Thanks Ian for posting the sightings of the Slavonian Grebe and well done to Alan for finding it. Whilst not creating the same level of excitement as the Pied-billed, it is an excellent find, as this is a very rare bird in Rochdale. There appears to be some confusion over the number of previous records from the borough. Peter Hill's Birds of Rochdale lists records which did not appear in the county report for the corresponding year. Presumably because no rarity description was submitted? Anyway the official records are as follows: Ogden Resr - 02 to 10/03/1979 Hollingworth Lake - 23/10/1990 Hollingworth Lake - 21/10 to 02/11/1997 The unofficial record is from Clegg Hall Fishery - 20/10/1999. Now I wonder who saw that bird?
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Feb 21 5:20 PM, 2011
Slavonian Grebe still present at 4pm, in the same location.
Info thanks to Steve Atkins
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Feb 21 12:57 PM, 2011
Slavonian Grebe present this morning and showing well. Walk south c300 yards from the Beach Hotel to view the bay.
Info thanks to Judith Smith via Alan Nuttall
Dave Ousey said
Thu Jan 27 7:37 PM, 2011
5 Cormorant,Grey Heron,150 Canada Geese,8 Goosander,80 BH Gull,2 Common Gull,25 Wood Pigeon,Wren,6 Robin,4 Blackbird,16 Long Tailed Tit,3 Coal Tit,12 Blue Tit,8 Great Tit,10 Magpie,4 House Sparrow,9 Chaffinch,Brambling,7 Greenfinch,8 Goldfinch,41 Siskin(1 on feeders near visitor centre and flock of 40 not far from the hide) 4 Bullfinch.
Regards, Dave Ousey.
Simon Hitchen said
Thu Jan 20 10:14 PM, 2011
8 Goosander 2 Coot
Nearby a pair of Mandarin on the canal at Littleborough Station - nice to see the drake Mandarin has got over its Canada Goose fetish from last summer and gone for something more conventional.
Simon Hitchen said
Thu Jan 13 11:55 PM, 2011
Finally thawed out
1 Curlew flew west calling - quite unusual in January 21 Goosander 4 Cormorant 1 Coot
1 Woodcock flushed 1 Little Owl 1 Nuthatch 1 Treecreeper 14 Siskin 2 male Brambling
In an effort to focus on the Atlas keeping a SD91 list this year!
SD91 2011 : 49
Simon Hitchen said
Sun Dec 26 10:12 PM, 2010
Drake Mandarin on the small area of open water with 54 Mallard 1 Snipe 5 Mute Swans Redwing, Bullfinch
Ian Woosey said
Thu Dec 16 9:37 PM, 2010
As an RBA user I will stick up for them here. The report on the pager was for AMR, which in this case, as Ian states, they will have got from Birdnet. Those maps that you see (presumably you mean the one on Birdforum ?) are a total waste of time as they give you a dot on a map of the UK, much the same as the Birdguides Birdmap... You get what you pay for, as the saying goes.
jason fisher said
Thu Dec 16 7:05 PM, 2010
actually when i investigated further it was showing it right in the middle of rochdale on the roof of the exchange, rather than hollingworth
Ian McKerchar said
Thu Dec 16 6:42 PM, 2010
A Pied-billed Grebe has been reported at Ashworth Moor Reservoir today. See the relevant thread for further news. And yes it is an RBA cock-up if their report was for Hollingworth Lake but perhaps you read it wrongly? The news was initially reported to Birdnet Information who released the news correctly.
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 16th of December 2010 06:45:27 PM
jason fisher said
Thu Dec 16 6:03 PM, 2010
just looked at the rba light map and it's showing PBG bak at hollingworth, is this correct or another RBA cockup?
Pete Hines said
Sat Dec 11 9:13 PM, 2010
Craig Higson wrote:
A Pied-billed Grebe has been reported in SE Ireland today. What chance the same bird?
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Saturday 11th of December 2010 08:41:47 PM
The PBG is at Little Island Co Cork. Don't know about it being the same bird, but what I found uncanny (cue the X-files music) was that I'd just arrived at Cobh, Great Island, Co Cork on 9th Nov as the news broke of the PBG here. Now if I'd gone to Hollingworth Lake today.... that would have been spooky.
-- Edited by Pete Hines on Sunday 12th of December 2010 12:59:38 AM
Craig Higson said
Sat Dec 11 8:41 PM, 2010
A Pied-billed Grebe has been reported in SE Ireland today. What chance the same bird?
