19th Feb

2 Buzzards & 1 Sparrowhawk over Ochre Flash
1 Willow Tit Hawkley
1 Willow Tit Bryn Marsh

brief visit 15.30-16.00

hawkley feeding station

loads of great,blue and long tailed tits
coal tit-2
willow tit-1 (1 more heard)
robin-2
moorhen-2

canal path halfway down scotmans observed a small flock of black headed gulls picking off alder(i think)seeds off the top of a couple of small trees. never seen that before

no sign of the smew but a fellow birder said it was back on pearsons.

cheers,paul

Horrocks Flash,front pool,much the same as yesterday but with the addition of

1 sparrowhawk
2 whooper swansstill present and preening at 13.30

cheers geoff

Scotmans Flash,smew stil present at 11.20 hugging the railway embankment.

cheers geoff

Horrocks Flash midday wander in the sunshine
mallard,gadwall,teal,tufted,shoveler,coot and moorhen a plenty
20 goosander
110 canada
26 greylag
2 goldeneye
2 wigeon
1 very white goose with faded black primaries flew in at 12.30 and then went to bed
1 song thrush belting it,s song out in the sunshine,lovely

cheers geoff

Slightly off topic but there's loads of fish in the Dougie these days. All the common coarse fish species are present as well as brown trout in some areas. The trout are always a good sign that the water quality is high as they are the first to suffer from any pollution etc.

They are fantastic to see, so beautiful! Shame they don't sit still for more than five seconds! I'll keep an eye out for dragonflies now too! There is a heron I think must nest nearby so there must be plenty fish.

GunStreetGirl wrote:

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Hi, I'm new to the forum and only just starting out birdwatching. I've been spotting kingfisher along the river Douggie and was wondering it this is unusual or a common sight. I'm surprised the water is clean enough!

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Hello, Kingfisher can be a surprisingly regular sight these days along the Douglas and other smaller brooks, presumably the watercourses have become cleaner due to controls by the Environment Agency and other bodies. Not far from the Wigan Flashes, Kingfisher now occurs on Smithy Brook at Goose Green - unimaginable before a minewater treatment plant was created there. Dragonflies on the Douglas are another sign of the cleaner water.

Hi, I'm new to the forum and only just starting out birdwatching. I've been spotting kingfisher along the river Douggie and was wondering it this is unusual or a common sight. I'm surprised the water is clean enough!

Galatas wrote:

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Pearson's Flash
Female Smew seen feeding near reedbeds , close to canal towpath around 1:00pm Thursday.
I'm new to this forum so I haven't figured out how to attach a photo.

-- Edited by Galatas on Friday 17th of February 2012 09:40:31 AM

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You can't attach photo's to posts unfortunately but you can email them to Ian for inclusion in the photo gallery.

productive hour this afternoon
moss bridge/landfill area 15.30-15.45 (very muddy)

bullfinch 2 (1m 1f obviously paired up and surprisingly confiding)
mixed finch flock(siskin 30+,lesser redpoll at least 5 and goldfinch 2)
long tailed tits-everywhere
cormorant-1 (over heading horrocks way)
lapwing-11 (over heading opposite way towards pearsons)
sparrowhawk-1 (probable female descending like a bullet in the distance towards the cemetary)

scotmans flash viewed from canal 15.45

smew refound about 30 metres from the north shore halfway across

pearsons flash up to 16.30

teal-24
pochard-14
goldeneye-2
grey heron-1
best of all for me, spanking new plumaged male pintail and a presumed female(still getting to grips with female ducks)
kestrel-3
goosander-2(m+f 50 metres before the locks opposite the beer engine)

all in all a brilliant hour for me despite the mud


-- Edited by paul burke on Friday 17th of February 2012 11:22:37 PM

pearsons flash-4.15-5.00.

teal-60+ (at least, hard to count due to being so flighty and nervous but they seemed to be everywhere)
pochard-10+
goldeneye-4
shoveler-2
goosander-2(1m 1f)
grey heron-2
buzzard-1
+ the usual cast
no sign of the smew will try again tomorrow

cheers,paul

hi folks, superb forum. i bike it around the flashes most days. forgive my computer nous. todays sightings- quick half hour 16.30-17.00. pearsons flash- 40+teal,pochard 12, shoveler 2, goldeneye 3, smew 1, goosander 2, grey heron 1 (heavily mobbed by near adult herring gull) kestrel (f) plus the usual tufted, gadwall,coots etc. plus heard only wigeon. cheers, paul

Also today highlights
Scotmans
20+Goldeneye

Horrocks
15 Goosander

Pearsons
17 Pochard
25 Teal

Landfill
2 Redpoll

Cheers Jimmy

Redhead Smew now on Pearsons Flash at 12:45.

