Today as Yesterday , but Peregrine on eastern arable and 30 Redpoll present along with 10 snipe, 10 Yellowhammer and some of the most frozen landscapes ive seen since 2011.

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 11th of January 2025 08:05:30 AM

Usual at Silver Lane last few days of note 20 Wigeon, Mute Swan Pair still present and good numbers of winter Thrushes about ,apart from that most of the pools frozen with the odd redpoll small flock around the site and a chiffchaff heard once.

39 Wigeon of note this morning plus noted from the summit 

C1000 Pink Footed Geese circled over Little Wooldon Moss and Irlam Moss then came west and landed west of LWM and slightly east of Holcroft Lane at 12pm 

01.01.2025 - As flooded as I've ever seen the area today but that helped to bring a few unusual visitors in the for of the big gulls down on the eastern side 

Of note 

Great Black-Backed Gull - 3 (shot of 1 below )

Herring Gull - 5 

Common Gull - 1 

Lesser Black Backed Gull -3 

Black Headed Gull - 100+

Wigeon - 13

Tufted Duck - 16

Little Grebe -6

Gadwall - 1 Pair

Teal -12

Shoveler - 1 imm Male

Mute Swan- 1 Pair 

Meadow Pipit - 8 

Yellowhammer -6 

Redpoll - 16 (pic below )

 

 

At last, back on my feet and patch after several weeks of not being able to walk anywhere! Of interest among the 32 species recorded this morning were:

Pink footed Geese - 327, in 3 skeins (145/140/42) flew east & appeared to drop onto farmland in that direction

Mute Swan - 2

Cormorant - 6

Wigeon - 10

Teal - 11

Pochard - 2

Black headed Gull - 120, on pools and east side field

Common Buzzard - 1

Kestrel - 1

Kingfisher - 1, east pool

Song Thrush - 4, singing birds bringing a touch of early spring!

Mistle Thrush - 1, also in song

Stonechat - 1 pair

Meadow Pipit - 12

Long tailed Tit - 15+, spread across 3 small flocks

plus the regulars

This morning little change only things of note

Redpoll -10 

Siskin - 10

Teal -12

Lapwing - 150 about the area usually regularly flushed by Peregrine 

Stonechat -2 

Ive never seen so few birds on the landfill - almost completely bird less 

of note this morning

Goosander - 6 (2 M , 4 f)

Wigeon-4

Teal - 17

Buzzard -3

Little Grebe - 6

Tufted Duck - 17

Coot - 28

Mute Swan - 1 Pair

Skylark - 6 

Goldfinch -40

Redpoll - 10

5 Goosander and 7 Wigeon of note this morning,  also 11 Teal .

Today more or less sane as yesterday apart from Wigeon had dropped to 15 and a pair of  stonechat extra. 

No real Change today been Deja Vu most of the Autumn and Winter so far , pools have the lowest population of Waterfowl ive seen here , the big west pool 

the most noticeable with about 7 Cormorant and 6 Tufted Ducks the only birds on there today , which is shocking really compared to the norm at this time of 

year. 

others 

Shoveler- 1 

Teal -7

Tufted Duck - 11

Coot - 21

Grey Heron-1 

Chiffchaff - 1 

Lapwing -19

redpoll - 8

Goldfinch - c100

Raven - 1 > West

Goldcrest - 1

Bullfinch -6

Redwing - 50

Blackbird - 30+

of note this morning - Pools quieter than I have ever seen them 

Mute Swan - 1 pair

Shoveler-3

Teal -7

Cormorant-7

Grey Heron-1

Siskin-10

Redpoll- 12

Chiffchaff-1

Stonechat - 1 Pair

woodpigeon- 500+ 

Lapwing - 40

 

plus the regular bits and bobs

From this morning of note Cormorant 11 - Mute Swan 2 - Coot 27 - Kingfisher 1 - Chiffchaff 1 - Goldfinch 45 - Lesser Redpoll 8 - Siskin 3 - Black headed Gulls 70

Same at Moore John.

Gulls, waders, ducks seem OK (but on the wrong pools per tradition).

Passerines.....last three / four years crashed out. Think it is a bigger thing than just a Silver Lanes Pool issue. Almost no Blackcap at Moore this year (more Garden Warblers for the first time ever for me), Willow Warbler 75% down I'd say but Chiffies were at normal levels. No Wheatear on return passage despite right land conditions. Greenfinch almost totally absent again after a brief revival last year.

Only bucking trends this second winter at Moore are Chaffinch (big influx from flocks of 14ish trad to flocks of 50+ this year), Jackdaw, Woodpigeon and Mallard.

