The lower temperature made for far fewer people about this morning. A dipper going behind the weir and another near the bridge at the mill. A goosander (f) was also near the weir. The main lake had a good number of swallows and at least one house martin and a pair of male mandarins were asleep on the boating platform at the end of N lake.
Chris Harper said
Sun Mar 15 3:26 PM, 2020
Circuit via Linnet Clough 1-2.30
Chiffchaff, 2 Common Buzzard, 2 Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan, Barnacle Goose, Cormorant.
John Rayner said
Sat Mar 14 4:10 PM, 2020
Chiffchaff singing Stock Dove singing Goosander 2 (north lake) Tufted Duck 2m, 1f Mute Swan 2 Great Crested Grebe 1
Cheers John.
John Rayner said
Sat Feb 1 5:25 PM, 2020
Mandarin Duck 6m, 4f (North Lake) Goldcrest 2 (singing) Jay Dipper 3 chasing and singing in display Grey Wagtail Buzzard 2 Woodcock 2
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Tue Jan 28 2:15 PM, 2020
Stock Dove singing Pair of Mandarins 1m, 3f Goosanders 3m, 1f Tufted Ducks 3 Woodcock (Linnet Clough area) 1 Buzzard
Cheers John.
John Rayner said
Mon Jan 20 2:38 PM, 2020
19 January:
Dippers - 3 on river, none ringed. Grey Wagtail Mandarin Duck 2 Goosander 3 Little Grebe 1 Mute Swan 2 (1 with unread blue darvic and 1 metal ringed only. I think a darvic dropped off this bird some time ago but it may be a different bird)
Cheers John.
David Pierce said
Tue Dec 24 12:48 PM, 2019
Goosanders galore this morning. 1 on the river, a pair on the main lake and 9 (4m 5f) on north lake.
Andy Bissitt said
Mon Nov 18 7:55 PM, 2019
Got lucky with the Egret moving onto a flooded field closer to than John could get (site was 'closed' today). Only second for me in the county (and hardly ever seen elsewhere much in U.K.), so a great bird to see at this quiet time of year. Also seen: kingfisher, 2 female type goosander, and two sparrowhawks at ground level, one pursuing the other.
Kingfisher 3 (1, North and 2, chasing each other Main Lake) Coot 96 Moorhen 18 Mallard 47 Mute Swan 2 Tufted Duck 2f Cormorant 8 Canada Goose 47 Grey Heron 2 Little Grebe 1 Goosander 1, river Lapwing 1 in horse field (unusual)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Sun Sep 29 7:14 PM, 2019
A large flock of Canada Geese (178) dominated Greylag 1 Barnacle Goose 1 feral Mute Swan 2 (4DBT has moved on) Little Grebe 2 (ad & juv) Great Crested Grebe 1 Tufted Duck 1 Coot 57 Moorhen 13 Mallard 48 Cormorant 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Dipper 1 on Goyt
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Fri Sep 13 8:14 AM, 2019
Thanks Steve
Steve Christmas said
Thu Sep 12 10:14 PM, 2019
Hi John,
4DBT was ringed as a male cygnet in a brood of 8 on 2/9/2018 at Ashton Moss.
Steve
John Rayner said
Wed Sep 11 8:23 PM, 2019
Mute Swan - usual pair plus an interloper (Blue Darvic 4DBT). If Steve Christmas is reading this could you please tell me its origins. Could possibly have been an 'O' or a zero rather than D.
Horse Fields: Canada Goose 114 Stock Dove 1 Buzzard 1 House Martin 30
Main Lake: Mute Swan 3 Great Crested Grebe 1 Goosander 1 Teal 1
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Fri Aug 2 11:08 AM, 2019
A quick look over Main Lake (canoeists on North Lake).
