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Edition 90

August 2017

Puffins – Summer 2017

Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

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RSPB CHESTER GROUP

NEWSLETTER rspb.org.uk/groups/chester

facebook.com/RSPBChester @RSPBChester

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Group Leader’s Spot

By Norman Sadler

This spring has been a very busy time in the Sadler household. We have been to a Buckingham Palace garden party, moved house and been to the arctic, all in the space of a few months.

As our new house backs on to the canal, the garden bird list has changed a lot. Fewer blue and great tits, no chaffinches, no goldfinches. But we have had not one but two, mallard nests, in the garden. A moorhen has visited up to the back door. Swans and gulls have swum past. Two broods of starlings have decimated the cherry tree. Our local buzzards have been entertaining with their really low fly pasts. The resident kingfishers, with their burrow 150m upstream, have now fledged but I‟m determined to have them on my garden bird list next year. The hedgehogs nesting under the neighbour‟s shed have been entertaining, in the evenings, with the young being cute. I don‟t recommend moving house but the change in scenery has been worth it.

Our trip to the arctic was wonderful. My personal lifetime bird list was increased by seven and my lifetime mammal list was increased by five. Polar bears were the big attraction, glimpses of blue whales were amazing but we also enjoyed the sight (and smell) of a large group of walrus hauled up in the sunshine. Probably the most bizarre experience was sitting on the helicopter deck of the ship, at 11pm in full sunshine, surrounded by chunks of ice from a glacier, with mountains covered in snow and ice, enjoying a barbeque.

So now we look forward to settling down properly and the new season of talks and outings organised by your committee. This programme does not happen by accident and as always, I would like to extend thanks for the support and hard work given by the team that make things happen on your behalf.

See you all in September

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Outdoor Events

Unless otherwise stated our meeting location is the Sainsbury end of Caldy Valley Neighbourhood Church car park, Caldy Valley Road, Chester, CH3 5PR

Newcomers and beginners are particularly welcome on these trips. Please contact the leader at least three days beforehand to confirm arrangements. If the leader does not know you are coming, they cannot let you know of any last-minute changes to the trip. Wherever possible, car sharing is encouraged. If you would like a lift, let the leader know.

Date Destination and description Leader

Sun 10 Sept Little Orme and RSPB Conwy A day trip to see autumn migrants plus resident seabirds, waders and woodland species. HT 14:00

Richard SayIe & Ian Cameron 01829 770974

Sat 07 Oct Doxey Marshes Run by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, is one of the country's best bird watching sites, including grassland and wetland habitats.

Alan Millard 01244 675042

Sun 19 Nov Wirral Parks; Arrowe Park and Port Sunlight A day trip for woodland and estuary birds, which may include River Park and RSPB Burton Mere Wetland. HT 11:30

Ian Cameron 01829 770974

Sat 09 Dec Hoylake, Red Rocks and West Kirkby

A day trip for winter waders. HT 1500

John Chapman 01244 316590

Indoor Events

Meeting at Christleton Parish Hall, Village Road, Christleton, CH3 7AS. Time 19:30, member‟s fee £2; non-member‟s fee £4 including refreshments.

Date Destination Speaker

Wed 20 Sept Birds around the UK David will share the story of his travels around the UK, including The Lizard and Shetland.

David Winnard

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Wed 18 Oct Autumn bird migration in Estonia An autumn migration route for many species of birds

Barrie Cooper

Wed 15 Nov Feathers and Wings A presentation featuring over 50 bird species from five continents.

Brian Anderson

Wed 06 Dec Pre-Christmas fun and nibbles Following the format that has been popular for the past few years.

Cheshire and District Ornithological Society – CADOS

Indoor Meetings

Date Destination Speaker

Thu 12 Oct The Pacific Northwest Roger Wilkinson

Thu 02 Nov UK Travels with a Wildlife Camera David Tolliday

Outdoor Meetings

Date Destination Leader

Sat 26 Aug Migrants Nick French 01829 271 945

Sat 09 Sep North Wirral Roger Wilkinson 01244 381 343

Sat 14 Oct Migrant Mystery Tour Don Pawlett 01244 677 477

Broxton Barn Owl Group – BBOG

Date Destination Leader

May - Sept Barn Owl Ringing Various Locations

Jenny 01829 771 628

TBA BBOG AGM 19:30 Barbour Institute

Steven Prince 01829 770 525

Sept – Nov Owl Box Field Works Various Locations

Jenny 01829 771 628

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In Memoriam: Val Gregson

By Julie Rose

Val Gregson was a member of Chester RSPB, Chester Meadows, North East Wales Wildlife and so many more. She died suddenly and unexpectedly last October.

