MB

 

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Woolston Eyes


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:
RE: Woolston Eyes


11.00-14.30

No 3 Bed : 29 Black tailed Godwits, 1 Garganey, 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 6 Little Grebes,

2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Water Rails, a nervous flock of 15 Lapwings, 8 Snipe, 4 Grey Herons and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

5 Chiffchaffs were amongst a flock of Long Tailed and Blue Tits, plus 2 others were seen elsewhere on the bed.

A flock of around 12 Swallows passed through heading South.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.00-15.00

No 3 Bed: 1 juvenile Black Necked Grebe, 3 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe with a striped youngster in tow,

1 Buzzard, a group of 8 juvenile Pochards, 3 Sand Martins, a flock of 28 Lapwings heading NW, 1 adult Great Blacked Backed Gull,

1 Water Rail, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler and 1m Blackcap (Seen and also heard singing).

Around a dozen Swifts were flying above the pool throughout my stay.

Huge numbers of moulting Gadwall, and a few eclipse Shovelers. A raft of 36 Coots some showing real aggression to their own

kind and the passive eclipse ducks.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

Afternoon visit to No3 Bed.

A noticeable abundance of eclipse Mallard and Gadwall across the pool, plus a few Shovelers and a single Wigeon.

7 Cormorants were seen flying SE, soon followed by a group of 15 Lapwings going in the opposite direction.

4 Lapwings were the only waders on the scrapes. 2 Black Necked and 2 Little Grebes were on the pool.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker and a pair (M+F) of Bullfinches were on the feeders.

A single Buzzard was the only raptor seen. All the Black Headed Gulls families have now left.

Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Reed Bunting and Common Whitethroat were still heard singing.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

No3 Bed 10.30-14.00

2f Marsh Harriers, 1f Garganey, 2 Buzzards, 2 Wigeon (M+F) and 6 Little Grebes.

At least 4 families of Black Necked Grebes seen staying close to the reeds along the Northern edge of the bed,

1 pair had a couple of youngsters, another pair were also feeding 2 young but also appeared to have a tiny chick

riding on the back of one of the adults. The 2 other families just had 1 chick each.

At one point an adult Lesser Black Backed Gull managed to catch what was either a tiny Moorhen or Coot chick. There was

then a scuffle with 3 other LBB Gulls, before the bird that caught the little prize managed to swallow it in a single gulp.

The commotion attracted an adult Shelduck which attempted the drive the big gulls away, but to no avail.

The Shelduck and it's mate were trying to protect their brood of 8 "Blackbird" sized ducklings. Thankfully the big gulls

showed little interest in the Shelduck brood though. At least 3 Pochard broods were seen too, with 1 of the anxious mothers

having a family of 9 tiny ducklings to watch over.






__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

13.30-16.00 No3 Bed

1m+1f Garganey, 2 Black Necked Grebes, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 20m+3f Pochards, 1m+1f Wigeon, 60+ Gadwall,

3 Buzzards, 1 Shelduck, 1m Bullfinch, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 4 adult Lesser Black Backed Gulls.

A Coot and a Moorhen family each had a brood of 4 tiny youngsters which they both kept around the scrape. The Coots

dropped their guard for a while though and let a tiny chick swim out alone towards the centre of the pool. One of the

Lesser Black Backs clearly saw an unexpected opportunity, but instead of taking the prize it just indulged in a territorial

squabble with it's 3 chums. The tiny youngster was very fortunate and was soon ushered back to the family by a very

anxious parent.

Attachments
__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 463
Date:

Having been favouring Moore this year as my local patch I was starting to get a bit guilty about not having been around Woolston for a few weeks and was planning to go soon. Well an afternoon WhatsApp was all that was needed to make me change plans for my afternoon stroll [to Halfway House at lower tide at Moore] and at 3:25 pm wandered in from West via the Manchester Ship Canal (MSC) track at Donaldson Engineering to go to the new #4 bed and within 20 minutes searching the target bird was found. Temmnick's Stint meandering about on a spit off the new Islets viewed from the western path around the bed. Cheshire lifer!

Thanks to Dan for the original message and both Dave's I saw on the way into the bed for more refined directions. 

Wader species for the day included Green Sandpiper, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Oystercatcher and Snipe. No Dunlin though whilst watching the Stint at ca. 4 - 4:15 pm (or at all).

Pied Wagtail, Greylag and Canada Geese, Black-headed and Lesser-black Backed Gulls. Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Great Crested Grebe and Shovler on the pool.

Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Robin, Blackbird, Reed Warbler all provided a musical backdrop whilst scanning the bed. Single Linnets and Greenfinch (?) seen on the dryer parts of the bed.

Looks a lovely developing site, great testimony to the hard work put in by the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group and others.

 

Edit - Expanded MSc acronym to Manchester Ship Canal (attempt at penance for a bad habit developed after spending over 30 years in an industry excelling in TLA - Three Letter Acronyms).



-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 28th of April 2022 09:00:47 PM

__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 36
Date:

Feeding station 19 bramblings probably more greenfinch chaffinch Reed buntings nuthatch 1pr great spotted woodpeckers 1pr bullfinch sparrowhawk 2 jays 9 greylag geese and all the usual wildfowl other birds seen wren goldfinch grey heron pheasant redwing song thrush robin dunnock great/blue/long tailed tits



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.30-14.30

No.3 Bed

Tower Hide area : 4 Bramblings on the ground below alders. 4 Siskins and 3 Lesser Redpolls feeding amongst the alder cones.

J. Morgan Hide area : Bramblings feeding around both sets of feeders, at one point 12 were seen feeding together below a feeder.

1m Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Buzzard, 4f Bullfinches and 1 Grey Heron. Numerous Reed Buntings visiting the feeders too.

Teal and Shovelers appeared reasonably abundant, but all seemed to be tucked up close to the reedbed, perhaps the Marsh Harrier

which I sadly just missed made the ducks nervous. A single Shelduck and 3 Tufted Ducks were on the water too.

River Mersey (Above the weir/Bottom of Weir Lane) : 122 Tufted Ducks, 1m Pochard, 1 Shelduck, 4 Cormorants and 6 Gadwall.

Sadly no Goldeneyes were seen on the river there today.

Attachments
__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 26
Date:

3 hour visit today 05/01/22

32 species seen including:-

 

1 Marsh Harrier - red wing tag.

10+ Brambling

2 Bullfinch

2 Jay

1 GS Woodpecker



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 463
Date:

16/12 two hr visit.

#4 bed. 1 Cettis Warbler singing. Teal, Shovler, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Gadwall Present with Canada Geese, Black-backed Gulls, one Great Black-backed Gull and three Herring Gulls. Male and female Goosander flew in. Grey Heron skulking at the North side of the bed.

#3bed. Treecreeper (reserve first for me) at the Sybil Hogg hide. Surprisingly small Sparrowhawk flew out a bush in front of me across the fields where seed is grown for finches. Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch abundant all over the shrub around the bed. two more Cettis calling.

Lots of gulls flocks (5 - 60 birds) were flying west down the Ship Canal. I counted 52 flocks in an hour. Predominantly Black-Headed; of the three groups of Herring, one Group had two very large silver winged gulls in, wingspan 1/3rd greater than the rest of the Herring Gulls - Argentatus spp?



-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 16th of December 2021 11:33:09 PM



-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 16th of December 2021 11:33:42 PM

__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 26
Date:

13:15 - 15:10

 

1 Nuthatch, 1 Goldcrest, 3-4 Siskin, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Buzzard, 1 GS Woodpecker, 2 Jay, 3 Stock Dove, 1 Snipe, 2 Jay

 

Teal 70+  Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Shoveler and Mallard in much smaller numbers



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

12.00-14.30

No 3 Bed :

1 Chiffchaff, 1f Brambling, 1m Pintail, 2 Grey Herons, 3 Buzzards, 6 Jays, 1m Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Gadwall,

1m Pochard and a flock of 6 Linnets.

Mersey on and around the weir pool : 94 Tufted Ducks, 2m Goldeneyes and 1 Little Grebe.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

Midday visit to No.3 Bed.

1 House Martin, 2 Little Grebes, 1f Goldeneye and a flock of 68 Greylag Geese.

Coal Tits were making frequent visits to the feeders, together with a pair of male Reed Buntings.

Really impressive numbers of Teal and Shoveler, but only 7 Gadwall and 2 Tufted Ducks were seen.

Despite the low water level no waders were noted, neither were any raptors, or herons.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

Afternoon visit to No 3 Bed :

1 Hobby, 1 Water Rail, 4 Green Sandpipers, 1 Snipe, 3 Chiffchaffs, 6 Little Grebes, 6 Grey Herons, 4 Lapwings,

and 2 Wigeon(M+F).

