No sign at 5.30pm apparently

Went round Elton this a.m. Juv. black necked grebe present amongst usual great crested. Also 200 plus lapwing, 3 snipe and around 100 mixed flock of swallows and sand martins. Stock dove also seen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black necked grebe still present 3.30 this afternoon.


-- Edited by Ian Campbell at 17:10, 2007-08-24

Spotted flycatcher preening itself in hedgerow this am plus 19 pied wagtail feeding around cattle at Old Hall Farm.

Bob asks if anyone has seen any swifts in "out of county birding".
2 at Elton this am[8.30], also 11 snipe flying round and many swallows with both types of martin and 2 adult with 1 juvenile common tern.
Cheers Ian.

Back to reality (just spent two weeks in Cyprus) decided to visit, can this be true? the 3rd best birdsite in Gtr Manc.
8.30 am and its ****ing down,that bit was no surprise!.
100ish swallows over the res, plus about 70 coot, 1 cormorant and 8 swans. Also 62 house martins sat on telephone wires, looked like they were thinking of sunny Africa.
I apologise for the ****, but I couldnt use this word to describe where I stayed in Cyprus!,its a good job we dont have S****horpe in our area!!!
Cheers Ian

Why can't I see posts on this thread?

Hmm, after submitting this post, I can now see the rest.

-- Edited by rezMole at 17:23, 2007-08-05

5/8/2007 Early am

2 young Little Owls farm
Reed Warbler & Blackcap in the dip
10 Mute Swan and 1 Common Tern res

Otherwise pretty quiet.


-- Edited by warfy at 14:44, 2007-08-05

4 shoveller dropped in on the flood pools by canal. Nothing much on the res except a few scroats.

All will be glad to know that I have heard the plans to open the Manchester Bury and Bolton Canal, widely hyped a few years ago, have been quietly dropped...

8.30-9.30 am.
Very little on the res, 8 adult swans and fly past cormorant and oystercatcher
On canal tufted still has 8 young and nearby a pair of little grebe with at least 2 tiny young. Also on canal 2 pairs of swans with 3 and 2 well grown young and 5 singing sedge warbler.

Paul, there were 3 common sandpiper there this morning.
Cheers Ian

15/7/07 Early am

2 Common Tern
1 Reed Wblr (round the "muddy" side - unusual)
4 Reed Buntings
4 Whitethroat
2 Chiffchaff
3 Grey Herons
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Willow Warbler
1 Peregrine (flew in, sat on pylon for 20 seconds - in a place where I couldn't get a photo, then flew off)
1 Sandpiper (probably Common, but only got a glimpse as it took off and I lost sight of it)
10+ Wren (most I've ever seen in such a short time - seemed to be everywhere)
1 Mistle thrush
1 Moorhen
A few Sand Martins, House Martins, Swallows & Swifts - but not great numbers of any of them,
plus usual collection of GC Grebes, Mallard, Canada Geese, Swans, Coots, Black-headed Gulls etc.

Went round Elton this am nothing much about, 1 common tern in fact. Was told about a tufted duck on the canal with 8 small young so went to see, sure enough cute as can be all 8 present. Whilst watching saw a strange sparrow sized finch on the tow path,its not in the collins guide. Beak a bit hawfinch shaped, top mandable dark, bottom pale. Two small pale patches above beak. Head back and wings brown, tail darker brown and slightly cocked. Belly pale with thin brown flecks. It was quite tame, I could get to six feet and I presume it was an escaped cage bird but has anyone any idea what it could have been
Cheers Ian

8.30 -9.30 am and very wet:
117 (then I lost count) lapwings in field below res
8 adult mute swans
1 common tern
2 linnet
pair grey wagtails taking food into stream area below pump house

Saturday evening, showery

Kingfisher
2 Oystercatchers
Male Tufted Duck
Grey Wagtail
7 Mute Swans
60+ Lapwings
3 Common Whitethroat
Chiff Chaff
3 Red Buntings
Many Sand Martins, House Martins, Sallows & Swifts.

23/06/2007 - Didnt realise Glastonbury was at Elton this year

7 Mute Swans
2 Tufted Duck
2 Little Ringed Plovers
2 Oystercatchers
Pheasant
Plenty Whitethroats, Sedges still singing.

I cant remember the last time we had some decent mud exposed, must be 3 years at least since them youths drove that car into the res

Apart from moorhen, mute swans, coots, mallard and canada geese - the usual on the lodge where I live, there was a fishing grey heron and two common tern again today. Really enjoy watching the tern fishing, from my front door.

Please give us some mud!!

20/5/07 Early am

1 Common Tern
4 Mute Swan
4 Tufted Duck
6 Sedge Wblrs
3 Whitethroat
2 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Little Owl
plus usual collection of Mallard, Canada Geese, Coots and Moorhen etc.

Heard the parrot again and spent 45 minutes looking for the Grasshopper Warbler - singing away but I didn't manage to actually see it. As I've never seen one before, I'll probably be back up there in a few days to give it another go, now that I know where it is (past the fishing lodge at far end of the Res).

Also had a female GSW and a male blackcap in my garden a couple of times in the last 3 days, and a Common Tern - probably from Elton Res.


-- Edited by rezMole at 22:44, 2007-05-21

Also Little owl sat on fence near the farm, a Grey Wagtail near the boat house, a young Grey Heron obligingly sitting in the reeds letter me get a few close-up photos and four jays.

-- Edited by rezMole at 13:47, 2007-05-13

Please give us some mud!!

13/5/07 Early am

1 Dunlin - Sat on a Buoy
2 Common Tern
5 Mute Swan
1 Cormorant
5 Tufted Duck
7 Sedge Wblrs
2 Whitethroat
3 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff.

and that Parrot still flying around near the farm (not a Ring Necked Parakeet)

5th May, early am - Just 2 Little Ringed Plovers of note not much else though.

-- Edited by warfy at 12:44, 2007-05-05

Called in on my way home and the Little Gulls still there at 12.15pm.

Good record Simon, you should have entered the tournament, 3 Little Gulls would be worth 6 points

8-30-9-30am

3 Little Gulls (2 adult summers)
2 Common Terns
2 Sedge Warblers

-- Edited by warfy at 15:29, 2007-05-03

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 3rd of May 2012 04:48:26 PM