5.45pm

5 Green Sandpipers
4 Little Ringed Plover
1 Grassshopper Warbler - reeling but unseen!

5 Green Sandpiper present at 13.45

11/07/2011 - 7am, with James Walsh:

1 Shoveler
6 Teals
2 Gadwalls - both broods still present, one down to 8 juvs and the other still 2 juvs.
1 Green Sandpiper
1 Common Snipe
5 Lapwings
2 Little Ringed Plovers
2 Grasshopper Warblers
1 Reed Warbler
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Treecreeper

1940-2030hrs
7 Green Sandpiper
3 Little Ringed Plover
Chiffchaff
Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
Sedge Warbler
etc

1400-1500 showers

Plenty of Green Sandpiper activity with at least five birds coming and going in between the showers. Looked like they were coming from behind the third pool.

Highlight though had to be the Grasshopper Warbler which was singing from the top of the highest bush in the area providing probably the best and certainly the lengthiest views of this species for me in the county!

Also

4 Teal
Family of 4+ Whitethroats
1-2 Yellow Wagtail over
Plus most of previously reported

-- Edited by Karen Foulkes on Monday 11th of July 2011 12:57:27 PM

Sunday 10th July 5.30-7.00am

An early start paid off with 2 Kingfishers on the first tank.
4 Green Sandpipers
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Snipe
1 Teal
2 Oystercatchers
9 Lapwings
4 Sedge Warblers
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Whitethroat
1 possibly 2 Grasshopper Warblers reeling
3 Ringed Plover
3 Greenfinch
1 Cormorant
6 Mistle Thrush
2 Stock Dove
1 Chiffchaff
Several Gadwall

8-9am today.

5 Green Sandpipers
2 Black Tailed Godwits
1 C Snipe (first time here for me)
1 L Egret (stopped off for 10 mins)
1 L Grebe
1 Sparrowhawk over (plus breakfast)
2 L Ringed plover.
1 Cormorant over
Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting.

Met Alan who did a better job than me of counting the Sandpipers.


-- Edited by Steve Smith on Sunday 10th of July 2011 06:02:20 PM

First visit to this site this evening:

Heron
Swallows
Gadwalls
Little Ringed Plover
Lapwings
Canada Geese
Snipe
Green Sanpipers (at least 6)
Black Headed Gulls
Moorhens
Coots
Magpies
Wood Pigeons
House Martins
Teal (1)
Whitethroats
Blackbirds
Jay
House Sparrows

09/07/2011 - A good arrival of sandpipers in particular this morning:

1 Gadwall - plus 2 juvs still, the other brood of 11 has completely vanished!
2 Teals
1 Wood Sandpiper
5 Green Sandpipers
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Common Snipe
4 Black-tailed Godwits
6 Lapwings
1 Stock Dove
1 Grey Wagtail
2 Pied Wagtails - plus juvs

I set off on my bike to go to carrington moss to try and photograph the yellow wags, but arrived and found i'd left my camera battery at home. Sugar. Still, had a good hour's birding at the sewage world. This produced:

2 Teal
2 Green Sandpiper
1 Common Sandpiper
4 Lapwing
2 young Moorhen
1 leucitic Black Headed Gull?

In the gathering gloom this evening at 21.15 - 4 Green Sandpipers and 1 Common Sandpiper "bobbing" along and as to be expected at that time, lots of midges and other winged horrors

07/07/2011 - 12pm with Mike Duckham:

2 Teals
2 Gadwalls
1 Green Sandpiper
3 Black-tailed Godwits - at least one was different from the 2nd July.
4 Lapwings
1 Reed Warbler

Late news from Sunday 3rd June:

Sun 03.07.11 carrington moss

Green Sandpiper 2
Lapwing 2 adults with 4 young
Reed Warbler 1
Reed Bunting 1
Teal 7
Pied Wagtail 4 juveniles
Black-headed Gull 49
Oystercatcher 1
Gadwall 9 including a pair with 10 chicks

Info thanks to Phil Kelly

2 Green Sandpipers present early this morning, but flew off North about 9:30.
Oystercatcher, Lapwings, Sedge Warblers (very close), Reed warblers and lots of Whitethroats and Reed Buntings. Meadow Pipit on fence near 3rd pool. Scruffy looking Buzzard over. Great Spotted Woodpecker in trees by horse fields near stables.

