Glad the Egyptian Goose made himself known to you - I've had him eating seed out of my hand in the past whilst making his customary noise.

Thanks Andrew that's a great help!

Thanks I'll head there Sunday. I've been to etherow once before but couldn't find a hide? Thanks

Hello! Would really like to see an Egyptian goose as it would be a life tick for me! Is It easy to locate here or does it come and go? I'm gonna take a trip there on Sunday, any advice would be great!
Kevin

12.30 - 14.00

1 Grey Wagtail
Buzzard over Woodheys
Plenty of Mandarin, as previously mentioned, Male outnumbering female.
Blue, Great, Coal & Longtailed Tits
Good numbers of Nuthatch & a couple of Treecreepers

Watched a pair of Dipper 'to' ing & 'fro' ing from what looks like a possible 'des res'

Monday:

Nuthatch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Jay

Kingfisher flew past

Cormorant and Mandarin

Thanks for saying I had to take seed

Sunday 19th February 7.30-10.00am

The usuals on the main lake. No Goosanders at all for me today.
4 Manadarins and 2 Cormorants.
3 Dipper sightings on the river Goyt.

From the hide:
4 Teal
3 Tufted Ducks
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Kingfisher seen on 4 occasions
Flock of 8 Siskin
Many Nuthatch, Great, Blue, Long Tail and Coal Tits.
2 Treecreepers
12 Cormorants
2 Mandarins

Lots of Mandarins between the main lake and the weir. Are they taking over the neighbourhood? Not seen so many here before.

Good on you Chris. As I was still under the weather, we all went for a coffee at Bruntwood Park and a stoll. We had never been before, but will go again.

Now you've got me worried,I'll nip back to have a look in the morning,but chances are they have moved on( either three or four of them)
I suppose there is a chance that the male might have re-surfaced at the other side of the island,but I would say that was about 60 yards away at the time.

Cheers Chris

I found this on the University of Michigan's website. It's the same species (I think) just a different name:

Common mergansers can remain underwater for up to 2 minutes, but maximum recorded dive times are 52 seconds in 2 to 3 m water and 37 seconds in 18 to 37 m water, with a typical dive lasting less than 30 seconds.


So it doesn't look too
good if it didn't resurface anywhere in that time

Nice to see you both again Chris.
Did not find any Dippers, but loads of Tuffties behind the pump house. Mandarin on the Canal and 75% of two pairs of Goosander on the main lake. Assume the other male was somehwre.

Geoff

Short walk 12.30 - 2.30, highlight was 2 kingfishers darting up and down river from hide. Also views of nuthatch , treecreeper and usual tits along main path.

Brief visit to hide today,@ 13:00 ;
All usual birds present plus:
Large flock of long-tailed tits,feeding on suet pellets and fat balls,
Great views of goldcrest - about 8 feet away for a few minutes,
Two treecreepers,
At least two jays,
Little grebe, cautiously eating a stickleback!

Cheers Chris.

The Peet family wrote:

---

What birds would likely visit the table if you were there for a day

---

The usual birds that visit the table by the hide are:chaffinches,
blue,great and coal tits,plenty of nuthatches, robins and dunnocks.Quite often jays and great spotted woodpeckers put in an appearance. The Egyptian goose has also been known to visit the table for an easy meal!!!

Cheers Chris
P.S Don't forget to take food to put on the table,as it's usually empty!!

-- Edited by Chris Greene on Wednesday 4th of January 2012 05:19:38 PM

A pleasant walk on a stormy day with the river higher and faster flowing than I had seen before. The birds were mostly hiding in the shrub or sheltering in calm waters. The mandarins are absolutely beautiful at the moment. The egyptian goose (does it count as a wild bird?) and mute swans on keg pool were out hunting walkers. Four goosanders (2m, 2f) had moved from the river to the calm waters of keg pool. The tufted ducks were flocking on the river upstream from the hide, and the little grebe was on the opposite side from them sheltering under branches. Cormorants fishing on the higher reaches of the river in the fastest running water: funny to see the snake-like necks sticking out of the water in the most unexpected places, well away from each other. Two jays in the shrubbery opposite the hide. 'All the usuals' were hiding apart from some siskins braving the wind. It was interesting to see the different ways birds react to the conditions.

Brief visit yesterday pm , between showers !!
Highlights from CWT hide :
Little grebe,
30+ tufted ducks,
2 M and 1 F teal,
Female goosander ,
16 cormorants in roost tree ...
2 grey wagtails near weir .

Cheers Chris

1020-1400

Mostly same as Steven's post

The Egyptian Goose was at the Keg Pool when I caught up with it. Also present:
2 Mute Swan
1 Little Grebe

Also around Keg trail and nature reserve

Lesser Redpoll at least 5 birds in the area, possibly more
2 Nuthatches on nature reserve path

A pair of Dippers exhibiting signs of courtship behaviour, with the male singing whilst chasing the female high around the weir area

The one that really got me though was 11 Tufted Ducks coming to bread on the river

A semi-rarity for the park yesterday with only my second ever record of a goldeneye there in over 25 years. A female, it was on the keg pool but wary, swimming to the other side when I or other walkers used the path round it.

Not a great deal else. About a dozen siskins, 4+ goldcrests, 4 treecreepers, a few redwings heard, loads of mandarins going through the early stages of courtship, and mid-teens of cormorants.

c 35 Siskin and a flock of 5+ Siskin. Not much else.
Redwings and Fieldfares totally absent.

12-3pm in the drizzling rain.
1 dipper
1 kingfisher
1 grey wagtail
3 teal
6 cormorants
2 grey herons
plenty off mandarins around,also nuthatches & jays.
4 goldcrests in with flock off tits.
plus all usual birds around.

3 young manderin in different locations plus one adult female manderin. From the hide kingfisher, cormerant, egyptian goose and two mute swans with only one cygnet

1 Kingfisher flew up and down river etherow twice this evening, with 5 young grey wags visible on the river itself. 4 young Manderin on the far end of the lake.

10:45 to 13:00

A maximum count of 12 Crossbills, including 2 adult males, this morning - the first Crossbills I've seen for about 10 years.

Met up with fellow forum members Jon Beckett and his father as I was just entering Erncroft Wood and with John Rayner and Ken Dunning who were viewing the birds as I arrived. Nice to put faces to postings.

A walk further up the path to Glossop Rd and back produced sightings of:
5 Coal Tits (adults with juveniles chasing them around).
Several Great Tits, Blue Tits, Wrens and Blackbirds.
2 singing Chiffchaff.
1 Adult Nuthatch with 2 young.
By the time I returned to where the Crossbills had been seen they had moved on.

From/near the hide:
1 Grey Heron.
Several Mandarin Ducks with ducklings and 1 very 'eclipsed' male.
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Chiffchaff.
Blackcap.
Jay.
Many Canada Geese with goslings.
3 Tufted Ducks.

Rick.

At least 15 Crossbills still present in Ernocroft Wood, between 2 and 3.30pm. Excellent views of some birds perching for long periods on dead branches at eye level. They were also the quietest Crossbills I have ever come across with not a sound for the whole hour and a half until they flew off for a short distance at 3.30pm.
Birds were still in general area feeding a few yards below the main path. Walk up the main path in Ernocroft until you come to an oak tree covered in wild Honeysuckle - birds feeding about 15-20 yds below there.
Also 2 Treecreepers on larch where Crossbills feeding.

At least 3 broods of Mandarin Ducks in front of hide.
3 pairs of Lapwings on field adjacent to top path (above canal section) with at least 2 very well developed young - must have been an early nesting from size of birds + plumage.