6/1/2011 Dukinfield

1 ringed male Blackcap picking at sunflower heart scraps under hanging feeders. First Blackcap seen here since 2005.
Also single Goldcrest around most of the day.

3rd day with female Blackcap.
Rick.

Female Blackcap made another visit to fat-ball feeder at 13.15.

Haven't been able to test how effective banana is as the squirrels nicked it - perhaps needs to put in feeder similar to fat-ball feeder ?/

All the usual Tits and Finches and the regular 2 Moorhen.

Rick.

Blackcap around for 3rd day.

I was about to try banana to see if the Blackcap from 2010 would turn up but this female Blackcap (on the left) landed on the fat-ball feeder just before 11.00 this morning!

I'll still try the bananas though
Rick

Blackcap returned this am. Visited feeders throughout morning, bizarrly seems to like banana!

9.20 pm.
Jay came late for Breakfast. As usual several peanuts.
3 Goldfinch on the hearts.

-- Edited by keith mills on Monday 3rd of January 2011 09:46:16 AM

Pretty decent start to the New Year.

Yesterday (1st, if you've already lost count),

3 siskin
2 redpoll
9 goldfinch
1 greenfinch
2/3 chaffinch
song thrush, blue, great, coal tits et al

today,

no siskins or redpoll, but really excellent female BLACKCAP feeding on fat cake. First one in garden for several years and again proving that our gardens are a lifeline for birdlife during winter. Can't wait for the next surprise.

Wythenshawe this morning

3 Blackbird
2Song Thrush
2 Great tits
6 Blue tits
3 Dunnock
1 Jay
3 Collared doves

and flying over 50 Pink foot heading towards the airport in a southerly direction

Ashton under Lyne - Male Blackcap in garden this lunchtime.Around for 30 mins, visited selection of feeders. Managed a couple of digiscoped images, I will send them to Ian.Bird returned and continued to feed until dusk.

-- Edited by Alan Turner on Sunday 2nd of January 2011 04:25:05 PM

Garden in Cheadle this morning:-
Woodpigeon 3
Moorhen 2 (have been visiting regularly since first tuning up on 29/12)
Redwing 2
Greenfinch 8
Goldfinch 16
Gt Tit 2
Blue Tit 3
Bullfinch 2m/1f
Carrion Crow 4
Single Coal Tit, Blackbird (f), Robin, Starling, Chaffinch (f) and Dunnock.

Flock of 50/60 mixed finch/tits flew over across bottom of garden heading NW.

Rick.




-- Edited by Rick Donkin on Saturday 1st of January 2011 04:28:46 PM

8.55 am.
Jay in for breakfast. Followed by Coal Tit.
Collared Doves, Starling, Blackbird and Chaffinch in attendance.
9.30 am Two more ................
A dunnock and a (first ever in my Garden) WAXWING,perched on Larch




-- Edited by keith mills on Saturday 1st of January 2011 01:45:53 PM

Ashton under Lyne - Female Blackcap on fatball feeder. Brief visit.

Grey Heron stood looking at my frozen pond in my back garden.
Cheers Ian

Cheadle

2 Moorhen have just plodded 30 odd meters from the Brook at bottom of garden to feed on scraps/spilled seeds under the feeders near the house - happily feeding with Blackbird, Robin, feral and Woodpigeon.

Also 1m/3f Bullfinch, 8 Greenfinch 10 Goldfinch, 4 LT Tits, 2 Gt Tits and 3 Blue Tits.

4 Redwing in trees at bottom of garden.

Rick.

Four waxwings again in our (Ladybridge) garden, around all morning and still feeding on the rowan berries.

Siskins beginning their annual pilgrimage to my garden which always starts in earnest about now. At least six today (5 males), and with at least that many goldfinches at the same time on or below the feeders, it cheered up a drab day. Also 10+ blue tits at the same time, song thrush and a single redwing which dropped into the neighbour's garden (drat). Beats going out into the wilds.

