200+ Black-headed gulls 5 Herring gulls 1 lesser-black backed gull 1 oystercatcher 5 pied wagtails 3 grey wagtails 3 cormorant 1 kestrel 1 great spotted woodpecker Chiffchaff heard on the Irlam side of the locks. A dead great crested grebe was along the roadside near townend farm.
Jack Lane...
Cettis warbler heard only as were numerous water rails. 1 Reed bunting 2 bullfinch 2 ravens 8 buzzards, 5 together in the air 1 kestrel 1 meadow pipit Plus usuals.
Common Sandpiper at the Ship Canal (from the end of the railway path at Wellacre CP) Snipe 2 landed on Dutton's Pond island briefly Pink-footed Goose 70 > NW at 10.59 Tufted duck 1 ship canal Water Rail 1 Jack Lane
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Pink-footed Goose 247. 142 > W 2 08.57, 75 > W @ 08.53, 57 > NW @ 09.02 over Green Hill Water Rail 3 heard at Jack Lane Great Black-backed Gull 1 MSC / Irlam lock Kingfisher 1 Jack Lane Chiffchaff 1 singing at Jack Lane Cetti's Warbler 1 seen and heard singing at Jack Lane Treecreeper 1 Redwing 22 Fieldfare 9 Meadow Pipit 11 Redpoll 4 Siskin 3
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A damp Saturday stroll round Wellacre Country Park 1:55 - 3:25. Highlights: dozens of redwings and blackbirds in the hedgerows; pairs of willow tit, goldcrest and treecreeper in a mixed tit flock at Jack Lane, also a couple of sparring water rails and a cameo by the Cetti's warbler; and 300+ starlings on the electricity pylons by the water treatment works.
Wander round Wellacre Country Park 1:40 - 3:50, highlights: 30+ blackbirds and at least a dozen song thrushes in Wellacre Wood; water rail at Jack Lane, I missed the crowds of redwings but there were still a few with the blackbirds in the hawthorns, a mistle thrush was my first at this site; 32 redwings over Green Hill and half a dozen jays in the oak saplings up top.
Approx 200 Redwing at Jack Lane NR 11am Water rail heard, Buzzard & Sparrow Hawk over Goldcrests mixed in with long Tailed Tits Little Grebe and Kingfisher below on Canal below locks
Wellacre Country Park - Green Hill & Dutton's Pond
Pink-footed Goose 276, 36 > E @ 08.08, 63 > E @ 08.31, 169 > E @ 08.54, 8 > W @ 09.22 Lapwing 1 Willow Tit 1 Green Hill 53.441646, -2.395201 Skylark 1 > S Swallow 2 House Martin 1 Chiffchaff 2 Cetti's Warbler 1 singing from the lagoons Goldcrest 3 Meadow Pipit 49 > S Linnet 2 > S Redpoll 6 > S Siskin 14 > S
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1 Kingfisher this afternoon upstream of the locks flying around and repeatedly shallow dipping into the water. Most likely picking insects from the surface.
Nuthatch 2 Willow Tit 1...heard in trees looking west from Green Hill. Chiffchaff 1 singing plus 7. Crow 9 Buzzard 1 Goldcrest 1 Ring-necked Parakeet 1 Jay 2 Swallow 4 Gadwall 2...from Green Hill. Black-headed Gull 16 etc.etc.etc.
Common Tern 3 BH Gull 60+ LBB Gull 2 Cormorant 3 Grey Heron 3 Mute Swan 2 adults. Mallard 10+ Great Crested Grebe 1 adult. Pied Wagtail 5+ including juveniles. Grey Wagtail 5+ including 3 juveniles. Swift 1 House Martin 4 Sand Martin 15+ Swallow 10+ including juveniles. House Sparrow 80+ etc.
A *very* quiet afternoon's wander round Wellacre Country Park. Even the magpies were few and far between. Two reed warblers singing on Jack's Lane. Also there: a soaring sparrowhawk and a song thrush feasting on a newt.
I walked down the railway path to the canal this morning.Lots of birds but I was sad to see and smell hundreds and hundreds of dead fish along the canal bank. This is obviously going to have a knock on effect on the birds - there were no cormorants
I recall the same thing happening there a few years ago. At the time I spoke to the DoE or UU (or similar - can't recall,) who said it was due to lack of oxygen, rather than poison or agricultural/industrial run off.
When I saw it there were at least 20 cormorants on the woodwork on the Eccles side of the locks and a lot of herons too. Presumably whilst the dead fish were still palatable enough.