A poor year for breeding birds:
2 Mute Swans (they failed earlier in the year) 2 Great Crested Grebes (were sitting but nest now under water) 51 Coot (but only 1 juvenile) A female Mallard with 2 young 1 Mandarin female 1 Kingfisher 1 Stock Dove
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Thu Jun 20 9:19 AM, 2019
Late news from yesterday. A full count:
North Lake: Canada Goose 15ads, 4juvs (probably more hidden) Mallard 1ad, 2juv
Main Lake: Canada Goose 93ads Mallard 64ads, 1juv Mute Swan 2ads (failed breeding this year) Moorhen 2 only Coot 27ads, ZERO JUVS (unusual) Greylag Goose 1 Barnacle Goose 1 Great Crested Grebe 2 (in weed dance display)
On 17th June I saw a Mink cross the path at North Lake. May account in part for the lack of coot chicks
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Tue Apr 30 8:12 PM, 2019
North Lake: 8 Mandarin Ducks (A pair and a female with 5 ducklings) 2 Stock Doves singing
Main Lake: 2 Common Sandpipers Mute Swan sitting on 1 egg
House Martin 10 Swallow 18 Sand Martin 2 Tufted Duck 4m, 3f Mandarin 1m Blackcap singing
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Tue Mar 5 1:05 PM, 2019
Greylag 1, in with the Canadas Mandarin 4m, 2f Tufted Duck 4m, 1f Mute Swan 2 Cormorant 8
Kingfisher 1 Chiffchaff singing Stock Dove singing
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Tue Feb 19 12:41 PM, 2019
Belated WeBS count:
North Lake: Cormorant 1 Mallard 2 Goosander 1m Canada Goose 57 Dipper (on river) Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming Buzzard
Main Lake: Cormorant 6 Black-headed Gull 7 Mallards 53 Coot 17 Canada Goose 28 Mute Swan 2 L Grebe 2 Tufted Duck 1m Moorhen 12 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 displaying
Cheers John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 19th of February 2019 08:54:40 PM
John Rayner said
Wed Feb 13 2:40 PM, 2019
Mute Swan update.
Last year's youngsters have dispersed. 2 Adults on Main Lake and 1 1st w. on North Lake.
(12 month's ago the youngsters hung around well into March prompting aggressive attacks from the adults. In fact one youngster was eventually tolerated and over-summered).
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Sun Feb 3 5:41 PM, 2019
North Lake 100% and Main Lake 95%+ iced over. Birds concentrated on small patch of water made for easy counting:
As an aside - John haven't they done an amazing job with the Landscaping of Mellor Mill. Also you can have a better view of the North lake from the "new path"
-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Tuesday 1st of January 2019 06:59:51 PM
Main Lake: Gadwall 2m, 2f Tufted Duck 4m, 2f Mute Swan 2ad, 5 1st w. Little Grebe 2
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Sat Dec 1 2:49 PM, 2018
North Lake: Gooander 2 Stock Dove 1 Mistle Thrush singing
Main Lake: Gadwall 2m, 1f Little Grebe 4 Tufted Duck 2m, 1f Grey Heron 3
A feeding flock included 4 Nuthatches, 2 Goldcrests and a Treecreenper.
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Mon Nov 26 3:36 PM, 2018
Stock Dove (singing) Gadwall 2 Coot 106 Goosander 2f (1 Main Lake, 1 River Goyt) Dipper (Goyt) Grey Wagtail (Goyt) Green Woodpecker (heard near Mellor Golf Course)
[c6 Salmon or Sea Trout eyeing up the weir but not leaping it]
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Mon Sep 17 3:48 PM, 2018
Coot 90+ (no access today so no full count) Mute Swan 2ads, 6 juvs Great Crested Grebe 1 fully grown juv (new arrival) Buzzard 3 Sparrowhawk 1 Chiffchaff 1 House Martin 2 Migrating ducks are very thin on the ground this autumn.
Nice to chat with Peter Holmes' wife. Tell Peter to get down to Roman Lakes and post some sightings
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Thu Aug 2 2:27 PM, 2018
Little Grebe pair have 2 well grown young Mute Swan pair still have all 6 cygnets Teal 1 Coot 63 Canada Goose 141 Heron 3 Mallard and Moorhens uncounted.
