Pink Footed Geese - fairly continuous movement East/SE all morning , and strangely from my vis mig point they were coming from the Mersey/Dee , and the Ribble . About 1400 altogether in the movement.
Yellowhammer-8
Reed Bunting - 9
Common Gull -1 adult
Meadow Pipit - 14
Shoveler- 1 Male pic attached
Gadwall-8
Teal -2
Little Grebe - 6
Tufted Duck -14
Pochard -1
Stonechat-1 Imm Male
Cormorant-2
Kestrel-3
Buzzard-1
Linnet- 200+
Long Tailed Tit-20
Goldcrest -6
Fieldfare - 500+ around the area feeding
Redwing - 300+ around the area
Siskin- 10
Redpoll - 5
Grey Wagtail-2
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Thursday 16th of November 2023 09:19:55 PM
Nothing of real note today,pools the quietest I've ever seen them 8 Gadwall ,2 Cormorant and 40 Black Headed Gulls all that could be seen ,along with 10 coot and a few Tufted Duck on the entrance pool . Plenty Fieldfare and Redwing about and a few Redpoll and Siskin .
Pools rather quiet with just a few Tufted and Little Grebe and 6 Gadwall
Other of note on surrounding farmland
Linnet - 300 + .largest flock I've seen here and unfortunately were the new Motorway Service station is imminently being built. Strange the ecology reports said the site held no birds of any significance on that land. Pic of some of the linnet flock.off the back of my camera below.
Corn Bunting - 1
Stonechat -1 male
Yellowhammer- 6
Chaffinch-60
Lapwing- 60
Brambling-2
Redpoll- 6
Siskin -8
Fieldfare - 100
Redwing - 80
Meadow Pipit-8
Kestrel - 2
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Wednesday 15th of November 2023 11:13:55 AM
Generally a quiet morning with small birds mostly absent and water levels on the northern pools the highest I've seen them in 23 years of monitoring the patch
Ring Ouzel - 1 Male Briefly with a large flock of Fieldfare on eastern arable , flew South with flock almost immediately I saw it went over the Motorway towards Risley Moss .
Pink Footed Geese - c 3200 in many flocks in basically constant movement NW , at one point I could see over 1000 heading towards me and over Irlam (pic of some below )
Redwing- 200+
Fieldfare - 400+ many moving South
Buzzard -4
Kestrel-3
Redpoll - 15
Siskin-10
Goldcrest -8
Goldfinch -60
Grey Heron -3
Reed Bunting - 25+
Linnet- 120+
Chaffinch - 50+
Shoveler- 5(4m1f)
Tufted Duck -12
Gadwall-5
Raven - 2 > East
Pochard-7
Mallard - 27
Little Grebe -3
cormorant - 1
Bullfinch -5
Long Tailed Tit- 30
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 3rd of November 2023 07:01:33 PM
From late pm & north pool area only. Wildfowl numbers low during the day but increase as they flight in at dusk or after dark & out again around dawn. Earlier,
West pool seems to be disturbed at the moment not sure if its being fished at night but there was very little on there today, even the Great Crested Grebe were missing, also the Motorway Service Station seems imminent as some tin buildings and the farm gate into the field at junc 11 have been removed, those tin buildings have probably been there since the 2nd WW, as they looked more like shelters than farm buildings some called them the maggot farm.
of note
Fieldfare - hard to count as many were over in all directions but 300+ around the area and similar numbers of Redwing
Pochard-1
Stonechat -4
Buzzard-4
Kestrel 3
Whinchat - 1 Juvenile -- Nice to still have the Juvenile Whinchat present today on the patch which makes it the equal Latest ever sighting for me and most likely for the site . Amazing to think this would normally be in Africa now for the winter , so its a mega for the site so late in the year, and the only sight record of the species this year for me is this bird. Also amazing is the previous latest in 2019 was in exactly the same spot on the same date and was a Juvenile .
Peregrine - 1 Big Juvenile hunting Pigeons on the eastern arable
Buzzard-3
Siskin -6
Meadow Pipit - 60
Skylark- 30
Long Tailed Tit-23
Pink Footed Geese - 32 > west
Stonechat - 3
and the special bird
Whinchat- 1 Juvenile Picture below , a very late bird found on my way back to the car on the east side of landfill, then after about 15 mins flew SW over the entrance pool and seemingly off over the landfill High in the same direction , could not relocate it after looking for another half hour. Not my latest here as I had one on the 18th of October a few years ago but a highlight as its the first I've seen at the site all year.
