Heron fishing up to its knees in the middle of the delph 4pm today.

Tawny Owl 't-wooing' from a tree at Roe Green this morning at 6.30am - perhaps having roosted in the box there.

A walk through the woods this afternoon 3.15-3.45:

Highlights:

Canal and Delph:

2 canada geese
Grey heron
Kingfisher - the only view recently that hasn't been from a moving vehicle!

Woods:

At least 3 nuthatch heard
3 tufted duck
4 herons - including 2 panting and spreading their wings
At least 6 teal, but there could have been double that amount.

Roe Green Fishing pond:

2 Jay and Kestrel that literally fell off its perch when it realised I was beneath it

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Wednesday 28th of September 2011 08:08:38 PM

19 Canada geese were a noteworthy number flying low West this morning at 7.35
5 cygnets also seen

2 Ravens over North on friday morning at 7.20am only my second site record of the species

Single Mute Swan with 5 well grown Cygnets has reappeared on the canal at Worsley. I think it will be HP4 although i haven't been able to see it's ring. LJX has been forced further along the canal towards Boothstown. These 2 definitely don't get on together.

Ivan Ellison wrote:

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Ian Campbell wrote:

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Hope this is the right spot for this. 4.00 a.m. this morning on M60 coming back from my hols a Barn Owl flew over the motoway at Worsley roundabout. Great surprise and welcome home present as this is a GM tick for me.
Cheers Ian

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Ian, I am sure you are right as they have been seen along the motorway before in that area, but the falconry centre at worsley garden centre was broken into on Sunday/Monday and 3 birds were stolen. One being a snowy owl, the others are a tawny eagle and a harris hawk, the latter two are injured and cant fly. It wasn't the snowy owl was it , as it appears to have put up a fight with whoever opened the aviary and may just have escaped and still be in the area.
Also for anyone else who hears anything about the 3 missing birds- contact the police at Swinton police stn immediately.

-- Edited by Ivan Ellison on Tuesday 23rd of August 2011 12:13:19 PM

-- Edited by Ivan Ellison on Tuesday 23rd of August 2011 12:14:16 PM

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Cheers for the info Ivan, I am certain it was "just" a Barn Owl, although I'd had a long day travelling.
Cheers Ian

Hope this is the right spot for this. 4.00 a.m. this morning on M60 coming back from my hols a Barn Owl flew over the motoway at Worsley roundabout. Great surprise and welcome home present as this is a GM tick for me.
Cheers Ian

At least 2 siskin calling from Worsley Woods this evening. I also heard one back in May, suggesting possible breeding in the area
Great Spotted Woodpecker also heard
Moorhen pair have raised one chick again

kingfisher on the dam family partys of willow warblers sedge warblers and reed warblers at filtration lagoons juvenile great spotted woodpecker in the garden

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 30th of July 2011 08:29:47 PM

Mute Swan bearing Blue ring HP4 has been on the stretch of canal between Worsley and Boothstown basin for the last couple of weeks, together with her 5 cygnets that appear to doing well.(no sign of any male)
LJX was also on the same stretch of canal this afternoon, however when the family came into view LJX set off manically paddling in the opposite direction until the family were out of view.
Also of note:
Reed Warbler, Yellow Hammer, Whitethroat, Grasshopper warbler all still singing on a small stretch of the canal alongside the landfill site. Also Sedge Warbler still 'parachuting' in the same area.

This morning;

Still only 3 pairs of Swallows under the bridge.