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Tue May 15 1:20 PM, 2018
Adult Mute Swans have a brood of 4 cygnets. Surprisingly the 1st summer bird remaining from last year's brood is still tolerated in the vicinity. Greylag Goose 2 Barnacle Goose 1 (feral) 4 families of Coot with 3 birds still sitting (15 ads, 19 juvs) Moorhen 3 Mallard 18 Tufted Duck 2 Little Grebe 1 Cormorant 1 Raven 2 Jay 2
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Wed Apr 11 7:11 PM, 2018
Gadwall male (first here this year) Great Crested Grebe 1 Tufted Duck 3m, 2f Mute Swan 2ad, 1 1st s. Swallow 2 House Martin 4
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Mon Apr 9 1:48 PM, 2018
Blackcaps fresh in with 4 males singing Chiffchaff 6 Great Crested Grebe 1 (1st here this year) Mandarin 2 (on river) Jay 7
Cheers, John
John Rayner said
Sat Apr 7 11:18 AM, 2018
2 House Martins 1 Sand Martin 13 Swallows 1 Treecreeper 1 Sparrowhawk
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Fri Apr 6 2:33 PM, 2018
Swallows 3 Chiffchaffs 2
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Wed Apr 4 1:37 PM, 2018
Mute Swan now sitting on nest with the male still trying to drive away the last of the 2017 youngsters Goosander 1f Pair Mandarins Tufted Ducks 2m, 1f Pair Teal
Migrants represented by single Chiffchaff and single Sand Martin
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Tue Mar 27 2:12 PM, 2018
A Red-breasted Merganser in the drizzle was a complete surprise this morning. A Stockport Borough tick and a nice change from Coot counting!
Red-breasted Merganser (male) Tufted Duck 5m, 4f Mute Swan 2ad + 2 1st w. (the other youngsters may have been on the back lagoons but I didn't see them so perhaps successfully driven away by the adults) Little Grebe 1 Chiffchaff 1 singing
No Goosanders anywhere
Cheers, John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 27th of March 2018 02:20:12 PM
To add to John's report from Sunday, we also saw a pied wagtail, at least 2 siskin feeding with the goldfinch and redpoll, at least 3 song thrush, and a treecreper in the same area. Also heard a buzzard in the trees behind the main buildings EDIT - knew I'd missed something! We also saw three chiffchaff, not calling but positively identified visually
-- Edited by Julian Winstanley on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 04:11:13 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 04:23:49 PM
John Rayner said
Sun Mar 18 2:26 PM, 2018
Main Lake:
Snipe (a weather displaced individual on one of the islands) Mute Swan 6 (Adult Swans aggressively harassing last year's youngsters) Tufted Duck 4 Goosander 2 Little Grebe 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 Cormorant 3 Black-headed Gull c25 Grey Wagtail 1 Goldfinch 13 Lesser Redpoll 5 Song Thrush 1
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Thu Mar 15 3:44 PM, 2018
March 15th. (11.00-12.15). Large emergence of insects today.
Sand Martin 2 flew through NW
Tufted Duck 6m, 3f Goosander 2 North Lake, 2 Main Lake Mute Swan 6 Little Grebe 2 Coot 38 Moorhen 20 Canada Goose 59 Mallard 41 Cormorant 6 Black-headed Gull 8 Treecreeper 2 Stock Dove 3 Buzzard 1
The lower temperature made for far fewer people about this morning. A dipper going behind the weir and another near the bridge at the mill. A goosander (f) was also near the weir. The main lake had a good number of swallows and at least one house martin and a pair of male mandarins were asleep on the boating platform at the end of N lake.
Circuit via Linnet Clough 1-2.30
Chiffchaff, 2 Common Buzzard, 2 Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan, Barnacle Goose, Cormorant.
Stock Dove singing
Goosander 2 (north lake)
Tufted Duck 2m, 1f
Mute Swan 2
Great Crested Grebe 1
Cheers John.
