Kingfisher and 2 Goosander on river Croal, + 4 Linnets on vats.

Prestolee Aquaduct
7 Sand Martins
1 House Martin flying purposefully towards the sun
1 Linnet
A small flock of finches, frustratingly flew off before I could get my bins on. Looked like Twite but were probably Linnet.
1 Bullfinch
1 Willow Warbler.
1 pheasant
1 singing goldfinch at nob end.

Edit: forgot to had got really excited when I though I spotted an Owl only for it to be a plastic one perching on a fence post!


-- Edited by Steven Astley on Wednesday 7th of April 2010 08:17:33 PM

-- Edited by Steven Astley on Wednesday 7th of April 2010 10:28:51 PM

nob end:
1 swallow
1 singing goldfinch
1 chiffchaff
1 willow warbler

on the river irwell nr prestolee aquaduct:
1 grey wagtail
3 swallows

Still not seen any sand martins yets

Greylag Goose, 35 Tufted Duck, 11 Goosander, 2 Sparrowhawk, + Swallow over canal at Nob End.

steve, fred bridge sounds much better and why not the visiters centre is called rock all and moses seems to have took a left turn on the way to the promised land or is that bolton after all. glad you saw the dipper.

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Friday 26th of March 2010 11:31:17 PM

Nothing do with fred, we don't want to encourage vandals . Meant to say red bridge but tbh not sure if it is red these days, its what we used to call it when we were kids.

crmrnt is without the vowels due to being bone idle.
fred footbridge must have a new owner or remembers that Bolton Son Mr Dibnah?

crmrnt
Let me guess, would that be a cormorant, abbreviated? Of course it would! lol

1 dipper on river croal.
1 chiffchaff nr fred footbridge that crosses Croal

Lodges
6 Goosander
1 Pochard
1 Singing Mistle Thrush nr footbridge over river
Looked for Dipper and Kingfisher but couldn't find any. Nice to see that Dipper are about though will have another try.
edit: forgot 2 Sparrowhawk together in flight over lodges

-- Edited by Steven Astley on Tuesday 23rd of March 2010 05:53:04 PM

lodges
GC Grebe
Female Goldeneye
Crmrnt
Heron
Heard Kestral
Red Bridge
Dipper Grey Wagtails
Coal + LT tit
Jackdaw

Two female Goldeneye
Male Shovellor
Plenty of Tufted
4 Goosander (2m 2F)
Heron
Kestral
Dipper near weir
Carrion Crows
Pied Wagtails
GT Blue Coal Tits

Green Sandpiper at the Croal-Irwell confluece, also 4 Stock Dove, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Grey Wagtail.

am lodges
3 pair goosander
pair gc grebe
2 heron
hide
coal tit
gs woodpecker

I very recently (18th Feb) asked the chief warden if he could put a surround on the rafts, as one of the regular birders there reported that the tern chicks had fallen off the raft and been lost. His reply is below:
Hi Judith

Your email is very timely as yesterday we went out to the tern raft and, following advice and comments from birders and colleagues, put a wire fence around the edge of it as per the rafts at Doffcocker. There is already a lip and gravel on the raft (frozen solid yesterday!)So hopefully it will deter the coots and other birds from using the raft and allow the terns to breed successfully.



I will be leaving next week but if you have any further comments please contact my colleague Matt Dawson.

Many thanks

Andy

Andy Bailey

Country Park Ranger

Moses Gate Country Park

Bolton

01204 334042

07977548660

But apparently there is another raft?

THats what the worker/warden said today. Last year a pair tried to breed on the ack lodge but were robbed poss by a heron.

Makes sense now, thanks Steven.

Terns breed on them. Wiring should deter some birds like ducks and geese from using it, makes it easier for the terns.

Ian Boote wrote:

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am
4 Goosander Back lodge (3f 1m)
6 Coal tits hide
Wiring on rafts to discourage cormerants

---

What are those rafts for Ian?

am
4 Goosander Back lodge (3f 1m)
6 Coal tits hide
Wiring on rafts to discourage cormerants

This am, nice flock of 40+ Siskin between Crompton Lodges and Nob End along river also 3 Little Grebe, but no Redpoll

AM
6 Goosandeer 2 Heron back lodge
King fisher wier
Fly over Corm

Crompton Lodges mid pm

c50 Tufted Duck
1 Pochard (f)
60 Mute Swan
300+ BH Gulls
4 Herring Gull
3+ Common Gull
Grey Heron
Lots of Canada Geese/Coot/Moor Hen/Mallard

Could not see shoveler am
did see fly over cormerant and six goosander on lodges 4 m 2 f.

