These certainly weren't Grey Wags - although I only really saw them in silhouette I could rule out both wags on structure....

Lot of Grey Wagtails about at the moment - Chinatown area making odd squeaks and chirrups from rooftops.

Two birds apparently flycatching from balconies above Parsonage Gardens on Friday looked suspiciously like BR's but no optics to confirm.

Surely if these birds were resident they get seen more often....

had a look this morning but its still hiding from me,i did spot loads of sparrows and blackbirds attracted to various feeders/tables ect but i,m there too early to go asking questions maybe an afternoon walk might extract some info from locals.

cheers geoff

the search continues,friday night saturday morning i walked the mean streets, gould st to miller st and didn,t see anything unusual, heard loads of stuff so it might be hiding in the maze of the city,i,ll try miller st to cannon st next chance i get,but needle in a haystack springs to mind

cheers geoff

Good news Simon. I can't believe it though, after 5 yrs going ti school very near there and never a single sightings and now I'm in Cornwall (no breeding pairs there!).
Henerz

A likely candidate for Black Redstart flew over me whilst waiting for the tram home at Shudehill. I was waiting for the Bury tram and this has come from the area behind me (Near to Print works) and headed towards the northern quater. It looked as tho it was gonna land on the roof top but its was obscured from where i was and then my tram came. Maybe worth checkin out....will have another look tomo!

Definitely not in that area this year, Tony (unless they take the fledged y there eventually)

Last year I had good sightings around Port St.
Sunday mid-morning seemed a good time. Not too many crazies about at that time (apart from twitchers)

hey up, had a look this morning parked in ducie st and walked up and around the canal to retail park bad light and inexperiensed ears not helping,'dipped'once again but i,ll have a look during the week once me confidence has returned.seriously though,it,s the city centre and i,m not going again unless i have company or a gun ,i only met two people,one just wanted to follow me from a distance,the other asked if i could do him a favour??urban birding at it,s best.
cheers geoff

Paul, a crumper is Wigan speak for `a big b*****d` - I think it originates from army slang meaning a `big shell burst` - now taken to mean anything that`s `massive`. There you go, a bit of social / military history for you !

My... you are a 'crumper' Paul Every fancied a game of rugby, season starts in September

Must be a wigan thing but what's a 'crumper'

As for Mr McKerchar's reccommendations I'm 2 inches too short but 2 and a half stone heavier.

As I work 100 yards from Tib Street, please let me know if you get anymore info. I saw the male on Back Thomas St the year before last and one sang from the roof of the Craft Centre on Oak St a few years before that. I checked out Dale St yesterday without success, but the site of the big fire there seems to have created ideal blitz-site nesting conditions.

Im sure I will be seeing plenty of Black Reds after a few beers on Whitworth Street tonight

i,ll have butchers on sat a.m at the spots but it,s the parking you have to carefull with, the clampers are up well before the scroats and pushers,i can tell you it,s not around fairbrother st to harry ramsden,s cos i,ve been checking for the last two months(points make prizes)on the theory that they must get there some how ,and how better than the river corridor.as for a companion nobody really likes getting in me van early doors without a tin of fabreeze

see you all sat 07.00 (thats 85mins hardcore birding to be had)

cheers geoff

I'll go with you then Jimmy, you can keep 'em occupied whilst I grill the Black Reds (if they're there of course)

well its know use me going il be first one they get
being so small

If I was going I`d take Paul Hammond with me. Now, he is a `crumper` - He towers over me !

-- Edited by Ian Woosey at 20:23, 2007-06-14

Unfortunately I do and they're usually running full pelt at me on a Saturday afternoon

Mind you, Ian Woosey'll do, he's a big fella

Dont think I know anyone that's 6 foot 7 and 18 stone who i could drag round the city centre on a Sunday morning.

The first sighting on Samual Ogden street is my friend Chris Marston who currently lives in a 7th floor apartment and he saw it from his window feeding on an adjacent office block, but hasnt seen any since.

There have been potential or confirmed recent sightings of Black Redstarts in the city centre over the past couple of weeks at the following locations: 1/. Samuel Ogden Street, near to the junction of Whitworth and Princess Street. Birds were regular afew years ago along the canal off Whitworth Street West, just behind the NCP multi-story car park there, which is quite close to the above sighting. As Black Redstart have a fondness for being close to some water this may well be an area worth further investigation. 2/. Tib Street (no further details available). Again, last year (I think?) a bird was singing briefly in the Thomas, Back Turner and Turner Street area that runs between Tib Street and Sudehil and similarly this area certainly could do with a little more attention. There have been no sightings (so far atleast) from last years breeding area. IMPORTANTLY: if anyone comes across any Black Redstarts in the city centre could they contact Adrian Dancy immediately on 07776 407928. Due to the importance of Black Reds and the current renovation of most of the buildings in the city centre, Adrian can immediately address any planning issues and their effects that may impact on the Black Reds. The city centre is a noisy place at best, so visits are probably best early in the morning especially on a Sunday when the shops open later. Probably a good idea to brush up on their distinctive song and look out for them using prominent perches for cracking it out from. Please remember, the city centre, like other cities, does have a crime problem and certain areas (Tib Street one of them) does occasionally attract the perpertrators of it, so be on your guard, don't make an easy target of yourself and if possible go with a friend (one that's about 6ft 7 and 18 stone should do the trick ), but as Crimewatch used to say "these crimes are fewer and farer apart than you might think, so don't have nightmares about them" (notice how they don't say it any more though )