Young Sparrowhawks calling from a little copse side of East Lancs Lowton

Pied wagtail with a beak full of flies, flitting about roadside on mort lane tyldesley. flock of lapwing approx 30 flying off boc roof swinton.

Beech Hill Tawny Owl calling this morning 03:45:yawn: bit to early even for me to go looking for it

Cheers Jimmy

Green Sandpiper called 3 times over the centre of Chorlton last night at 23.35

Here's an odd one i saw this evening. A Goldfinch chasing a Carrion Crow!! The crow landed on a chimney pot and was clearly eating something, a young Goldfinch i suspect. Fiesty little bugger wouldn't stop mobbing it.

Dean.

Sounds a bit like you're commenting on your lunch, Paul

Lesser Black Backed Gull picked up injured at Manchester Town hall yesterday.

makes a change from pigeon

Keep birding

green woodpeckers seen and heard often below dovestones in greenfield

Heard the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker on Sunday near Delph along the Delph Donkey footpath, a first for me! next step is to actually see one.

Swift seen going into nest site on Kenyon Rd Wigan this morning

Cheers Jimmy

Barn Owl showing very well on the fields at the rear of Green Lane, Astley at 9:35pm tonight.

Opp side Scot Lane New Ponds 1 Lesser Whitethroat nr Railway Bridge
This afternoon
Buzzard over Preston Rd Standish nr boundary with Coppull
this morning
Just out of our area by about 50yds Little Owl sunning itself on Old Barn
jtn Winstanley Rd +Leyland Green Lane North Ashton

Cheers Jimmy

-- Edited by j meadows on Wednesday 24th of June 2009 08:51:44 PM

-- Edited by j meadows on Wednesday 24th of June 2009 08:57:03 PM

curiously had 2 oystercatcher fly over walking back to house (worlsey area) at about 5.10 - i was alerted by their calls

Joey

stretford end of bridgewater canal - 20.06.09

counted 10 cormerants over
family parties of canada geese (10 adults 4 young)
Lots of mallard
1 swan cob
lots of pigeon (feral (with chicks), collared dove and woodpigeon)
lots of house sparrow
pair of goldfinch over
1 grey wag that kept flying over frequently with food in its beak, presumeably breeding.


Joey

Raven over and calling this am south of blackleach country park walkden.and abrood of pheasant chicks from saturday at amberswood.

Such is life indeed Ian - as it was with the M60 down to one lane on the way home! Still enjoyed my night out though and nice to know it was around and someone saw it- I think I preferred the company, conversation and the brew more than a glimpse though! I can try for a good view another night!
Cheerws
Steve

Nice to meet you too Dave, I was sure the owl would be spotted within five minutes of me leaving! Hello to everyone else who was on a vigil this evening - I was quite surprised when I guess it was Phil appeared out of the hedge line and envious of those with a brew service courtesy of Ian I guess

At least I saw my first Grey Wag of the year in the gloom on the canal bank!

Cheers all, Peter

were you in the camo gear hope you got a good piccy of the owl or of me haha

-- Edited by stuartherring on Thursday 11th of June 2009 11:08:00 PM

I was the chap in the tree half way along the field...I have a photo of you Stuart

me and nephew and his girlfriend saw it briefly dissapear over the houses with a prey item better luck next time ps while walking along the towpath just below the canal bridge i could hear a yellowhammer clearly singing on the opposite side of the road bridge quite a spot you have here ian.

-- Edited by stuartherring on Thursday 11th of June 2009 10:56:23 PM

Myself and Pete Welch spent an hour stood on the bridge tonight waiting for the Barn owl to turn up. Unfortunately we only saw a Grey wagtail near the canal and at least 6 of Manchester's Birding forums finest in various parts of the fields including a Mr Mckerchar enjoying a brew in his garden.

The Owl did not turn up while we were there but I enjoyed our chat Pete. Nice to meet you.

Well atleast someone managed to see it tonight. I think you did better than the half a dozen other birders that came and went without a glipse but such is life (as Steve Collins would say ).

Mike, it may have been us...there was another slightly younger couple in the tree directly in front of the bridge...I can also assure you we were on our best behaviour hehe!

Owl spotted very briefly tonight! Flew in the NW corner of the western most field of the 3, was on it's way up, up and over it went....over the row of houses, complete with prey in talons.

Rubbish pictures available on request!

Firstly, many thanks Ian for the Barn Owl directions. I parked in a layby about 250 yds west of the A580 canal bridge. As I was early(anxious to get off to the Rayners at a decent hour), I was there early and hung around scanning from the bridge which was a perfect viewpoint. The Owl appeared at exactly 9 o'clock in the NW corner of the larger (west) field, so I had good views for 5 mins before having to tear myself away. It came to within 40 yards or so.
A young couple beneath me at one stage (at about 8.35) may have been Mr. and Mrs. Oldham, I don't know; - I took them for a courting couple, and as I had bins round my neck, I tactfully took a walk elsewhere for ten minutes, so as not to give them the wrong impression!
Cheers,
Mike

Yes that was me! Couldn't stay much longer to see her (damn...I assumed it was a he and my better half insisted it was a female!) unfortunately, but it was nice to see a Manc bird! Seen loads around my dads in Suffolk but they're like pigeons there

I didn't get much in the way of photos, wasn't too sure where it would appear from and hunt, hopefully get back on Thursday when the weather should be better :)

Did you have a camera with you Phil? If that was you, I saw you making your way back along the canal path just as the female appeared in the field at the back of my house and quartered the fields, hovering quite often.

