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Post Info TOPIC: Chadkirk Country Estate


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RE: Chadkirk Country Estate


The little van that comes to take us birders away.smile.gif

Yellowhammers Rob. The farmer says there are quite a few breeding pairs. I hope to see them soon.

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Dave Pollard wrote:

...Also went to the private lane and got lots of small stuff but no Yellows unfortunatley, better luck next time...




This may be a stupid question, but what are these "Yellows" that you speak of? confused.gif

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Glad you saw them David. Was the private lane further on from where we stopped?

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Hi Geoff, and thanks for the message. I went too yesterday (early on) and saw the owl,plus its partner in the same tree. Took my wife this morning and the male was sitting there for us. She was also pleased to see the Fieldfares and Redwings.We parked at Clapgate as you suggested and walked down to the farm. Also went to the private lane and got lots of small stuff but no Yellows unfortunatley, better luck next time. Regards David

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D Pollard


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For more on Little owls see my post on Goyt Valley Nature Reserve forum
Hope of use
Chris H

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David, if you are reading this.
I am told
1.you can drive down Clapgate to Goyt. HF.
2. You can park down Clapgate and then walk, and it only takes 3 minutes .

I might try myself in the next few days.

P.S.
I drove down this morning. Not too unpleasant, but might prefer to walk generally. I suspect the walking distance is about the same as from Chadkirk Car Park to the Kennels, perhaps a shade shorter. Saw a little owl to the left of what we thought was one yesterday. This time it movedsmile.gif





-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Wednesday 27th of January 2010 09:54:04 AM

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hi Chris,

it was good to meet you as well, it's always nice to meet new people who are interested in birds and wildlife.

see you soon,

JR

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john rowland


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The Little Owl was in the large tree to the left of the farm as you would have approached it.

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I went down again, and met David from this site. We saw 9 snipe just to the left of the big ruts.
Then we went to GVLNR and saw fieldfare/redwings, but no little owl.

Which tree Chris, the ones behind where the old car is car parked at the rear corner as you approach, or another tree?

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Good to meet you too, Geoff. And John.

I did see the Little Owl at Goyt Hall as well as 30+ Redwing and several Fieldfare. And when I got back to Chadkirk I saw 4 Snipe near the pylon.

Chris

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hi Phil,

for obvious reasons i can't get embroiled in the CWT thing but i think Judith has one or two good points with her posting.

you would be most welcome as a volunteer at Chadkirk. why don't you try to collar me next time your down and we can have a chat about what goes on, how you can get involved and from there you can make an informed decision as to whether or not it's for you.

JR

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john rowland


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Stock Dove
Robin.
Coal Tit
Great Tit
50 Jackdaw
10 mallard
Jay
Crow/Rook
No snipe that I could see

Nice to meet you Chris, hope you saw some little owls at GHF?

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Some years ago, when the Greater Manchester Wildlife Working Group still operated (when Anne GreatRex was the head of GMEU), everyone was similarly fed up with CWT and it was suggested Greater Manchester had its own Wildlife Trust. CWT knew how much of their revenue came from Stockport, Trafford and Tameside and were seriously worried.
We should perhaps be asking ourselves in GM if we are being well-served by LWT and CWT...

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Hi John,

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on CWT, do they not realise the number of potential new members they are missing out on in the Stockport area.
Have to admit that apart from the notice posted near the hide at the Etherow, i'd be blissfully unaware of them having any involvement there.
Living in the Rose Hill area of Marple, Chadkirk & Marple Dale have always been my local patch so its great to hear some positive plans being put forward.

Would certainly be interested in offering my time during the weekends (mainly sundays)in a voluntary capacity to assist in anyway possible with further development.

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Andy Bissitt wrote:
As you say John, the waders (if any are attracted) will be on passage. I'd much prefer the emphasis being on sedentary farmland birds as this is after all farmland. I wonder if I'm the only contributor to these boards who remembers tree sparrows and grey partridges that used to frequent the area along the Goyt valley? Any progress is an improvement of course, so good luck with it all.