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Friday 29th of January 2010 01:17:07 PM

The pair of Shoveler were still present yesterday, plus around 60 Tufted Duck.

Wildlife Sightings on the Wildlife Forum

Dave

The old coots are the ones to watch

Ian Boote wrote:

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Coots Swans Thrushes all fighting

---

Separately or together my money's on the Swan's

66 Mute Swans
30 Tuftend
Fly over Cormerant
Kestral on the trees back of lodges
Shovellor pair quite brazen comming to with 10 feet
Female Goosander on River
Two Male Goosander on back lodge came with 20 feet
large flock LT Tits
Coots Swans Thrushes all fighting

Still mostly frozen this pm.

Shoveler pair
Pochard 1 male
Teal 3
Dipper 1

Nearby Darcy Lever, 2 Tawny Owls & 1 Dipper.

-- Edited by Simon Warford on Saturday 23rd of January 2010 05:04:38 PM

Male Female Shovellor Heron
Loads of Coots Swans Tufted Mallard
Male Goosander lodges
Cormerant flyover
Swollen river murkey

AM
Fly over cormorant
Fly over kestrel
Jay
Shoveller
Heron on lodges
GSWoodpecker
Coal tits and the rest at Hide

3 Shoveler, Crompton lodges, + 2 Goldeneye on river,

9-30am

Mute Swans 70+
Tufted Duck 6+
Shoveler Pair
Grey Heron
also lots of Coot, Moorhen and Mallard, BH Gull + 2 LBB Gull.

Difficult to count on small area of ice free water, like a rugby scrum when being fed.

This morning,
The usual Mute Swans,Canada Geese and Mallard on main pond, plus Tufted duck
and a pair of Shovelers. With the Black Headed gulls were a few Common gulls.
Also Coots and Moorhens.
On the rivers, were 3 Goosander ( 2 male) and a Heron. Plus Mallard and Little Grebes(2) and one Teal
Overhead flying northwest 120 Pink-foots and a few Lesser Black backed gulls. Two Cormorants, one white below, flew accross.
Near Nob End, was a Sparrowhawk and some Long Tail tits and Goldfinches. Plus 2 Collared doves.
There were plenty Great Tits and Blue tits. A few Chaffinch and one Greenfinch.
Around the feeders we added Coal Tit and Dunnock.
Lots of Blackbirds and Robins

With Steve Settle and Paula

-- Edited by keith mills on Saturday 9th of January 2010 02:09:32 PM

Late PM
76 Mute Swan
26 Tufted Duck
Goosander Imm/Fem
GC Grebe
5 Cormorant (flew off SE at 1550)

Of note
2 Pochard
3 Cormerant
Coal tit from hide no bulfinches for seveal weeks

Large flock LT tits
3 Cormerant
1 GC Grebe
Gold crest
Usual

9 Widgeon Male and Female
1 Goosander female
Kingfisher
Heron
large flock LT Tits
usual

AM
62 Swans
23 Tufted
1 pochard male
1 teal female
GC Grebe
Heron
6 long tailed tits
tree creeper
cormorant
usuals

Crompton Lodges
2 Wigeon
1 Goosander red head
2 Cormorant

Nob end/ vats
1 Redwing
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Goosander red head on river irwell

2 Wigeon, 1 Pochard, 1 Swallow, 3 Redwing, 3 Coal Tits from the hide.

Not much this AM
Many juvenile tufted duck
Three cormerants on the main lodge.
Heron on the back lodge
and the usual characters swan canada goose coot mallard.....
They appear to have stopped opening the hide in the morning lazy B!!!!!
Which is rather a shame

Mind you, in my Latics days this was what we used to call Preston North End !

---

I didnt know you once supported Oldham, Mr.Woosey.

Rob Thorpe wrote:

---

Henry Cook wrote:

---

Nob End NR

---

---

Ha Ha Ha...it could only happen in Bolton couldn`t it ????

Mind you, in my Latics days this was what we used to call Preston North End !

14/08/2009 - A Tree Pipit flew over Nob End NR this morning, calling.

Wet morning littlke of note
Pair of common terns were breeding on back lodge one chick hatched last week last seen Saturday and this morning fears from Monday that the the chick is no more is confirmed.
Family of black caps seen in woods and kingfisher near Rock Hall.

On Crompton lodges, Common Sanpiper, 4 Common Tern and Kingfisher, + Peregrine Falcon on Kearsley mill chimney.

quite day
Usual Characters
Grebe was hanging around a Coots Nest
Juveile Long Tailed and great tits, wagtails.
Jay mobbing male sparrowhawk
Chiff Chaff heard
common tyerns
cormorant

80 Swans, Common Tern + Kingfisher on the river Croal.