Goldcrest 2 (singing)
Jay
Dipper 3 chasing and singing in display
Grey Wagtail
Buzzard 2
Woodcock 2
Cheers John
Pair of Mandarins
1m, 3f Goosanders
3m, 1f Tufted Ducks
3 Woodcock (Linnet Clough area)
1 Buzzard
Cheers John.
Dippers - 3 on river, none ringed.
Grey Wagtail
Mandarin Duck 2
Goosander 3
Little Grebe 1
Mute Swan 2 (1 with unread blue darvic and 1 metal ringed only. I think a darvic dropped off this bird some time ago but it may be a different bird)
Cheers John.
Goosanders galore this morning. 1 on the river, a pair on the main lake and 9 (4m 5f) on north lake.
Got lucky with the Egret moving onto a flooded field closer to than John could get (site was 'closed' today). Only second for me in the county (and hardly ever seen elsewhere much in U.K.), so a great bird to see at this quiet time of year. Also seen: kingfisher, 2 female type goosander, and two sparrowhawks at ground level, one pursuing the other.
A Great White Egret, last seen 31 October, re-appeared today. reportedly it had been around for a few days late October.
Cheers, John
Coot 96
Moorhen 18
Mallard 47
Mute Swan 2
Tufted Duck 2f
Cormorant 8
Canada Goose 47
Grey Heron 2
Little Grebe 1
Goosander 1, river
Lapwing 1 in horse field (unusual)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral
Cheers, John
Greylag 1
Barnacle Goose 1 feral
Mute Swan 2 (4DBT has moved on)
Little Grebe 2 (ad & juv)
Great Crested Grebe 1
Tufted Duck 1
Coot 57
Moorhen 13
Mallard 48
Cormorant 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Dipper 1 on Goyt
Cheers John
Hi John,
4DBT was ringed as a male cygnet in a brood of 8 on 2/9/2018 at Ashton Moss.
Steve
Also:
Teal 1f
Tufted Duck 1f, 1m
Great Crested Grebe 1
Goosander 1f
Coot 72
Moorhen 15
Mallard 62
Canada Goose 103
Barnacle Goose 1 feral
Grey Heron 1
Kingfisher 1
Chiffchaff 3
House Martin 14
Cheers John
Mandarin Duck 2
Horse Fields:
Canada Goose 114
Stock Dove 1
Buzzard 1
House Martin 30
Main Lake:
Mute Swan 3
Great Crested Grebe 1
Goosander 1
Teal 1
Cheers John
A poor year for breeding birds:
2 Mute Swans (they failed earlier in the year)
2 Great Crested Grebes (were sitting but nest now under water)
51 Coot (but only 1 juvenile)
A female Mallard with 2 young
1 Mandarin female
1 Kingfisher
1 Stock Dove
Cheers John
North Lake:
Canada Goose 15ads, 4juvs (probably more hidden)
Mallard 1ad, 2juv
Main Lake:
Canada Goose 93ads
Mallard 64ads, 1juv
Mute Swan 2ads (failed breeding this year)
Moorhen 2 only
Coot 27ads, ZERO JUVS (unusual)
Greylag Goose 1
Barnacle Goose 1
Great Crested Grebe 2 (in weed dance display)
On 17th June I saw a Mink cross the path at North Lake. May account in part for the lack of coot chicks
Cheers John
8 Mandarin Ducks (A pair and a female with 5 ducklings)
2 Stock Doves singing
Main Lake:
2 Common Sandpipers
Mute Swan sitting on 1 egg
Linnet Clough Reservoir:
1 Whitethroat
1 Garden Warbler
Overall a total of 7 Blackcaps
Cheers John
Swallow 18
Sand Martin 2
Tufted Duck 4m, 3f
Mandarin 1m
Blackcap singing
Cheers John
Mandarin 4m, 2f
Tufted Duck 4m, 1f
Mute Swan 2
Cormorant 8
Kingfisher 1
Chiffchaff singing
Stock Dove singing
Cheers John
North Lake:
Cormorant 1
Mallard 2
Goosander 1m
Canada Goose 57
Dipper (on river)
Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming
Buzzard
Main Lake:
Cormorant 6
Black-headed Gull 7
Mallards 53
Coot 17
Canada Goose 28
Mute Swan 2
L Grebe 2
Tufted Duck 1m
Moorhen 12
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 displaying
Cheers John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 19th of February 2019 08:54:40 PM
Last year's youngsters have dispersed. 2 Adults on Main Lake and 1 1st w. on North Lake.
