The eclipse drake Garganey was still showing very well infront of Horrock's hide this afternoon and whilst not in it's most attractive plumage it's still well worth a look...
Between 30 and 35 nests or broods of Common Terns on the front pool on the canal tonight; all the young are at the cute stage! Also 61 (at least) BH Gull chicks. 3 drake Teal, 2 pairs of Pochard, 2 Little Ringed PLover, 1 Ringed Plover, a couple of Redshank and an Oystercatcher visiting from the fields on th...
no rareties this afternoon but nice to see plenty shelduck,avocet and lapwing chicks about .Finally got a tawny owl near swanlink hide lifer
only did a couple of hours 3-5 but well worth it .
ringed plover and redshanks from united util hide.
tree sparrows around kingfisher hide but no kingfis...
Took the dog for a walk along the Bridgewater Canal and back along the old railway (marked as Trans Pennine Trail on the Carrington Moss map) this afternoon. All field numbers are taken from that map which is in the "Sites and Maps" section of the website.
Lapwings in fields 48, 141 and t...
Off to Inner Marsh Farm this morning. First opportunity to play out for a while after starting a new job and the chance of a Cheshire tick - Spoonbill. Having arrived at opening time and finding no Spoonbill present I carried on scanning the area thinking they would turn up sooner or later. 10 minutes la...
I went to Inner Marsh farm today to see the Avocet chicks and the Spoonbill.
I noticed some Black-headed Gulls had nested in a clump of Stinging Nettles - do birds get 'stung' in the same way as mammals ? Presumably Stinging Nettles evolved to deter grazing animals but the Gulls didn't seem bothere...
I'm happy to report that the six cygnets at Higher Hall Flash in Bickershaw are still doing fine and are now about a month old. At this time last year four had been eaten by foxes. The cob is very aggressive at the moment, attacking several dogs in this last week. The pen is her usual self, hissing at everyt...
Counted 9 Terns this afternoon with 3 pairs with at least 2 chicks each. Another one looked to be brooding.
Lots of feeding activity. Aslo 2 juv Gt Cd Grebe, very large.
2 Reed Warblers
1 Gropper, very brief song and sighting, then dissapeared.
Sedge Warbler
Blackcap
plus the usual s...
Can anyone throw some light on the Common Crane on Anglesey,thats been spotted in the last 3 days.
currently holidaying down here,but cant get a fix on the above.
Thanks in advance..
steve
Another jaunt over Chat Moss this morning, this time with Pete Berry and although still no Quail we did manage 3 Yellow Wagtails showing well in the horse paddocks by Mosslands Farm, Field no. 18 and a single flying north over Woodstock Farm at the very bottom of Astley Road.
The Lesser Black-back...
In the glorious sunshine on Chat Moss (and elsewhere in the county I suppose), birding on the moss was as pleasant as usual with the following:
Yellow Wagtails- 2, one over field 19 and one on field 17, although neither was visible one the hit the deck as both fields are now long enough to hide thousa...
the missus has just picked the holiday location,malta late september and i,ve started to research the birding options i,ll have to consider for my 14 nights of 'fun' and it,s looking good for a raptor fest,let you know how i get on or if if you,ve been please tell.
other sun traps i,ve birded a littl...
well i know its not in the county but i thought i would post todays sightings on here 500 + shellduck 20 + whoopers 20 + moorhen(most building nest) 10 + goldfinch 10 tree sparrow 10 greenfinch 50 black-headed gull ...
Rumworth this evening,
1 pair of Little ringed plover still there, 2 pairs of Oystercatchers. No sign of any young but i did get mobbed by both Plovers and Oystercatchers when i ventured out of the tree line, to avoid the glare of the sun on the water, which has never happened before so there seems a g...
had a good look at the tern colony tonight lots still sitting and some may have chicks i couldn,t see but i counted 18 out in the open on six sites ,so there,s plenty more to come,ringed plover,liitle ringed plover,lapwing present
cheers geoff
About 3 days ago saw a Grey Wagtail in song flight over rough ground off Langworthy Road, and today saw one (the same?) on top of Langworthy Road Post Office !!!!
Just got back from spending 12 days in Argyll & Tayside on a WWT expedition to survey breeding Common Scoters. Saw some good birds - Golden Eagle, White - tailed, Osprey, Capper, Crossbills, Red & Black Throated Divers, Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Hen Harrier, Black & Red Grouse an...
WENT TO PENNY 3-6 PM PLANK LANE ROUND RAMMIES,COULDN'T STAND THE CROWDS ON HORROCK SIDE-LOOKED LIKE BLACKPOOL-92 MUTE SWANS INCLUDING 1 WITH 4 YOUNG BY THE YAUGHT CLUBS,54 NONE BREEDING GREAT CRESTED GREBE-SEEM A LOT OF NONE BREEDERS THIS YEAR,1 MALE GARGANEY,2 RINGED PLOVER,2 REDSHANK-PLUS ALL...
A work colleague (not a birder, but not an ignoramus!) reckons that Herons have nested this year in Platt Fields Park, Manchester. Does anyone have further details of this? If you do, please let me know as I organise the BTO Heronries Census for the Manchester region. Thanks.
sorry, don't panic!!
A pair of treecreepers have been collecting food on the brickwork and timber cladding on our house this week - do they qualify as GM's first wallcreepers?
i have it on good authority that there are 20 common tern nests on horrocks flash but i can only find 15,the others must be hidden between the b.h.gulls that are consistantly arguing over chicks and territory,the starling roost at bryn marsh is quite a sight ,not yet a carling momment but they have star...
lots of garden birds to see and enjoy,
below the tennis courts a family of g.s.woodpecker very vocal and chick/s poking out of nest hole while joggers and dog walkers pass by oblivious to their presence,it,s a joy to see.they/it must be ready to fledge today or soon
cheers geoff
If you haven't already seen them (and if not why not ) I've put the current statistics for the website and forum on the notice board page of the main website and very healthy they are too thanks to all your contributions. Keep your eyes open for the imminent breaking of the million total hits for the websi...
Can I have a little help please.
Has anyone seen/got "The DVD Video Guide to British Birds, and if so do they recommend? I mention DVD Video rather than DVD/CD-Rom so to use on the TV
Or any other
Or any DVD Video?
Many thanks
Geoff
hi,all i,m currently trying to change my email system(not there yet)and noticed i hadn,t filled in my biography when i changed my account details during the smew incident in jan, so apologeys to anyone who,s bothered to have look
and many thanks to all those who have helped me find some very nice cou...
Finally some decent walking and bird weather.Well done to all you more adventurous people who keep this site going.First for me in the woods was a male and female Blackcap. Also saw treecreeper which is becoming more and more elusive along with all the usual stuff.Good day for chiffs and chaffs,will...
lovely morning twitch,
2 wrens 1 blackbird
2 greenfinch 6 goldfinch
20 sandmartins 1 mystery wader(flew off only seen in distance)
6 mallard 12 mute swan
2 tame swallows 30 swift over
and yesterday just as i packed my bins and new camera away a peregrine screeched past with the chick,s br...
