Church Lane (2nd visit, 07.45 - 08.45)

Sparrowhawk 1
Buzzard 1 adult and 1 juvenile (begging for food)
Heron 1 juvenile
Great-spotted Woodpecker female and 1 juvenile
Mallard 6 adults + 4 ducklings
Canada Goose 47

Cheers, John

Church Lane (11.00 - 11.45)

Totally the wrong time of day as in competition with local model aircraft club.

Black Headed Gull, 48
Lesser Black Backed Gull, 1 on water and distant feeding flock of 22
Canada Goose, 17
Mallard, 1 female + 3 young
Kestrel, 1 male
Usual numbers of hirundines, pigeons and corvids

Old Hall Lane (11.50 - 12.35)

The airfield grass has been mowed so only 1 Skylark and 2 Curlews noted
Mixed flock of Lapwing (30 minimum) and Starling (30 minimum) on runway
Pied Wagtail, 7
Sand Martin, a pair alighted on the tarmac of the golf course approach road and mated there.

My first Gatekeeper butterflies here this year

Cheers, John







-- Edited by John Rayner on Wednesday 25th of July 2012 11:54:22 PM

Church Lane 8pm

1 Common Buzzard
1 Sparrowhawk
15 Canada Geese
Hundreds of Wood Pigeons hiding in the grass until the Buzzard made a loud pass.

Aerodrome
2 Common Buzzard
40 assorted gulls about half a mile down the runway. If I had my scope I am sure I could have ID'd them all
26 Lapwings
3 Pied Wagtails
4 Linnets
3 Tree Sparrows

Church Lane 7.15pm

1 Oystercatcher
25 Black-headed gulls
1 Lesser black-bakced gull
1 Common Buzzard, which put up a good 200 Wood Pigeons, that I didn't see hidden in the grass before then.
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

Church Lane Flood: 7.50pm

As I arrived this evening, I was counting the Black-headed gulls when I noticed a head that didn't quite fit. Before I knew it, it took off with a second bird. 2 Little Egrets. Great sunshine and a great sight as they banked and headed towards Adlington.
For the record there were 15 Black-headed gulls and 5 Lapwings.
In all the excitement I forgot to count the Wood Pigeons.
Before that at Old Hall Farm there was:
1 Red Legged Partridge
1 Common Buzzard
27 Lapwings

Church Lane (11.15 - 12.30)

Redshank (1 juvenile)
Oystercatcher 1
Black-headed Gull 27 (inc 4 juvs)
Herring Gull 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Wood Pigeon 211
Buzzard 1-2
Swallow c15
House Martin 6
Sand Martin 2-3 (1st I've seen here this year)
Canada Goose 1

Cheers, John

Sunday 22nd July 9.50am

Church Lane flood:

1 Redshank this morning with an Oystercatcher.
9 Black Headed Gulls
20 Wood Pigeons
3 Greenfinch
1 Nuthatch

Old Hall Lane, 2-3:30

Aerodrome:

150+ Lapwing,
Curlew,
2 Linnet,
50+ Goldfinch,
Carrion Crow,
1 Buzzard,
5 Kestrel, (2 Adult, 3 Juv),

Old Hall Farm:

Lapwings,
Pied Wagtails,
1 Oystercatcher,

Photos on the Blog!

Monday 16th 10:30
Plenty of swallows and house martins over the flooded area and the usual common species. First visit for a couple of months amazed at the amount of vegetation.

Phil

Sunday 15th 3pm

Old Hall Farm
1 Common Buzzard (they seem few and far between this year here)
2 juvenile Pied Wagtails
12 Lapwings
6 Tree Sparrows
2 Skylarks over the airfield

Sunday 15th July

2 Oystercatchers this morning on the flood.
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

Not much else.

Saturday 14th July 6am

Church Lane:
13 Mallards
6 Canada Geese
7 Curlew

20 Black-headed gulls on the cricket pitch

John Rayner wrote:

---

Feral Pigeon 3 (Three Lanes Farm)

---

Is that what they call "clutching at straws"?

Church Lane (06.45 - 08.15)

Surprisingly, the high water level does not seem to be draining away so the bird species mix is a bit static.