SS

-- Edited by Steve Smith on Sunday 3rd of July 2011 10:03:46 PM

02/07/2011 - 12-1pm:

6 Teals
2 Gadwalls - definitely two broods present, older brood with 11 ducklings and younger brood down from 5 seemingly to 2 ducklings.
3 Black-tailed Godwits
2 Green Sandpipers
1 Mediterranean Gull
3 Grasshopper Warblers
2 Reed Warblers

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Saturday 2nd of July 2011 01:48:09 PM

Three Black-tailed Godwits on the second lagoon this evening.

2 Green Sandpiper 14.15
2 Oystercatcher
3 Buzzard

29/06/2011 - 9pm, with Mike Duckham:

2 Cormorants - over
2 Shovelers
3 Teals
2 Gadwalls - possibly two broods present
4 Green Sandpipers
4 Lapwings - chicks doing well
1 Kingfisher - flew through
2 Grasshopper Warblers
1 Reed Warbler
2 Reed Buntings

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Thursday 30th of June 2011 11:17:44 AM

6 Green Sandpiper this morning. 4 flew off high east at 09.29, the other 2 later flew and landed out of sight behind the 3rd pool.
1 Snipe
1 Oystercatcher
1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling
pair Bullfinch
1 Sparrowhawk

-- Edited by Pete Hines on Wednesday 29th of June 2011 01:42:31 PM

Friday 24th June 10.00-11.30

No Wood Sandpiper for me (again), but 2 Green Sandpipers were county firsts for me.
1 Snipe
1 Yellow Wagtail
3 Sedge Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Kestrels
2 Oystercatchers
2 Stock Doves
1 Reed Warbler (heard only)

The changing numbers of Wood & Green Sands being reported really accentuates the need (or rather desire) for better viewing of the other pools here....

24/6/11 9am - 10.30am

No sign of Wood Sandpiper.

Did see Snipe, 2 Green Sandpiper and Lesser Whitethroat.

Mike

23/06/11 5pm-7pm

1 Hobby over recycling centre cruising towards Brookheys Covert 5pm
2 Green Sandpipers (still present 7pm)
1 male Bullfinch
1 Weasel (showing to 5 yards on the main path)
9 Lapwings (4 adults, 5 chicks)
11 Gadwall (3 pairs, one with 5 ducklings)
1 Common Snipe
1 Reed Bunting
1 Stock Dove
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Little Grebe
10 BH Gull
9 Canada Goose
c20 Mallard
c25 Starling
11 Moorhen (2 ads, 3 juvs, 6 chicks)
15 Coot (7 ads, 8 juvs)

Thanks Steve...but no Black Redstart or Little Owl!
Good to meet you too!

8.10am
Quick 5 mins check on way to work this morning:
1 Wood Sandpiper
2 Green Sandpiper

5.00-5.45pm
Longer check on way home revealed only 2 Green Sandpipers. No sign of any Wood Sands
Also the leusistic BH Gull
2 LBB Gulls swooping down looking for a meal before BH Gulls chased them off.

Nice to meet James Walsh who had seen a Hobby over recycling centre.

2 Wood Sandpiper still present 13.50

2 wood sandpipers still present up til 9.30pm
also 1 snipe
gadwalls with chicks
lapwings with chicks
whitethroats, swifts, swallows, sand martins,
garden warbler heard only
grasshopper warbler heard only
kestrel, small flock off around 50 starlings inc juvenilles
+ usual suspects
very nice to meet nev wright,awesome pics you have.

It's a Lesser Whitethroat

Can I ask what half a Whitethroat is?

2 Wood Sandpipers
1 Snipe
1/2 Whitethroat



-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Wednesday 22nd of June 2011 06:17:00 PM

Late post for last night (Tuesday 21st)

No sign of the Wood Sandpiper, but I did manage to locate the Snipe.
Grey Heron also in the reeds

1 Wood Sandpiper still this afternoon
1 Snipe
2 Oystercatcher
1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling
2 Stock Dove

Single Wood Sandpiper still here this morning.

Also
Garden Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Grasshopper Warbler reeling

2 Tree Sparrow on Sinderland Road nearby

And still present at 7:15...

1 Wood Sandpiper was present today at 5:00pm.

Great to meet you too, Joe. I was impressed with your nifty camera work!

Leucistic bh gull still there today too.

1 wood sand still present 1230, showing much better than it was on thursday. I agree with henry, it'd be nice to see the sewage works as a nature reserve. Just add a hide inside that fence, give all the birder's the key and we'd be away! Nice to meet julian there too!

