-- Edited by Ollie Wright on Sunday 14th of April 2013 07:47:43 PM
Neil McCall said
Sun Mar 31 5:59 AM, 2013
Greenfinch singing on Palatine Road opposite new Morrison's supermarket around 16:00
Ollie Wright said
Fri Mar 8 2:01 AM, 2013
5:30pm Peregrine over Airport Hotel, mobbed off in short order by Crows
Ollie Wright said
Mon Oct 15 4:06 AM, 2012
This morning, saw the pigeons who sit on the shops on the Palatine Road all went up in a group. Thought something might have put them up and eventually picked up a Sparrowhawk circling high above.
Ollie Wright said
Fri Sep 14 1:50 AM, 2012
Nice surprise as I walked down Allanson Road just now. Scanning the skies, saw a bird of prey circling, so legged it back to the house and grabbed the bins. Initial thing I noticed was a triangular shape to the tail, which had me thinking it could be a kite.
Sprinting back with the bins, was pleasantly surprised that the bird was still circling, was able to pin it down as a Sparrowhawk on silhouette - after a while, it tucked its wings and dived, a move I've always associated with Peregrine. But on the body shape, I'm sure it was a Sparrowhawk.
Certainly brightened up a mooch to the local supermarket.
Ollie Wright said
Sat Aug 11 3:35 AM, 2012
Just had a slightly unusual experience. Left the house and started walking down my road, when I heard a load of flapping. My first thought was that it could be a Woodpigeon taking off from one of the rooftops, but when I looked around, I couldn't see anything.
Carried on walking, then heard further flapping. Eventually managed to locate the noise, which was coming from just below my neighbours' guttering and identified the bird as a Swift, which was clearly stuck. It flapped impotently, but had obviously got hopelessly entangled in something.
I knocked on at my neighbours and with their ladder, scaled the side of the house. I found that some sort of detritus under the guttering had adhered to the wing of the poor bird. I was able to remove some of it, but the Swift remained clinging to the wall. So I decided to go back down and fetch a pair of scissors. As I made my descent, it suddenly shot away, still trailing a chunk of cr@p from its right wing.
I wish I'd been able to totally remove the stuff and was terribly worried that I might have hurt it as it struggled to free itself, but it seemed to fly away very strongly.
Ah well, it has more of a chance now than it did before! And if anybody sees a bird with an extremely strange silhouette tonight, you know what it is now...
Graham Smith said
Wed Feb 29 1:34 AM, 2012
walk along the Mersey past the golf course
blue tits great tits long tailed tits red wings song thrush chaffinch goldfinch pied wagtails black headed gulls mallards cormorants 2 x canada geese blackbird
Neil McCall said
Tue Feb 28 10:50 PM, 2012
Just spotted 8 Long-Tailed Tits around the trees near Northenden Health Centre, very vocal and active.
Henry Cook said
Mon Feb 20 4:31 AM, 2012
Neil McCall wrote:
Sharston Recycling Centre
Approx 100 Black-Headed Gulls, a few with full black heads, mostly sitting on the roof but sometimes diving into the waste disposal building.
Also 5 Common Gulls and 1 Lesser Black-Back.
Rubbish afternoon out.
Keep an eye out for the regular Grey Wagtail here Neil.
Neil McCall said
Mon Feb 20 4:29 AM, 2012
Sharston Recycling Centre
Approx 100 Black-Headed Gulls, a few with full black heads, mostly sitting on the roof but sometimes diving into the waste disposal building.
Also 5 Common Gulls and 1 Lesser Black-Back.
Rubbish afternoon out.
Ollie Wright said
Fri Feb 17 12:11 AM, 2012
Yesterday morning
Allanson Road
1 x parrot species overhead - probable Ring-Necked Parakeet
Church Lane
Grey Heron very low overhead, in the direction of the crossroads. Presumably en route to the River Mersey.
Neil McCall said
Sun Feb 12 4:49 AM, 2012
Shandon Avenue Wood
10+ Redwing
Also Stock Dove on chimney pot of house in Green Park Road (first I've ever seen within Northenden village)
Henry Cook said
Sat Feb 11 8:02 PM, 2012
11/02/2012 - 9.30am - c20 Siskins, 2 drake Goldeneyes and 2 female Goosanders along the Mersey.
Neil McCall said
Sun Jan 1 8:27 PM, 2012
Six goldfinches and one chaffinch on feeder in Homewood Road helped my New Year's Day list to an impressive ten! Might double it tomorrow!!
Ollie Wright said
Sat Jun 4 10:57 AM, 2011
In addition to Charles' House Martins on Palatine Road, Swifts are visiting the eaves on the house opposite ours (close to the high street). Nice to hear them screaming low overhead when I get home!
