Drake Gadwall this morning - a Rochdale scarcity - otherwise been slim pickings recently.

2 Spotted Flycatchers still (Pavilion Wood)
1 Willow Warbler

Been pretty dead last few weeks but a few migrants around this morning

2 Spotted Flycatchers - 1 Pavilion Wood, 1 Big Hedge
1 Lesser Whitethroat - surprisingly even gave a few bursts of song
10+ Willow Warbler
1 Chiffchaff
2 family parties of Bullfinch
1 Common Sandpiper

A Whinchat was on fenceposts at Clegg Hall Marsh this morning.

A Whimbrel flew low over the Lake this evening at around 20:00 but did not land and headed off east calling - it appeared that it may have been flushed from the Shaw Moss area

Also today 2 Cormorants, 2 LRPs, 1 Whitethroat

Received a reliable report of a Little Egret seen by a non-birder on the evening of the 29th July - from the description couldn't really be anything else ( except perhaps Snowy Egret or maybe Western Reef Heron!) - another one slips through the net!

Other recent sightings 2 Shoveler on 30th July and a Lesser Whitethroat on 1st August.

7 Common Scoter present this morning.

Info thanks to Simon Hitchen

2 Green Sandpipers again
1 LRP
6 Oystercatcher
1 Grey Wagtail
family party Bullfinches

2 green sandpiper still tonight
Also
1 common sandpiper
4LRP
2 Redshank
11 Oystercatcher

Thanks Simon for the info. Nature Reserve looking good for more waders........!
Steve

2 Green Sand still this morning
also 2 Common Sand, 1 LRP, 6 Oystercatcher and a juv Green Woodpecker

2 Green Sandpipers
1 Dunlin - first I've seen here since April 2007!!
4LRPs
1 Ringed Plover
1 Common Sandpiper
8 Oystercatcher
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Lesser Redpoll over

Nice to have a bit of mud here for a change - here's hoping we don't get too much rain until October

Shelduck 1 - flushed by rowing boats at 0730
Oystercatcher 10
Little ringed Plover 11
Common Sandpiper 4

and with my atlas hat on Blackcap carrying food and fledged young of Long-tailed and Coal Tits amongst others

Oystercatcher 10
LRP 7
Common Sandpiper 1
Peregrine 1 flew east
Common Tern 2
Common Gull 1
Grey Wagtail feeding juvs

Gropper and Sedge Warbler singing at Clegg Hall - also here Mute Swan with 5 cygnets and Tufted Duck with 6 ducklings

No sign of Scoters this evening - interestingly all 11 were drakes

Also this morning 1 Gropper singing - strange how they always seem to virtually stop singing in mid May and then start up again in July - I've always guessed this is because they've finished rearing their first brood but does anyone out there know why this is?

Cheers, Simon

Scoters still present 11.00 am. Flock quite mobile seemingly diving en masse at times.Plenty of mud at nature reserve end attracting Oystercatchers(7) Ringed Plover 2, Common Sandpiper, Heron(3) on the Lake single Grt CrestedGrebe and small numbers of Sand Martins.
Cheers Dave Phillips

Eleven Common Scoter present this early morning.

Info thanks to Simon Hitchen

12th June.

Visited this morning the relatively undisturbed and quite isolated large expanse of "no-mans land" also known as Longden End - that is situated between the Piethorne Valley and Hollingworth Lake.

A lovely morning to be out and about. Plenty of Sand Martins and few Swallows. Confirmed breeding for Lapwing - 2 adults with at least 2 small young - the adults aggressively chasing away any crows that got anywhere near their beloved offspring! Cracking views of 2 juvenile Wheatears, they didn't seem to have many "nerves" unlike the adults who were quite flighty! An adult Dipper feeding a single juvenile. Reed Buntings in territorial disputes, a juvenile was also seen, as well as a female carrying food. Also Linnet, Grey Wagtail, Goldfinch, a few agitated Meadow Pipits (probably carrying food but too far away to be sure) and Green Woodpecker.

