Woolston Eyes

WOOLSTON EYES

WOOSTON EYES is a large wetland Reserve of 260 hectares situated two miles east of Warrington town centre. It is land owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company (Peel Holdings), which has used it for depositing dredgings from the Canal for nearly 100 years. There are four large, raised beds, one of which is still being used for silt deposition. A number of local birdwatchers began to survey the Eyes in the late 1970s and were allowed access to all parts of the land to record the wildlife. It was soon apparent that the site was holding nationally important numbers of wildfowl, in particular Teal, Shoveler, Pintail and Pochard. In 1980 the Eyes Conservation Group was formed and recognised by the Ship Canal Company, which designated the deposit grounds at Woolston a Conservation area. The Group was given permission to carry out limited habitat improvements on No.3 Deposit Ground, which continues to be the focus of much of WECG work, and where most of the important wetland species are to be found, including the nationally important Black-necked Grebes.

The data obtained in the early 1980s resulted in the then Nature Conservancy Council designating the Eyes a Site of Special Scientific Interest in October 1985 for the numbers of wintering wildfowl (four species holding 1% or more of the national population). Through on-going management, conditions became ideal for breeding wildfowl and Black-necked Grebes, which first bred in 1987. Black-necked Grebes have bred ever since, apart from a few years in the early 1990s, and is the species for which Woolston is best known. In 2002 Woolston Eyes supported 40% of the British population of this grebe, and although this was the year with the peak numbers of breeding pairs Woolston is still attracting up to 20% of Britain’s Black-necked Grebes in most years. With up to 20 broods of Pochard and similar numbers of Gadwall, in 2004 English Nature revised the SSSI to include these breeding bird assemblages.

Black-necked grebe © Dave Bowman

Woolston also held the largest single breeding population of Ruddy Duck with a maximum of 20 broods, but since the national cull of this alien species, which began in 2006, it is likely that Ruddy Duck are now extinct in the U.K.
The Willow Tit is also an important Red-List species that is present in good numbers at Woolston. Annual surveys by two Willow Tit enthusiasts suggest a breeding population of about 30 pairs. Even though their nest sites are vulnerable to predation by Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Willow Tits appear to be holding their own at Woolston, with good numbers of juveniles being caught each year by the ringing teams. A few years ago approximately 7-10% of all Willow Tits ringed in the U.K. were caught at Woolston.

Bird ringing began at Woolston nearly 40 years ago, since when over 160,000 birds have been ringed at the site. Large numbers of warblers are mist-netted each year, providing important information on how well, or otherwise, particular species are faring. From time to time rare species find their way into the ringers’ nets, such as a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, White-spotted Bluethroat, Serin, and a few years ago a rare vagrant from the U.S.A., a White-crowned Sparrow. The last attracted several hundred birdwatchers

Woolston is famous for roosts of Starlings, and to some extent Swallows, although roosts of the latter are much smaller than they once were. In the winters of 2014 and 2015 an enormous roost of Starlings on No.3 bed provided spectacular entertainment for many weeks. Numbers were conservatively estimated at about 300,000, with murmurations that took the breath away. After much smaller gatherings for a couple of years a roost of Starlings built up on No.1 bed in early 2019 and numbers peaked in the region of 175,000. The birds roosted in reeds near to the Thelwall Viaduct, passing at times over the traffic on the M6 motorway.

Garganey © Dave Spencer

It is not just birds that are special at Woolston. Butterflies abound, and in many years the populations of some species such as Gatekeeper and Common Blue are the highest in Cheshire. Meadow areas have been created to attract bees and other insects, and these have been well studied. Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) can also be seen in good numbers and an on-going study of beetles has found over 300 species in two years. Many species of orchids, including Bee Orchids, can be seen, and during the summer of 2019 over 200 flower spikes of Broad-leaved Helleborine were discovered. For more information about the range of wildlife at Woolston Eyes, and how to obtain a permit to gain access to the Reserve, visit www.woolstoneyes.com from where you can download an application form.

Woolston Eyes Conservation Group is a member of the Mersey Estuary Conservation Group. There are large movements of wildfowl between the Estuary and Woolston Eyes on a regular basis. Any adverse developments at one could well impact on the other.

Having spent much of the past 40 years visiting Woolston Eyes, I still get excited each time I go. It is a peaceful oasis, with many hides that provide excellent views of the abundant wildlife. Almost anything can turn up and there are usually some members of WECG around to point out what is about or help with identifying species. As our Patron Chris Packham once wrote “Woolston Eyes is a gem of a Reserve run by dedicated volunteers”. Why not visit and see for yourself: you will be made welcome.

With the co-operation of the landowner, plans are in place to increase the size of the wetland habitat at Woolston, so exciting times lie ahead.
Brian Martin