn Owl groups.

2. SummaryThere were 123 confirmed breeding pairs of Barn Owl Tyto alba in Cheshire in 2005, with a totalof 316 confirmed young (including second broods). At 20 of the 123 sites the young were notcounted. Using the average number of chicks per pair at the counted sites of 3.06 would give anestimated total of 376 young in 2005. The maximum number of young produced at any one sitewas six. The number of boxes installed by end 2005 in Cheshire was 506.

3. Dataa) Breeding data for 2005:

No. of confirmed breeding pairs 123No. of pairs with confirmed numbers of young 103Average young per pair (of the 103) 3.06Confirmed young owls 316Maximum young at one site 6Estimated total young 376Boxes installed 506

b) Comparison with previous years:Note: There is only patchy data on mortality and number of birds f ledged hence it is notincluded this year.

Year Breeding pairs Young Young per pair1998 7 17 2.41999 10 32 2.32000 19 46 2.22001 29 53 1.82002 48 110 3.12003 61 167 3.12004 76 199 2.82005 123 316 3.1

c) The location of breeding sites:Tree box Barn box Pole box Building Tree site Total

West 6 0 27 0 11 44Mid 15 10 1 0 11 37Wirral 23 0 0 4 3 30South 3 0 2 5 2 12Total 47 10 30 9 27 123

d) The number of boxes installed and the take-up by Barn Owls:Boxes installed Used by Barn Owl % utilisation (for breeding)

West 220 33 15Mid 155 26 16Wirral 90 15 16South 41 4 10Total 506 55 11.6

Barn Owl by Bill Morton

Species Spotlight

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e) Number of pairs and the number of young for each of the last 8 years:

NB: The return to the previous breeding success rate probably reflects a better vole year in 2005.

f) Breeding sucess in each Barn Owl area:

Group Pairs Young Young per pairWest 44 159 3.61Mid 37 (17 sites counted) 48 2.82South 12 29 2.41Wirral 30 80 2.66

4. DiscussionThis report has been completed rapidly to meet a deadline of the Cheshire meeting in March.However, all the key data are present. Another good year with a substantial increase in thenumber of breeding pairs detected in Cheshire. There is no point in repeating the comments fromprevious reports apart from the observation that numbers are now well ahead of any previousdata from Cheshire, although one suspects that much of the previous data from the 80s and 90sresulted from significant undercounting.

If we are seeing a genuine recovery, our milder climate may be playing a part but the effect of themuch colder winter in 2005-6 remains to be seen.

Collated and prepared by John Wild on behalf of the Cheshire Barn Owl Groups

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CHESHIRE BARN OWL GROUPS

~ NEW CONTACT for South Cheshire Barn Owl Group ~website: www.cheshirebarnowls.co.uk - contains links to all the Cheshire groups

Contact details for the other groups within our county are:

Broxton Barn Owl Group (covers Chester and the western third of Cheshire)

Bernard Wright Tel: 01829 782243 Email: knoydart@globalnet.co.uk

Mid Cheshire Barn Owl Conservation Group (covers Knutsford, Northwich, Winsfordand Cuddington)

John Mycock, 35 Burnside Way, Winnington Grange, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 4XRTel: 01606 75937 Email: JohnMyc@birse.co.uk

North Cheshire Barn Owl Group (covers Lymm, Warrington, Runcorn and Widnes)

Lower Moss Wood, School Lane, Ollerton, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8SJFrank Huband Tel: 01925 728958 Email: north@cheshirebarnowls.co.uk

South Cheshire Barn Owl Group - NEW CONTACT(covers Sandbach, Alsager, Crewe and Nantwich)

Tony Dickinson, 51 Arrowsmith Drive, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST7 2JQTel: 01270 874160 Email: ardickinson@btinternet.com

Wirral Barn Owl Trust (covers Ellesmere Port to Birkenhead)

Steve Harris, P.O. Box 114, Hoylake, Wirral, CH48 8BXTel: 0151 625 3969 Email: wepbarnowltrust@aol.com

Barn Owl distribution 2005:

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One Man’s BirdingTATIE-SETTERSThe first car I ever owned was a 1937 Austin Ruby Tourer,bought in 1957 from a scrapyard in Rock Ferry. Once mymechanically-minded older cousin and his engineer friendMac had spent an afternoon working on it, the willing littleside-valve engine never let me down (though I did have tocarry a can of oil the way other people carried petrol).

What, you ask, has all this to do with birds? The answer is Yellow Wagtails. If you’ve just got yourfirst drop-head, however old and battered, you just want to drive it somewhere and it is a sin to putthe roof up. So, one sunny summer evening, I drove down to Denhall. There was a small pool inthe field alongside the road, where one could always find one or two pairs of Yellow Wagtailsfeeding, and I still recall sitting in the Austin Seven with the hood down and watching them, feelingas though I owned the world.Two recent incidents brought this back to mind. The first came when I found myself driving backfrom one of my tetrads along a rather obscure lane. Something niggled at the back of my mind;why did it seem familiar? Then the memory clicked in: twenty-five years ago, when doingfieldwork for the first Cheshire Atlas, I had stopped here, looked over a gate, and found a pair ofYellow Wagtails in the pasture. No chance of that now, for things have changed so much.....Stuart Smith, who based much of his monograph on studies of the wagtails at Gatley, wrote in1950 that “Cheshire would appear to be the county for the Yellow Wagtail” which was “abundantpractically everywhere”. About the same time Boyd listed them as “common” in Great Budworth,and that was how we tended to think of them in my youth - a typical, widespread, indeed common,Cheshire bird. That may explain why (like other ‘common’ birds) they were rarely mentioned inthe Cheshire Bird Reports of the sixties and early seventies.I think I took them for granted when I came to live in Nantwich in 1970: they were lovely birds, andit was good to be living in a place where they were so much a part of summer. I first met StuartGibson, then a schoolboy, on the occasion when he found a Blue-headed bird among a springflock of Yellows at Hurleston. Later, he and I often stood together watching the regular roost onthe reservoir bank: it held as many as 200 birds in 1983, and several other sites in the countycould report three-figure numbers at that time.

Stuart, unlike me, was a local - a genuine ‘Dabber’, and he told me that the old name of ‘tatie-setter’ was still used among older people. In the Nantwich area this appeared to reflect the beliefwhich Boyd reported from Great Budworth (and which I had always understood to be the case):“its arrival is a signal to set potatoes, and this has given it the names of potato-dropper andpotato-setter”. So I was a bit surprised when the first Cheshire Atlas rather reversed the processby suggesting that “the names are due to the habit of spring migrants dropping into the tilled fieldsas the crop is being set in April”. I’m not sure where this version came from, but to me it soundsa bit too logical - an ornithologist’s interpretation rather than a countryman’s? The birds’ typicalhabitat was water meadows and river valleys, and the dialect names, like the birds, were a lotmore widespread than the potato fields. So I’ll continue trying to persuade my gardener wife thatthe arrival of Yellow Wagtails is a more consistent guide to potato planting than Good Friday.....The Hurleston hide which was built as a memorial to Stuart stands at the spot where we watchedthe roost - but the roost itself is long gone. A quick and unscientific trawl through the Bird Reportssuggests that references to declining numbers, both of breeders and passage birds, start toappear in the eighties, and the first Cheshire Atlas (published in 1992 but based on fieldwork tenyears earlier) suggested it was clear that “there had been some contraction in range in the last 30years”. This reflected the wider position described in the 1993 national New Atlas, and now, in mypart of the county at least, Yellow Wagtails are quite hard to come by.However, the second incident which started me thinking about them was much more positive thanthe first. The local site we call Combermere Farm (rather confusingly rendered as “Combermere

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Park” in the 2004 Bird Report) seems good for a couple of pairs each summer, and also decentnumbers on spring passage. Late one afternoon this year, I watched half a dozen feeding quietlyin the damp pasture - which was pleasant enough. No more than an hour later, Martin Pennell hadover twenty there; their behaviour was suffic iently different (very active feeding, fly ing up tocatch insects) to reassure me that I hadn’t just been missing them earlier. There seemed nodoubt these were new arrivals in the field. Then, as had happened on previous occasions, towardsdusk all the birds rose and flew away - presumably to some undiscovered roosting-place.One Swallow doesn’t make a summer, and one site doesn’t mean that Yellow Wagtails are ontheir way back to previous numbers. I am not so naive as to think that the days will return whenI scarcely noticed the regular breeding pair in the field by the towpath, or could look over agateway picked at random with a decent chance of finding wagtails in the field beyond. But atleast there are still some around, gleaming like little jewels in the grass, making you look twice atsome isolated dandelion in case it is another brilliant cock bird. For me, they are one of the birdsof summer - and anyway it would be silly to rely on a moveable feast like Good Friday to plantyour potatoes, wouldn’t it?