For the BTO/GM breeding birds atlas projects.....the confirmed breeding for Dipper was in SD91L - bringing the total number of confirmed breeding species for that particular 2 km by 2 km tetrad to 41 species and the confirmed Lapwing and Wheatear records were in SD91M, bringing the total for that tetrad to 40 proven breeders.

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Saturday 12th of June 2010 03:20:18 PM

Drake Mandarin
1 Common Tern
1 Lesser Whitethroat
4 Whitethroat
1 Sedge Warbler (Clegg Hall)

In addition to Sandwich Tern also :-

Drake Mandarin
1 Grasshopper Warbler
2 Blackcaps
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Sedge Warbler (Shaw Moss)
2 Nuthatch

at Clegg Hall:-

2 Grey Partridge
1 Gropper
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Whitethroat

first Swift of year here yesterday

Sandwich Tern appeared to fly off from the lake at 08:45am.

Info thanks to Mark Rigby

Sandwich Tern present 07:20 this morning

Info thanks to Simon Hitchen

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 30th of April 2010 07:43:51 AM

The Mandarin was on the canal at Littleborough at 7pm yesterday with its Canada Goose mates before flying off with them towards the Lake.

A Sedge Warbler was singing at Clegg Hall this morning

1 male Mandarin was on the lake late yesterday eve, not present this morning, though i did not check far.

Dave

Had a good mooch round the extended area today - nothing earth-shattering but a beautiful day

1 Cormorant
2 Oystercatcher
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Redshank
2 Grey Partridge
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Blackcap
1 Nuthatch (first I've seen here for nearly a year)
1 Siskin over
2 Lesser Redpoll

and at Longden End 50+ Sand Martin, 2 Curlew, 1 Dipper, 2 Grey Wagtails and 3 Wheatear

Not seen a Kingfisher at the Lake since the big freeze though

Gropper reeling this morning - my earliest ever here

4 Shoveler (3 drakes, 1 duck) this morning - another Hollingworth Lake rarity (but then most birds are)

3/4
Not a lot happening

1 Tufted Duck
5 Cormorants
1 Redshank
2 Oystercatcher
1 Grey Wagtail
2 Chiffchaff
12 Lesser Redpoll


nearby at Longden End:-

1 Sand Martin
2 Wheatear
1 Curlew
2 Grey Wagtail

6 Pink-footed Geese
1 Curlew over
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Dipper - Longden End

Drake Mandarin - presumably the bird that Steve had at Watergrove the other day as it appeared to be paired up with a Canada Goose!

2 Pochard
2 Tufted Duck
14 Teal
6 Pink-footed Geese
4 Great-crested Grebes
2 Cormorant
2 Oystercatcher

Drake Gadwall - a Rochdale rarity - funny how you can get excited about a bird that if you saw it 20 miles down the road you'd hardly bat an eyelid - but such are the joys of local patches

Now 6 Pink-footed Geese hanging around Akzo Pond
2 Oystercatchers
1 Redshank
6 Cormorant
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Siskin over

19th March.

7.30 - 9.15 am.

On a beautiful spring morning a Chiffchaff was singing near the visitors centre.

At 7.30 am - 5 Cormorants were resting on a raft - birds flew in throughout the time I was there, presumably from feeding locations and numbers had increased to 9 by the time I left.

Also 1 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Mute Swan, 1+ Siskin over, 1+ Lesser Redpoll over, 2 Teal, a single Reed Bunting sang and just very small numbers of Meadow Pipits were on the surrounding farmland - no sign of the major spring influx yet.

Cheers,

Bill.

A few ducks on the move this morning

26 Wigeon
6 Goldeneye
16 Teal
4 Goosander
8 Cormorants
1 Redshank - Shaw Moss - been back since yesterday

4 Wigeon this morning - a sign that things are starting to move. Otherwise dead

Not much happening yet :-

Now 5 Pinkfeet with the Canada flock- there had been 4 for a couple of weeks
6 Great-crested Grebe
8 Cormorant
6 Goosander
1 Pochard
2 Oystercatchers

Have started keeping a Rochdale list to try to keep my motivation going

Sunday 21 Feb, 3.00 - 400 p.m. Snow showers.

