Wigan becomes winter haven for migrant birds

Migrant birds are flocking to Wigan, the town’s beauty spots have become a winter haven for thousands of blackbird, bullfinch, skylark, redwing and fieldfare.
Migrant blackbirdMigrant blackbird
Migrant blackbird

And the sighting of dozens of these birds meeting up in one place are generally only experienced on the East Coast of England.

Dr Mark Champion, Wigan Projects Manager for the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, said: “We are seeing groups of birds that you would only normally see in such large numbers at Flamborough Head and Spurn, major birding areas in East Yorkshire.

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“I had a dozen migrant Continental blackbirds in the garden of my terraced house today, but there are many, many more on Wigan Flashes. I have also seen a flock of 20-odd Scandinavian bullfinches this week.

native blackbirdnative blackbird
native blackbird

“If you add redwing, fieldfare and skylark, which have been flocking into the area, it proves that Wigan Flashes and the Greenheart reserves are a major overwintering area for a thousands of birds.”

The North West actually has more birds around in winter than in summer, taking into account the migrants. As well as incoming garden birds, geese and wildfowl flock to Morecambe Bay and other coastal areas, where there is plenty of mud and a warmer climate than their North European summer camps.

Migrant blackbirds do not have the bright yellow bill and lustrous black coat of native birds, the bills are a darker shade of yellow. Bullfinches from Sweden have a brighter pink chest than the brick red Manchester cousins.

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If you wander onto the mosslands of Greater Manchester, you will see hundreds of redwing and fieldfare getting together for warmth and security, many will be just spending the cold seasons here.

native birdsnative birds
native birds

And occasionally colourful visitors like the waxwing like to come over to raid the berry trees in winter, they are regularly seen when these trees are grown on retail parks.

This winter there will be murmurations of starlings and hundreds of pied wagtails keeping warm together in one particular tree on a Wigan retail park, adding to the wildlife spectacles.

Mark said: “Wigan is proving to be a great place for birds to come in their thousands over winter. Which also means rarities will appear too. We recently had a yellow browed warbler close to the mining museum at Astley. I have seen about five of these over the years in Wigan.”