Bob Anderson, 102 Crewe Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6JD

David Cogger, Steve BarberAtlas submissions

ATLAS – FINAL BREEDING SEASON – IMPORTANTPlease send in your breeding records as soon as possible after 31 July 2006,so that work can begin on analysing all three breeding seasons ready for publication in the Atlas.Any late breeding returns can always be sent in separately after this date; although most specieshave finished breeding well before then, some do carry on later. The peak month for Woodpigeonnesting – if you’ve not already got a two-letter code for your tetrad – is August!Please send your completed breeding season record form by email attachment toatlassubmissions@cawos.org and copy the email to your Area Coordinator by the end of August.For paper records, please keep one copy for your own records/security but send two others:one to your Area Coordinator and the other to David Cogger (113 Nantwich Road, Middlewich,CW10 9HD). This is to ensure that we have your results as soon as possible.

Please don’t forget to submit those all-important supplementary records for any breeding birdsfound outside your own tetrads. Supplementary records should be submitted in the same formatas given above.There was a very good response to our appeal for quick returns for the last winter survey - wellover 300 sets of records arriving before the end of April - for which many thanks. We hope thebreeding season returns will come in equally quickly.If you need more record forms they can be downloaded from www.cheshireandwirralbirdatlas.orgor, for paper records, obtained from David Cogger (01606 832517).

Many thanks.

Cheshire and Wirral Atlas

THE CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL ATLAS ~~Please submit your 2006 breeding season records asap!

email: atlassubmissions@cawos.org ~~

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Projects and SurveysHOUSE MARTINS SURVEY 2005(The following two articles are interesting observationsfrom observers who took part in last year’s Survey)

This year the House Martins did not arrive until theafternoon of Sunday June 5th and for the whole ofthe afternoon about 20 martins were wheeling aroundthe house, and the field behind the house, with greatexcitement and noise. They disappeared around duskand on the Monday only half a dozen birds were seen.The main colony has six nests along the eaves, whichfor ease of reference I have numbered from the left 1-6.Nest 1: late June a pair of birds started to complete buildingthe nest, which was half finished from 2004. There was an apparentattempt to occupy it but after a few days all activity ceased. It remains completed.

Nest 2: within two days of arrival on Tuesday 7th June it was evident that one pair had takenresidence and the female was sitting on eggs. This nest successfully reared two chicks by earlyJuly and the nest was unused after the young fledged.Nest 3: unoccupied until early August when activity started with repairs to the nest. Pair nestedsecond week of August and fledged two young towards mid-September. Unusually, the departingyoung damaged the nest wall so it is possible that one fell out rather than flew from the entrance.Nest 4: remained unoccupied all season and deteriorated noticeably.

Nest 5: repaired and occupied late August and the young birds were still in the nest on 2ndOctober. Fledged sometime between 2nd and 5th and it is assumed that they successfully left onmigration between these dates.Nest 6: abandoned and largely destroyed.Nest 7: (on another elevation of roof) built and successfully reared two young during July andearly August.

Observations:During the breeding season only four pairs raised young (two each nest). No pair raised morethan one brood; in past years have seen two and even three broods. The nesting period spreadover July - October, one nest July, one nest August and two late August to late September andearly October.It would appear that in nest 2, when the young had hatched, feeding was undertaken by morethan the pair of parents. The frequency of feeding birds arriving and departing, but only to theedge of the nest, was too great for just two birds to have achieved. Similar activity was not notedwith the other nests when the young were being reared.About mid-September there was a gathering of about 50 House Martins on the electric wirescrossing the field behind the house. It lasted about an hour and the birds then flew in a group upinto the sky wheeling around obviously having a communal feeding activity over oak treesbordering the field. The flock then broke up.By the end of September there seemed to be just one pair of birds left feeding the young in nest5. One of the young flew on 1st October and after a short time returned to the nest but the secondbird appeared reluctant to try its wings. I was away from 2nd to 5th October and during this timethe birds had disappeared, I assume on a migration flight. My absence was for a canal holidayand during this, along the Llangollen Canal, I observed on two days flocks of House Martinsacting like Swallows swooping around the canal surface obviously feeding on the insects available.I assume these were birds on migration from further north, adding to their reserves for their longflight south.

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From watching the activity around the nests when young are hatched it would seem that, for themost part, only one of the parents goes into the nest, presumably the female, whilst the other onlycomes to the entrance and feeds the young from there. As I am unable to differentiate betweenmale and female, nor one bird from another it is not possible to be sure of who does what inmanaging the nest and the young.

M.F. Griffiths, 16 Newcastle Road North, Brereton Green, Sandbach

The start to the year was very disappointing - everyone else had nesting birds but we did not. Asyou can see from the survey they came to us later but only used one nest. However, I havecarried out a mini survey in Blackcroft Avenue which may be of interest.

No. 1a Two nests double-brooded UPVC framesNo. 2b Two nests, double-brooded UPVC framesNo. 26 1 artificial, double-broodedNo. 30 Three nests, triple-brooded UPVCNo. 32 One nest, double-brooded Wooden framesNo. 40 Two nests, double-brooded UPVCNo. 46 One nest, double-brooded WoodenNo. 48 One nest, double-brooded WoodenNo. 71 One nest double-brooded Wooden

With the exception of my one at No. 26 all other nests are natural. No. 28 has two artificial nestswhich have been visited but not used; hopefully next year?The Sparrowhawks have left the House Martins alone this year and seem to have concentratedon House Sparrows, Greenfinches and Chaffinches. During late summer a pair of Peregrineswere teaching two young to hunt and feed; although they did not appear to take any martins, they didscare the hell out of them. They were, however, more successful with our ever growing populationof Collared Doves. As I write we have a pair in the garden of No. 30 feeding two squabs.

Our home backs on to a patch of waste ground that covers the Trent and Mersey Canal tunnel.As a result of this our resident bird population is increasing at a fantastic rate. All appear to havebred very well this year - Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits,Linnets, Bullfinches, Garden Warblers, not to mention plenty of birds from the adjacent farmlandand Weaver Basin. Due to the large number of teasel plants that have sprung up, yesterday wesaw a ‘charm’ of 35 Goldfinches from our bedroom window. We also have Great Spotted andGreen Woodpeckers coming to feeders in the garden of No. 30 Blackcroft.

Steve Turner, 26 Blackcroft Avenue, Northwich

BIRD REPORTS - BACK COPIES AVAILABLEThe following Cheshire and Wirral Bird Reports are still available at a costof £1.25 + p&p (negotiable for several copies).

1969 1972 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1999 2000

Do you have any spare copies of any of the years missing from the abovetable? We are particularly looking for 1996 and 1998.2001 onwards are also available - please contact me for prices.

Ray Scally tel: 01663 765377 between 8pm and 9pmor email: scallyray@hotmail.com

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Bird News is always keen to hear from CAWOS members. Please send us any notes of unusual avian behaviouror amusing anecdotes that you think your fellow birders will be interested in. Also, we are always interested inyour views on any of our articles or on the newsletter itself. Ed.