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Saturday 11th of December 2010 08:41:47 PM
Judith, I think the one at Pine Lake also departed roughly the same day, so probably not a coincidence.
Judith Smith said
Thu Nov 25 10:35 PM, 2010
Let's hope the Friends of HL get the contract for managing the VC and can do something effective, as the rangers obviously can't. The Slav at Audi has also gone; is it a coincidence that it also went at the same time - it was a full moon or nearly so.
Simon Hitchen said
Tue Nov 23 10:10 PM, 2010
Mink are a real problem here - i regularly see them and there were 4 together one day in the summer- I have raised the issue with the rangers and they were supposed to be trying to trap them but apparently the traps got stolen! I think that's part of the reason why virtually nothing is able to breed successfully here. I fear it's highly likely that the grebe ended up as mink food.
Also present today 1 Water Rail 10 Cormorant 2 Great-crested Grebe 20+ Siskin 2 Goldcrests 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker
Doc Brewster said
Tue Nov 23 9:47 PM, 2010
David Craven wrote:
There was one (local?) birder with a scope happily showing people the PBG, telling them about it, answering questions, which I think was excellent work. If you are on here, well done.
Thanks David, it was me on Sunday showing passers-by the grebe, they all seemed really thrilled & it was so rewarding :) I popped up from Cheshire for my 3rd visit but I am a former Gtr Manchester birder (R.Mersey, W.Didsbury to Sale WP was my local patch). Thought that I had better join the forums as a poster at last, having lurked for a couple of years!! Especially to pass on the following info which may be of use to Judith.
I can confirm that there was a Mink present on Sunday, it swam within 3m or so of the grebe and disappeared into the marginal vegetation of the NR pool. The grebe noticed the predator and remained alert and static for some time afterwards. The photographer you mentioned ('RlBuzzard guy' !) even managed a quick record shot of the Mink. On hearing that the grebe had not been seen since Sunday my fears were that the Mink may have predated it :( I hope not but the grebe seemed happy and was feeding well, although over my 3 visits it was attracting more & more attention from a small flock of Black-headed Gulls which meant that it was feeding less succesfully (it's dive to catch ratio had decreased). So it may have decided to move on to avoid this disturbance to its feeding, let's hope so.
Mike hirst said
Tue Nov 23 2:42 PM, 2010
No sign of the grebe anywhere on open water today between 10am and 11-45am and very little else either on the lake or surrounding woodland. Visitor centre most productive with blue, great, coal and long tail tits, bullfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, Alovely grey wagtail on V.C. roof, and several robins.
I forgot to mension that a photographer in the hide saw what he and a birder that was with him at the time, saw what he thought was a stoat but it was all brown. It was on the island directly in front of the hide, jumped into water and swam to the side on the left of the hide. It all happened very quickly apparently so he couldn't be sure, but it sounds more like a mink to me.
-- Edited by Mike hirst on Tuesday 23rd of November 2010 07:27:22 PM
JOHN TYMON said
Mon Nov 22 6:12 PM, 2010
Ann Ribbands wrote:
Unfortunately no sign today in spite of plenty of watchers. Eaten or flown?
Pobably eaten by one of the parents of all those perch it was eatin'
Pauline Greenhalgh said
Mon Nov 22 6:03 PM, 2010
NO ....no .....no ......... Pennington .......... Pennington Flash little bird ....... ignore what the others say - Pennington - Teal Hide ........... !!
Ian Campbell said
Mon Nov 22 5:46 PM, 2010
Hopefully flown to Elton Cheers Ian
Ann Ribbands said
Mon Nov 22 4:59 PM, 2010
Unfortunately no sign today in spite of plenty of watchers. Eaten or flown?
Matt Potter said
Mon Nov 22 3:46 PM, 2010
We made is Saturday and it was showing amazingly well 50 yards or so before the hide, preening and sleeping. Also doing a very fast wing beat.
Lots of locals who had heard about the bird where intrested, and we showed them the bird through our scope.
About 50 or so birders were there, but I didnt recognise anyone.
A very nice bird! And a lifer for me and Mrs P!
David Craven said
Mon Nov 22 3:08 PM, 2010
Went along Sunday 21st at about 13:00 where the PBG was showing well.
