Kingfisher on Chanter's Brook this aft.

1 Redwing & 1 Sparrowhawk at Douglas Park.

Grey Wagtail on Chanter's Brook this afternoon.

Lovely Mistle Thrush duet from Atherton cemetery yesterday dinner-time - one in the grounds of Briarcroft, the other nearer to the town centre.

Hour straight from Pickley Green, Around Millers Lane and Bee Fold

2 Buzzard
2 Raven
17 Redwing, with plenty Blackbird
7 Fieldfare
1 Kestrel
2 Mistle thrush

2 Grey Wagtails on roof-top in Atherton town centre (Punch Bowl) on 19th and a single heading that way over Gadbury Fold yesterday (22nd).

Gibfield Park

Kingfisher briefly at one of the larger ponds. Otherwise fairly quiet apart from parties of about 30, predominantly juvenile, Goldfinches and 15 Long-tailed Tits, and a single Chiffchaff at the Westhoughton end.

Miller's Lane on the high tension electricity cables this morning circa 160 swallows flying to and from their power line perches, feeding over the farm fields. Looked like a migration party. A great sight!

Devonshire Rd.

Lesser Whitethroat singing on railway embankment this morning.


Jimmy

Bee Fold Lane and Miller's Lane area.

Decent Weather but pretty quiet,

2 Whitethroat
4 Yellowhammer
1 Reeling Grasshopper Warbler
1 Kestrel
Decent numbers of Skylark and Meadow Pipit

Singing Grasshopper Warblers (2) at top of Bee Fold Lane and 2 Whitethroats just off Millers Lane towards dusk yesterday.

Two Blackcaps in song at top of Bee Fold Lane, but Skylarks fairly quiet everywhere over Atherton South site.

Thanks Dave, I will try for them in the next couple of days.

Dave, as I live in the atherton area I was wondering in which location and how to get there you got the great count of skylarks as it still evades me in this area. Thanks, Kristian

At least 30 Fieldfares and over 50 Meadow Pipits close to Ladies' Walk late this morning. Skyark, Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush the most prolonged songsters in surrounding habitats.

A very enjoyable hour around Bee Fold Pond today.
On the pond were:
3 Mallards (all male)
2 Moorhens
3 Coots
1 Tufted Duck - male (first atherton record for me)

Also, 1 Kestrel hovering provided some good pics as well as a male Pheasant which is my first atherton record. 2 Buzzards, 20+ Meadow Pipits, 5+ Jackdaws, 2 Carrion Crows, 10+ Woodpigeons, Long-Tailed, Blue & Great Tits, Robins, Black-Headed Gulls plus usuals.

17 species

Bee Fold Fish Pond & Surroundings 12:30 - 13:40

5+ Moorhens
1 Coot
1 Mallard (It was in the field opposite the pond. At first I thought it was a Grey Partridge)
2 Mute Swans

Great & Blue Tits
Robins
Blackbirds
Magpies
Woodpigeons
Collared Dove
Chaffinch
Kestrel
Meadow Pipits
1 Common Gull
Black Headed, Herring & Lesser Black Backed Overhead

-- Edited by Kristian Wade on Saturday 14th of March 2015 01:58:02 PM

Tour of Atherton today including Douglas Park, Chanter's Brook, Roads, Atherton Tip and Surrounding Woodland and Fields from 1:30pm - 2:15pm

Full Sightings:

1 Moorhen - on small pond next to brook that I have previously mentioned in my previous posts.
2 Grey Wagtails - one on river next to pond and the other further downstream near the rope & anchor pub. They were presumably a pair.
c250 Black-Headed Gulls - over and on Atherton Tip
c5 Lesser Black Backed Gulls - with the previous
2 Herring Gulls - with the previous
1 Common Gull - with the previous
5 Starlings - overhead
1 Treecreeper - in woods along the brook, my first atherton record
2 Blue Tits - in woods
2 Great Tits - in woods
3 Long-Tailed Tits - in woods
5 House Sparrows - scattered on different roads
2 Carrion Crows - on building
2 Jackdaws - overhead
1 Wren - in woods
7 Woodpigeons - on fields
2 Magpies - on fields
1 Pied Wagtail - on fields
2 Robins - in woods
8 Feral Pigeons - on houses
5 Blackbirds - 1 in woods and 4 together on Douglas Park
1 Collared Dove - heard only
1 Sparrowhawk - on a house, terrifying the local pigeons
1 Kestrel - hovering over road
2 Goldfinch - overhead