Notes & Letters

MAY MADNESSOkay, come on admit it. How many of you did a bird race in May or thought about it at least? Our dayof madness was on 28th – so we could have a lie-in on the Bank Holiday to recover. My husbandDave, brother John and I try to do a bird race every year and over the years it has evolved into a setof rules that we follow religiously. We keep to Cheshire and Wirral, all three of us have to see the bird– hearing it doesn’t count, we start at dawn and finish at dusk, and we try to get 100 species.We started at Marbury Country Park at 3.45am and in the pre-dawn light started to walk down toHaydn Pool. Although it was cold, excitement at what the day might produce combined with aclear sky, promised a great day. The hooting Tawny Owl didn’t count and Blackbird was the firstspecies of the day. The road was a riot of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Wrens all singing theirhearts out from what seemed like the top of every bush. A Cuckoo taunted us for hours – wecould hear it but it didn’t want to be seen. From Haydn Pool we walked on to Neumann’s Flashwhere John picked out with his bins a Redshank buried in the grass.On the walk back to Big Wood, the Swifts had started screaming, a Jay bounced through thetrees and a Great Spotted Woodpecker leisurely ate his breakfast. As we entered Big Wood westood for a few seconds to let our eyes adjust and a Spotted Flycatcher flickered into view –wonderful and the first for the year. Peeping Nuthatches, a Treecreeper that whizzed around apine tree three or four times, a male Bullfinch and a Garden Warbler that was singing its beak offright out in the open added to our enjoyment and to the total. We hovered by the arboretum for alittle while and were rewarded with a family of Coal Tits although Dave and I couldn’t see theGoldcrest that John was frantically trying to get us on.We drove to the other end of Neumann’s Flash because there are always lots of warblers to be foundin the reeds and scrub. However, the only Reed Warbler to be seen was fossicking at the base ofthe reeds and only gave brief snatches of song, and to our great surprise there were no SedgeWarblers at all. A final viewing of the Flash had John asking us ‘what duck’s got a reddish head?’(he’s brilliant in woodland but is still working on ducks and waders). Dave and I looked at each otherin excitement hoping it was the Red-necked Phalarope that had been there a couple of days before,but John was right, it was a duck and a Wigeon sailed into view. Just as we were leaving I gave thetreeline a final sweep and spotted that elusive Cuckoo flying the length of the Flash. We were atMarbury for 4 hours and 40 minutes and clocked up 54 species; this was going to be easy!!!We arrived at Macclesfield Forest at 9.10am and as we ate breakfast were serenaded by a WoodWarbler right by the car. We picked up Pied Flycatcher by the Visitor Centre and then looked outover Trentabank Reservoir in the hope of catching sight of the two Mandarin that had been on ita few weeks before. They didn’t show but a Common Sandpiper picked its way along the edge,then John (or ‘Buzzy’ as we call him) spotted the Buzzard he’s nicknamed after as he alwayssees them first. He then found a Sparrowhawk and all three of us turned around at the same timeto see three Ravens mobbing another Buzzard.

At 11.10am we were at our third site – Danebower Quarrywith five species in our sights. Within minutes we had RedGrouse, but John had wandered off and was nowhere tobe seen. He reappeared after about 15 minutes but in themeantime the Red Grouse disappeared. As he sat downon the bank a male Ring Ouzel hurtled towards us in anest changeover, with the female diving out a few secondslater. Happily, Red Grouse decided to come out of coveren masse and we were spoilt for choice. Meadow Pipit,Wheatear and a very obliging Stonechat completed ourset of five and we added Pied Wagtail for luck.

Pied Wagtail by Tom Lowe

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The road to Wildboarclough gave us a Grey Wagtail feeding young and a brief view of a Dipperbefore it flashed around a bend in the river, although Dave and John didn’t stand a chance ofseeing the Peregrine I got through the sunroof. We arrived at Sandbach Flashes around 1.30pmand succumbed to a 20-minute nap – Dave had half an hour – but he was doing all the driving, asa sore knee ruled me out. In that extra ten minutes, the Common Gull and two Oystercatcher thatwere idling at the side of the flash disappeared never to return, but we did pick up another fourspecies as we left the flashes at 2.20pm on 77.The hot and sunny late afternoon saw us at Woolston Eyes to pick up breeding Pochard and theabsolutely gorgeous Black-necked Grebes complete with babies on their backs.

It was round about this time that we (once again) started to realise that the early enthusiasm wasa bit misplaced and we were going to have to think very carefully about what to do next. Therehad been a few that had got away but there had also been a real dearth of summer migrants withus seeing only ones and twos of a lot of species. After a bit of debate we thought we’d tryFrodsham and see if the Yellow Wagtails were available – they weren’t but three other specieswere and a fellow birder tipped us to the Pectoral Sandpiper at Inner Marsh Farm.IMF was always on the agenda, but it was when to go that was the issue, the Pec settled it andwe were there for 5.30pm. A brief “hello” to Colin on the way to the hide and a rash statement byme that we were going to get 10 species there.The Avocets were a joy – even though they insist on attacking everything in sight. The Pec dulyperformed as did a summer-plumaged Sanderling. A couple of Little Egrets came into roost andthe Little Ringed Plover took our total at the site amazingly to 10.

Panic was now beginning to set in, as high water levels at Sandbach Flashes and low water on thecoast meant that we were really short on waders so the trusty Thurstaston called. It didn’tdisappoint and we picked up Curlew and Grey Plover in their smart summer coats, a cursoryglance over a ploughed field gave us Red-legged Partridge and a singing Yellowhammer gloriousagainst the hawthorn blooms took us to 98 at 8.05pm.Ominously a huge black cloud rolled in and as we decided to see if there were any Turnstones atthe Marine Lake the heavens opened. Visibility was dire and opening a window meant instantimmersion so we gave up and turned towards the light – in this case New Brighton, in the hope ofa tern or our missing Common Gull in the river mouth. The only thing we got was hypothermia, buthey, we weren’t going to let a little thing like that get in our way and so we headed to Raby Merefor 9.15pm. The elusive Mandarin was pinned down by John; it was in a dead tree nestling closeto a Grey Heron! So, where to for the 100th bird? We decided on Burton marsh as we’ve seen acouple of species of owl there fairly recently but, it was not to be. We munched through the lastof our butties, getting steadily colder and retired on 99 species at 10.20pm, although if we’dcounted the Tawny Owl it was really 100 - honest.So, where did we go wrong? Well I can tell you this for sure, we’re having great fun workingit out and I’m sure that we’ll get that elusive 100 next year. As to the Bank Holiday lie-in, wella Red-necked Phalarope turned up again so what can you do? Only problem was that I hadto do the driving!

Karen Leeming, Chair Dee Estuary Voluntary Wardens

BIRDER POWERJo Beswick, whilst out birding in Cheshire was astonished to see diggers dredging reeds andother aquatic plants out of ditches and spreading them over adjacent land along with tons of silt.Only the day before Sedge Warbler, Meadow Pipit, Whitethroat and Skylark had been noted ingood numbers along this corridor, along with a particularly handsome cock Whinchat. A striparound a mile long and 30 feet across of prime nesting habitat was due to be trashed by a multi-million pound company bang in the middle of the bird nesting season without thought for thewildlife or the law. A number of phone calls to birding friends soon had phones ringing across thecounty to local authority staff, government agencies and the police. Within hours the wholeoperation had been stopped and the company has cancelled the work until autumn/winter. Birderpower at its best!

Andy Harmer

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SOME NOTES ON UNUSUAL FEEDING BEHAVIOURFour examples of unusual feeding behaviour may be of interest to fellow-members of CAWOS(although the fourth may come into the “I don’t wish to know that...” category). None areunprecedented, but are fairly unusual and/or were new to me.

