Pearsons Flash- 16.00-16.30
Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 2
Sparrowhawk(f) watched it getting mobbed by Sand Martins then catching the thermals and soaring at quite a height
Sand Martin 10+
Ringed Plover 2
Black tailed Godwit 2 (the new one is still in winter plumage)
plus all the usuals
came back at 19.00
Goldeneye 30+
no further sightings of the new Black tailed Godwit

-- Edited by paul burke on Friday 30th of March 2012 02:14:11 AM

A half hour mooch at 8am this morning before work. From Westwood drive to embankment overlooking Pearsons flash. : 2 Chiffchaff , Buzzard pair , Sparrowhawk female hunting low over Pearsons , Black tailed godwit 1 . Ringed plover 1. also Gadwall pair . others of note : Reed bunting, Pochard, Teal, Tufted duck, Lapwing and Great crested grebe. The mudflats at this end look promising.

went for a quick 15 minutes mid afternoon around hawkley reedbed/feeding station.
no luck with the Cetti's Warbler but did get my first Blackcap of the year
later on early evening did a quick ten minutes count from the embankment at pearsons flash
Goldeneye 26
Black Tailed Godwit 1
Lapwing 5
Ringed Plover 2
plus the usual Teal,Pochard,Gadwall etc

Cetti's Warbler singing from Hawkley reedbed again from 10:30am today.

Info thanks to Paul Brown

quickfire 15 minutes at Pearsons Flash -19.00
Great Crested Grebe 4
Pochard 19
Goldeneye 5
Lapwing 6
Black Tailed Godwit 1
Snipe 8
Song Thrush 1
Mistle Thrush 1
Reed Bunting 2
Jay 2
and far too many boisterous gangs of young sunseekers

32 Greylag Geese on fields across the canal from Horrocks this morning

quick half hour back at the flashes late tea time
Feeding station
Willow Tit 2
Reed Bunting 2
Greenfinch 4 in the hedgerow alongside the track next to the school

Pearsons flash very quiet
Lapwing 7 most displaying
Black tailed Godwit 1
Snipe 12+
Pochard 14
Great Crested Grebe 3
Grey Heron 2

an hour at tea time in glorious sunshine
Pearsons flash
pochard 12+ all active and diving
goldeneye 4 (1m 3f)
grey heron 2
great crested grebe 6
lapwing 5
black tailed godwit 1
snipe 20+
common buzzard 1
reed bunting 4 (2 pairs)
jay 1
also from the viewing screen at ochre flash a male kestrel with prey (looked like a vole) landed in a tree on the other side of the flash and tucked in to his tea

Horrocks Flash full tour early doors
usual residents all present and correct
8 pochard flew in
3 chiffchaff
6 reedbunting
and a delightfull 5 minutes watching a pair of willow tits excavating a nest hole

cheers geoff

quick 15 minutes after the football to try for the cetti's warbler again (nothing) and pearsons flash which was very very quiet. goldeneye 10 pochard 8 lapwing 3 black headed gull 5 great crested grebe 2 and a few teal and tufted duck 30+ and that was it really
moving on to poolstock lock, its still only march and already some merchant bankers have torched the reedbed on the other side of the canal

No sight nor sound of Cetti's Warbler this afternoon around Hawkley area.

Other sightings

At least 5 Chiffchaff between Hawkley and Wigan
1 Little Grebe - Scotsmans
6 Great Crested Grebe

Summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwit still on Pearsons
27 Goldeneye
7+ Pochard
30+ Tufted Duck, although small numbers were arriving frequently
3 Buzzard

FEEDING STATION/REEDBED AREA 14.30-15.00
cetti's warbler heard 3 times no sightings
reed bunting 2
moorhen 2
great tit very abundant, they were everywhere, each tree seemed to be dripping with them
PEARSONS FLASH from the embankment
goldeneye 32
pochard 11
lapwing 15
black tailed godwit 1
mistle thrush 2
jake moot 1 (top top fella, if you're on the forum mate and you read this, thanks for the dvd and see you soon )
came back 2 hours later and pearsons was very quiet, only 3 lapwings and 5 black headed gulls and the goldeneyes had gone
also chiffchaff at the base of the pylon 30 feet away giving great views. loads more heard all over the place

