CARRINGTON MOSS

Chris Sutton · Status: Offline

RE: CARRINGTON MOSS

Chris Roberts · Status: Offline

Walk around field f4 between 10-30 and 12 this morning.

Large finch flock of around 150 Chaffinch and approximately 50 Brambling along MUFC access road between f4 and f5.

Good numbers of Reed bunting and Yellow hammer with a mixed flock of up to 40 in hedges around old orchard edge of f2.

75 fieldfare between f2 and f11/12.

Covey of 15 Grey Partridge in f2.

Large mixed flock of Wood Pigeon with some Feral Pigeon between f2 and f4.

Other birds Great tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Robin, Dunnock,Goldfinch,Jackdaw,Carrion Crow.

Good to meet Tony Darby.

George Warburton · Status: Offline

At 12.45 pm at northern edge (and in northern hedge) of field 5 was a flock of finches some 350/400 strong. Probably 95% Chaffinch with 15/20 Brambling. Also Robin, Blue Tit, Jay and Yellowhammer, one of each.

Elsewhere on site were Rooks, Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Starlings and Black-headed Gulls. Possibly one Redwing seen at some distance.

Nigel Troup · Status: Offline

I spent two hours in search of Bramblings this morning, without success; however, it was pleasantly mild and dry and there was plenty to look at (about 30 species in all).

Highlight was a very noisy Willow Tit not far from the building works, at the junction of the path that leads into Dainewell Woods. There were at least a dozen Yellowhammers in the hedges, a rare treat for me these days, c25 Skylarks and four Fieldfare. The only finches I saw were two Chaffinches and a dozen or so Goldfinch. There were four Gadwall and a drake Shoveler on the pond opposite Altrincham ETW.

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

Originally posted today by Sharon Lewis:

Saw a large flock of bramblings this afternoon at Dainewell Woods, Carrington

Jon Stevenson · Status: Offline

There was a mixed flock of about 30 Chaffinches and Bramblings (about 50/50) plus 4 x Yellowhammers about 11.30am today, moving to and from from in the trees that border the MUFC site adjacent to field 5.

Richard Would · Status: Offline

I saw this flock around fields 65/67 last week. There are odd Tree Sparrows mixed in with it too

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Field 71 late morning (near Sinderland Green). Finches and buntings in abundance in field 71 where the margins have been planted with wild bird seed mixture. There were so many birds that they proved difficult to count especially as two female sparrowhawks were repeatedly flushing the birds.

Chaffinch: 40+; Brambling: one female; Greenfinch: 60+; Goldfinch: 2; Linnet: 150+ (there were 180 here last Saturday; Redpoll: 5; Siskin: 4 (probably more); Bullfinch: 2; Yellowhammer: 4; Reed Bunting: one.

Also of note was a Tree Sparrow at the rear of Townsend Farm, this is the first here for some weeks.

Additional note: a local dog-walker informed me that there had been two egrets on Sinderland Brook near to Brookheys Farm about five days ago but not since. I do not normally take much notice of what dog-walkers tell me but this individual is quite knowledgeable and was the one who told me of two egrets here in the last week of March. This was later confirmed by Nick Hilton who found one here on April 2^,and I found two on April 4, with a single the following day. Brian Benson had reported one near the flare on March 15 so it is possible that at least one had stayed for some weeks.

Steve Scrimgeour · Status: Offline

Sunday 8/11/15.

Couple of visits, as first one was curtailed by the appalling conditions.

0800-0900 only bird of note was a Kestrel sat on fence of Utd training ground on cross roads.

1330-1630hrs was more productive and a definitely drier..

The path that was Amazonian on last visit, which runs parallel to Shell, is now approx. 20ft across, as all vegetation has been cleared and the ditch has been widened also, if following this path be careful as the ditch now continues towards the flare and you can only jump across at various points....

Birds of note: 32 Pink Footed Geese in Field 5 along with 80 Canada Geese, normally see 1 or 2 Canadian and have never seen a grounded flock of Pink Feet here personally. Peregrine in field 5 was of much interest ( Ian sent you a pm on this )

Fieldfares were on the berry bushes at the top end of field 4 and another 1 in field 1. 60 Skylarks possibly more were flushed by a dog walker in field 4 at 1530hrs obviously this is now a favoured route rather than the actual footpath.

And as I was heading back to the car field 4 again 25 Carrion Crows making a right racket.

Huge numbers of Jackdaws in the trees behind the stables at the security barrier and also big numbers of Wood pigeon across the whole of the moss in general

Steve Scrimgeour · Status: Offline

Jeff,

These have been around for a while, noticed them when driving home from work, prior to the clocks changing...

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green Woods - one Mandarin (female or immature) with large group of Mallards on Sinderland Brook. Also seen on Tuesday 27th Oct.

Mark Jarrett · Status: Offline

Double spacing - did this with me a couple of weeks ago. I tend to post using my i phone and I think when I made the screen bigger in the usual way, I accidentally touched the spacing icon above the posting bit. I struggled to rectify it on the day but found that the following day it had sorted itself out. I am far from being an expert on these things but hopefully that will help!

