Hi Sammy, I wouldn't worry about it, you will soon start making some good sightings, the more you read the forum posts the more familiar you will become with various sites and areas, and what the chances are of seeing a particular species there. There's always someone to help you on this forum with anything you wish to know, and the knowledge that Bill has shared with you due to his atlas work is priceless. Cheers Rob
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 18th of July 2014 08:49:22 PM
Thanks both and apologies for the delay in spotting your replies! I have since seen my first kingfisher on the Irwell (this was way up into Lancashire at Irwell Vale)! It was little more than a dash of blue flying past me however! No chance of even catching a blur of it on camera let alone the beautiful close-ups I see from others. This is the main frustration for me at the moment - I am patient and quiet and don't mind sitting a while in a hidden place in the hope of seeing something special - but I very rarely do or barely enough to identify when I do! I suppose it's all a matter of time though! I'm new at this yet.
I used to spend a great deal of time around this area, and have followed the Irwell from the city centre one frozen winter yielding very good results, as local water courses would have been frozen. I had double figures of Goldeneye and Goosanders, and there was some Teal, and there were some huge Redwing flocks as the river bends by the University campus - think it's where the old racecourse or the second site of the racecourse was - either way, where the grandstand still is. I have also had Bullfinch up near Prestwich sewage works, which isn't a bird you get everywhere.
I had my first ever Kingfisher on the Irwell
One piece of advice is always be a bit more careful around that area in terms of safety - although the risks of an encounter are low, it's feasible to say that they're higher than many other places, as anecdotal evidence on this forum has suggested.
Hope you enjoy and looking forward to the reports.
Hi, I've read some lovely threads about what people have been sighting recently in the Pendlebury/Agecroft area going down towards the Cliffs/Salford. I live nearby but have never took a stroll down there and wondered if anybody has any good suggestions about time of day/where to head to get the most out of it? I'd particularly like to see some GC grebes if possible... Thanks in advance for any tips!!
-- Edited by snuttall on Wednesday 25th of June 2014 03:23:02 PM
Hi Sammy,
I'm certainly no local expert but covered parts of the areas you mentioned for national and local bird atlases during the years 2008 - 2011.
Not sure how far you want to walk?....but if you start off at Drinkwater Park (not far from Agecroft Bridge on the R Irwell) and walk downriver towards The Cliff and beyond, maybe not all in one day, with a little exploring of land either side, then you should get a pretty decent selection of birds. It's all relatively flat and on good footpaths. Something has happened in recent years at Drinkwater Park to discourage waterfowl. Back when I visited it in 2009-10 it had approx. 8 pairs of Coot plus the odd pair of Moorhen, Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe. Sadly, they mostly seem to have gone in recent years, when I have subsequently re-visited, I suspect possibly due to the presence of Mink but there may be other factors involved too? You will have no trouble finding Little Grebe along this stretch of the Irwell in the winter months but I suspect now you will struggle to find either of the above mentioned grebes in the summer months? If you take the footpath between the middle of the two water bodies at Drinkwater towards the Irwell and cross the footbridge and walk slightly away from the river upstream for a short distance you will come to an area of scrub signed as Livia Woodland (Lower Irwell Valley Improvement Area is the much less glamourous name!) Here you should find Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting and maybe Linnet. With a bit of luck in this area you may get Buzzard, Kestrel or Sparrowhawk too. Cormorants may be on the pylons in this area too and I have seen Stock Dove here as well. Most of the common finches should be in the woodland around Drinkwater Park and Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker. If you then walk downriver you should be able to see all of the hirundines - with Sand Martins probably the most numerous, nesting in some fair sized colonies along the route. You should see both Grey and Pied Wagtail and although the river will be relatively quiet in the summer months you may be surprised what you might find. The stretch between Agecroft Bridge and Littleton Road Bridge can be particularly good in winter during prolonged cold spells, when other small, still water bodies may be frozen over. It can hold quite high numbers of waterfowl then, with Goldeneye being particularly numerous. In some recent years 1 or 2 Green Sandpipers have wintered along this stretch too. Littleton Road Playing Fields can be good in the winter for loafing gulls and Lapwing and I have also found Meadow Pipit and Skylark here on the rougher grasslands in the summer months. Going past Littleton Road Bridge and through the edge of the Kersal housing estate state (Swifts here) and over the Kersal Footbridge you come to the large area of land that used to be the old racecourse in the big curve of the Irwell here and The Cliff, again this should hold the commoner warblers and woodland species and there are usually some large flocks of Mistle Thrush on the more cultivated grasslands. Goosander may be present on the river and Kingfisher with a bit of luck may be seen along any stretch already mentioned. If you carry on down to St Boniface Bridge, it's pretty much more of the same but with Swifts and House Martins being particularly noticeable near Broughton.
There's plenty to explore and certainly some good birds to enjoy. The early part of the day is usually regarded as one of the best times for birding when birds are singing and at their most active and vocal and therefore easier to locate. Some birds however will have stopped singing now but a familiarity with adults alarm calls and the begging calls of their young should help in locating some of the above mentioned species. It's maybe best just to investigate any sounds that you hear!! Good luck.
Hi, I've read some lovely threads about what people have been sighting recently in the Pendlebury/Agecroft area going down towards the Cliffs/Salford. I live nearby but have never took a stroll down there and wondered if anybody has any good suggestions about time of day/where to head to get the most out of it? I'd particularly like to see some GC grebes if possible... Thanks in advance for any tips!!
-- Edited by snuttall on Wednesday 25th of June 2014 03:23:02 PM
) Here you should find Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting and maybe Linnet. With a bit of luck in this area you may get Buzzard, Kestrel or Sparrowhawk too. Cormorants may be on the pylons in this area too and I have seen Stock Dove here as well. Most of the common finches should be in the woodland around Drinkwater Park and Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker. If you then walk downriver you should be able to see all of the hirundines - with Sand Martins probably the most numerous, nesting in some fair sized colonies along the route. You should see both Grey and Pied Wagtail and although the river will be relatively quiet in the summer months you may be surprised what you might find. The stretch between Agecroft Bridge and Littleton Road Bridge can be particularly good in winter during prolonged cold spells, when other small, still water bodies may be frozen over. It can hold quite high numbers of waterfowl then, with Goldeneye being particularly numerous. In some recent years 1 or 2 Green Sandpipers have wintered along this stretch too. Littleton Road Playing Fields can be good in the winter for loafing gulls and Lapwing and I have also found Meadow Pipit and Skylark here on the rougher grasslands in the summer months. Going past Littleton Road Bridge and through the edge of the Kersal housing estate state (Swifts here) and over the Kersal Footbridge you come to the large area of land that used to be the old racecourse in the big curve of the Irwell here and The Cliff, again this should hold the commoner warblers and woodland species and there are usually some large flocks of Mistle Thrush on the more cultivated grasslands. Goosander may be present on the river and Kingfisher with a bit of luck may be seen along any stretch already mentioned. If you carry on down to St Boniface Bridge, it's pretty much more of the same but with Swifts and House Martins being particularly noticeable near Broughton.
The early part of the day is usually regarded as one of the best times for birding when birds are singing and at their most active and vocal and therefore easier to locate. Some birds however will have stopped singing now but a familiarity with adults alarm calls and the begging calls of their young should help in locating some of the above mentioned species. It's maybe best just to investigate any sounds that you hear!! Good luck. 