Info thanks to Jimmy Meadows

Tuesday 14 February 2012

07:00-08:30 with Riggers

2 Bittern flew out of Hawkley Reedbed together and landed in reeds at south end of Scotmans Flash, at about 07:10.
1 Water Rail (Scotmans)
1 Harris Hawk (over Pearsons)

no sign of Smew

11 to 2 today,with John Parkinson:

Scotmans Flash

Smew still present ...NW Corner, but later moving down North side.
No sign of Iceland Gull.
Tufted Duck ...c50
Goldeneye.... numbers down to c25
Goosander... 3 Drakes seen.
Teal...1 drake
Pochard c 25
Cormorants...6
GC Grebes ...4
Little Grebe....1


Hawkley Feeders
Sparrowhawk.
Bullfinch fem.
WillowTit
Redwing ...small flock c10 over ..3 of which perched.
Moorhen ...2
Usual Tits
Greenfinch

Horrocks Flash
Mute Swan....14
Goosander fem...1
Greylag Goose ...1

Scotmans Flash 0730-1100

Pleasant morning spent on the Coto Wigana

1 Iceland Gull
1 Smew
2 Goosander
1 Willow Tit
1 Water Rail
30 Greylags
2 Bullfinch
1 singing Reed Bunting
3 GC Grebe
1 Kingfisher
1 GBB Gull
20 Goldeneye
15 Pochard
50 Tufted Duck
10 Gadwall
2 Teal
1 Grey Heron

Smew still present at 11:45.

Iceland Gull still present up to 11 at least.

Info thanks to James Walsh and Phil Kelly

Tony, Many thanks for the link to Harris Hawks. I am certain now that they were Harris hawks. The tail markings are so distinctive. Regards Babs

Iceland Gull currently stood out on the ice on Scotmams Flash.

Info thanks to James Walsh

Smew still present on Scotmans Flash this morning.

Info thanks to James Walsh

2nd winter Iceland gull still present at 12.30pm though a little flighty at times. Smew also still present and fishing over towards the yacht club.

Nice to see Phil Kelly down there amongst others.

-- Edited by Nick Isherwood on Sunday 12th of February 2012 01:10:59 PM

Rob, Many thanks for your reply and the info. I did notice the reference to Harris hawk on the forum earlier in the month, but I don't have any really good pictures ,showing the tail feathers , to know if this is what they could have been. Regards Barbara

Babs the birder wrote:

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Hi I am a new member and I wonder if anyone can help me with an odd sighting at Wigan Flashes today 2.00pm approx. it was at Horrocks Flash. I saw two buzzard like birds but they had two white bars on their tails, one narrow towards the tip and the other wide,bright white ,across the tail nearer the body. They were surrounded by magpies and crows, feeding on top of a vertical ,branchless silver birch post, adopting a more hawk-like posture. But they weren't sparrow hawks. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Also enjoyed the smew! Thanking you in anticipation.

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Could be Harris Hawk...
Geoff Hargreaves saw one there on 03/02/2012.

Hi I am a new member and I wonder if anyone can help me with an odd sighting at Wigan Flashes today 2.00pm approx. it was at Horrocks Flash. I saw two buzzard like birds but they had two white bars on their tails, one narrow towards the tip and the other wide,bright white ,across the tail nearer the body. They were surrounded by magpies and crows, feeding on top of a vertical ,branchless silver birch post, adopting a more hawk-like posture. But they weren't sparrow hawks. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Also enjoyed the smew! Thanking you in anticipation.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Smew (redhead) and a Dunlin on Scotmans Flash (found by Ken Linkman) mid morning.

Also a Scaup (female) on Horrocks Flash.

redhead smew present this morning on scotsmans flash, info thanks to ian mckercher

Scotmans Flash

Smew (Redhead) showing well at 1.25pm , not far from the canal side, and towards the corner nearest the Church Tower ( NE corner).
Many Goldeneye (40 plus ) the drakes looking very smart.
One Little Grebe,2 Gc Grebes and some Goosander.

-- Edited by keith mills on Saturday 11th of February 2012 06:42:49 PM

Horrocks Flash,north pool the scaup has departed for scotmans 11.30ish

Scotmans Flash,scaup and smew present at 12.30

Hawkley Feeding station,sparrowhawk (twice) the usuals and at long last a water railand a certain female year lister doing a strange jig/dance that peter crouch would be proud of.

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 11th of February 2012 03:07:24 PM

I thought at first that the Scotman's Scaup was a first-winter drake, but after a re-think and a closer grilling as it swam across the flash to feed in the NW corner it was definitely a female and presumably the Horrocks bird, sorry for any confusion (even though the confusion was only mine........)

2 Great Black-Backed Gull, 84 Herring Gull and 45 Lesser Black-Backed present late a.m.

-- Edited by dave broome on Saturday 11th of February 2012 01:23:01 PM

Scaup (female) moved to Scotmans Flash late morning and Smew still present in NW corner. info thanks to Dave Broome.

Rob Thorpe wrote:

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Saturday 11 February 2012

Smew (redhead) and a Dunlin on Scotmans Flash (found by Ken Linkman) mid morning.

Also a Scaup (female) on Horrocks Flash.

