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Post Info TOPIC: ELTON RESERVOIR


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RE: ELTON RESERVOIR


Mid morning

110 Tufted Duck and 3 Wigeon withins

Swallows and House Martins passing through in small numbers

Buzzard - Coney Green

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Walk around Elton Reservoir only this evening. 4 Chiffchaff. . 4 Little Grebe. 2 In Creek, 2 at Capsticks end of Res. . 2 Gadwall. Drakes. . 1 Drake Pochard. . 6 Teal. . 12 Tufted Ducks joined by another 32 at 17:15pm. . 1 Buzzard. . 1 Sparrowhawk. . Only a handful of Swallows and House Martins high up passing through. . Cheers Steven

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This morning

Pintail - juv with Mallard at wader point but later flew off when Dog walkers flushed it
2 Shoveler
3 Gadwall
6 Teal
Pochard - male
85 Tufted Duck
260 Coot
3 Little Grebe
200 + Meadow Pipit south
100+ Swallow
60+ House Martin

Yesterday mid morning 9 Buzzards moved through

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2pm Two buzzards slowly soaring over Ainsworth Rd from the direction of Withins Reservoir. 



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This afternoon -

3 Wigeon

Common Sandpiper

Buzzard

Great Spotted Woodpecker

7 Teal

 



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06:30-11:15am 1 Spotted Flycatcher in Dip. . 59 Tufted Duck . . 2 Gadwall. . 6 Teal. . 3 Goosander on River. . 2 Kingfishers. . 4 Snipe. . 1 Peregrine Falcon. . 2 Buzzards. . 3 Kestrels. . 1 Possible Merlin at flying low across canal near Crow Trees but to quick a view to be sure. . Mixed flocks of Swallows and House Martins heading south. . 9 Chiffchaff. . 2 Goldcrest. . Cheers Steven

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Female Merlin carrying prey item low across Old Hall Farm seen from along the canal at 14:55. It flew into a willow bush out of sight.



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Stonechat sat on a small hawthorn bush on the road up to Old Hall Farm, viewed from a wall this afternoon.



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This am with Malcolm, 45 Pink-footed Geese East at 9.08, 1 Peregrine, 500ish House Martin with fewer Swallow a small number of Sand Martin and 1 Swift. Also 40 Meadow Pipit amongst Highland cattle.
Cheers Ian

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8-9 this am, trying not to exaggerate but approx 1,500 mixed Swallow and House Martin over the res an awesome sight. Also 1 Common Sandpiper and 34 passing Meadow Pipit.
Cheers Ian

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So far this am with Brian and Malcolm, 7.30-8.30, 1 Arctic Tern, 4 Swift, 1 Tree Pipit(heard), 20 Meadow Pipit, 1 Common Sandpiper, huge numbers of House Martin and Swallows with fewer Sand Martin.
Cheers Ian

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This am 8-9 in heavy rain, at least 500 Swallow, 40 House and 4 Sand Martin over the res. an amazing sight in the rain and worth getting wet for. Also 9 Teal and 4 Gadwall.
Cheers Ian

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this morning

Cream Crown Marsh Harrier - distant bird over Bradley Fold - west
Peregrine
Buzzard
4 Redshank west
Dunlin west
Swift south
1000+ House Martin south with around 200+ on the res
500+ Swallow south with 300+ on res
500+ Meadow Pipit south
9 Grey Wagtail south
Skylark
4 Gadwall
5 Teal
2 Little Grebe
2 Kingfisher


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In torrential rain this morning

7 Gadwall
10 Snipe (7 on old hall flood)
56 Mallard - wader point
Swift south
355+ Swallow (155 south and 200+ on res)
5+ Sand Martin
60 House Martin
Little Grebe


And I wasn't the only mad one out this morning thanks for the lift home Steve H, think Ian C had the right idea by not even getting out of the car

bleh

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also today

3 duck sp south high directly over the pump house looked good for Pintail but got on them too late to 100% confirm
Swift south
36 Meadow Pipit various directions but mainly S/SW
4 Grey Wagtail south
Skylark south
7 Sand Martin south plus 10 on res
98 House Martin south plus 200 on res during rain
152 Swallow south
5 Gadwall
300+ Lapwing
6 Blackcap
Redstart - Elton Goyt
Buzzard
2 Stock Dove

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After a circuit of Withins and the canal in the rain, the House Martin numbers on the res had increased to about 100. 1 Sand Martin with them and a  Peregrine with prey on top of the pylon to the west of the car park.



