Hugh’s News – August 2019
The consensus is that the mystery chat we saw at Gronant on the July field trip was a juvenile Stonechat. This species breeds in the area and so was always the more likely, but it was not an easy bird to nail down (not literally!).
Rare bird of last month was a Gull-billed Tern that stayed for a few days near Thurstaston. Blaze and I visited a couple of times but missed out on both occasions because the state of the tide was not right – either too high or too low! We have reached 45 species for the year now, but are still debating whether to tick the Guineafowl under the bird feeders at Nets Cafe!
This year the UK is experiencing a massive influx of Painted Lady butterflies from southern Europe. These are annual migrants to our shores, but once every decade or so they arrive in their millions in May and June, with numbers augmented now by breeding from the early arrivals. I have had 10 – 12 on my Buddleia this week when the sun is out, along with more regular Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Large White.
This year’s Wirral Wader Festival will be hosted entirely at Burton Mere Wetlands, a decision based on tides, weather, and RSPB Dee Estuary’s 40th anniversary. The dates of the event are Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September. There will be a range of stalls and activities including making badges and pom-pom waders, a ‘creatures in the mud’ activity, and hide bird guides. There will be also a full optics demo event if you are thinking about buying new binoculars or a telescope. Drinks and cakes will be available if you need refreshments.
I hope you enjoyed my talk on Bardsey if you attended. That was the last meeting on the current programme as we take a break for the summer. However, you don’t have to suffer withdrawal symptoms for long – we start again with a visit to Hilbre over the high tide on Friday 30th August. Look out for more details from Mike a few days before the trip.
Hugh Stewart