Cetti's Warbler sang in the margins of Hawkley Reedbed by the feeding station this afternoon, also there Water Rail squealing and at least 2 Willow Tit; Black-Tailed Godwit still on Pearson's, 12 Pochard there; several single Redpolls in flight around the Flashes and 1 Siskin; 3 Chiffchaff singing from Scotman's to Bryn Marsh plus a silent bird; in the vicinity of Bryn Marsh 1 Kestrel, 7 Pheasant, 1 Stock Dove, 4 Lapwing and 2 singing Skylark

Further sightings from this morning:

At least 5 Chiffchaff around Hawkley reedbed/Moss Bridge area.
Water Rail Hawkley reedbed.
Breeding plumage Black-tailed Godwit and Buzzard at Pearsons Flash.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

48 Goldeneye on Scotman's at dusk, only 20-odd present an hour earlier
3 Pochard, 2 Gadwall
singing Chiffchaff on railway embankment

HAWKLEY FEEDING STATION/REEDBED AND SURROUNDING WOODS
got there about 15.00 and stayed half an hour
cetti's warbler heard singing 5 times but not seen,will try again tomorrow
sightings
chiffchaff 2, more heard
common buzzard 2 together over bryn marsh way
kestrel (m) 1
reed bunting 2(1m 1f)
PEARSONS FLASH from the embankment
common buzzard 3 very high up together
kestrel (f) 1
cormorant 1 over
dunlin 6
lapwing 7
black tailed godwit 1
herring gull 30+ over from north being very noisy
reed bunting 1(m)
hoping for more waders as the water level drops more

Cettis Warbler singing about every 15-20 minutes along the path from the viewing screen between 1045-1300hrs but didnt show.

Then it was heard singing near to the green container near the Hawley school entrance and showed briefly in flight accross the path back towards the reedbed.

As I was back at the car, it sang more frequently so went back for another look. This time it was singing near the green container again showing out in the open briefly. It was seen a couple of times in flight before I left.

Cetti's Warbler at Hawkley Reedbed, Wigan this morning. Singing periodically from around the viewing screen by the Hawkley Hall High School entrance.

Info thanks to Peter Alker

Horrocks flash nocturnal visit 20/03/12 20.00 22.00
inspired by Mr Thacker
all heard only,so caution advised
lapwing
canada geese
greylag geese
coot,mallard,grey heron
song thrush cracking out a song in the dark
poss little grebe

also quite a few calls that i,m unsure of,fun and different

cheers geoff

tea time tour of all the flashes except horrocks and turners(need another footbridge to connect bryn marsh and horrocks) no scotmans either due to the lighting conditions
HAWKLEY FEEDING STATION
moorhen 2
reed bunting(m) 1
OCHRE FLASH
great crested grebe 2 displaying
moorhen 2
gadwall 4 (2 pairs)
BRYN MARSH
kestrel(f) 1
lapwing 5 (2 displaying)
song thrush 1
PEARSONS FLASH
grey heron 2
pochard 16 (most of them asleep)
great crested grebe 6
lapwing 15
black tailed godwit 1
sand martin 6
jay 1
reed bunting 2(m&f)
the soundtrack of the tour was numerous singing robins, great tits and song thrushes though only 1 song thrush seen. spring is here

-- Edited by paul burke on Wednesday 21st of March 2012 11:44:46 PM

afternoon visit
PEARSONS FLASH
common buzzard 2
kestrel 3
grey heron 2
lapwing 24
black tailed godwit 1
cormorant 2 over
pheasant 1 (male, dark green all over) near the viewing screen
jay 1 plus all the usuals
BRYN MARSH
common buzzard 1
sparrowhawk 1 (f) flew low across the track no more than 30 feet away from me into the woods between bryn marsh and ochre flash
still no chiffchaffs for me

