2 Little Egret this afternoon, viewed from the cafe.

1 Little Egret
15 Teal
3 Goosander

Tues 23rd Nov (14:45-16:00):

1 Little Egret - back for the Winter
1 Kingfisher
2 Grey Wagtail
c20 Teal - including a very odd pale bird which preferred to hang out with a pair of Mallards
1 Little Grebe - unusual in this spot
2 calling Siskin
1+ calling Bullfinch

Tuesday 9th March 2021

3 singing Chiffchaff
14 Teal

Fri Jan 22nd 2021 (15:20-16:30): Grey and overcast with occasional light showers.

22 species, still not many ducks and no Goosanders present

- 1 Little Egret - quite flighty
- 1 Grey Wagtail
- 2+ Bullfinch
- 2 singing Coal Tits
- 5 Redwing

Thurs Oct 15th (10:25-11:35AM): Bright and sunny, with hardly any breeze.

More or less the birds that I'd expect to find here at this time of year, though I didnt see or hear any Bullfinches. The first signs of winter arrivals too. Of Note:

- 1 Little Egret - which settled in a tree for a few minutes before flying back towards Middleton
- 1 Kingfisher - only seen for an instance, but now regularly reported by the local dog-walkers
- 6 Goosander - 3 pairs of redheads fishing
- 2 Redwings - heard more clearly than they were seen
- 2 Grey Wagtails
- 2 skeins of c100 Pink-footed Geese over at 10:30AM and then 11:15AM heading towards Chadderton and Oldham

Tue 2nd Jan '18 (10:30 - 12:30)
Mainly very wet conditions. Wanted to start the new year off well, so checked out the site pretty thoroughly. Found most of the expected species, but I'm sure that the rain damped a few species (eg Coal Tit) that I had expected to find.

- 1 Little Egret
- 1 Nuthatch (the first time I've recorded the species here)
- 1 Grey Wagtail
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 3 Goosander (all singles, 2m and a redhead)
- c40 Teal
- c70 Mallard
- 5 Greenfinch
- c30 Goldfinch
- 6+ Goldcrest
- 1 f Bullfinch

Still no sign of winter thrushes, but good numbers of Blackbird. c30 species present.

Mon 19th Sep 11:30 - 12:30

not a great deal around

1-2 Grey Wagtail
3 Jay
1 calling Chiffchaff
20+ Magpie
plus usual residents

Sunday 3rd Aug 07:45 - 09:30

My first visit in ages as I haven't been up in Manchester since Easter. Fairly quiet

- 3 Willow Warbler (1 singing briefly)
- c5 Chiffchaff
- 3 House Martin
- 4 Song Thrush (1 singing)
- 14 Mallard (Several broods)
- 3+ Goldcrest
- 4+ Siskin
- Sparrowhawk (male)
- 4+ Jay + lots of Magpies

No sign of Sand Martin's breeding here this year and no sign of any Whitethroats either. Only a small range of Butterfly species seen and c10 Brown Hawker Dragonflies.

Sun 2nd Mar 10:45 - 11:20

Quick visit to the Kirkway end of the reserve which was quite busy with tits, finches and smaller birds, but little on the Brook itself.

- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
- 1 pr Bullfinch
- 1 Goldcrest
- 1 Teal
- 1 Song Thrush (singing)

Lots of twittering Goldfinch, a few singing Greenfinch, Blackbird, Blue, Coal and Great Tit.

Also saw 4+ Siskin on garden feeders as I walked up Kirkway.

The high wind and constant spray (like falling mist...) was a bit of a pain today, but some little nuggets were gleamed despite the poor conditions.

Firstly, the site's first confirmed Peregrine Falcon! One male flew about a few times weaving here and there, scanning the land, before the local Sparrowhawk decided it had enough and chased it off its patch.

The Sparrowhawk itself was incredibly active today, hunting almost wherever I went. It started soon after I got there, when it flew over the Moss and made a fleeting dive at a flock of Redwing who had the misfortune to fly just a couple of metres away from it! After being unsuccessful, it decided to have a go at a pair of Grey Wagtails, but only half-heartedly. Soon afterwards she was mobbed by 8 Magpies who were fiercely defending their copse of conifers (they were even mobbing Crows). The Sparrowhawk still stayed in the area, and started to pursue a Teal who was trying to find a stretch of the brook to land on. It was only afterwards that it decided to chase off the Peregrine Falcon who just happened to pass by. All this was already great action, but as I went on the paths along the brook, I met the bird several times more, flying near hedgerows, chasing thrushes and tits (to be honest I thought it was following me: whenever I looked around, it was there!)

