Today 3.30
Icy conditions

Goosander 8 - 5 males 3 females
Goldeneye 9 - 5 males 4 females
Pochard 25
Tufties 25

Today 2.00 - 3.00pm

99% frozen

Goldeneye 9 - 6 males displaying
Pochard 19
Teal 2
Mallard 56
Coots 17
Moorhen 6
GC Grebe 2
Canadas 14
Embden 1
Weirdo goose from Didsbury GC
BH Gulls 76
Herring Gull 1st winter 1
LT Tits 7
Old Tip - Kestrel

CWP 99% frozen
Pochard up to 51
Tufted 33
Teal 1
Redwing 12
Mistle Thush 3
Redpoll 4
countless dunnocks, robins, wrens, blackbirds and Jays in the unfrozen patches of leafmould adjacent to the riverbank

Mersey
12 Goldeneye
1 Grey Wagtail

Kenworthy
3 Goldcrest
13 Bullfinch
60+ Redwing
2 Sparrowhawk
1 Kestrel
2 Buzzard
40+ Long tailed tits

Fascinating bit of animal behaviour from one of the local foxes. I spent a good 5 mins watching it repeatedly jumping into the snow covered tufts of grass below a pylon. Immediately above it a female Kestrel was taking a very keen interest. Seems amazing how it recognised the opportunity of a meal. Surely snow is rare enough in South M/cr to rule out any opportunity for a Kestrel to learn this type of behaviour ?

3 more foxes seen later on in the day between 6-7pm including 2 at CWP on the ice in the middle of the lake (thankfully the dog was on its lead) !

A cold early morning stroll.

CWP - 95% frozen
42 Pochard
39 Tufted
5 Teal
4 Lesser redpoll
1 Kingfisher
3 Bullfinch
plus usual suspects and an unusual deposit (scat) on the tip. Can't recall ever seeing a Stoat up there.

Mersey
3 Goosander (1 imm. male 2 female)
1 Goldeneye (male)

Kenworthy
1 Chiffchaff (in hedge next to 1st smallholding on Kenworthy farm - the one with a huge steaming pile of sh!te, a pig and a notice on the gate)
2 Buzzard (pair)
1 Kestrel (female)
7 Bullfinch
3 Goldcrest
40+ Long tailed tits
circa 80 Redwing
2 GSW
Still 0 Siskin !

Great day at Chorlton WP and Kenworthy between 10.30 and 2.30.

Kenworthy

1 Woodcock, albeit brief - flew past us at the entrance to Kenworthy wood near M60
10 - 15 Redwing
2 Fieldfare
3 Sparrowhawk
6 Bullfinch (3 pairs)

Chorlton WP

1 GSW
1 Jay
c20 Long tailed tit around car park
Great views of Kingfisher, both m and f all over the lake
Grey Wagtail
4+ Redpoll feeding with Goldfinch flock
7 Goosander (5m 2f)
3 Goldeneye (2m 1f)
2 Lesser Black backed gulls
6+ Common Gulls
Loads of Tufties and Pochard

...as well as all the usuals

120 Collared Dove at Fairy Lane by 14.35
1 Buzzard perched on a goal post at the U.M.I.S.T. playing fields
22 Pochard
27 Tufted
12 Goldeneye
1 Goosander
1 Kingfisher - female
up to 6 Gt/sp Woodpeckers


-- Edited by Pete Hines on Wednesday 16th of December 2009 12:00:22 AM

13th December - 8.15 to 10.10 am.

A nice early visit to a new site for me - great to meet Peter Hines and have a good chat and a laugh and to be able to put a face to a name off the forum.

Sightings included:-
2 male Reed Buntings on a bird table near the visitors centre at 8.15,
1 female Bullfinch there as well,
3 drake Goldeneye,
1 Little Grebe,
At least 5 Great Crested Grebe - including 2 indulging in a brief bout of courtship display,
1 Kingfisher,
early on there was a loose raft of Aythya ducks floating in the middle of the water - 17 Pochard (11 males) and 11 Tufted Duck (3 males),
1 Cormorant on and 1 flying over,
4+ Grey Heron,
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Towards the tip area:-
1 Skylark over,
4 Redwing,
several flocks of finches - 2 Siskin, flocks of 4, 5 and c10 Lesser Redpoll. Flocks of c15 Goldfinch, with at least 1 redpoll amongst it and another flock of c40 finches - approx. mix of c30 Goldfinch and c10 Lesser Redpoll.

Pretty busy by 10.00 am - a very nice site - will definitely visit again....but at a quieter time!

Cheers,

Bill.

Tim Wilcox wrote:

---

So that's where they were hiding. 6.20pm! Surely it was pitch dark.