Attachments
__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

15.00-18.00

No3 Bed :

1f Marsh Harrier, 3 Buzzards, 2 singing Chiffchaffs, 3 Common Whitethroats (2 catching insects on hogweed umbellifers),

1 juvenile Black necked Grebe, 4 adult and 2 juvenile Little Grebes, 2 broods of Pochards, 3 broods of Tufted Ducks,

a pair of Shelducks with 11 ducklings in their care and 1 Grey Heron.

A Reed Warbler showed very well in front of the South Bank screen. The harrier was mobbed by a pair of crows, however she turned on

her attackers and very nearly caught one of the corvids, who then opted to have fun elsewhere.

Only 1 pair of Black headed Gulls remain in the colony, and they are still brooding a couple of tiny youngsters.



__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1986
Date:

13:00-15:00

13 Black Necked Grebe (21 reported), 3 Cettis Warbler, 4 Willow Warbler, 12 Pochard, 4 Blackcap, 3 Shoveler, Raven, 6 Teal, 3 Little Grebe, 4+ Common Buzzard, 2 Great Black Backed Gull, 5 Reed Bunting, 10 Chiffchaff, 8 Swallow, 30 Sand Martin, Lapwing, Stock Dove, Kestrel 

Hides and toilet open on number 3 bed. 



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 362
Date:

08.00/10.30 cold with  NNW wind blowing through.

Lovely to see the Black-necked Grebes again with twelve being observed. One female Brambling the feeders. Lots of Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff.

Black- headed Gull in big numbers.

A few Sand Martin around and one Swallow through.

Our first visit in over two years a fabulous reserve.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Am Visit 

2 Black-Necked Grebe...pair

1 Woodcock

1 Redshank

...and the Black-Headed Gull Breeding colony in full swing!



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 366
Date:

David Spencer wrote:

 

One Red Kite was seen this morning. Initially it was seen flying south, low over No.2 bed and was thought to have flown south. However it reappeared circling high with two Buzzards over the SE corner of No.3 bed. Also present was one female/imm. Marsh Harrier (a different individual to the one seen on Saturday). Two adult Mediterranean Gulls were again seen in the Black-headed Gull colony.  Of interest last weeks colour ringed 1st summer Mediterranean Gull  (red PRY6) )was ringed in Poland as a nestling on 20th June 2015. Also last week, the adult summer Mediterranean Gull  with a white darvic ring, E718, is a Dutch bird ringed as a nestling in June 2012. Since then it has been seen in Germany and Ireland; the last report was on 21st January2016 at Bray Harbour, Wicklow.

Cheers David (with D Bowman, B Lloyd and J Verdon)



-- Edited by David Spencer on Monday 25th of April 2016 02:41:00 PM


 I've just been doing some digging around on the internet and it turns out this Mediterranean gull that has turned up at Elton Reservoir this week was first seen here in 2016 .

Managed to get the ring number today PRY6 ..

 



Attachments
__________________

One by one the penguins steal my sanity

https://www.flickr.com/photos/salfordmartin/



Status: Offline
Posts: 26
Date:

Saturday 13th Feb

 

1 Marsh Harrier

1 Sparrowhawk

1 Kestrel

2 GS Woodpecker

2 Bullfinch

15 Redwing

1 Goldcrest

 

32 Species seen, most lagoons at least 90% frozen



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.30-14.00

*The site is still open for local birders, with Covid protocols in place.

No3 Bed was completely frozen over, as was the old river below the footbridge.

No3 Bed : 1f Marsh Harrier and 1 Buzzard (Aggressively mobbed by an adult Lesser Black Backed Gull).

Feeding Stations : 6 Bullfinches, 1 Song Thrush, 1m Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Willow Tit.

4 Robins often fed amiably together below the feeders, with not the slightest sign of aggression, except to

any male Chaffinches that appeared. Singles of Pied Wagtail and Reed Bunting were the old birds seen on the ice.

River Mersey Weir Pool area : 2m Goldeneyes, 2 Shelducks, 1 Little Grebe, 25 Tufted Ducks, 8 Gadwall and 8 Shoveler.

A skein of 80 Greylag Geese circled No3 Bed, before heading off towards the East.

Large numbers of duck were scattered along the ship canal.






Attachments
__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

Brief visit 12.00-13.30

Highlights :- 1f Marsh Harrier, 1 Little Grebe and 1 Buzzard.

Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall numbers noticeably building up, with drake Shovelers now fully emerging from eclipse.

Waterfowl largely concentrated in the NW corner as conservation work is carried at Southern end of No 3 bed.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 26
Date:

Tuesday 18/08/20

Highlights include

8 Little Grebe

1 Kingfisher 

1 Willow Tit on feeders right of Morgan hide

1 Sparrowhawk

28 Lapwing

1 Blackcap

2 Hobby as I walked back towards Weir Lane

 



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 4255
Date:

The following has been put out on Facebook by Woolston Eyes NR:

 

Keeping ourselves in line with national policy, we have now decided to close Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve until further notice. I will provide further updates, as and when the situation changes.
Stay safe



__________________
facebook


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

09.30-13.00

No 3 Bed :

8 Black necked Grebes, 1 Sand Martin, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk,

2 Black tailed Godwits and 4 Chiffchaffs.

30 Pochards and 100+ Tufted Ducks were on the Mersey around the weir pool.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

am visit...highlights

6 Black-Necked Grebe

4 Cettis Warbler in song

2 Ringed Plover

1 Peregrine

1 Goosander

6 Chiffchaff in song

2 Sand Martin.

 



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Number 3 Bed CBC/BBS with Dave Bowman am...Count included

14 Dunnock

22 Robin

9 Cetti's Warbler

10 Reed Bunting

16 Blackbird

8 Chiffchaff

1 Willow Tit.

Other Sightings of Note

4 Oystercatcher

9 Black-Necked Grebe

15 Mute Swan.

 

 

 



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Am visit highlights

3 Black-Necked Grebe

1 Black-Tailed Godwit

2 Kingfisher

and a thriving Black-Headed Gull colony.

 



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.30-15.00

River Mersey below Weir Lane, including weir pool.

104 Tufted Ducks, 54 Pochards (Of which only 7 were female), 27 Lesser Black Backed Gulls (All resplendant adults with some vicious territorial

fighting taking place), 2 adult Herring Gulls, 4 Shelducks and 4 Cormorants. A flock of 30 House Sparrows were at the bottom of Weir Lane.

No 3 Bed

45 Pochard, 65 Tufted Ducks, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Buzzards, 3 Lapwings and a group of 3 male Bullfinches.

Also an impressive number of Shoveler and Teal were also seen, and many more appeared to be hiding in the reedbed.

2 adult Lesser Black Backed Gulls seemed to have taken a liking to one of the rafts positioned for their smaller Black Headed cousins to nest on.

From adjoining rafts the Black Heads viewed the bigger gulls with a kind of mistrust, obviously giving them a wide berth, battle will commence

when nesting starts.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Common Bird Count on number one bed 0730-0915 with Dave Bowman

included...

14 Wren

19 Robin

11 Reed Bunting

25 Mallard

9 Greylag Geese 

2 Little Grebe

6 Skylark

2 Shelduck

2 Gadwall

6 Stock Dove

5 Song Thrush

1 Willow Tit.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.00-14.30

R.Mersey (Weir Pool & at the bottom of Weir Lane) : 70 Tufted Ducks, 2m Goldeneyes,

3m+3f Pochard, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 adult Herring Gull.

Old River : 11 Shovelers and 2 Little Grebes. Ship Canal : Single group of 58 Tufted Ducks.

No.3 Bed : 1f Marsh Harrier, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 1 Snipe, 1 Little Grebe and 1 Great Crested Grebe.

Raven heard only. The Sparrowhawk was mobbed by a pair of Carrion Crows near the Morgan hide, which

turned into quite a drama. I could not confirm if the hawk was a male or female due to bad light, but it was

noticeably smaller than the crows. However the corvids clearly chose the wrong raptor to intimidate, within

seconds the hawk manoeuvred into a position behind one of the crows and grabbed it's tail. The crow then

made a noise that I have not heard any corvid scream before, but it then managed to escape and make a

quick exit across the bed. The remaining crow then began a dogfight with the hawk, but clearly the raptor

had the edge and the corvid fortunately escaped to the safety of nearby tree. For a moment it really looked

like the Sparrowhawk would bring down a crow, the bullies may think it wise to give this raptor a wide berth

from now on.






__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

11.00-14.00

R.Mersey (Weir Pool & at the bottom of Weir Lane) :

114 Tufted Ducks, 3m+2f Pochard, 2m Goldeneyes, 2 Little Grebes and 1 Great Crested Grebe.

An additional 38 Tufted Ducks were on the ship canal.

