Had a morning at Hale Head, Widnes taking part in day one of the National Migration Watch series. The watch started at 06.45 and finished at 13.00 although I wasn't there all of the time. In total 513 individual birds and 12 species where counted. The full list was Merlin 2, Hobby 1, Skylark 54, Swallow 1...
26/07/2012 - Fermyn, Lady and Souther Woods, Northamptonshire: Thanks to some useful info from John Rayner I headed down to these ancient woods with Mike Duckham. Butterflies were the main draw, including the stunning and sizeable Purple Emperor: 3 Purple Emperors - numbers lower now but some col...
A fishing pool a mile or so south of Sandiway, best accessed from the Nova Scotia Lane/Sandy Lane end (the east end). Redhead Smew fishing at the western end close up against the bank at 1530 today. Been there a couple of days. Another birder there intimated that it had been at Astbury Mere and Westport L...
Having not seen any peregrines for several weeks I thought they had finally vacated for the winter. This afternoon though, I saw 2 (1 adult, 1 1st year), chasing each other around St Peter's square for about 5 minutes, before settling on the Town Hall, just before dusk, approx 4pm. Not sure if they were...
16/6/2007 Oystercatcher - 4 G C Grebe - 6 Grey Wagtail - Adult feeding 1 Juv G S Woodpecker Pheasant 2 young Fox's. Some of you might remember this site for the drake Long Tailed Duck a few years back that stayed for about a month, its certainly an interesting area with potential, abit underwatched but no...
Having spent the winter completing surveys around Barnby Dun I am now able to get to others sites with the light being longer, so hope to post more sightings from my visits from now on, from South Yorkshire in general. It is interesting to see some of the wintering birds reducing in numbers, but some lik...
Chiffchaff along hedgerow between Flixton E.T.W. and Manchester Ship Canal at 14.10 also Kingfisher flying along ship canal -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 5th of July 2010 02:27:17 PM-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 30th of March 2014 03:51:08 PM
8-30-9-30am 3 Little Gulls (2 adult summers) 2 Common Terns 2 Sedge Warblers -- Edited by warfy at 15:29, 2007-05-03-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 3rd of May 2012 04:48:26 PM
Thought I'd start a specific thread for this lovely place seen as I've just moved to a house that backs onto it. A walk from 9-10.30 this morning produced: 800 Wood Pigeon over, incuding a single flock of 700, 3 Goosander, Redwing, Meadow Pipit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Bullfinch, Nuthatch, 6 Gold...
Between 10.30am - 2.30pm today Peat pools were very quiet , just the Plovers and Reedbuntings and 2 Buzzards over Over and around Astley Moss and Rindle road, 2 Buzzards 5 Yellowhammers 6 Tree sparrows 8 Reed buntings 2 Jays 2 Skylarks 4 Mpipits 2 Whitethroat 2 Willow warblers 1 Whimbrel and 1 Sparrowh...
fairbrother st, 7.30am 12 mallard 4 cormorant 4 coot 1 mute swan 1 little grebe 1 sparrowhawk 1 kingfisher 2 blckbird 2 wren 2 swallow the sparrow hawk didn,t see the kingfisher,i,m pretty sure the kingfisher is a resident somewhere between clippers quay and harry ramsdens,hopfully there are more t...
Pair of Stonechats yesterday(07.03.09) at Gaitworth/Gatewarth, showing well in scrub and opener area just into reserve, over wooden bridge past Level Crossing. Jack Snipe feeding on island in the wader scrape at Pickerings Pasture today (08.03.09) 5.00pm-ish. Peregrine over here, landed on s...
Morning visit with dog included:- Grey Wagtail Stock Dove Shelduck Peregrine Great Spotted Woodpecker Nuthatch Coal Tit Buzzard Shoveler Teal Gadwall Lapwing Cormorant Bullfinch + other usual species (45+ in total) A pair of Scaup were on Neumans Flash apparently and I heard a Lesser Spotted Woo...
The county of Greater Manchester is divided into ten boroughs, each with varying degrees of prime birding habitat. Keeping a borough list is ideal for those birders not wishing to travel too far around the county and instead focus their attention on birding in their more immediate vicinity.Lists c...
At Marbury today with Henry C looking for the reported Hawfinch - no luck. Nothing at Haydns Pool either except the rangers building a Sand Martin bank. However, on the mere we had excellent views of a couple of Kingfisher, a Raven over and at the end really close sightings of a Water Rail - didn't realis...
Great tits have nested in a box in my garden this year, i am waiting with anticipation as to see how many will fledge. Parents have been feeding none stop for a while now and the chicks are getting louder by the day i think they will be off any time now. Also of note over the last few days 2 Jays gs woodpecker 2 n...
16/3/07 3 Curlew - Burnt Edge Raven - Wildersmoor 2 m. Stonechat - Smithills Moor Kestrel several Coal Tit - Wilderswood a Grey Heron over the top of Two Lads Hill had me quivering momentarily ! -- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 14:44, 2007-07-17
Both of these great sites are vastly underwatched. I went for an hour this afternoon and found a few good sightings, including a couple of year listers: Grasshopper warbler (another heard) Sedge warbler Whitethroat-6 Blackcap (male) Swallow-10 Grey partridge-2 Kestrel Skylark-15 Reed bunting...
Astley moss Saturday 01/10 1 Stoat and a Wood mouse in the fields around Rindle road. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 28th of June 2015 09:57:03 AM
I think with this post i will tell you about some of the great places i visited for birding around north wales and Anglesey,starting with the latter.Cemlyn on Anglesey is a brilliant spot on the west coast with waders in abundance dunlin,turnstone,sanderling, oyster catchers,redshank,curlew,r...
As this is such a long route, stretching from Audenshaw to Chorlton, I think it deserves its own thread. There are basically 30 bridges on the cycle/walking route, from bridge 30 at St Werburg's Road tram stop in Chorlton, back to the start just West of Audenshaw Reservoirs. I cycle it at least a few tim...
Vale Royal Locks to Winsford (PM) I was advised by a nature lover from Northwich that this area is a hotspot for Grass Snakes, alas I didn't find any. It's a walk worth doing though, no uncommon birds about, but lots of wildlife, and at this time of year a botanical gem, especially the marshy areas adjoin...
14/5/07 late afternoon
Spotted Flycatcher along Longworth Lane, by Dunscar Golf Club, Bolton. (whilst looking for Wood Warbler, of which neither sight nor sound - but I could have been in the wrong area ? )
we've now been here a week of what is essentially a family visit involving socialising, sight seeing, working on the farm, with some birding when the opportunity presents itself. A few common species were frequenting the garden of the Bangkok house, with Pied Fantails zipping around in typical fas...
A quick walk down the old Tyldesley Loopline near my house this evening produced the following birds: 3 Chiffchaffs singing and two seen 1 very vocal Wren 2 Robins proclaiming their territory 3 Blackbirds 1 Goldfinch 2 Magpies 2 Great Tits 2 Blue Tits 1 Carrion Crow over Several Gulls over Numerous Wo...