1. In October 2004 I came across a drake and two duck Mallards diving regularly in the canal atActon, near Nantwich. This was not plunge-and-shake, feather-cleaning activity, but diving forfood, and went on for nearly half an hour. During this time another group of Mallards swam up,and the original three drove them off, vigorously defending their territory before resuming feeding.They were bringing up from the bottom black balls (looking rather like conkers - but there were nochestnuts nearby), which they gripped in their beaks and swallowed whole after throwing theirheads back.

I was frankly slow on the uptake in identifying the food: not until I read in BWP that adult Mallarddive “only occasionally, e.g. for submerged acorns, autumn and winter” did I realise that an oakwas overhanging the canal, and its acorns had swelled up and blackened once submerged.Depth of water and duration of dives were consistent with BWP’s figures (1-2 metres and anaverage of 6-10 seconds).

2. On April 30th 2006, a male Sparrowhawk swept down my garden and struck at something ona peanut feeder, placed about four feet above the ground in a small fruit tree. Nothing unusual inthat - though I was a bit surprised as I hadn’t noticed any birds on the feeder.

The hawk then dropped to the lawn, back to me, wings half-spread, obviously covering its prey.This attracted the attention of one of the dogs, which cantered over to investigate. The hawk flewaway - and a small, brown shape (mouse?, vole?) scurried away into the hedge.BWP states that small mammals normally account for less than 3% of Sparrowhawk prey; itdoesn’t say what proportion of them are taken from bird feeders!

3. On an Atlas visit to Beeston Castle on May 10th 2006 I watched, for perhaps five minutes, aGreat Spotted Woodpecker flycatching from the upper branches of a tree. Flights were quiteshort, and it looked a bit clumsy (not as skilful as a flycatcher, but not all that much worse than theaverage Chaffinch), and so far as I could see was being fairly successful.Again, BWP notes flycatching from a perch among “occasional feeding methods” - but once moreit was not behaviour I had seen before.

4. And now for the unpleasant one... I collect my dogs’ droppings in those transparent plasticbags which supermarkets provide when you buy vegetables. On a recent walk along a localcanal bank, I left a full bag under a hedge for collection on the return leg; it was there for less thanhalf an hour, but in that time had been pecked (not chewed) open. I suspect a Magpie: BWP notesit “often eats animal droppings”, and I’ve known them peck at (un-bagged) dog faeces before.What seemed unusual on this occasion was the fact that the droppings were in a bag, and therapidity with which it had been discovered and opened up (though I cannot, of course, rule out thepossibility that the culprit thought it had found a fisherman’s discarded lunch-packet, and wasseriously disappointed.....).

Bob Anderson, 102 Crewe Road, Nantwich, CW5 6JD

LESSER REDPOLLS (AND OTHER SPECIES) COMING TO FEEDERSHaving read Clive Richards’ note on ‘Lesser Redpoll feeding on niger seed in a Cheshire garden’in the April issue of Bird News, I thought you may be interested in my garden experiences lastwinter (2005/06).Over many years I have regularly had Goldfinches throughout the year and Siskins during thewinter. Occasionally I have also had Blackcaps, Bullfinches and Bramblings. The Siskins andGoldfinches favour nyger and sunflower hearts, but the Siskins will also take black sunflower andpeanuts. The Bullfinches and Bramblings confine themselves to black sunflower seeds in afeeder and also to a ground mix which includes sunflower hearts. The Blackcaps will go on to thesunflower hearts feeder to get any small fragments, but they are particularly fond of digestivebiscuits in a wire bread feeder (as are Long-tailed Tits).

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LESSER REDPOLLS FEEDING ON NIGER SEEDClive Richards’ letter (Bird News April 2006) reminds me that the relationships between theSociety’s Hon Treasurer and Hon Auditor is not all pounds and pence. Recently, somewherebetween the Income & Expenditure Account and the Balance Sheet, the subject of Lesser Redpollswintering in gardens came up. In particular, feeding on niger seed holders.My house is on the eastern edge of the City of Chester fronting the green belt and backing ontoa school playing field. In January 2004 Lesser Redpolls (min one, max seven) frequented thegarden, occasionally using the seed feeder, but more often feeding on the ground. The nigerseed feeder was ignored, but I had scattered some on the ground with the seed mix.During 2004/05 winter no Lesser Redpolls appeared! However, they reappeared on 28th November2005 on a near daily basis – the last sighting was on 25th April 2006. Significantly, nearly all of thefeeding activity centred on the niger seed feeder. Numbers in (and around) the garden at any onetime varied from one to eight (males and females). They were in competition with Goldfinch,occasional Siskin and the odd frustrated Greenfinch trying its luck. Interestingly, the 10 years to2003 produced only five sightings – including a flock of 30 in February 1996.Where these wintering birds came from (and returned to) is a mystery - I have had no sightingson my local tetrad and the alders on the River Dee between Eccleston and Aldford are four milesaway as the Crow flies. I cannot imagine the feeder is equipped with a homing device but I amtempted to buy an extra one before next winter!

Norman Scott, 71 Thackeray Drive, Vicars Cross, Chester, CH3 5LP

Last winter the Siskins arrived at the end of November, followed by the Blackcaps two weekslater. The Siskin numbers built up steadily to a maximum of 43 in the fourth week of January, andremained high for five weeks, before tailing off: I have not seen any since the third week of April.I had up to three Blackcaps until the first week of April.The Bullfinches arrived in the second week of January, and I have seen up to four more or lessregularly ever since. The first Brambling appeared in the third week of November, and thensporadically until the second week of March, when I saw up to three regularly for six weeks, thelast sighting being in the third week of April.On 1st April I was delighted to see two Lesser Redpolls feeding with Siskins and Goldfinches onthe nyger and sunflower hearts feeders, which are close to each other. They remained aroundfor about nine days, with a maximum of three birds. Sometimes they did come to the feeders ontheir own. In all cases they came to the feeder from a nearby plum tree, and not from the ground.It is interesting that during the time they were present, Siskin numbers dropped from 15 to five,and Goldfinch numbers were just two to four.

Graham Palmer, 8 Rydal Place, Macclesfield, SK11 7XU

GARDEN BIRD MYSTERYOne of my favourite pastimes has always been feeding the avian visitors to my garden. They doeat quite a lot and my bill for black sunflower seeds and sunflower kernels is not small. But theyare worth it. The enjoyment at seeing the flocks of winter finches and tits, followed by the localbreeding species with their young, is immeasurable.Last winter, I could regularly have over 150 birds in the garden at once including 30+ Greenfinches,30+ Chaffinches, 20+ Goldfinches, Bullfinches, 10+ Blackbirds and a steady stream of tits andCollared Doves. This spring and summer, three pairs of Blackbirds around the area have eachhad at least three broods each and they all have ended up in the garden, sometimes together,which led to much display and chasing. Two juvenile Song Thrushes stayed for just two days, thefirst in eight years of observing and magic to watch. They are so aggressive! Add on the threepairs of Robins and their two or three broods, hordes of Dunnocks (twelve at once), all thefinches and offspring, all of the tits and young….. You get the picture. It can get pretty crowdedat times. My back garden is relatively small, approximately seven metres by thirteen metres,typical of many on housing estates, but it is well vegetated with plenty of cover.

