had a go for this bird this evening, but gave up half way due to getting dark, will be back in the morning so c u there if anyones going.

Yellow-browed Warbler at Scotmans Flash this evening, along the southern edge with Hawkley Reedbed though elusive.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

8 Willow Tit between Scotman's Flash-Bryn Marsh-Ochre Flash this morning, including several visiting feeders at Hawkley Reedbed
also 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest, 1 juv Blackcap
2 Siskin over

1 female or first-winter Goosander on Scotman's today; singles of Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Blackcap on the embankment at the N end

Horrocks Flash late afternoon: 23 Gadwall, about half of which were involved in a vocal bout of displaying, 12 Teal, 11 Shoveler, 1 Kingfisher on canal, a small tit flock also held 1 Treecreeper, 1 Chiffchaff and 3 Goldcrest

Yesterday:

The Hobby was still present at Scotmans in the morning (info thanks to John Gramauskas)

Today:

5 Reed Warbler
Cetti's Warbler briefly near dusk

Info thanks to Peter Alker

Horrocks Flash ,numerous visits over the last week ,generally very quiet but still enjoyable birding

1 Hobby
10 Wigeon (from the rear screen,staying loyal to one area)
6 Cormorants,back from summer hols
10 Snipe
plus all the usual residents

cheers geoff

This morning at Scotman's - 3 Siskin SW, 27 Meadow Pipit south, 2 Kingfisher, 1 Buzzard

As well as the usual Hobby, al least 2 Reed Warblers still present.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

Scotsman's Flash 19:20

Hobby following Swallows into roost

Cetti's Warbler also still present in Hawkley Reedbed early on the 9th.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

16 Reed Warblers and a Sedge Warbler in Hawkley Hall Reedbed this morning.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

Hobby still present at Scotmans Flash last night, now seen there every evening this month!

Quite a few Reed Warblers also still present.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

1 Siskin west this morning
3 Meadow Pipit down by Park House Farm

A morning mooch
Pearsons
Usual water fowl,flooded so no waders only 6 Shoveler
Scotmans
2 Cormorant
Horrocks
4 Snipe
46 Canada geese
2 Sparrowhawk ,distant but some nice interaction
willow warbler and chiffchaff in song
there was someone shooting in the geese fields which may have put the dampers on todays sightings

cheers geoff

17.00-19.00

Pearsons Flash

4 Great Crested Grebes plus the usual waterfowl, counted 138 Coot.

No exposed mud showing and thus no waders, not even a Lapwing.

Horrocks Flash

2 Snipe, 60 Lapwings, 20 Mute Swans, 3 Herons plus the usual residents.

1 pair of Great Crested Grebes with a half grown youngster.

Scotsmans Flash

Among the usual waterfowl and gulls were 3 Great Crested Grebes.

A Sparrowhawk flew very low over the flash, only a couple of feet above the water, and spooked the Black Headed Gulls, the Black Backs just ignored it.

Horrocks Flash,Saturday,Sunday and Monday quite a few visits

The residents and
23 Common Snipe
2 Kingfisher
1 Curlew (through early monday)
2 Wigeon
1 Tawny Owl (heard only) but still a flashes treat
and no sign of the much reported 'white herons'

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Geoff Hargreaves on Monday 27th of August 2012 10:23:30 PM

Pearsons
175 Lapwing
1 Kingfisher
2 Pochard
2 Gadwall
1 Cormorant
1 Lesser Black Backed Gull
5 Cormorant over
50+ House Martins over going south.

Jimmy

2 Black-Tailed Godwit at Pearson's this morning, among a flock of approx 280 Lapwing
20 Swift and 3 Common Tern Scotman's

Horrocks Flash saturday and sunday dusk visit,s
Usual waterfowl
1 Common snipe flying around
2 Great crested grebe with 'humbugs'

cheers geoff

Afternoon visit to the Flashes

Pearsons

Eclipse drake Garganey still present
228 Lapwing on mudflats
1 Common Tern
12 Great Crested Grebe
Fewer duck generally than my visit earlier in the week

1 male Blackcap by the footpath at the side of Scotsmans
4 Common Tern over Scotsmans

40 Curlew (some were calling) flew over me at Horrocks and continued to fly around the general area for a few minutes. I'm not sure whether they flew off or landed in the area. 1 was calling later from the back of Horrocks
6+ Snipe on Horrocks, also 40+ Lapwing
5+ Willow Warbler, including 1 singing
Pr of Great Crested Grebe with two large humbugs in tow, one of the adults caught a large fish/small eel and thought better of trying to feed one of the young

1 Willow Tit calling by the footbridge

1 Swift feeding at Scotman's this afternoon, also 3 Common Tern

Mid- morning to Lunch today with John Parkinson.
Pearson's Flash sightings.