25 species in total was not bad considering that most of the walk was on roads. The Kingfisher that has been regularly on the brook has gone now (it obviously realized that there were no fish) but it has been replaced by the Grey Wagtail pair which are regular visitors now. The Moorhen is resident on the pond but a lot of disturbance is being made as all of the trees around the pond have now been cut down and burnt leaving a small pond with only the tiniest area of reeds left for the Moorhen to shelter in. The addition of Treecreeper now brings my Atherton list up to 50 since I started recording birds in the Atherton area in April 2014.

A friend told me about a place called Bee Fold Fish Pond which I see has been previously mentioned on the forum. I am thinking of going but can anyone tell me what to expect (e.g. size of the pond, chance of any waterbirds and surrounding habitat). I would be very grateful if anyone that knew anything about it could tell me some information because I don't really want to go there and be dissapointed if it is just a puddle surrounded by buildings.

Thanks,
Kristian

-- Edited by Kristian Wade on Saturday 14th of February 2015 06:11:35 PM

The Kingfisher was back on the brook today in exactly the same place it was last time. It is the fourth time I have seen it here. Also there was a Moorhen on the small pond to the right of the brook which is the first one I have seen there for over 2 weeks. I don't really know the Moorhen's attraction to the area either, because when looking at the pond closely in the sunlight you can see oil on the surface! I'm still not complaining though!

Langley Platt Lane and Miller's Lane area out behind Atherton Woods 0830-10.00 today.

Highly mobile and thus hard to count but around 400 Redwing on and around all the hawthorn bushes in this area.
Also many Blackbirds

ONE Fieldfare!

Sparrowhawk 2 (one passed like an exocet through a group of Redwing, sending them up in a flurry)

Common Buzzard 2 (very distant, over the Busway workings Tyldesley direction and flew off over Collier's Wood)

Also
Grey Heron
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Mallard
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Woodpigeon (far scarcer than Redwings for a change!)
Collared Dove
Black Headed Gull
Lesser Black Backed Gull



-- Edited by Paul Richardson on Tuesday 16th of December 2014 10:21:34 PM

Three discrete parties of at least half a dozen, predominantly, if not all, male Blackbirds in hawthorn hedges along Bee Fold Lane towards Atherton Wood yesterday afternoon (29th), behaviour suggesting Continental immigrants, i.e, flying away fairly high and silently when disturbed: only four or five Redwings, but no Fieldfares with them. Just after half-past-three, nine flew, at intervals, into bushes near at the top of the lane - possibly communal roosting? In the past, large influxes have occurred at Pennington, chiefly in October/November, but there were none today in the south side hedgerows.

Rosedale Ave Old Gasworks site
Whitethroat
Willow warbler
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
All singing from this site this morning a delight to hear in such a built up area


Jimmy

Green Woodpecker calling in Atherton Woods this morning
Grey Wagtail and 50+ Swallows along Long Causeway

7 Bullfinch this morning along the former railway between the Atherleigh Way and Leigh Road at Howe Bridge

mike haylett wrote:

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HI IAN, WALK TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE CEMETARY OPPOSITE NOS 113 AND 115 LOVERS LANE AND TAKE THE BRIDLE TRACK ALONG THE OLD TRAIN LINE TO WESTLEIGH. YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW MANY SPECIES YOU WILL SEE IN THAT MILE LONG WALK. I WAS BROUGHT UP AT 115 L LANE AND STARTED MY BIRDWATCHING AT THAT VERY SPOT AS A LAD, GOOD HUNTING, REGARDS MIKE

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after going down the railway head north to daisy hill and back to atherton,nice circular walk and my old local patches,seen great grey shrike,pied flycatcher,and many other decent bird alon that railway line from westleigh to lovers lane