Andy

hi Andy,

i know people who remember seeing grey partridges at Chadkirk but not tree sparrow. i did look into the possibility of a tree sparrow introduction scheme a few years ago but apparently the nearest collony is too far away (mallor moor) and so it was deemed not a good project.

i am suprised however that i don't get linnet and yellow hammer at Chadkirk with both species being so local ie in and around middle farm and again little owls are so close (waterside farm) and yet still no sightings at chadkirkm, very strange.

on another note it's nice to get some possitive comments for a change as most people do not see the 'big' picture and i have had quite a few disgruntaled regular visitors who do not seem to understand that when trying to re-claim a neglected woodland unfortunatelly you have to cut down trees! hopefully though in the years to come when the understory and shrub layer start to develop people will begin to see the benefits for wildlife that have been created.

i seem to have gone off on another rant sorry about that! anyway just before i go Phil and Nigel have asked a question each, firstly Phil you have hit the nail on the head with regards to the CWT who do coincidentally manage the reserve at etherow. you are right however in your assumption that the CWT are not very active in our area. if you are wanting to volunteer however both Chadkirk and Etherow have volunteers working on site. i would say that ECP probably dose more what you would call conservation work on a regular basis whereas my volunteers do some of everything. ECP meet on a wednesday morning each week. Chadkirk is at weekends.

Nigel to answer your wife question Chadkirk House is the 'new' (1748) extention to the farm and the gabel end can be seen as you are walking up to the chapel.

Many Thanks for all your possitive comments,

JR

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8 snipe this afternoon, but too cold dank and dark to spend much time looking for anything else.

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I took my bike out this afternoon to celebrate snowlessness (let us hope that this is not just a temporary respite). I included Chadkirk in my circuit and stopped for a quick scan over the pylon field. Something put the crows and pigeons up, and allowed me some in flight views of the Stock Doves, and a better idea of their numbers - I'd say that there were at least 20 present. I managed to find some Snipe this time: five feeding in the marshy area about 50 yards from the gate.

I carried on over the track that follows the line of the Goyt to Bredbury. I couldn't see any Mandarin Ducks this time. The river is still high, though nothing like last week. There were a couple of Herons in the fields below Goyt Hall Farm, and a Little Owl in the tree next to it. A Meadow Pipit flew over.

Two Buzzards on the ground in the field before Bredbury Hall looked as though they were wandering around with their hands in their pockets with no intention of doing anything that might bother anyone. A flock of about 30 Canada Geese did not seem too worried.

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Andy Bissitt wrote:

John Rowland wrote:

hi Anthony, just to answer your question. the boxes in the fields have been put in primarilly for Barn Owls which have been seen in the area last year. to the best of my knowledge the boxes have not been visited by anything including kestrels!

the tawny owl nest at the back of the farm and very often bring the owllets down around the farm building which is fantastic as they watch you as much as you watch them Great. please keep scanning the two boxes in the fields and let me know if you are lucky enough to see anything ivestigating them. i also have two tawny owl boxes to go up which will be done when the arborists come back to finnish the tree work.

hi john, glad you asked that! i have just applied for a grant to have 9 ponds dug in three of the fieilds and in 'Pylon' field there will be a large scrape dug out adjacent to the lay bye on Vale Road. you can alway see snipe from the gate there if you scan the slightly flooded area which coincidentally is the site for the scrape.

as well as the snipe i'm hoping it will attract other wader species (even if it's only on passage) as well and maybe if i can keep the grass short enough in the run up to breeding season a nesting pair of lapwing, fingers crossed.

cheers, jr









As you say John, the waders (if any are attracted) will be on passage. I'd much prefer the emphasis being on sedentary farmland birds as this is after all farmland. I wonder if I'm the only contributor to these boards who remembers tree sparrows and grey partridges that used to frequent the area along the Goyt valley? Any progress is an improvement of course, so good luck with it all.

Andy

That looks a bit better!!

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John Rowland wrote:

hi Anthony, just to answer your question. the boxes in the fields have been put in primarilly for Barn Owls which have been seen in the area last year. to the best of my knowledge the boxes have not been visited by anything including kestrels!

the tawny owl nest at the back of the farm and very often bring the owllets down around the farm building which is fantastic as they watch you as much as you watch them Great. please keep scanning the two boxes in the fields and let me know if you are lucky enough to see anything ivestigating them. i also have two tawny owl boxes to go up which will be done when the arborists come back to finnish the tree work.

hi john, glad you asked that! i have just applied for a grant to have 9 ponds dug in three of the fieilds and in 'Pylon' field there will be a large scrape dug out adjacent to the lay bye on Vale Road. you can alway see snipe from the gate there if you scan the slightly flooded area which coincidentally is the site for the scrape.

as well as the snipe i'm hoping it will attract other wader species (even if it's only on passage) as well and maybe if i can keep the grass short enough in the run up to breeding season a nesting pair of lapwing, fingers crossed.