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This am, juv Ruff still present with 2 Common Sandpiper also approx 70 House Martin and 8 Meadow Pipit over. In highland cattle field 200 Goldfinch, 40 Pied Wagtail, 7 Snipe and 13 Teal. 2 Kingfisher on river and Simon had a Redstart.
Cheers Ian

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2 Little Egret in Dolly Brook below the pump house.

Redstart below Withins Res. in hedge at the double gates.

Teal numbers up to 13 now along the canal.

 



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12:50 2:15

Whitethroat, chiffchaff and willow warblers around the creek.

Four cormorants, 60+ black-headed gulls, 30+ coot and 5 great-crested grebe on the reservoir. Sand martins, house martins, swallow and one swift hawking over the water.

2 ruff on wader point, two redshank also flew in just to create a couple of minutes' confusion.

 



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16:00-18:15pm

1 First Winter Kittiwake flew through heading west towards lowercroft.
2 Ruff giving me great views landing within 8 ft of me. Photos attached.
2 Great Black Backed Gull adult.
1 Common Gull.
3 Tufted Ducks.

Cheers Steven

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Whinchat again this afternoon. Appeared in the same location as yesterday on a stem of dock. I presume it's the same bird.



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This am with Malcolm, 2 Ruff, 34 Cormorant, 2 Snipe and 3 Teal of note on the res. By the canal a further 3 Snipe and 9 Teal.
Cheers Ian

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2 juv Ruff currently feeding on the mud just off the creek towards wader point

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06:15-10:15am With Ian C Highlights out of 48 species seen.
2 Shelduck.
2 Gadwall.
7 Tufted Duck.
8 Teal.
2 Kingfisher.
1 Meadow Pipit.
25 Cormorant.
3 Common Gulls.
1 Snipe.
184 Lapwings.
Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat in most Hedgerows.
Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Bullfinch all present.

Cheers Steven



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Single Whinchat in Old Hall Farm field at 15:00 seen from along the canal.



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Quick walk round this morning and full site not covered

2 Spotted Flycatcher - creek
Redstart - coney Green
Yellow Wagtail SW
2 Swift
2 Gadwall
2 Teal
32 Cormorant
2 Whitethroat
6 Snipe - wader point

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To add to Simons post this Evening .
2 Adult Great Black Backed Gulls dropped onto the res.
The Gadwall flew towards Lowercroft around 7pm.
Also another Scaup faced Tufted turned up in Bay near Car park to add to the other 6 Tufted Ducks.

Cheers Steven.


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Early afternoon

4 Gadwall
2 Teal
Wheatear
6 Tufted duck (female showing white blaze)

And Going back to tufted/scaups if going off the bill pattern ( thanks Steve for pointing that out) and a few other features 2 of the 3 birds present previously were juv Scaup

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Lunchtime mooch 11:50-13:40

Tufted duck 6 males in various stages of leaving eclipse and a female

Cormorant 6

60 LBb gulls, 40 Herring gulls, 4 Common gulls 

Willow warbler one around every bend

Meadow pipits 1s over continually

House Martin c. 40

Swallow 6

Sand Martin 6



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This am with Malcolm, no sign of Scaup/Tufted today (thank God !!), 1 Common Sandpiper on res. and 4 Goosander over. 1 Peregrine on distant pylon, 2 Buzzard near crow trees and 2 Kestrel. 9 Teal and 4 Snipe on pond by canal.
Cheers Ian

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Simon Johnson wrote:

and 2 of the 3 Aytha's were again near the car park and i'm now not sure what they are!! confuse





It's always good to see experienced birders confused over relatively common birds - shows what an interesting pastime it is. It also shows how few field guides are up to the mark when it comes to non-adult plumages. Harris, Tucker & Vinicombe is where I look to sort out such confusion species and, looking back through the relevant section, the size and shape of the black tip of the bill is reckoned to be the best indicator. Sadly, none of the images really show this feature. For what it's worth (not very much, I hasten to say!) my money is on Scaup.