No.3 Bed : 1 Chiffchaff (By the footbridge), 1 Buzzard, 14 Shovelers and a flock of 9 Redwings.

A steady stream of Reed Buntings were amongst the garden birds visiting the new feeding station.

A female Marsh Harrier had been reported just before I arrived.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Some Highlights 0730-1215

11 Pochard

2 Raven

1 Goldeneye

1 Kingfisher

3 Snipe

45 Tufted Duck.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Some Highlights 0730-1230

1 Raven

200 Teal...some in Courtship Display

9 Shelduck...in Courtship Display

1 Kingfisher

3 Water Rail

2 Cetti's Warbler---call only

2 Grey Wagtail.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

0730-1215

Highlights

8 Wigeon

2 Chiffchaff

170 Redwing

9 Pochard

2 Goldeneye

2 Willow Tit

170 Redwing.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

10.00-14.00

No.3 Bed : 6 Lesser Redpolls with Goldfinches on alders near the Tower Hide.

1m Sparrowhawk shot passed the feeders in front of the Sybil Hogg hide.

1 Tree Sparrow sat on a bush overlooking the seeded meadow.

Also seen on the bed were 2 Buzzards, 1m +2f Pochards (1 female seen in pursuit of the male,

but he did'nt seem the least bit interested), 1m+1f Bulfinches and 2 Snipe.

Old River : 30 Shovelers, 2 Little Grebes, 4 Cormorants and lots of Teal.

Mersey Weir Pool & R.Mersey at the bottom of Weir Lane : 4m Goldeneyes, 1 Shelduck, 68 Tufted Ducks,

1+1f Pochard, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebes and around 60 Black Headed Gulls.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

10.30-14.00

In additon to Dave's records.

No.3 Bed : 2 Lesser Redpolls with Goldfinches on alders, 1 (Possibly 2) female Sparrowhawks,

2 Kestrels, 2m Great Spotted Woodpeckers in territorial dispute, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Fieldfares (Lots of Redwings

in small groups moving around the bed) and an impressive 16 Reed Buntings (4m together on the feeders

by the Sybel Hogg hide and 9m+3f in bushes by the meadow). A fox was also seen near the meadow which

may explain why 12 Reed Buntings sought the safety of the bushes.

Old River : A group of 55 Shoveler, 13 Gadwall, 4 Cormorants and 3 Grey Herons.

Mersey Weir Pool : 3 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1m Pochard, 38 Tufted Ducks, 1 Grey Wagtail,

1f Goldeneye, 1 Shelduck and an impressive 80 Black Headed Gulls.

6 Tufted Ducks were on the ship canal.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Visit with Team Friday 1000-1315...Highlights

90 Shoveler

35 Lapwing

 

150 Teal

1 Kingfisher

1 Great Black-Backed Gull

1 Marsh Harrier (Immature) which gave good views on several occasions as it flew over the reedbeds of No3 bed.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Visible Migration watch from the eastern edge of the Reserve..with Dave Bowman..Les Jones..Dave Spencer..Alan Warford..Helen Allen...0630-1200...Highlights

610 Fieldfare

170 Redwing

1 Woodcock

3 Tawny Owl

2 Goldeneye

194 Pink-Footed Geese

9 Siskin

8 Lesser Redpoll

29 Teal

950 Lapwing.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

Visible Migration Watch from Eastern Edge of Reserve with Dave Bowman 0645-1200

Highlights

1 Peregrine

1 Merlin

3 Golden Plover

1 Hawfinch

2027 Redwing

531 Fieldfare

130 Pink-Footed Geese

5 Lesser Redpoll

5 Siskin

6 Brambling

1 Woodcock

2 Tawny Owl

38 Blackbird

1 Raven

1 Dunlin.



__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

09.30-13.00

2 Bearded Tits flew across the open area in front of the F.Linley around 11am,

what was probably the same 2 were seen moments later in front of the Morgan hide.

Pretty quiet otherwise. A Buzzard perched overlooking the NE corner of the bed really

upset large numbers of Teal and Shoveler, they barely settled throughout my stay.

Also seen on No 3 Bed : 2m Pochards, 1 Shelduck, 1 Little Grebe, 4 Wigeon, 4 Lapwings

and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

A single Great Crested Grebe was on the ship canal, whilst 45 Tufted Ducks were on the Mersey

above the weir.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 241
Date:

3 Bearded Tits seen this morning by Dan Owen opposite Morgan hide on No3 bed.

This follows on from the 2 Male Bearded Tits trapped and ringed on Sunday by Kieran Foster.

