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Post Info TOPIC: Etherow Country Park and Nature Reserve


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RE: Etherow Country Park and Nature Reserve


We had a nice walk 10-12.30 am Both lakes were 95% frozen and also a lot of the canal. Two or three sets of hybrids on the lake, plus the usual stuff. A couple of manderin on the large large lake, and sparrows as usual by the club house.

Behind the pump house,;_
Manderin
Goosander
Tufties
Teal
Swans

Walk to Keg incl Sunny Corner
Gt.SW
Ls.SW
Great Tits
Blue Tits
Coal Tits
Bullfinch
Nuthatches
Siskin
Chaffinches
Goldcrest
Treecreepers
A croaking raven heard but not seen
Robins











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Dec 23rd 8.45 - 10.45.

Mandarins - only 12 seen
1 male Goosander
Uncounted Mallard
Uncounted Canada Geese but well into triple figures of these.
6 Moorhen
c20 Coot
1 Egyptian Goose
2 Mute Swans
5 Tufted Duck

Small birds appear to be suffering here. No Long-tailed Tits (again) 2 Coal Tits and only a scattering of Blue/Great Tits. Only 2 Greenfinches and 4 Goldfinches seen.

Wrens, Blackbirds and Nuthatches seem to be doing OK.

Cheers, John

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7 December (13.30 - 15.15)

Male Goosander below weir
Only 12 Mandarins (6m, 6f)
Egyptian Goose on bird table at hide
Tawny Owl

Cheers, John

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Didn't get a really good look at it, it flew back down the path behind me and dropped over the river bank. Perhaps this will encourage more people to spend a little more time scanning the area rather than sitting in the hide watching the river roll past.

-- Edited by Tony Mario on Saturday 4th of December 2010 10:28:02 AM

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It's uncommon once again Tony but not so rare as to be definitive for a Common Snipe to sit tight, especially in hard weather when they are really reluctant to fly. We have to actively flush our Snipe survey areas (and have special techniques for Jack Snipe) and a few can and will sit tight. At that range though I'd expect their smaller size and much more rounded wingtips to be apparent.

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I know you dont like disscusions running on the sightings board, but another factor to consider is that the bird must have seen me coming along the long straight path to its postion for at least 75m but didn't move til I was only about 1.5-2m (made me jump!). I have never walked so close to Common in all my birding days.

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And that is my only point Vic. Tony's sighting was indeed probably a Jack Snipe but nothing in it is absolutely definitive, nor excludes Common Snipe beyond all reasonable doubt. Should we as birders conclude and accept such sighting are confirmed off such an impression? Jack Snipe are, as you will well know, so much more than a short, silent flight and are highly distinctive on jizz alone in flight

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I've monitored a site for both species for many years and have only ever seen 2 or 3 Common Snipe flush silently and fly a fairly short distance. In each case they were flushed from several yards away and landed 30 -50 yards away.
As Ian says Common Snipe can sometimes flush silently so on its own is useless as an indicator of Jack, as is flying a short distance.
However I can say that every snipe I've seen showing all the criteria of the following has been a Jack Snipe.

1 Flushing from almost underfoot
2 Silent
3 Flying a very short distance - almost all I have seen, less than 30 yards, and on the site I monitor often only 10-15 yards.
4 Very straight flight - to me, even when flying a short distance the flight of Common can be a little erratic.
The site that I monitor is a very small site whilst I suspect that the sites Ian monitors are much larger. This may well be the reason why more of the Common Snipe he sees, alight a short distance away. At the site I record, a flight of more than 20 yards would put the Common Snipe into a fairly dry area of rough pasture. Which probably explains the fact that the vast majority that I see fly off into the distance.
Another criteria that Ian mentions, namely the weather can of course cause birds to behave aberrantly. For arguments sake let us assume that the bird was a Common Snipe : the weather has been so extreme that the bird could have been more reluctant to fly a greater distance than usual, if it had found an unfrozen area in which to feed. Although it is a fairly small marsh area near the hide there are a couple of springs there that rarely freeze.
On reflection on second thoughts I feel that it is very probably a Jack Snipe Tony saw - however particularly taking into account the weather, in all honesty a Common cannot be ruled out.

