Understand your thoughts about keeping on topic, and if anything develops wrt Pied Flys in Lyme, South Manchester Ringing Group will reveal all. Perhaps we need to move the nest boxes to keep the birds? In the last 5 years we have lost 5 sites within a few miles of Lyme which each had multiple pairs of Pied Flys in the past.
The last brood of Redstart was ringed in a Lyme box in 2006, the last Tree Pipit in 1989 and the last Wood Warblers in 1978.

Hi Chaps,

We seem to be going a little off the Lyme Park thread here.

Just to refresh memories and bring this to the top of the thread - Crow Wood, a prime woodland site for breeding Pied Flycatchers, is currently being developed as a 'PlayScape' activity area. Trees next to a recently active nest box have been reduced to 20 foot stumps. I'm told the project is hoped to bring in c30,000 bodies per year. I would be surprised if the Pied Flycatchers linger.

Cheers, John

this spring my personnal woodpecker sightings at marbury and more

visits to marbury 5,

lessers heard drumming 7 times lessers sighted 0

great spotteds sighted everytime just go look at the woodland bird feeder for about 10 minutes. plus one very noisy juvenile sticking it's head out of a nest hole in big wood.

greens sighted 3 times from grassy patch behind lake hide at top of steps calling from top of tall trees to left when facing lake

visits to moore 1

lessers heard drumming 1 lessers sighted 1 jobs a goodun. though it did take 12 hours of searcing to find it.

2 great spotted sighted 20 yards from car park.
greens 0

Well worth giving Moore Nature Reserve a try.

You really can't go wrong in most places these days with Great-Spotteds but Dunham is definately the best place I know for Greens and Moore is the place for Lessers although as Rob says, Marbury is great too.

Wythenshawe Park has them all too but finding them is another matter!!!

Good luck with the hat-trick!!!

Marbury in spring is hard to beat for the Woodpecker Trio, and Dunham Park pretty good too though Lesser reports seemed down this year.

Scott Reid wrote:

---

Thanks for that guys! Atleast I know they are there...I will have to go and get my woodpecker hat-trick another day!

---

Scott, best place I know for a possible Woodpecker hatrick is Brabyns Park in Marple...GS and LS usually in wooded area close to the Iron Bridge and Green sometimes in the field close to recently flattened BMX humps.

I've never seen all 3 in one day though

Anthony

Thanks for that guys! Atleast I know they are there...I will have to go and get my woodpecker hat-trick another day!

I spent the majority of my day in and around the woods and moors by the second, smaller, car park when you go through the cattle grid from the main car park. This is where I had the spotted fly, aswell as most of the other woodland birds I had. The wood is very narrow but very long. When you start to get to the end of the woods it pays to go up to the moors that look over the canopy. This is where I had Green woody, LS woody calling, willow warbler, curlew, skylark and Tripit.

I will definatly venture over the other side towards the deer park next time and see if I have any luck over there.

Cheers

Scott

I saw LS Woodpecker twice over two days between last christmas and New Year...First time was in the woodland near to the cage at the bottom of the Deer park, second time at the edge of the woodland next to the path at the top of the Deer park.

Anthony

Scott Reid wrote:

---

I was also pretty sure I heard LS woodpecker calling aswell and if I'd had one it would have been the first time I'd ever seen all 3 woodys on the same day. Can anyone confirm if they have been recorded there in the past, in the woodland at the back right corner of the park?

---

A friend reported a LSW on New Year's Day from within the park (not sure where exactly) so it's quite possible you did hear one.

I'd also heard that Pied Flys were around the gardens and historically they have bred in the Fallow Deer area but access is restricted here.

Where was your Spot Fly? I haven't seen one there this year.

Cheers, John

A great day at Lyme park today between 08:00 and 13:00 -

Highlights included:

Pied flycatcher (1 female and possibly 1 juv. in the woodland by the second car park)
Spotted flycatcher 1
Nuthatch 4
Tree creeper 5
GS woodpecker 2
Green woodpecker 1
Willow warbler 2
Chiffchaff 6
Goldcrest 1+
Tree pipit 1
Medow Pipit 3
Skylark 3 (more calling)
Curlew (1 calling)
Kestrel 2

I was also pretty sure I heard LS woodpecker calling aswell and if I'd had one it would have been the first time I'd ever seen all 3 woodys on the same day. Can anyone confirm
if they have been recorded there in the past, in the woodland at the back right corner of the park?

Also great numbers of Coal tit families in the pine forests. Good numbers of Blue, Great and Long-tailed tit families. Also good numbers of Wrens, Dunnok, Robin, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Jay, Song thrush, Mistle thrush and Blackbird.

Was hoping for Redstart and very optemistically hoping for Wheatear but the woodland and the moors produced neither.