12 Redwings and 4 Blackbirds feeding on holly berries all day in my neighbours garden in Irlam

-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Tuesday 28th of December 2010 04:24:54 PM

5 Redwing in my garden in Egerton Bolton feeding on the fruit on the cherry tree as well as up to 7 blackbirds.

3 Redwing again feeding on the Holly berries.
A Wren,an uncommon bird in my garden was feasting on mealworms.

Highlights of today:
Treecreeper was a garden tick
female gsw
male chaffinch
3 goldfinch
female house sparrow
2 nuthatch

Two Jays in my garden at 9.0am.
Never had 2 before.
The larger one took the nuts, but the smaller one was too shy to feed

-- Edited by keith mills on Monday 27th of December 2010 09:17:31 AM

Tawny owl sat on next doors roof eying up the scraps of pork on our "lawn"

4 Redwing
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Mistle Thrush
All feeding on a small Holly bush in my garden this morning.

today on feeders and garden

1 Fieldfare
4 Song Thrush
5 Blackbirds
1Wren
1 Robin
2 Great tits
5 Blue tits
2 Dunnocks
20 - 25 House sparrows

1 Heron over the house

Over an hour between 12.30 - 1.30
3 Jays
6 Bullfinches ( 3m 3f)
7 Chaffinch (3m 4f)
1 redwing
2 magpie
1 GSW
2 robin
1 wren
2 blackbirds
1 Moorhen
blue, great,coal, long tail and Marsh Tit

Had a Woodcock in the garden this morning. Watched it circling around a few times over the neighbourhood over the course of half an hour before it decided to land at the top of our garden. A brilliant garden tick.

Xmas day 1st Field fare in my garden

A Jackdaw in the garden today, had them fly over before but this one fed on the last apple on the tree.

A sparrowhawk and a calling goldcrest both perched were the highlights this afternoon

Fair activity over lunch today :

1 Jay..... enjoying some nuts but not a common visitor.
4 starlings
2 pairs Blackbirds
2 Dunnocks
3 Collared Doves ... 1 unpopular.
2 Coal tit
1Gt. Tit
1 Blue Tit
1 Robin
2 male Chaffinch
1 Magpie
1 G. Squirrel

Just had c.5 Fieldfare and a lone Redwing in our garden1 Must be the cold driving them in

Tawny owl this morning

Finally l had wonderful close views of a very handsome male Sparrowhawk in the garden at work today...

l don't seem to be as lucky as some on here, that see these birds regularly and often in their garden. l do see him 'patrolling' but today was a treat.

When life's bad...there's always birding to make you smile

Make that a tremendous 170 garden Fieldfares at the moment!

Currently (as I type) 130 Fieldfare an 40 Redwing on Hawthorns at the bottom of my garden in Astley. Oh, and mating Collared Doves, have they no shame...

Just approached my patio doors to look at my birdless Timperley garden (the birds are ignoring my feeders despite the weather) and flushed a Woodcock!

5 waxwings feeding on small rowan this lunchtime.

Greenfinch and chaffinch which usually turn up in ones and twos now in small flocks of 6s and 7s

Kestrel flew in and landed in a tree but for the first time the finches didn't scatter, never seen this before, a couple of chaffinch were even perched in the same tree. When a sparrowhawk comes through the small birds disappear and don't come back for a while.

Had a Jay, a Bullfinch (female) and a flock of the Long Tailed Tits all in our garden just off Dane road in sale all at once! A first for all three to be present at once.

Had a single Moorhen in back garden in Horwich this morning, sat in a feed tray for about 15 minutes before moving off

Had a single Fieldfare perched in our Willow in the garden this afternoon in Lowton. Another garden tick.

Just found the first casualty of the cold snap in my garden tonight. Found a dead Robin on the garden path that wasn't there 20 minutes earlier.

Took it inside and weighed it. It weighed only 10 grams which is well under weight (BWP states 15-21 grams)

Just goes to show how important it is to put food out for the birds, especially in the severe weather we are getting at the moment. Even with the help of a well stocked garden, this poor little bird didn't survive!

Female GSW was a garden tick, and a reward for a home made fatball! at 9.00am this morning

2 Ravens have just flown over my Radcliffe house heading North.
Cheers Ian

Redpoll briefly on Saturday. 20+ Chaffinches which no matter what, will not bramblise.

