1.5 hours this afternoon, before work:

Blue tit
Great tit
Coal tit
Willow tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Robin
Wren
Wood Pigeon
Magpie
Crow
Ring-necked Parakeet
Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Redwing
Song Thrush
Chaffinch
Siskin
Mallard
Teal
Gadwall
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Coot
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Heron
Kingfisher

Quick call in  to the car park on way home yesterday evening:

Canada Geese

Mute swans

Tufted ducks

Black headed gulls

5 Goosander 

Best counts from the lake during the cold spell and through this week:

Mute Swan  (25);   Teal  (47 on the B.E.D. ice);   Gadwall  (41);  Shoveler  (6);  Tufted Duck  (17);  Goldeneye  (2 fem./imm.);

Goosander  (10);   Cormorant  (9);  Great Crested Grebe  (4);  Little Grebe  (16);  Coot  (94);  Water Rail  (2);

Common Snipe  (3).

Cetti's Warbler still present, but the B.E.D. Chiffchaff disappeared as soon as it froze. Lots of Long-tailed Tit (25+), Siskin (45+).

Ice on the lake gave opportunity to look at gull legs. Apart from three locally ringed regular Black-headed Gulls and a regular Belgian bird, also saw

two Norwegian B.-h. G., a returning Polish bird and a Danish bird. Also, on one day, the Common Gull seen in Jan at S.W.P. was present, ringed as adult on

25/7/20 at the Lofoten Islands, N. Norway, just inside the Arctic Circle. These two S.W.P. sightings are the only ones since ringing.

One of the Norwegian B.-h. Gulls was a bird I saw at S.W.P. in Jan. 2021, ringed as a 3cy+ male nr. Oslo in April 2020 and seen there several times 

each year since, last in April 2023.

The other Norwegian bird was ringed as 2cy at Oslo in May 2022, seen there in June 2022 and April- June 2023, next at S.W.P. for four days this week.

I also saw the Danish bird in Jan.; unfortunately the ringer is one with a bad reputation for replying to reports of his birds. Birder friends

on the east coast and south coast normally ignore his birds as they don't expect a reply. As this bird was close to home I sent off a report

for the January sighting, and guess what, no reply.

The Shag took a bit of finding when I first arrived this morning. It was distant and diving. After I had lunch in my car, I went back out and located it again. Eventually, it swam up onto the slipway by the car park. So glad I hung about as I was aiming for high tide at Parkgate or a walk from Rostherne to Tatton Park. 

Shag is still present this afternoon, showing well,  and having quite a few visitors , they have even come from Audenshaw res to see it .

Shag still present this morning info via Jackie 

Thanks Dave. Just bobbed down now & very showing well.

Anyone had a look today?

Shag still present in the rapidly fading light at 17:35. Always great to get a GM first that is within walking distance from your home!

-- Edited by Andrew Jeffery on Friday 27th of October 2023 06:54:31 PM

info via John Shaunessy 

Shag at Sale water park on the boardwalk present now .

Thanks Chris. I'm a bit reluctant to approach the land-owner, given that I've only seen mink there once. However, if it starts to happen more often, I might take you up on your offer. 

Little Egret at Broad Ees Dole again this morning.

Also, saw a mink kill a moorhen in the river before dragging it onto the bank. I vaguely remember that we're supposed to report mink sightings, but the only place I can find to report them is
https://www.waterliferecoverytrust.org.uk/report-a-sighting/
If I've got that wrong, please let me know.

Pete

Little Egret at Broad Ees Dole this afternoon.

Also a Common Kingfisher there, but apart from that, very quiet.

A few birds on this morning's visit that I don't usually see here:-

• Common Tern, fishing over the lake (see horrible record shot)
• Common Sandpiper, flying low over the lake
• Sedge Warbler, in the marshy scrub beside Cow Lane, below the visitor centre

Also unusual (for me) was a group of six Mistle Thrushes that flew out of the woodland behind Broad Ees Dole and across the river towards Chorlton Ees.