She came along to RSPB field trips, and won the RSPB Christmas quiz. When asked if she would lead walks for us she said “I‟m not reliable”, she used to get bad migraines. She was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable naturalist who knew her birds and plants well. She would enthuse, amuse and inspire others by managing to be both very modest and very loud. She was great company on our Botany walks on Chester Meadows and livened up our evenings. She loved to travel all over the world, learning about wildlife, culture and making friends. She was kindly, asking after you, not talking about herself, and outward looking. A Service of Thanksgiving was held on 17th November 2016 at Handbridge United Reformed Church. It was packed with family of all ages and many friends. She will be much missed.

RSPB Chester Group Contact Email

By Nick Carey

After 15 years of sterling service on the committee Roger Nutter has stood down. One of Roger’s many jobs was to look after the group’s contact email and now he has stood down we have changed the group’s contact email.

Please update your contact address to rspbchester@googlegroups.com

If you would prefer an electronic copy of this newsletter, then let me know via the above email.

Swift Survey

By Roger Nutter

At the time of writing (2nd half of July), the Chester swift surveyors, most of whom are Chester Group members, are doing their final visits for the summer. The weather has been better than last year but the results posted on the database up to the end of June suggest about the same numbers of colonies and birds as in 2016. We managed to add a few new surveyors this year.

When data from 2016 and 2017 are analysed in the autumn, the Chester Swift

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Group, which I'm a part of, will decide how best to use this for conservation work. Clearly it will be valuable to have up-to-date local data when we approach councillors, landowners, planners, builders, etc. - our data will also be made available to other conservation groups around the UK. We'll let you know more about this in due course.

Thanks to all of you who have helped with this work in any way. We have yet to decide if more survey work is needed in the future - if it is, I hope many of you will be keen to help again.

Practically, there are things we need help with now: for example, do any of you know someone in Chester who has some spare time to climb up a ladder and put up a swift box? Do you have time to monitor online planning applications so we can ask people about making room for swifts? Please let me know via rspbchester@googlegroups.com

Chester Peregrines

By Roger Nutter

Those of you who are frequently in Chester (particularly Waitrose) may be aware that peregrines have been using the shot tower as a roost for many years. It was suspected that they were breeding on the tower (or another tall structure nearby) but we now know for certain that a pair bred on the tower this summer. Three young birds have fledged. Thanks to Neil Simpson for letting us print this photo.

The council is talking to the developer of the site about measures to encourage the birds to nest on the tower in future years.

The Young Tearaway!

By Brian Webster

Apart from the brief, daily visit from a member of the local sparrowhawk family, life for the birds in our garden seems to be a tranquil one consisting mainly of eating, eating and even more eating. The birds appear to be content to take their turn on the feeders and there are rarely any signs of friction.

Peregrine ©Neil Simpson

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Well, that’s how it used to be!

The first birds to experience the change were the tits as they were chased off the feeders but it soon spread to the finches and I have even seen blackbirds, collared doves and the occasional jackdaw given a quick peck to encourage them to leave the bird bath. No other bird is tolerated even on the opposite side of a feeder.

The troublemaker in all this is a juvenile great spotted woodpecker. It all started quite normally, as in previous years, with the young bird squawking loudly to attract parental attention and be fed. However, since the bird has become more independent, the „bossy-boots‟ attitude has become more pronounced and more disruptive to garden birdlife. Any

food and water seems to be regarded as exclusive property and even, what I take to be, its parents are not always welcome.

I expect that there will be a change in the bird‟s attitude as it matures and only hope that it does not try its aggressive approach should it meet our accipiter visitor.

Birdwatching Trip in North Wales

By Alan Millard

For my 70th birthday my family bought me a custom bird watching day trip in north Wales, with Alan Davies, one time manager of RSPB Conwy for seven years who now runs his own bird watching company from Llandudno. Alan picked Jan (my wife) and myself up at 08:30 in Conwy and off we went.

Because of what we saw Alan asked for us not to disclose the actual location, which we will call The High Valley. Considering Jan and I have a holiday home in the area and had explored the local area many times over the years we had not come across this valley.