-- Edited by Vaughan Evans on Monday 20th of December 2010 07:59:23 AM

Originally posted today by James Hall, sightings from 15 Edna Road, Leigh:

1 long tailed tit - on my new feeder
2 dunnocks - first time i have 2
2 blue tits - hear all day
1 great tit - quick appeariance
2 collard doves - i have names them freddie and phillip
2 song thrush - first time
1 chaffinch - my first male
1 coal tit - on my bird table

A few local (Chadderton) garden sightings for the first two-thirds of December.
In the garden - I've increased feeding during the cold spell. Loaves of supermarket value bread, lightly spread with marge and cut into small cubes and also re-hydrated value sultanas, both distributed thinly across the lawn and flower beds of the back garden. This has brought many more birds into the garden including some common birds not usually seen. Since 2nd - Blackbirds, numbers anywhere up to about 17 birds - usually come in at the very first light and then throughout the day. Also regularly, 2 Song Thrush (only ever seen in the garden in harsh weather) and 1 Mistle Thrush. Up to c60 Starlings and c25 House Sparrow regularly during this period. At the moment they are eating between 2 and 3 value loaves each day as well as 1kg of sultanas every day!

Up to 3 Dunnock, 1 Wren, 1 Robin (occasionally seen chasing away other Robins), 2 Magpies, a pair of Collared Doves (which look like they might have been building a rudimentary nest in a tree in next doors garden in the early part of the month!) they have also been observed during the harshest weather inspecting, on several occasions, around the back of a satellite dish, where Collared Doves have attempted to build nests (and failed) in the past, 1 Sparrowhawk (most days), 1 Goldcrest (4/12 & 8/12 & 18/12), 5 Long-tailed Tits (4/12), 1 female Chaffinch (4/12) 1 male Chaffinch (8/12).

At the bottom of the garden I have a large winter flowering mahonia shrub which in some of the past winters has attracted wintering Blackcaps feeding on the flowers. Have spent a good while watching this recently and the tree immediately above it for any signs of them but as yet with no luck. Probably not going to happen this year now, as the flowers have been damaged by the cold weather. However whilst scanning the tree on 2nd December and looking through the flock of birds in there, amongst the tits and sparrows, was a Chiffchaff! That was the second wintering Chiffchaff I had then seen in the space of 6 days, after 1 seen amongst a mixed tit/crest flock in waterside vegetation alongside the River Irwell near Peel Park, Salford on 27th November. Small numbers of Blue and Great Tits seen on some days, but not all. The House Sparrows have actually been observed eating the flowers of the mahonia, whilst the tits just appear to be taking either pollen or nectar from the flowers? The Sparrows have also been seen as well chewing on pyracantha berries. Also Jackdaws and Carrion Crows on the roofs of surrounding house - again only really seen here in harsh weather. 1 Jackdaw collecting food from the back garden on 18th.

On 8th at 14.45 from a very brief "out of the corner of the eye sighting" and without binoculars an owl species was spotted flying south over the house at moderate height. Broad, shortish and rounded wings, with quick wing beats interspersed with glides might suggest Tawny possibly? Seems a strange time of day for this species to be on the move though! Maybe a cold weather movement?

Cheers,

Bill.

A Male Blackcap was a nice suprise this afternoon in my garden in Wythenshawe.

I am hoping it decides to stay around the feeders for a while during this cold snap.

Originally posted today by Keith Mills, sightings from his Ladybridge garden:

Similarly today (to Pete Lane's post below), I had the most Goldfinch on my feeders.
Only 12 but I don't feed niger seed yet.
Also heard and spotted about a dozen Long tail Tits by the lights. Beaumont road /
Junction road.
A Heron flew over as I was trying, unsuccessfully, to dig my drive clear to make the Wigan RSPB trip to PENNY

Originally posted by Pete Lane today, sightings in his Ladybridge garden:

Flock of 40+ goldfinches on the garden feeders this morning. Goldfinches are by far the most common bird in the garden these days, with up to 10 from time to time, but never as many as today. Small numbers of greenfinch, chaffinch and house sparrow plus a few blue and great tits.