---

A headtorch helps to brighten things up. Also pretty useful for keeping an eye on Muttley. Bit of an odd place for the Woodcocks in previous years they've been in the marshy area at the bottom of the embankment next to the parkway. May have been attracted by the Rangers churning the trail up over the past couple of weeks.

Strange, quiet screeching noise from reedbed at south end of WP this evening. No sign of anything obvious (very careful check of fenceposts) ! Large fox curled up on far side of woodland pool, superb bright orange eyeshine.

So that's where they were hiding. 6.20pm! Surely it was pitch dark.

2 Woodcocks at 6.20pm this evening on the r-h side of coppice trail just before the chestnuts(behind orchard). Put up by the dog.

Tawny's still regular on Kenworthy and occasionly seen flying across Mersey to WP.

Jo this particular female Kestrel is unusually intolerant of both the Buzzards and the male Kestrel. Despite the size difference her repeated divebombing and high pitched yikkering usually succeeds in the Buzzards relocating to adjacent areas. The male Kestrel is still around but keeps his head down.

No sign yet of Brandon's Barny heading upstream !

Cheers Steve yes and I did a turn at Kenworthy wooded and boggy areas without success pm today. Could easily be there but will stay put unless practically stepped on.

Or do they come in on winter migration then simply move on?

the Kestrel flew from the pylons
Pochard 18 on the lake
nothing else of note

A hope you got your wellies back from the tramp.

Saturday 5 Dec 3.10 - 4.00pm

Goldeneye 12 (8 males)
Pochard 7 only seen
Mallard 135 counted probably more
Tufties 12+ active and diving
L.Grebe 2
Heron 2
and other usual stuff
Counted in fading light

A tramp around the tip in my wellies produced no Woodcock or Snipe. Watch out for the trailing brambles which can trip you up!

jomills wrote:

---

went on wed and saw redwing and fieldfare, jays, at least 10 golden eye, 5 pairs of pochard, kingfisher was very active flying between the 2 islands, all the usual finches, the GC Grebes, grey wags, 1 mute swan
1 male pochard, black head/1 common/lesser b.b gulls and female goosander on mersey,

also saw a kestrel perched in a tree next to the mersey, really good views not at all bothered by our presence continued to hover and search for prey for a good while and was unsuccessful and then flew off then continued walking, heard a kestrel and then saw wood pigeons flushed from woods and a buzzard and kestrel fly directly over head low to ground.


Would kestrel and buzzard hunt 'together'? Would one mob the other? Any thoughts for me?!

---

Hi Jo, welcome to the Forum and I hope you enjoy your visits to the WP. A female Kestrel has been present since the beginning of August and a couple of Buzzards for a few years now. They don't compete with each other as they employ different hunting techniques for different prey items. I hope the Buzzards take some of the pesky rabbits that have ruined our orchard rather than the lazy option of taking road-kill from the Parkway and M60. A Kes may mob a Buzzard if it invades its air-space - Crows do it for fun!

went on wed and saw redwing and fieldfare, jays, at least 10 golden eye, 5 pairs of pochard, kingfisher was very active flying between the 2 islands, all the usual finches, the GC Grebes, grey wags, 1 mute swan
1 male pochard, black head/1 common/lesser b.b gulls and female goosander on mersey,

also saw a kestrel perched in a tree next to the mersey, really good views not at all bothered by our presence continued to hover and search for prey for a good while and was unsuccessful and then flew off then continued walking, heard a kestrel and then saw wood pigeons flushed from woods and a buzzard and kestrel fly directly over head low to ground.


Would kestrel and buzzard hunt 'together'? Would one mob the other? Any thoughts for me?!

Gervase Cooke wrote:

---

Pete Hines wrote:

---

3 Woodcock at Barlow Tip

(info via John Harten)

---

Any ideas whereabouts or whens the best time to catch a glimpse. I've never seen a woodcock. It's a glaring hole in my list.

Cheers

Gervase

---

Woodcock on Barlow Tip and Kenworthy seem to favour boggy areas ie juncus at the woodland fringe, the same as for Snipe and Jack Snipe. So get your wellies on, walk in or send a dog in and see what comes up !. I haven't spoken to John though the best area on the tip is halfway along the main path from the gate to methane extraction plant. Where the path rises there is a field on the left, surrounded by hedgerow with an obvious gap, which is boggier towards the Mersey. On Kenworthy, following the tip road towards the M60 turn left following the pylon lines and as you meet the rise where the woodland is the is a boggy area on the right. Alternatively try walking through any woodland off the main path, we often flush them when undertaking winter woodland work. As nocturnal migrants foggy conditions could bring one down anywhere, though you'd be lucky to see one in the open before a dog flushes it!.