What was the most interesting, however, was its persistence to fly along the edge of the steep end of the Moss (which is the hill near Greengate, not an actual moss). Thinking back, the reason why it stuck to that area might be because of the wind. the steep edge of the hill faces NE, and the (strong) wind was coming from the NE, so the wind would be pushed upwards quite sharply along that edge, and just above is the circling Sparrowhawk! I know bigger birds of prey use the wind to glide on the ridges of mountains, like eagles (I discovered this on Mull), but if I'm right (and I may not be ), it could mean that birds as small as Sparrowhawk also use this technique (if conditions are good). Whatever the reason, it is very interesting seeing it for such an extended period of time.

Anyway, moving on quickly: Redwings everywhere! Conservative estimates of 50 birds, many just moving northwards. 11 Goosanders were flying about (site record). The Teal numbers have hit 24, and a couple of Meadow Pipits went migrating through.

34 species in all, though the wind undoubtedly had a negative effect on the quantity of small passerines recorded...

So...

Peregrine Falcon
Sparrowhawk
Canada Geese
Redwings
Goosanders
Meadow Pipits
No Chiffchaffs or any other summer migrants

Cheers,

Paul

Fri 27-Sep-13 9:15-10:15

Nice to make a visit when the sky is clear and blue and the ground underfoot is not too damp. It was very nice also to get good views of Kestrel hunting and a Sparrowhawk hunting right over my head almost. Plenty of tits calling and the trees full of squabbling Jays and Magpies

- m Sparrowhawk
- f kestrel
- pr Grey Wagtail
- 2+ Great Spotted Woodpecker
- c12 Teal
- 4+ Jay
- c6 Chiffchaff - including several singing birds
- 2 calling Coal Tit

16:10 - 16:25 (Kirkway End)
- pr Blackcap

I'm finally back on my Patch!

Didn't have a good look for the Little Owl yet, but when it's only mid-morning and the heavens are threatening to break, I thought there was little chance I would see it anyway, wherever it is.

33 species seen this morning, with the highlights being 160 Starlings (give or take a few) sitting on a pylon. I've seen my first Teals of the season too, with 4 seen hanging about. Also, there was a huge amount of Chiffchaffs about (one singing), and a handsome little 1st winter Willow Warbler that was following a huge tit band.

Probably the biggest surprise of the day was the discovery of a dead Lesser Black-backed Gull in some high grass! It was thoroughly eaten, with just the head and one wing giving the game away. Funnily enough, the wing feathers were still in good shape, and were not decomposed, so the corpse must have been relatively recent. However, the question is, how did it get there? I've hardly ever seen gulls landing on my patch (they just fly over), though I suppose a fox could catch a gull if it landed.

Anyway, the list of (vaguely) interesting birds is:

77 Mallard (record)
160 Starlings (record)
8 Bullfinches (record)
4 Teal (not a record)
1 Willow Warbler
1 Kestrel
Swallows and House Martins

Cheers,

Paul

-- Edited by Paul Hurst on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 09:27:14 PM

Sat 3rd.
Quick evening visit, but very little besides the usual suspects present.

- several calling Chiffchaff
- c4 Swift
- c6 House Martin

at c 10:30PM on the way back along Grimshaw Lane I swear that I could hear a calling Little Owl above the traffic. I took out my torch and walked a short distance along the hardcore path, but no further calls were heard.

Sun 4th
Not much around besides the usual tits and finches.
- 3+ Chiffchaff
- 4 Whitethroat (family)
- 2 Swift
- 8 House Martin

It's been a long time since I posted any sightings on this thread, but today was a great day so... here goes!


Looking back at all my data accumulated on this site, I noticed that however long I stay, the number of species levels of towards 40 species (and usually around 36). So today I decided to try and actively find as many species as possible, beat my previous record (40), and see how long it takes me to get to 40.

So first, the interesting sightings: the Canada geese are still hanging about. I doubt they'll nest, but they still seem to come every day. Willow Warblers rivalling the Chiffchaffs for the prize for the commonest warbler seen, with at least 8 of each. I know that Willow Warblers sing on migration, but one seemed like he was here to stay. Whitethroat was a welcome addition to the site list, one which was doing a quiet imitation of a Nightingale (Maybe it picked up the song while on migration, or in Africa). The duck population has collapsed dramatically: just a couple of Teals left, and just over 10 Mallards. They used to be in their thirties here in Winter.

All 3 common hirundines: Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martin.

The small population of Grey Wagtails had gone missing recently, but today I located the male picking up fallen petals from a cherry tree on the bank, before flying of away from the site.

As for my little challenge, I managed to bag 40 species in about 2 hours (due to some heavy, no nonsense, birding), and it took me another half hour of frantic searching before I located my record breaking species: the local male Kestrel, ever faithful to his field! At the end of the day I had got 42 species! Interestingly, out of 6 hours and 20 minutes of searching, 41 species were seen in the first 2 hours and a half, and the other one was seen later on (though I started birding much more leisurely after finding the Kestrel, enjoying the Sun). However, I think I've got all the regulars and have pretty much recorded the whole avifauna of the Wince Brook!

