05/04/2009 - No sign of the Little Egret this morning but it could easily be hidden still in one of the ditches or Timperley Brook. Other stuff included:

4 Lapwings (2 pairs fighting)
1 Chiffchaff
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Siskin
1 Stock Dove
c100 Woodpigeons (increase in recent days)

Another good local patch find for Henerz, showing the rewards of patch birding.

Had a very brief look from the roads this evening but couln't see it, disappointingly did find a well decomposed raptor which I took to be a Buzzard.

LITTLE EGRET this morning 10:25am in fields just north of Timperley Brook, north of Shay Lane, Hale Barns. Access off Buttery House Farm.

Also viewable from Clay Lane, looking south in the sheep field nearest the farm buildings.

All info thanks to Henry Cook

30/03/2009 - Small migrant increase but still waiting for some hirundine action locally. Great views of a pair of Kestrels in the area, actively hunting and displaying.

2 Chiffchaffs
1 Linnet
5 Siskins
2 Lesser Redpolls
7 Bullfinches
2 Mistle Thrushes
1 Fieldfare
3 Song Thrushes
2 Kestrels (pair displaying in fields N of Shay Lane, a rare sight here these days)
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Grey Heron
1 Moorhen
1 Mallard
4 Mipits (over)
1 Pied/White Wagtail (over)

28/03/2009 - winter is not willing to exit yet, quiet generally in the biting wind but a few notable sightings in the Davenport Green area:
c40 Redwings (flying NW this morning)
4 Stock Doves
1 Treecreeper
2 Lesser Redpolls (females)
7 Bullfinces (4m, 3f)

31/01/2009 - A farewell visit to my local patch for a while and the birds came out to say goodbye! Sightings included:
5 Teal
5 Grey Herons
14 Mallards
1 Moorhen
23 Black-headed Gulls
10 Common Gulls
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
2 Mistle Thrushes
7 Siskins
25 Lesser Redpolls
12 Goldfinches
12 Chaffinches
10 Greenfinches
6 Bullfinches

-- Edited by Henry Cook at 10:45, 2009-02-01

17/01/2009 - A brief walk in a small window of sunlight in the fields north of Shay Lane this morning revealed:
2 Ravens
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Stock Doves
4 Jays
c50 Redwings
1 Song Thrush
13 Starlings
6 Bullfinches
7 Lesser Redpolls
c20 Goldfinches
c20 Pied Wagtails (on the 15th heading south towards the Manchester Airport roost)

-- Edited by Henry Cook at 14:18, 2009-01-17

Thanks Ian, will head down for a scan soon.

04/01/2009 - Little around recently but a rise in action today as the temp rose a touch (still cold enough for snow and ice thick enough to walk out on though!)
1 Common Gull
5 Herring Gulls
c60 Black-headed Gulls
2 Buzzards
2 Kestrels
2+ Sparrowhawks
2 Tawny Owls
1 Stock Dove
1 Snipe
4 Mallards
1 Grey Wagtail
1 Raven
1 Mistle Thrush
c20 Redwings
4 Treecreepers
6 Nuthatches
9 Bullfinches
8 Goldfinches
3 Lesser Redpolls
c20 Pied Wagtails (flying due south straight towards Manchester airport before dusk. Does anyone know of a particular roost site at the airport?)

-- Edited by Henry Cook at 16:14, 2009-01-04

23/12/2008 -
2 Ravens
1 Grey Wagtail
1 Fieldfare
1 Kestrel
2 Stock Doves

-- Edited by Henry Cook at 11:35, 2008-12-23

15/12/2008 - More activity now the frost has gone but the highlight and a new patch tick for me was a flyover Great Black-backed Gull. Other birds included:
1 Grey Heron
2 Mallards
1 Moorhen
5 Siskins
1 Mistle Thrush
1 Fieldfare

Nice count of Redpolls, are they in your garden? Coz you've had Mealy in the past i seem to remember.

12/12/2008 - Less frosty in the fields north of Shay Lane and the fields towards Newall Green this morning which revealed 2 Ravens, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Teal and 2 Kestrels.

07/12/2008 - A simply beautiful morning, allsorts of contrasting frost-tinged hues you only see once in a blue moon! The birds had done a big clear-out though leaving me with:
7 Bullfinches
1 Moorhen
2 Black-headed Gulls
c20 Redwings
23 Mallards (flew over north)

05/12/2008 - Out with the dog on a blustery but at times sunny winters morning I was greeted by a distinct lack of birds in the fields north of Shay Lane. A Kingfisher cheered me up even though in a rather alien territory, that of a short-cropped sheep field! It whizzed through in-between sheep and over hedgerows! Other birds of note included:
1 Raven
5 Pied Wagtails
2 Bullfinches
1 Herring Gull
c200 Black-headed Gulls
c20 Meadow Pipits
1 Mistle Thrush

Thanks. Henry.

12/11/2008 - After a good 5 hours in the field today it was apparent there weren't masses of birds around! Still it was a wonderful day for the weather and the autumnal colours are really coming out now. Winter thrushes were plentiful and there were more Fieldfares in the area. Sighting of the day though was a probable Jack Snipe around the larger reedmace filled pond N of Shay Lane. After being seen it peeled away into the reeds and couldn't be seen afterwards.

