Pied Wagtail and a Chaffinch whilst walking my dog in Buile Hill Park.

A Peregrine was sat on the Liverpool street gasometer at 15.10 this afternoon. It flew off towards Trafford Park a couple of minutes later From its size, it looked like a male bird.

Buzzard again..11.30am Doveleys Rd Height area for about 45 mins..just slowely soaring then drifted off towards Swinton..

Large Heron Doveleys Rd/ Caldy rd. 12.30pm ish

loads of Swifts about that area too

2 Swifts around Woden Street footbridge

Buzzard soaring high on Liverpool street , near Ashley Brook pub at approx 3.30pm

2 singing Sedge Warblers by Trafford Road Bridge

Kingfisher by Woden Street footbridge at 7am this morning

A Peregrine carrying a small bird flew over Liverpool street at 7.15am heading towards Trafford park.

Thursday 19th May

GS Woodpecker seen in flight at the top of Langworthy Road, presumably heading for Buile Hill Park

Around 12:00pm yesterday at Frederick Road over and around the JWS Recycling factory unit: 6 Swifts, 2 Greater Black Backed Gulls, 4 Black Headed Gulls and a lot of other gulls that I couldn't id without bins.

Rather surprisingly, at around 5pm yesterday, at least 12 Goosanders flew very low over Frederick Road, Lower Broughton, where it crosses the River Irwell. They flew towards the City Centre direction.

2 Lapwings over derelict land between Oldfield Road & Ordsall Lane

Chiffchaff singing by Eccles New Road early morning

Buzzard high over Cross lane at 5.20pm today

2 Grey wagtails on Hope Street, Salford today at 2.55pm

Harris Hawk with jesses attached flying high over Gildabrook Road / M602 junction

A Whitethroat was back singing behind my Liverpool street workplace this morning at 6.20am. It was still singing 14 hours later in the same Hawthorn bush as I was leaving

Female Blackcap showing well in trees next to the Limes nursing home in Swinton this evening at 6.05pm.

Late report for Tuesday 12 April

I heard a willow warbler in the hedges adjacent to the railway in the Electricity North West office car park at Frederick Road, Salford. As with my other willow warbler at Barrow Bridge I couldn't see it - will I ever see one?

I also saw a blue tit, a great tit and a pair of bull finches in the same hedges.

Weaste cemetery this afternoon,

3 GS Woodpeckers
3 Song thrush
Chiffchaff
3 Willow warblers singing
2 Pied wagtails
42 Woodpigeons
7 Magpies
8 Jackdaws
2 Greenfinch
Kestrel

A Blue tit was seen carrying nesting material into a small crack in the side of a large raised tomb

A pair of Grey wagtails running around my works car park this morning at 6.30am and a Sparrowhawk perched on the gasometer at 12.20pm.

Curlew flying high over Liverpool street this morning at 6.25am

Robin on nest worsley village.

chiffchaff wardley cemetery 6am today, first of the year for me. same date and place as 2009.

Female Sparrowhawk eating a Pied wagtail in a tree on Hope street, Salford at 12.20pm today

Dave

I went and had look at the Gasometers around 1045 and drove around the area a bit, unfortunately no sign of any birds of prey.

I have had, a couple of times as I pass by, Peregrine perched up on the large concrete towers in the Industrial plant adjacent to the Centenary Bridge close by Allied Mills (they play havoc with the pigeons that congregate here !!!)

Did have displaying male Kestrel on Cobden street also this morning, a few old mills down here so plenty of potential nesting sites.

cheers
Nick

Hi Rob

The bird was pointed out to me by a couple of workmates who saw it fly off the gasometer as I was up a ladder at the time so using binoculars was impossible. I only could view this bird in silhouette against the sky.

The wings and body shape said big Peregrine but the very long straight narrow tail[twice as long as a normal Peregrines] was certainly not. The tail was stable in flight and not fluttering about as if it was trailing behind.

The large flock of BH Gulls [40+] which rest on my works roof scattered in panic as this bird was overhead.

I thought that it may have been an escaped falconers bird but you are probably correct about it being the Manchester female.

I had another sighting of a different Peregrine this afternoon as it put up a flock of gulls which were feeding at the treatment works a little further down the road from the Allied mill in Trafford park near Centenary Bridge. Also 8 Waxwings were perched in a Birch tree at Kestrel road in Trafford Park at 14.25pm this afternoon

The Mcr female is currently trailing something, possibly wrapped around her leg but in flight it looks like an elongated tail.

If it is litter, then it may have been more pronounced this morning?

A large bird of prey has just flew up from the Liverpool street gasometer. A lot bigger than a Peregrine with a very long narrow tail. Any ideas.?

A Peregrine was soaring above the Oldfield road area of Salford at 16.50 this afternoon.

Sunday 6th March River Irwell adjacent to Peel Park, early WEBS

Pair of Goldeneye
19 Tufted Duck
3 Little Grebe
5 Canada Goose
11 Mallard
1 Moorhen
1 Common Gull
50 BH Gull

Also, 3 Redwing & 2 singing Song Thrush

A pair of Carrion Crows have been defending their interest in the gasometer on Liverpool street against all comers this week. Since Monday a Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, 2 LBB gulls and many Magpies have all been chased off.

