1st June.

A Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the vicinity of Chadderton Hall Park this morning was a nice and unexpected surprise

Cheers,

Bill.

3rd May.

A visit this afternoon to check on my local Lapwings found 4 pairs on territory, 1 pair with 2 very small young and the adults regularly fending off over-flying Jackdaws. Another pair probably also had hatched young from the alarm calls being made and another bird was sitting. Whilst waiting for a good while to get sight of the Lapwing chicks I was "rewarded" with initially distant views but later much closer views of 2 female Wheatear in the same field and even better 2 Whinchat.

In the local park - the pair of Moorhen have 5 young - for most of the time feeding independently but with the occasional top-up from an adult bird. A Long-tailed Tits nest that I found a good few months back was being visited by adults and young could be heard in the nest.

All-in-all a really enjoyable few hours on my doorstep.

Cheers,

Bill.

Cheers, Bill

I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to look around, but one bird did seem to be calling from further along the wooded edge to the left of last year's nest site. I feel further investigation is needed

Still no sign of any activity around last year's Nuthatch nest. Birds heard around the edges of the park, but no nesting activity observed.

Several Blackbirds, Wrens, Greenfinches and Robins in good voice throughout the park, plus 1 Redwing singing away in the shrubbery

-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Thursday 5th of April 2012 08:33:22 PM

Werneth Park

Goldcrest with Long-tailed Tits along southern edge of the park

Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Greenfinch, Bullfinch all in song.

2 Mistle Thrushes defending territory from a 3rd.

No sign of any activity yet near last year's Nuthatch nest.

2 Canada Geese low (rooftop height) SE along Frederick Street

27th February.

c45 Redwing in Werneth Park this morning.

Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker heard but not seen.

Cheers,

Bill.

Yesterday (30/1), whilst feeding the ducks at a local pond I was intrigued to watch a pair of Long-tailed Tits regularly entering a nearby dense shrub. On further inspection at very close quarters through binoculars they were seen on several occasions carrying into the bush lichens that they were collecting from nearby trees. My limited knowledge of this species' nest is that lichens are usually used at the later stages of construction, to provide an outer camouflage to their amazing nest. Not only does this appear to be an early date for nest building but given that their intricate nest can take up to 3 weeks to build, it might suggest they started much earlier in January? Whilst they were away collecting, I tried to have a quick look to see if I could spot anything in the dense, spiny bush but with no luck. I had to abandon my search when a family came into the park with bread to feed the ducks and caught me squatting down with my head peering upwards into the bush! Not altogether sure why, but they did seem rather keen to avoid me!! Given that the records show that this species does not normally lay eggs until late March, then I think this might be quite an unusually early record? Another thought that did cross my mind is that this might be some sort of courtship ritual, prior to actual nest building? On a repeat visit today after lunch there seemed to be no activity at first around the supposed nest site, so I had time to have a slightly longer look and managed to find the nest but it certainly appeared to be far from complete. After a wander around the park and a return to here, the birds were again seen visiting the nest site on 2 occasions. Also today in the park - 1 Goldcrest, 1 Jay, 1 Coal Tit and a Kestrel nearby and a pair of Moorhens that have fairly peacefully co-existed with 9 others on the ponds throughout the winter months have now decided its time to try and aggressively chase all the others away! Finally, got a nice photo on my phones camera of a very tame Robin that came perching close by, hoping for a handout of bread!

In the park yesterday - a male Great Spotted Woodpecker boring a hole, with a female nearby, possibly keeping an eye on his handiwork?

Cheers,

Bill.

Peace had broken out by the time I did my Big Park Birdwatch in Werneth Park this lunchtime. Wehther that was because numbers were down to 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker (drummimg) and 1 Song Thrush (from 4 a fortnight ago) or whether the others had something better to do I don't know.
The Nuthatches were active in the trees beside the allotments, and the Redwing choir outnumbered the Magpies by 7 to 1 at one point. Goldfinch and Chaffinch flocks just into double figures (12 & 10 respectively) and the 4 Carrion Crows seem to have paired up and retired to opposite corners of the park. 20 species in total

28th January.

c35 Redwing having a communal sing-song in Chadderton Cemetery this morning. Lovely.

Cheers,

Bill.

27th January.

Werneth park - am.

Song and Mistle Thrushes singing, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other, 2 pairs of Carrion Crows fighting, 2 male Blackbirds fighting, Woodpigeon displaying, 2 Nuthatch caching food around last years breeding location, - some items looked like large fragments of peanuts that they were struggling to find anywhere to hide, c10 Goldfinch, c15 Redwing - just noticed in the last week or so a few flocks of Redwings starting up with that low-level communal chatter/song that they seem to indulge in more as the winter progresses.

Snowdrops and crocuses in the park just coming out and looking great on a winters day.

