Sankey Valley Park, area north of new water treatment works: This morning at first light, there were 70+ Magpies in a noisy communal roost. The birds dispersed in small groups in all directions. The numbers of this species has been steadily growing recently in this area. Quite an impressive sight, but at what cost to small breeding birds this spring?

Also, apparently there have been reports (from a reliable source) of a flock of Twite on the open ground north of the treatment plant, that was until recently fenced off. I have not personally seen the Twite, but there is usually a mixed flock of Linnet, Meadow Pipit and Grey & Pied Wagtails there as well as Stock Doves. Whilst there is constant disturbance from dog walkers, this area is hardly watched, so this could potentially be a rich location for seeing interesting birds!

Found an adult Iceland Gull, on the rugby pitches on Longshaw Street this morning at 09:45
Dazzling white individual

Raven-2.45 pm over our House very low, being chased by carrion crows almost landed in the garden at our house in central warrington-good garden tick if I did those sort of things,which I don't . I remember the days when you would have to go to Central Wales or the Lakes to see a Raven crackin' bird

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 11th of January 2015 05:04:06 PM

Kingfisher perched on a branch over padgate brook around 14:00

1 Hawfinch flew over garden (padgate) around 10:10

200 Pink footed geese just gone south over our house in central Warrington.
cheers John

Good visible migration over my garden (padgate) , weekend counts:

54 woodpigeon, 1 linnet, 11 magpie, 3 robin, 3 blue tit, 7 blackbird, 6 carrion crow, 29 pied wagtail, 34 meadow pipit, 296 lesser black-backed gull, 2 buzzard, 28 feral pigeon,
1 mistle thrush, 1 wren, 15 greenfinch, 13 house sparrow, 38 starling, 9 collared dove, 2 jay, 1 great-spotted woodpecker, 96 black-headed gull, 17 goldfinch, 2 whooper swan ,
2 oystercatcher, 1 sparrowhawk, 3 goldcrest, 3 great tit, 7 chaffinch, 191 herring gull, 10 jackdaw, 1 mediterranean gull, 5 redwing, 4 fieldfare, 5 siskin,
30 pink-footed goose, 1 common gull, 2 long-tailed tit, 1 dunnock, 1 grey heron.

(Bold means unusual for the garden)

Not the town centre, but not a million miles away & with a WA postcode - 2 Swallows on wires along Bentley's Farm Lane near Higher Whitley this morning around 9am

1 Swallow & 2 Grey Wagtails in Sankey Valley Park this morning

Four Swallows heading south over Orford at 2.30 this afternoon.

JOHN TYMON wrote:

---

I will now be known forever as the birdman of Alkatraz as that what we call our factory as its like a prison :)

---

I hope your boss(the warden)is not reading this.
Cheers Ian

Just rescued a Goldcrest from inside a Guillotine machine at work,luckily the operator spotted it so I stuck my hand in and grabbed it ,kept it in a small box in my office for an hour as it seemed stressed,when I heard it flying in the box I took it round the back of the factory and let it go into the large conifers at the back of the factory,a bit of pr for birds as well as no one had ever heard of a goldcrest so most of the wokforce gathered round while i grabbed it ,so i showed them the smallest bird in the uk,they seemed amazed.
I will now be known forever as the birdman of Alkatraz as that what we call our factory as its like a prison :)

Nick Isherwood wrote:

---

Whereabouts is Puddington Meadows please?

---

Nick I have asked David the same question although I suspect he means Paddington Meadows at WA1 3LU.

Whereabouts is Puddington Meadows please?

1.30-3.30pm Sun 31.8.14

No less than 3 spotted flycatchers on full and easy view for my camera this afternoon at Puddington meadow west. They made sallies for insects between the most westerly pylons (one pylon had a peregrine with its victim briefly perched on top), and the riverside footpath. They sat high in the bushes (at the edges) making regular sallies.

Other birds of note where a female blackcap and 2 noisy but beautiful jays, whilst a kingfisher was heard flying along the river.

Late Post...21/08/14 (PM)

Wilderspool Causeway near old rugby stadium.

1 Swift heading SW. 1 female Sparrowhawk keeping 60+ Feral Pigeons airborne, although she didn't seem interested in trying to catch one.

Hobby south over our garden in central warrington at 8pm last night headed over bank park and away towards crossfields.
:)

24 House martins circling over our back garden in central Warrington, Most we have had in one group here this year, Hope they are not Gathering to go off South for the Winter already

Chiffchaff and willow warbler heard from garden today and the sparrowhawk has passed over and circled twice now.