Pretty Quiet this morning of note

Wigeon- 1 Pair

Chiffchaff-1

Shoveler -3

Cormorant-8

Grey Heron -3

Kestrel-2

Buzzard-2

plus the usuals

This morning 

Pretty devoid of birds 19 Teal, 1 goosander only things of note 

 

9.30 - 12 noon, very quiet all round except for

Greenland white fronted Geese - 3, over from the east, presumably from Little Woolden, circled over the east field & calling before turning and flying back the way they came

Pink footed Geese - 15, flew NW

Common Redpoll - 1, among a small flock of

Lesser Redpoll -13

Lapwing - 60 circling area

Peregrine Falcon - male, putting up the lapwing & gulls

Common Buzzard - 2, one very light coloured

Kestrel - 2

Kingfisher - 1, possibly 2, seen on two different pools

Cormorant - 8

Coot - 20, numbers steadily increasing

Goldcrest - 3 among 2 mixed flocks in different parts of the site

This pm - Shoveler 7 - Gadwall 4 - Mute Swan 2 - Stonechat 2 pair - Grey Wagtail 1 over east - Meadow Pipit 15 around summit

12.11.24. 9-12.30

Of note

Stonechat - 4 

Fieldfare - 50

Redpoll - 55

Yellowhammer - 7 ( record pic attached)

Plus the regulars 

This Morning and early afternoon 10.30-14.00 a decent day

Greenland White-Fronted Geese - 10 on the eastern arable after apparently being disturbed from LWM earlier, they turned up strangely in the exact spot the one I found in December 2020 was found, at about 10.50 , I wonder if that bird is a lead bird in these 10?you never know stranger things have happened. They only landed for short while before a bang from possible a gun to the SE flushed them , they then headed onto the far SE of the eastern arable fields, but again only stayed down for about 10 mins before flying over the disused railway and landed again Just South of Holcroft lane , they seemingly didn't stay long there either as by 11.30 they were back at LWM in the regular field . So great to see them on the patch( record shot below) 

Stonechat-1 Male 

Redpoll - c30 (record shot below)

Siskin - c40

Fieldfare - c50 onsite and a further 300 or so over SW

Redwing - 120 over SW and about 30 or so onsite

Willow Tit-1 

Long Tailed Tit - 40+ onsite

Goldcrest-2

Chiffchaff-1

Shoveler- 2 Pair

Common Gull -1 Adult

Marsh Harrier - 2nd cy Male with Grey tail over NE 

Cormorant - 8 including the regular orange ringed bird

Meadow Pipit - 16

Grey Partridge -5

Yellowhammer-4 at the set aside

Goldfinch - 40+ 

Kestrel -2 

Buzzard-4

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 9th of November 2024 06:54:07 AM

Short walkabout this pm

Peregrine Falcon - immature male putting to flight - Lapwing-120; Starling-500+; Woodpigeon-200

Mallard - 36

Tufted Duck - 16

Shoveler - 6

Gadwall - 3

Coot - 12

Cormorant - 6

Pink footed Geese - 60, circling area

Black headed Gull - 120, following tractor as it ploughs

Jackdaw - 40

Goldfinch - 30

Siskin - 7

Stonechat - 2

Treecreeper - 2

Great Patch day - There are more than ever great reasons for patch birding , as these days anything can turn up anywhere highlights today

Fieldfare - Massive movement 3000+ heading SW in the main ,some large groups dropping in to feed( see pic below)

Redwing - 2000+ SE 

Linnet- 26 > South

Wigeon- 1 Male 

Gadwall - 2 Male

Shoveler - 4 

Meadow Pipit - 25

Hawfinch - 2 briefly landed then carried on South

Hen Harrier - 1st Winter Male > flew over high north

Then on hearing the 10 Greenland White-Fronted Geese had been disturbed from the field north of little Wooldon moss and had headed west I fired back to the patch , headed to the highest point and managed to pick them out near to franks farm on the south side of Holcroft lane , they got disturbed almost immediately by a Helicopter and tractor and flew off to the SE towards Irlam . a picture can be seen of them flying back into Manchester space via my photo site link below as it was too big a file to post here. Altogether a Beltin' day . Its one of those dilemma's can a bird seen from a patch that's not on a patch be counted for the patch , bit like garden lists do you only include birds in your garden or birds that flyover the garden . In this instance the geese were slightly north of the silver lane patch but seen from the centre of the patch . They were really at Holcroft Lane / Holcroft moss . From the spot they flew through Cheshire and Greater Manchester Airspace.

Last shot below ignore the exif time as my camera clock cannot be adjusted due to a fault it was 15.01 

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Monday 4th of November 2024 09:05:53 PM

This morning of note 

Pink footed Geese - a few hundred around the surrounding area

Siskin - 30 

Goldfinch - 80

Mute Swan - 1 Pair

Lapwing -200 

Marsh Harrier - imm Male flew over SW towards woolston

Stonechat -1 Male 

Cormorant (sinensis race ) ringed 271 present again. Ringed in the nest 24th June 2023 Hale . Pic below 

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 2nd of November 2024 06:57:09 AM

10.00 - 1300 Very quiet in the Drizzle this morning only things of real note were 30 siskin , and a pair of shoveler , the masses of fieldfare yesterday  seemingly moved on to pastures new.

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 1st of November 2024 09:24:59 AM

12.00 - 14.30 Mostly from yesterday on the patch and of interest

Firecrest - 1, (on 27th) moving south along east side in mixed flock, calling & briefly seen

Goldcrest - 2,

Pied Wagtail - 27, on field E2 with

Sparrowhawk - immature dropping in among the PWs, & sat there for a time while the PWs flitted around it

Pink footed Geese - 133, actually over the reserve in 3 skeins 38, 35 & 60

Raven - 2, have been around the area for several days now

Stonechat - 2

Chiffchaff - 1

Fieldfare - 15, flew SW