Cheers,

Bill.

A walk in Foxdenton Park this morning:-

Whilst following up a faint drumming noise, to my surprise a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen in the topmost branches of a Beech tree, it was watched moving from tree to tree and was still present when I left at 1230.

Also present
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2
Mistle Thrush 2
Blackbird 5
Song Thrush 1
Robin 3
Chaffinch 6

usual Mallard, Moorhen and Canadas on the pond.

In the adjacent rough land 2 Ravens were feeding on something that could of been a carcass, and were occasionally mobbed by Carrion Crows.

In the last week or so in and around my Chadderton garden there has been singing Dunnock and Blue Tit, usually around dawn and at no other time of the day as yet. Also Magpies have been raiding an old nest for twigs to incorporate into a new nest. A Woodpigeon has returned after an absence over the winter months and is now singing from various TV aerials. Woodpigeons never used to be seen around the garden during the breeding season, until the last couple of years and I would hazard a guess that they now have the first choice of the prime nesting spots that Collared Doves used to take? A pair of Collared Doves have recently investigated a satellite dish as a likely breeding location but pairs that have attempted there in the past have always failed.

Looks like Spring and the breeding season are just around the corner.

Cheers,

Bill.

True, Steve, but always as well to establish that there were no Grey Plover sneaking through with them Wouldn't have wanted to miss the chance of an Oldham tick

There's an Asda in the precinct, and a FarmFoods, but no Iceland Sorry, couldn't resist.

Mike Chorley wrote:

---

Not-quite-rooftop Golden Plovers.

Reflected street light nicely illuminated their axilla, to eliminate Grey's, just to back up i.d. from jizz and call.

---

A flock of 30 Grey Plovers over Chaddy would have been quite impressive, Mike

Good to see Goldies arriving in decent numbers though - given the time of year, these are presumably Icelandic breeders?

Steve

Not-quite-rooftop Golden Plovers.

18.15 yesterday.
While I was heading over to Chadderton yesterday evening, 30 Golden Plover passed over Suthers Street at just about rooftop height. In fact they had to rise slightly to get over the roof of a three storey building. Reflected street light nicely illuminated their axilla, to eliminate Grey's, just to back up i.d. from jizz and call. Checking their general line of flight when I got home last night they were on course for Audenshaw Res.

Just a quick update on the pair of Collared Doves nesting on traffic lights in Chadderton this year - see posts on this thread dated 4/1/11 and 27/3/11.

The pair seem to have laid three clutches - the one from January appeared to fail although they are thought to have fledged single young from later attempts in late April and also sometime in the second half of June.

Cheers,

Bill.

My usual lunchtime walk today around the BAE Systems Car park on Greengate, which is adjacent to a small patch of scrub at the Eastern end of Blackley Golf course produced the following sightings:

Male Reed Bunting
2 x Whitethroat
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Long-tailed Tit

This small haven wedged between the M60 and Chadderton industrial estate has provided me with a welcome birding distraction during lunchtimes at work, and has produced gems such as Bullfinch and Spotted Flycatcher in the past. I'm quite sure there are several breeding species of warbler here.

Cheers,

Steve.

hundreds of swifts over coldhurst area of oldham around 2.45 just before a massive hailstorm hit

Werneth Park

Three, probably four, Nuthatch fledglings (FL) in the trees close to nest site this afternoon.

Also:

Mistle Thrush - 2
Blackbird several singing
Wood Pigeon - 2 attempting to have a fight in a tree
Magpie
Robin with young
Chaffinch -juvenile

Foxdenton park and adjacent rough land:

2 Blackcap singing
4 Whitethroat (1 carrying nest material)
3 Willow Warbler singing
6 House Martin
4 Swallow
10 Swift
Nuthatch
8 male 3 female Blackbirds (4 carrying food)
Song Thrush
numerous Blue and Great Tit
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
4 Wren singing

Werneth Park.

Minimum of 3 Nuthatch chicks ( or 1 with a very active colon!) going on the removal rate for faecal sacs this a.m. Begging calls also audible.

Also seen/heard in the area.

Wren with food (FF) Werneth Park 14-05-11
Blackcap singing (S) old railway cutting between Manchester Street & Ashton Road )
Mistle Thrush - 2 nearly fully fledged young (FF) Werneth Park )
Robin, Blackbird, ChiffChaff, Wren all singing (S) Werneth Park )
all of the above 17-05-11

Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls over Middleton Road. Then closely harried away north by a Carrion Crow over the precinct 17-05-11

Werneth Park this a.m.

Nuthatch: Both adults seen entering the nest with food and removing faecal sacs (FF)

Blackcap: Female with at least three young dispersed from the nest (FL?).
One of them had a worrying habit of hopping back and forth across the path and was almost trodden on. The others sensibly stayed put in the shrubbery.