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Make of this what you will, I'm by no means saying what they are and please don't get disheartened but one of Tuesday's images seems to show a hint of a tuft that could be indicative of Tufted Duck. This feature is shown on the plate for Tufted Duck in the Collins, and incidentally the plate and the image match pretty well.
Cheers
Rob

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also this morning

Wheatear on pump house which flew off down res then later it or another was on the wires at old hall farm
3 Buzzard in the field at crow trees
240 Lapwing flew SW
12 Snipe south plus a further 11 landed in old hall marsh
Spotted Flycatcher
11 Goosander flew SE
7 Meadow pipits over
3 Tufted Duck

and 2 of the 3 Aytha's were again near the car park and i'm now not sure what they are!! confuse

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This am with Steven, Malcolm and partly Simon J, best was a Whinchat 2 Redstart and a Wheatear found by Simon near coney green, by the. Canal 9 Teal 4 Snipe and 59 Lapwing. A Peregrine was on one of the pylons and the Scaup/ Tufted confusion continues.
Cheers Ian

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Just thought I'd point out something that could be of interest?

I've noticed there has been some dispute about some scaups, if it helps, I cannot say whether the ducks I've seen in my previous post were the same ones in dispute, but the 3 I've seen were no doubt juvenile tufted ducks. Scaups are slightly larger, and even juveniles have a very finely patterned back according to my references, the ones I saw by the car park i got quite close too and my pictures show no evidence of amy degree of such markings, just the juvenile patterned wing sides. I must have been 20ft-30ft away at the time. I studed these pictures and there is little doupb in my mind.

If there were scaups about,i i therefore didn't see any of the like and were likely hidden on my visit??

-- Edited by Richard Thew on Wednesday 30th of August 2017 09:27:43 PM

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Which bird is ideal for keeping cakes in? I asked. The answer: a Bun-tin. http://www.flickr.com/photos/135715507@N06


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Having a walk around this Evening 30th August I came across an Injured Spotted Flycatcher that looks to have an Injured wing but not been able to catch it as keeping a small distance away photo attached. Also a couple of photos attached of the debated Scaup/Tufted Ducks.

-- Edited by Steven Higginbottom on Wednesday 30th of August 2017 10:54:24 PM

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Late afternoon ... looks like these aytha's are causing a bit of debate

3 birds feeding together close in to the car park 2 of which I'm happy with juvenile scaup. The third bird I think is a juvenile male but I'm not 100% sure on whether it's a Scaup or Tufted.

A 4th bird was sleeping out within the coot and eventually after being disturbed by these 3 birds started feeding with them and was also a juvenile scaup but for some reason unknown this bird spoked and flew off south

200+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
43 Herring Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
4 Buzzard
Peregrine

Old hall Marsh
2 Snipe
7 Teal

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I walked it home today after visiting Bury, gave me an opportunity to catch up on the Elton birds. Highlights include; 3 tufted ducks by the car park (apparently 2 had white patches on their face- something I haven't seen often around locally), several lesser black backed gulls with a couple of herring gulls, chiffchaff, willow warbler, reed bunting, kestrel, 3 snipes, 4 teal and my key highlight- a spotted flycatcher between the Creek and wader point. Ta!

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Which bird is ideal for keeping cakes in? I asked. The answer: a Bun-tin. http://www.flickr.com/photos/135715507@N06


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Quick visit before work 06;00-06:30am 2 Scaup. . 4 Tufted Duck. . 2 Gadwall 1F 1M. . 2 Kingfishers. . Cheers Steven.