Curlew 11
Oystercatcher 2
Canada Goose 11
Mallard 5
BH Gull 39
LBB Gull 3 (with many more over the airfield buildings)
Sparrowhawk (carrying prey)
Great Spotted Woodpecker pair agitated with nearby perched Little Owl
Wood Pigeon c50
Feral Pigeon 3 (Three Lanes Farm)

Cheers, John

Church Lane 1-4pm

Flood:

9 Canada Geese
15+ Curlew
7 Lapwing (Flyover)
2 Nuthatch
1 Kestrel
1 Buzzard
Swallows
House Martins

New Water:

150+ Black Headed Gulls
Swallows
House Martins

Cricket pitch:

2 Pied Wagtail (1 Juvenile)
Swallows
1 Kestrel

No mud exposed at all, not good for waders!

Church Lane (06.35 - 7.55)

Curlew 15
Oystercatcher 2
Canada Goose 11
Mallard 7
Stock Dove 3
Little Owl (heard)

Cheers, John

A solitary Curlew on the hill at Church Lane this evening. That was as exciting as it got,

Church Lane (2 visits):

Canada Goose 11
Oystercatcher 2
Starling c200
Wood Pigeon 34
Rook 11 (inc 2 juvs)
Carrion Crow feeding youngsters
Swallow 25
House Martin 5
Swift 10
Sparrowhawk 1 mobbed by hirundines
Buzzard 1

Old Hall Lane:

2 Oystercatchers making a racket whilst perched on the ridge of the Flight Simulator hangar. Couldn't see any youngsters.

Cheers, John

Church Lane, 8th and 9th July - Combined highlights

6 Canada Geese

Church Lane 5.55am

1 Little Grebe
6 Canada Geese

Few waders but plenty of gulls, mainly on a new water beyond the second stile:

New Water:

Oystercatcher 2
Black-headed Gull 226 (inc 24 juvs)
LBB Gull 44
Common Gull 1

Church Lane Flood:

Canada Goose 5
Nuthatch 2 (in apple tree by gate)

Cheers, John

Church Lane Flood is living up to its name again and now has an adjacent water - Cricket Pitch Flood. I have never seen so much water with the ditches on each side of the road (each about 5 foot deep) full and overflowing onto the road.

The down side is that all mud fringes of CLF are covered so it is slightly less useful for waders at the moment.

Oystercatcher 2
Curlew 7
Swallow 12
Sparrowhawk 1
LBB Gull 1
BH Gull 19 ads, 2 juvs
Starling 53
Pied Wagtail 1

Cheers, John

Thursday 5th July 6.00-7.30pm

Highlight this evening was a Kingfisher along the river. The first I've seen here for a number of months.
1 Red Legged Partridge flew across the corn field, giving good views.
1 Grey Heron
2 Treecreepers looked like they may have young nearby.
2 Skylarks singing
7 Pied Wagtails
16 Lapwings
23 Tree Sparrows
12 Sand Martins
6 Swallows
2 Greenfinch
1 Reed Bunting

Church Lane:
11 Curlews on their favoured hill.
30 Black-headed gulls on the cricker pitch

Church Lane Flood (14.30 - 16.45)

CLF has filled up again nicely and with more rain to come in the next 24 hours wader-watching might last a few more days.

Little Ringed Plover 4
Oystercatcher 2
BH Gull 9ad, 1juv
LBB Gull 1
Buzzard 1
Swallow c30
Stock Dove 1

Cheers, John



-- Edited by John Rayner on Thursday 5th of July 2012 05:25:16 PM

Wednesday 4th July 6pm

A nice sunny stroll across Old Hall Farm turned up some good birds.
2 Goosander on the river were quite a surprise. They headed off towards Adlington.
1 Cormorant was in a tree by the river.
1 Red Legged Partridge
3 possibly 4 Skylark singing over the aerodrome.
15 Trees Sparrows
9 Lapwings
3 Linnets
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Curlew heard
1 Oystercatcher heard

Church Lane:
Once again there were Curlews on the brow of the hill where the cows share the pasture with sheep. 10 seen this evening.