In a 4x4 we climbed 400 metres along; a very narrow, steep and winding track. We levelled out to see a skylark soaring into the sky singing its melodious

Great spotted woodpecker ©Brian Webster

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song. This sound never fails to lift your spirits. Several goldfinches were bobbing along the hedgerow twittering away to each other as they flew.

We came to a parking area, grabbed our waterproofs and binoculars and started walking along the valley. Alan had bought along a Leica scope which gave very clear views considering the poor light conditions. We had not gone far when we heard, for me an unfamiliar bird song. Working his scope faster than we could our binoculars, Alan found the source, an attractive male whinchat with its rusty orange throat and white edged cheeks. This was followed by several wheatears, sedge warbler and a stonechat.

Alan heard the plaintive call of a cuckoo in the distance and whilst scanning for it across the moorland we were startled to see a male hen harrier. For me this was the highlight of the day. As there are only 10 in the whole country Alan suggested we shouldn't disclose the actual location as it was close to its breeding season as well as local farmers being concerned about their lambs. On our way down from the high valley we saw both willow and sedge warbler and lesser redpoll.

We next called at the 13th century church of St Mary's in Caerhun. In the adjacent dead trees were several of our most colourful birds; wheatears and redstarts displaying their wonderful markings as they flew from tree to tree. At the rear of the churchyard are yew trees of over 1,200 years old and here you have great views of the Conwy Valley and its river. Here we saw; shellduck, grey heron, little egret, mute swan while a buzzard circled overhead.

Lunch, Welsh rarebit to die for, was taken in the garden of the thatched tea rooms of Tu-Hwnt-l‟r Bont in Llanrwst. Here we saw a kingfisher darting under the bridge and pied wagtails on the stones in the shallow water of the river.

After lunch, we headed up through the forest to Llyn Sarnau to the spruce trees to find crossbills. On the way we had a long shot of an osprey and then meadow and tree pipits. We then saw mistle thrush, chiffchaff, chaffinch and stonechat and on returning Alan suddenly stopped and pointed out two LBJ's flying in the distance at top of the spruce trees and whispered crossbills. The scope was quickly set up so we could see our first viewing of crossbills.

Although we saw two birds fly into the trees when we looked more closely there were seven crossbills high up in the spruce trees. It's quite difficult to

Crossbills ©Mike Richards (rspb-

images.com)

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distinguish these birds from the spruce cones they feed off due to their russet red colouring which is almost the same but through the scope they were magical.

Taking the steep winding single track road down to the A5 and the Ugly House restaurant Ty-Hyll we saw pied flycatchers that had a nest in an old oak tree. We then travelled to Capel Curig. Before we set out, I had tongue in cheek said, "I would like to see ring ouzel", well Alan thought we may see them here. High up in the hills a bird scuttled between the crags and although Alan identified it as a ring ouzel it was too far away for me to confirm. After about a quarter of an hour I saw a bird at the base of a tree and through my bins recognised it as a ring ouzel which was beyond my hopes. Jan found another a few metres to the side of the tree.

What a fabulous birthday present it turned out to be 53 sightings in all including species I had not previously seen or even hoped to see.

Wildlife Day in the Norfolk Broads

By Richard Sayle

“Hey Richard, come over here.” With a slight jerk of his head, Carl motioned me over. My first reaction was of a little annoyance as I was trying to photograph swallows resting on sailing boats at the broad next to Horsey Windpump. However, my feelings soon changed upon seeing the first (and so far only) swallowtail butterfly of my life. It was a true beauty, pristine and glossy.

It was early June of this year and I was being led by Carl Chapman who runs Norfolk Wildlife Tours and Education. I‟d booked the day on the recommendation of the self-catering cottage where we were staying in Hoveton on the Broads. In previous e-mail communication, I had only asked that to see a swallowtail would be my aim. So, to have that achieved by mid-morning made it certain that the day would be brilliant. And so it was…

We‟d started when Carl picked me up bang on time. From there, we travelled through some lovely Norfolk villages on a clear, warm day. With this, we were lucky as Carl told me of how cold the month of May had been in Norfolk. Soon, we arrived at St.Benet‟s Abbey, a notable Norfolk landmark where Carl began to teach me about bird sounds. I‟m still working on that one, Carl. In the distance, we could hear and just see, cranes flying. On the way out, there was a glimpse of a Chinese water deer‟s head glancing out from a ditch.