(12 month's ago the youngsters hung around well into March prompting aggressive attacks from the adults. In fact one youngster was eventually tolerated and over-summered).
Cheers, John
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 7
Black-headed Gull 41
Little Grebe 4
Mallard 66
Coot 41
Moorhen only 4!
Cormorant 1
Grey Heron 1
Mistle Thrush 2
Buzzard 2
Nuthatch, Stock Dove and Goldcrest (2) all singing
Cheers John
Mistle Thrush 4
Redwing 55
Kingfisher 1
Dipper 1
Shoveler pair
Teal 1f
Goosander 1m 4f
Tufted Duck 1m
Mallard 53
Coot 38
Moorhen 19
Little Grebe 3
Canada Goose 2 only!
Feral Barnacle Goose
Grey Heron 3
Cheers John
Walked some Christmas off early afternoon.
North lake
Goosander 1m 1f
Main Lake
Goosander 3m 3f
Tufted Duck 1m 1f
Wigeon 1m
Coot and Mute Swans
As an aside - John haven't they done an amazing job with the Landscaping of Mellor Mill. Also you can have a better view of the North lake from the "new path"
-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Tuesday 1st of January 2019 06:59:51 PM
Gadwall 1
Little Grebe 1
Goosander 3
Dipper 2
Kingfisher 1
Grey Heron 3
Raven 1
Lesser Redpoll 9 (Mellor G.C.)
Cheers John
North Lake:
Goosander 1m, 1f
Mandarin 3m, 2f
Main Lake:
Gadwall 2m, 2f
Tufted Duck 4m, 2f
Mute Swan 2ad, 5 1st w.
Little Grebe 2
Cheers John
Gooander 2
Stock Dove 1
Mistle Thrush singing
Main Lake:
Gadwall 2m, 1f
Little Grebe 4
Tufted Duck 2m, 1f
Grey Heron 3
A feeding flock included 4 Nuthatches, 2 Goldcrests and a Treecreenper.
Cheers John
Gadwall 2
Coot 106
Goosander 2f (1 Main Lake, 1 River Goyt)
Dipper (Goyt)
Grey Wagtail (Goyt)
Green Woodpecker (heard near Mellor Golf Course)
Cheers, John
Dipper 1 singing
Gadwall 4
Blackbird 16
Nuthatch 3
Cheers John
Gadwall 2m, 2f
Tufted Duck 1m, 1f
Goosander 3m. 2f
Mute Swan 2ad, 5 1st w.
