Stonechat 1m and 1f as mentioned previously.
Hobby 1 juv. over field 70.
Buzzard 2
Kestrel 1m
Treecreeper 1 in orchard.
Yellowhammer 3
Meadow Pipit 2
Skylark 1
Swallow 1
House Martin 2 with the Swallow, going South like the clappers.
Pied Wagtail 2
etc.etc.etc.

Hobby : 1 over F70 this pm

Sinderland Green area:
2 Hobbies over Sinderland Green Woods (also fields 68 and 69) at 1030 this morning.

8.10am
Chiffchaff singing in tree opposite MUFC entrance.

6.15pm
Female Sparrowhawk sat on fence along Isherwood Rd.

Afternoon visit to Sinderland Green area:
As expected for an afternoon visit most birds very quiet and difficult to find:
Highlights:
One Hobby over field 25 (I note that my latest record for last year was 23rd Sep)
Little Grebe on Sinderland Brook (unexpected as my previous two records here were in mid-winter).
Plenty of House Martins but most Swallows have left. A local farmer told me that he can now again park his car in the barn without it being splattered!

Sunderland green area.
Very grateful to the young Hobbies calling for food this morning around 11 am over field 68.
4 hobbies in the air and fortunate to twice witness mid air food exchanges looking likely to be hirundine of some sort.
Also saw 7 Buzzards in the air at the same time. Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were also seen.
Steve

afternoon visit.

2 hobbys f63/64
3 buzzards, 1 in f11
1 kestrel, f12
1 sparrowhawk, f61
4 grey partridge, 2 in f10, 2 in f63
2 nuthatch, brookheys covert
1 willow warbler, singing f27
2 jay, f64
2 whitethroat, 1 blackcap, 1 chiffchaff, f4

This morning 3 Hobbies (possibly 4) including one juvenile in Sinderland Woods area. The most reliable area seems to be the trees in the hedge between field 67 and 68.

Wednesday pm.

No Hobbys but...

Buzzard 6
Kestrel 2
House Martin 20+
Swallow 2
Goldfinch 50+

Quick mooch Isherwood Rd - ETW and back.

Very quite on the bird front although huge numbers of Woodpigeon in 4, 12, 13, 5.
2 very vocal Jays just beyond Swiss Farm at corner of Utd training ground.
Several vocal Buzzards about as well with in Utd training complex.
Only 1 Yellowhammer in 5.

If anyone thinking of a wander be careful as footpath between Shell and field 4 is extremely overgrown..

Sinderland Green area morning visit today 7am to 9.30.

Initially very quiet but eventually a few interesting birds appeared. This looks like post-breeding dispersal has really started now so almost anything could turn up.
Hobby: 2 hawking over fields 64,65,68; the first here in over four weeks.
Yellow Wagtail field 24/25; seen on every visit here since 2nd July.
Raven: 2 soaring over Sinderland Green; the first here since May
Siskin: 3 around bridge over railway line (where fields 10,11,25,27 intersect). These have been present since 18th July.
Also a couple of days ago 1 saw my first Sparrowhawk here since April.

I saw a Sparrowhawk near Swiss Cottage Farm 3 or 4 weeks ago, but I agree Buzzards seem strangely scarce.
I've not seen Hobby on the Moss this Summer, though they've been at Risley Moss in normalish numbers.

I usually do not bother posting unless I have some significant sightings to offer but the Carrington Moss thread has been empty for a couple of weeks. I do not have any major items to report but I have a couple items which may be of interest to some people.

In the Sinderland Green area I have recently had an unusual series of records of finches including those which I would normally only expect in winter. There is now the usual flock of at least 30 Goldfinches and this now includes Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Linnet but unusually also at least 2 Siskins which have been around for over a week and a Redpoll today which was equally unexpected. This is presumably post breeding dispersal. It will be interesting to see if anything else turns up as August is often the month when there is very little of interest on farmland sites.

My records indicate that this has been a poor year for raptors in this area in that Buzzards are much less numerous than last year, and Kestrels are now only occasionally seen. Additionally I have not seen a Hobby in the last four weeks, and the last Sparrowhawk recorded here was in April. I would assume from this that none of these species are breeding nearby and a similar situation appears with no Ravens being seen here since May.