As you say John, the waders (if any are attracted) will be on passage. I'd much prefer the emphasis being on sedentary farmland birds as this is after all farmland. I wonder if I'm the only contributor to these boards who remembers tree sparrows and grey partridges that used to frequent the area along the Goyt valley? Any progress is an improvement of course, so good luck with it all.

Andy


cheers, jr






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Snipe in Pylon field, but in the "Water ruts" to the left of the gate. Went down and missed them, but the leader of "we three" sent me back as he had seen 8 earlier. I only managed 2/3 at 3.15pm.

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Agree with Nigel, that i've always found it frustrating that a place the size of Stockport does seem to be short on prime nature reserves, so its good to hear of some development in the area.
Always had the impression that the town & surrounding area were a bit of a 'no mans land' when i comes to nature conservation.
Although officially within the boundary of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, its my own opinion that very little seems to be covered by them this far north, maybe someone could prove me wrong, as i would love to be able to volunteer to do some conservation work locally, but the opportunities seem very limited.

Rant over !


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John,

I have just read your various updates with great interest.

I have sometimes felt a little miffed at how poorly provided we have been for wildlife sites in Stockport, when compared to neighbours like Wigan and Northwich. I am truly encouraged to hear that someone as knowledgable and motivated as you clearly are will have a hand in shaping local conservation. The ponds sound like a brilliant plan.

Chadkirk is a beautiful site that I will definitely aim to visit more often this year.

My wife has asked me to pose you a question. Chadkirk House is mentioned on your information boards. Where is / was it?



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Thanks for your answer John and of course I'll let you know if I see anything of interest.

Great news about the ponds.
Actually it's made my day and I feel quite excited about the prospect...I've often thought that a small wetland area would work well at Chadkirk and fingers crossed you get the grant.
Please let us know how you get on with that.

Anthony

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Not much about this afternoon, but a treecreeper in Kirk Wood on a large tree with a yellow T and spot on it. Hope it doesn't mean it's for the chop.

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John Rowland wrote:

... just applied for a grant to have 9 ponds dug in three of the fieilds and in 'Pylon' field there will be a large scrape dug out adjacent to the lay bye on Vale Road.



Excellent! I hope your application is successful.

You are correct, you can see some flooded bits in Broad Heys from the farm road. No waders today but 2 Dipper and 1 Grey Wagtail on the brook.

Cheers, John



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hi Anthony, just to answer your question. the boxes in the fields have been put in primarilly for Barn Owls which have been seen in the area last year. to the best of my knowledge the boxes have not been visited by anything including kestrels!

the tawny owl nest at the back of the farm and very often bring the owllets down around the farm building which is fantastic as they watch you as much as you watch them Great. please keep scanning the two boxes in the fields and let me know if you are lucky enough to see anything ivestigating them. i also have two tawny owl boxes to go up which will be done when the arborists come back to finnish the tree work.

hi john, glad you asked that! i have just applied for a grant to have 9 ponds dug in three of the fieilds and in 'Pylon' field there will be a large scrape dug out adjacent to the lay bye on Vale Road. you can alway see snipe from the gate there if you scan the slightly flooded area which coincidentally is the site for the scrape.

as well as the snipe i'm hoping it will attract other wader species (even if it's only on passage) as well and maybe if i can keep the grass short enough in the run up to breeding season a nesting pair of lapwing, fingers crossed.

cheers, jr

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john rowland


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John Rowland wrote:

hi john,

... all the tree work that is currently being undertaken in Kirk and Little woods is part of the woodland management plan...






Thanks for that detailed explanation John.

Whilst we are on the subject of habitat management is there any chance of creating an area for waders etc in the middle of the field with the pylon (forgot it's real name), which could be viewed from a footpath. I have had good counts of Snipe on the overgrown Chadkirk Mill pool opposite this field and during the recent cold spell watched Snipe, Lapwing and Canada Geese dropping in to what is obviously a small open area. Unfortunately this open area is not visible from any path. I'm not asking for anything grand - just a bit of viewable mud smile.gif

Cheers, John

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John in reference to the Tawny Owls...
Have the nest boxes been successful yet?
I always have a scan of the areas where the boxes are but have yet to see any birds coming and going...