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The feeders have to be refilled every day, water renewed and apples put out. I try and keep thearea below the feeders clean, but sadly, not clean enough it seems. About three weeks ago, Inoticed a sickly looking juvenile Greenfinch. It was puffed up and sat motionless for long periods,before being found lifeless on the lawn. Others followed and by the end of the third week I wasfinding three or four dead birds each day, all finches. Juvenile Goldfinches, Chaffinches andGreenfinches mainly, with a few adult birds. The sickly ones seemed lifeless, could be picked upeasily, couldn’t eat or drink properly, gasped for air and were anorexic with fluffed up plumage. Iwas horrified. Could it be the food, was I poisoning them? It all comes from China and perhapsthey used banned chemicals on their crops.I took a dead Goldfinch to the local vets and after much phoning around, the veterinary laboratoryat Preston agreed to do an autopsy. My local vet was very helpful and her first thoughts were thatthe birds were suffering from salmonella. The symptoms seemed classic. The results aren’tback yet, but it seems likely that it will indeed be salmonella. Quite a common avian form of thedisease can break out where birds congregate and is spread through droppings and water.Airborne particles like dust are breathed in by birds and although some survive, a lot do not. Thehot, dry weather couldn’t have helped.I have had to take down all the feeders, bleach the flags and watch my garden empty of finches.At least the feral pigeons have left also. I would love to believe it was them who brought theinfection, or was it the Collared Doves? I don’t know, I never found a dead or dying feral pigeon.They are so ugly anyway at the best of times!So all I can do is wait. Wait for the results. Wait for a period of time before I can begin feedingagain and wait for my avian visitors to return. They don’t do so immediately in any numbers andtend to build up over time. The garden seems so quiet and empty. My local Blackbirds are stillaround, feeding on apples and the Dunnocks are still furtively hopping in and out of the perennials,chased off now and again by a juvenile Robin. The quietness is accentuated by the disappearanceof the male finches on territory, no more wheezy Greenfinches, blackberry jam Chaffinches(remember the Hartley’s jam advert?) or tinkling Goldfinches. The fights and arguments overwho got the best perch are at an end and the queues for the bird bath are no more.I’d be interested to know if anyone else has experienced such a devastating loss this summerand how they went about identifying the cause. Attracting birds is an art, but as one of mycolleagues at work put it “You’re a victim of your own success”. Maybe he’s right.

Tony Broome, 4 Larchwood Drive, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 2NU

TOO MUCH FOOD?In June we received a visit from the Pest Controller, accompanied by the neighbour whosegarden backs on to ours. He told us that there was a rats’ nest under the garden shed in theneighbour’s garden. We were told to stop putting out bird food immediately, and advised we couldbe prosecuted if we didn’t. Apparently, a rat only needs 20g of food a day and the amount of birdfeeding going on is an increasing problem. (The neighbour doesn’t put out bird food.) We weretold to stop feeding for two weeks, but we had a holiday shortly after this and so it is a month sincewe removed all the feeders.The birds came back for a few days, looking a bit bemused and searching around for food beforeleaving, possibly for someone else’s garden.In June I was putting out sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, mixed seed, niger seed,raisins, bread and two fat cakes and water. There was a good variety of species (20) with up to30 Starlings as the juveniles were brought to feed on the fat cakes. A pair of House Sparrowswas bringing their family of two to the bird table.The lack of birds now is in sharp contrast, but it has made me think about whether it is a goodthing to be putting out so much food for birds. The more that is put out the more birds come tofeed. There are often too many birds for each food source causing them to squabble and fight.It also causes birds to congregate around a small area, providing a ready supply for theSparrowhawk, attracts Magpies, Crows, squirrels and rats and facilitates the spread of disease.

Since taking part in the BTO Garden Bird Health Initiative I have been washing out the feedersregularly, dismantling them and removing the rotting seed material below the bottom perches and

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disinfecting the bird tables and ground. The BTO report that more than 500 post-mortemexaminations have been carried out since the project started in 2005, with infectious diseasefound to be the cause of death in well over half of all cases.A last concern - the Blue and Great Tits in the nest boxes feed their nestlings on sunflowerhearts. In the case of the Blue Tits it seemed to be the only food the nestlings received. Is thisgood for them? Is it because their natural food is unavailable, or is it easier to use a feeder?

Hazel Raw

CAWOS DISCUSSION FORUM (www.cawos.org)

UNUSUAL NUMBERS OF SWIFTSOn Wednesday 24th May I noted an unusual phenomenon on my local patch. Mid-morning a swirlof c100 Swifts passed over the house, coming from the east. Checking from Green Lane,Knutsford I could see large numbers of Swifts feeding over the fields in all directions; somethingI don’t normally see locally until they are moving out in mid-to-late July. At first I assumed it wasa weather movement as the area was bathed in sunshine, sandwiched between threateningblack clouds both to the east and west. However, there were still many Swifts around lateafternoon, particularly over Tabley Hill and the area between Tabley Road and Northwich Road.Could these birds be incoming or at least not yet settled to breed? Did anyone else experiencea major influx of Swifts on that day?

REPLYWe noted large numbers, 75+, at Alderley Park that morning too. As you comment, I think flocksare still moving through caught between weather fronts perhaps.

Bob Groom

Hugh Pulsford

WILDLIFE AND OUTDOOR WORLD EXTRAVAGANZAThe RSPB Macclesfield Local Group is holding a Wildlife and Outdoor World Extravaganzaon Sunday, 10th September 2006 at Pikelow Farm, School Lane, Marton, near Macclesfield.There will be rurally-themed exhibits, craft stalls, demonstrations, competitions andactivities for children with many countryside and wildlife organisations being represented.Our previous event in September 2004 attracted around 1,400 visitors of all ages.Nearly everyone commented favourably on the breadth and quality of the exhibits andtheir educational content which, along with the hands-on activities, provided somethingfor everyone. It was possible to stage such an ambitious event only with generoussupport from locally-based companies and organisations that, by their donations, coveredthe costs of advertising and infrastructure items. We are hopeful of obtaining a similarlevel of support for this year’s event.The prime purpose of WOW, as it is affectionately known, is once again to raise awarenessin the local community of the difficulties faced by birds and other wildlife and to enablethe general public to experience first-hand some of the joys of birds and the countrysidearound us. A secondary, but equally laudable objective is to raise funds to support aspecific RSPB project to help arrest the decline in the numbers of birds such as Curlew,Golden Plover, and Lapwing which breed in the uplands around Macclesfield and thePeak District in general. For more information visit: www.macclesfieldrspb.org.uk

Why not join us on 10th September and experience the ‘WOW Factor’ yourself?

Directions Pikelow Farm is to the east of the village of Marton and is approached by SchoolLane, a turning off the A34 Alderley Edge to Congleton Road. The farm, which is signpostedMarton Heath Trout Pools is approximately ¾ mile along School Lane. Please take care as thiscountry lane is narrow in places. Parking is in a field on the north side of the road, opposite theentrance to Pikelow Farm. Grid Reference: SJ856690.

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THE BEST ANNUAL BIRD REPORT AWARDS 2005The purpose of this competition, now in its fifth year since the BTO took it over from British Birds,and originally established in 1991, is to provide public acknowledgement of the high quality oflocal, county and regional bird reports, and to encourage and promote high standards of contentof annual publications in Britain and Ireland. Once more, we were very pleased to receivesponsorship of the competition from Crowes Complete Print of Norwich. Crowes make availablea cash prize of £250 for the winner of the county reports and a further £250 for the best ‘local’report. We are very grateful for their support of the competition.Under the aegis of the BTO, the rules by which the competition is judged fall into 18 differentcriteria. Particular attention is given over to special articles, especially those describing oranalysing local survey results, status summaries, seasonal reviews, and layout and usefulnessof the data within the systematic list. The reports, published for the reporting year 2004 (thougha few were for 2003), were divided into two groups for judging: county reports and local reports.The report with the highest total of points is deemed to be the winner.The general standard of annual bird reports in Britain since this competition began has, withoutquestion, improved year-on-year. The systematic list forms the backbone of most reports. In mostcases it is covered exceptionally well, with an increasing trend to table monthly counts for certaingroups of species, making this a potentially very useful source of data that can be compared overtime. The additional content of local census results and specialist articles all improve the value ofinformation provided, all of which can then be used for conservation purposes. On top of this, thequality of the presentation in the reports is now so high that it is difficult to see how this could beimproved. All those involved in the production of the reports must be congratulated.