Lots of Dragon/Damesfly on along the river too. That was before a torrential downpour

Send for Hans Brinker

Church Lane (10.15 - 11.30)

Little Ringed Plover - 2
Oystercatcher - 2
Reed Bunting - male (singing)
Pied Wagtail - 2m 1f
Swallow - 3 ads, 2 juvs

The water has drained very rapidly over the past week and today I learned the reason. The recent road works at Church Lane/Hall Moss Road junction uncovered tree roots blocking the drain and cleared it. So, little prospect of decent water levels in time for the main return wader passage

Cheers, John

Thanks for the update information, John.

What a pity - that big puddle has been a wonderful habitat for passage waders this spring.

Anybody fancy pouring a few bags of cement into the drainage system?

-- Edited by Lynne Webster on Tuesday 3rd of July 2012 07:29:24 PM

Church Lane:

Juvenile Black-Headed Gull hanging around the Cricket pitch,
1 Common Sandpiper,
1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull,
Kestrel(s),
1 Buzzard,
10+ Curlews,
Great-Spotted Woodpecker,
3 Pied Wagtails.

Are the Curlews birds that have failed to breed on the Airfield due to the plowing?

Old Hall Lane:

1 Curlew on Airfield
8 Pied Wagtails on the golf course

Church Lane (17.00 - 18.40)

1 Common Sandpiper
2 Oystercatchers
15 Curlew
7 Mallard
Juvenile Black-headed Gull
Kestrel
LBB Gull

Hobby reported around mid-day hunting Swallows over Threeways Farm (info thanks to Nigel Troup)

Cheers, John

Church Lane this evening at 6.30pm


1 Common Sandpiper still merrily wading round the fringes.
2 Oystercatcher flew in and settled.
1 juvenile Black Headed Gull still loafing although it did fly to the pool for a bathe and then got back out to sit on the banks again.
No sign of the Curlews this evening, and bar approximately 75 mixed corvids by the cricket pavilion, not a lot else.


Adam

Church Lane - 29th June (09.00 - 10.40)

1 Common Sandpiper
2 Oystercatchers
Curlew heard
6 adults and 1 juvenile BH Gull loafing
1 adult Herring Gull bathing
23 LBB Gulls around British Aerospace buildings
125 in Starling flock
1 Buzzard
9 Mallard
2 Canada Geese

Cheers, John

Church Lane this evening.

1 Common Sandpiper
A maximum of 14 Curlew seen in the fields opposite the flood.
Later in the evening on my way back, 12 flew in to preen on the waters edge.

Phil Panton wrote:

---

I believe the driver was a 58 year old bloke who had hired the car for the day.
He's in a critical condition at the moment, after the car ended up on its roof in a front garden.

---

Oh my I feel awful now joking about Balottelli being involved.
Ian

I believe the driver was a 58 year old bloke who had hired the car for the day.
He's in a critical condition at the moment, after the car ended up on its roof in a front garden.

Adam Jones wrote:

---

25th June.

Airfield:
2 ambulances, 8 police cars, 1 air ambulance and a smashed up Lamborghini in the garden opposite the farm buildings. It Seems there had been incident of some sort.

---

At least this one can't be blamed on Balottelli
Cheers Ian

25th June.

Church Lane:
The water level has risen quite nicely over the weekend.
2 Canada Geese
2 Oystercatchers
1 Pied Wagtail
1 juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker by the cricket pavilion.
1 Common Buzzard

Old Hall Lane:
1 Oystercatcher
15 Pied Wagtails (majority juvenile)
1 Skylark

Airfield:
2 ambulances, 8 police cars, 1 air ambulance and a smashed up Lamborghini in the garden opposite the farm buildings. It Seems there had been incident of some sort.

22nd June (07.45 until the rain became too much)

Church Lane:

10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
16 Mallards
135 Starlings
90 Jackdaws
35 Swifts
2 Swallows
1 Grey Heron

Airfield from Old Hall Lane:

33 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (on the tarmac)
1 Oystercatcher
1 Curlew

Cheers, John

21st June.

Visit to the local garden centre with my Mum this afternoon and a little bit of binocular-less bird watching after bedding plant boredom had set in........after 5 seconds or so!