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After the glory of the swallowtail butterfly, Carl took me on to the seaside at Waxham. Keeping a sense of mystery about it all, he viewed the distance with his binoculars and started to walk me along the sea wall. It became clear that seals were our objective. A passing microlight pilot was briefly alarming, leading us to think he would scare the seals away when he flew right over them. Fortunately for us, they didn‟t and within minutes we were about 20-30 metres from two or three dozen grey seals moulting with one common seal among them. The closest I had ever been to any seals. Ample time was allowed for photos and binocular views, before Carl drove us onto Hickling Broad Norfolk Wildlife Trust Reserve.

After a leisurely lounge in car park for lunch (also provided by Carl), we took a tour of the reserve. This proved to be a wildlife spectacular. Straightaway we saw a butterfly that Carl identified as a holly blue. Several marsh harriers could be seen as well as some hobbies. In the aptly named bittern hide we were able to view a bittern flying over.

Carl‟s superior camerawork got a lovely shot of that. Further exploration led to

seeing and photographing swallows, Konik ponies, Egyptian geese and the huge feet of coots. The coots we saw had a very noisy infant with them; apparently, it is not unknown for the parents to kill the offspring! After viewing some fascinating insects including four spotted chasers and the green tiger beetle (the fastest of all beetles), it was time to return home. In all we had seen at least 50 species of bird. What a great day!

wildlifetoursandeducation.co.uk may not seem to be the most catchy title for a wildlife safari but, should you be in Norfolk, with a day to spare, I can strongly recommend that you book in advance Carl Chapman‟s guidance and knowledge. He has even identified rare birds for the likes of Simon Barnes! Carl‟s kindness and patience in leading me, a relative novice, made for a wonderfully rewarding day spotting many kinds of wildlife. The cost is very reasonable and, to complete the picture, Carl soon e-mailed his detailed account of the day with some of the photos he took. A day to treasure in the memory.

Bittern ©Ben_Andrew (rspb-images.com)

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Field Trip Reports

Flint and Deenats Reserve – 29 January 2017

By Norman Sadler

On a cool, crisp morning in January, about ten hardy souls turned up at Flint Castle for our outing. Starting from the (free) car park between the Castle and the Lifeboat station, we made our way along the frosty but paved path running alongside the marsh. It is a pity that a few dog owners do not responsibly clean up after their pets. As we surveyed the marsh area, there was a marked difference between this day and just a week before. Seven days earlier, the marsh was stiff with thousands of Canada geese. You could not put a pin between them! On the day of the trip, not one! In fact, I did not record one all day. We returned to the car park via the scrub area which returned lots of greenfinch and linnet.

We then moved on to the Deenats Reserve at Connah‟s Quay. This area is owned by the power station but managed by the Deeside Naturalists‟ Society (Deenats). Access is restricted to members with keys and for safety reasons one must sign in and out when unlocking the barrier. If you are interested in joining the Deenats, there is a joining form on their website at deenats.org.uk/public/joinus.html. You then get a key for the barrier which also opens all the hides and the toilet.

Starting at the West Hide, a wonderful construction overlooking the marsh, the estuary and an inland pond, with 360 degree views, we watched the tide rise to its highest around noon. This brought in waders and ducks from the mud flats of the estuary. It was good to see so many lapwings apart from the other waders. Following the high tide and lunch, we moved to other end of the reserve (The Field Studies Centre) and the hides at that end which look

out onto the bunded pools. Apart from the usual suspects, such as little egrets and redshank, some of the party had good views of a peregrine.

By mid-afternoon, the weather turned colder and drizzly, so we cut our losses and abandon. My species count for the day was 51 and there were at least five other species seen by others that I did not clock.

Lapwing ©Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

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Moore Nature Reserve – 11 March 2017

By Shirley Bain

There was a feeling of spring about the weather as 18 of us (and Shelly the dog!) gathered for the day trip to Moore Nature Reserve. The reserve is situated between the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, only 30 minutes from Chester. It consists of five large lakes surrounded by extensive woodland, meadows, wetlands and bird hides.

Nick had planned the day in two halves, each approximately three miles in length and allowing a return to the car park for lunch.

Sedge Hide, brought a good selection of ducks (mallard, coot, moorhen, pochard, widgeon, goldeneye, gadwall, tufted duck and teal) and noisy Canada geese along with a lovely 'fly by' of a pair of jays. Much debate was forthcoming about the bird activity in the bushes and trees before the hide with spots of chiffchaff, greenfinch, long tailed tit and goldcrest among others.

