Thursday 24th

After Paul Hammond showing me 2 more life Ticks on Audenshaw ( thanks Paul ) caled in at Ashton Moss on my way home.

1 Riged Plover
8 Skylark
10 Lapwing mobbing 2 scruffy looking foxes
4 Swift
2 Swallow
10 House Martin collecting mud
8 Freshly fledged Long Tail Tits
1 Little Grebe with 1 young
1 Female Mallard with only 1 young
2 Male Mallard
6 Canada Geese with no young this year
2 Wren
4 Greenfinch
6 Linnet

speaking to a couple of dog wlalkers they advised me that foxes have had all the canada geese young and also 7 of the mallard young. They also said as soon as anything trys to nest on the moss area they are building on the dozers move in and chase them off, also had a guy from the building sight asking me what i was doing when looking over at the house martins he did not seem happy at all even after i told him what i was doing.

thanks

Andrew

Hi Steve,
Yup i'm here I will e-mail you off forum.
Cheers Kane

-- Edited by Kane Brides at 13:30, 2007-05-17

Drizzly morning for second visit to count plovers: only one pair of Ringed Plovers dodging all the earth-moving machinery this time. Little Grebes have only one youngster and the Swans have gone. Still plenty of Lapwings and Skylarks - they must be desperate!

Kane (if you're out there) - do you know anything about the history/movements of these Mute Swans?
(Darvics SHB & SHD)?

Steve

Bit late but sightings from yesterday between 8am & 9am

6 - Skylark
2 - Linnet Lifer tick for me !
2 - Canada Geese
1 - Moor hen
1 - Grey Heron
6 - Lapwing
4 - Pied Wagtail

cheers

Andrew

nice one mate, ill let you know how i get on

If you start at the east end of the moss (Sainsbury's), follow the main road towards the Snipe retail park. When you cross the railway there's a path on the right hand side of the road which runs alongside Ashton Cricket Club. Follow this path (slight deviation as you cross the M60) all the way to Mockridge nursery (at the back of the new garden centre). There are two pools: one on the left before the garden centre (check for LR Plover) and one on the right by the nursery (Swans & Little Grebes). Best to go early morning before bulldozers start work (or evening when they're finished - but there are more likely to be stone-throwing youths then!).

There are a few side routes. The best is to turn right after crossing the motorway and head north towards Moss Side Farm (good for warblers in the bushes). A woman from the farm told me she had recently seen a "black deer" there!

Good luck.

Steve,

i know what you mean about the lapwings, they have been there all winter along with golden plovers, normally alot of pied wagtails around pond next to garden centre as they roost ontop of MFI on the snipe retail park.

Andrew

where do you go on the moss steve? im not sure where the paths or the pond are

Early morning visit to carry out Ringed & Little Ringed Plover Survey. 2 pairs Ringed Plovers but none of their "dubius" cousins. This once bird-rich site is now devastated by bulldozers and warehouses but that dosn't seem to be putting off all the Lapwings and Skylarks which seem to be nesting everywhere they can. Whitethroats seem to have arrived in droves and I got my first Sedge Warbler of the year. On a pool at the edge of the moss Little Grebes were nesting and a pair of Mute Swans seem to have taken up territory (Darvics SHB & SHD - presumably from the same brood, not intending incest I hope!).