07/06/09 m and f Pochard and 3 ducklings, m Tufted Duck, 12 Mallard ducklings (7 & 5), 2 Moorhen chicks on KGV, singing Chiffchaff Timperley GC, 2 Mute Swan and 7 Canada Geese (5 goslings) on SPL
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Mancunian Birder https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com Visit my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtWoAs4geYL9An0l6w_XgIg
After a fruitless hour watching an empty Hobby territory just over the border in Cheshire I came home and as I was lighting the BBQ my son called to alert me to - yes - you've guessed it, a flyover - but clearly hunting Hobby.
It may have been in the area a while as several over flying Swallows had previously alarm called, I assumed it was in response to an unseen Sparrowhawk.
Bonanza time this morning with first 2, then 3, then 7 and finally 8 Common Buzzard thermalling and displaying over the garden before finally drifting off high to the east.
Local birds or perhaps wintering birds moving out?
Mike, i work around alty /timperly and just stop off at likley looking spots to have my lunch break and yesterday was my first vist, had another look today but the weather was bad, and i obviously missed goldfinch and wood pigeon off the list,one of the big pines looks as though a tawny/little owl has a regular perch there so here.s hoping.
Nice selection of birds in a 10 minute stroll! Have you ever had Little Owl along that section? I ask coz i used to live off Alder Drive by Brooks Drive and i used to hear them calling at night. Cheers.
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Timperley life list c. 89 (ish). Barn Owl 4.11.19, Green Sand 27.8.19, Little Egret 13.2.19, ringtail harrier sp 20.10.18, Fawn Yawn 15.10.18, Grasshopper Warbler 15.4.16, Tree Pipit 13.4.16, Yellowhammer 5.4.15, Hobby May '11, Wigeon Dec '10
2 gs pecker 2 bh gull 6 blackbirds 1 mistle thrush 1 song thrush 12 starling 1 redwing 2 magpie 4 lt tit 2 great tit 1 jay 1 nuthatch 4 blue tit 1 wren 2 robin all in a ten mins leg stretch I half expected to find snow white on the log seat,brooks drive must hold some more, I,ll try to get there more often.
1 heron 4 coot 4 moorhens 10 feral pigeon (over) can,t you just see i,m struggling) 2 mallard 2 blackbirds 2 canada,and a nice surprise 1 nuthatch added to the list.it,s a bit quite a the momment, something/one has cleared the place out,but it,s very urban and i suspect a lot of disturbment over the weekend,just hope that whoever keeps the place litter and dog poo free hasn,t tieded up some of the birds as well.
Good to hear the pool is being regularly birded Geoff. Great shame about the grebe, was always the highlight of my sporadic visits to the site. Have you still bee getting regular views of Kingfisher? They seem to be doing quite well in the area but maybe it's due to dispersing adults after a failed breeding season, hard to say... Thanks. Henerz.
1 grey heron 1 kingfisher,large flock of mixed tits among them 3 goldcrest (or 1 seen3 times)thanks to andy isherwood who gave me a bird watching lesson at penny last year, 1 tree creeper was treat.
sadly the great crested grebe is no more I found it dead tangled up in fishing line some 20 ft out amongst the weeds.
kgv pool mid afternoon,1 great crested grebe,1 grey heron,1 kingfisher,the heron was walking 10ft in front me this afternoon very reluctant to leave its spot,great to see a kingfisher 'fishing' three strikes out of five,the fishermen tell me there are a pair of them but i,ve not been that lucky yet.
kgv pool, quick look mid pm, 1 kingfisher,1 great crested grebe (which needs to undergo the bread/sprat test)very close views on this small urban lake,12 long tailed tits,2 great tits and some lbjs that may have been goldcrest?? .i can feel a site list coming and it,s dead easy flyovers and within the railings ,go on james i,m already at
Had a Hobby from my garden ( a first) in Hale yesterday evening at 18.00, also in amongst the BHGs and swifts before it left the group and headed south. I was thinking of you Rob as you mentioned you'd likely had one a few weeks back, but I guess your four somewhat trumps my singleton. Also had a single common gull mixing with the BHGs each evening
Wow superb! The mind boggles. I remember being ecstatic getting Sprawk and Kessie in Timperley not so many years ago. Used to play for Junior Blues (someone had to) on Smiths Field - north would take the birds towards Brooklands station wouldn't it? Cheers, Mike Duckham.