Re crazy noises at the bottom of Kenworthy Lane, I always stop there to find and listen to the resident Song Thrush when I can. Could this be your bird?
At the moment, most evenings, a Chiffchaff shows and sings in the trees just after I cross the Mersey on the cycle path off the Princess Parkway - at the top of the hill which leads down to the bottom of Kenworthy Lane.
Rick Hall said
Sat Jun 4 10:49 AM, 2011
Charles, the mobile could have been a song thrush. I've observed a couple of my local song thrushes doing this, interestingly, they both had different ringtones! Which would lead me to thinking that they are imitating sounds they've heard.
Charles Coutts said
Sat Jun 4 10:11 AM, 2011
Spent early morning 6 till7.15 in and around Brittania Country House hoping to re-see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but to no joy, Lots of noisey other birds all the common ones + Chiffchaff Blackcap Jackdaw mobbing a Crow
Northenden Village
10+ House Martins dodging the traffic along Palatine Road most of them flying up to the eaves on the row of shops where the P.O is.
Kenworthy Woods
Sparrowhawk Great Spotted Woodpecker Nuthatch and a bird call I could not I D.sounded like a mobile phone and NO there was no one else around, just me.
Ollie Wright said
Thu Jun 2 9:18 PM, 2011
I live very close to the Britannia Country Park Hotel, so thought I'd take a mooch down there this arvo. No woodpeckers of any ilk, but the picnic area looked great in the sun and is clearly packed with birds.
Blue Tit family At least two Jays Greenfinch Blackbirds Song Thrush Robin Magpies Woodpigeons Great Tit 2 Treecreepers 1 mystery bird (probably a Nuthatch)
Definitely a place worth returning to and I'll keep checking on it when I can.
Rick Donkin said
Mon May 30 7:59 AM, 2011
Between 06:40 to 07:30 getting a thorough soaking looking for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Britannia Country House Hotel again this morning, after dropping relatives off at Manchester Airport. But no luck!
However did see nesting/breeding activity from 10 species including:- Treecreeper (3 feeding together - Adult/Juv combination??), Blackcap (male and female in suitable habitat), pair of Mistle Thrush carrying moss to nest site, Great and Blue Tits, Wrens, Blackbirds, Robins, Chaffinches and Woodpigeon all collecting nesting materials or food. 1 singing Chiffchaff very briefly, but that soon stopped as rain got heavier. Also 1 Jay.
So much activity on such a miserable wet morning
Rick.
-- Edited by Rick Donkin on Monday 30th of May 2011 08:14:42 AM
Rick Donkin said
Mon May 30 12:07 AM, 2011
Spent an hour looking around the grounds of the Britannia Country House Hotel, before shooting off to Liverpool Airport to pick up family, and after approx 20mins first heard the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in trees along the side of the Mersey near to the picnic area - but could not see it.
Great views of Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Blackcap (1m) and a Mistle Thrush carrying nest building materials. Also many Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits, Dunnock, Wrens, Blackbirds and Robins and also several singing Chiffchaff.
Heard more of the Lesser Spotted further along the trees towards the main car park and then saw it fly across the car park to the trees at the far end behind the hotel and out of sight.
This is normally an area I pass by when cycling along the Mersey to Chorlton and/or Sale Water Parks - but will definitely be stopping and spending time looking around next time I cycle this way - well 'spotted' Charles.
Rick.
Neil McCall said
Sun May 29 8:07 PM, 2011
Any idea exactly where the LSW was to be found?
There's a stand of very old trees on the left beyond the "picnic area", also a few dead trees between the driveway and the riverbank which looked promising.
Joe Wynn said
Sun May 29 11:58 AM, 2011
Charles Coutts wrote:
While seeing my Relations of from Britannia Country House Hotel this morning in the grounds were, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker(a Great First for me and probably Northenden).also Great Spotted Woodpecker
I never new the grounds had so many Trees, lots of common Birds also heard.
According to the mersey valley wardens its been there since at least march- glad its still about!
John Doherty said
Sat May 28 7:34 PM, 2011
That's fantastic news, Charles! I was just thinking about a possible birding session to Kenworthy Woods and or Wythenshawe Park (nearby) in the near future!
Charles Coutts said
Sat May 28 7:18 PM, 2011
While seeing my Relations of from Britannia Country House Hotel this morning in the grounds were, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker(a Great First for me and probably Northenden).also Great Spotted Woodpecker
I never new the grounds had so many Trees, lots of common Birds also heard.
jason atkinson said
Fri Jul 20 2:47 PM, 2007
Dipper on River Mersey from Palatine road (under M60 and west of Withington Golf Club), Northenden @ 14.15 today
cheers Jason
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 28th of May 2011 07:57:20 PM
Kingfisher 1
Goosander 1
Great moment this morning in rush hour traffic as a mallard duck stopped all the traffic on palatine road and led her young over the road!