-- Edited by Daniel Owen on Monday 7th of April 2014 08:33:44 PM

8:30 - 11:11
over/ in garden today;
2 mallard, 1 blackbird, 1 robin, 3 woodpigeon, 9 feral pigeon, 2 blue tit, 6 starling, 2 dunnock, 18 black headed gull, 3 house sparrow, 2 collared dove, 27 meadow pipit, 13 lesser black-backed gull, 12 herring gull, 4 goldfinch, 4 magpie, 3 pied wagtail, 2 carrion crow, 1 greenfinch, 1 grey heron, 1 mistle thrush, 1 wren, 1 sparrowhawk, 1 great tit, 1 chaffinch, 2 coal tit (one showed colour of continental, very pale underside and grey top) , 2 buzzard
Also present were peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies.

17:05 ;
I'm 90% sure I've just heard a willow warbler start to sing but was shut up by people having a kick about...



-- Edited by Daniel Owen on Saturday 29th of March 2014 05:12:38 PM

Late post for yesterday 15.02.14 16.30

Callands

2 Collared Doves were lazily strolling around in the middle of the road, I had to almost stop to avoid running over them, then a third bird seemed to join them.

Immediately the two doves flew off to the left, the third bird swung around to the right, it was a large Sparrowhawk, probably female.

2 more doves appeared from behind, the hawk turned 180 degrees and pursued these doves, which plunged into the safety of a nearby bush.

The Sparrowhawk then broke off the attack and disappeared over the rooftops.

It was all over in a few seconds, the hawks speed was breathtaking, the doves were lucky, the presence of my probably saved the doves on the road.

You don't need to be on a reserve to enjoy wildlife drama, it's all around.

Collared Doves do seem a bit dozy, especially during courtship, little wonder they are a top prey species for Sparrowhawks.

15.00

A Peregrine over Wilderspool Causeway & the old rugby stadium, the falcon made a lightning dive at something on a nearby flat roof, but then broke off

from the attack without catching anything.

The raptor stayed in the area for 5 minutes before flying off to the South.

There is usually a flock of around 70 Feral Pigeons here, but they all disappeared when the Peregrine came.

Second winter Iceland Gull on Dallam Playing Fields from 11.05-11.20 at least, still there when I left

cheers

Dave

Raven being mobbed by Carrion Crows on top of BT building (Barbauld Street) in town centre at 10.00am yesterday (30/01/14).

It returned later at 4.00pm but was constantly harrassed by Gulls.

c50 Redwings
Mistle Thrush
Grey Wagtail

Seen at 09:00hrs this morning around the Irish Club car park area off Orford Lane

Dave Riley wrote:

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Nick, the best time seems to be just after dawn, I think the reason there were so many gulls this afternoon is that football matches etc, had been played there this morning.

---

I had a look this morning but no sign of it amongst the other assorted gulls.

Nick, the best time seems to be just after dawn, I think the reason there were so many gulls this afternoon is that football matches etc, had been played there this morning.

Cheers for that. I know where Longshaw street is. I'll check it out tomorrow.

Nick Isherwood wrote:

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Dave, what road are these fields on? I might check this out this week.

---

Longshaw street - heading south towards Warrington on the A49 turn right at the PC World roundabout go under bridge, first left playing fields are 100 yards on the left- nowt there when I passed later this afternoon.It is a good playing field for gulls though. :)

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 15th of December 2013 06:46:43 PM

Dave, what road are these fields on? I might check this out this week.

Dallam Playing Fields held many gulls this (early) afternoon, mainly Black Headed but with good numbers of Common and smaller numbers of Herring and Lesser Black-backed (including one that looked like a 'fuscus'), there was also a third winter Iceland Gull showing very well, this was my third there in less than two years!

cheers

Dave

-- Edited by Dave Riley on Sunday 15th of December 2013 03:47:58 PM

Originally posted today by Matt Pitt:

Turning my car round today outside the front of my house in Orford,Warrington, I was surprised to spot a single female grey wagtail which flew right in front of me and landed on a neighbours fence giving excellent close up views!

Orford Lane, 08:20hrs:

Peregrine Falcon flying west

I work around the corner from here John and I often see the gulls 'padding' for worms. I'll keep a closer eye on it if there's a Yellow legged gull knocking around.