Anthony

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hi john,

glad you asked that. all the tree work that is currently being undertaken in Kirk and Little woods is part of the woodland management plan. the trees that are earmarked for felling or taking the tops out to leave as standing dead wood are mainly sycamore.

the aim is to reduce the number of this invasive and dominant tree species and to open up the woodland floor so that a proper ground layer can develop. i have a lot of whips to be planted in the cleared areas including hazel, silver birch, rowan and oak which will be more beneficial to wildlife and create a less dense tree canopy which will enable the ground flora and bramble thickets to thrive.

the crown lifting along the brook is achieving several things including clearing the footpath of branches which were over hanging and a possible risk of poking peoples in the eyes, and it will also open up the brook and bankings which in turn should thicken the vegetation up and provide more opportunities for nesting site for birds. the hedge should also benefit from the extra light and should thicken up also.

two previous years fellings have left the previously bare earth bankings with a flush of wild flowers (yellow pimpernel, fox gloves, bluebells to name but a few) and soft rush. all this new ground flora along with the lying dead timber is providing food and shelter for a variety of invertibrates, fungi and of course bird nestting sites. small rodents also benefit from this and a healthy invert and mammal population supports a healthy bird population (the small mammal population helps my resident tawny owls produce young every year).

hope this helps a little.

jr

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john rowland


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John Rowland wrote:

I saw dippers every day last week whilst crown lifting the adjacent trees.




Hi John,

What is the ultimate plan regarding all the tree felling. A number of large specimens seem to have been felled completely as well as others presumably left for pollarding.

Cheers, John






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Hi Nigel, glad your impressed with the name, and as you rightly say Chadkirk, Green Flag Site, Conservation Area, Local Nature Reserve and Accredited Country Park is a bit of a mouthful and a bit difficult to get on a sign! Any way i'm glad you managed a quick walk around my 'Grand' site.

You would have stood a better chance of seeing Dipper if you had gone from the car park heading north along the brook as i saw dippers every day last week whilst crown lifting the adjacent trees. This is due in the main to the fact that you quite rightly point out that when the river is in spate they do along with the Kingfishers use the tributarys more.

I've been seeing the Stock Doves for about three years now and are offten over looked by many bird watchers who asume they are feral pigeons.

JR

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I decided to pay a visit to Chadkirk after a Goyt Mandarin twitch (11 birds on the far bank just behind the kennels, looking ruefully at the seething brown water). I used to walk my family here in the days that I still exercised some paternal authority, but it is a few years since I was last here.

I was mildly surprised to see that it formally calls itself Chadkirk Country Estate: obviously, I have seen it referenced as such on this site, but had assumed that this was someone being facetious or enjoying a private joke. I suppose that Chadkirk Suburban Rural Conservation Area doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but its title does make it sound rather grand.

I didn't have sufficient time to walk the entire estate, so I confined myself to a walk along the road to the corner of the woods, and a skim over the sheet ice path to the weir. Snow melt had turned the Goyt into a river scene from Huckleberry Finn: car tyres and large branches swept by on the torrent This was clearly no place for Dippers.

The 'pylon field' was more rewarding: Mallards, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Magpies (I counted 24), Woodpigeons and Stock Doves (6) were on the field, while Chaffinch, Robin and the commoner tits were in the surrounding hedgerows.

I reasoned that Dippers were most likely to have retreated to a tributary, so I walked along Holiday Lane in Offerton, then along Poise Brook to Jim Fernilee bridge. I saw nothing on the stream, though a Treecreeper in a tit flock by Offerton HS fields was a welcome year tick.



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Sad to have missed the little egret. Earlier in the week, there were 7 goosander on the Goyt above the weir. They disappeared when the river started to freeze over, presumably the same ones seen downstream later. There were also 6 teal on the Goyt,
and a reed bunting near the car park.

Albert

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Rob Smallwood wrote:

You are right - I was mixing them up.

To continue my error I'll post my Goyt sightings here - 60+ Mandarin on the river behind Chadkirk Kennels - showing well and looking great as a flock in flight when I inadvertantly got too close - oops!






Rob(the wader)smallwood eh!smile.gifsmile.gif

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No Little Egret in early morning search but 3 Dippers on the brook and 1 Snipe in Pylon Field.

Cheers, John

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You are right - I was mixing them up.

To continue my error I'll post my Goyt sightings here - 60+ Mandarin on the river behind Chadkirk Kennels - showing well and looking great as a flock in flight when I inadvertantly got too close - oops!