Popped down with the Mrs this evening to see the barn owl...were just about to leave and flew from between some trees! It was her first wild owl! Cheers Ian! :)

Barn Owl (female) showing very well again in the fields behind Green Ave, Astley around 9:15pm. Now within 30 ft from the garden at times

Barn Owls are currently showing very well seemingly every night off Green Lane in Astley. They are hunting over fields (only 3 small ones) in between Green Lane and the A580 East Lancs Road from around 9pm onwards and have been putting on a fantastic show. This being at the back of my house it's great to watch them whilst eating tea or as in this evenings case whilst typing this message with one bird coming within 30 feet of the back of the house!

The fields can be accessed by a path at the end of Marklands Road which runs up to the canal where the East Lancs Road goes over it. Best views would be from the canal bank (the path runs alongside it and the fields).

They've become a bit of an attraction with the neighbours (quite right too), with grandstand viewing as everyone leans on their back fences

A pair of mistle thrush were guarding a nest fiercely against a magpie today in Beech road park, chorlton.

A family party of Goldfinches were in Ash trees outside Civic Buildings in Wigan today

Goldfinch feeding a Juv in Garden tonight always thought they was late breeders

Had the unusual sight of a gsw mobbing a male sparrowhawk today in longford park near chorlton. the sparrowhawk retreated and the gsw joined its mate in a big old beech tree.

24th May.

Spent a good while today watching an adult male Pied Wagtail collecting and carrying food to at least 1 fledgling in a tree nearby. What was odd was the that the food being collected, from off the ground and from many minutes watching, appeared to vegetable matter! Each time it had departed to feed the young I went over to the area where it had been collecting food and the only items I could guess it might have been carrying were either fallen Cow Parsley flowers or possibly seed/flower remains from the common plantain (Plantago major). Most, most odd. I guess it would have had no trouble finding insect food, other insect eating breeding birds in the same area were seen to have no problems collecting insects for nestlings - so it looks like it was taking this food matter out of choice!

One of my bird reference books suggests that in an anaylsis of this species stomach contents, a small but variable percentage is made up of vegetable matter - but I wouldn't have thought this was an ideal first choice for a recently fledged young bird, particularly when other food sources seemed to be available?

Cheers,

Bill.

Had the odd sight yesterday of a moorhen walking up our back garden. A bit strange as we don't have any waters nearby. It seemed to disappear as quickly as it arrived.

Peregrine flying over A580 at Irlams-o-th-height this morning at 6.25am

I was surprised to see 3 Dunnocks singing fiercely from chimney pots and TV aerials at the junction of Yew Tree Road and Claremont Road in Rusholme yesterday afternoon. Are they making territories on rooftops?

Mallard with 12 young on canal, Haigh Hall.
hopefully they can steer clear of the mink

fred fouracre wrote:

---

swifts have returned to nest in my attic.oh happy day.every year they come back i feel priveleged to have them

---

I'm over the moon just to see them back in are skys and you have them nesting in your home. I'd be pretty happy with that.

Nice

swifts have returned to nest in my attic.oh happy day.every year they come back i feel priveleged to have them

2 Buzzards soaring over Wardley woods beside the East Lancs road this evening at 6 pm.

11th May.

Family parties of Long-tailed Tits starting to be seen in the last three days.

9/5 - 7+ juvs in tetrad SD80K - Cheetham Hill ,
10/5 - 5+ juvs in tetrad SD80T - Langley,
11/5 - 3+ juvs in tetrad SD80Y - Higher Boarshaw.

Records for the BTO & GM breeding atlas project & in some "unloved" tetrads!

Read somewhere - (BWPi) I think? - that only 18% of first Long-tailed Tits nests are successful in woodland in the south of the UK - 82% are destroyed by Jays and squirrels. These sightings above were all in fairly heavily disturbed scrubby areas adjacent to substantial areas of housing - presumably where Jays/Squirrels are less of a "problem"?

Plenty of signs of Grey Wagtails feeding young in their nests in the last few weeks - 8 pairs seen carrying food in 7 tetrads - with the first juv. seen on 7th May.

Keep atlasing,

Bill.

Just had my bad day at work brightened by the sight of a common tern & a hovering kestrel at Doffocker as I was driving home! You gotta love birding!!!

Young magpie saturday morning worsley.

First fledgling house sparrow in the garden this morning being fed by its parents. Anyone else seen any yet?
Debs

Raven over whelley garden, 12.15. calling all the while it flew past

2 Common Tern and a Grey Heron over the JJB Stadium today during Wigan v Bolton, plus a Kestrel in the roof of the North Stand

Raven heading North over Beech Hill 06:30 Calling this morning

A single Swift over Warren drive, Swinton 7.30pm today

3 Buzzards over Ashton on Mersey today, becoming a regular site now.


Keep Birding