hour late afternoon in glorious sunshine
MOSS BRIDGE/LANDFILL AREA
kestrel 1
jay 1
in the same conifer i spotted
coal tit 2
goldcrest 2 (took a few minutes to locate, heard them calling incessantly then spotted them chasing each other. very frisky and hyperactive)
PEARSONS FLASH
common gull 7 amongst the 100+ black headed gulls. no large gulls today
black tailed godwit 1
lapwing only 8
goosander 8 over (all males)
pheasant(m) 1
also still good numbers of teal,pochard,great crested grebes etc
and at last i got about a dozen sand martins (probably more, they were to and fro-ing between pearsons and scotmans flashes)
finally on scotmans flash
goldeneye at least 26 (a lot of displaying going on)
and a grey heron over hawkley reedbed. first i've seen for a while

-- Edited by paul burke on Tuesday 20th of March 2012 12:34:58 AM

half hour flying visit late afternoon
PEARSONS FLASH
goldeneye 34
oystercatcher 1 (fast asleep surrounded by noisy black headed gulls)
black tailed godwit 1
common buzzard 2 (soaring together over the cemetary/sewage works)
jay 7 (group of 5 together between pearsons and westwood flashes and 2 more flying from the landfill area over towards amberswood. more heard being very raucous)

Horrocks Flash full tour midday
residents all checked and accounted for
2 buzzard
1 sparrowhawk
2 oystercatchers (1 with a ring on right leg,a full pie to the man who reads it)
1 raven
14 wigeon on the rear pool

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Geoff Hargreaves on Saturday 17th of March 2012 04:46:58 PM

half hour late afternoon pearsons flash

common buzzard 2
kestrel(f) 1
redshank 2
black tailed godwit 1
jay 1
plus similar numbers of teal,pochard,lapwing etc as yesterday
no sand martins or chiffchaffs yet but hopefully will nail them over the weekend

quick hour late afternoon
PEARSONS FLASH-very gloomy and quiet again
teal 40+
pochard 21
great crested grebe 2
lapwing 32
redshank 3
moorhen 3
also willow tit 2(1 between hawkley reedbed and the canal and 1 at bryn marsh)
pheasant 1 at bryn marsh

Thursday 15 March 2012

had to attend a meeting in Wigan Town Centre today, so cycled there and back taking in the Flashes en-route (with my little 10x25 bin's). All sightings pm unless indicated:

3 Goosander (1 HF, 2 SF)
1 Kestrel (HF)
1 Black-tailed Godwit (PF)
4 Redshank (PF)
2 Oystercatcher (HF)
c15 Snipe (am PF)
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (HF)
1 Sand Martin (PF) (my first of the year )
1 Siskin (PF)

quick visit at tea time very gloomy,still and quiet
SCOTMANS FLASH
cormorant 1
goldeneye 22 seen probably more. a few males displaying
common gull 1 perched on a buoy
PEARSONS FLASH
teal 30+
pochard 12
goosander 4 over
great crested grebe 2
lapwing 28
only a few gulls including 3 lesser black backed gulls
LANDFILL AREA
song thrush 2
goldcrest 2
bullfinch(f) 1

Scotman's Flash this morning: 3 Sand Martin, 32 Goldeneye, 3 Cormorant, 1 Siskin north

another hour same sites as yesterday roughly the same time
LANDFILL AREA
kestrel(f) 1 hunting
goldcrest 2
coal tit 1
bullfinch(m) 1

PEARSONS FLASH
teal 20+
pochard 11
greylag goose 2
great crested grebe 6
lapwing 27
redshank 1

quick hour late afternoon

LANDFILL AREA
cormorant 1 over
blue,great and long tailed tits loads
coal tit 1
goldcrest 1
redwing 5 (probably more, they were very flighty)

PEARSONS FLASH
teal 30+
gadwall 8
pochard 21
great crested grebe 3
pheasant 1
lapwing 36 (no other waders but hopefully the water levels will keep dropping and we'll have loads of exposed mud like last spring/early summer)
common buzzard 1
carrion crow 2 (heavily mobbed off the lapwings. one crow landed on exposed mud close to the canal while the other one kept trying to land next to the resting lapwings further out. went on for a few minutes then the crow had enough and retreated. great to watch)