The number of bird reports considered in 2005 (mostly for reports covering 2004) was 62, 40 inthe county category (three less than the previous year) and 22 in the local category, (four morethan the 2004 competition). As in past years, four independent judges assessed the competition,each marking a different set of criteria. This year was such a close run thing for the top sixplaces in the county category, that only three points separated them. For the first time in manyyears we have joint winners, each scoring the maximum of 53 points.

The list of results for 2005 is as follows:County Category

=1st Avon Bird Report (53 points), Harvey Rose

=1st Sussex Bird Report (53 points), Nick Paul et al3rd Shetland Bird Report (52), Mike Pennington4th Cheshire and Wirral Bird Report (51),

Richard Smith and Sheila Blamire

=5th Hampshire Bird Report (50), Alan Cox=5th Birds in Northumbria (50), Michael Frankis, Martin

Kitching and John Malloy

Local Category

1st Birds in the Sheffield Area 2003 (46 points), DavidWood and Richard Hill

2nd East Lancashire O C Bird Report 2004 (44), Tony Cooper3rd Bardsey Observatory Report 2004 (35), Patrick

Davies and Steve Stansfield

Winners apart, so many other reports are now of an almost comparable standard that judging hasbecome a very demanding exercise!

Cheshire and Wirral Bird Report

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Of the reports that were judged the previous year, 28 showed improved marks, compared to 13last year, and only nine that scored less. There were seven county reports judged this year butnot last and one new local report. The number of reports showing an improvement in their marksis a record, and again testimony to the very high standards that reports are now achieving. Thisis bound to have a positive effect on the readership at large, as well as making bird reportsvaluable as sources of reference for conservation purposes.This competition has been running for fifteen years now. During this time the advances madetowards achieving high quality and valuable bird information have been great and no one whoknows about these things could ever deny that! It could be argued that the original aims of thecompetition, i.e. to encourage and promote high standards of content of annual publications inBritain and Ireland, have therefore been achieved. The question now, surely, must be to askwhether there is any value in continuing the competition if this objective has largely been met.The answer is probably not, with perhaps very little extra quality being added. It is for this reasonthen that the judges, and sponsor, feel it is time to call it a day.

Those of us who have been part of the judging process from the start are sad at the prospect ofthe competition’s demise but very, very encouraged by its success. The reports will undoubtedlycarry on going from strength to strength and we hope that the standards now expected from theviewing birdwatching public may be due, in small part, to this competition?

CHESHIRE AND WIRRAL BIRD REPORT 2004 (other years for comparison)

FEATURE (maximum score) 2004 2003 2002

Published within 12 months (3) 3 3 3Content list (1) 1 1 1Use of scientific names (1) 1 1 1Status summary (3) 3 2 5 (5)All species covered within systematic list (3) 3 3 3Front cover design (2) 2 2 2Use of graphics (3) 3 3 3Special articles (3) 3 3 5 (5)BTO/local census results (5) 4 3 3Weather summary (3) 3 3 3Seasonal review (3) 3 3 3Rarities - list requirements (1) 1 1 1Migrant dates within the systematic list (3) 3 3 2Escapes & exotics appendix (2) 2 1 2Gazetteer with map refs (3) 3 3 2 (2)Systematic list – reference value (5) 4 5 5Systematic list – interest (5) 5 5 5Aesthetic value (4) 4 4 n/j*Local rarity descriptions (1) n/j* n/j* 1*n/j = not judged that yearTOTAL (53 maximum score) 51 49 50

POSITION 4th 6th =3rd

Jeff Baker, Dawn Balmer, Steve Holloway (British Trust for Ornithology) and RobFray (Association of County Recorders and Editors)

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE REPORT?We would welcome comments and suggestions regarding the report – what do you particularlylike and what could be improved upon? What articles or additional features would you like to seeincluded? Would you like to see more colour photographs, cost permitting? Do give us yourviews and help us to make sure the report improves year-on-year. Please contact:

Sheila Blamire, Technical Editor, Woodruff Cottage, Clamhunger Lane, Mere, WA16 6QGTel: 01565 830168 Email sheilablamire@cawos.org

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JOB VACANCIES – THE SOCIETY REALLY NEEDS YOU!There are a number of vacant positions listed below, some of which are crucial to therunning of the Society and its activities (the list is in alphabetical order, not order of importance).If any CAWOS members are interested in any of the positions please contact Brian Dyke (01625525936 or email briandyke@cawos.org) who will give you more information, or pass on yourinterest to the relevant person. You may wish to ‘shadow’ a position initially to see exactly whatit entails, or to become an assistant to the person concerned and to take on certain aspects ofthat role. All can be accommodated, with full support given.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO COME FORWARD- HELP OF ANY KIND APPRECIATED!

1. Bird News and Bird Report:

- Sourcing of articles for BN including regular features e.g. Sites to Watch, Society Spotlight.- Keeping BN diary up to date, including outdoor events e.g. high tide watches, etc.- Sourcing of papers for BR (work with Rarities Team and others involved with BR).

2. Conservation Coordinator:- Help/support the eight Local Authority Area Reps.- Advise Council on conservation matters.- Liaison with other conservation groups e.g. CWT (work with Publicity Officer).

3. Database:- Help with cataloguing, checking and correcting of electronic records.- Reformat reserve records (and others) coming in as Word documents.- Input of paper records, working with Tony Parker.- Input single/odd records emailed to us (often a high number which is time-consuming).

4. Distribution of Bird Report:To help with the following stages:

- September: contact places who have taken copies to find out how many they have sold andthe number they would require for the next BR. Send out invoices for the numbers sold.- November: Send letters to previous BR buyers giving price and details of BR. Maintain listof those wanting the next BR.- When BR issued take copies to reserves and other outlets; keep record of the numbers taken.- Be the main person who sends out the latest BR to anyone who requires one.- Throughout the year try to find more outlets (possibly tie in with publicity).

5. Gift Aid:- Produce a list of those claiming Gift Aid with the help of David Cogger who collects subs.- Work out total required and send claim in to Clive.

6. Programme Secretary:- Organise speakers for the indoor programme and obtain synopsis of talks.- Produce posters to advertise the meetings (or work with Publicity Officer).- Write/produce CAWOS programme for distribution with July Bird News.- Email press releases to newspapers, birding magazines and email forum groups.

Situations Vacant

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7. Publicity:- Produce posters to advertise CAWOS and indoor meetings (work with Programme Secretary).- Distribute membership forms and/or posters around reserves, etc.- Publicity for the Atlas (possibly working with the Atlas Steering Group).- Liaison with CWT (work with Conservation Coordinator).and other organisations/societies.- Agree support of ‘major’ events in the county, arrange manning of stands if appropriate.

8. Website:- Revamp the whole design of the website.- Keep the site updated and interesting.- Actively seek links with other suitable sites.

VOLUNTEERS FOR EVENTSHave you noticed, in addition to the above, the not infrequent requests that appear in the newsletterasking for volunteers for this and that? Have you felt that you would like to help but you don’tknow what is involved and you don’t think you can spare the time?Well, there is one way that you can lend a hand without needing to commit yourself too greatly.From time to time, CAWOS is represented at local events in order to publicise the Society. Beingthere, and letting people know what we do, also provides the opportunity to recruit new members.One such event is Macclesfield RSPB’s Wildlife and Outdoor World Extravaganza to be held atPikelow Farm, School Lane, Marton, near Macclesfield on Sunday 10 September 2006. What weneed are a small number of volunteers to man the stand through the day and to talk to membersof the public – work on the Atlas is always a good talking point as people look at the map and seethe extent of the coverage. We also normally have samples of Bird News and Bird Reports sothat we can show some of the other aspects of the Society’s work to those who are interested,and, of course, we also have membership forms available!

