Kingfisher hunting at Roe Green fishing pond yesterday at around 8.45pm

11-12.30
Filtration lagoons
2xreed warbler
1xbullfinch
3xreed bunting
3xtufted ducks
2xblue tits
1xcoot
1xmoorhen
Along the canal
4xmagpie
2xchaffinch
1xgarden warbler
Delph
2xmute swans
1xmoorhen with 2 chicks
1xheron (who had half an eye on the chicks)
Mum sent them off into cover.
Cheers Jay

This afternoon 3.30pm - 6.15pm

Finally a migrant to get excited about in the form of a Worsley MEGA - a Male Cuckoo. Located in the woods about 100 yards away to the West from the Filtration Lagoons (Botany Bay woods?). It was flying from tree to tree deep in the woods away from me and I initially thought it was a male sparrowhawk, but when I finally caught up with it, it revealed itself. Good, if brief, views down to 25 yards. It never made a sound before, during and after I saw it, so it was a great stroke of luck that I found it.

Also seen in and around the Lagoons:

2 Grey Partridge
A pair of Gadwall were in a small pool in the sheep field.
Reed and Sedge Warbler
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Whitethroat
8 Lapwing
c.20 swift
7 swallow
4 Buzzard
Male Kestrel
Yellowhammer
Long Tailed Tit family party
2 Coal tit searching for insects
Cormorant and a few Lesser Black Backed gull over.

The woods held:

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Nuthatch nest
3 Coot
and 3 Mute Swans by the delph - the pair by the nest and surprisingly TBY on the other side of the road bridge, tucked up on the bank only a stone's throw away from the nest. Perhaps an 'out of sight, out of mind' approach taken by the pair

Filtration Lagoons
3 Blackcap
2 Sedge Warblers
2 Buzzards
4 Reed Warblers
1 Cormorants
2 Grey Heron
2 pair Lapwing
10 Reed Bunting
2 Willow Warbler
5 Swallows

Cheers Colin

Very large bird, looked like a raptor so quite possibly an osprey, very high over Worsley just now heading NW at 5.30pm

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Thursday 3rd of May 2012 05:31:45 PM

Late entry

Common Sandpiper along the canal near to Boothstown, Sunday afternoon (23/4)

Drove along A580 at 11am & 2pm but didn't see any Storks

5.45 - 9.15am

Worsley Woods
6 Nuthatch
2 Great spotted woodpeckers
Coal tit and lots of Blue, Great and Long tailed tits including one Blue with a deformed beak, it looked like the top part of the beak was curved and 3 times longer than the bottom part.
3 Chiffchaffs singing
2 Blackcaps
2 Willow warblers
3 Jays
Sparrowhawk
2 Tufted duck
6 Teal
3 Snipe
3 Coot
2 Grey wagtails
Kingfisher
Grey Heron, Curlew and Cormorant over.

Delph area
2 Mute swans with the male VU4 defending the site against a pair of Canada geese.
Moorhens with 5 tiny chicks

Filtration lagoons
6 Bullfinch
Willow warbler
Chiffchaff
5 Reed buntings
2 Yellowhammers
Tree sparrow
4 pairs of Canada geese
4 Teal
2 Tufted duck
2 Stock dove
Lapwing and 2 Buzzards over

I went early this morning to the woods to listen to the Dawn chorus. It was Brilliant

Why does birding have to be so soul destroying??
Makes you think about how much we must miss traveling through the patch/county
Still a good record

A mammoth walk this morning unfortunately didn't turn up anything too interesting but 49 species were still seen even with notable omissions of sparrowhawk, treecreeper, blackcap and greenfinch among others.

6.45am - 12.00pm

Woods:

3 pairs of tufted duck
11 teal (5 males and 6 females)
A high count of 5 snipe, though on my return there were less birds but in different places.
2 stock dove pairs fighting over a tree
Nuthatch were everywhere
5 Great Spotted Woodpeckers (including drumming males and fighting females)
I waited around for ages by the old Lesser Spotted Woodpecker haunts but to no avail
I also heard a Tawny Owl last night in the woods, but despite a ruthless grilling of all the likely looking trees in the surrounding area from where it called it failed to show.

Canal:

The Mute Swan pair of VU4 and LJX showing well
Moorhen still on nest
Single Grey Wagtail
Song thrush collecting nesting material

Filtration Lagoons and Surrounds:

2 Canada Geese that flew West, followed by a third later on
Comorant over North
Pied Wagtail
A pair of Grey Partridge
2 Linnet
6 Yellowhammers
Singing Skylark
8 lapwing, including many displaying
2 Jay flew over
4 Chiffchaff
Buzzard
2 Bullfinch


Wildlife in the appropiate section (Alive and Dead!)

A single Willow Warbler singing alongside the Bridgewater canal just past Boothstown 1300hrs today. This is about a week earlier than the usual arrival dates for this species.
Also numerous Chiffchaff singing.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 27th of March 2012 08:37:46 AM

singing male blackcap and 2 singing chiffchaff in trees round car parks at scout camp middle wood this morning also 4 buzzard soaring over garden centre c.1.30pm

11.00 till 13.30 ish
In the woods
2xGS Woodpeckers
6xNuthatch
2xSongthrush
Usual Tits
10xChaffinch
6xRobin
Corvids Everywhere
40plus flock of Redwing
2xJay
On the Dam
10xTeal
2xMute Swan
1xHeron
4xMallard
No access to the Filtration Lagoons. Path gated off (worsley end) some type of work going on involving a mini digger
Cheers Jay

Filtratration lagoons
Early afternoon
Cootx2
Moorhenx2
Big Raptor probably a Buzzard
No kingfisher at the Delph
Nice to meet Louise on the way home.
Cheers Jay

Thanks Joey, very helpful as always.

Where exactly are the filtration lagoons?

PM sent Jason

Cheers Joey, i'll keep my eyes open for it.

Is the Delph next to the Tung Fong?

Mute Swans LJX & VU4 together around the Court House at Worsley for the last week or so.

Friday 13/01/12
13.00-15.00
Hoping to stumble across the kingfisher(guess what)
4xHeron
6xSnipe
6xTeal
Mallardsx2
Moorhen
Jayx2
Nuthatchx3
Great spotted woodpeckerx4
Various Tits all over
Magpiesxloads
Crowsxloads
Chaffinchesxloads
Goldfinch
Robinx4
Single noisy wren
Small flock of Redwing near Roe Green pond
Cheers Jay.

At 9am this morning what sounded like at least 1 whooper swan flew low over my house. Unfortunately I was too slow to see it, and having little experience with the species I can't be 100% sure. It will be interesting to see if one turns up elsewhere in the county.

This morning 8.30-10.30am:

Woods:

A minimum of 22 teal at the dam
5 snipe on show
4 heron - including 3 that flew in together
Water Rail calling from the marsh, frustratingly close to the fence!
30+ redwing
5 mistle thrush
30 strong chaffinch flock
2 great spotted woodpecker
100s of wood pigeon heading West

2 canada geese and a kingfisher by the delph

Filtration lagoons:

Female shoveler inadvertently flushed
c.100 pink footed geese over at 9.03am heading South East
Lots of gulls over including a few greater black backed all heading East
70+ Jackdaw were flying about
55 black headed gull in the farmers field
water rail calling

And nice to see Mo Farah running in the woods on yesterdays BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Preview

Kingfisher in the Delph 14.15