Plenty of birders (and some twitchers, including a guy who wanted to show us photos of a Lincs R.Legged Buzzard he'd taken Saturday, and who apparently ended up in that awful BBC Twitchers program). Notable how many locals walking round the site had heard of the bird (and that the bird itself wasn't unduly disturbed by the attention). There was one (local?) birder with a scope happily showing people the PBG, telling them about it, answering questions, which I think was excellent work. If you are on here, well done.
Also about 25 Siskin in quite a rowdy flock just round the corner from the PBG, beng ignored by almost everyone!
Young Great-Crested Grebe on the main lake. Plus a couple of Cormorant.
Pauline Greenhalgh said
Mon Nov 22 2:49 PM, 2010
Perhaps it is only investigating the rest of the lake ....... or maybe its found room to take off ........... I would have liked to have seen it again ............
Steve Suttill said
Mon Nov 22 2:38 PM, 2010
Someone who was present yesterday has reported that the bird was venturing out of the nature reserve and onto the main lake more than it had previously...
... and I'd been saying that I was sure it would overwinter
Steve
Ian McKerchar said
Mon Nov 22 11:29 AM, 2010
The bird information services are reporting no sign of the Pied-billed Grebe this morning, though it is not know how thoroughly it has been searched for. If anyone has any further information could they let me or this forum know asap
Simon Hitchen said
Sun Nov 21 11:15 PM, 2010
13 Waxwings flew north at 0845 20 Whooper Swans flew south-east at 0858 heard Pinkfeet flying over at 1200 but couldn't locate them 1 Lesser Redpoll over 1 Siskin south 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker 2 Jays
oh... and a Pied-billed Grebe - not a bad morning's birding
Ian McKerchar said
Sun Nov 21 8:29 AM, 2010
Pied-billed Grebe still present this morning.
Also a pair of Goosanders.
Info thanks to Mike Chorley
Simon Hitchen said
Sat Nov 20 5:02 PM, 2010
Also this evening a Pink-footed Goose with 180+ Canadas
Ian Boote said
Sat Nov 20 4:17 PM, 2010
Pied Bill There PM On far side from hide for a while preening then flew and landed right in front of hide to a battery of camra clicks felt like kate middleton was passing by.
Joey Eccles said
Sat Nov 20 1:02 PM, 2010
Saw the grebe this am, was very mobile around nature reserve area. Thought i would add some other waterbird sightings: Single male tufted duck, flushed from nature reserve and then from main lake by a boat - went up quite high and was circling but i'm not sure if it reappeared on the lake. 4 comerant single common gull with the bh gull. 2 mute swan A greylag/canda cross with the canada geese
Ian McKerchar said
Sat Nov 20 8:56 AM, 2010
Pied-billed Grebe still present this morning.
Info thanks to Birdnet Information
Rob Smallwood said
Fri Nov 19 5:00 PM, 2010
Sorry - BirdGuides, one of the bird information websites.
Mike Bisson said
Fri Nov 19 3:32 PM, 2010
what is BG?
Rob Smallwood said
Fri Nov 19 3:26 PM, 2010
Good luck Matt - it is now reported as present on BG's.
Matt Potter said
Fri Nov 19 2:54 PM, 2010
I hope its still there tomorrow!! Everything is crossed!!!
Please still be there on Saturday Mr (or Mrs) Pied Billed Grebe!!!!
Dennis atherton said
Wed Nov 17 9:15 PM, 2010
Oops, you missed checking out for bewicks swan too,
i did the same last week at marton mere, a med gull sat in with all the black headeds 8ft from us for 15 mins till it got noticed
Keeps us on our toes
Simon Hitchen wrote:
Quick stop on my way to work :-
3 Whooper Swans 8 Waxwings - I was alerted by one calling to at least 8 birds flycatching from some tall trees near the Beach Hotel at the bottom of Lakeside/Milbury Drive 2 Pochards 7 Cormorants
Carefully ruled out Trumpeter Swan, Cedar Waxwing, Canvasback and Double-crested Cormorant - wonder if I'm getting paranoid!
Didn't have time to go round to the Nature Reserve this morning but a reliable dog-walker told me that the grebe was still there.
Interested to hear about the Water Rail that Pete and Paul saw last week - the reason there's been no mention of this species on this link recently is that the last one was in November 2003!!! Obviously Water Rail is probably under-recorded as the site is underwatched but it's certainly uncommon here - I think it's probably quite high up for them. But I guess the nature reserve has never been so well watched as it has this last week - here's hoping someone could find a Bittern (American or otherwise).