Not much movement today in the rain so mainly residents
Stonechat - 8 (2 M, 6 F/ juv) largest number in one area all together I can remember , nice to see them back , why they don't breed in perfect habitat is beyond me .
Am of note (a crackin' morning in the rain) Always seem to see more in bad weather
Redwing- 7 > South ( early for me)
Hobby- 1 Juvenile > South (probably latest I've seen)
Peregrine - 1 Juvenile hunting Woodpigeons on the eastern arable
Merlin - 1 Female hunting Starlings on the eastern arable
Kestrel-4
Buzzard-8
Lapwing - 73 eastern arable
Great Crested Grebe - 2
Little Grebe - 7
Reed Bunting -4
Shoveler - 4 Adults 1 Juvenile on west pool
Pochard - 28 on west pool
Swallow - 28 > south
House Martin - 2 > S
Chiffchaff- 3
Blackcap - 4
Siskin- 18 > South
Redpoll -2
Grey Heron -2
Teal -2
Meadow pipit - still piling through in between rain storms at average about 20 per min (1200 per hour) were the eck are all these coming from nearly 2 weeks of constant large movement , it amazing really
Skylark - c 300 > South in 2 hours
Pink Footed Geese - 8 > East
Canada Geese - 680 on Northern arable feeding then as usual onto the west pool at 11am before heading off east in dribs and drabs
Greylag Geese - 6 + 2 hybrids
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Tuesday 3rd of October 2023 05:37:00 PM
Pochard - 31 ( high number of what seems a transient flock as some days there are a dozen others 18, as there are Juveniles present possibly from Woolston )
Gadwall- 3
Shoveler - 6 (pic below)
Swallow - 11 > South
Meadow Pipit - still flying south at approx 10 per min so roughly 1200 + South in 2 Hours
Pink Footed Geese - 65 > SE
Skylark - 200> S
Woodpigeon - 700> South
Kingfisher-1
Grey Heron - 2
Cormorant-3
Great Crested Grebe - 2
Goldfinch - 60
House Martin -2
Sparrowhawk - 1 Female
Chiffchaff-1
Kestrel - 4
Buzzard -4
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Saturday 30th of September 2023 04:02:04 PM
Marsh Harrier - 1 Male flying South showing very heavy moult giving a forked tail when circling , so beware of this bird locally before kite claims . (pic attached)
Siskin - 35 > South
Buzzard - 18- South and 8 across the site
Sparrowhawk- 1 Pair
Kestrel -4
Shoveler - 4
Good movement of Meadow Pipit and Skylark ,plenty on landfill also
House Martin - 15 > South
Swallow- 30+ South
Kingfisher-2
Grey Heron -2
Pink Footed Goose - 1 with Canadas on west pool
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 29th of September 2023 04:08:43 PM
The Canada Geese gathering each morning continues unabated and is the highlight at the moment,well for a patcher it doesn't take much to be a highlight. Originally 120 were on the pool early and left SE , but later 870 arrived from the NW . So record numbers again on the west pool and also contained an unringed Pink Footed Goose
This morning there was a massive movement over the summit of the landfill of Meadow Pipit and other birds with constant movement south from 9 - 12 ,they were moving approx 20 per min. Full movement must have comprised of 3000+ Meadow pipits. Also in same movement all South
Swallow - 120+
Yellow Wagtail- 1
House Martin -10
Skylark-200+
Pink Footed Geese - 15
Siskin- 10
Buzzard - 10
Others sightings on the pools etc
Meadow Pipit- c60 on summit.
Wigeon - 2 (first of winter at SL for me ) Pic attached
Canada Geese- same as previous few weeks 500+ moving through west pool in the morning then off SE also 6 Greylag and 2 hybrid.
Shoveler-5
Great Crested Grebe - 2
Pochard - 18
Tufted Duck - 25
Little Grebe - 8
Chiffchaff - 5
Willow Warbler -1
Coal Tit -4
Goldfinch -60
Sparrowhawk-1
Kestrel - 5
Long tailed Tit-18
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Tuesday 26th of September 2023 06:13:21 PM