Two pairs of Moorhen with families on and around the ornamental ponds, one pair with 8 very small young. It was interesting to note that the young were of just slightly differing sizes, suggesting they had hatched asynchronously. One parent appeared to have responsibility for 3 of the young, the other 5 but both adults had chicks of mixed sizes in their respective entourages! A bit of research on getting home appeared to suggest that first clutches for Moorhen hatch synchronously, whilst replacement and later clutches may hatch asynchronously.

The short time spent in this area was a real assault on the ears with a wall of high-pitched noise as a flock of small birds passed through the mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. At least 12 Long-tailed Tits, some independent juveniles but also including some young still being fed, which seems quite late for this particular species? Also a noisy family party of at least 4 Coal Tits. A juvenile Goldcrest was seen, indeed there may have been more young of this species present but it was quite difficult for the ears to separate out all the high-pitched calls and to even get a decent look at the Goldcrest(s) without binoculars. A Chiffchaff sang nearby, as did a Song Thrush.

Fledged Wrens and Robins here on 5th June.

Cheers,

Bill.

Monday 18th June 7.30pm

Old Hall Farm:

Good numbers of juvenile Lapwings in the fields this evening.Probably 15-20, but I'd only seen 2 before.
1 Oystercatcher
3 Pied Wagtails (2 juveniles)
2 Grey Herons
1 Cormorant
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker heard.
17 Tree Sparrows
Plenty of Swallows and Sand Martins, although Sand Marin numbers are well down on last year, with the majority of nest holes not in use.
1 Mallard with only 2 young on the river
1 Reed Bunting
2 Skylarks
Plus lots of the usuals too.

-- Edited by Adam Jones on Monday 18th of June 2012 08:59:19 PM

Church Lane puddle:

2 Oystercatchers
1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Pied Wagtails with 2 Young,
Mallards
1 Kestrel

Tuesday 5th June 2.30pm

Old Hall Farm:
2 Skylarks
1 Oystercather
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, very active.
1 Common Buzzard
1 Grey Heron flushed from river
2 Linnets
3 Tree Sparrows
15 Lapwings
2 Mistle Thrush with beaks full of worms
1 Pied Wagtail
Just a few Sand Martins and Swallows.

Church Lane: All the water has drained in the last 2 days therefore no birds

Magpie 8
Black-headed Gull 2

Old Hall Lane:

Red-legged Partridge 1

Saturday 2nd June 7am

1 Oystercatcher on the golf course
2 Skylarks
9 Lapwings

Very quiet otherwise.

Monday 28th May 7pm

2 juvenile Lapwings moving gingerly between sheltered areas and being protected by several adault birds that saw off a Magpie and two Carrion Crows.
2 Buzzards circling close by too.
1 Pied Wagtail
2 Skylarks

Ted Ralph wrote:

---

Plans released for Woodford site. Includes replanting hedgerow and fields.

http://woodfordgardenvillage.co.uk/websitefiles/Woodford_CONSULTATION_BOARDS_revC.pdf

Boost for wildlife perhaps?

---

Hmmmm, I'm not so sure Ted. It's true there are proposals for hedgerows to be re-instated along old field boundaries - but with 950 new houses nearby, playing fields, a primary school, footpaths re-opened and however many dog walkers this new village estate produces - it will be heavily disturbed. Bad news for the Curlew, Skylarks, Oystercatchers and Lapwings that breed there at the moment.

Cheers, John

Plans released for Woodford site. Includes replanting hedgerow and fields.

http://woodfordgardenvillage.co.uk/websitefiles/Woodford_CONSULTATION_BOARDS_revC.pdf

Boost for wildlife perhaps?

Wednesday 23rd May 6.45-7.30pm

Old Hall Farm:
A pleasant evening with lots around. Swallow and Sand Martin numbers seem to be climbing, with lots down feeding/resting in the soil of the fields on Old Hall Farm.
30+Starlings and 10 Tree Sparrows also around the path to the green bridge.
1 Curlew on the golf course
2 Oystercatchers in the field opposite the runway
3 Skylarks over the airfield
2 Mistle Thrush
1 Cormorant flew down into the river to do some fishing
Lots of Lapwings around

Church Lane:
1 Oystercatcher
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Church Lane 06.50

2 Mallards and a Grey Heron

Old Hall Lane

4 Oystercatchers (2 pairs inc. 1 pair copulating)
4 Curlew

[5 Brown Hares]

Cheers, John