Time spent looking out for the lesser spotted woodpecker went unrewarded although calls were heard and confirmed by Roger when he joined the group at the feeding station. These were busy with long tailed tits, blue tits, chaffinch and reed bunting.

After lunch five of the group departed with the rest walking out to several more hides. Shirley and Roger took a detour along pahs thought to be frequented by the lesser spotted woodpecker but it was proving elusive. We were however, rewarded with an excellent view of three great spotted woodpeckers and lovely nuthatch. Calls of the green woodpecker were also noted but no birds seen.

The group reassembled and continued to Phoenix Hide. The pools initially seemed very quiet but persistence paid off with a group of snipe spotted by Margaret and a sparrowhawk perched in a distant bush. The day ended on a high note with beautiful sightings of a kingfisher.

A successful trip was enjoyed by all of us with a total spot of 45 species!

Thanks to all who acted as chauffeurs plus Nick and Helen for their preparation and planning.

Kingfisher ©Shirley Bain

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World’s End – 02 April 2017

By Nick Carey

On a cold Sunday morning nine brave souls met at Caldy Valley at 6am and then left to meet one other at World’s End near Minera.

At 6.30am, at a bend on a narrow road, we joined other birders already set up for the viewing of the black grouse on their lek. We all stayed seated in our cars to prevent scaring the grouse.

Black grouse have suffered severe population decline due to habitat loss and overgrazing. It is now a red listed species but positive habitat management is helping them to increase in some areas.

A lek is a place where males assemble during the mating season and engage in competitive displays that attract females.

No females were visible on the day of this field trip but 20 males were performing their elaborate display with some sparring off against each other. Their bubbling calls came across the moorland into our car‟s open window. It was well worth the early rise to witness this wonderful sight.

After viewing the grouse plus the odd skylark and meadow pipit we moved on to a nearby wood where we saw coal tit, nuthatch, siskin and a peregrine.

Farndon & Crook of Dee – 26 April 2017

By Mike and Leeza Steggles

We drove onto the car park with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation! The website said beginners welcome but you are never sure what to expect.

As new birdwatchers‟ we had visited a couple of reserves but this was the first time out with a group.

We needn‟t have worried, introductions were quickly made and on discovery of our beginner status we were immediately adopted by some of the more experienced bird watchers in the group.

The walk started at Farndon Bridge, heading down stream. There were approximately a dozen of us together with an extremely well behaved dog.

Black grouse ©Nick Carey

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The first bird and a new one for us was a blackcap, quickly followed by the sounds of a chiffchaff. This prompted a discussion about identifying bird song and we quickly learnt the difference between a robin and blackbird (or at least Leeza did!) and then spotted a willow warbler.

Turning upstream we went under the bridge and came out to a mass of bird activity! House sparrows, long tailed tits. Great tits, blue tits, chaffinch, goldfinch, mallard and then our first swallow of the year quickly followed by our second, third and fourth! Both house and sand martins were flying amongst

the swallows.

We carried on upstream and in the distance a common sandpiper was seen on the opposite bank, together with a pair of lapwings and grey wagtail in the field.

Eventually turning away from the river and after a climb over a gate we were treated to the sight of lots of wheatear in the field opposite.

The walk back to the car park was along country lanes. The highlight

though was yet to come as towards the end having seen song thrush and buzzard we spied two foxes with cubs at the back of a field.

Even though we live only a few miles from Farndon we had never been on this lovely walk before and were surprised to learn that the group had not done it for over 10 years.

If you are reading this having never been out with the group before, take the plunge, we very much enjoyed both the company and the walk and would very much recommend it.

Sandstone Ridge – 06 May 2017

By Helen Wilson

At the ungodly hour of 8 am, with an uncomfortably cold temperature of 9 °C and thick cloud, we met four others at Caldy, all of whom are new to the group. We picked up one other en route to the Candle Workshops where we met up with another group stalwart.

Walking along the Sandstone Trail, around Waste Hill, we heard plenty but didn‟t see much. We worked hard at trying to recognise the birds

Willow warbler

©John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

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by their song and identified; robin, wren, blackbird and song thrush.

Carrying on through the woods there was an assortment of tits plus a few greenfinches were heard but not seen. We made our way up Stanner Nab and were rewarded with stunning views across the Cheshire plain. After a few minutes, one of the group spotted what was thought to be a buzzard but as it came nearer it was found to be a rather more exciting peregrine.