Eclipse drake Garganey eventually showing well feeding
Pochard...5 mainly eclipse..one only in full plumage.
Common Tern....2
Cormorant...1
Great Crested Grebe...12
Gadwall...1
Plenty Teal and Mallard.
Lapwing 80 plus
Tufted Duck......100 plus
BH Gull 40 plus
LBB Gull...3
Starlings, Moorhens and lots of Coots
Mute Swans...Pair plus 2 juv.
Canada Goose ...4
Chiffchaff and Wren heard.

Parking.....Re previous thread..I used for the first time a new(to me) car park a few hundred yards
west past Poolstock Church ,with new sign ''GREENHEART WIGAN FLASHES''
This will be in Worsley Mesnes...good for this trip saved going round to the school.





-- Edited by keith mills on Thursday 16th of August 2012 02:25:39 PM

Pearsons Flash

Eclipse Garganey still present and showing very well, but no sign of Red Crested Pochard

Lots of other eclipse plumaged duck on the flash

2 Pochard
10 Teal
40 Tufted Duck
2 Shoveler
30+ Mallard
2 Common Tern
80+ Lapwing very unsettled, more than likely due to a Lesser Black Backed Gull which kept flying around
1 Grey Heron
1 Cormorant
14 Great Crested Grebe including two young birds
60+ Coot
4 Moorhen
Chiffchaff singing
Willow Warbler calling
Reed Bunting calling
10 Starling on mudflats with Lapwing
80 Black Headed Gull
5 Canada Goose
Pair of Mute Swan with 2 cygnets
10+ Gadwall

Also some interesting behaviour on appropriate thread

Pearsons Flash
1 Garganey
1 Red Crested Pochard (F)
10 Teal
82 Lapwing
2 Common tern
3 Snipe
4 Pochard,
pr Mute Swan + 2 Cygnets
6 Great Crested Grebe.

Wiilow Tit calling nr Moss Bridge,

Westwood
pr Mute Swan +2 Cygnets

Scotmans
21 Lesser Black Back Gulls.

Jimmy

Horrocks Flash 2 visits early am and dusk
usual residents
4 Common Tern
2 Shoveler
15 Common snipe
6 Grey heron

cheers geoff

Pearsons Flash 19.00 20.00
usual residents plus
1 Garganey male in eclipse still present but mobile and elusive
1 Red-crested pochard female plumage, in the company of other pochard but showing well,origins unknown but it,s fully winged and mobile.

cheers geoff

Horrocks Flash am full tour
1 Little Grebe
120 Coot all concentrated in one small area picking off an insect hatch
1 Kestrel
3 Commom Tern
2 Snipe
1 Kingfisher
usual residents

cheers geoff regulars should note that the level crossing gates at Rainfords are now locked and likley to stay locked to deter cable theft

Horrocks Flash am visit front pool only
1 Common Sandpiperat last
2 Grey heron
20 Common Snipe ,left after a 20 min stay
2 Common Tern
2 Great crested grebe with 2 downy young,another 2 young fledged last week and put on a good show as they took to the air
Usual resident coot,mallard etc

cheers geoff

Pearsons Flash

Eclipse Garganey on the mud on the North side of the flash at 15.00, it then moved into the pools on the North West corner and become quite hard to find.

Also on the flash, 3 Common Terns, 11 Great Crested Grebes ( including 2 full grown juveniles), 2 Cormorant, 150+ Lapwing plus the usual waterfowl.

Scotsmans

2 Common Terns, 8 adult LBB Gulls plus the usual waterfowl

Park at the end of Wellham Road, off Carr Lane, where there is room for a few cars. You are then right outside Hawkely Reedbed and within easy access of the rest of the area.

Paul Coupe wrote:

---

Hi All
Thinking of having a ride over to Wigan Flashes tomorrow where would be the best place to park and make the most of it?
Cheers
Paul

---

I normally park at poolstock church not far from Wigan pier and get on the canal and work my way east.

Hi All
Thinking of having a ride over to Wigan Flashes tomorrow where would be the best place to park and make the most of it?
Cheers
Paul

Eclipse drake Garganey on Pearsons Flash this morning.