Cormorant 10
Dipper singing on R. Goyt
Cheers John
Moorhen 12
Little Grebe 3
Wigeon 4
Gadwall 1f
Teal 1
Mute Swan 2ad, 5 1st w
Cormorant 6
Canada Goose 105
Cheers, John
Gadwall 1f
Coot 105 (guestimate)
Moorhen 14
Mute Swan 7 (seem to have lost 1 young bird but didn't check everywhere)
2 Dippers and a Grey Wagtail on river
Cheers John
Coot 134
Moorhen 15
Mute Swan 10 (the resident adults still aggressively chasing the two interloper 2nd year birds)
Mallard 51
Canada Goose 15
Barnacle Goose 1 (feral)
Gadwall 1
Wigeon 1
Little Grebe 3
Cormorant 6
Grey Heron 2
Black-headed Gull 2
North Lake and surrounds:
Canada Goose 66
Mandarin Duck 8
Cheers, John
Gadwall 1f
Mallard 60
Coot 119
Moorhen 17
Little Grebes 3
Mute Swan 10 (inc. 6 juvs)
Cormorants 3
Cheers, John
Pair of Dippers at Marple Locks
-- Edited by Tony Coatsworth on Saturday 22nd of September 2018 02:35:45 PM
Coot 121 (numbers still increasing)
Little Grebes 2 ads
Mute Swan 10 (inc. 6 juvs)
Cormorants 6
Kingfisher 1
Dipper 1 (Goyt)
House Martins c60
Swallows 2
Raven heard
Cheers John
Tufted Duck 1f
Little Grebe 2
Mute Swan 9 (2ad, 6 juvs, 1 sub ad)
Cormorant 2
Grey Heron 2
Kingfisher 1
[c6 Salmon or Sea Trout eyeing up the weir but not leaping it]
Cheers John
Mute Swan 2ads, 6 juvs
Great Crested Grebe 1 fully grown juv (new arrival)
Buzzard 3
Sparrowhawk 1
Chiffchaff 1
House Martin 2
Migrating ducks are very thin on the ground this autumn.
Nice to chat with Peter Holmes' wife. Tell Peter to get down to Roman Lakes and post some sightings
Cheers, John
Mute Swan pair still have all 6 cygnets
Teal 1
Coot 63
Canada Goose 141
Heron 3
Mallard and Moorhens uncounted.
Cheers, John
Greylag Goose 2
Barnacle Goose 1 (feral)
4 families of Coot with 3 birds still sitting (15 ads, 19 juvs)
Moorhen 3
Mallard 18
Tufted Duck 2
Little Grebe 1
Cormorant 1
Raven 2
Jay 2
Cheers John
Great Crested Grebe 1
Tufted Duck 3m, 2f
Mute Swan 2ad, 1 1st s.
Swallow 2
House Martin 4
Cheers John
Blackcaps fresh in with 4 males singing
Chiffchaff 6
Great Crested Grebe 1 (1st here this year)
Mandarin 2 (on river)
Jay 7
Cheers, John
1 Sand Martin
13 Swallows
1 Treecreeper
1 Sparrowhawk
Cheers John
Chiffchaffs 2
Cheers John
Goosander 1f
Pair Mandarins
Tufted Ducks 2m, 1f
Pair Teal
Migrants represented by single Chiffchaff and single Sand Martin
Cheers John
Red-breasted Merganser (male)
Tufted Duck 5m, 4f
Mute Swan 2ad + 2 1st w. (the other youngsters may have been on the back lagoons but I didn't see them so perhaps successfully driven away by the adults)
Little Grebe 1
Chiffchaff 1 singing
No Goosanders anywhere
Cheers, John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 27th of March 2018 02:20:12 PM
To add to John's report from Sunday, we also saw a pied wagtail, at least 2 siskin feeding with the goldfinch and redpoll, at least 3 song thrush, and a treecreper in the same area. Also heard a buzzard in the trees behind the main buildings EDIT - knew I'd missed something! We also saw three chiffchaff, not calling but positively identified visually
-- Edited by Julian Winstanley on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 04:11:13 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 04:23:49 PM
Snipe (a weather displaced individual on one of the islands)
Mute Swan 6 (Adult Swans aggressively harassing last year's youngsters)
Tufted Duck 4
Goosander 2
Little Grebe 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull 3
Cormorant 3
Black-headed Gull c25
Grey Wagtail 1
Goldfinch 13
Lesser Redpoll 5
Song Thrush 1
Cheers John
Sand Martin 2 flew through NW
Tufted Duck 6m, 3f
Goosander 2 North Lake, 2 Main Lake
Mute Swan 6
Little Grebe 2
Coot 38
Moorhen 20
Canada Goose 59
Mallard 41
Cormorant 6
Black-headed Gull 8
Treecreeper 2
Stock Dove 3
Buzzard 1
Cheers John