Pete Hines wrote:

---

3 Woodcock at Barlow Tip

(info via John Harten)

---

Any ideas whereabouts or whens the best time to catch a glimpse. I've never seen a woodcock. It's a glaring hole in my list.

Cheers

Gervase

3 Woodcock at Barlow Tip

(info via John Harten)

There is a reason for the omission in the 2008 report, Petger which I will email you privately about. However, I will put the counts in the addenda for 2008, in the 2009 report.

Presumably 136+ is only part of the roost as birds kept flying in though I couldn't stay untill dusk.

Unfortunately late afternoon Collared Dove counts of 110+ on 02.12.08 and 126+ on 14.12 08 at this location at Kenworthy (posted on this thread & included in the 2008 Chorlton WP Bird Report) were omitted from the 2008 GM Bird Report.

It might seem a little far fetched but November is the time of year for a vagrant Mourning Dove or a Rufous Turtle Dove in the UK. I'd been reading an article during my lunch break, following Saturdays developments in NE Scotland where a reported RTD meena was re-identified as a Turtle Dove, which prompted me to check, though I was without a scope, most birds silhoetted and distant or in flight.

'A vagrant Rufous Turtle Dove could probably occur in almost any habitat in Europe, but there has been a tendancy, for Scadinavian birds at least, to winter with Collared Doves in suburban habitats' Erik Hirschfield (1992) Identification of Rufous Turtle Dove. Birding World Vol 5 No 2 pp 52-57.

Double-check those CD flocks

Maybe not so far fetched as a Black-throated Thrush occured at nearby Jacksons Boat pub c1 mile down-river on 24th Nov 83 and I've seen both species in Nepal & N. India







-- Edited by Pete Hines on Monday 16th of November 2009 09:54:14 PM

That's an excellent number!

136+ Collared Doves had gathered at the Fairy Lane small-holdings by 3.15

pair Gadwall
2 Goldeneye
1 pochard
19 Tufted
1 Mute Swan
2 Kingfisher
3 Siskin

yesterday : c120 pink-feet NE @ 08.34

Also one drake Goldeneye this afternoon.

1 imm Peregrine flew S, low, at 13.27
4 Pochard
11 Tufted
PFG skeins flying NE today : 110 at 08.58, c600 at 10.55 and 850+ at 11.50

c230 PFG flying E were logged for the 5th

yesterday at about 11.30am quick round of the lake:

Usual canadas including hybrid and large white farmyard goose.
c.50 bh gulls
1 grey heron
2 pochard
1 cormorant
2 goosanders (1m 1f)
numerous mallard, coot and moorhen
c.9 tufted duck
c. 5 goldfinch
5 carrion crow
1 grey wagtail
1 pied wagtail
numerous house sparrow, magpie, grt tit and bl tit on feeding station

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Sunday 8th of November 2009 07:56:24 PM

04/11/2009 - Snatching a brief good spell of weather, a circuit of the lake produced:

2 Goldeneyes (1m, 1f)
3 Goosander (1m, 2f)
12 Tufted Ducks
5 Great Crested Grebes (all fairly young juvs still)
10+ Mallards
2 Grey Herons
1 Common Gull
c80 Black-headed Gulls
2 Grey Wagtails

1 Skylark through
c80 Fieldfare
250+ Redwing
10 Siskin
4+ Redpoll
2 Meadow Pipit
3 Kingfisher
1 Sparrowhawk
5ad 2juv Mute Swan (1 juv blue darvic HC4)
34 Pink-feet W at 14.48
1 Pochard
23 Tufted
1 Goldeneye
1 Little Grebe

2 Buzzard - Kenworthy yesterday

1 Goldeneye
1 Kingfisher (3 on 12th)
1 Buzzard N-S
23 Goldfinch
Redwings still arriving
2 Goosander on 13th
2 Siskin on 13th
loads of Song Thrush & Blackbirds on 12th

17 Redwing
4 Redpoll
1 Siskin
9 Bullfinch (incl 2 juvs)
2 Chiffchaff
1 Meadow Pipit
3 Buzzard, 2 over N-S am/pm & 1 Kenworthy
1 Sparrowhawk
2-3 Kingfisher

1 Redwing through N-S this morning
Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails & Mistle Thrushes continue to move through N-S in small numbers
Jays are continueing their acorn collecting forays to Southern Cemetry and back
21 Tufted

02/10/2009 -

1 Kingfisher
2 Siskins
6 House Martins
7 Tufted Ducks
2 Great Crested Grebes
1 Grey Heron

Whilst in the course of my duties, I rescued a Canada goose with a broken wing from Chorlton water park, it was with a very tame Barnacle goose, and the warden on site told a tale of a Peter Hines who was up in the Orkneys watching a Crane.

