Hi Pete. Thanks for that, I'll pass on the news.

Hi, Stonechats still hanging on at the Merseyside coast between Crosby and Formby.I saw four birds here a few days ago, including two singing males.Last year, at least three pairs bred successfully along this 2km stretch of coast.

Hi Mike.
Seems the same is true everywhere. A friend in Liverpool, who does survey work for groups such as Natural England, commented on the lack of Stonechats in W. Lancs and said he'd heard that none bred successfully on that coast last year either

Much the same down here Mike. Very few Stonechat or Goldcrest. However, Long tailed Tit's seemed to have fared very well. Numbers are well up on normal in the Oldham area. Water birds are scarce at Castleshaw. The res was completly iced over for several weeks and all the birds moved off and many have not come back yet.

I'm looking every day for the return of our local Swallows which nest in the old farm buildings 150 yards from our back garden, but so far not a hint. I normally would expect to see them around April 5th and it's now 14th. (I have seen Swallows in the lower eastern parts of Co. Durham recently, but not in numbers). The season does seem to be behind, with very little in the way of leaves on trees, and although the Willow Warblers have arrived as usual, they are probably having to work harder to make a living just now. Our moorland Stonechats which have managed to successfully overwinter for the last 5 years or so at around 700/800 ft altitude have totally vanished, no doubt due to the prolonged period of snow cover this winter, and since the turn of the year I have yet to bump into a Stonechat in Britain. Goldcrest numbers are well down, with just a scatter of records since early December and it will probably take a year or two for them to recover. I wonder if any particular species are seemingly scarcer round Manchester? Cheers, Mike P.