Woolston Eyes

Also within

Cheshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area,261.02 ha Description Woolston Eyes SSSI is a nationally important site for its breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins including nationally important numbers of black necked grebe Podiceps nigricollis, gadwall Mareca strepera and pochard Aythya ferina and for wintering wildfowl. General description Woolston Eyes consists of four large lagoons used for depositing dredgings from the Manchester Ship Canal. Recently used lagoons contain large expanses of open water and mud, whilst older lagoons are dry and at various stages of colonisation by vegetation. The site is still operational with the lagoons being used for deposition of dredgings in a rotation of approximately 15 years, maintaining the range of wetland habitats across the site. Breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins Woolston Eyes supports a breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins, including nationally important numbers of black necked grebe, gadwall and pochard. Black necked grebes were first recorded at Woolston Eyes in the mid 1980sand breeding first proved in 1987. Since then numbers have increased dramatically. Woolston Eyes is the principal breeding site in great Britain for this species. The following species also contribute to the assemblage, little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis, great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus, mute swan Cygnus olor, shelduck Tadorna tadorna, teal Anas crecca, shoveler Spatula clypeata, tufted duck Aythya fuligula, water rail Rallus aquaticus, cuckoo Cuculus canorus, kingfisher Alcedo atthis, grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia, sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus and reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus. Wintering wildfowl Woolston Eyes supports nationally important wintering numbers of gadwall, teal, shoveler and pochard. In addition to the reasons for notification, the site also hosts a notable assemblage of amphibians including common frog Rana temporaria, common toad Bufo bufo, greatcrested newt Triturus cristatus and smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris. Wintering tufted duck use Woolston Eyes in numbers of regional importance.

Species mentioned