PEARSONS FLASH 16.00-17.00

teal 26
gadwall 8
pochard 5
goldeneye 2
goosander 3
great crested grebe 8
lapwing 34
redshank 3(1st for me at this site) at first thought they could have been ruff(only got bins) then i heard them calling
also single jackdaw over
still not seen little grebe for ages. i hope mink haven't wiped them out(seen them a few times on the canal) them hippies from the a.d.l have a lot to answer to sorry for rant

-- Edited by paul burke on Sunday 11th of March 2012 11:04:43 PM

-- Edited by paul burke on Monday 12th of March 2012 12:40:25 AM

Horrocks Flash am visit
Usual water fowl,lots of tooing and frowing between the pools and fields,the greylag and swans are still using the crop fields

2 goosander dropped in
2 cormorant over,resplendant in breeding plumage
1 distant raptor,presumed harris hawk with jesses trailing
6 pochard
12 shoveler

2 great spotted woodpeckers,both having a 'drum off' on the railway stantions
1 american mink,not a head or tail slinking away but a full close encounter on the towpath and then it swam across the canal and 'faced' upto me from the banking.Reminded me of a pest control bloke who was estimating a rat population,
1 you,ve all got rats
2 prints and droppings,you,ve got enough
3 daylight sightings,you,ve got a problem
cheers geoff

PEARSONS FLASH

quick half hour before the football

goldeneye 60+
pochard 4
great crested grebe 6
lapwing 33
buzzard 2
plus the usual teal,tufted ducks,coots etc

Saturday 10 March 2012

A Chiffchaff singing and catching insects in the treetops at Horrocks Flash this morning. Spring is here at last!

Also at Horrocks Flash:
1 Goldeneye
2 Oystercatcher
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 10th of March 2012 01:04:31 PM

a windy hour 15.30-16.30 (almost got blown into the canal while on my bike scotmans side)

PEARSONS FLASH
teal 40+ (at first only seen about 5. then the wind calmed somewhat then they were all over)
pochard 16 (13 asleep)
gadwall 6 (3 pairs)
great crested grebes 4 (2 pairs)
lapwing 23
plus the usual

LANDFILL AREA
bullfinch 2 (pair)
wren 2 seen (many more heard)
buzzard 1 (very low causing panic for the numerous woodpigeons)
goldcrest at least 2 heard calling but not seen. roll on spring eh

also a pair of great crested grebes displaying on westwood flash ignoring nearby aggressive coots

PEARSONS FLASH/MOSS BRIDGE & LANDFILL AREA-14.30-16.30

teal 30+
pochard 12
gadwall 6(3 pairs)
great crested grebe 3(must be a 4th somewhere)
cormorant 1
amongst the many black headed gulls i managed to pick out lesser black backed gull 4 and common gull 3
lapwing 29
then as i was leaving the embankment to do a circuit clockwise 2 buzzards and a sparrowhawk(f) sent everything up in panic.

10 mins later near the screen (north east corner) a peregrine zipped in at pace over my head from the east. circled pearsons once and shot off northwest

also loads of blue,great and especially long tailed tits and a single goldcrest(m) between landfill and moss bridge
and also willow tit 1 seen 1 heard in woods next to westwood flash

PEARSONS FLASH & MOSS BRIDGE/LANDFILL AREA 16.30-17.30

teal 40+
pochard 17
gadwall 6
great crested grebe 3
cormorant 4
lapwing 48
goldcrest 2 (1 singing)
pheasant 1
goosander 4 over

Horrocks Flash a.m. full tour in light rain

The usual water fowl
3 pairs of great crested grebe
1 little grebe(heard only)
1 kestrel
1 buzzard
1 great spotted woodpecker(drumming)
1 great spotted woodpecker,drumming on a railway stantion

cheers geoff

Saturday 03 March 2012
late morning with Martyn Jones

2 Peregrine (pair) (circling over Pearsons Flash before drifting off north)
4 Buzzard (2 at Pearsons Flash, 2 at Bryn Marsh)
2 Sparrowhawk (Pearsons Flash)
1 Kingfisher (Bryn Marsh)