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Muddy pool margins... also the favoured habitat of Common Snipe

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I understand your comment of habitat counts for nothing during this weather. But qoting Collins, "Breeds in extensive waterlogged bogs. on passage and in winter, muddy pool margins etc" which fits the bill for the area behind the hide, an area much overlooked in my opinion perhaps the hide should be turned round to face the other way it may be more productive.biggrin.gif

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Ok, I'll bite and throw a little spanner in the works! I regularly monitor both Snipe and Jack Snipe at a couple of county sites (one of which held the highest density in the UK for the latter a few years ago) and Snipe can, albeit fairly uncommonly, fly off only short distances before dropping back in and are often scilent when flushed. So, such actions as exhibited by the Etherow Snipe certainly don't preclude a Common. As for choice of habitat, particularly in our current weather conditions, it counts for exactly nothing in my opinion.

Could well have been a Jack Snipe but that's all without something more substantial, for me anyway.

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Certainly not heard of any records of Jack Snipe, but it is a known site for Woodcock, so a JS is a strong possibility.

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Thanks for the reply, I too am pretty sure it was a Jack Snipe, I was interested if anyone else had seen one round there the area behind the hide is, as I say, perfect breeding territory.

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I've been a regular at Etherow CP for 30 years and have never recorded Jack Snipe and have seen very few Common Snipe ( I did once see a Dunlin perch on ice at the edge of the river). None of the regular birders I know have recorded them there as far as I know.
From your description despite a brief view I would say you have without doubt recorded a Jack Snipe.

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Tony Mario wrote:

Does anyone have a record of Jack Snipe here?






I take it the deafening silence is a no then. Perhaps I asked the wrong question so .... Have Jack Snipe been recorded at Etherow Country Park ?

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Does anyone have a record of Jack Snipe here? Pretty sure I flushed one from the side of the boardwalk up to the hide this aftenoon. It didn't flush til I was on top of it, silent short flight and the habitat is perfect, but all too fast for positive ID.
Also today,
2 Buzzard
2 Raven
12 Lesser Redpoll
1 Little Grebe
2 Goosander
c6 Teal
Egyptian Goose stood feedding on bird table
Sparrowhawk being chased thru woods by Crow
plus all the usual cast.

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Sat Nov 27th 08.00hrs - 10.00hrs

In addition to the Peregrine & Lapwings.

1 GS Woodpecker
3 Nuthatch.
4 Redwing.

Nice to meet John Rayner, William Binns & his better half down there.

Roger

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Peregrine NW over St Paul's Church and a flock of c30 Lapwing high East

Cheers, John



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2 Egyptian Geese - usual one near cafe and 1 on Keg.
1 Goosander (m) on Keg
9 Tufted Duck - only 1 male
32 Mandarin
1 Buzzard
1 Raven
flocks of 11 and c15 Siskin
10 Redwings

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6 Goosander (Lodge Pool)
2 Egyptian Geese (1 Lodge Pool, 1 Hide)
1 Kingfisher (Hide)

Cheers, John

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Visited yesterday between 1300-1500hrs... All usual residents on main lodge and backwater ,plus a few new very domesticated fowl !!! Approx 200 bh gulls on main lake. Altogether on site ,I counted 31 male ,and 22 female Mandarins. At the CWT hide ,3m and 3f tufties, 11 cormorants in tree upsteam, a few wild mallards ,and a brief fly-past by kingfisher ... Then , after feeling sorry for a very forlorn - looking nuthatch on the 'empty' bird-table near the hide, I crumbled my final piece of duck-bread up ,onto the table .... Within 5 mins of this , 3 nuthatches , 2 great-tits, 5 blue-tits, 1 coal-tit ,a chaffinch ,robin, and finally a jay , had visited the table !!! ...So the moral of my rather long - winded story is - If you do visit Etherow CP , I think the birds would appreciate some more "suitable food" ...as the tables around the site all seem a bit bare recently !! Cheers Chris