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Timperley life list c. 89 (ish). Barn Owl 4.11.19, Green Sand 27.8.19, Little Egret 13.2.19, ringtail harrier sp 20.10.18, Fawn Yawn 15.10.18, Grasshopper Warbler 15.4.16, Tree Pipit 13.4.16, Yellowhammer 5.4.15, Hobby May '11, Wigeon Dec '10
Helping to clear up at Unicorn Athletic Tournament at Smith's Fields (not in the Slyvan as some have suggested!) I hit the jackpot today with firstly one, then a second, third and ultimately forth Hobby, hawking insects with a flock of Black-headed Gulls and Common Swift.
The Swift kept above the Hobby, and in a fairly close group.
All the birds drifted slowly north, following the canal until I lost them over Timperley Station.
Without optics I couldn't age them, but it seems a couple of weeks too early for any to have been juveniles.
Ironically, yesterday I was watching a breeding pair on the (wrong side of the) county border in the nearby Dunham area . I've been able to confirm that these two birds were at the breeding site at the same time, so they hadn't come from there.
I remember reading somewhere that Timperley's on a flight line for Shelduck. In fact i seem to recall sightings in the bird reports, this would've been mid '80's i guess! I used to look out for them but don't recall seeing any. However i did see big flocks of Pink Feet from time to time. Cheers, Mike Duckham.
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Timperley life list c. 89 (ish). Barn Owl 4.11.19, Green Sand 27.8.19, Little Egret 13.2.19, ringtail harrier sp 20.10.18, Fawn Yawn 15.10.18, Grasshopper Warbler 15.4.16, Tree Pipit 13.4.16, Yellowhammer 5.4.15, Hobby May '11, Wigeon Dec '10
The Kingfisher showed superbly on King George V Pool and drat I didn't bother with the camera, although with dog in tow it would have been near impossible even at the range the bird was showing. A few hours here for any of the photographophiles amongst us would reap reward at the moment. No sign of any Pochard but I didn't get a chance to check out Stamford Park Pond.
Also about today:- 1 Bullfinch 2 Goldfinches 1 Blackcap 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 16 Canada Geese (6 well-grown and 1 youngish gosling) 3 Coots 7 Moorhens (3 juvs) 1 Great Crested Grebe 2 Black-headed Gulls
King George V Pool - at least 12 Pochard, adult female with at least 6 juvs (hard to count as diving/on vegetated island) and adult female with 4 juvs - this adult female made a solo flight to Stamford Park Lake @ 6:15am, before flying back towards KGV @ 6:35am, also 1 GC Grebe and several young Coot and Moorhen on KGV and 3 Canada goslings and 3 Mallard ducklings on SPL
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Pochard situation cleared up this morning - both broods on King George V Pool, adult female with 4 juvs and adult female with 7 juvs, also pair of Grey Wagtail and GC Grebe
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Hi, would have loved it if this forum had existed when i lived in Timperley, it was lonely not having anyone to swap sightings with! Used to get Grey Wag and Kingfisher on the stream at the end of the platform at Navvy Road station. Timperley Nature Reserve - worked on Park Road near there for a while, would check it from time to time, flushed a load of Snipe once during a snowy spell. Best bird tho was half a dozen Mealies on the way to work (taking a slight detour) on Timperley Golf Course one morning on the deck by the path. Re: rooftop Goldies, i used to walk from Timp into Roundthorn Ind Est to work for a while, and there were some on a roof just near Habitat. Keep it up! Cheers all, Mike.
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Timperley life list c. 89 (ish). Barn Owl 4.11.19, Green Sand 27.8.19, Little Egret 13.2.19, ringtail harrier sp 20.10.18, Fawn Yawn 15.10.18, Grasshopper Warbler 15.4.16, Tree Pipit 13.4.16, Yellowhammer 5.4.15, Hobby May '11, Wigeon Dec '10
It is more likely the Stamford brood has been predated, I would think. Are there any pike/mink there - from what I remember it's very small. Pochard broods would normally all feed together, diving frequently, which makes them difficult to count, but I still don't think they would walk in an urban area.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!