ok i,ve had to duck checking dover basin for the godwits during the working week and if you scroungers get any 'countables' i,ll deduct them from couldn,t go so don,t count list, as you wander around keep half an ear out for ? roding woodcock or snipe druming on the crankwood side i heard some thing but just didn,t nail it down
sunday 23/03/08 early morning dover basin all the usual,but minus any godwits, 4 shellduck making quite a din until a jogger spooked them off presumabley to pennington
lightshaw 4 redshank 1 lapwing 6 mallard,very sparsely populated this a.m but the views have been improved by the local beaver population
You will be the first person I ring when I find a county first. Hope the speed cameras on the M6 dont work. Kirby Lonsdale to Dover Basin in 56 minutes.
Not seen a post for the Rumworth Avocets yetDont tell Warfy.
Must have been a bit of movement by midday, Geoff, as I had a pair of Pintail (thought at one point I saw 2 males and the female) 12 Gadwall, 30 Teal, one Redshank, 4 Goosanders and a Shoveler but only one Blackwit and no Snipe or Shelducks (but 4 at Lightshaw)
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
A breezy walk down the canal to Lightshaw produced 12 Redshanks and the Blackwit and a couple of Shelduck at Lightshaw Hall Flash; nothing of particular note on Dover Basin today
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
dover basin 1 redshank 2 pair pintail 2 moorhens 6 coot 1 shelduck 4 mallard 6 tufted 12 teal 1 black t godwit 1 shoveler 2 gadwall 1 heron 2 mute swan 3 goosander 3 pochard 1 cracking good day on a water that can be moody to say the least
1 raven(distant) 1 male pintail (over)could have been one of the dover basin bunch but after walked back to dover expecting to count five could only find the four,so no points for me then.
Finally managed to set off and walk upright after two aborted attempts over the weekend, due to these damned infernal gales !
Lightshaw Flash ;
3 Buzzards. 5 Redshank. 2 Oystercatcher. 4 Snipe. 47+ Teal. 11 Gadwall. Red-legged Partridge on the roof of Lightshaw barn !? 2 Grey Partridge. Sparrowhawk. 3 Kestrels, one running after something on the grass near Dover pub. Shelduck on Dover Basin. female Stonechat in hedges behind the Basin.
cheers geoff, also found dead mystrey bird, wings,tail and most of torso but struggled to id the headless corpse i,ve asked for help and rob thorpe has idenified it,woodpigeon,
-- Edited by Geoff Hargreaves at 14:52, 2008-03-01
TTV and WeBS counts today at the Abram Flashes (Lightshaw, Dover, Coffin Brook Flash and Glover's Pool (that's the new lake the FC dug for us, level with the aqueduct, after Tim Melling from the RSPB and Martyn Walker from LWT said it wasn't a feasibility) - named after Andy Glover who proved them wrong. Pretty standard for the time of year with about 15 Shoveler a highlight, but best of all was a huge Noctule bat, flycatching on the marshes behind the Dover Pub, at 1230pm in the sunshine. Noctules are regular along this valley, but this was the first time I'd had such great views in daylight.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
Red Lion Marsh: i could only find one Snipe, but one of my welleys was leaking so i didnt stay in the marsh for long. Kingfisher in the rushes by the boardwalk 2 Mistle Thrush with a Starling
Dover Basin: 5 Tufted Duck 6 Mallard 2 Mute Swan a few Coot 3 Meadow Pipit over
Coffin Brook Flash: 4 Tufted Duck 8+ Teal hiding along the edges some Mallard Cormorant over
5 Snipe in Red Lion Marsh 1 G S Woodpecker 1 Kestrel 3 Tufted Duck and 8+ Teal on Coffin Brook Flash 30+ Fieldfare going in to roost near the Boardwalk.
Jack Snipe @ Coffin Brook Flashes 15:00 also 8 Stock Dove, Water Rails calling, 3 Tufted Duck. Hundreds of Black-headed Gulls heading for Pennington Flash.
Myself & Warfy had a quick look at lunch. Water levels still high. Lots of Duck on Lightshaw:- 4 Wigeon, 20+ Shoveler, 30+ Gadwall, 6 Tufted Duck, 100 Teal, 100+ Mallard, Pinkfoot and 4+ Plastic decoys!
Flock of 15 Reed Bunt & 4 Yellohammer near the farm buildings
DOVER water level up nearly 6 foot. Pair Pochard and male Goosander
WeBS count today - the water level was up 6ft so that nearly the whole valley was flooded - impossible to see where the Hey Brook ended and the various flashes began. Quite a sight. At Lightshaw, 4 Wigeon and a Shelduck, about 25 Teal visible for a change.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
Barn Owl (the first bird I saw on getting out of the car...............nice ) Buzzard perched up behind Dover Basin. Pink-footed Goose with Canada`s on Dover. Shelduck flying W over. 4 Goosanders (3 drk) flying W along the canal. 3 Snipe on Dover Lock marsh. Teal - 13 on Dover & 27 on Lightshaw. 2 Gadwall. Kestrel & Sparrowhawk. a steady stream of Jackdaws over, coming from Crankwood area.
01/11/07 am, all the usual tits,lots of redwing and fieldfare ,walked upto lightshaw and finally added the little owl to me list(lifer, county, site, and probably the lightshaw list when it emerges)no whinchat today cos i had me camera with me,strolled back through crankwood (banjo in the background)no surprises but a very nice pheasant and moorhens feeding amongst the cows also.lapwing ,crows,jay,kestrel,gulls over,34 speies noted and enjoyed
10 Wigeon (a further 2 on Lightshaw) 53 Gadwall 18 Shoveler 15 Teal 3 Snipe 2 Little Grebes
Buzzard perched up, being hammered by screeching Magpies, Crows and Jays. Willow Tit nr. Dover pub Mute Swan `LND` with mate & 5 well grown cygnets along canal.
2 of the Little Owls showing on Lightshaw barn. Buzzard having a mid-air tussle with a Heron (or I should say the Heron wanted it out of the area ; the Buzzard wasn`t that interested really). Kingfisher along the canal. 3 Little Grebes - 1 on Lightshaw, 2 on Dover 3 Kestrels, Muscovy Duck at Smith`s Bridge.
Lightshaw ; 2 Black-tailed Godwit. Buzzard perched on the fence directly behind the flash. 5 Snipe. only 3 of the Little Owls showing, one of them a juv. 2 Stock Doves also on the roof. 4 Grey Partridge (2 juvs) in the adjacent field.
Kingfisher skirted round Dover Basin. the Shoveler brood here, keeping to the reed-line. several Common Terns up and down the canal. 2 Cormorant over NW. Willow Tits calling.
Yeah, but you didn't dip on the Lesserlegs at Leighton Moss today as well now did you Simon! Aw...sorry Ian, that was just between you and me wasn't it
Sorry about the name change pal, all done in the best possible taste back to normal now though...unitl next time
2 Oystercatcher over Dover Basin heading for Lightshaw. juv Reed Warbler & adults - Dover reedbed. 2 Common Tern along the canal. 3 Willow Tit & Lesser Redpoll near Glovers Pool. Kestrel hunting over Viridor Wood. Sparrowhawk. Yellowhammer near Dover pub