Ring necked parakeet numbers have increased substantially this year. Roosting flock this evening (17:49) was about 101-103 on Walton Road, possibly roosting in Walton Park.
Just saw on the Sale - M33 Facebook page that a Hoopoe was in a private garden yesterday 29/4/21. Anyone heard anything? I only just heard about it before I headed to work.
Scarlet Macaw just seen flying over Brooklands Cemetery south towards Brooklands. Just checked and apparently there's a lost one noted on Facebook from the area.
After a couple of months with occasional sightings of Ring-necked Parakeets in the Walton Park area, they are now becoming regular. Latest sighting was today was of four flying along the canal.
The funny-looking Mandarin still present on the Bridgewater Canal on Tuesday 17th May c300 yards north of Sale Metrolink station, it seems to be associating with a drake Mallard
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In December 2014 I thought this bird might be a first-winter drake, but it's plumage seems to have remained the same
An interesting bird for the scientists !
From my records, there seem to have been at least 3 Mandarins along this area of the Bridgewater Canal in recent years, an adult drake, this bird and a female
I'm not sure this is a Gynandromorph - I can see the logic though. I can't really offer a better solution, but it's clearly showing a degree of leucism, in my short experience domestic flocks can have sorts of genetic abnormalities, I suppose its a result of a reduced gene pool.
It's certainly a scuffy bugger.
-- Edited by JamieDunning on Sunday 13th of March 2016 01:17:18 AM
I found this photo very interesting Joel and have done a bit of digging about.
Think it could be a (rare) case of what is known as "Gynandromorphism" .... basically a mix up of male and female cells.
It's thought that it is usually older females that begin to assume male characteristics due to a drop in oestrogen levels with the male hormones taking over.
As I said, interesting .... you learn something every day, hopefully.
Roger
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Sunday 13th of March 2016 08:06:08 AM
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I have written about this bird before, it has the body structure of a male mandarin but the colours are that of a female. Is this the bird in question?
Male Mandarin on canal just south of Brooklands Station. I don't know if this has been noted before but this individual does not appear to be 100% Mandarin, but I can see nothing which gives any indication of its parentage.
A clue may be in Nev Wright's entry of 8th April 2013 of a female Mandarin apparently paired up with a Mallard.
-- Edited by Jeff Clarke on Saturday 12th of March 2016 07:34:16 PM
Mandarin still present on Canal between Town centre and Marsland road bridge mid afternoon today, also mixed tit flock of c.40 in trees around cemetery.
-- Edited by Andy Isherwood on Thursday 19th of November 2015 05:08:00 PM
21 species today (but a few different to yesterday). only highlights, now at least 6 Goldcrest in with at least 35 Long Tailed tit, and c.25 mixed Blue and Great tit along canal between Marsland road and Walton road cut through.
regular lunchtime walk along canal and back along Walto road produced 22 species today best of which were 2 different Sparrowhawk 3 Coal tit and 4+ Goldcrest in with 2 reasonably sized flocks of the commoner 3 tit species. Single Treecreeper and at least 3 Nuthatch calling in the Park Mandarin still on Canal.
Mandarin still present but on canal bank at Walton Park and taking bread almost from the hand! In the park itself 5 Mistle Thrush on the football pitch and vocal Nuthatch calling from trees near entrance.
No signs of the female mandarin, however, there is a male mandarin (moulting)on the canal between sale & brooklands tram stop. 53 pink footed goose over at 9.43am. 6 redwing 7 chaffinch 1 jay
Tawny Owl calling in my garden close to Walton Park - the first I have heard here for more than two years ( they used to be regular many years ago), but I did find a Tawny Owl feather on the Walton Road allotments in early June.
Possible zebra finch (or something similar) whizzed past me on Walton Road Allotments at about 17:00 - no binoculars, but they would have been of no use as it went through so fast. The high-pitched buzzing call sounded familiar and it was tiny!