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11/10/10 14:40 - 16:40

c100 Black Headed Gulls
c25 Mandarins
1 Cormorant
5 Long-Tailed Tits
2 Blue Tits
3 Moorhens
1 Song Thrush
1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker
1 Dipper @ Weir
c20 House Sparrows
1 Dunnock
2 Magpies
1 Egyptian Goose

@ Keg Pool
2 Mute Swans
1 female Goosander
1 Egyptian Goose
5 Mandarins
1 Little Grebe
5 Coots
2 Moorhens

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2nd Oct

Plenty of very vocal Nuthatches (c7), an Egyptian Goose feeding with Canadas in the field by hide approach and a party of 23 Mandarin roosting opposite the hide (10m, 9f, 4juv) were ther highlights.

Little Grebe on Keg Pool (per John Ireland)

Cheers, John

-- Edited by John Rayner on Saturday 2nd of October 2010 02:16:18 PM

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7-8pm Mon

I have never seen so few birds on the water. a handful of mallard, 3 Coote, 3 White geese, and that was about it. No grebe, No Mandarin. The only redeeming feature was a Dipper just down from the weir.

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Kingfisher (and fox) from the hide.
(F) Tufted Duck on Keg Lake with 4 young.
Biggest surprise was a (f) Shoveler on the large pond at the back of the hide (ie the pond on the left of the road going to the farm).This is only the second one I've recorded at Etherow CP in 30 years. The bird was present at 4.30pm but not seen at 5pm on returning from hide. Could still be present in the marginal vegetation.

Sadly the best scrub area and the last nesting area for Garden Warblers which was destroyed by the wardens is now choked with Himalayan Balsam - another fine piece of conservation work by the wardens

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Can I just extend this topic to include Compstall as a whole (as it is often better than Etherow CP anyway).

A couple of hours out this p.m. had a nice couple of highlights. Firstly, a Green Woodpecker was heard calling, and this subsequently flew out of Redbrow Wood and across onto Lower Watermeetings Farm where it landed on a fence post!

Near the end of my tramp round, I stopped on the track to Brabyns Park to look across the Etherow valley where a hobby flew from behind me, across Compstall ETW, and away towards the telephone mast behind Cherry Tree estate, Romiley. The start of another autumn run of local sightings?

The best of the rest were:-

Buzzard (as usual)
Kestrel (m & f)
Common Gull (1 on farm fields)
Stock Doves (2)
Grey Wagtails (3)
Bullfinch (h)

Also not bad for butterflies - see Manchester wildlife site.



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2 Ravens were the highlight of a quiet morning.

Anthony

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At least one Common Crossbill this morning from Ernocroft Wood, on the lower trail.
Many roving flocks too .6 Treecreepers, Chiff Chaff, 2 Nuthatch, 3 GS Woodpecker, many yopung Coal tit,2 Goldcrest
2 Stock Doves, 2 Tufted Duck, 4 Jay.
27 Mandarins, 2 Kingfishers, and Shoveler still.
Main lake GC Grebe and Egyptian Goose. Sparrowhawk over with prey.

Worth the constant mizzle!
Chris H

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Had a rather hopeful look around for the Egrets this evening and had no luck cry.gif

Anthony

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2 Little Egrets this morning on main lake, until flushed by a Common Buzzard at 9.15. Flew towards Marple Bridge.
Also female Shoveler on CWT pond, 36 Mandarins, 2 GS Woodpeckers, Egyptian Goose,
Sparrowhawk, 7 Jays and 3 Chiff Chaff
Chris H

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I noticed on Sunday that one or two of the young Mandarin on the backwater seemed very used to human contact which I thought was pretty unusual.