Filtration lagoons
2 Whitethroat
5 Sedge warblers
1 Reed warbler
3 Willow warbler
2 Blackcaps
3 Reed buntings
Garden warbler in the trees between the motorway and the lagoons
5 Coots
2 Greenfinch
5 Goldfinch
Song thrush
Many Swifts, Swallows, House and Sand Martins all flying in for a drink at the ponds

Along the canal to the moorings and back again to Worsley;
Lots of Blackcaps about I saw at least 12 more on my walk
Lesser Whitethroat
Chiffchaff
3 Willow warblers
3 Buzzards over
Cormorant over
Grey wagtail
2 Pied wagtail
Sparrowhawk

Walk home through the woods at 1pm ish

Chiffchaff
Stock doves checking out a nesting hole
whitethroat by roe green fishing pond

5-8pm this evening:

Woods:

Single grey wagtail
chiff chaff
pied wagtail
2 pairs of nuthatch
GSW seen and drumming
male teal
3 broods of mallard ducklings on the canal and dam(combined)

Filtration lagoons:

c.10 swifts - 2011 site tick
at least 6 swallows
2 singing garden warbler
lots of heron movement over
2 lapwing
willow warbler
sedge and reed warblers
2 canada geese
yellowhammer heard and then flushed
buzzard in the field, presumably after worms or insects
female kestrel caught a small mammal

The Highlight though was on the canal when a wood pigeon dashed across my path with a sparrowhawk in hot pursuit. The wood pigeon flew into the foliage to try and shake the hawk off, but the sparrowhawk was too agile and got a foothold on the pigeon, causing it to collide with the branches. Both birds then plummeted onto the path and the sparrowhawk momentarily lost its grip as they hit the floor. The wood pigeon seized its chance and took off, the sparrowhawk just behind it. The wood pigeon knew it couldn't outmaneuver the hawk so flew down the canal an inch above its surface with the sparrowhawk a few inches above it, waiting for a mistake. The sparrowhawk couldn't risk attacking in case it plunged into the canal, and at any rate must have known the pigeon was a better level flyer, so it veered off and sat in a tree to recover. All that was left were a 100 or so feathers slowly zig-zagging their way to the ground - closer inspection revealed the pigeon had lost at least 5 primaries. Magical

Yesterday evening:

Among the usuals:

Garden warbler and pied wagtail at filtration lagoons
2 canada geese also came into roost
no tufted on dam

This morning

Plenty of bird song in the woods
Bird seen;
2 Treecreeper
1 GS woodpecker
4 Great tits
Sparrowhawk
Lots of Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs singing
only 2 Tufted duck on the dam

Filtration lagoons
2 Jays
2 Reed warblers singing
3 Sedge warblers
4 Reed buntings
Chiffchaff
Sparrowhawk
No ducks at all
Partial remains of a Mute swan scattered about
2 Buzzards over

3 pairs of Swallows doing their nests up under the bridges with also 40+ feral pigeons doing the same





-- Edited by Dave Thacker on Sunday 1st of May 2011 12:09:26 PM

A grasshopper warbler was reeling in the scrub around roe green fishing pond. Also seen was a female kestrel and 2 heron.

3.20-5.00pm

woods:

3 tufted 2m 1f
2 pairs of teal
pair of bullfinch

Filtration Lagoons:

Female kestrel hunting the field borders (like a sparrowhawk) and the scrubland
Sparrowhawk soaring and then stooped at something from height on the other side of the motorway
lt tits nesting
song thrush carrying food
LBB gulls over
no linnet
4/5 herons back and forth from the East (presumably to the herony on the mosses)
Mute swan DV4 came tearing down the canal after a shrieking canada goose, it must have flown a 200 yards chasing the goose before it settled on the lagoons

otherwise the same as yesterday

Evening visit to the filtration lagoons today:

Swallow
Reed Bunting
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
2 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
2 Sparrowhawks displaying.
+ the usual residents.

Sparrowhawk displaying over my house 13.00pm today

3.00pm - 5.15pm

woods:

11 tufted - 5 pairs
2 teal
at least 1 pair of GSW
nuthatch
3 goldcrest - 1 pair

4 canada geese and mute swan DV4 on canal

Filtration lagoons:

LBB over
2 heron over
6 canada geese
a couple of hundred woodpigeon and a few stock dove were spooked by something in the distant fields, before flying over
and a hare in the farmer's field

14 magpies in trees opposite worsley church , before flying off in the direction of worsley woods.

13 tufted (8m 5f) and a pair of canada geese on the dam at 5pm

Pair of long tailed tits collecting feathers mill brow noon today.