Thanks for all the posts, for sharing memories, I have spent a large part of the last 7 years watching the site and can honestly say that there is always something new to see
The site list for the Salford docklands area (from Ordsall Beach at Pomona Docks to the Centenary Bridge at Weaste) is now 121 species, a big total for a "makeshift" urban nature reserve
Although birding can be hard work at this site (perhaps true for many local patches!), it can be very rewarding, and it is possible to see 50 species during a calendar day (in the Spring and Autumn), and to get to a patch-list of 100 species
For birders who have not visited, there is a site guide in the County Birding Site Guides, see Salford Quays SBI, and for eco-birders/urban birders it is very easy to reach on the Metrolink (Cornbrook, Pomona, Salford Quays, Harbour City and Broadway)
Good birding!
Andy Bissitt said
Thu Feb 19 9:24 PM, 2015
I used to see them from Trafford Rd. swing bridge back in the '77 - '79 period when me, my brother and a couple of mates used to walk from Ordsall to Stretford Sports centre and back (with two hours table tennis in between. I was fit then!). Never really knew what species they were until I got further into the hobby and started picking up annual reports at the RSPB film nights at the Free Trade Hall. Those were the days/nights!!
pete berry said
Thu Feb 19 7:33 PM, 2015
I actually discovered the nocturnal feeding birds there back in the early 1980's after coming out of the pictures at the Quays and seeing all the birds from the car park.In those days we got 3000 plus Pochard which either roosted at Rostherne or Chorlton Water Park in the daytime and flew to the docks to feed at night,quite an impressive sight with only a few streetlights to illuminate the scene.This had probably been occurring for quite a number of years prior to this as large nos. of Pochard had been seen roosting at Rostherne,but had never been observed feeding there.We also used to get in excess of 1000 Tufted Duck,the majority of which used to prefer to roost at Heaton Park Reservoir !!.Stu Marsden a pal of mine got a grant to do survey work on these birds,and by going out in a boat a taking mud samples from the docks,found that the birds were probably feeding on a type of bloodworm larvae,over a 1000 were counted in one pint of mud !!!,the polluted water obviously was an ideal breeding ground for these larvae which must have been an important and plentiful source of food for these birds.This number of Aytheas also pulled a number of rarer species and we had several Ferruginous and at least 3 Ring Necked Ducks during this period,plus many weird and wonderful Aythea hybrids. Unfortunately when the docks(or Quays as they are now known) was aereated to improve the water quality it must have killed off this plentiful source of food which preferred more polluted type of water, and numbers have declined dramatically since then,isn't progress wonderful.
steven burke said
Wed Feb 18 6:29 PM, 2015
Tony Darby wrote:
How many Pochard are you getting on the Quays at the moment James? The combined number from Chorlton WP and Platt Fields over the last week have been in the low 30s. Does this correspond to what you've seen at night?
Tony I had the highest count so far just after 10pm last night of 22 pochard & 48 tufted duck.
Tony Darby said
Wed Feb 18 3:49 PM, 2015
How many Pochard are you getting on the Quays at the moment James? The combined number from Chorlton WP and Platt Fields over the last week have been in the low 30s. Does this correspond to what you've seen at night?
John Doherty said
Wed Feb 18 11:15 AM, 2015
Interesting. I have a pair of cheapo backup binocs with night-vision - wonder if they worked and what they would pick up?
James Walsh said
Wed Feb 18 8:35 AM, 2015
For any birders who want to take their birding to the next level, try moon-light/street-light birding at Salford Quays, a magical experience, with Pochard, Tufted Ducks and Mute Swans all visible
At this site, you can literally go birding 24 hours per day, with the Aythyas being seen from around 8pm to around 5:30am, perfect if you're over watching Coronation Street or a bit of an insomniac!
