Yesterday PM - Wed 4th

• Sand Martins - several - just below Cromwell Bridge (A576), but still flying into the holes in the concrete wall on the East bank, so presumably still got young in there - 2nd brood?
• Swallow - 1 - approaching Kersal Wetlands
• Little Grebe - 1 - only thing of note during a quick walk by the actual wetlands

Kersal Wetlands @approx 6:30 pm:

The usual suspects + of note...

• 2 Little Egrets
• 2 Little Grebes
• Pair of Mute Swans with 4 full sized cygnets

At last, first Kingfisher I've seen on "my stretch" since mid-January - only a flypast going under Broughton Bridge but still nice to see

Otherwise, the usual suspects; Mallard, Goosander, Cormorant, BH Gull, LBb Gull, Canada Geese, Grey Wagtail 

River levels down; 20 Goosanders

Blackcap - female or juvenile

Garden Warbler

I've not seen a Kingfisher on "my stretch" since January - I think the higher river levels until the last couple of weeks have not been good for them - hopefully just gone elsewhere

Last Thursday 18th July on "my stretch" - no unusual sightings; a few Goosanders including 2 juveniles

But some unusual behaviour - loads of Canada Geese with many doing a lot of splashing in shallow water - presumably cleaning feathers or keeping cool - that wasn't unusual...

Then I noticed 2 or 3 of the Canada Geese were actually swimming totally underwater, like you see the Goosanders doing - I've never seen this before

Has anyone else seen geese doing this?

Insect eaters out in force above the river, generally low down;

• Swifts, Sand Martins, House Martins
• Pied & Grey Wagtails

Goosanders - loads - more than I've ever seen here...

• Upstream from Broughton Bridge - 85-90 initially ~65 just upstream and another 22 on the shingle bank but all disturbed downstream (much better for counting as they float past) by a snake of young schoolkids (+teachers) on the path 
• Just downstream from Broughton Bridge - another 65-70
• That's at least 150!!!
• Both sexes, not an obviously uneven mix, no goosanderlings

2 Blackcaps heard - deep in trees so not seen but from other side of the river obviously 2 birds

1 Willow Warbler heard & seen

No Chiffchaffs singing

Goosanders - numbers going up on "my" stretch as the water level goes down - 13 on the gravel bank, 40-50 visible downstream from Broughton Bridge and another 10 or so between

Canada Geese - the first of the goslings have arrived

Male Blackcap heard and seen today

Chiffchaff heard

Lots of Goosanders on the water and on the gravel bank, the river being the lowest it's been so far in 2024

Several of the male Goosanders seem to be losing the green sheen on their heads, going dark purple

Willow Warbler - got to see one by the Irwell today - enticed it over the unclimbable wall for a couple of minutes by brief use of Merlin

It seems that the female Goosanders were just on an away day - several back today

1 or 2 Willow Warblers - this was a pleasant surprise - heard but not seen - in a derelict area behind wall/fence/barbed-wire next to the path on the city side of Broughton Bridge with lots of Silver Birch growing in there (ideal WW habitat) - but very difficult (next to impossible) to spot anything in there without doing some serious (and potentially injurious) spiky fence climbing which I have no intention of doing.

1 Chiffchaff briefly heard as well

Yesterday (Mon 15th April), there were 9 Goosanders on the Irwell (high water level) in 2 groups, 5 & 4, but they were all male - never seen that before:

• where have the females gone - surely not all nesting?
• are these the males that have failed to pair up?

Thursday 28th - the Sand Martins are back on the Irwell

I've now been visiting "my" stretch of the Irwell (Broughton Bridge to the Adelphi footbridge) during lunch breaks for 2 years; typically 2 or 3 times a week (when it's not raining) and certainly not every week.

During that time I've seen 48 species on/by what often just looks like a dirty river near the city centre...

• Standout spots: Goosanders and (in winter) Goldeneye - the views of these are as good as absolutely anywhere - if you want photos of these 2 ducks, this is a great place
• Most surprising: Single Pink-footed Goose happily less than 10 feet away from me amongst the Canada Geese, next would be Little Egret - seen 3 or 4 times
• Surprisingly not seen (biggest "surprise" first): Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Swallow
• Hopeful to still see: Mediterranean Gull amongst the Black-headed Gulls

Goldeneye - none, starting to think that's it for this winter

Goosander - 4M, 3F - generally they seem to be paired up but shouldn't somebody be sitting on eggs at the moment if they're properly breeding

Siskin - 2F - new species for me on "my" stretch of the Irwell

Still not seen a Kingfisher for ages

From Friday 22 March, around lunchtime, walk up from Agecroft, through Drinkwater Park, up to Kingfisher Lodge/Waterdale, back down along the River Irwell . Kingfisher Lodge pool: pair Gadwall, Mallards, Coots River Irwell: Goosander pair + 1, Tufted Duck pair, Black Headed Gull Drinkwater Park: Chiffchaffs, Great Tits, Blue Tits , Long-Tailed Tits, Wrens, Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swans, Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, Heron, Wood Pigeons, Nuthatches

