tom,i can,t swap note,s on birds seen in the seventies because i just took them for granted and wasn,t a bird watcher at the time, more of an intrest than the hobby it,s become.any way yes there has been a change in the population/species mix but the detail eludes me.the slag heaps you refer to at bryn marsh were known as the three sister,s (biggest slag heap in europe i,m told) and their remains are now a very nice place to visit,the same can be said for the kingsdown road area which again was just a slag heap from the maypole and junction pits,but if i remember correctley partridge,skylark,snipe, barn owls,magpie (not that common) hares and newts all used to reside in and around that area even without the landscaping.But back to the bittern thingy,it would be interesting to follow the thread back if you can to see how long bittern,s have been visiting the wigan flashes and to see if today,s number,s or more likely the number has changed over the years.I don,t know about the dr who episode but will try to find out and me dad told me a war film was shot on ince moss.
Geoff - unfortunately I was 24 in 1970 but I agree little has changed in that area, although I remember that there was a massive spoil heap by Bryn marsh. Did they not film an episode of Dr. Who there? Living in Haigh/Aspull there have been gains and losses. When I first moved up there in 1970, Corn Buntings were quite common - I have not seen one in the area since 2001. Yellowhammers were everywhere but each year there seem to be fewer, and the same can be said of Grey Partidge, Linnet, Skylark and Lapwing. Snipe used to breed too but no more. There are gains however - Nuthatch, Dipper, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Oystercatcher, Pheasant and Green Woodpecker are new in that period while Blackcap, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk Long tailed tit and Goldfinch are now more abundant. Does that accord with your experience? One bird that I used to see regularly at the Flashes was Yellow Wagtail but I have not sen one of these for many years.
tom ,an interesting find that report,may be they,ve been here forever but not many people seeing them.I was trying to remember my mis spent youth in abram (i was 10 in 1970)and comparing areas that have changed since, the abram ssi is still as it was then more or less ,three sisters a different planet to what it was,horrocks flash seem,s to be more or less what it,s always been despite a good few quid being chucked at it.bryn flash/marsh is only half it.s old self,auntie polly,s aka kingsdown road flash has been transformed ,but most of the birds i remember seeing (dubious teenage years)are still around and have adapted to the changes we have inflicted on the landscape.
Researching at Wigan History Shop today I came across a report in the Wigan Observer for 4 November 1922 about a "a young miner" out for recreation with his dog and gun who came across a Bittern at Pearsons Flash which he promptly shot! Unfortunately he only wounded it but the dog after a brave fight by the injured bird retrieved it. The report rather disturbingly went on to say that, despite being an extremaly rare bird, this was the fourth Bittern to be shot in the area since 1904. Commenting T A Coward said "If left alone it might select as nesting haunts such unlikely spots as the subsidence around Wigan"! Times have hardly changed and it may be that Bitterns have wintered in the area for many years. Let us hope that Coward's words ring true. I have still not seen one at the Flashes for 3 years.
