today 4-5.30pm

Woods:

GSW still fighting!
pair of nuthatches
6 snipe
teal
2 pairs of moorhen, 1 pair of coot
Tufteds have increased again up to 12! - 8m and 4f, certainly the largest number i've ever seen on the dam including a female/first winter with a fairly substantial white patch at the base of the bill.

Canal:
another pair of moorhen
pair of canada geese
single swan on the way there (presumably the one seen yesterday on the filtration lagoons)
the usual pair had just arrived on my way back
the dead fox has also returned, though is looking a bit worse for wear

Filtration lagoons:

Coot and mallard on most pools
8 goldfinch
buzzard
heron over
5 canada geese (2 pairs)
8 lapwing (2 of which over NE) and a curlew - site tick! (also then over NE) were disturbed from a distant field

Joey Eccles wrote:

---

This afternoon 2.45pm - 5.15pm with Mr Myerscough:

Well thank you for that Mr Eccles. Can't remember the last time I was called Mr....apart from the time of that unfortunate incident that eventually ended up in the hands of the police and the local magistrate , so I thought it only fair to return the salutation!

Seriously though Joey, thanks for showing me around your local patch - a cracking area with a good selection of habitats and birds. I hope your local patch birding efforts are rewarded this spring/summer with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Hobby and Wheatear ......and who knows possibly a Common Scoter.

Cheers,

Bill.

This morning 8.15-11.00am

woods:

11 snipe
11 teal (including 3 in bridgewater school playing fields)
7 tufted duck - 3 pairs and 1 imm. male
coot nest building
moorhen
mistle thrush and wren also nest building
6 GSW seen - two pairs (the females were chasing each other, and the males were too) and two singles
pair of treecreeper
pair of goldcrest
nuthatch

Filtration lagoons:

3 canada geese
4 coot
moorhen
comorant over
at least 8 male reed bunting singing
7 goldfinch
6 lt tit
male bullfinch
100+ jackdaws in farmers field and also a single lapwing over SE

And a sparrowhawk that had killed a pigeon in my garden whilst i was out
sparrowhawk later returned

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Saturday 12th of March 2011 05:08:23 PM

Kingfisher at the delph 7.40

caught the last half an hour of daylight around the dam:

5 snipe visible
14 teal out in the open
kingfisher hunting and preening
c.20 redwing came in to roost
2 carrion crow
6 woodpigeon
2 moorhen
20 or so mallard
song and mistle thrush singing
same magpie roost as yesterday

Also from this morning:

5 canada geese coming in to land (presumably on the canal)
and the swans were continuing to build their nest

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Monday 7th of March 2011 07:48:52 PM

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Monday 7th of March 2011 08:26:35 PM

Mute swan bearing ring DX4 and another with unreadable metal ring resident around Boothstown basin last couple of days.

6th March - 8.00 to 11.45 am.

Parking up in the lay-by near the church off the roundabout at Worsley at 8.00 am a pair of Magpies were around a full to overflowing litter bin in the lay-by. They proceeded to empty the litter bin piece by piece, just dropping the items of rubbish on the floor, until they came to a brown paper McDonalds bag which was obviously more to their liking and they had their breakfast from that! Not only litter louts but junk food addicts too!!

Joey's Woodpeckers from yesterday were still in dispute. Again it was 2 females that appeared to be the trouble-makers....but then again isn't it always! Also in the area of woodland - c45 Redwing singing in the tall trees and 8+ Siskin, with a single male singing in another area of woodland. 2 pairs of Magpies and 2 pairs of Carrion Crows were nest building. A male Sparrowhawk was seen, a Mistle Thrush sang, Goldcrest were singing in 2 separate locations, a pair of Treecreepers investigated potential nest sites. A pair of Stock Doves were seen, including display - observed both in flight and also in typical pigeon family bowing and scraping. Good numbers of Chaffinch singing and Nuthatch seen around suitable nesting holes.

Old Warke Dam - had 4 Snipe visible, and pair of Little Grebes, along with 13 Teal (6 males including some displaying) and a Kingfisher flew in.

Feral Pigeons had begging young in nests in the general area.

4 Reed Bunting were around Roe Green fishing pond, with at least 3 at the filtration lagoons. 3 Buzzards circled overhead the lagoons.