Usual stretch:

• Goldeneye - still several about, I counted at least 12 but they were spread out so difficult to be exactly sure
• Goosander - at least 3 pairs about
• Chiffchaff - 1st local one this year - heard it singing across the water and then found it when over the other side - judging by the complete lack all winter I think this is most likely a migrant rather than a winter stayover
• Goldcrest - 2, trying to see if they were a pair (hopefully different crest colour) but so difficult even though they were close - 2 days in a row in the same tree/bush, wonder if it's a possible nest site even though it's right next to the path

River level back up a little bit after being lower last week

Usual stretch:

• Goosander - 1M 2F - one with the male and also (I think) looking for a nesting site being as she was investigating lots of rocky "inlets" at the water's edge - not behaviour I've seen before
• Goldeneye - 6 above Broughton Bridge 2M 4F and another 7 or 8 below it but some way off
• Sparrowhawk - F flew across the river and immediately out of sight - I was alerted by all the gulls taking off from the buildings 5 seconds before - they can obviously see from up there
• Graffiti artist - 1M on the graffiti wall by Broughton bridge (maybe this should be in "other wildlife") - be interesting to see the finished article next time

River level the lowest I've seen for a few weeks and you could actually see through the water on some shallower bits

Usual stretch...

• Goldeneye 1M 2F downstream from Broughton Bridge
• Goosander 1M - full breeding plumage
• Sparrowhawk - if I had to decide I'd say Male but couldn't get a decent focused view in my bins as it flew past because I'd just been looking at a close-to Goldcrest (i.e. focus fumble) and the view was through some trees as well
• Goldcrest - F ? - certainly a much narrower and "yellow not orange" crest compared with last week's ace view
• Long-tailed Tits - handful, not as big a "family"as I've seen but there's usually a "family" somewhere around
• Cormorant - fishing

River level quite high - not seen a Kingfisher for a while

Goldeneye; Monday 4m 8f, today 1m 1f.

Today, Song Thrush singing strongly, couldn't locate across the river so walked round to the other side of the river to get a good view

Goldcrest (below the Song Thrush), the best view I've ever had of one; very wide, raised and orangey crest. Had to look at various images and the BTO video to convince myself it wasn't a Firecrest - but didn't see any black/white stripiness across & above the eye but the colour intensity of the raised crest had me wondering for some time - probably just an angry male.

But, at last after nearly 2 years of waiting to see one from "my" stretch of the Irwell - a Peregrine flew over

---

River level not totally back down and very little on the water:

• Goosander - 2 M
• Goldeneye - 1 M

But, at last after nearly 2 years of waiting to see one from "my" stretch of the Irwell - a Peregrine flew over

Goldeneye numbers still increasing...

• Mon  5 M, 11 F
• Tue   7 M, 15 F
• Wed  4 M, 19 F
• Thu   8 M, 21 F

Last visit this week

23 Goldeneye today (Wed), but only 4M - which means at least 4 of the F are "new" since yesterday - wonder how many of the other 19 were the same birds as yesterday

Pink-footed Goose has gone elsewhere 

"My" stretch of the Irwell just now (Tue 16th 14:30)...

22 Goldeneye, 7M 15 F

1 Pink-footed Goose - with some Canada Geese - quite likely the same one Zoe saw further upstream the other day - almost as tame as the Canadas, happy with me less than 10' away - photos from Smartphone

1 Goosander M - first male I've seen on this stretch for a little while

Where is the Jubilee bridge? - couldn't find it as one of the named bridges on Google Maps

Today on "my" stretch between Broughton Road bridge and the Adelphi footbridge...

• 16 Goldeneye; 5 M, 11F, 3 of the males displaying
• 2 Heron
• Greylag Goose amongst the Canada Geese - it's been seen with them for several years now but first time I've seen it here for a few months
• 2 Goosanders, both F
• Kingfisher flypast - first one I've seen since before all the storms and high river levels
• Little Grebe
• Small flock of Long-tailed tits

Just now...

Goldeneye 7 females, 3 males displaying - beautiful

Little Grebe - just the 1, only see these occasionally

Long-tailed Tits - party of 10-15, but today I was ahead of them so some great close views as they went past

Judging by the debris line, the river is about 10' lower than its peak level in the last few weeks.

-- Edited by Michael Hood on Tuesday 9th of January 2024 02:27:58 PM

Not in great numbers but the Goldeneye have still been around - 2 pairs today

Similarly Goosanders but sightings are currently irregular - 1 pair today

The Goldeneye are back on ("my" little stretch of) the Irwell in the middle of Salford

Rubbish photo (phone, max zoom, couldn't see screen because of sunlight, real point and shoot), 15 of them, 6m 9f

Not seen any Goosanders around for a while

On "my little stretch" - between Broughton Bridge and the Adelphi footbridge. The river level's been pretty high for the last week or two (highest yesterday), and no Goosanders have been seen in that time - presumably on a more favourable (for them) stretch or elsewhere.

