Thanks for the help and advice on the two previous posts.

This am with John Parkinson:

Managed to get a view across the rectangular pool!

Tufted Duck....8
Gadwall......6
Coot........ 4 Including a Juvenile.
Black-headed Gulls....6
A few Swifts overhead.
Passing a bush, on the path that runs alongside the M60, we came across a Buzzard sat on a low fence with its back to us. The bird was just 4 yards from us and did not notice us for 30 seconds.
At the ETW at Ringley we had six Swifts, very close and at head hight
3 Blackcap heard.
A new Electricity transmission pole had had the copper earthing cable hacked off....this will be reported.

Hi, yes those are the ponds I visited. They are probably a couple of miles from Ringley but not too far a walk from there and you get a chance to check out any birds on the river and in the woods along the way too.

I think Ringley was used just as a general area as Shore Top, the canal on the other side of the main road, Outwood Trail and also the fields down Philips Park Road are also included in this thread. Likewise the area covered in the Elton thread is pretty extensive and not just the res. itself. It would be quicker to get to them if you parked at the bottom of Philips Park Road (although the bottom half is pretty ropey) and walked down from there or at the entrance to Giants Seat Nursery and you would still get to walk along the river.

About 18 months ago I saw a barn owl hunting in the evening 3 times in the space of a week whilst walking the dog on the nature trail down Copper Lane that runs down to the Outwood Trail. Never seen one before or since but it was a real thrill.

Just found this forum. Have walked dogs and ridden my bike all around this area for almost 20 years and never knew these ponds existed. So got my map out and decided to have a good explore, eventually found them

Ponds and round about

11.30 - 3.00


Quail removed ,after speaking with Ian most probably young pheasant
2 Jay
3 Grey Herron
3 Pheasant
3 Bullfinch
approx 15 Coot
4 Mallard
2 Mute swans with 1 cygnet
1 Kestrel
1 Song Thrush
1 Long Tailed Tit


-- Edited by Lee on Wednesday 4th of July 2012 10:30:36 AM

As I left the La Roma restaurant this evening in Ringley and walked to the small bridge opposite which goes over the Irwell a Cuckoo flew over my head and landed in the trees next to the river near the Horseshoe pub. It stayed silent but I got great close up views of this male bird. After 2-3 minutes of preening it flew up river. Also seen were 2 Grey wagtails.

Mid Morning Mooch

highlights were a Male Shelduck NW - site tick and a Lesser Whitethroat

water levels very high

2 pairs of coot with young, Pair of Canada Geese with 5 young and the pair of Mute Swan have at least 3 Cygnets.

10 Gadwall
4 Tufted Duck
12 Mallard
2 Little Grebe
7 Whitethroat
100 Swift
15 House Martin
Kestrel
Buzzard
2 Stock Dove

Around the pools this afternoon and the ploughed field above

6 Snipe
15 Gadwall
20+ Mallard
14 Tufted Duck
3 Goldeneye
18 Teal
26 Coot

Buzzard
5 Stock Dove
7 Lapwing
3 Chiffchaff
Coal tit

Late WeBs today

2 Pintail (pair)
2 Wigeon (pair)
31 Gadwall
40 Mallard
30 Teal
2 Tufted Duck
Female Goldeneye
2 Little Grebe
2 Mute Swan
Woodcock
4 Lapwing
9 Cormorant east

2 Bullfinch, 2 Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Raven and 2 Kestrel

-- Edited by Simon Johnson on Saturday 17th of March 2012 07:11:43 PM

Ponds frozen again most birds on river

2 mute swan on a very small patch of water
14 gadwall flushed by a buzzard
20 teal
37 mallard
3 goosander
Little grebe
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Kingfisher

Lunch time visit

Female Pintail
Wigeon
4 Gadwall
37 Teal

(No diving ducks at all - a lot of tree felling has been done around the ponds so may have been pushed off - to Elton!)

2 Goldcrest
Treecreeper
Willow Tit
27 Long-tailed tit
2 buzzard
Kestrel
Bullfinch (male)

On the pools

Gadwall 39
Tufted Duck 34
Shoveler 3
Teal 26
Moorhen 9
Canada Goose 113
Mute Swan 2

other sightings

House Martin 30 se and 24 knocking about
Blackcap 9 inc 6 together
Chiffchaff 5
Whitethroat
Willow Tit
Siskin 16
Woodpigeon 300+ in stubble fields
Buzzard
Kestrel 2

Couple of months since last visit

Gadwall 9 adults + 5 broods = 37 ducklings in total (to start with) (10+9+9+7+2)

However the female of the brood of 10 went mad and 9 ducklings went zooming out to the middle. The 10th fell vicitm to a Mink!! the mink then swam off with it followed by a flock of Black-headed Gulls going mad at it.

