Went to see Common Whitlowgrass (a pretty flower not a grass - grows in between the pavement) outside the Co-op museum today. It is the oldest known site in Rochdale for this plant, sadly (for the plant) they are carrying work out on the building so its not there anymore, however there w...
At 10:15am today Rob Adderley had a male Red-breasted Merganser fly off Arnfield Reservoir (just inside Derbyshire) and fly (flushed by the first emerging boats) strongly west into the Greater Manchester. One might presume Audenshaw Reservoirs to be its first visible decent looking site to drop...
I'm trying to decide between the Manfrotto 393 telephoto lens support (£120) and a Wimberley II clone from China on ebay here (£62). I prefer the look of the Wimberley clone an...
Last May (during our "big day" onslaught in Greater Manchester) I confessed to being impressed by Mr. Rayner's ability to i/d Egyptian goose solely on call, as I could not recall that I myself had ever knowingly heard one. One of my little local sites, Low Barns (known to the said J.W. Rayne...
Over the past few months I have been discussing putting on some birdwatching workshops with Ian, his knowledge about bird identification is extraordinary and I was very keen for him to lead some bird workshops for our company - www.discoverthewild.co.uk. Well at last I am please to announce that Ia...
I know I'm often late with my own submissions of BBS, Atlas and other survey data, but after I received my Lancashire Bird Report 2010 last week through the post I wondered if there was any sign of 2010 GM Bird Report on the horizon? I appreciate that a lot of hard work goes into the report, but my ex...
Personally I have always referred to " 12 Teal" or "500 Wigeon" , or a flock of Shoveler for e.g. I have noticed in the RSPB magazine and, more recently on here, people referring to "Teals" and "Wigeons". To me, Teals is the equivalent of "geeses&quo...
Hi all. I am about to start working on an assignment for my Species Conservation module at University (I am studying Wildlife Conservation and Zoo Biology at The University of Salford). My chosen topic for the assignment is to study the reasons behind the decline of Britain's migrant breeding birds...
Hi All, I'm curious as to whether anyone has recorded any roding woodcock yet in Greater Manchester, in view of you all being some way further south of us here in Durham. I was surprised to hear the familiar overhead squelchy grunt and saw a bird circling our valley here at dusk on March 1st, which surely...
Just read in bird sightings that 7 Sand Martins are in Salford is this the earliest ever, I know I should check in past GM bird reports but I,m not near them. Cheers Ian
Manchester birders contributed 52 species of Bird last year (which isn't bad for Dove Stone!) We're still looking for volunteers for a one off 24hour event (6th-7th July). Anyone interested in sharing their knowledge on any branch of natural history would be greatly received. We believe Wildlife...
Whilst on the prowl for fungi a good flock of Redwing held 1 fieldfare and surprisingly 1 Waxwing. A Siskin was seen feeding on Alder and 5 Ring Necked Parakeets were in their usual place. Treecreepers were showing well. Fungalpunk Dave - www.fungalpunknature.co.uk
I was at Pennington Flash on sunday and whilst at Tom Edmondson Hide, I heard a great commotion as two geese winged in. One was a Canada, but its companion was rather different. It was a grey goose, roughly the same size as the Canada, with a white head and a 'messy' join between the white upper neck and gre...
I have a book for Sale. Birds of Costa Rica by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean. I have only used it for two weeks recently but it does have one or two ticks against birds I saw and it is a bit tired at the edges. It cost £24.99 and I will sell it for £10.00.
Hi, wondered if anyone might know where I could get a spiked tree collar? Trying to do what I can to protect our nestboxes and prevent the local cats from getting up to them. Cheers, Tom
Hello Manchester Birding Forum! I've got a question about patch of land that some of you may know about. Recently, I was driving down the M61 towards Manchester and just before you get to the junction for The Reebok Stadium I noticed a huge patch of rough and long grass meadow. It looks like a fantastic l...
Looking at the map, it appears Viridor Wood is either side of Bolton Road. Is there any preference for getting good photographic opportunities of birds and general sightings?
Free to anyone interested CAWOS (Cheshire and Wirral Ornithological Society) Bird News Issue 34 (April 97) to Issue 87 (Nov 11) 54 in total. These are published quarterly on average and will go for recycling otherwise. Contact me by pm please. -- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 6th of April 2012 08:...
went for a walk today on outwood trail and hurst wood both in whitefield 2 goldfinch 4 blackbird 2 collard dove 3 greenfinch 4 buzzard 3 blue tit 4 wren 2 great tit 1 phesant 1 grey heron (flew over my garden) jake
I really am rubbish at seeing birds, I dont even recognise calls. I try to get out most days when the weather is reasonable, is there anyone who fancies giving me a few pointers. I am hoping to make Leighton Moss again too, as well as my regular haunts of Pennington and Worsley. So if anyone feels like comi...
Are we having a particularly good year for Bitterns? They seem to be popping up all over the place (Moore, Marbury, Mere Sands Wood and even Penny and the Wigan Flashes as well as the consistent Leighton Moss). I don't remember so many being reported last year when I was struggling to get to see one.
I appreciate that a lot of hard work goes into the report, but my ex...
is this the earliest ever, I know I should check in past GM bird reports but I,m not near them. Cheers Ian