6 male goosanders , 8 mallard, 1 cormorant, 2 GC Grebe, c. 120 BH Gulls, C. 20 common Gulls, 3LBB Gulls, 5 Mute Swans, 2 of them immature, many Canada geese.

Fri 19/2/10 12:30 - 15:00 Sunny, bright - bitter when occaisonal cloud obscured the sun.

Cormorant 5+
G C Grebe 3
Pochard 17 (3 F)
Goosander c. 12 (3 M)
Teal 16 (4 F)
Bullfinch 3+
Greenfinch c. 6
Bhd Gull c. 120
C Gull c. 10

Posted by Alan Nuttall today (17th Feb)

11 Cormorants present 1330hrs 1 bird a superb continental Sinensis,14 Goosander,2 Great Crested grebe,5 Teal.

No sign of the Yellow-legged Gull in the roost this evening - first chance I've had to check roost since the weekend and it was pants - very few gulls at all - not helped by a couple of rowing boats that insisted on ploughing through them

Otherwise 4 Pinkfeet with the Canadas, 21 Goosander and a Green Woodpecker. Chris Jepson-Brown had an Oystercatcher which is very early - first last year was Feb 19th - bet it wishes it had stayed on the coast. Chris also had 5 Lesser Redpolls.

Hi Simon

The 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull was not in the Audenshaw roost either night this last weekend.

Cheers Robert

A second winter Yellow-legged Gull was in the roost yesterday and again tonight until 1650 when it flew off west and didn't return up to dusk. Wonder if this could be the bird from Audenshaw - anyone seen this over the weekend? - or the same bird that was reported from the Lake on New Year's Day.

Also today female Wigeon, female Goldeneye, 11 Goosander, 6 Cormorants, 2 Gc Grebes

Yesterday 6/2 :1 Pink-footed Goose, drake Goldeneye, 13 Goosander

only small amount of unfrozen water

Drake Goldeneye
350+ Canada Geese
1 Pink-footed Goose
11 Mute Swans
1 Curlew flew east calling at 0930 - very unseasonal
1 Kingfisher
1 Grey Wagtail
2 Snipe
1 Great-spotted Woodpecker

Feel worried for the local bird populations - suspect the local Stonechat population will have been wiped out by this winter - it had already declined markedly following last winter.

Scammonden Res'r is the water you see from the M62 on your right as you head towards Huddersfield. From GM you're prob best going on the A640 from Denshaw, Oldham - think it's signposted from this road but I probably wouldn't attempt it at the moment.

Only a small patch of open water this morning: large flock of canada geese, 3 goosander ( 2 female 1 male) anda male golden eye

Sent u a Pm richard

Mind me asking for an address for the Calder site, please?

Visited Scammonden Dam this morning,Sunday, at 9-15am till 9-45am and both GN Divers were still both present.
Dave Ousey.

Hi Simon

The 2nd GND at scammoden turned up on either the 28th or 29th December (from the calder website) and think the Hollingworth bird was still about then unless its been flying between both sites? One was posibly seen to fly off from scammoden yesterday - maybe back to Hollingworth?

hi simon could you please explain how i would get to scammonden res regards steve

Just over the hill in West Yorks Scammonden Res'r (which has had one GND since the other bird left the Lake) now has 2 with the second bird arriving on New Year's Day so I suspect that's where our bird has gone....unfortunate timing though...don't birds understand year lists!

No Diver early morning but a flight of 18 Cormorants overhead and 8 Goosander on the small remaining patches of water.

Cheers, John

Well the Diver didn't make it to 2010, no sign of the bird though most of the lake was frozen.

A 1st/2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull on the ice but fairly distant was an unexpected bonus, otherwise 4 Goosander, 4 Great Crested Grebe and 14+ Cormorant on the lake.

Neil

Our first visit to the lake today and pleased to say the Great Northern Diver is still there....was like it was following us round the lake lol.
Lots of goosanders(18) and cormorants and a kingfisher who posed nicely for us in several bushes before flying off round the lake.
Plus mute swans
Canada geese
Robin
Blue Tit
Various Gulls
Mallards
Great Crested Grebes
Pied Wagtail
Crow

A lovely walk round...will be going back again soon.