Info thanks to Judith Smith

Pearsons Mudflats
4 Dunlin,
50+Lapwing

Scotmans
3 Common Tern
1 Kingfisher.

Jimmy

Late posting for yesterday (24/7)

1-2 Kingfisher
3 Reed Warbler seen and another 3 heard
5 Grey Heron
6 Pochard
60+ Lapwing - 40+ Pearsons and 20+ Horrocks
4 Common Tern
250+ Black Headed Gull on Pearsons plus many more high in the air, no doubt after the flying ants
Willow Tit (heard only)
2 Bullfinch (pair)
1 Common Buzzard
4-6 Redpoll over

Plus most of the usuals

Little Egret on Horrocks Flash at 09:30 this morning flew off west five minutes later.

Info thanks to Judith Smith

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 23rd of July 2012 09:40:09 AM

Horrocks Flash sunday am front pool only
36 Greylag
20 Canada
200ish Lapwing
6 Common Tern
70 Starlings
1 Blacktailed Godwit
plus the residents.

of interest one of the peat islets(clay pipe) has moved about 50yards closer to the canal towpath,sounds daft but there are another two islets which must have broken off the 'mainland' in the middle still drifting around looking to settle

cheers geoff

Green Sandpiper at Horrocks this morning
2 Garden Warbler in song along canal between Moss Bridge and Horrocks

Horrocks Flash mon,tues,wed,evening visits, Oh woe is me,
the 3 sitting Common Terns have deserted the islet,I think due to the high water levels which may have flooded the nest,s that leaves the 3,4,or 5 hiding on one islet close to the central island.
The Black-headed gull,s have also had bad few days,all of the chicks in 'down' have gone and only juv,s with mobility are scattered around the area.Hard to guess what,s gone on but mink predation is top of my list.

geoff

Horrocks Flash a.m. visit damp and cold

3 Common Tern still sitting 4 or 5 relocated to another islet after being washed out,but the weeds are obscuring the view, the 2 chicks have gone or have moved out of sight,bad news but it,s always a series of up,s and downs in the colony.

cheers geoff

Horrocks Flash a.m. visit
usual residents all present and correct,of note
10 Black-tailed godwit dropped in to feed on Spoonbill flatsgone at 12.00
1 flock of Kingfishers(5) at tree top height and then along the canal,presumed family group.

cheers geoff

1000+ Swift over the north end of the flashes this afternoon
fledged Coal Tits at Pearson's and unexpectedly 2 Siskins over, flying west at a low height

-- Edited by dave broome on Tuesday 5th of June 2012 07:38:45 PM

Bryn Marsh 21.00 21.45

1000ish Starlings in a pre roost gathering on the pylon, quite a sight

cheers geoff

4 Black Terns present on Horrocks this afternoon.

Info thanks to Paul Burke (with my apologies for the late posting due to me being busy at work tonight!).

Horrocks Flash,
1 Black Tern still present at 21.30 showing well from the towpath over the gull
colony,

cheers geoff

White-winged Black Terns in breeding plumage are highly unlike Black Terns Paul, complete with their black mantle and backs, (practically) white upperwings and jet black underwing coverts, pretty much the opposite of Black Tern. They're particularly striking and though they have a white rump it's not usually the first thing that strikes you (me anyway ). The rump of Black Tern in strong sunlight can look very pale though

2 Black Terns at Horrocks Flash at 4pm today. Could possibly be White Winged as i'm pretty sure one of them had a white rump

Late post for yesterday.
Late afternoon visit
Bryn Marsh
Common Buzzard 1
Lapwing 7
Reed Warbler 1
Willow Tit 1
Reed Bunting 6
Pearsons Flash
Great Crested Grebe 4
Common Buzzard 3 (2 together over the embankment, both with missing inner primaries. The other one high over the landfill area)
Sedge Warbler 1
Reed Warbler 2
Common Whitethroat 3
Garden Warbler 1(heard singing for 10 minutes then rewarded with close up views for about 10 seconds. A first for the flashes for me)
Returned at 8pm
Pochard 3
Common Tern 4
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 over
Plenty of Swifts and House Martins and a few Swallows and Sand Martins

Footnote to thursdays post
Returned to Pearsons Flash about 7.30ish and bar a pair of Swallows there was zero Swifts and Hirundines. Must have been no more pesky flies left
Today- much the same, though did clock a Grey Heron actually wade in the canal edges between Pearsons and Scotmans Flashes keeping its eye on them Canada Goose chicks