Despite the great day I was disappointed to see the work taking place in crow wood! Needless and thoughtless!! Atleast the Pied flys are still using the park but it's a great shame that their previuos nest site has been disturbed!

Scott








-- Edited by Scott Reid on Thursday 24th of June 2010 11:24:11 PM

Hi Ian,

I wasn't having a pop at NT volunteers who, I would agree, do a sterling job.

These particular guys, however, whilst no doubt excellent dry stone wall builders, gave me the impression that they wouldn't know a Pied Flycatcher from a sausage roll, nor care if no-one ever saw one again.

I now understand that notices about this work have been posted around the park for some months.

I was just curious whether any group with a natural history interest was consulted beforehand. High Peak RSPB and Lyme Naturalists first came to mind, but who rings the nestlings here? South Manchester Ringing Group?

Perhaps someone out there who reads this forum knows the answers.

Cheers, John

A similar thing happened at Rivington with construction of the "Go Ape" "attraction", much to to consternation of Bolton birders

Steve

I can't speak on the specific incident, but i have worked as a volounteer at lyme park a few times and other NT sites accross uk. Its very unlikely a healthy tree would be felled. They have to do surveys of all trees on risk assesment. There was a very bad accident at Dunham a few years ago with a tree that fell. Trees that are damaged or decaying and pose a risk and may be cleared. They have a life span and the site hasto be managed. They also have their own expert help in drawing up management plans that are comprehensive.

The wardens on this site and others do much more than the basic requirements of their job. Its more a vocation. Many have been volounters themselves before they become wardens. The wardens on all sites I worked on without exception were dedicated people with a great interest and understanding in all flora and fauna. Lyme Part used to be managed by Stockport Council and I think it has done much better under the NT. Perhaps it is more a lack of explanation of the work they were doing. They can't allow access to obvious work areas for health and safety reasons.

You can get some insight into the work they do by volounteering at a local site for an afternoon or on a working holiday for a weekend, or longer. It good fun and an eye opener . A taster was a montague harrier in south uk shown to us by a warden, an active plan to help twites at Marsden again shown by a warden, and best was staying on Brownsea Islandand then be able to bird spot when all the visitors had left. These places would not exist without the dedication and work of the wardens.

Other sites 'managed' by others sometimes and often SSSI make you want to cry or scream or both and thats not lack of explanation it appears simple neglect.

Cheers

Ian

>

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Thursday 17th of June 2010 01:00:00 AM

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Thursday 17th of June 2010 01:09:03 AM

I had a cycle ride out of GM and into Cheshire today to visit Lyme Park. Having failed completely at Etherow CP, the target here was Pied Flycatcher but I was horrified when I got to my favourite site, Crow Wood, to find no public access on either footpath because of the construction of a new activity 'Playscape' centre.

I wasn't allowed in but I could see from the outside that a couple of mature trees had been reduced to stumps, presumably for the construction of a rope slide. The whole construction site is next to a tree that contained an active nestbox in 2009 and seemed to run the length of the wood. Why, oh why, have they chosen a wood which has an active nest box programme and has (had) a thriving colony of Pied Flys.

I had words with a couple of NT volunteers and asked the question but got 'because it's the best place for it' and ' the birds will come back anyway'. If they do they will have to put up with a load more noise and disturbance in what was a very tranquil part of the park. The NT stewardship here leave a lot to be desired. Were High Peak RSPB or Lyme Naturalists consulted? I doubt it!

Within GM all I could muster was a Sparrowhawk mobbing a Buzzard and a curious squeaky call I didn't recognise on the Middlewood Way. The only birds that could have been making the call were either an adult female Blackcap or an adult Garden Warbler, both of which were in a bush within 6 feet of each other. Not sure which was calling. but no youngsters seemed to be present (I thought at first perhaps it was some sort of begging call).

Cheers, John

-- Edited by John Rayner on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 06:06:48 PM

Redstart and Pied Flycatcher singing near main car park/Crow Wood with a second Redstart in Pursefield Wood and Green Woodpecker, Tree Pipit in Cluse Hay.
(Tree Pipit and Meadow Pipit hind claws studied at length - literally!)

Cheers, John

Not sure they've been seen in our county yet, but Pied fly and redstart both back at Lyme this week (Tuesday and Thursday respectively). Chance for Etherow CP area over this weekend I would think?

Andy B

I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Not that I don't want to, it was information received from my brother. It was certainly singing though, but he was not able to get out into the same area yesterday so no update available.

Hi Andy,

Was up in Crow Wood today and found 3 male and a ringed female Pied Flycatcher plus a male Redstart.

Where was your Wood Warbler and was it vocal? I missed that one.

Cheers, John

Up to six pied flycatchers on Tuesday, and a wood warbler yesterday. Coming soon to our county???!!!