On the good side Yellow Wagtails appear to have attempted breeding at two sites, and are often easily seen either on or from the track across the north side of field 25. Additionally as probable post breeding dispersal there was a Garden Warbler seen from the Dark Lane / railway bridge, but I could not find a Whitethroat in two hours!

F32 F26 Blackcap Chiffchaff F63 F25 F26 Yellowhammer x 8 Singing, F8 Willow Warbler, F10 Lapwing 12, F25 Skylark x 3 Singing, Great Spotted Woodpecker Petro Complex, F69 F27 Common Whitethroat F60 Rooks 15 , F25 Reeling Grasshopper Warbler.

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Sunday 14th of June 2015 05:03:25 PM

8 a.m. this morning.
Lesser whitethroat singing in Eastern corner of field 66 (next to Green Lane Farm on Sinderland Lane). This bird may have been present for some time as I have distantly heard what I thought was this species a few times in the last three weeks in the areas of field 70 and 68, but had been unable to pin down the bird.
Also a Common or Arctic Tern flying West over Sinderland Green but it was too high to identify specifically.

One Quail heard in field 10 this morning at about 7:50. Only three or four shorts bursts of song were heard in a two minute period and then nothing more in the next half hour when I finally ran out of patience.
Also 3 Wheatears on field 25.

Sinderland Green area 06:45 to 09:30. Highlights were:
Field 25: Hobby, Yellow Wagtail (also Peregrine yesterday)
At least 20 Swifts distantly to the East, probably over Altrincham Sewage Works.

Dave Higginson-Tranter wrote:

---

The Quail were in the crop field facing the old orchard - well that is as far as I can make out. Gonna go back on Saturday and have a tootle. Cheers man and hope this helps.

I reckon there was more than 1 by the way - one close and the one I saw about middle of field.

---

Hi Dave Quail is a rare GM bird and you should contact County Recorder, Ian McKerchar about submitting this sighting and complete a rarities form. Going back over a decade of County Reports no Quail has been recorded prior to the last week of May. And in some years no Quail have been recorded at all. Typically they are only heard - not bubbling but issuing a repetitive and staccato 'whip; whip-whip' call. Last year there were two on Carrington Moss in tall Barley but never seen despite hours of waiting by many, including myself. It would be unusual for Quail to find any vegetation which will not completely hide them. Therefore all the more important that you submit this great record.

0600 - 1000hrs including a wander upto the Sewage Works.

Field 4 held Pair Grey Partridge,
Field 4 and 12 seemed to hold 6 or 7 Skylarks between them.
Old Orchard held 1 Chiffchaff
12 also held 7 female and 1 male Wheatear.
The bushes and Trees between fields 4 , 12 & 13 held 5-6 Yellowhammers, with a further 1 on fence just past Swiss Cottage and a further 2 up towards Altrincham Sewage Works.
1 pair of Linnet seemed to frequent the area before Swiss cottage, best Marker is the 2nd clump of Yellowbush over the fence in Utd training ground

4 Oystercatchers in field 12 on way back to car.

Common Whitethroats everywhere must have seem at least 35 this morning and that's not counting the ETW.

Just to add - in the lush grass we noted a consistent bubbling sound done in groups of 3. A very distincty call and one I wasn't familair with. We kept watching and saw a striped head popping up and down but couldn't imagine what it could be. After scanning various videos it was 100% a Common Quail - well chuffed. I may pop back next Saturday and try and get a better luck as only me and my daughter saw it and my wife just couldn't connect. Watch this space.

By heck - do they have numbers - oh bugger. No idea mate - so sorry. Is there a map I could use for future reference? The field it was in was to the side of a central track, one side was lush even grass and the other was quite neglected. It was the surrounding scrub of the neglected field that it was frequenting and at the side of the main track. Sorry dude and good luck. Let me know if you locate it - it was a real handsome bird.

2nd May - 35 species - plenty of Wheatear and Yellowhammer with a Whinchat, Stock Dove and Bullfinch nice extras.

I had a Red Kite low over Dunham this evening, my guess it will have roosted somewhere between Dunham and the Moss so worth keeping an eye open tomorrow morning.

Male Whinchat fields 60 / 41 this afternoon.

Info thanks to Tony O'Mahony