Steve Suttill said
Wed Nov 17 6:59 PM, 2010
Grebe still present this afternoon, when we finally made it to the lake. We were the only "birders" there when we arrived, which meant we had to find it for ourselves - and feel less guilty about "twitching"
One guy turned up, asked where it was. I pointed it out, he looked through his bins for 15 seconds, said thanks and left...
It takes all sorts...
Steve
Simon Hitchen said
Tue Nov 16 10:07 PM, 2010
Quick stop on my way to work :-
3 Whooper Swans 8 Waxwings - I was alerted by one calling to at least 8 birds flycatching from some tall trees near the Beach Hotel at the bottom of Lakeside/Milbury Drive 2 Pochards 7 Cormorants
Carefully ruled out Trumpeter Swan, Cedar Waxwing, Canvasback and Double-crested Cormorant - wonder if I'm getting paranoid!
Didn't have time to go round to the Nature Reserve this morning but a reliable dog-walker told me that the grebe was still there.
Interested to hear about the Water Rail that Pete and Paul saw last week - the reason there's been no mention of this species on this link recently is that the last one was in November 2003!!! Obviously Water Rail is probably under-recorded as the site is underwatched but it's certainly uncommon here - I think it's probably quite high up for them. But I guess the nature reserve has never been so well watched as it has this last week - here's hoping someone could find a Bittern (American or otherwise).
Ian McKerchar said
Tue Nov 16 11:58 AM, 2010
2 Whooper Swans and 8 Waxwings present at 10:30 today.
Info thanks to Simon Hitchen
Paul Wilson said
Tue Nov 16 12:27 AM, 2010
Yeah, I saw that too. At one stage I have Moorhen, Water Rail, Kingfisher and Pied-billed Grebe all in my bins at the same time!
Pete Hines wrote:
I've just trawelled through all the posts for this site over the last twelve months and not seen a mention of a Water Rail... there was one showing well at the NR last Wednesday 10th in the afternoon.
Pete Hines said
Mon Nov 15 10:36 PM, 2010
I've just trawelled through all the posts for this site over the last twelve months and not seen a mention of a Water Rail... there was one showing well at the NR last Wednesday 10th in the afternoon.
Whilst not creating the same level of excitement as the Pied-billed, it is an excellent find, as this is a very rare bird in Rochdale.
There appears to be some confusion over the number of previous records from the borough.
Peter Hill's Birds of Rochdale lists records which did not appear in the county report for the corresponding year. Presumably because no rarity description was submitted?
Anyway the official records are as follows:
Ogden Resr - 02 to 10/03/1979
Hollingworth Lake - 23/10/1990
Hollingworth Lake - 21/10 to 02/11/1997
The unofficial record is from Clegg Hall Fishery - 20/10/1999. Now I wonder who saw that bird?
Info thanks to Steve Atkins
Info thanks to Judith Smith via Alan Nuttall
Regards,
Dave Ousey.
2 Coot
Nearby a pair of Mandarin on the canal at Littleborough Station - nice to see the drake Mandarin has got over its Canada Goose fetish from last summer and gone for something more conventional.
1 Curlew flew west calling - quite unusual in January
21 Goosander
4 Cormorant
1 Coot
1 Cormorant
2 Goosander
10 Mute Swan
3 Coot
1 Skylark over
1 Goldcrest
Whittaker/Syke area :-
1 Woodcock flushed
1 Little Owl
1 Nuthatch
1 Treecreeper
14 Siskin
2 male Brambling
In an effort to focus on the Atlas keeping a SD91 list this year!
SD91 2011 : 49
1 Snipe
5 Mute Swans
Redwing, Bullfinch
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 16th of December 2010 06:45:27 PM
The PBG is at Little Island Co Cork. Don't know about it being the same bird, but what I found uncanny (cue the X-files music) was that I'd just arrived at Cobh, Great Island, Co Cork on 9th Nov as the news broke of the PBG here. Now if I'd gone to Hollingworth Lake today.... that would have been spooky.
-- Edited by Pete Hines on Sunday 12th of December 2010 12:59:38 AM
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Saturday 11th of December 2010 08:41:47 PM
3 Wigeon
20 Cormorant
11 Goosander
1 Tufted Duck
Also present today 1 Water Rail 10 Cormorant 2 Great-crested Grebe 20+ Siskin 2 Goldcrests 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker
Thanks David, it was me on Sunday showing passers-by the grebe, they all seemed really thrilled & it was so rewarding :) I popped up from Cheshire for my 3rd visit but I am a former Gtr Manchester birder (R.Mersey, W.Didsbury to Sale WP was my local patch). Thought that I had better join the forums as a poster at last, having lurked for a couple of years!! Especially to pass on the following info which may be of use to Judith.