On the way back down the Nab we could hear quite a few goldcrest in the pine trees. It took a good while before but we did have fleeting glimpses of this super bird.

In the same area, we spotted a treecreeper, which was a first for some of the group. On the way back to the car we saw a whitethroat and then had good views of chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap.

After a short refreshment break, which for some included ice cream, we drove to the National Trust car park at Bickerton Hill.

Within the first 100 metres we saw a flash of red which landed on a birch tree and we had good views of a female great spotted woodpecker, which was briefly joined by the male before flying away.

Then, on the other side of the path a very brief view of a green woodpecker was seen as it flew into the tree canopy but it was quite a long way away and not everyone in the group saw it.

We made our way towards Kitty‟s Stone and had another sighting of the great spotted woodpecker and two pied wagtails.

A solitary buzzard put in a brief appearance as we moved on to Maiden Castle, the remains of a 2,600 year old Iron Age hillfort.

Dropping down into the farmland, with adjacent woodland, nothing further was spotted that hadn‟t been seen or heard before, except towards the end of the

walk a lonely jay was first heard then seen.

In total we tallied 30 bird species in five miles along the Sandstone Ridge.

Green woodpecker

©Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

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Chester Meadows – 24 May 2017

By Ian Cameron

This evening walk was made around the "local jewel" that comprises a patchwork of grassland and wetlands by the side of Chester’s River Dee close to the city centre. The area is divided into three differently managed and owned areas, some of which has been less cultivated this year and an area of summer grazing by cattle to provide all in all the perfect habitat for a range of flora and fauna.

This local popular area walk was led by Andy Ingham, nine others and Shelley turned out on this late spring evening to take advantage of the slight breeze and Andy's knowledge of the area since he has been involved in recording birds here for many years.

In the first section, close to the start at Bottoms Lane, whitethroats were immediately seen followed by two linnets which was a good start. Goldfinch, reed bunting and sedge warbler were also seen. A buzzard was seen sitting on top of a bush in the

distance.

Walking on to the meadow area by the river Dee with its wetland / reeds, a greenfinch flew across together with willow warbler and a chiffchaff could be heard. Optimal hearing was needed to hear blackcap and two members heard a grasshopper warbler and another linnet was seen.

A hedge had several long-tailed tits present. A sparrowhawk flew across us as did another greenfinch, a common species for the meadows. This provoked a comment from Andy about the demise of certain species from this area, most notable being skylarks and pipits. A kestrel was seen on the upper meadows hovering in classic pose.

Three swifts flew across the lower area probably from the sizeable population in Handbridge.

Julie found time to educate us in a rare umbellifer plant species (tubular water-droplet) searched and located in a wet reed area.

In total 28 species were seen in the 2½ hour walk. An excellent evening. Thanks are due to Andy for the expert information during the evening.

Whitethroat

©John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

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Burton Marsh – 14 June 2017

By Jean Fergus and Jill Smith

As “newbies” to the RSPB Chester Group, the visit to Burton Marsh was our first experience of a group trip and will certainly be the first of many.

We were lucky enough to be transported by Roger Nutter, (trip leader) who gave us a valuable insight into the activities of the group.

We were slightly concerned when we arrived at our destination to see the notices about the firing range but were soon engrossed in trying to spot and identify the many sights and sounds of the birds around us. We quickly realised that we were also surrounded by expert bird spotters! They helped us

by directing us to the exact location of the birds and then helped us to spot their individual features.

But what amazed us was how they could identify the birds from their call. The most distinctive of these was the very aptly named grasshopper warbler. Another highlight was the sight of a barn owl flying across the marshland and then posing in the small opening of a barn. There were egrets; little and great white, a heron, cormorant, oystercatcher and mute swan. Altogether a varied and interesting first trip for us on a balmy June evening.

Editor’s Note Thanks to all the writers who provided articles for the newsletter. Would readers consider writing something for the newsletter? Anything about birds or wildlife would be welcome. Please contact me, Nick Carey via Tel: 01928 574 502 nj.carey@virgin.net

The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. We also play a leading role in a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.

The RSPB is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no.SC037654

Any advertisements enclosed with this newsletter are not specifically endorsed by the RSPB or the RSPB Chester Group.

Grasshopper warbler ©Nick Carey