9 Redwing
1 Nuthatch
Pair of Buzzards circling above M60/Princess Parkway junction.
Common Sandpiper
Pair Grey Wagtails
Pair Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Chiffchaff heard
-- Edited by Ollie Wright on Sunday 14th of April 2013 07:47:43 PM
Sprinting back with the bins, was pleasantly surprised that the bird was still circling, was able to pin it down as a Sparrowhawk on silhouette - after a while, it tucked its wings and dived, a move I've always associated with Peregrine. But on the body shape, I'm sure it was a Sparrowhawk.
Certainly brightened up a mooch to the local supermarket.
Carried on walking, then heard further flapping. Eventually managed to locate the noise, which was coming from just below my neighbours' guttering and identified the bird as a Swift, which was clearly stuck. It flapped impotently, but had obviously got hopelessly entangled in something.
I knocked on at my neighbours and with their ladder, scaled the side of the house. I found that some sort of detritus under the guttering had adhered to the wing of the poor bird. I was able to remove some of it, but the Swift remained clinging to the wall. So I decided to go back down and fetch a pair of scissors. As I made my descent, it suddenly shot away, still trailing a chunk of cr@p from its right wing.
I wish I'd been able to totally remove the stuff and was terribly worried that I might have hurt it as it struggled to free itself, but it seemed to fly away very strongly.
Ah well, it has more of a chance now than it did before! And if anybody sees a bird with an extremely strange silhouette tonight, you know what it is now...
blue tits
great tits long tailed tits
red wings
song thrush
chaffinch
goldfinch
pied wagtails
black headed gulls
mallards
cormorants
2 x canada geese
blackbird
Keep an eye out for the regular Grey Wagtail here Neil.
Approx 100 Black-Headed Gulls, a few with full black heads, mostly sitting on the roof but sometimes diving into the waste disposal building.
Also 5 Common Gulls and 1 Lesser Black-Back.
Rubbish afternoon out.
Allanson Road
1 x parrot species overhead - probable Ring-Necked Parakeet
Church Lane
Grey Heron very low overhead, in the direction of the crossroads. Presumably en route to the River Mersey.
10+ Redwing
Also Stock Dove on chimney pot of house in Green Park Road (first I've ever seen within Northenden village)
Re crazy noises at the bottom of Kenworthy Lane, I always stop there to find and listen to the resident Song Thrush when I can. Could this be your bird?
At the moment, most evenings, a Chiffchaff shows and sings in the trees just after I cross the Mersey on the cycle path off the Princess Parkway - at the top of the hill which leads down to the bottom of Kenworthy Lane.
Lots of noisey other birds all the common ones +
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Jackdaw mobbing a Crow
Northenden Village
10+ House Martins dodging the traffic along Palatine Road most of them flying up to the eaves on the row of shops where the P.O is.
Kenworthy Woods
Sparrowhawk
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Nuthatch
and a bird call I could not I D.sounded like a mobile phone and NO there was no one else around, just me.
Blue Tit family
At least two Jays
Greenfinch
Blackbirds
Song Thrush
Robin
Magpies
Woodpigeons
Great Tit
2 Treecreepers
1 mystery bird (probably a Nuthatch)
Definitely a place worth returning to and I'll keep checking on it when I can.
But no luck!
However did see nesting/breeding activity from 10 species including:-
Treecreeper (3 feeding together - Adult/Juv combination??), Blackcap (male and female in suitable habitat), pair of Mistle Thrush carrying moss to nest site, Great and Blue Tits, Wrens, Blackbirds, Robins, Chaffinches and Woodpigeon all collecting nesting materials or food.
1 singing Chiffchaff very briefly, but that soon stopped as rain got heavier.
Also 1 Jay.
So much activity on such a miserable wet morning
Rick.
-- Edited by Rick Donkin on Monday 30th of May 2011 08:14:42 AM
Great views of Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Blackcap (1m) and a Mistle Thrush carrying nest building materials. Also many Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits, Dunnock, Wrens, Blackbirds and Robins and also several singing Chiffchaff.
Heard more of the Lesser Spotted further along the trees towards the main car park and then saw it fly across the car park to the trees at the far end behind the hotel and out of sight.
This is normally an area I pass by when cycling along the Mersey to Chorlton and/or Sale Water Parks - but will definitely be stopping and spending time looking around next time I cycle this way - well 'spotted' Charles.
Rick.
There's a stand of very old trees on the left beyond the "picnic area", also a few dead trees between the driveway and the riverbank which looked promising.
According to the mersey valley wardens its been there since at least march- glad its still about!
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker(a Great First for me and probably Northenden).also
Great Spotted Woodpecker
I never new the grounds had so many Trees, lots of common Birds also heard.
cheers
Jason
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 28th of May 2011 07:57:20 PM