With our Garden Owls (we've started getting bats again the last few days after a summer of almost no sightings) I'd decided a couple of weeks ago to get a basic Nocmig rig going in North Appleton. Things I realise now I've processed via BTO Acoustic Pipeline and manually looked at Spectrographs at interesting times.

• - The fifteen Bittern flight calls are not Bitterns they are me snoring! With the window only on trickle vent and the microphone 20 yards up the garden I'm impressed it picked me up so well! And depressed as it means anyone walking past the house on the footpath five yards away will also hear me snoring.
• - "Dad, Dad, wake up I want a wee". Pesky kids.
• - Other than younger loin spawn wanting the loo I can now count the number of other visits to the loo my dodgy Prostrate makes me do at night from the flush sound and then the water going down the outside pipes and drain under the patio - there is a unique sonogram I can see for that!.

• Accepted manual checks vs. BTO AC Pipeline judgements and counts; Coot, Moorhen, Grey Heron (these come into our garden still expecting our now fishless pond to have Koi), Redwing, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Pink-footed Geese (all between 11pm last night and 5am this morn), Song Thrush.
• Can't verify: Whooper Swan, Brent Goose, Water Rail, Skylark.
• Quite impressed for a first night but the computing time (3hrs to post process and an hour manual processing) is heavy. I think, until I learn a few more nuances of the technique this could be a nice qualitative process, hopefully I'll learn some tricks over time to make myself more happy it can be quantitative.

At least the Tawny Owls were quiet last night, think they were down the Market Garden near Red Lane Allotments last night away west of our house.

Male Blackcap on fat feeder, North Appleton just now.

320 pink-footed geese just gone over Tesco Extra warrington heading SE 08.20

Oart flock shot picture from Tesco Cafe  lol

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 4th of October 2024 08:43:55 AM

57 Pink-footed Geese REALLY low over North Appleton now heading NNW towards Warrington Town centre. They were so low as I heard them coming over the garden I wondered if they were coming to land in my pond!!!!!

Tawny Owls starting to get vocal around the area of the Market Garden next to Red Lane Allotments in North Appleton tonight.

11 Swift  over our garden this afternoon in central Warrington heading South at pace

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Thursday 29th of August 2024 07:15:33 PM

5+4+6 flocks of Ring-necked Parakeets flew west past the House tonight at dusk, presume to roost at either the Red Lane Allotments / Market Gardens or Walton Hall area.

 

Edit: I will put in the none bird forum but neither ourselves or a few neighbours have seen any bats around here this year (bottom end Stockton Heath / Bridgewater Canal / Appleton up to the Reservoir) which is a worrisome deveopment.

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 15th of August 2024 11:14:10 PM

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 15th of August 2024 11:18:24 PM

Since a month ago looking through my notes an absolute dearth of garden birds.

Not one tit species.

Blackbird one male occasionally and that is it.

No Dunnocks, House Sparrows, Wrens, Greenfinch, Goldfinch or Thrush.

Apart of course, from those bloody Ring-Necked Parakeets in our neighbours orchard and by Red Lane allotments 200yards away and seeming to use the Bridgewater Canal opposite as a flyway to screech up and down early morns.

Peregrine over Halliwell Jones Stadium at the moment hunting pigeons .

Curlew heard last night around 4 am, start of returnees? 

 

Unexpected Ringed Plover wandering around Birchwood Park today!

First fledged young Long Tailed Tit just gone through the garden unfortunately 2 flew into windows which knocked them out butlittle chance of recovery .

Yesterday fledgling Blackbird in our garden and today fledgling Dunnock. Our cat is well hacked off at facing the next few months shut indoors.

Edit: Also Tawny Owls heard most nights in the old market Garden by Red Lane Allotments.

-- Edited by Andy Slee on Thursday 28th of March 2024 07:26:59 PM

Nice to find a pair of Ringed and a pair of Little Ringed plover on a soon to be Housing site near central Warrington yesterday and this morning   ,hopefully both will get young off before they start the building this summer . 

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Thursday 7th of March 2024 01:29:30 PM

15 Whooper Swans flying low NW over Warrington Town Centre at 17.40 tonight 

Four Waxwing, Whitefield Road (Bargain Booze End) in Stockton Heath at 2:50 pm.

3-4pm had a look around for the Waxwing in the usual spots around Tesco, Kemmac Distribution (sketchy poss Yellow Legged Gull on roof), Battersby Lane and all other environs for Waxwing and only turned up 33 Starlings in a tree at Osnath works by Tesco, plus on the traffic light / street light at the A49 / Tesco Extra junction a male Peregrine. I'll take that as a year tick for my efforts!

170 Pink Footed Geese SW over Tesco Extra Warrington at 8.30 

This morning 

Short-eared Owl at Paddington Meadows recentley....I do pass this spot on the river every couple of weeks with the rowers, not yet seen myself but will be keeping an eye out

 

 

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23991809.rare-birds-spotted-paddington-meadows-warrington/

2 waxwing marsh house lane car park Warrington at 9.50 as they went to leave at 10am   unfortunately 1 was taken by sparrowhawk , the other flew back towards battersby lane .

2,300 Corvids West over North Appleton towards the Capped Tip at Moore ~15:50 - 16:15, majority (JUST) Carrion Crow, most the remainder Jackdaw - always interesting to watch the Jackdaw flocks flying faster and through the Carrion Crow flocks, two Ravens and 15 Magpies in the same direction during the period. A small roost of Rooks appears to be forming near Red Lane Allotments by the canal.

The previous years Gull flightpath in a similar direction for an evening roost doesn't seem to be happening this year, used to be able to watch both flightlines from the same places (North Appleton, Moore, Lower Walton).

Fri 8th Dec

Delivering on Orford Lane near the Wolves Stadium early afternoon when I saw the report of c30 Waxwings in trees opposite Tesco. I made my way round there but they were all Starlings.
Thats not to say there was some just before I got there?

I checked Battersby Lane round the corner (incidentally where they were a few years ago too) but no sign.


-- Edited by Rob Creek on Friday 8th of December 2023 08:43:42 PM

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Friday 8th of December 2023 08:44:25 PM

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Friday 8th of December 2023 08:45:10 PM

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Friday 8th of December 2023 08:45:31 PM

-- Edited by Rob Creek on Friday 8th of December 2023 08:46:00 PM

2 Waxwings in car park at junction of marsh house lane and marsh lane mid afternoon but no sign of any at battersby lane where one was seen late morning

JOHN TYMON wrote:

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at least 9 Waxwing earlier and at least 8 still present at Battersby Lane at 13.00 when I left. 

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 1st of December 2023 01:10:59 PM

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Went for a look a few days ago before the influx and looks like plenty of berries there. Hopefully we'll get a decent flock over the next few days