Visit this a.m., before work, only bird of interest was a juv. Little Grebe off wader point.
Cheers ian

2.30p.m. Scoters have departed, single Common Sandpiper at wader point and 2 Common Tern present.
Cheers Ian

Scoter still present 7.50 when I left, pure luck I was there this a.m. as I'm on a course today that does not start 'till 10.00
Cheers Ian

4 common scoter on res this morning, 3 males and 1 female, found by ian campbell, still present when i left at 0730

I've heard them in May the last few years and had a juvenile a good few years back

male redstart still in redstart hedge below withins at 1900

For attention of Ian Peters,

Hi Ian,

Concerning any calling Water Rails this year, pleasingly, I did hear one which called close by about 8 times as I was standing by the towpath on the early evening of April 12th.
I was standing in the spot which had been ideal for viewing the previous year's LEO.
The bird was calling from the opposite bank of the canal itself comprising a dense marshy margin and I was expecting to glimpse it by just standing dead still; (though I didn't).
There is an extensive little marsh just behind where it was calling from; (and I have heard it calling from within this marsh itself on previous occasions), though this time it was much nearer; hence my heightened expectation of actually seeing an Elton Water Rail at last ( -I know; - they're EASY here, but we all have skeletons in our respective birding cupboards!)

I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mike P.

Male Redstart at Redstart Hedge below Withins at 16:55. An unusual date for this species at Elton.

Also, the resident Kestrels have now fledged 5 young. 32 young have fledged from this site in the last 6 years.

-- Edited by Peter Johnson on Sunday 26th of June 2011 05:48:44 PM

0700 till 1200
1 lesser whitethroat, along canal between bennys and the dip
1 willow tit below withins
1 ringed plover
3 common tern
2 gadwall
1 goldeneye
3 oystercatcher

Early a.m. as well as Ian Boote's sightings, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern and the Goldeneye is still present, also 20 Swans, 230 Canada and 7 juv Black-headed Gull.
Cheers Ian

Not much
Common tern res
Nunmerous Chiffchaff, Sedge Warblers, one blackcap
Kestrel and Crow tumbled into reed bed fighting for a morsel, crow won
Oystercatcher
Skylarks
Little owl west of crow tree Some tufted ducks on withins as well as res and 1 cormorant

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 25th of June 2011 04:34:06 PM

Very late post for Monday.
Amazing views of a Water Rail on the disused canal just below Elton Res. Best views I have ever had, down to about 10 feet for at least 15 minutes as it skulked about in and out of the shadows in the reeds.

Thanks to the provision of some excellent images of the current male Goldeneye by Dennis Atherton (which I'll upload to the website galleries imminently) it appears the bird is indeed a second calendar year bird and not fully adult (and so not in eclipse as such).

Not only are the lesser coverts of the wing dusky-greyish instead of white but importantly the greater coverts are still dark tipped which is indicative of immaturity in males. An interesting bird.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 20th of June 2011 08:57:23 PM

Sunday night pretty much the same as Ians sightings, 2 common tern still, 1 goldeneye, Grasshopper warbler at wader point, lots of reed bunting, willow warbers, curlew over, family of 6 wrens was nice to see, also lord of young canada geese and mallards, lesser black backed got mobbed by the terns

Early a.m. eclipse male Goldeneye present, also 2 Common Tern, 23 Mute Swan, 200+ Canada, Oystercatcher flew over carrying food to land on factory roof across river Irwell, 1 Common Sandpiper, Grasshopper Warbler reeling away near Wader Point, 100+ Swift and over 200 Sand Martins.
Cheers Ian

Simon Johnson wrote:

---

In relation to the Goldeneye, are there 2 birds present? The bird on tues was an eclipse drake it still has some white plumage on flanks/body it also has a brown head like a female but still has the white spot next to the bill. Is this same bird other people are seeing or are there 2 birds? Cheers

---

went this a.m. to check this out but the bird was not present , I am reasonably sure the bird I saw on June 11th was a female, it was also flying, can eclipse birds fly?
Cheers Ian

In relation to the Goldeneye, are there 2 birds present? The bird on tues was an eclipse drake it still has some white plumage on flanks/body it also has a brown head like a female but still has the white spot next to the bill. Is this same bird other people are seeing or are there 2 birds? Cheers

i was on elton 2-4 monday 5-7 tuesday doing the loop Res canal dip cuckoo sadly heard nothing which of course doesn't mean it wasn't there.

I also thought I heard a distant cuckoo last night from that direction but was only brief and dismissed it.
Also forgot to add was a juv black headed gull on res with a parent in tow

Hello again Ian. Bird flew past me at very close range near the Little Owl tree by canal at 3'oclock on Monday.

Met a birder at Rumworth today from Bury who says he saw a Cuckoo at Elton yesterday(sorry I can't remember his name), he said he would put a post on about it.
Cheers Ian

First time out in about a month had a quick wonder round this eve

On res
Drake Goldeneye on res (starting to go into eclipse plumage)
Tufted Duck 4
Common Tern 4
Mute Swan 19
Cormorant

Several Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler singing or seen carrying food.