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-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 11th of February 2012 02:35:23 PM

Horrocks Flash quick hour this morning,95% frozen
20 redwing
10 fieldfare
1 kestrel
3 goosander,looking for open water
usual water fowl pinned against the far bank
1 harris hawk ,free flying but attended by crows,magpies,mallard and 3 very fiesty moorhens,the hawk made a few feeble passes at the moorhens then was lost to view in the 'jungle'.

cheers geoff

Scotman's Flash today: 221 Tufted Duck, 56 Pochard, 23 Goldeneye, 5 Goosander 53 Mallard, 2 Teal, 2 Gadwall, 2 Wigeon, 155 Coot, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Great Crested Grebe

Horrocks Flash ,full tour
much the same as yesterday,very windy the pochard flock had broken up with
6 ducks on the rear pool and males scattered around the flash,little else of note.
1 pair of goldeneye on the rear pool
12 goosander front pool
29 greylag,now settled in and demoted to usuals

cheers geoff

Windy morning here
9 Lesser Redpolls on railway embankment north end Scotmans

Pearsons
19 Pochard
4 Goldeneye.
pr Greylag Geese

Cheers Jimmy

-- Edited by Jimmy Meadows on Sunday 22nd of January 2012 02:31:37 PM

Horrocks Flash midday amble
very windy so front pool only
2 cormorant ,very smart in breeding plumage
14 goosander
23 pochard
2 teal
26 greylag
numerous coot,canada,mute swan and tufted
canal
1 kingfisher
2 goosander

cheers geoff

Saturday 14 January 2012

Turners Flash and Horrocks Flash, morning.

6 Goosander (HF)
2 Goldeneye (HF)
4 Little Grebe (TF)
2 Great Crested Grebe (HF)
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
8 Water Rail (6 TF, 2 HF)
1 Treecreeper
2 Coal Tit

Horrocks Flash morning patrol
6 goosander
2 shoveler
1 kestrel
1 buzzard
4 wigeon
lots of geese,mallard,coot, gulls etc,some distant views of the snow bunting hopefulls on winter hill

cheers geoff

Horrocks Flash,midday wander
Cracking conditions,usual regulars of note
25 redwing,
6 fieldfare
1 dodgy barnacle/canada cross,with a devoted greylag admirer
23 greylag
6 goosander
3 grey heron(over)
3 cormorants(over)

cheers geoff

Horrocks Flash,6 visits over the last 8 days in some poor conditions,no surprises and quite a few 'usuals' not found in 2012,62 species to date, of note

2 raven
1 buzzard
20 fieldfare
1 goldcrest
1 goldeneye
1 treecreeper
6 wigeon
2 grey heron
gadwall,teal,mallard,coot and gulls aplenty.

cheers geoff

Quick midday saunter
Bryn marsh
2 mute swans
6 coot
2 moorhen
1 buzzard
Horrocks Flash
1 goldeneye
4 goosander
15 redpoll feeding on a pathway
usual host of waterfowl.

cheers geoff

Early dawn start to meet up with Karen Foulks at Hawkly and then on to Bryn Marsh ,of note
1 cetti,s warbler calling from hawkly reed bed
1 bittern in flight dropping into Bryn Marsh,after a full 10 minute 'stake out'

cheers geoff

Tuesday 20th Dec: Bittern in flight at Bryn Marsh, also 13 Teal in the channel from the viewing screen involved in an excellent bout of displaying

-- Edited by dave broome on Monday 26th of December 2011 06:44:12 PM

A very pleasant day at the Coto Wigana

Scotmans Flash

8 Goosander
3 Goldeneye
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
1 Grey Heron
1 Little Grebe
drk Pochard
c50 finches (mostly Redpoll)

-- Edited by James Walsh on Sunday 25th of December 2011 05:22:02 PM

-- Edited by James Walsh on Sunday 25th of December 2011 05:22:35 PM

Horrocks Flash 8.00 10.30ish

usual waterfowl
1 goldeneye
4 goosander
1 sparrowhawk
1 kestrel
2 grey heron
1 wigeon,male surprisingly vocal
8 willow tit,one flock near the n/s railway

cheers geoff

Another quick hour before dusk.

Cetti's Warbler calling from reeds in front of viewing screen on Bryn marsh.
5 Goosander (all males) - one on Scotsmans and four in flight over Bryn marsh.
1 Raven on pylon opposite Bryn marsh.
c40 Lesser Redpoll feeding on Alders on path between canal and Turners flash.


-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 22nd of December 2011 06:05:11 PM

A quick last hour mooch this evening before dusk.
5 Pochard on Scotsmans.
4 Goldeneye, 2 Gooseander on Pearsons.
Several small flocks of Long tailed tits between Pearsons and Turners.
Water Rail heard near Turners.
4 Bullfinch at Turners.

Midday walk around Horrocks Flash
the overnight freeze was much harder than I thought pushing the birds into just three open sections of water ,of note,143 teal on the rear pool
56 mute swans on the north pool and an assortment of waterfowl on the front pool,no sign of the slavonian grebe.

cheers geoff

12 Bullfinch this morning Scotman's-Turner's-Bryn Marsh
4 Willow Tit
Treecreeper at Turner's with a tit flock
5 Water Rail heard Turner's-Scotman's
drake Goosander flew on to Scotman's