The place was full of dogs kids and even a portable costa coffee van, the worlds gone mad, I could not even get a bit of decent local birding in, but I will.....

KEEP local BIRDING

A Hobby whizzed over Princess Parkway this afternoon and along the Mersey towards Chorlton WP.

some recent sightings:

1 Spotted Flycatcher in the car park this morning
several Meadow Pipits flying up river (since 14th)
3 f Teal 14th
Kingfisher
2-3 Buzzard over Barlow Tip on 12th, 1 on 13th
11 Mistle Thrush Kenworthy 12th
more juv Bullfinches

5/9

7 Goosanders heading downstream on the Mersey at 6.30pm
1 female Sparrowhawk
11 House Martins
1 Swift
2 Grey Wags
1 Heron

Kenworthy
1 female Kestrel
1 Buzzard
2 GSW's
good numbers of Goldfinches feeding in birches

1 f/imm Ruddy Duck
4 Tufted
1 Swift

A large chunk of Chorlton Meadows could be lost if Chorlton and West Didsbury Football Club are granted planning permission to build 8 new member-only football pitches, including two floodlit pitches and one all-weather. A planning application is expected imminently, but the plans will cover a large part of the open meadows between Hardy Lane and Jacksons Boat. A local campaign has been launched, see link below for more info and to download a poster.


Campaign page here

27/8
1 Hobby briefly at 6.30pm over north-west corner of CWP
Buzzard still being seen regularly behind Orchard and Kenworthy area
Male Kestrel taken up residence by substation again
9 Bullfinches
8 Jays
2 Grey Wags
At least 3 impressive post breeding groups at least 50+ of Goldfinches alternating between thistles and birches.

Note for early morning birders Kenworthy Fields is being used at circa 5am Sunday mornings for hunting foxes and rabbits with dogs. It's been reported to GMP however the individuals involved may not react too well to being looked at through binoculars.

Thank you Pete. That must have been the one

There was a solitary immature female Tufted yesterday!?

Two of us went early pm, but apart from man with swaros and his wife, did not really see anything. Some GCG's and a solitary brown duck in the middle - decided it was a hybrid unless someone knows something better

2 Shoveler & 3 Swift today

Very, very quiet but good to see many birds appear to have had a good breeding season - apart from Grey Wags (nest washed out or Mink)???

Swallows at the substation up to 82 perched up late afternoon with at least another 30 in flight. Great close up views of young (2nd brood) being fed in mid air from bottom path. Sparrowhawks and Tawny's regularly visiting neighbouring gardens. Female Tawny at 5am is far more effective than an alarm clock.

Anybody caught up with the Goosanders recently - Loonts Lake, Banky Meadows or alien abduction

2 immature GSW's also seen regularly

Very quiet over the past month

A Sparrowhawk attempted to catch one of c20 Swifts which passed through yesterday
Regular sightings of single Kingfisher and Buzzard
A family of Reed Warblers & Goldcrests
hybrid goose still present

Very quiet
25/7 Lesser Whitethroat at Kenworthy
28/7 Gropper reeling in the rain at 5.30pm on the old tip.

walk round and over the old tip this evening not much of any note, single heron, 5 tufted, canada's a plenty, lots of juv mallard, some now coming nicely into colour, coot, moorhen, bh gull a couple of lesser black backed, one strange hybrid with the canada's, as we had a bag of feed we were followed the whole way round by 3 crows feeding them as we went! greenfinch m & f seemed to be all we saw on the old tip, brief glimpse of a goldcrest near the old jetty was highlight of the walk.

Haven't been on to the ees for a couple of weeks Went for a wee stroll just after a rain shower this eve. Ususal handful of House martins feeding around ivygreen road. Not sure if they nest nearby.
Heard a gropper in the meadow.
Lots of activity in the reed bed pond. Stopped to watch as usual in the spot where there is a bit of clear water at the meadow end. Heard a call and answer tchuk then tszzzzz. Turned out it was a sedge and a reed warbler in constant contact. They ended up so close to each other I got great views of both in the same binocular view. It didn't seem like an aggressive exchange at all. Somehow friendly. Is this normal between these two species? The sedge may have been a juv. There were plenty of both species on view, more so than in the earlier part of the breeding season. I thought this was sposed to be skulking time.

1 Hobby, low, before disappearing behind trees to Barlow gc 15.20
1 Kingfisher

1 Hobby watched hawking high for about 15 mins from 14.40 before stooping down behind trees towards Barlow gc / Southern Cemy