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Sounds as thought you parked past the kennels on what is now know as Goyt Valley Local Valley Nature Reserve Rob.

You can get a car or two on the left at the entrance to the kennels, or on the left immediately off the lane by the bridge, but not in the snow you will not get out. We pushed a car yesterday there.

You can park in the Chadkirk car park on Vale Road(1st right over the bridge after the crossing - but not in the snow as the barrier is down)

Geoff

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I used to visit here when I worked in Stockport - I accessed via the lane by the Garden Centre bridge then parked on the side of the track near the farm and walked along the path towards the river..

Is there a better place to park now?



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Had a quick detour around on morning of 7 Jan, no sign of the Egret, but did flush a Snipe which was in the Brook (does it have a name?). It arked(spelling?) around the field and landed back in the brook downstream near the car park, just as I got it in the bins, away it flew again, this time over the wood across the main road.
Warmed up in the Garden Centre, and as I was having a pot of tea, 2 more Snipe flew off East towards the High School.
Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Song Thrush also in the Brook
Back at work now(boo, hiss!), so might post again in a few months time.
Chris H

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A quick look to see if the Little Egret was present this afternoon. It wasn't but not surprising as the surface of the brook is 90% iced over.

Cheers, John

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lovely "meander" today. Blue sky, snow everywhere. We went down Chadkirk, and across into Goyt Valley LNR to the river bridge and then to Goyt Hall Farm and back by the stream to the Chapel.

We did not see the Egret, but had a snack at the garden centre with a guy who had seen it in the stream and taken some photos.

On the stream was a dipper and a grey wagtail, with buzzards flying overhead.
Robin
great tit
longtailed tit
blackbirds
snipe
lapwing in the pylon field among some canada geese.
Song and mistle thrush



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Little Egret flew off from the pylon field, to the stream just as I arrived. At the stream were two birders, who said it flew down the stream and away.

As we stood there, a snipe flew in, but I could not see any on the way back.

"We three" + one are going tomorrow and should arrive about 10.30am for a couple of hours to wander down to the Kennel area and back, so please let on if any of you are around. Not going to be hot thoughno.gif

Geoff

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Little Egret still present 14.00 - 15.00

In the small dip in Pylon Field were 8 Canada Geese, 1 Lapwing and at least 1 Snipe. Treecreeper by Chadkirk Kennels and 15 or so Mandarin on the river.

Cheers, John

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Little Egret still present at 1:30pm

Info thanks to Dave Ousey

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The Little Egret was in the usual brook close to the car park between 10.00 and 11.00 and I had my camera with me this time. During the hour it was flushed frequently by dog walkers but soon returned each time. It was feeding successfully by foot paddling and I watched it catch small fish on two occasions.

Also on the brook were 2 Dippers and 1 Grey Wagtail. 8 Snipe landed in deep snow in Pylon Field and disappeared - there appears to be a very small open patch in the middle of this field. On the River Goyt 3 Goosander and a Kingfisher.

Cheers, John

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Little Egret still in the ditch close to the car park at 2.35 this afternoon. Also in the ditch 1 Grey Heron and 2 Grey Wagtails.

Cheers, John

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I did Geoff, not brilliant pictures I'm affraid and not a patch on Rob's from yesterday...I'm hoping he'll hang around for a few more days so I can have another go.


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But did you have your camera Anthony?smile.gif

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11am
Little Egret showing well still in water filled ditch in 'Pylon Field' as well as 5 Oystercatcher and a dozen or so Lapwing.
Oystercatchers were seen off by Lapwing and headed towards the river.
Egret was seen off by Lapwing a short time later and settled in the brook where I watched him fish rather sucessfully for about 10 minutes before he headed off back to the Pylon Field.

Heady days at Chadkirk...Not use to all this excitement around here!

Oh and just to round things off...

A dozen or so Redwing in woods near Bredbury Hall.

Anthony


-- Edited by Anthony Dixon on Tuesday 5th of January 2010 03:27:11 PM

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Hi All,

Just thought i'd let you know the Little Egret that i spotted on Sunday was still around as of this afternoon at about 12.15pm. it's still feeding in the brook and seems too be spending the rest of the time in either Broadheys Field or the smaller one across the road from it.

Just like to say Thanks to Geoff for keeping Chadkirk in the spotlight and sending in his sightings.

JR


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