This phenomena is not new, it first happened in the 1980's when thousands of Aythyas spent the day at Chorlton Water Park and then flew to the docklands to feed - though the post-industrial water looked dirty it was actually perfect conditions for diving ducks such as Pochard and Tufted Ducks. The birds spent the day at Chorlton Water Park then flew to the docklands to feed through the night. Teams, including student conservationists from Manchester University, used to count the birds using the moon-light and street lights
These flocks attracted rarer species such as Greater Scaup (up to 27 birds), and the rarest bird species ever to be recorded at the docklands, Ferruginous Duck
However, the cleaning of the water of the docklands for The Commonwealth Games water events in 2002 combined with smaller numbers of Pochard visiting the British Isles from Eastern Europe and Russia during the winter, possibly due to global warming, has seen declining numbers of Pochard at the site
The birds that are visiting Salford Quays at the moment are, perhaps, also visiting from Chorlton Water Park where similar numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck have been seen this year
For birders who are interested in the science of this phenomena, there is a paper available on Cambridge University Press / Cambridge Journals, courtesy of S.J. Marsden and G.S. Bellamy
Environmental Conservation / Volume / Issue 03 / September 2000, pp 278-2832000 Foundation for Environmental Conservation
Microhabitat characteristics of feeding sites used by diving duck Aythya wintering on the grossly polluted Manchester Ship Canal, UK
The site list for the Salford docklands area (from Ordsall Beach at Pomona Docks to the Centenary Bridge at Weaste) is now 121 species, a big total for a "makeshift" urban nature reserve
Although birding can be hard work at this site (perhaps true for many local patches!), it can be very rewarding, and it is possible to see 50 species during a calendar day (in the Spring and Autumn), and to get to a patch-list of 100 species
For birders who have not visited, there is a site guide in the County Birding Site Guides, see Salford Quays SBI, and for eco-birders/urban birders it is very easy to reach on the Metrolink (Cornbrook, Pomona, Salford Quays, Harbour City and Broadway)
Good birding!
I actually discovered the nocturnal feeding birds there back in the early 1980's after coming out of the pictures at the Quays and seeing all the birds from the car park.In those days we got 3000 plus Pochard which either roosted at Rostherne or Chorlton Water Park in the daytime and flew to the docks to feed at night,quite an impressive sight with only a few streetlights to illuminate the scene.This had probably been occurring for quite a number of years prior to this as large nos. of Pochard had been seen roosting at Rostherne,but had never been observed feeding there.We also used to get in excess of 1000 Tufted Duck,the majority of which used to prefer to roost at Heaton Park Reservoir !!.Stu Marsden a pal of mine got a grant to do survey work on these birds,and by going out in a boat a taking mud samples from the docks,found that the birds were probably feeding on a type of bloodworm larvae,over a 1000 were counted in one pint of mud !!!,the polluted water obviously was an ideal breeding ground for these larvae which must have been an important and plentiful source of food for these birds.This number of Aytheas also pulled a number of rarer species and we had several Ferruginous and at least 3 Ring Necked Ducks during this period,plus many weird and wonderful Aythea hybrids.
Unfortunately when the docks(or Quays as they are now known) was aereated to improve the water quality it must have killed off this plentiful source of food which preferred more polluted type of water, and numbers have declined dramatically since then,isn't progress wonderful.
Tony I had the highest count so far just after 10pm last night of 22 pochard & 48 tufted duck.
and Platt Fields over the last week have been in the low 30s. Does this correspond to what you've seen at night?
At this site, you can literally go birding 24 hours per day, with the Aythyas being seen from around 8pm to around 5:30am, perfect if you're over watching Coronation Street or a bit of an insomniac!
This phenomena is not new, it first happened in the 1980's when thousands of Aythyas spent the day at Chorlton Water Park and then flew to the docklands to feed - though the post-industrial water looked dirty it was actually perfect conditions for diving ducks such as Pochard and Tufted Ducks. The birds spent the day at Chorlton Water Park then flew to the docklands to feed through the night. Teams, including student conservationists from Manchester University, used to count the birds using the moon-light and street lights
These flocks attracted rarer species such as Greater Scaup (up to 27 birds), and the rarest bird species ever to be recorded at the docklands, Ferruginous Duck
However, the cleaning of the water of the docklands for The Commonwealth Games water events in 2002 combined with smaller numbers of Pochard visiting the British Isles from Eastern Europe and Russia during the winter, possibly due to global warming, has seen declining numbers of Pochard at the site
The birds that are visiting Salford Quays at the moment are, perhaps, also visiting from Chorlton Water Park where similar numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck have been seen this year
For birders who are interested in the science of this phenomena, there is a paper available on Cambridge University Press / Cambridge Journals, courtesy of S.J. Marsden and G.S. Bellamy
Environmental Conservation / Volume / Issue 03 / September 2000, pp 278-2832000 Foundation for Environmental Conservation
Microhabitat characteristics of feeding sites used by diving duck Aythya wintering on the grossly polluted Manchester Ship Canal, UK