(I put in bold the more interesting species-site wise- seen)

Canada Goose
Teal
Mallard
Grey Heron
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Moorhen
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Feral Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Goldcrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Long-tailed Tit
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Whitethroat
Wren
Starling
Blackbird
Song Thrush----Good numbers: 2-3 pairs
Mistle Thrush
Robin
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Grey Wagtail
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Bullfinch


A grand day out:smile



-- Edited by Paul Hurst on Saturday 27th of April 2013 08:56:39 PM

Hi Paul

Thanks for the heads up, I am aware of the regulations re photographing the kingfishers so I'm conscious of this. I may just get,yucky. Given this afternoons rain I opted for a hairdressers appointment and lunch instead..

Hope your enjoying France.

Paul Hurst wrote:

---

Collette Collier wrote:

---

Was thinking of heading down to wince later hoping for a sighting of the kingfisher.? Has anyone been lately the threads been quiet (since my posts re chiffchaff)

I'm not familiar with breeding habits or habitat so may be wasting my time. Thoughts anyone.?

---

Well, I've been on holiday and am currently in France, so its been a long time since I last visited the Wince brook. I haven't been there for 3 weeks now, so I don't know how things have moved on. I haven't seen the Kingfisher for about a month now, and only one of the two... Bill Myerscough who has been visiting the Wince before me has failed to find any nest in past years. Kingfishers like nesting in sand banks (a metre long hole), but Bill and I have failed to find anything in the ones of Wince brook.
By the way, Kingfishers are Shedule 1 species, meaning you are not alowed to disturb or approach the nest too closely.

The Kingfisher(s) should still be hanging about, though it is very hard to find them. I spent 5 minutes just lazily sitting near the bank, unaware that the Kingfisher was right in front of me! He then proceeded to catch a fish, before flying off with it.

Anyway, I don't suppose anybody has seen the Siberian Chiffchaff since the 25th of March? It has surely flown of by now back to Russia, but I was wondering when it would actually leave. Last time I saw it I finally managed to get my sound recording from it, with a Common Chiffchaff calll to compare.

---

Was thinking of heading down to wince later hoping for a sighting of the kingfisher.? Has anyone been lately the threads been quiet (since my posts re chiffchaff)

I'm not familiar with breeding habits or habitat so may be wasting my time. Thoughts anyone.?

Doc Brewster wrote:

---

Cracking haul, Paul, again well deserved for the time you put in I wonder if there could be as many as 5 Chiffchaffs involved here (inc the tristis), or even 6 if the bedraggled bird has been like that for a while as I saw two pristine, relatively bright collybita when we met the other day So there could be the tristis, 2 greyish birds, 2 neat collybita and a bedraggled collybita !!!!

The BTO give the average arrival date for Grasshopper Warbler as 13th April, just for info

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 04:13:35 PM

---

That's what I thought: the Birdtrack migration graphs don't see Grasshopper Warblers arriving before April. I am also suspicious of the fact that a Summer migrant would be singing in 0°C conditions... But the episode goes to show that I should watch out next time I hear a "Grasshopper warbler" song, as if it had happened in April, I would have got it wrong and probably would have wasted hours of fruitless searching (and have an erroneous tick on my list, something I certainly do not want to have!). It also goes to show how variable Wren calls are. (I'm saying this based on the assumption that what i heard was an aberant Wren call)

By the way, I agree with your summarising of the Chiffchaffs of Wince Brook, I've seen the bedraggled one a few times over the last weeks. Blimey, 6 Chiffchaffs!

Charles Farrell wrote:

---

I suppose that there must be some fish in there, if the Kingfisher caught something, but the presence of two Mink is not a good sign. Maybe its something that the warden should be informed about.

Pleased that you found a pair of Coal Tit Paul. The one that I saw at Wince Brook on Saturday was attempting to sing, but could not produce much volume. and nice to see that the Kestrel is back!

---

Allthough I think Wince Brook does have a warden, I have no idea how to contact him, as the 'Wince Brook' is hardly mentioned anywhere on the internet. I'll have to contact Middleton council (or is that Rochdale?). Anyway, it was amazing how 'tame' the mink were (for a mammal): they were just a few yards away!
That pair of Coal tits were seen at the same place where you saw them, and one burst into song for a few moments.

Cheers

Paul

Other sightings early afternoon included 11 Goldcrests (4 in song), 4 Teal, 4 Grey Wagtails and 2 Raven over.

Cracking haul, Paul, again well deserved for the time you put in I wonder if there could be as many as 5 Chiffchaffs involved here (inc the tristis), or even 6 if the bedraggled bird has been like that for a while as I saw two pristine, relatively bright collybita when we met the other day So there could be the tristis, 2 greyish birds, 2 neat collybita and a bedraggled collybita !!!!