The stand is manned throughout the day (around 7 or 8 hours) and we prefer to have twomembers on the stand at any one time, so ideally we need 6 – 8 volunteers so that we canarrange a suitable rota. If you could spare between 2 and 4 hours on the day to help, then it wouldbe much appreciated. Maybe you were intending to go anyway and could take some time out ofyour day to assist; if not, why not come along to help and then spend some time looking aroundat all the other things going on on the day.If you are able to give your time, then please contact me and let me know what you can do.Even if you can’t make the date of the Macclesfield event, if you are interested in helping inthis way then still get in touch – I would like to have a list of those who would be preparedto volunteer, so that we know who we might call on for future events - there are normally onlytwo or three per year.

Brian Dyke tel: 01625 525936 or email: briandyke@cawos.org

CONSERVATION REPRESENTATIVE - VALE ROYAL AREAWe’re pleased to announce that Mark O’Sullivan has taken over as the Conservation Representativefor the Vale Royal Area. Thanks go to Mark for taking up this vacancy. His contact details are:13 Bickerton Avenue, Frodsham. Tel: 01928 734679. Email: mosullivan@ic24.net

He writes: “Being brought up in Liverpool made me appreciate the countryside all the more, andactively birding for the last three years has brought home to me how much is still needed to keepwild areas and wildlife. When the appeal for a Conservation rep was made I saw this as anopportunity to help”.

There is still a vacancy for a Conservation Area Representative for the Macclesfield area.

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-

Membership NewsWelcome to the following new members:Tony Mossman, Allan Conlin, Geoffrey Little, Christopher Eccleston

At a Council meeting on 20th April:- Hugh Pulsford was welcomed as the new County Recorder.- Charles Hull and Richard Smith were coopted on to Council for the next year as BTO rep and

Bird Report Systematic List Editor respectively.- Those involved in the successful ‘Awards for All’ bid were thanked.- We would consider using environmentally friendly paper to print Bird News and the Bird

Report, and inquiries would be made about the length of time such paper would last.

David Cogger, 113 Nantwich Road, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9HDTel: 01606 832517 Email: memsec@cawos.org

ELECTION OF HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTAt the AGM held in April 2006, Ron Harrison was elected as the Society’s first Honorary Vice-President. For those of you who are relatively new to birding within the county here is a shortintroduction to Ron and the tremendous impact he has made over the years.

RON HARRISON - HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTA number of you will already know Ron and appreciate his contribution over many years tobirdwatching and ornithology in Cheshire and Wirral. To those of you who don’t know Ron, I canonly say that this short piece can’t really hope to do him justice.

Ron’s love of birds and natural history began as a schoolboy. His interest in birds really beganto flower in the early 1950s. His home was situated a few minutes away from the famousbirdwatching site of Altrincham Sewage Farm. It was there that he met A W Boyd, the nationallyrenowned Cheshire naturalist, who encouraged and guided Ron in his birdwatching education. Itwasn’t long before Ron was contributing records to the Reports of the Lancashire & CheshireFauna Society and the Manchester Ornithological Society.In 1962 Rostherne Mere was declared a National Nature Reserve. Ron, a regular visitor to the site,was invited by the Warden to help to record the birds. Ron began writing the annual Reserve BirdReports and this developed to such an extent that in 1976 he co-authored the book The Birds ofRostherne Mere with Warden David Rogers. In the second half of the 1970s Ron’s ever-presentarthritic problems increased and despite operations he could no longer get around the RostherneReserve. With typical determination he used his car to get to birding sites all over Cheshire, Wirraland surrounding areas, in the process meeting many birders and making many friends.The position of County Recorder for Cheshire became vacant and Ron was invited to fill it. Histerm as County Recorder was possibly the most diff icult yet successful period of Ron’s‘ornithological life’. At that time there was no County Ornithological Society and the pre-CAWOSset-up did little to help and much to hinder the production of any sort of report. Against thisbackground Ron not only managed to build on the increasing quality of the reports prepared byhis predecessor, but set up the basic framework for producing reports which is still in use today.The frustrations of his time as County Recorder led Ron to firmly espouse the cause of setting upa County Ornithological Society to virtually every birder he met. He has remained a firm supporterof CAWOS ever since its formation.

Ron has never been just a records person. Perhaps his greatest joy has been learning how birdslive by studying their behaviour. In his travels across the length and breadth of Cheshire and Wirralperhaps his greatest achievement has been passing on this joy to the many people he met. I amconvinced that there is no more fitting person to be the first Honorary Vice-President of this Society.

Steve Barber, CAWOS Vice-Chairman

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AUGUST12 Birdwatch, Banks Rd car park, Lower Heswall, meet 11:15am (HW 14:15, 9.6m)17 NNHS Combermere, ring for details19 CADOS East coast, contact Don Pawlett 01244 67747720 NCRSPB Formby, contact John Drake 01928 561133

SEPTEMBER4 HPRSPB AGM, followed by ‘PYRENEAN ODYSSEY’ by Joan Potts9 KOS Hilbre, meet at the Sessions House, Knutsford at 8:30am or West Kirby at 9:30am

10 HPRSPB Fairburn Ings, meet at the Memorial Car Park, Marple at 8:00am10 MRSPB WILDLIFE & OUTDOOR WORLD EXTRAVAGANZA at Pikelow Farm, Marton11 SRSPB AGM and MEMBERS’ NIGHT12 MRSPB ‘MILLENNIUM WILDLIFE’ by Paul Hobson13 HO AGM, followed by ‘THE CHESHIRE SHOW’ by Stephen Wharfe13 NCRSPB Carsington Water, contact Les Goulding 01925 26557815 NCRSPB ‘SAPPHIRE OF THE KAKAMEGA, KENYA’ by Mike McKavett18 HPRSPB ‘LOOKING AT WADERS’ by Charles Brown21 NNHS Hack Green, ring for details

21-24NCRSPB Norfolk Weekend, contact Dave Hughes 01925 72624222 KOS ‘A TASTE OF ISLAY’ by Gordon Yates24 SRSPB Blacktoft Sands by coach, ring for details24 CADOS East coast, contact Dave King 0151 327 721226 ADNHS ‘THE PENNINE FRINGE’ by Gillian Pierce29 WGBG ‘INDIA REVISITED’ by Brayton Holt

OCTOBER5 CADOS ‘SEABIRDS AND PENNINES’ by Gordon Yates6 CAWOS ‘WILDLIFE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC’ by Terry Pickford8 HPRSPB Point of Ayr, Flint and Shotton, meet at the Memorial Car Park, Marple at 8:00am9 SRSPB ‘WETLAND WILDLIFE’ by Steve Knell

10 MRSPB ‘BIRD BEHAVIOUR’ by Val McFarland10 ADNHS ‘SOUTH AFRICAN ODYSSEY’ by Jo Moran

14-15KOS East coast weekend, including Spurn, ring for details15 WGBG Spurn by coach, contact Marjorie Mason 01625 52578116 HPRSPB ‘ PHARAOHS AND PRATINCOLES’ by John Wyatt20 NCRSPB AGM, followed by ‘BIRDS OF THE RIBBLE VALLEY’ by Graham Clarkson20 WGBG ‘BRITISH OWLS’ by Peter Smith

20-22HPRSPB Solway Holiday, ring for details21 NCRSPB Blacktoft Sands and Old Moor, Barnsley, contact Paul Grimmett 01925 26877022 Raptor Watch, Old Baths car park, Parkgate, meet 5pm24 ADNHS ‘THE BEST OF NATURE’ by David Platt27 KOS ‘THE FASCINATION OF BIRDS’ by Rev. Hugh Linn28 CADOS Migrant Mystery Tour, contact Ron Shewring 0151 339 069631 ADNHS Bonfire and social, ring for details