Skylark on path by old hall farm allowed close approach before flying off back into fields and singing away,

Loads of Swallows and Sand Martins

Flock of 100+ Starling too

Not much
Female Goldeneye still on res
Fly over oyster catcher
2 Common terns on main res one on withins but could be one of the pair
Swifts, Swallows, House and Sand Martins.
Pheasant

Early a.m. 2 Common Tern displaying near sailing club and a female Goldeneye on the res. also 20 Mute Swans.
Cheers Ian

only things of note
few lapwing on res
oyster catcher
reed warbler marsh
kestral hinds
pheasant

7.00-8.15am birds of note, 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling next to Bennys car park, 2 Common Tern on res. and 1 Little Owl near canal.
Cheers Ian

Not a lot
Only apart from usual warblers and tufted ducks
Several Sedge warblers displaying on canal against each other
House sparrow, Long Tailed Tits Blue and great tits with fledged young.
Reed Bunting taking food to nest on a new for me part of the site
Plenty of skylarks

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Friday 3rd of June 2011 01:05:28 AM

0545 till 1045
2 common tern
2 oystercatcher
a few linnets
still lots of swifts

The Bury Bolton Canal Society have their own website with lots of information. They did open the bottom few hundred yards and several locks in Salford at a cost of several million pounds, The society have done work at Nob End clearing vegatation from the lock flight and the factory built on the canal has been demolished. It might be a long term aim of the society stated as 2035 but practicalties must be addressed. Large parts of the canal are filled in. The canal was seriously breached between Radcliffe and Little Lever in 1935 and that still has not been repaired. Water street Radcliffe would have to be rebuilt. I think it accepted that the Bolton arm is a none starter due to the Bypass. And it has to be asked what for? Unlike other restored canals it would go no where. So I have to say thankfully I won't be holding my breathe worrying about the loss of haboitat fior the varios Warblers, Water, Rails and Reed Bunting that rely on this, Not to mention nationally the scarce Water Soldier Frog Bit and other rare bugs like the water spider all of which are common on the canal. If you walk along the Rochdale Canal you will see what 'restoration' does for canal wildlife as boats continually move along it.

1630 till 1730
nothing of note, water level rising, not much mud left
elton year list end of may total 107, 5 ticks in may , black tern, whinchat, grey plover, sanderling and whimbrel.

7.00-8.00 a.m. not much really, usual large numbers of Swift and Sand Martin and a single Common Tern through.
Cheers Ian

Don't worry Brian you've not missed anything new,this a.m. the only highlight was the 300+ Swift mainly above the boathouse and dip.
Cheers Ian

0545 till 0900
1 whimbrel, first thing only, flew off high south at 0620
2 common tern

6.00-900
Not much to add
Kestral canal-Usual Warblers but Sedge Warbler showing nice canal-several reed buntings in dip-fly over oyster catcher hinds/canal-pheasanr capsticks-8 lapwing crow trees-three broods of ducklings on res and one family of canada geese usual swifts etc

0530 till 1015
5 gadwall
3 dunlin
2 ringed plover
4 common tern
1 lesser whitethroat

0645 till 0830
1 dunlin
2 ringed plover
1 lesser whitethroat

0530 till 0700
4 ringed plover
1 common tern
1 lesser whitethroat

0545 till 1000
1 dunlin
2 ringed plover
1 lesser whitethroat

about 15 house martins over the fields between withins res and Radcliffe Cem.

Nothing much to add this am. Oystercatcher Withins. Kestrel Canal. Usual warblers. Two swan families now on canal.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 21st of May 2011 11:47:01 PM

0530 till 1130
very quiet
1 common tern
1 lesser whitethroat
highlight being a goosander with 7 chicks riding on her back, superb.

0530 till 0900
1 dunlin
1 common tern
1 lesser whitethroat

Just got back no sign of any waders Dunlin or otherwise upto 9.15pm, male Goldeneye on res and singing Lesser Whitethroat.

Curlew Sandpipers do apparently have a 'first summer' (plain greyish/white) plumage though out of the thousands I've seen in spring I've never actually seen one myself, so I sort of assume that most either stay on wintering grounds or for whatever reason are in a minority when most attain some degree of breeding plumage

I'm not sure how this contributes to the identification of your bird though. Sanderling are in fact one of the most variable wader species this time of year in relation to their plumage.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 18th of May 2011 08:58:32 PM

Ian

surely most pertinently if you saw the birds in flight a white rump (or lack of) would have been seen?

any pics?

Hobby south over the reservoir at 7.30pm.

Info thanks to Peter Baron.

Dave
Sorry my mistake, really must start writing it down rather than memory
Cheers

0530 till 0715
2 dunlin
2 ringed plover
1 lesser whitethroat

Jason - when you say lots of Warblers - sedge / wood - presumably you mean sedge and willow warblers? Wood warbler is rare at Elton.
Regards
Dave