Guys, please ensure you read the sticky threads at the top of this sightings forum

ETW and environs:

2 Wood Sandpipers seen at 1430. Also:
Lapwing 4ads plus 3 juvs.
Shoveler 1m
Little Grebe 1
Gadwalls
Garden Warbler 1 singing in tree in scrape area.
Sedge Warbler 2 singing plus 1 seen.
Reed Warbler 1 singing.
Whitethroat 1 singing.
Chiffchaff 1 singing.
Willow Warbler 1 singing.
Reed Bunting 2 singing.
Canada Geese 4ads plus 6juvs.
1 Leucistic Black-headed Gull.
Song Thrush 1 singing.
Swifts
etc.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 18th of June 2011 05:19:43 PM

...and then there were none! I'm definitely in the right spot - look for the trampled vegetation. Anyway no sign in the last half hour. Onward and upward - off to check for Quail

sid ashton wrote:

---

Geoff Walton wrote:

---

Where did you view from Henry? We called on the way to Penny, but could not find anywhere to view, apart from the canal viaduct

Cheers

Geoff

---

Geoff I suspect that you were looking at Dunham Woodhouses sewage works from the canal behind Dunham Massey park .

Altrincham sewage works is at the end of Woodcote Road off Sinderland Road in Altrincham. You can park outside Woodcote Stables and walk past the horse paddocks to just beyond the lake on the right. The birds have been on the middle pool which is up the small hill, behind that first lake.

---

Thanks Sid. I will broach the subject gently next Friday

Rob Smallwood wrote:

---

Cut my birding teeth here, well after its hayday but still a cracking site before all the fences went up.

Now the habitat is probably better than 30 years ago but the fences make it harder to work. Mind you, the danger of slipping through the crust of something unpleasant has gone!

When I win the lottery I'll be buying it, plus Birchmoss Covert and the land inbetween and making a resrve that will rival any in the area!

---

You'd be able to rename Birchmoss Covert as Rob's Small Wood.

sorry, I'll get me coat...

It would be nice to see Trafford Council doing something with United Utilities to make this whole area into a nature reserve proper and restore a couple of the old settling beds for breeding and passage wader habitat amongst other things. The council's rhetoric is that they want to improve access to the area but from reading older documents it seems they have been saying this for a long while without any action. The nearby Danewell Wood is maturing nicely now so it just shows what can happen when they want it to.

Good luck with the lottery Rob, I like your plan!
Henry.

Cut my birding teeth here, well after its hayday but still a cracking site before all the fences went up.

Now the habitat is probably better than 30 years ago but the fences make it harder to work. Mind you, the danger of slipping through the crust of something unpleasant has gone!

When I win the lottery I'll be buying it, plus Birchmoss Covert and the land inbetween and making a resrve that will rival any in the area!

They may well have been used as horse paddocks at one point Sid but these were originally the old sewage settling beds.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

---

And just to avoid further confusion and the disappointment of expecting something 'grander', the 'first lake' mentioned on this thread a couple of times is nothing more than a flooded sewage settling bed viewed through a chain link fence. Nice, you've got to love sewage farms

---

Ian I believe that the first pool on the right along the road from the riding school used to be a horse grazing paddock until the clay became "puddled" by constant use and now holds water. The fenced dry area to the left of this pool, on the other side of the lane was a settling bed. You only realise that the sewage farm exists when it gets a bit warm later in the summer so it's not too bad

And just to avoid further confusion and the disappointment of expecting something 'grander', the 'first lake' mentioned on this thread a couple of times is nothing more than a flooded sewage settling bed viewed through a chain link fence. Nice, you've got to love sewage farms

Geoff Walton wrote:

---

Where did you view from Henry? We called on the way to Penny, but could not find anywhere to view, apart from the canal viaduct

Cheers

Geoff

---

Geoff I suspect that you were looking at Dunham Woodhouses sewage works from the canal behind Dunham Massey park .

Altrincham sewage works is at the end of Woodcote Road off Sinderland Road in Altrincham. You can park outside Woodcote Stables and walk past the horse paddocks to just beyond the lake on the right. The birds have been on the middle pool which is up the small hill, behind that first lake.

one Wood Sandpiper currently on show.

Geoff, think you were at wrong place, no canal viaduct here. Refer to main site for directions

Where did you view from Henry? We called on the way to Penny, but could not find anywhere to view, apart from the canal viaduct

Cheers

Geoff