I can confirm that there was a Mink present on Sunday, it swam within 3m or so of the grebe and disappeared into the marginal vegetation of the NR pool. The grebe noticed the predator and remained alert and static for some time afterwards. The photographer you mentioned ('RlBuzzard guy' !) even managed a quick record shot of the Mink. On hearing that the grebe had not been seen since Sunday my fears were that the Mink may have predated it :( I hope not but the grebe seemed happy and was feeding well, although over my 3 visits it was attracting more & more attention from a small flock of Black-headed Gulls which meant that it was feeding less succesfully (it's dive to catch ratio had decreased). So it may have decided to move on to avoid this disturbance to its feeding, let's hope so.
I forgot to mension that a photographer in the hide saw what he and a birder that was with him at the time, saw what he thought was a stoat but it was all brown. It was on the island directly in front of the hide, jumped into water and swam to the side on the left of the hide. It all happened very quickly apparently so he couldn't be sure, but it sounds more like a mink to me.
-- Edited by Mike hirst on Tuesday 23rd of November 2010 07:27:22 PM
Pobably eaten by one of the parents of all those perch it was eatin'
Cheers Ian
Lots of locals who had heard about the bird where intrested, and we showed them the bird through our scope.
About 50 or so birders were there, but I didnt recognise anyone.
A very nice bird! And a lifer for me and Mrs P!
Plenty of birders (and some twitchers, including a guy who wanted to show us photos of a Lincs R.Legged Buzzard he'd taken Saturday, and who apparently ended up in that awful BBC Twitchers program). Notable how many locals walking round the site had heard of the bird (and that the bird itself wasn't unduly disturbed by the attention). There was one (local?) birder with a scope happily showing people the PBG, telling them about it, answering questions, which I think was excellent work. If you are on here, well done.
Also about 25 Siskin in quite a rowdy flock just round the corner from the PBG, beng ignored by almost everyone!
Young Great-Crested Grebe on the main lake. Plus a couple of Cormorant.
... and I'd been saying that I was sure it would overwinter
Steve
further information could they let me or this forum know asap
20 Whooper Swans flew south-east at 0858
heard Pinkfeet flying over at 1200 but couldn't locate them
1 Lesser Redpoll over
1 Siskin south
1 Great-spotted Woodpecker
2 Jays
oh... and a Pied-billed Grebe - not a bad morning's birding
Also a pair of Goosanders.
Info thanks to Mike Chorley
On far side from hide for a while preening then flew and landed right in front of hide to a battery of camra clicks felt like kate middleton was passing by.
Thought i would add some other waterbird sightings:
Single male tufted duck, flushed from nature reserve and then from main lake by a boat - went up quite high and was circling but i'm not sure if it reappeared on the lake.
4 comerant
single common gull with the bh gull.
2 mute swan
A greylag/canda cross with the canada geese
Info thanks to Birdnet Information
10 Cormorant
2 Goosander
4 Teal
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Siskin over
No signs of the Waxwings today though
i did the same last week at marton mere, a med gull sat in with all the black headeds 8ft from us for 15 mins till it got noticed
Keeps us on our toes
One guy turned up, asked where it was. I pointed it out, he looked through his bins for 15 seconds, said thanks and left...
It takes all sorts...
Steve
3 Whooper Swans
8 Waxwings - I was alerted by one calling to at least 8 birds flycatching from some tall trees near the Beach Hotel at the bottom of Lakeside/Milbury Drive
2 Pochards
7 Cormorants
Carefully ruled out Trumpeter Swan, Cedar Waxwing, Canvasback and Double-crested Cormorant - wonder if I'm getting paranoid!
Didn't have time to go round to the Nature Reserve this morning but a reliable dog-walker told me that the grebe was still there.
Interested to hear about the Water Rail that Pete and Paul saw last week - the reason there's been no mention of this species on this link recently is that the last one was in November 2003!!! Obviously Water Rail is probably under-recorded as the site is underwatched but it's certainly uncommon here - I think it's probably quite high up for them. But I guess the nature reserve has never been so well watched as it has this last week - here's hoping someone could find a Bittern (American or otherwise).
Info thanks to Simon Hitchen