72 Goldeneye and 5 Goosander on Scotman's early evening 1st March, 3 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel all soaring late morning, plus several Reed Bunting singing at the south end of Scotman's and in Hawkley Reedbed

-- Edited by dave broome on Friday 2nd of March 2012 09:10:06 AM

PEARSONS FLASH 16.30-17.00

teal-50+
pochard-13
goldeneye-4(2 pairs both males occasionly displaying)
g.c.grebe-2
lapwing-47
plus 1 each of grey heron, kestrel and jay
also 4 goosander on the canal (all males)

PEARSONS FLASH 16.00-16.30

jay-2
teal-50+
pochard-17
goldeneye-1
g.c.grebe-3
moorhen-2
lapwing-12
plus all the usual mallard,gadwall,tufteds,coots etc

WESTWOOD FLASH 16.30-16.45

pair of g.c.grebes displaying
willow tit heard in the woods on the north side

cheers,paul

Horrocks Flash,mid morning front pool only
as yesterday plus
2 great crested grebes
2 oystercatchers back on the patch
4 lapwing
1 reed bunting singing

cheer geoff

Horrocks Flash early doors mooch,front pool only

2 goosander
238ish black headed gulls,love is in the air
13 canada geese
mallard,tufted etc.
4 crows
5 magpie
1 coal tit
1 sparrowhawk perched up in the jungle

unusual and worrying,3 plastic magpies in the geese fields and no geese close to the canal,geese and swans sighted further afield.

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 25th of February 2012 10:42:28 PM

PEARSONS FLASH 15.30-16.30

teal-at least 60 probably double that(they were everywhere feeding and flighty no green wings though)
pochard-15
goldeneye-3
g.c grebe-4(1 pair displaying)
lapwing-5
herring gull-3
probable imm.great black backed gull-1(i'm no gull expert but this one was a proper brute with white head no head streaking looked like 2nd or 3rd winter bird at first thought it was a heron when it flew in
buzzard-1
no smew
not seen any little grebes for ages used to be regular on westwood flash n.w pearsons and canal

cheers,paul

-- Edited by paul burke on Friday 24th of February 2012 11:44:18 PM

a couple of hours around the flashes. 15.00-17.00 very mild and sunny
OCHRE FLASH
gadwall-4
reed bunting-1

BRYN MARSH
cormorant-1 over
buzzard-1
jay-1
pochard-3

PEARSONS FLASH
smew-1(f)
pochard-8
teal-40+
goldeneye-3
goosander-3 over
g.c. grebe-2
lapwing-1
buzzard-2

MOSS BRIDGE/LANDFILL AREA
jay-1
song thrush-2
goldcrest-1
siskin-5

quick half hour at pearsons before and during that plucking billinge rain

teal -30+(difficult to count due to their flightiness)
pochard -11
goldeneye -2
g.c. grebe -2
grey heron -3
buzzard -1
goosander -3 over heading n.w again

the woods between pearsons and westwood flashes
song thrush -4 jay -1 and treecreeper heard only

moss bridge up to turners flash- no siskins or redpolls but loads of l.t tits a couple of pigeon remains and on turners flash nothing but narky coots and a few tufteds

hawkley feeding station 15.30
water rail heard
feeding area empty but loads of alarm calls suggests that a sparrowhawk had just passed through. 2 mins later towards the small metal bridge a male bullfinch and a male chaffinch practising his singing skills. won't be long now

pearsons flash until 16.30

teal-27
pochard-15
goldeneye-5
grey heron-1
goosander-2 over quite high from horrocks heading north west.
just as i was leaving another 12 followed in the same direction

lone g.c.grebe(breeding plumaged) on westwood flash.
pleasant hour in nice sunshine with song thrushes singing all over

cheers, paul

pearsons flash 15.30-16.30

kestrel-1 (m) hunting low over the embankment
teal -50 +
pochard -23
herring gull -5
cormorant -1 over
goosander -2 over
no sign of the smew