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*** Posting to this blog – Please read ***

Welcome to the St Helens Birds and Wildlife blog. We welcome your reports from across the borough regarding all forms of wildlife. Please click on the "Report a sighting" tab if you would like to contribute to this blog.

We ask that you refrain from posting exact breeding locations of any species which may be considered scarce or vulnerable, and in particular schedule 1 species. In the context of St Helens, schedule 1 species usually means kingfisher and little ringed plover. Little ringed plover should not be reported at all on this blog between 1st May and 1st August.

Scarce or vulnerable species include but are not restricted to any species of wader, ducks other than mallard, all owls, any birds of prey, grey or yellow wagtails, grey heron, all grebes, Cetti’s warbler, water rail, willow tit, corn bunting etc. If in doubt, please ask.

We reserve the right to edit or delete posts which contravene this rule.


Yellowhammer with a ring on Billinge hill on Thursday. Theyre on the red list but must be one of the commonest birds around the hill area!

A drift of Quail

A day of ups and downs today (Wednesday) as first bad news then possible good news and then actual good news!

After a brilliant discovery of a quail in the lower cereal fields around Roby Well Way in the morning if Tuesday I was a really pleased if a little surprised to hear that some other birders had connected with a (the?) quail on the other side if the hill. Anyway after several visits we begun to speculate on the possibilities of more than one bird. There was even speculation that sightings had overlapped - Dave and I had one calling at 3:30pm whilst other birders had connected around that time in a slightly different location .... Nothing concrete though, oh well off to bed.

Upon arriving at the last location of Tuesdays quail I was met by two local birders who seemed to be looking at the ground. As I got close they said we needn't bother listening or looking because this was on the deck

Newton Lake, Willow Park

24 Gadwall present this morning, brood of fledged Nuthatch by the lake

D Broome

A nice surprise to whet-my-lips

A fantastic noise awaited my this morning as I went on a pre-work walk ... A quail was calling literally a stone's throw from my house!  I couldnt believe my ears but the call kept coming and at times it was really close.

The bird was calling in the wheat field off Sefton Fold Drive, Billinge but the bird could be heard from the lower end of the horse paddocks too....and best of all I can hear it from my garden!

Now thats an epic garden tick!!!

Paul B

My House, Eccleston

An oystercatcher flew calling right over my house in Eccleston this evening heading in the general direction of Eccleston Mere.


Damian P

Dairy Farm Road - Old Coach Road Lap

Yellow wagtail 1m
Curlew 2 to the west
Whitethroat 3
Oystercatcher 1
Stock dove 4
Jay 1
Buzzard 1
Tree sparrow 2

Brown hare 4

Damian P

No photo is worth it - Schedule 1 Birds

I feel I shouldn't have to say this but can people please respect the wildlife we love so much.

Yesterday I heard disturbing reports of kingfishers being harassed at Carr Mill Dam, this has happened so much in the past couple of years that they have not nested, all for the sake of a photo.  This is totally unacceptable never mind against the law.  If this were to continue then the kingfishers there wouldn't be there to enjoy.

It is an offence Under the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) to 

"intentionally or recklessly disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 while it is nest building, or at a nest containing eggs or young, or disturb the dependent young of such a bird."

So please leave nesting birds alone, let them feed their chicks in peace.

If anyone witnesses any suspect behaviour I would urge you to call 101 and get the incident logged, the more incident logged the more chance we have of getting something done and thus our wildlife remains safe.

Further reading:



Here is a list of Schedule 1 birds:

Avocet 
Bee-eater 
Bittern 
Bittern, little 
Bluethroat 
Brambling 
Bunting, cirl  
Bunting, Lapland  
Bunting, snow  
Buzzard, honey 
Capercaillie (Scotland only) 
Chough  
Corncrake 
Crake, spotted 
Crossbills (all species)  
Divers (all species) 
Dotterel 
Duck, long-tailed 
Eagle, golden  
Eagle, white-tailed  
Falcon, gyr  
Fieldfare  
Firecrest  
Garganey 
Godwit, black-tailed 
Goshawk  
Grebe, black-necked 
Grebe, Slavonian 
Greenshank 
Gull, little 
Gull, Mediterranean 
Harriers (all species)  
Heron, purple 
Hobby  
Hoopoe 
Kingfisher 
Kite, red 
Merlin 
Oriole, golden 
Osprey 
Owl, barn 
Owl, snowy 
Peregrine 
Petrel, Leach's 
Phalarope, red-necked 
Plover, Kentish 
Plover, little ringed 
Quail, common 
Redstart, black 
Redwing 
Rosefinch, scarlet 
Ruff 
Sandpiper, green 
Sandpiper, purple 
Sandpiper, wood 
Scaup 
Scoter, common 
Scoter, velvet 
Serin 
Shorelark 
Shrike, red-backed 
Spoonbill 
Stilt, black-winged 
Stint, Temminck's 
Stone-curlew 
Swan, Bewick's 
Swan, whooper 
Tern, black 
Tern, little 
Tern, roseate 
Tit, bearded 
Tit, crested 
Treecreeper, short-toed 
Warbler, Cetti's 
Warbler, Dartford 
Warbler, marsh 
Warbler, Savi's 
Whimbrel 
Woodlark 
Wryneck

Thanks

Paul B

Newton Lake

Birds present this morning included 1 Shelduck, 9 Gadwall, Grey Heron and singing Goldcrest

D Broome

Sunday afternnon bits

Still at least 5 common terns on Carr Mill Dam

After a few reports of a good sounding wet feature at "Barrow Nook" along the Old Coach Rd (nr the railway bridge) I went to check it out.  There were a pair of yellow wagtails present plus 3 pied wagtails and a grey heron.  There were no signs of any waders though an ominous circle of feathers was present on the mud ... maybe the local sparrowhawk/buzzard/kestrel had visited before me!

In a nearby horse paddock 2 grey partridge were blatantly out in the open and despite my best efforts I couldnt turn them into a corncrake!

Elsewhere in fields adjacent to Windle Island there were at least 10 lapwings sitting :)

Paul B