There's an Avocet on Birdguides for Wigan Flashes @ 8:40am

horrocks flash 09/03/08 rear pool 12ish

2 great crested 20+ coot
20 tufted 4 gadwall
1 pochard 2 mute
1 greylag 4 canada
3 herons 2 moorhen
150+ bh gull 2 herring gull
2 lesser bb gull plus usual garden birds on route
3 manchester birders(p.heaton & the warfords)nice to see chaps ,hope you paid to park there

cheers geoff

no sight or sound of cettis this morning between 8 and 930 in very spring like conditions, maybe its gone.

Cettis showed 3 times about 0900 this morning. It is favouring the North East corner near the sewage works and was seen in the vicinity of the alder. It was calling and singing every 2-3 minutes

64 goldeneye roosted on scotman's on saturday evening (1st Mar)

cettis still today but not showing

No sign of the green-winged teal 9.30-11.00 today. Still a little ice on the fringes but mostly thawed and only about a dozen teal on the edges. The usual supporting cast so still a pleasant trip before work despite missing it again!
Steve

Could I ask all local birders to report any bittern activity in the next few weeks - especially booming - to Mark Champion, who will forward it to the RSPB. Thanks

The Cetti's Warbler was calling at Pearson's yesterday lunchtime (Tuesday 19th), in the margins of the reedbed opposite the cemetery chapel, also Treecreeper calling in the vicinity

19/2/08

Just posting the news - more details to follow I would imagine ;

drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL present on Horrocks Flash, front pool (canal-side) @ 15.00

A good trip out today with Manchester RSPB members group.

41 species in total - including 3m 1f Goosander, 3 Kingfisher and the highlight at the end when a Sparrowhawk scattered the Goldfinches from the feeders behind the school.

Thanks to Judith who was coincidently doing the WeBS counts today - she'll have all the exact numbers !

Wednesday 06 Feb 08

Horrock's Flash - 13:00ish:
a Barnacle Goose and a Pink-footed Goose with 11 Greylags and loads of Canada Geese.

No sign of the Cetti's at Pearsons.



-- Edited by Rob Thorpe at 20:00, 2008-02-06

No sign of the Cetti's yesterday. Has anyone seen/heard it since Monday 28th January?

horrocks flash am in the same snow and hail as you jimmy

30 coot ,20 mallard,tufted,2 shoveler,15 mute swan 1 f.goldeneye 40 black h gull 4 teal on front pool 12 moorhens grazing in field opposite,railway pool 20 coot 10 tufted 2 gt crested grebe 6 canada 10 b h gulls, rear pool ,vision restricted by conditions 5 coot 2 little grebe. 2 g s woodpecker on railway and all the usual garden birds on the way back.

the rear screen area is currently out of bounds due to heavy diggers in there,but it looks like the
'monument' and the other large concrete block have been removed and a road has been cut into the flash on the right of the screen, hopefully to give decent views over the area.

cheers geoff

Nothing else of note except for the snipe that gave me a minor cardiac arrest when it flew from between my legs.

---

At the risk of lowering the tone, are you sure it wasn't a woodcock

Hi Geoff

The road works at Spring View seem to be finished

Cettis singing again today, but not where I've heard it before. It appeared to be hanging around the copse that extends into the reedbed off the access track at the back of the cemetery. First time I heard it it was on the eastern side of this copse, which, from whats been said on here, is a way off its normal area. If you are walking up the track, there are a couple of informal paths leading into this area between telegraph post 5 and 7. Never heard it from any other area and my guess was this must have been the most sheltered area of the reedbed. Alas though I've still not seen it.

Nothing else of note except for the snipe that gave me a minor cardiac arrest when it flew from between my legs.

time to move on i think, having spent aprox 60 hours trying to get a good view of this bird i will have to be satisfied with the brief views i have had. maybe when we get nearer to spring it will get easier to see. this is the most time i have ever put in for any bird and i dont like to admit defeat but i give up. so look forward to seeing you all in other places except pearsons for a while.

-- Edited by brian fielding at 13:03, 2008-01-21

Are you actually living there now Brian

Did a quick walk round the flashes at lunchtime - extremely moist underfoot...

18+ Siskin near the feeders + 2 Willow Tit

5 Redpoll in Alders by the Cemetery Road entrance

No sign of any Teal on Pearsons

pearsons/horrocks 16/01/08

dull but calm staked out pearsons for 2 hours to get a photo of g w teal but it didn,t show,cetti,s still singing,

horrocks railway pool 1 goldeneye
back pool 20 coot,nothing else due to disturbance by railway workers( I hope)

nice to see steve again,and must have been paul on the canal

cheers geoff

did my first trip around pearsons this morning. met steve collins - a real pleasure spending time with you steve!

no g w teal, no bittern, but heard the cetti call 3 times, once within 15 feet of us, lovely, but sadly no view.

a few first time ducks for me, kingfisher on the canal, gsw in the poplar behind wellham road, a massive flock easily 150 siskin + goldfinch in the trees beside the canal, jay, a couple of heron in a tree where the teal had been and lots of hopeful, but slightly dejected birders.
:D
enjoyed it immensely. will go again for sure

appreciate that this probably is the correct place to post this but seemed most appropriate!

lost part of my scope case on tuesday somewhere on the path around pearsons flash, possibly on the back path. its green and fits over the eye piece.

if you happen to come across it then please let me know

ta

cettis still plus as below green-winged teal and bittern flying into pearsons, checked scotsmans for possible red-necked grebe but no sign.