That would be the most obvious cause of confusion, Mike.

I've noticed considerable variation in the colour of winter plumage Little Grebes and your post prompted me to google some photos. Whilst doing so I found a link to one of Ian's old mystery bird competitions:

http://www.manchesterbirding.com/mysterybirdcompseptember.htm

Steve

Steve Suttill wrote:

---

Mike Noon wrote:

---

several tufted ducks (with chicks),

---

I know Tufties are renowned for being late breeders - but February

Steve

---

I can only presume they must have been lighter-coloured little grebe in that case. Thanks for letting me know.

Myself and 3 fellow students at Salford Uni did a 2 hour bird survey (1 of 6 between now and April for an assignment) in peel park yeasterday.

Despite the awful weather the highlights included:

Goldfich
Siskin
Treecreeper
GS woodpecker
Goldcrest
Long-tailed tit (in great numbers)
Redwing
Song thrush (in good song)
Goldeneye
Little grebe

Plus plenty of the regulars...

It was a real treat to see so many great birds in the middle of Salford, pretty much on the uni campus! Looking forward to the next survey...

Mike Noon wrote:

---

several tufted ducks (with chicks),

---

I know Tufties are renowned for being late breeders - but February

Steve

Lesser spotted woodpecker on a tree in the park inside the horseshoe bit of the Irwell opposite Peel Park. Also 3 little grebe, two pairs of Goldeneye, several tufted ducks (with chicks), long-tailed tits, mistle thrush.

19/02/11

c100 Redwings & singing Song Thrush on playing fields just to the north of Peel Park

also 4 Goldeneye & 10 Mallard on the River Irwell by the bridge inbetween playing fields & Peel Park

c30 Pied Wagtails on Kara Street at 3pm

-- Edited by James Walsh on Sunday 20th of February 2011 08:28:54 AM

Regarding my previous post about the Peregrines.

Both birds were watched between 12.30 and 12.42pm as they flew over the EMR scrap yard in between Liverpool street and Regent road Salford.

Not very high and very easy to see, the smaller bird [m] kept swooping in on the female, just pulling out of his dive at the last second. Both birds circled the area flying at times very slowly making short fluttering wing beats then changing to fast swooping flights. The male went so slow at one point that he ended up hovering like a Kestrel before the female dived at him. Both birds flew off in the direction of Old Trafford .
Brilliant

A pair of Peregrines are displaying over liverpool street and Regent road now

16/02/11 c3:30pm

up to 100 Pied Wagtails on the grass around Kara Street near Langworthy Road

Thanks for all the links about Cormorants, I understand them much better now, even if it is near impossible to identify the sub-spicies in the field, but next time I get a good look/picture I'll do some investigating myself, cheers all. And yes, it was at Salford Quays.

12/02/11

pre-roost gathering of c50 Pied Wagtails on Kara Street, off Langworthy Road, at 5pm

13/02/2011 - c70 Waxwings at Dallas Court, Salford Quays at 9.25am, flew off NW shortly afterwards.

Info from James Walsh.

12/02/11 River Irwell WEBS

High water level

3 Little Grebe
6 Mallard
50 BH Gull
1 Moorhen

Also, c30 Redwings Peel Park

Found this cormorant site!

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/great-cormorant-phalacrocorax-carbo

Couldn't find anything exactly like what I saw this morning

Similar birds (2 individuals) on Salford Quays today, see notes on seperate thread.

Below is the link to the article I mentioned the other day;

http://www.paxton-pits.org.uk/id.htm

(need to cut and paste into browser !)

I have seen a similar looking bird this morning on the River Mersey, east of the Thelwall Viaduct (SJ675892) - 10:30hrs

Description: White head & upper neck. Distinct black crescent at base of yellow bill and black flash on top of head.

Unlike any cormorant I have seen before, very distinctive.

Robin - you get some very white headed members of the carbo race at Salford Quays at certain times of year, I havent seen any recently, although haven't particuly looked. Where was your bird? If you scroll through Rob's link you will find a link to an article on a Paxton Pits website. I can't get the link to work today but from memory, I read it some time ago, it was a very interesting article comparing the carbo and sinensis races of cormorant. Like some of the races of large Gulls seperation in the field can be quite challenging.

Same, but continental Cormorants can show lots of white around the head, as can some British birds.

there's a useful discussion here:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=12248&highlight=diver

Good subject for one of Ian's excellent ID papers perhaps?

A very strange looking cormorant today, well I've certainly not see one with head markings like it before! The best picture I could find to show what it's head looked like is this Great Cormorant.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HeN5zmK7iQY/S4YUMaZ5Z2I/AAAAAAAAAJk/pCsJ3ePXSSY/s1600-h/1850-1.jpg

It had the black around the eye and the rest of it's head was grey. Is this Great Cormorant the same as our regular Cormorants or are they a different type?

Cheers,

Rob