The mink are breeding up near the treatment works (and need getting rid of)

Little Grebe 5 only one pair nesting (used to be up to 7 pairs and reckon the Mink have something to do with that too)

Tufted Duck 67
Teal
Mallard 40
Mute Swan 2

Mixed tit flock near motorway bridge had
Long tailed tit 15+
Willow tit
Coal tit 3
Garden Warbler
Great spotted woodpecker and a Jay following

On the ponds

One has small section of mud

Common Sand and a few Lapwing present
Gadwall 27
Tufted Duck 7
Mallard 15
Mute Swan 2
Little Grebe 2
Swift 25
Sand Martin 10
House Martin 2
Blackcap several
Whitethroat 6
Chiffchaff 3

good section of the riverbank has been torched down here.

On the ponds

Gadwall 21
Teal 17
Mallard 23
Tufted Duck 20
Coot 18
Moorhen 3
Canada Goose 10 + 5 which flew in from east at dusk
Mute Swan 2.
Lapwing 11

In the woods
Blackcap 6
Willow Warbler 10
Chiffchaff 2
Jay
Willow Tit heard
Buzzard

Mute Swan 4 (3 ad + Imm)
Gadwall 8
Teal 14
Tufted Duck 20
Goldeneye 3
Coot 4
Lapwing 20
Buzzard 2
Stock Dove 3
Skylark north
Mpipit north

Few ducks on the pools this morning before being flushed by a guy with a fishing net.

Goldeneye 25 - Smashed last weeks highest count
Pochard 1 male
Gadwall 8
Teal 17
Coot 3
Mute Swan 4

Buzzard & 2 Spahawk displaying

Siskin 2
Bullfinch 2
GSW 2
Pheasnt 6
Jay
Jackdaw 33 high flying west
Reed Bunt 2

Only 1 Robin & 3 Wren!! Blackbird & Song thrush numbers also seem down in the area

Walk round the treatment works -very windy today and lots of big branches being blown down.

Goldeneye 21 on the rectangle pool (highest count have had here) prob pushed on by the high river. Hardly any other wildfowl tho, still no Gadwall or Little Grebe and small numbers of the others : -
Teal 20
Mallard 3
Tufted Duck 5.

3 Tit flocks along the walk
13 Long-tailed tit - Phillips park road
11 Long-tailed tit- works entrance with Treecreeper, Willow Tit and 5 Great tits
& 10 Blue tit by motorway bridge with a single willow tit.

Female kestrel & a single Buzzard which was hovering at times about the wood.

100+ Woodpigeon & 17 Magpie in the fields and that was it

The Adult whooper swan was on it own for approx a week then 4 days ago it was joined by the younger one. Both appear OK.

Might be an idea to give them the once-over to make sure nothing amiss (ie can they fly, (esp. the adult) wings OK?) as it seems a bit of an odd place for 2 Whoopers to winter, if anyone passing that way.

2 Whooper Swans, adult + young, On canal between Prestolee and Ringley, also Common Buzzard over.

today- 1 juv + 1 adult whooper swans on canal at ringley-just north of a667.
must be resting whilst migrating.

Winter Survey for SD70 W - Ringley still frozen - most ducks on river

Gadwall - Single male on ice
Mallard 44
Teal 5
Goldeneye 4
Goosander 2
Spahawk 2
Kestrel 2
Buzzard 2

In the woods
Nuthatch 4
Goldcrest 3
Blue tit 30
GSW

Buzzard 3 south in the afternoon
Shoveler 10
Gadwall 34
Teal 30
Little Grebe
Mute Swan 3
Willow Tit
Kestrel

late post from yesterday eve 3/8

Still some mud south Pool

93 Lapwing, 16 Gadwall, 2 Little grebe, Kestrel, 30 Long tailed tit and 4 Blackcap of any note

Quick look tonight in the rain

Gadwall are having a good year down here with now 6 broods!! Ducklings were down to 26 but then spotted this further brood of 5 this eve - 31 young!!

Green Sand
LRP Juv
Lapwing 77
Gadwall 10
Teal 6
Mallard 80
Tufted Duck 40
Little Grebe 1ad 1 juv

Juv Kestrel and Bullfinch also