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Also 1 Sparrowhawk over the canal and 1 Goosander on the river on a late morning visit after I left Ian and Brian.



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I am happy that 2 of them were certainly juvenile Scaup, photo's attached.
Also 226 Coot.

-- Edited by Simon Warford on Tuesday 29th of August 2017 10:45:46 PM

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This afternoon -

3 Buzzard and 6 Grey Heron in the recently cut hay field.

A flock of over 200 Goldfinch on the telegraph wires at Old Hall Farm.

37 Pied Wagtail in the sheep field.

Leucistic Wood Pigeon, almost pure white with grey smudges on the wings.

4 Snipe and a single Teal along the canal in the flooded field.

I also saw the Scaup / Tufted. It is my opinion that they are Scaup Faced Tufted, but I could be wrong.



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This am with Brian, 1 Peregrine, 1 Redshank, 7 Snipe, 2 Kingfisher. Then joined by Simon W who also had had 1 Common Sandpiper then 3 Redstart in Elton goyt. Then joined at the car park by Roger H and Malcolm where the real fun started trying to identify the 3 Scaup/Tufted present, after much discussion Simon left thinking 2 were juv. Scaup, more head scratching from us left us all still not confident as to what they were/are, aarrrggggh!!. Can anyone out there give an opinion?
Cheers Ian

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06:33-10:15 am with Ian, Brian, Beth & Malcolm.
1 Redshank.
2 Common Sandpipers.
1 Little Grebe.
1 Common Gull 1st one this autumn.
Good numbers of Willow Warblers. Chiffchaff's, Blackcap's and Whitethroats in the Hedgerows.
3 Snipe 1 fly over 2 in pool in Elton Goyt.
6 Pheasant.
2 Linnet.
1 Spotted flycatcher.
1 Kestrel .
2 Buzzards.
1 Peregrine falcon.
2 Tufted ducks that looked very much like Scaup photos attached.

Cheers Steven

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06:10-10:00 am with Ian C, Brian and Beth. A very quite morning with only 42 species seen.
1 Little Egret dropped in briefly near Car park as I was getting my scope out of the car.
1 Great Black Backed Gull 2nd year.
6 Swift.
13 Snipe in flight groups of 6, 1, 2, 4.
3 Goosander on River.
2 Kingfisher.
good number of Chiffchaff with fewer sightings of willow Warblers, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat.
80+Lapwings 35 flew over and 45+ in field Near crow Trees.
1 Kestrel.

Cheers Steven


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This am with Ian C and Malcolm. 1 Common Tern juvenile. 2 Great black backed gulls 1 juv 1 Adult . 1 Sparrowhawk. 2 Kestrels. 1 Snipe. 3 Whitethroat. 12 Chiffchaff. 1 Willow Warbler. 4 Blackcap headed. 4 Kingfishers. 1 Teal. Cheers Steven

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This am with Steven and Malcolm, 1 Common and 1 Arctic Tern, 18 Swift, 1 Peregrine, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Kingfisher and 1 Snipe. Steven earlier had numerous Chiffchaff also Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Garden Warbler. Water Rail heard in capsticks.
Cheers Ian

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Steve, yes I think I have off my camera. If you pm me your address I'll pick it up . Thanks.



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06:05-10:00am with Ian C. . 2 Little grebe. . 4 Common Terns. . 2 Raven. . 1 Spotted Flycatcher. . 1 Lesser Whitethroat. . 61 Lapwings over SW . 1 Teal . . Stuart have you dropped your lens cap as found one ? . Cheers Steven

-- Edited by Steven Higginbottom on Thursday 24th of August 2017 10:13:48 AM

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06:00-10:00am with Ian C highlights 1 Green Woodpecker in Elton Goyt and flew towards Old Hall Farm seen by Ian C. 1 Little Egret flew from Creek heading east. 1 Juv Arctic Tern through South. 1 Sparrowhawk Crow Trees. 150+ House martins with 100+ Swallows on wires fence's and hedges at Crow Trees. 10 Snipe Elton Goyt. Cheers Steven

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