On the A57 roundabout, near the former Bowling Green pub, this morning around 11.00 were a few Black Headed Gulls, patting the grass with their feet to tempt worms to surface.
I've seen upto 30 birds on this traffic island at times, quite often they're joined by a couple of Common Gulls, and even the odd Herring Gull.
The large central verge of the A57 heading towards the Peace Centre also attracts Black Headed Gulls, and an adult Herring Gull became a regular feature here about a year ago.
If you get caught by a red light whilst driving around the roundabout you've got a few seconds to have a glance at the gulls as they're only a few feet away.
Today though patting the grass with a vigour that would put a professional tap dancer to shame was a large Herring Gull, with a slate coloured saddle, and bright lemon feet.
An adult Yellow Legged Herring Gull had joined the Black Heads that were teasing worms to surface. Then the lights changed and viewing was over.
This traffic island is always worth a glance, especially if you're a passenger and not a driver, as I don't want my remarks mentioned in RTA reports.
The gulls are a daily feature, and hopefully I'll spot a Med Gull dancing here one day.
This same roundabout was a magnet for swallows and martins back in September.

The Swallows were still there this afternoon, but they have now been joined by a pair of House Martins, so perhaps they're just passage birds?.

It's seems odd for them to show such an affinity to such a small area though, unless they are local?.

31 pink feet over NW 7.20 this morning just north of the Halliwell Jones stadium on the way to work.

Late post for yesterday 17th September.

2 Swallows were seen fly catching low over the grassy area opposite the former Bowling Green pub, alongside the main A57 near the Unilever offices.

They were there all morning, and were still swooping very low over the same area at lunchtime.

Over the previous week every time I passed the area, a pair of Swallows were either flying low over the nearby large traffic island or adjacent verges.

Are Swallows still feeding young close by, or have just taken a liking to the area whilst on passage?.

02/08/2013 5pm
Big female Hobby just flown direct south fast over our Garden in central Warrington headed in the direction on Bank quay railway station.

:)

2 raven over aldi car park heading towards lever bros at 4.10pm.

Flock of Fieldfare with possible few Redwing in Hardy / Annie Street

7 Waxwings in Rowan tree at the corner of Milner Street at 09.50

Junction of King Edward Street and Manchester Road

Several small flocks of Waxwings flying in a South easterly direction towards Paddington Meadows at 2.30pm in the pouring rain.

-- Edited by John Williams on Monday 26th of November 2012 09:28:11 PM

27 Waxwings at Milner st 0815 this morning in trees opp VW garage
MIKE

-- Edited by Mike Turton on Wednesday 21st of November 2012 08:46:04 AM

25 Waxwings present at Milner Street at 12.00

JOHN TYMON wrote:

---

It has now become apparent that ringers were down at milner st ringing this morning.
Now I see why there were only 20 later in the day,do we really need to ring every bird ,wouldn't it not have been better for everyone who wanted to enjoy them to just not ring them at all,and let everyone enjoy these fantastic birds just for one weekend without ringing them.These sort of birds are great for getting the general public involved with birds in some way,I know I showed many none birders who were amazed by them :)

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 17th of November 2012 08:47:22 PM

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I think I have a duty to stick up for the ringers who were down at Milner St on Saturday morning. The birds were found a week last Friday by one of the ringers present on Saturday and have been caught over both weekends, so the numbers of birds present later i doubt isn't as a direct result of this activity. As you can see from the elation in John Doherty's post the opportunity to see these birds in the hand would surely be the highlight of anybody's day, bird lover or not.
But the main purpose for ringing these birds is the fact that these birds WILL return to Scandinavia, so the prospect of having them controlled either on breeding grounds or even back in the UK (which has happened) is surely of great benefit.
I don't think you have suffered greatly from this practise John looking at your fantastic photos, and hopefully you too can get the opportunity to see these magnificent migrants up close and very personal.

Cheers
Jason

I did post an answer jason ,but decided to delete it,and leave it to someone else for once as many gave me an oppinion against them being ringed and not a one for the ringing,but give someone else a chance to get the hastle for once as I have been the bad guy too many times on here while others sit back
Enjoy the hobby whichever way your happy with








-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Monday 19th of November 2012 08:37:19 PM

One photographer was in the area yesterday morning, when the threat to remove the trees was made, also three photographers were there this morning, between 09.00 and 10.00, who were advised of the situation by the guy who originally found the birds, when they moved to a 'neutral area'.

50+ present at 12.10. Please note, I have heard that a member of staff from VW (possibly the manager) has threatened to cut down the trees if photographers keep going into his parking/dsiplay area, I don't know how serious he is, but best to play safe!

67 still present atMilner street at 3pm down to 4 feetI was there from 10-3pm and not one person went on the VW display area.Everyone behaved very well all day with no hastle at all,on friday morning someone strayed into vw and was told to leave by the manager,and thats the only instance in the whole weekend,with hundreds of visitors.
nice to meet quite a few forum members today

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Sunday 18th of November 2012 03:27:33 PM