So plenty of interesting sightings from a few hours standing in and around some lovely wooded areas - but no Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Bill.

Joey - not sure about the left over egg in the old nest - although I'm sure our Swan eggspert will know the answer!

8.30 - 10.00 am

woods:

4 GSW including 3 having a fight, 1 drumming and another carrying nesting material
only one snipe visible on dam
teal
siskin over - heard a few times
little grebe has returned

plus usuals

Filtration lagoons:

at least 1, probably two buzzards
2 pairs of canada geese
pair of bullfinch
goldfinch
jackdaw and woodpigeon displaying, reed bunting singing (6 or so)


Also no swans, but i did see a pair on the canal at monton last night from the car (probably the same pair), hope they still decide to breed in Worsley. Just a thought, but an old egg in the previous nest wouldn't put them off would it?

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Saturday 5th of March 2011 11:43:37 AM

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Saturday 5th of March 2011 11:44:31 AM

I would say about 8 years, assuming they make it past year 1. However, in an urban area such as this, there are probably more problems with angling (line and lead), airguns, pylons and pollution. Best chance of survival is to get a good breeding site and stay there - I have a couple of 15 year olds at such sites.

I doubt if it's reached the end of its breeding life - I have a swan still breeding which is at least 26 years old as he's as sprightly as ever! He raised 3 cyggies last year.

8.00 - 10.30am light rain, water levels quite high

woods:

2 nuthatch caching food around a nest site
2 GSW having a territorial dispute
great, coal, blue and lt tits
4 jays
teal and a single snipe visible on dam
3 more teal and a single, very stationary redwing on the bridgewater school playing fields

mute swans DV4 and LJX present on canal as a pair, no sign of TBY. Interesting as previously TBY and DV4 had been seen as a pair (together) and had acted territorially against LJX.

filtration lagoons:

water rail
2 canada geese
mallard
coot and moorhen
heron over
buzzard hunting in surrounding area
2 bullfinch (pair)
reed bunting (pairs)
4 lapwing over west
cock pheasant in farmers field next to the lagoons

The highlight though was a very large brown hare in the farmers field running along the boundary fence

3.30 - 4.45 pm - heavy rain

Filtration lagoons:
Single male teal
3 bullfinch
Goldcrest
C.10 reed bunting
2 Canada geese
Coot
Moorhen

Woods:
Song thrush
4 teal
Water levels very high, most of the marsh area was completely flooded and flowing with the stream, levels varied from between two to four feet above normal levels

Hi Gary,
Thanks for reporting this. LPL was originally ringed as a male cygnet from a brood of 5 at Leigh on 1/9/2002.
Steve

Roe Green fishing pond this am

c.30 goldfinch
at least 3 siskin
c.45 redwing, landed briefly and then into the woods
comerant over
pair of mallard
2 moorhen including a juvenile
female kestrel hunting and giving great views down to 20 metres. Tried to pounce on a wren but missed, and chased down a magpie that came a bit too close for over 100 metres.
decent gull movement over
Lt tit flock, and also great tits and blue tits.
GSW and nuthatch heard from the woods


-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Sunday 23rd of January 2011 04:53:36 PM

Around sunset

The two mute swans seem to be spending their time at Roe Green fishing pond, but flew off North to roost.
Also noted:

LT tit flock
GSW
heron

8.15- 9.45am
Went to have another walk around the woods this morning mainly to see what was around the Warke dam area;

Between 30-40 Teal on the lake with birds arriving and taking off every couple of minutes.
3 Coot
4 Moorhens
4 Snipe, 2 of which were content to sit in the open with the other two barely visible in the Marsh grass

While I was watching the Snipe, an inconsiderate dog owner let his dog run through the marsh area [ the silted area at the top of the lake] which flushed 40+ Teal and Mallard into the air. Also another 9-10 Snipe and a Woodcock flew from the marsh to avoid the dog.
While I went to have words with the owner the dog decided to swim up the lake to chase the remaining ducks. All the owner could say was that all dogs chase ducks and its only natural. The dogs have the whole of the woods to run through and this idiot lets his deliberately into a fenced off area. After a heated debate and a couple of threats we went our separate ways.

Other birds seen;

5 GS woodpeckers
3 Nuthatch
Bullfinch[m]
2 Siskins

Roger Baker 3 wrote:

---

Thanks Joey for that cheerful little winters tale...... really got my New Year off with a bang..... pass the Kleenex.

