As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Osprey hunting on the Mersey, says Cheshire Wildlife Trust

A rare bird of prey has been spotted hunting on the River Mersey, according to a wildlife charity.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust said an osprey had been seen fishing there and been seen several times at Norton Marsh nature reserve near Runcorn.

It said it was "highly unusual" as other osprey pairs were raising chicks currently, with the nearest confirmed nests being in Wales and the Midlands.

Ospreys were extinct in Britain between 1916 and 1954.

The wildlife trust said the bird could be a young adult who had migrated from Africa but been unsuccessful in finding a mate this season.

Ospreys returned to the Highlands of Scotland during the 1950s and 1960s after decades of absence following persecution, said Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

The majority of breeding pairs of ospreys found in the UK in the summer months are in Scotland.

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