had another look at julia st (briefly) sat am. m+f goosander,tufted duck,6+goldeneye,mallard and grey wagtail present

geoff

Have checked all this week in my Lunch hour. No sign of Smew. But a small reward of a Chiffchaff today at 1230 in Bramble Bush on bank of River at the bottom of Julia Steet.

Checked Irwell this morning. Pair Goosander, 3 Cormorant, Heron, Moorhen, Mallards and BH Gulls but NO SMEW!

We checked the Irwell yesterday from Cromwell Rd bridge to Trinity Way bridge without success, Adrian also checked The Cliff loop.
The first Smew was back on Horrocks Flash today and at last I got some decent pictures. Also the 2 Pinkfeet.

nick i can,t get up there to look till next weekend but i have been checking trafford road bridge early a.m. for the last two week,s or so ,and dave wilkinson hopefully watching his bit, in 06 one was at SD823011 in 05 SD826050 and the irwell.if you fancy a look there,i also checked the old pint pot area(adelphi st )which looks smewy to me
regards geoff

Had a quick look for the Smew around 3.30pm today, between Broughton Bridge and Trinity Way Bridge, but no sign. Nice pair of Goosander and the Grey Wagtail!

hi all, yep got me another smew,and just as important to me a grey wagtail ,I was out at first light on the irwell staking out the smew,s other known haunts
then went to work, later after checking a few more bit,s of the irwell I went to julia st just in case, and there it was basking in the sun,as ian say,s please be streetwise if you go for a look(let,s be carefull out there)earlier the better i think.
what,s next Geoff

 Im glad the Smew has been seen again on the Irwell. I have not been to work this week and not had chance to look for it since Monday. By the way just found this forum Im inpressed.

Geoff 'seems to have a real fondness for Smews'  Hargreaves indeed found the Smew today exactly where it was first seen. He watched the bird from the footbridge over the Irwell by Julia Street, Strangeways (city centre Manchester) in the company of Goldeneyes.

Birders visiting the site should utilise some caution though, as wandering about with quantities of optical equipment in the area could bring some unwanted attention, also be careful where you might park your car around here (either side of the river) and don't leave anything on show.

I'm sure Geoff might have something else to add (if he's not off dreaming about more Smews somewhere)................Geoff?

The bird was seen on the Irwell opposite Julia Street, Strangeways in the city centre. It'd be nice if it was found again, so the more looking the better

judith, i,ll be having a look on the irwell tommorrow regardless,but any news
on the smew,s last position cos it,s a big piece off water to cover

regards geoff

I have had a report from Dave Wilkinson of a redhead Smew on the R. Irwell in central Manchester, on 28th January. I've emailed Dave to ask exactly where, but this is a different bird to the Wigan one.