NOVEMBER2 CADOS ‘THE MAGIC OF SWANS’ by David Cummings3 CAWOS ‘BIRDING LA MANCHA AND EXTREMADURA‘ by Allan and Susan Parker5 Birdwatch, Riverbank Rd car park, Lower Heswall, meet 9:00am (HW 10.38, 9.8m)7 ADNHS ‘FACE TO FACE WITH OWLS’ by Bill Higham

12 HPRSPB Blithfield Resr, meet at the Memorial Car Park, Marple at 8:00am12 KOS Clocaenog Forest, meet at the Sessions House, Knutsford at 9:00am

28

AFFILIATED SOCIETIESADNHS Altrincham & Dist. Natural History Soc, mtgs Hale Methodist Church Hall 7.30pm, contact Sec. Anne Mason 0161 980 8645

CADOS Chester & Dist. Ornithological Soc, mtgs Caldy Valley Community Centre 7.30pm, contact Prog. Sec. Nick French 01978 856522

CAWOS Cheshire and Wirral Ornithological Soc, mtgs Knutsford Civic Centre 7.45pm, contact Sheila Blamire 01565 830168

CRSPB Chester RSPB Group, mtgs St Mary's Centre, Chester 7.30pm, contact Prog. Sec. John and Tracy Langley 01244 678781

HO Hale Ornithologists, mtgs St Peter's Assembly Rooms 7.45pm, contact Prog. Sec. Barbara Vercambre 0161 980 8362

HPRSPB High Peak RSPB Members’ Group contact Peter Griffiths 0161 427 5325

KOS Knutsford Ornithological Soc, mtgs Jubilee Hall, Stanley Road 8.00pm, contact Tony Usher 01565 873508

LOG Lymm Ornithological Group, mtgs Lymm Village Hall 8.00pm, contact Prog. Sec. Hilary Unsworth 01925 860155

MCOS Mid-Cheshire Ornithological Soc, mtgs Hartford Village Hall 7.45pm, contact Paul Kenyon 01606 77960

MRSPB Macclesfield RSPB Members’ Group, mtgs Senior Citizens’ Hall 7.45pm, contact Ray Evans 01625 432635

NCRSPB North Cheshire RSPB Members’ Group, mtgs St Matthew’s CoE Primary Sch, Stretton 7.45pm, contact Olive Giles 01928 733405

NNHS Nantwich Natural History Soc, mtgs The Gables at 7.30pm, contact Sec. Mike Holmes 01270 611577, mike@uimprove.com

SECOS South-East Cheshire Ornithological Soc, mtgs St Peter’s Church Hall, Elworth 7.30pm, contact Sec.Colin Lythgoe 01270 582642

SRSPB Stockport RSPB Members’ Group, mtgs Stockport College of Technology, Lect Theatre B 7.30pm, contact Peter Hugo 0161 485 4024

WGBG Wilmslow Guild Birdwatching Group, mtgs Wilmslow Guild HQ 7.45pm, contact Indoor Prog. Sec. Judith Rees 0161 980 5034

For further information on Outdoor Events within the county seethe Birdwatcher’s Diary at: www.deeestuary.co.uk

Will affiliated societies, who wish to advertise meetings of relevance to CAWOS, pleasesend their programme to:- Sheila Blamire, Woodruff Cottage, Clamhunger Lane, Mere,

Cheshire, WA16 6QG or, preferably please, by email: sheilablamire@cawos.org

CAWOS Indoor Meetings6th October 2006 ‘WILDLIFE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC’ by Terry PickfordTerry shares his love of the Czech Republic with us tonight, prompted by many conservationvisits over the last 30 years, plus leading groups to this, as yet, unspoilt part of Eastern Europe.

3rd November 2006 ‘BIRDING LA MANCHA by Allan & Susan Parker & EXTREMADURA’

This talk looks at the bird rich areas of Central Spain, just a 2.5 hour flight from the UK. As wellas the fantastic birdlife and superb scenery, much of the flora and fauna will be covered as well.

1st December 2006 ‘IN PURSUIT OF PENGUINS’ by Tom LawsonWe’re very pleased to welcome back Tom, who will focus tonight on the amazing birdlife (especiallypenguins!) and the incredible scenery of the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand - a truly wild place.

14 MRSPB ‘THE ARCTIC SUMMER OF GREENLAND & SPITZBERGEN’ by Gordon Yates17 NCRSPB ‘THE RSPB IN NORTH WALES’ by Mike Duckham19 NCRSPB Marshside and Southport, contact John Drake 01928 56113319 WGBG Attenborough Nature Reserve by coach, contact Marjorie Mason 01625 52578120 HPRSPB ‘BIRD HABITATS OF THE PENNINES AND SCOTLAND’ by Gordon Yates21 ADNHS ‘A SLICE OF OZ – THE BLUE MOUNTAINS’ by T.W. Barkley24 WGBG ‘A WILD LIFE PHOTOGRAPHER’S DIARY’ by John Power24 KOS ‘ISLAND BIRDS’ by Andy Hirst25 Birdwatch, Banks Road car park, Lower Heswall, meet 10:30am

DECEMBER1 CAWOS ‘IN PURSUIT OF PENGUINS’ by Tom Lawson

Binoculars & Telescope Sales

FOCALPOINTOPTICS LTDBirdwatching at its Best

Phone Focalpoint on 01925 730399Part Exchange & Repairs Welcome

DIRECTIONS

Marbury House Farm, Bentleys Farm Lane, Higher Whitley, Cheshire, WA4 4QW.(Very easy to find with ample free parking, unique & unrivalled viewing.)

M56 jct 10, take A559 towards Northwich for 1 mile. When you reach

the Birch & Bottle (public house) turn right into Bentleys Farm Lane.

We are on the left after 1/2 mile, through the Marbury House Farm gates.

Opening times 9.30am - 5.00pm Mon - Sat

Phone 01925 730399 / Fax 01925 730368Alpha dial 07000 BIRDWATCHER (247392)

E-mail: focalpoint@dial.pipex.com / Website: www.fpoint.co.uk

Low Prices, High Standards.

Optics----- Repairs--- Books----- Clothing-- Bird Art--- Part Ex---

IndexPage 1 Guest Editorial

Page 2-3 County Rarities

Page 3-5 Records and Recording

Page 5-8 Recent Reports

Page 9-11 Species Spotlight

Page 12-13 One Man's Birding

Page 13 Cheshire and Wirral Atlas

Page 14-15 Projects and Surveys

Page 15 Past Bird Reports

Page 16-21 Notes and Letters

Page 22-23 Bird Report Awards

Page 24-25 Situations Vacant

Page 26 Membership News

Page 27-28 Diary and Events

WILD BIRD SEED 2.5kg .99 25kg £ 8.25BLACK SUNFLOWER SEED 2.5kg £ 1.99 12.5kg £ 8.25SUNFLOWER HEARTS 25lbs £12.50 50lbs £24.99PEANUTS GRADE ONE 2.5kg £ 2.45 25kg £18.99PEANUTS IN NET each .45WILD BIRD FAT BALLS 6 x small .99 1 x large .85

FORTRESS SEED FEEDER (squirrel proof) £ 7.75FORTRESS PEANUT FEEDER (squirrel proof) £ 7.75WIRE PEANUT HOLDER SINGLE PERCH £ 1.55WIRE PEANUT HOLDER THREE PERCH £ 2.35

Other seed loved by wild birds also available, e.g. canary and foreign finch.Also nest boxes and houses. Please ring for details.

Tel: 0161 202 9555

FRESHPAK is a DELIVERY ONLY service, delivering to manyareas within Cheshire on EVERY Thursday in the month.

Simply ring by 4pm the day before delivery is required.

FREEDELIVERY

ring for details

FREE PRICELIST

Front cover sponsored by:-Software Ltd (0161 406 6320)

The next indoor meeting is on Friday 6th October 2006 at Knutsford:

‘WILDLIFE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC’ by TERRY PICKFORD