Other sightings included:
1 Raven
1 Treecreeper
2 Nuthatch
4 Goldcrests
5 Jays
2 Skylarks
2 Mipits
1 Herring Gull
c150 Black-headed Gulls
1 Coot (a local scarcity)
3 Collared Dove
1 Feral Pigeon
2 Stock Doves
5 Grey Herons
7 Fieldfares
c50 Redwings
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Buzzard
2 Sparrowhawks

Thanks. Henry.

on a farm off shay lane,the swallows haved fledged over the weekend 3 juv on telegraph wires ,they,ll need some intensive flight practice for the journey.

cheers geoff

27/09/2008 - On my last visit for a fair while my puppy dog flushed up a probable Jack Snipe out of the edge of some juncus in the fields north of Shay Lane. Having flushed up 20+ Common Snipes over the last few years from the same area, the small size of this bird was instantly obvious but too quick for me to see the bill as it flew silenty up and away without zig-zagging. It must have been skulking as i'd scanned the edge of the small juncus filled pond without any sightings. Sadly the habitat was too small for the bird to return.
Quiet otherwise with just the Common Buzzard pair for company overhead.
Thanks. Henry.

-- Edited by Henry Cook at 19:00, 2008-09-27

Almost certainly a different bird as you say, but I'll have to downgrade my Kite from probable to possible just in case.

So frustrating, as I always have my optics in the car...well almost always!

Hoping to get to Flam tomorrow before Dan!

Could well be the same bird - and i wasn't at all suggesting your bird wasn't a HB, flipping hate forums!
Cheers,
M.
PS Dan P isn't the Dan from Morocco BTW.

-- Edited by Mike Duckham at 11:22, 2008-09-25

Top end near Fairywell Wood. Had Lesser Whiteys, winter Reed bunt and Redstart too. Lapwings tried to nest in a wheat field down Clay Lane one year. Sent a few records to Judith Smith. Ah what fond memories!

PS Not sure about which morph Pete Browns HB was - guessing pale. Think it was before the influx? Dan Pointon's offering a lift to the coast.

Edit - interesting coincidence with Rob. Wonder if his brief view of a kite-like bird was your HB? Always strike me as v v kite-esque!

-- Edited by Mike Duckham at 22:13, 2008-09-24

Pretty much the only thing that wasn't kite like about the flight was that it didn't twist the tail independantly of the wings which i've seen kites and honey buzzards do in flight but mostly when turning. This bird though was flying in a direct line and fast probably to a roosting spot (brooks drive?!) so didn't bother turning. Kite-like would be a fair way to put it yeah but a lot more powerful.
Interesting that it was a dark phase, most of the birds from the recent influx (originating from scandanavia for further east?) had been dark as far as I know. Do you know if Cidermasters at Gronant was also dark Mike?
Ha, didn't you say the little owls are on Brooks Drive, which bit? Not nailed them yet...

24/09/2008 - a short walk at dusk around the fields north of Shay Lane was pretty quiet until the last drops of daylight! Still, a large flock of silhouetted Long-tailed Tits flew from bush to bush, bounding through the sky with tails outstreched, a Kestrel hovered and a Meadow Pipit worked its way due south on a clear but cool evening as the light started to fall. Then another raptor caught my attention...

Long-winged; my immediate impression was Osprey but i've never seen one well in flight, so better views were needed. I watched it whilst trying to stop the dog pulling on his lead and nearly even pulling me over whilst the nerves were on edge. What was it. Steady for a minute with the dog behaving, the bird flew past. Immediately the proportions became more Buzzard like. It flapped as though it was struggling to fly whilst heading slightly towards me at fairly close approach and glided a couple of times with wings held a little bit below the horizontal. Neck and tail quite long and a Light bulb went off, osprey it was not.
Light levels poor, I tried to get something on the feathering. Dark underwing coverts contrasted with whitish primaries and secondaries with a dark trailing-edge which thinned out around the end primaries. Belly also dark and concolourous with the uppersides. Tail, not easy to descern but I knew this was important to fully ID this nearly night-flying bird! Not clearly seen in the end it didn't flick or flex it during glides as it powered past so not seen.

As I mulled events over a Tawny Owl called to remind me just how dark it was. Forgetting plumage, this bird looked pretty perfect for dark phase HONEY BUZZARD!
My only quibble is whether these birds fly so late in the day? I thought not as they are happier using thermals to glide but it wasn't at high altitude and possibly looking to roost nearby. Having seen a bird well, down in Cornwall earlier this year, the jizz reminded me of this species very quickly and removed the thought of Osprey almost immediately.
Happy with that! What a bird for the patch.
Ta. Henry.


-- Edited by Henry Cook at 21:40, 2008-09-24

Just had a KINGFISHER feeding on a little lake out in the fields north of Shay Lane, very local mega. The tiny lake can be reached by taking the first right over the style at the bottom of Buttery House Lane and walking to the new gate. Carry on straight and the lake appears after only c100 yards.
I've got a perch i've been meaning to erect over the garden pond, think now's the time to do it!

Re: still showing until late but can disappear for a fair while. This puny black lake somehow has managed to attract Wigeon, Teal, Cormorant and nesting Mallard and Moorhen over the years, strange what can turn up when patching.
Thanks. Henerz.


-- Edited by Henry Cook at 20:18, 2008-08-30