Also seen -

Blackbird, Robin & Mistle Thrush carrying food (FF)

The other couple watching the Nuthatches reported a nesting Blackbird and 3 Mistle thrush chicks, one of which was taken by a Magpie.

Red-Tailed Hawk over Watts St. being harassed by a Carrion Crow. It spiralled up over Chadderton Precinct and was lost to view - just before the thunderstorm.

Single Swallow along Stockfield St. Second of the year for here.

A suprise at 0650 this morning in the trees along Thatch Leach, a Lesser Whitethroat, singing as it moved through the trees. It only remained for about 5 minutes then continued on its way, occasionally calling.

Garden Warbler (heard only) on Windsor Road, Werneth at 9.40 this morning. No sound of it on my return at 10.20 a.m. The site has no access or overview.

Single Swallow over Coppice.

Female Nuthatch begging display at and around nest site in Werneth Park. Also here singing Blackcap and calling Great Spot.

17/04/2011

17.45 Buteo species quite high over Westwood Recycling site circling for several minutes before heading strongly north.

17.50 Red-tailed Hawk over Peel Street Chadderton. Moved towards Westwood, then spiraled up over very high.

18/04/2011

17.50 Buteo species over Alder Root area (seen distantly from Manchester Street)

Werneth Park

Nuthatch having an argument with a pair of Great Tits about ownership of the nest site. Having seen the intruders off, the birds celebrated then continued with the home improvements.

Also Chiffchaff and Jay among the regular stuff.

2 swallows over derker heading towards royton/shaw at 2.30 pm today 1st of the year

Red-tailed Hawk over Westwood Recycling Centre at 16.55 p.m.

Headed west along Middleton Road and circled away north by 17.00

Cheers, Bill. You too. Thanks for the text.

Perfect example of co-operative birding. Steve Suttill finds the Embden Goose I 'mislaid' over Christmas, I go looking for 'his' Little Grebe at Strinesdale and you keep an eye on Werneth Park for me. Will keep an eye on the Werneth birds while you track down the ones in Alexandra Park

28th March.

Werneth Park - pm.

Pair of Nuthatch nest-building , 3 Mistle Thrush, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Song Thrush. 1 loudly calling Raven flying over.

Nice to meet up with Mike Chorley again

Cheers,

bill.

The pair of Collared Doves that I reported nest building on a stand of traffic lights in Chadderton on 4th Jan, actually sat on the nest between 6th and 22nd Jan min, before abandoning it, as it had presumably by then failed? Anyway what is probably the same pair have re-occupied the same nest from at least yesterday and a bird has been seen sitting 26th and 27th March at least.

An only more slightly conventional nest has been built by pair of Collared Doves, also in Chadderton. They have been faffing about around this nest site for weeks, if not months and a bird is finally sitting on the nest that is constructed amongst a "witch's broom" in a birch tree. The nest is totally exposed and visible and I presume like the one on the traffic lights, it too sadly will eventually fail?


Bill.

A second sighting of Waxwings in Werneth today. Following the c20 birds seen in the grounds of Hulme Grammar School (S McRoyal) and in the poplars at Windsor Road Travelodge on the 14th of the month (me), 40 birds were in the same poplars at 17.05 this evening as I approached from Manchester St. They flew off SW, close enough to my flat to be a 'seen from my garden (if I had one)' list tick

11th March.

A bit of vis-mig from my Chadderton back garden this morning - 6 calling Meadow Pipits heading north west around 10.45.

Cheers,

Bill.

7th March.

A few Chadderton sightings from the last few days.

c55 communally singing Redwing and 1 drumming female Great Spotted Woodpecker in a local park. A pair of Long-tailed Tits was nestbuilding in what looked to my eyes to be a most unsuitable location and one almost certain to fail. More positive news is that a pair of Moorhens have been on a nest since 4th March. A pair successfully raised a large brood of 7 in the same location last summer. Lapwings are back on territory in local fields where young were seen last spring/summer.

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Monday 7th of March 2011 08:33:05 PM

6th March.

A female Sparrowhawk took a male Blackbird out of my Chadderton garden this afternoon. Last week I disturbed a male Sparrowhawk trying to subdue a Starling - it surprisingly dropped it as it tried to fly off with it on being disturbed and although it made an attempt to re-capture it, the Starling made it to cover....although if it has survived from any damage caused by being in the grip of such a powerful set of talons will never be known.

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Sunday 6th of March 2011 03:56:51 PM

5th March.

c50 Redwing in tall trees in Chadderton Cemetery early afternoon.

Bill.

The Nuthatches weren't too close today In two different trees beside the bowling green before flying off towards the allotments. Pair of Collared Doves & pair of Mistle Thrushes here and another pair of Mistle Thrush by the park main entrance.