But in the last 2 days I've seen 3 "new" species:

• Greenfinch
• Mistle Thrush x2
• Great spotted Woodpecker - I've previously heard them here

But the best spots today were:

• Grey Wagtail hitching a ride on a bit of wood floating down the river - surreal

I also (after being asked by a local what the "big box" was) found what appears to be a Sand Martin nesting "box" on the bank below Broughton Bridge - it's apparently been there for 10-15 years - anyone know anything about this? - obviously I'll see next year if it's still in use.

16/10/23 Afternoon

River Irwell

9 Goosander

2 Heron

3 Grey Wagtail

Rose Ringed Parakeets calling 

1 Little Grebe 

Quite a large flock of Long Tailed Tit

Wetlands

2 Stonechat (male & female)

2 Little Grebe

4 Tufted Duck

Good day today on "my little stretch"...

Little Egret on the shingle area between the Adelphi footbridge and the weir upstream - think that's the 4th time I've seen one in the last 17 months since I started coming down here.

A Kingfisher which stayed in one spot for over 10 minutes (still there when I left).

The river levels have been low for the last week or so - no surprise - and as clear as I've yet seen; last week you could easily see the Goosanders (in detail) underwater with the naked eye when they were fishing.

Saw a Garden Warbler on the city-centre side of the river a couple of weeks ago but forgot to report it at the time.

The usual heron and Goosanders (15) today

Not surprisingly the river's been quite high after the weekend's incessant rain:

• Yesterday the only bird "on" the river was a Heron patiently standing near the edge
• Today the water level was still high but it had dropped by 88cm (assuming the scale under Broughton Bridge is metric)
• Today Goosanders and Cormorants were back on the water fishing

I saw a Kingfisher the day after my previous post (only because it was disturbed by a Cormorant's fishing) but I've also seen a couple of times since then - not expecting to see at the moment whilst the water's high and fast.

On "my little stretch" today - a Little Egret, think that's the third time I've seen one here in about 15 months - it was doing a fair bit of fishing, successfully.

The 3 Goosanderlings that have grown up on this part of the river have been allowed out on their own for the last couple of weeks. They're difficult to identify when amongst adult birds if they're just resting, but when moving they're easy to spot because they tend to zoom around more than the adults and also because they go around as a tight threesome, almost always diving together.

Still no recent Kingfisher sighting.

On "my little stretch"...

• Only a few Goosander today - males moulting
• But a pair of Teal - only 2nd time I've seen them here
• Several Grey Wagtail - some juvenile
• Not seen a Kingfisher for several months
• Blackcap heard singing (on Mon) but not seen

Juvenile's day today:

• 3 Heron, 2 young + bored parent (presumably) on the left - poor quality photo - budget smartphone at max zoom
• Goosander with 3 young - with all the Goosanders how comes I don't see more young?
• Canada Geese goslings - loads, 25+, several broods are in a creche

Haven't seen a Kingfisher for ages, even though the water levels/flow/speed are now suitably down, I think this isn't a nesting area of the river so they won't be back quite yet

The male Goosanders are losing their green heads already

First visit for 5 weeks; river levels down, Goosander back in numbers...

58 Goosander in the attached photo (budget smartphone "quality"), another 22 within 200m downstream

Amongst the Canada Geese, a pair with 16 goslings

The lone Heron seemed a bit mundane compared with yesterday's Little Bittern (not in UK)

I was wrong, single male Goldeneye spotted downstream from Broughton Bridge (one end of my stretch).

On "my" stretch of the Irwell...

Goldeneyes have almost certainly gone for this winter - been over a week since I've seen one here and that was only a single male for a couple of days

Not seen a Kingfisher for a while - I think the water level's too high and too fast

Goosander numbers seem to be increasing - 19 today

And surprisingly, a Chiffchaff in the trees on the other side - not really surprising at this time of year, just surprised that the Irwell would be the first place I'd see one

Still seeing a few Goldeneye on "my" stretch of the Irwell, 6 yesterday (5M, 1F), only 2M today.

I'm getting the feeling that the Goosanders are pairing up - seeing more M+F together rather than groups of M or F.

Afternoon

River Irwell

4 Goldeneye  (2 Duck 2 Drake)

5 Goosander (2 duck 3 drake)

Wetlands 

6 Little Grebe 

2 Shoveler (pair feeding together)

1 Reed Bunting (female)

Some Goldeneye present every time I've been along "my" bit of the Irwell, not large amounts (up to 12) but never absent. Full, fast river doesn't bother them.

Seen at least 1 Goosander nearly every time as well, both male and female but no large groups.

1 Kingfisher - first sighting for several weeks