PS. Please don't go planning a career as a childrens story teller...... they'll all end up in trauma.......

Roger

Joey Eccles wrote:

---

And i forgot to add there was what looked like a roe deer carcass (looked fresh) frozen into the ice in the canal just a few yards from the filtration lagoons, presumably the deer had tried to cross the ice and fallen through, or tried to swim across but wasn't able to get out of the canal

---

---

Sorry about that Roger. Though whilst I agree that 'nature in the raw' may not be a heartening tale for primary school children, I suppose it is lucky then that i'm posting to a forum of mature wildlife watchers

And i forgot to add there was what looked like a roe deer carcass (looked fresh) frozen into the ice in the canal just a few yards from the filtration lagoons, presumably the deer had tried to cross the ice and fallen through, or tried to swim across but wasn't able to get out of the canal

9.30-13.40,

Good walk around the woods this morning with plenty of birds about.

3 GS Woodpeckers
6 Nuthatch
2 Treecreepers
3 Goldcrest
2 Greenfinch
2 Goldfinch
Pied wagtail
Grey wagtail
Sparrowhawk [m]
2 Redwing
5 Jays
2 Jackdaws
2 Mistle thrush
Lots of tit flocks.

Around Warke Dam area;
40+ Teal
4 Mallard
2 Snipe in the open and one hiding in the grass

Filtration lagoons;
50+ Teal
Shoveller [f]
Little grebe
3 Coot
4 Moorhen
Reed bunting
4 Fieldfare
43 Lapwings over

Along the canal
Chaffinch flock of 50+ birds
5 Pied wagtails
Sparrowhawk [m]
2 M pipits
Song thrush
5 Teal
Plenty of Wood Pigeon flying about heading towards Botany bay

And a big thankyou to the person putting seed on fence posts in the woods. I don't know if you are on or read this forum but well done

Gulls don't roost at Barton Dock Joey. Their movements are generally between refuse tips at Pilsworth, Astley and Arpley in Cheshire during the day with early or late movements to and from roosts at Heaton Park and Audenshaw Reservoirs, Pennington Flash and on the Mersey in Cheshire/Merseyside.

A very productive morning with 3 site firsts (!)
Highlights:

Dam frozen so no birds
Stream that comes out the dam redeemed the situation with 6 moorhen(!), at least 3 teal and a woodcock was flushed!

The filtration lagoons held good numbers of waterfowl:
2 gadwall - m and f - site tick
c.30 teal - a huge number for worsley
c.50 mallard
5 coot
A Skein of c.130 of pink footed geese directly overhead NE - site and county tick!
were followed by another skein of c.30 that turned around and went back SW
2 greenfinch
2 bullfinch
1 redwing
reed bunting
2 cock pheasant in the field next to the lagoons
incredible amount of gulls overhead with c.1100 all going NE!
LBB - site tick, common, bh and herring gulls all identified

In the woods:

Up to 4 LT tit flocks that contained the other 3 common tits, a goldcrest and a treecreeper. ANother treecreeper as also seen
2 nuthatch
GSW heard
Female sparrowhawk hunting through the trees and then seen over later - looked desperate
8 goldfinch
3 siskin - 1m 2f

Took the little lad for a walk this afternoon, we sat down to have a drink and a jay dropped down out of a tree no more than 3 feet away just stood there looking at us. The sun aws bouncing off its feathers great veiws of all the colours. The little fella wanted me to take it home!(only 3)

A good morning this am. 8.30 - 10.00 purely at roe green fishing pond.

A feeding flock of finches was present that had at least 60-70 members which is fantastic for worsley
present were:
siskin - my county bogie bird!
goldfinch
greenfinch
there looked to be some more species but i left my bins at home so couldn't identify them

Also:
Female Kestrel - a very large one too. No birds will mob it despite there being numerous magpies and crows around - if anything they find cover when its about. The kestrel even flushed and chased off a female sparrowhawk that was no doubt eyeing up the finch flock!
3 female chaffinch
heron
redwing and fieldfare over
blackbird, song and mistle thrushes present
Jay
GSW
Nuthatch
wren
and a weasel!

+ the usuals

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Thursday 28th of October 2010 01:15:10 PM

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Thursday 28th of October 2010 02:38:41 PM