I think there has been a lot more people feeding the birds at Etherow this year, every since that harsh winter and as a result some birds are getting bolder.

The Mandarin at the back of the pump house seem their usual selves still...They will take bread as ever, but they don't hang about after!

Anthony

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I was doing a Bird Atlas count here yesterday (I'm afraid I can only do the late summer ones is poor weather, otherwise I get distracted by butterflies and dragonflies), and was stood by the 'canal' counting ducks and stuff. They obviously thought 'here's some nutter out in the rain with food' and came swarming out from cover. This was fair enough, but some behaviour was new to me, mostly because I'd thought they were only 'semi' tame. Six or seven of the mandarins climbed out of the water, up the bank and stood around literally at my feet!! Has anyone else seen this before? Anyway suffice it to say they looked even more cute at point blank range than they normally do. I hope though that they are not all going to become like the geese and other odd assortment of the cafe area.

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Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from the hide this morning.
Kingfisher flew past also.

Anthony

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I was delighted to find a female Redstart in the same area where the male was singing earlier this year,

Cheers, John

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Saturday 12th June 6.30-8.30

Grey Heron 1
Pied Wagtail 4 (2 juvenile)
Grey Wagtail 2
Dipper 2
Tree Creeper 1
GSW 4
Nutchatch 4
Blackcap 2
Bullfinch 3
Tufted Duck 2
Egyptian Goose 1
Cormorant (in flight) 1
Great Crested Grebe 2
Many of the usual geese and tits. Plenty of noise coming from the Song Thrushes too.

All in all a very productive morning.

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10 Mandarin, straggly eclipse males included.
One pair had 8 young on the canal between main lake and weir
Egyptian Goose, Nuthatch, 3 Chiff Chaff, Blackcap, 2 Great crested Grebes,
Buzzard, Tufted Duck other highlights.
Chris H

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Sounds like a Domestic/Farmyard Duck that one Adam there are a few of them scattered about Etherow.

Anthony

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Saturday 5th June 7.00-8.30am

A quietish morning.

A Dipper by the weir, accompanied shortly afterwards by a Grey Wagtail.
1 Jay
1 Grey Heron on the Pond
Several Greylag geese, among others.

I also have an unidentified white duck if anybody can help me out? Afraid I am not the best with wildfowl.

It is all white, slightly smaller than a Mallard with quite a small head and a bright orange beek. It was on the river this morning moving in towards the bank and the shelter of the over hanging trees. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks
Adam

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A mix of hirundines with 4 Swallows, 2 Sand Martins and 2 House Martins near visitor centre.

Elsewhere quiet with a few Goldcrest, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps singing. 1 Grey Wagtail at weir.

7 adult Mandarins (5f, 2m) included a pair with 5 ducklings near brick blockhouse (weir)

A frequent birder to the area told me he had counted a max of 34 Mandarin ducklings at Etherow but didn't say how many broods this involved.

Cheers, John



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Went back last night Woodcock hunting - nothing! Did hear those slightly-suspicious calls again - from the stand of trees to the right of the path if you continue on up the main path before the turn off to the left. The irritating Egyptian Goose managed to keep interrupting the silence from all the way down near the farm.

Visit sunday morning - baby Mandarin Ducklings and older "Cootlings" galore (the former near the hide). Heron near the visitors' centre. Grey Wagtails (with young) and Dipper from the weir and also a Dipper flew along in front of the hide. One immature cormorant in its tree. A few Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Blackcaps. Willow warblers across the Etherow from the far end of Keg Pool. Plenty of Nuthatches (although few now calling) and a couple of GS Woodpeckers. Found neither Treecreeper, Redstart nor Kingfisher.