Went to explore another bit of the area, in the hope of re-locating last month's GSW's. No luck but found several Redwing having a singsong in the Rhododendron shrubbery behind The Hollies.

Bill Myerscough wrote:

---

2nd March.

Pm.

Werneth Park - 2 Nuthatch. Never actually seen too close together,

---

How close is too close, Bill?

Sorry

Steve

2nd March.

Pm.

Werneth Park - 2 Nuthatch. Never actually seen too close together, although probably a pair? Both birds appeared to be busy collecting food - what looked like bread and peanuts - from nearby allotments or gardens and caching food behind moss growing on some of the mature trees here.

Cheers,

Bill.

25th February.

A Dipper on one of the local Chadderton brooks. In exactly the same spot I had one on 12/5/10. Spent a good twenty mins watching and hoping to see if it had a mate but couldn't see one. Be nice to have breeding Dipper on my doorstep! A single Grey Wagtail, also seemingly unattached was close by.

1 Goldcrest singing and a Collared Dove nest building in leyllandii. Plenty of paired up Canada Geese along the local canal.

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Friday 25th of February 2011 05:25:29 PM

A.M.
Unfortunately I arrived at Werneth Park just before the Council Leaf-blower and the guys with the radio-controlled car, so only saw/heard a few of the Redwings before they left for quieter areas.

The female Great-Spots were still in dispute with the male joining in the pursuits briefly before he and 1 female headed off for the trees on Grange Avenue. The other female took up residence in the garden of Werneth Old Hall. Goldfinch nos trippled from Birdwatch count at the end of Jan

PM
Buteo sp. over Chadderton Precinct circling on a thermal with 8 Black-headed and 2 Common Gulls. No bins with me so couldn't get a good enough view against the cloud cover to tell if it was a Common Buzzard or the Red-tailed Hawk. However, the call it gave when dive-bombed by a one of the gulls didn't sound quite right for Buzzard. After a few mins it headed North pursued by 2 Black headed & 1 Common Gull.

Nice one, Bill!

That's double the Redwing I had for the RSPB Big Park Watch. I thought that they might not be around this Winter, after the berry trees were removed from across the road.

9th February.

Werneth Park - 9.40 to 11.10 a.m.

Plenty of birds in this small urban park this morning. Highlight was 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers. 2 females spent the whole of the time that I was there seemingly in dispute. I have watched female Great Spotted Woodpeckers indulge in exactly the same sort of behaviour once before. They spend a lot of time on the same tree, often on the same branch, sometimes within inches of each other. Both birds remain completely still, as if frozen, for good periods of time before one flies off with the other one chasing after it, with either one or both giving that high-pitched drawn out aggressive/alarm rattle calls that they make. They then land on another tree and go through the whole procedure again....and then again....and yet again! I have never seen actual body contact between disputing GSWs (unlike two Woodpigeons in the park who just got stuck in and tried to batter the other one out of the tree!). For the disputing GSWs, it makes me wonder how the actual winner is decided in the end? The male mixed up his time between foraging and indulging in a bit of light drumming, presumably waiting for one of the females to emerge victorious and then expecting her to foist her attentions upon him!

Plus - 2 singing Song Thrush, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Sparrowhawk, c30 Starling, separate flocks of c16 Goldfinch and c20 Greenfinch, 2 Jay, 2 Mistle Thrush and c45 Redwing. The Redwing divided up their time between foraging on the short grass in the park, along with the 2 Mistle Thrushes and then flying up into the tall trees and indulging in a communal sing-song.

Cheers,

Bill.

7th February.

c115 Waxwings feeding on a single cotoneaster tree in Asda, Chadderton car park at 8.30 this morning. Very few berries left at 8.45 and with such a large flock - so unlikely to be around for too long. Still they brightened up my Monday morning shopping!

Cheers,

Bill.

1st February.

A nice large mixed flock of c60 Fieldfare, c150 Starling and 3 Mistle Thrush foraging on churned up horse pasture just off the Rochdale Canal early this afternoon.

Also a few birds in song on a spring like afternoon - Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit and Woodpigeon.

Oh......and a Goldcrest foraging in my Chadderton garden.


Cheers,

Bill.

Short walk along Rochdale Canal between Boat and Horses and Foxdenton lane at 1400 - 1515.

1M Bullfinch
6 Goldfinch
9 Greenfinch
2 Song Thrush
4 Blackbird
18 Mallard (8M 10F)
3 Canada Geese
2 Mute Swan

1 Kingfisher

The Shellduck has become a pair of Shellduck seen twice today flying around the canal and water treatment works.

18.17 last night.

Oystercatcher over western end of Westwood Industrial Estate - heading S.E. by the sound of things.