After a 3 hour drive I arrived at Alexandra Pk at 11.30 a.m. (totally new area for me, and rather more extensive than I had thought) and put in 3 hours of slowly exploring all the hollies and conifers, listening, and "squeaking out" just about every species in there, apart from Firecrest! I met up with Mike Brown and Heath Green who similarly had had no luck;- they went off for lunch as I soldiered on, chewing my butties on the hoof. We met up and carried on (not filled with optimism by this time, though I felt sure the bird/s would still be around). At 14.30, checking the same line of hollies (already checked 3/4 times), Heath spotted one Firecrest some 20 ft away at eye level. - Jubilation all round as it performed for a good 5 minutes, flitting between two large hollies. -A duff record shot obtained.
I left them with it and shot off to the car to clear Gr. Manchester ahead of the rush hour.
For precise directions, (assuming this is a key part of the bird's circuit):
Starting/entering at the Spring Bridge Rd entrance to the park (i.e. at it's southern edge, along Demesne Rd) turn immediately left and go some 50 yds hugging the fence by Demesne Rd. This marks the start of a longish row of tall hollies, and the bird was in the first two that you come to. Opposite, in a Demesne Rd garden is a tall conifer which helps to confirm you as being in the same spot. This would seem to tally with where the two birds were seen well on Sunday at 15.30, and may be a good bet for late afternoon attempts. We heard no calls at any time so it was just a case of putting in the time and getting lucky.
28 species logged in all, - best of the rest a drake Goosander on the lake.
Good Luck, and don't give up!
Regards, Mike P.
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Challenges are inevitable, but failure is optional.
I'm pleased Mike got it coming down from Durham. I spent a total of 5 hours there yesterday at dawn and later on all pm without success and was there before and after you saw it Sunday without success - so far at least 7 hours searching...
Mark Rigby, Karen Foulkes and myself tried for the Firecrest without much expectation. We were rather too late in the day and light was fading fast.
A brief search round the boating lake Holly trees and Mark thought he heard a call, so we lingered. Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Robin, and Goldcrest slowly revealed themselves. Hope was fading with the light but in the nick of time a Firecrest showed briefly at first, then well. It flew from Holly trees across Desmene Road into a Willow on the corner of Spring Bridge Road. It eventually flew back into the park to what may be the favoured Holly Trees and showed well at no more than 10 feet range. Amazingly it was then joined by a second bird, the two being only 1 foot apart on the same branch.
The very bright general colouration, rich rufous tones around the lores / fore-supercilia and the orange edging to the yellow crown stripes on both birds led us to believe they were 2 males.
Mark Rigby, Karen Foulkes and myself tried for the Firecrest without much expectation. We were rather too late in the day and light was fading fast.
A brief search round the boating lake Holly trees and Mark thought he heard a call, so we lingered. Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Robin, and Goldcrest slowly revealed themselves. Hope was fading with the light but in the nick of time a Firecrest showed briefly at first, then well. It flew from Holly trees across Desmene Road into a Willow on the corner of Spring Bridge Road. It eventually flew back into the park to what may be the favoured Holly Trees and showed well at no more than 10 feet range. Amazingly it was then joined by a second bird, the two being only 1 foot apart on the same branch.
The very bright general colouration, rich rufous tones around the lores / fore-supercilia and the orange edging to the yellow crown stripes on both birds led us to believe they were 2 males.
Cheers, John
You all must have arrived just seconds after Tony Darby and myself left after two hours searching having been tipped off by Tony O'Mahony. The main tit flock of 20 odd Long-tailed Tits, 15 or so Blue Tits, 2 Coal Tits, 2 Coal Tits and 2 Great Tits with 2 Goldcrests was a little further East around the lodge. We went back around the boating lake twice (where 3 more Goldcrests seemingly resident in tall firs) but missed out and left getting cold. Almost on the final whistle of the Derby I got a text off Ian and Tony Darby and myself raced back on our bikes to join Tony O Mahony. As the light faded tantalising probables flitted around the tall pines by the private blocks of flats on Greysham Court off Demesne Road. We heard them call very close by but no view for a positive ID
-- Edited by Tim Wilcox on Sunday 9th of December 2012 11:05:25 PM
I didn't visit during the breeding season though a comment made in response to one of my videos on the Friends of Alexandra Park Facebook page states that a pair nested and three chicks hatched this year. A local told me two pairs had nested, so take your pick. Vids can be seen on the FOAP website
http://friendsofalexandrapark.com/news/
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Updated birding videos on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/c/PeteHinesbirding
Could any regulars let me know whether the Herons nested again this year? Nik Grounds, who did the census for the BTO, has left the area so I have no data for 2012.
9 Goosander 11 Tufted Duck 1 Cormorant 3 Mute Swan (the 2 adults have blue darvics HJ4 & HI4) Coot (one colour ringed black above blue on left leg, orange over silver ring on right leg) 3 Heron 1 Common Gull Goldcrest Redwing
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Updated birding videos on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/c/PeteHinesbirding
Keep the sightings coming guys, I am really interested in thsi thread since I lived on Demesne Road abutting the park for over 10 years. Unfortuantely those were my lapsed years in terms of birding, grls & beer were much more important then (all equal now with birding ). I regret not birding the park more, I was unemployed & could have done it as a daily patch. My total birding experiences amount to rescuing a Muscovy duckling that had been hooked by a fisherman & hand rearing it!!!
Hi Steve, Sorry, no idea of the size of the range. Could well be two separate pairs. The one I saw in July was on its own in a tree in the SE corner of Whitworth Park and flew off towards the centre of the park. I've entered it in the atlas as 'FL' but haven't been back since to check if it is still around. Steve
I recorded a juv sparrowhawk in Whitworth Park, which is a different tetrad, on 15th July. Possibly the same brood?
Do you have any information Steve on how far from the nest site juv. Sparrowhawks are likely to move whilst still dependent on the adults for food? I was wondering whether these could be the offspring of two different pairs, given the relative lack of suitable habitat in this urban area.
According to The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-91 the distance between breeding pairs can be as little as 0.5km (admittedly in continuous forest) and that in Edinburgh there were estimated to be 35 pairs. Not sure about the relative size of Edinburgh and Manchester but I calculate the distance between Alexandra and Whitworth parks to be approx. 1.5 km as the Sparrowhawk flies.
At Watergrove recently fledged juv Sparrowhawks have been calling from the same area of plantation for 11 days. In other words they haven't moved more than about 300 metres.
Steve
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The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
Nadine Andrews, Katherine Miller and I heard a juv. Sparrowhawk hunger calling in the park at 08:00 hrs. It was still calling late this afternoon. So it was great to confirm breeding of this species in SJ89H Whalley Range tetrad.
Another addition to the tetrad's confirmed breeding species list was Bullfinch with 2 juvs being fed by a male in the park.
Also seen today:
A Treecreeper sunning itself on a Black Poplar and stretching its wings to soak up the early morning sun's rays. A pair of Ring-necked Parakeets Swifts - 4 overhead Family party of 4 Mistle Thrushes plus another group of 6 Family party of 3 Song Thrushes Nuthatch - 3 Pair of Coot with 4 small chicks just a few days old Moorhen with 3 small downy chicks
Steve
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The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
Manchester Council is now gearing up to submit a Round Two bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Parks for People programme. This is for £2 million to help restore the Park to its original Victorian glory while ensuring it offers a range of activities fit for a 21st century green space.