Grit trays will be made and deployed this week.

Hopefully they will stay for while.



-- Edited by Alan Warford on Tuesday 29th of October 2019 09:31:14 AM



-- Edited by Alan Warford on Tuesday 29th of October 2019 09:31:59 AM

__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 2072
Date:

N03 Bed 0730-1145 Rain Throughout

Highlights...

18 Greylag Geese

2 Kingfisher

1 Water Rail

1 Cetti's Warbler (call only)

40 + Shoveler

200 Lapwing 

1 Grey Wagtail

4 Little Grebe

1 Shelduck

50 Grennfinch.

 



Attachments
__________________


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

10.00-13.30

No.3 Bed :

2 Buzzards, 8 Linnets (With a large flock of mixed Greenfinchs and Chaffinchs around the seeded meadow),

3 Little Grebes, 9 Cormorants (5 by the old river and 4 catching sticklebacks on No 3), 8 Jays,

a single group of 15 Long Tailed Tits, a flock of 66 Lapwings flying East and 2 Grey Herons.

Gadwall, Shoveler and Teal appear plentiful again.

The Mersey was in flood and the current moving very quickly, which may account for a complete

lack of any diving ducks on the river or around the weirpool, only a single Mute Swan tolerated it.

There was a lack of waterfowl on the ship canal as well as the current was really racing here too.





__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

10.30-13.30

No 3 Bed :

3 Grey Wagtails, 1f Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 1 Snipe, 1 Black tailed Godwit,

1 Water Rail, 3 Cormorants, 1 Little Grebe and 4 Jays.

A Black Tern had been seen before I arrived.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

No.3 Bed 10.00-13.30

1 Green Sandpiper (Total of 3 were reported this morning), 1 Common Sandpiper,

9 Black tailed Godwits, 2 Jays, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Willow Warblers, 2 Little Grebes,

1 juvenile Shelduck and 100+ very noisy Greylag Geese.





__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

No. 3 Bed 09.30-12.00

2 Green Sandpipers, 10 Cormorants (A group of 9 were fishing for Sticklebacks together, and catching

mouthfuls on each dive), 1 Swift, 1 juvenile Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 1 Water Rail, 3 Little Grebes

and 1 juvenile Shelduck. Also, a Reed Warbler was showing really well below the Tower Hide, the

bird flitted around the top of the reeds and was seen to eat several orange insects that looked like soldier beetles.

3 Chiffchaffs were calling, and seen together in a willow bush.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

No 3 Bed 11.00-13.30

1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Little Grebe, 6 Cormorants and 1 Kestrel.

15 juvenile +3 adult Lesser Black backed Gulls appeared to be a post-breeding

flock of local birds. With just one full grown unfledged Black Headed Gull youngster

remaining from this years broods, there appears to be no easy pickings left for the big

gulls now, just a few small Moorhen chicks look vulnerable.

The water level has been lowered and the bed now looks ideal for passing waders.

__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

15.00-19.00

No.3 Bed

1 adult + 1 Juvenile Black Necked Grebes, 6 Little Grebes, 1 Green Sandpiper,

1 Black tailed Godwit, 1 Buzzard and 10 Lapwings.

3 adult Great Crested Grebes were on the ship canal opposite the car park.

Attachments
__________________
John Williams


Status: Offline
Posts: 1879
Date:

10.30-12.30 (Rained Throughout)

No.3 Bed :

3prs + 2 single adult Black Necked Grebes, with at least 1 tiny youngster riding on it's parents back. Also 1 Little and 2 Great Crested Grebes.

1m+1f Wigeon, 1 Cormorant, 7 Bullfinches and 2 Common Whitethroats.

7 Pochards, with 1 female having a single small duckling. An adult Mute Swan had 6 half grown cygnets in tow, but no sign of the other parent bird.

Gadwall appear especially plentiful, last year I heard numerous birders express concern about a decline in numbers of these ducks, but they

appear to have made a recovery. 5 moulting male Shovelers were amongst the lethargic drake Mallards.

Swallows and the occasional Swift frantically skimmed the surface of the pool during the heavy rain.





__________________
John Williams
« First  <  Page 2  >   Last »  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

RODIS

 

This forum is dedicated to the memory of Eva Janice McKerchar.