The BTO give the average arrival date for Grasshopper Warbler as 13th April, just for info

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 04:13:35 PM

Well, I've been over to Wince Brook this morning and I've solved the identity of the the bird with the blob!

It is a Common Chiffchaff, as I heard it singing and calling clearly in collybita fashion. The injury is not evident when you look at the bird, but if you pay very close attention, suddenly you can clearly see it. The bird only puts it down gingerly, and prefers to keep the foot held up then put it down. It could be the grey Chiffchaff we have been seeing the past two weeks, as this one was quite grey in certain light. I did not see the Siberian Chiffchaff, though there was one bird that I lost before I could get a good look at it, so it could still be there. Other Chiffchaffs present was a typical Common Chiffchaff, and another one which looked a bit pale, but had some dark patches on its underside (missing a few feathers, or are out of place); anyway, he looked bedraggled. It was quite complicated to identify them, as it is very hard to keep track of 3 small birds zooming about (not counting Goldcrests). I actually needed a second pair of eyes!

So to recap:
1 normal Common Chiffchaff
1 pale bedraggled Common Chiffchaff (moulting?)
1 Greyish Common Chiffchaff with an injury
1 possible extra unidentified Chiffchaff


Apart from that, I had a smashing morning! An amazing 40 species found, which represents 81% of species seen since last Autumn! (40 out of 49) I've seen almost all the birds I could see (disregarding vagrants).

High on my list of amazing things today is the Woodcock who scared the living daylights out of me as it exploded out of the undergrowth in front of me! A nice site tick for me, even though I know some people have already seen some about the Brook. Another great moment was when I found the Kingfisher again, who soon caught a fish and proceeded to eat it. What was impressive was the fact that I had sat down for 5 minutes, never noticing the Kingfisher sitting motionlessly the whole time just down the brook.

Amongst other things, a scold of Jays (6 in all), 3-4 pairs of Long-tailed tits (some carrying nest materials...), tons of Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, and Robins (in the twenties).

Finally, at one point I heard what I can only suppose is a Wren doing it's rattle alarm call, but it did it without stopping for almost 20 seconds and ended as abruptly as it started! It made me think it was a Grasshopper Warbler ! I didn't see any bird, and its been so long since I last heard a Grasshopper Warbler that I was unable to remember if the song went exactly like I heard it. If this was in April, I almost definitely would have ticked it as Grasshopper Warbler, but because of the earliness of the season, I've figured that it could only have been an unusual Wren call, even though it was very unusual...

Anyway, the roll of other honours goes to:
1 Sparrowhawk
20 Redwings
2 Siskins
1 Common Kestrel
2 Canada Geese
2 Coal tit (pair!)

Great day

Cheers,

Paul

Edit: oh, and 2 American Minks seen swimming just in front of me, near the Chiffchaffs...



-- Edited by Paul Hurst on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 04:11:18 PM

Collette Collier wrote:

---

I've sent them to both Paul's mentioned above who think he is a regular or hybrid Chiffchaff.

---

A hybrid ? I welcome either Paul to enlighten me as to what with and why

A (very) cold trip to the Brook today, with the gusts of wind stopping me from connecting with some of my usual birds, so only 31 species seen today. You can't beat your own the record every time!

Some of the interesting things that happened was watching a flock of various gull species (Black-headed, Herring, Lesser Black-backed, and Common Gull) fighting for some discarded food, while the high winds made it more entertaining (for me), as they struggled against the wind and against each other. Charles and I's suspicion of there being more than just two Grey Wagtails was confirmed today with 4 individuals flying about (as Doc Brewster noted). There is definitely 1 pair, while the other two were tagging along/flying about. The problem was that the high winds just dissuaded the birds from coming out or calling, so my counts are actually quite low, with only 1 Redwing seen today, and I spent an 1 hour without seeing a single Robin (I normally hear them in the first 2 minutes)!

Doc Brewster said it all for the Chiffchaffs: nothing to add! It was nice meeting you, and I'm happy you managed to see the Siberian Chiffchaff in the end (especially after standing for hours looking at the Buddleia).

All in all, an uneventful, but pleasant visit.

Cheers,
Paul

Having spent most of the last 3 weeks indoors due to a mixture of bad weather and a bad cold, it was nice to get outdoors again. Before I'd met up with Paul, I'd also seen Jay and a Coal Tit.

The visit was significant for me in that it brought me my 98th (Goosander) and 99th (Grey Wagtail) species of the year - a bit slower than last year, as I was well past 100 by this stage. It was also nice to see the Chiffchaffs again, but after so many recent Kingfisher sightings it was slightly disappointing that we lucked out on that species.

-- Edited by Charles Farrell on Saturday 9th of March 2013 10:25:43 PM