Yesterday Wednesday 20.01.21
afternoon visit to flooded fields.

Approximately 3000 gulls .

Late this afternoon on the flooded field adjacent the changing rooms.

Common Gull - 89.
Herring Gull - 1.
Lesser Black-back Gull - 13.
Black- headed Gull - c1,030.
Pied Wagtail - 3.
Carrion crow - 10.
With the gulls causing a right old racket.

At 3:03 pm ALL the gulls on Turn Moss took to the sky and flew off and didn't return, but no peditors seen.

Ps.lost the rubber eye-piece cover off my scope so retraced my steps all the way back to where I first started and on the way encountered a chap with mental issues and had a chat, made a new friend and later found my eye - piece cover " Karma ! "

Large numbers of Black-headed Gulls taking advantage of the flooded fields, at least 400 present.
Common Gull xc.50
Lesser Black Backed Gull x4
Redwing x11
Mistle Thrush x2
Ring-necked Parakeet x22

15.06-16.12

Ring-necked Parakeet 104 perched birds counted pre-roost, as usual departing NE at 16.00
Pied Wagtail 29 flew in, then departed
Black-headed Gull 526+
Common Gull 8
Jackdaw 700+ pre-roost at Bolesworth Wood

Late pm

Chiffchaff 1
Goldcrest 1
Ring-necked Parakeet 29
Common Gull 29
Lesser Black-backed Gull 13
Herring Gull 5
Heron 1
Kestrel 1
Carrion Crow 60

Skylark 7 over NW
Siskin 1 over
Fieldfare 8
Greenfinch 19
Common Gull 34

Turn Moss (total 37 species, 758 individuals) and Stretford Ees (total 24 species, 264 individuals) 08.29-11.09

Meadow Pipit 204 N>S
Redpoll 1 N>S
Siskin 1 N>S
Skylark 1 N>S
Swallow 2 N>S
Chaffinch 15 N>S
Chiffchaff 6
Reed Bunting 1

Spotted Flycatcher - 2 together in the same vicinity

-- Edited by Pete Hines on Friday 14th of August 2020 12:32:51 PM

Spotted Flycatcher 1 photographed in the hedgerow between the two pitches on the south side of Hawthorn Lane. Mobile around that area 10.50-11.10

Oystercatcher on the Grammar school playing field this morning

Adult Med Gull with large gulls west end. Present 10.15am

Willow Tit- 1 Hawthorn Lane

Red Kite 1 lazily flying low east over Chorlton Ees at 10.35
Treecreeper juvenile being fed at Hawthorn Lane
Great Spotted Woodpecker pair feeding a juvenile at the nest. A different more developed juvenile being fed yesterday at a different part of the site.

The male Redstart has been showed well later (v. elusive earlier) 16.00 - 19.00 (at least) along the eastern hedgeline.
Head on the black throat resembles more of a bib (reminded me of Eastern Black Redstart), note the yellow gape, not a particularly striking wing panel.

Swift 5
House Martin 9
Swallow 4
Skylark 1
Common Whitethroat 1 singing male

Wheatear 1
Swallow 1
Chiffchaff 3
Raven 1
Linnet 1
Meadow Pipit 2

Meadow Pipit - 22
Lapwing - 1 over
Reed Bunting - pair still

White Wagtail 1 still
Pied Wagtail 5
Meadow Pipit 1
Chiffchaff 1

Linnet 1 flyover, (seen and heard)
Lesser Redpoll 1 (as above)
Skylark 3 (as above)
Redwing 250
Fieldfare 2 (several flocks around Chorlton in recent days)
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61060944

Common Sandpiper 2
Common Gull 3
Stock Dove 2

Short afternoon visit:-
Swallow - 2.
Jackdaw - 6.
Carrion Crow - 4.
Starling - 36. (Quite a few carrying food.)
House Sparrow ,- 6 (one male inparticular harassing several Starlings trying to make them drop what food they'd collected).
Whitethroat and Chiffchaff heard as I left.
Cormorant - 2 over.
Also a Large un- identified raptor !
It was dark with No white parts ,siloetted against a cloudy sky , I'd say larger than a Common Buzzard ,with thicker ,longer rounded wings held flat with a short triangular tail .
As a cormorant came close I could see it dwarfed it as it headed North.
I've ruled out Osprey, Honey buzzard ,Common Buzzard , Raven or Harrier sp.

Willow Tit - singing male in the wood from Hawthorn Lane to 100m northwards

Common Gull 60
Black-headed Gull 64
Herring Gull 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Buzzard 1
Goldcrest 1

Common Gull 2 adult
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 adult
Black-headed Gull 187
Blackcap 4 singing male
Ring-necked Parakeet heard only
Swift 6
House Martin 2