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Mandarin brood from CWT hide this afternoon. Egyptian Goose there too.
Lapwing in ploughed field at top.
A few Swallows, House Martins, Blackcaps and Chiff Chaffs
Nice broods of Coot, Moorhen, Mallard and Greylag for the kids
Pair of GC Grebe
Chris H

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Thanks for the info on the species I asked about.
I had a late evening walk around the Keg tonight and ended up sitting on the Woodcock Bench from 9:15 until 10:30. Plenty of bats but no roding woodcock :(
I did though hear a couple of what may have been woodcock calls but that ID is far from certain. The two individual calls came from up in the trees quite close to me and then the originators flew off in the direction of the furthest end of the Keg but I could barely even make out the movement of them, never mind get any idea of size or shape as it was just so dark by then!
Apart from something sizeable trotting through the bluebells up in the trees behind me and a badger back near my car, that was it apart from a distant tawny owl!
The redstarts kept quiet too cry.gif

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Hi Tony,

I've sent you a PM.

Cheers, John

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Last known Wood Warbler was 11th June 2005. It was heard from the coal mining display board along the canal and was singing in Ernocroft. This species is a labour of love in this part of the country, so you will be very lucky to hear/see one on a casual visit if at all. Pied Flycatchers took a dive about two years ago after kindly using one of the nest boxes at Sunny Corner for a few years. Another species joining the long Stockport extinction list perhaps?

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2 Redstarts
Many Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs.
A Chiffchaff with unusual song - not the normal song extension that it sometimes adds to its song. Def. NOT an Iberian Chiffchaff in case anyone gets excited!

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[BTW, are Woodcock heard roding here? If so, when is a good time to hear them?]

Now at dusk. Although it's three years since I last went looking for them.

If you sit on the benches just past the path that leads down to the keg pool and wait for dusk I don't think you will be disappointed


-- Edited by Paul Hammond on Monday 17th of May 2010 07:09:24 AM

-- Edited by Paul Hammond on Monday 17th of May 2010 07:10:04 AM

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Grey wagtail and dipper from the weir bridge. Someone this morning had seen a Mink from there too.

5 baby Mandarins were escorted down the far side of the river past the hide by 'mum'.
Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and drumming over the far end of the Keg somewhere or beyond (heard from the shelter there) but no cuckoos.
Nuthatches very much in abundance but they seem to have largely shut up in contrast to a few weeks ago. Treecreepers still audible. Heard Goldcrest in a couple of places and Bullfinches were at the far end of Keg Pool.
Blackcaps, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff continue to make themselves known but no signs of anything like Pied Flycatcher or Wood Warbler. Are the latter seen here?
Two Great Crested Grebe on the main lake. Not seen the Barnacle Goose on my last two visits but there's a slightly peculiar Canada Goose near the visitors' centre that has extra white on its face to usual...?!
Also seen one Canada gosling and enough baby coots to populate the entire river Etherow.

BTW, are Woodcock heard roding here? If so, when is a good time to hear them?

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 16th of May 2010 06:47:00 PM

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Missed hearing the cuckoo.cry.gif
Mandarins appear to have moved to the canal.
In addition to the usual woodland ones already entioned
Kingfisher from hide
Dipper on river below main lodge
3 coots hatched Parents fighting madly with another coot
2 tufted on main lodge
GS Woodpecker near sunny corner keg and a couple of jays
Fly over heron
And they appear to have stopped pay and display. The machines have all gone but the signs 'have you paid and displayed' remain.confuse.gif
Cheers Ian

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Monday 3rd of May 2010 11:42:52 PM

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0900-1040
Cuckoo heard calling in distance from East end upstream beyond Keg Pool.

Counted 12 Mandarin; 11m, 1f.

Usual woodland crowd...Blackcap, WW, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, etc.... no redstart for me.

Single swallow and House Martin around Keg Pool

Grey Wags near weir.

Good to meet you John (Rayner); good luck to your team tomorrow and hope the damaged fingers hold out!

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Late news for 28th April (8.00 - 12.00)

Similar spread of species as on 22nd with addition of a nice Tawny Owl. No new woodland migrants despite a thorough search of the woodland either side of the valley.

Cheers, John

-- Edited by John Rayner on Thursday 29th of April 2010 08:30:35 PM

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