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

A little walk from Isherwood Road to f24/25.

Skylark 25+

Chaffinch 100+

Brambling 2

Meadow Pipit 5+

Redwing 30+

Fieldfare 1

Missel Thrush 2

Yellowhammer 10+

Goldfinch 10+

Siskin 3

Goldcrest 1

Willow Tit 1

Lesser Redpoll 1

Greenfinch 5+

Starling 10+

Jay 1

Kestrel 1m

Buzzard 1

etc.

Why is it double-spacing?

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

What a differance a day makes? This afternoon there was no sign of the large Chaffinch and Brambling flock, only small numbers of local Chaffinches. Raven over f25 and a dozen or so Redwing over were the only birds of note.

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

Pm by bike from home Update on Jeff's post:

Brambling 11 in f25 (I thought I'd found these till I saw Jeff's post when I got back home!) with 3 males in near breeding plumage
Chaffinch 165 f25
Redwing 100 f25 briefly
Goldcrest 1 in Hawthron with Blue Tits 4, Great tits 2, Long-tailed tits 4
Buzzard 4 various fields
Pink-footed Geese skeins of 37 E at 2.27pm and 357 E at 3.07pm

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area 9am to 11am.

Peregrine: One on pylon in field 11, has been present almost daily since 30th Sep using various pylons from fields 5 and 8 to Sinderland Lane / Altrincham Crematorium.
Redwing: Small numbers passing over all morning, largest group was of about 15.
Fieldfare: 2 over field 25, 1 over Dark Lane at least an hour later.
The Chaffinch flock in field 25 has varied from 40 to 100 over the last week.
Brambling: one male in with Chaffinch flock in field 25 (two males yesterday in same location).
Pink footed geese: Six skeins totalling at least 470 birds (all heading approximately east). At one point a skein of 70 crossed the path of another of 120, and about 20 birds left the smaller skein for the larger.
Also a late record for October 12th: One Golden Plover over field 67 at about 9 am.

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

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.

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

2 Stonechat in the hedge between fields 12 and 13 at 1pm today.

Info thanks to Tony O'Mahony

Pete Hines · Status: Offline

Hobby : 1 over F70 this pm

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

Covey of 6 Grey Partridge f25 11am

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area 8-10 am.
Little Grebe still on the Brook at Sinderland Green Woods.
3 Hobby over field 25/field 70
Field 24: 2 Buzzard; 2 Sparrowhawk; 2 Kestrel; 3 Raven.
There are still Chiffchaffs singing but only Blackcap this morning.

Steven Nelson · Status: Offline

8.10am
Chiffchaff singing in tree opposite MUFC entrance.

6.15pm
Female Sparrowhawk sat on fence along Isherwood Rd.

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

Skylark 1
Meadow Pipit 2
Kestrel 1f
Sparrowhawk 1 juv. male, I think.
House Martin 2
Swallow 6
Buzzard 1
Collared Dove 1
Woodpigeon 200+

etc.

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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!

Rob Creek · Status: Offline

Late afternoon visit with Steve Burke and Simon Gough.

Sinderland Green area.
- 2 juvenile Hobbies
Distant but good scope views of the 2 birds on a telegraph pole out beyond the harvested field (67?)
We got round to near the farm and cottage where we had better views of mainly 1 of them, the other 1 wasn't as showy.

Other birds of note...
- plenty of Woodpigeon
- 1 Stock Dove
- 1 Linnet
- plenty of Swallow

Steve Collins · Status: Offline

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

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area this morning:
Hobby: only one field 65
Quail: One singing 07:30 field 26, but not heard two hours later when potato crop in f25 was being harvested (lots af tractors etc.)
Raven: 2 over field 25.
Willow Tit: 2 at NE corner field 25 and 2 more at NW corner of same field.

steven burke · Status: Offline

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

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area. Late post from this morning.
Hobby at least two over field 68.
Peregrine: one on pylon at east side of field 11 although distant and the pylon is probably in field 12.
Tree Pipit: one over field 25.
Kingfisher: One on brook through Sinderland Woods.

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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.

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

3 Hobbys currently around Sinderland Green Wood and fields to the south at 4.30pm. Frequent calling from 2 birds poss juvs
Buzzard 1
Goldfinch 150 mostly juv f24/f25

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

Wednesday pm.

No Hobbys but...

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

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area 6:30 to 9:30 this morning.

HOBBY: at least 5 very active and vocal around fields 67, 68 and 70. There seems to be two groups. One has 2 adults and 1 juvenile which have been around here for three weeks or so, and the other of two birds (one adult, the other too distant to tell).
TREE PIPIT: one heard flying over field 25.
WILLOW TIT: two at junction of field 24, 25, 26. These have been here for some days and with patience give great views.

Steve Scrimgeour · Status: Offline

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..

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

Sinderland Green area this morning.
Hobby - 2 adults very vocal over field 67, one of these had a short conflict with a Sparrowhawk!
Yellow Wagtail - 3 in field 65, 2 in field 25.

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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.

Tony Darby · Status: Offline

B Benson wrote:

There are breeding Kestrels in the area. On the Basell site we have had a nest with 4 young which have only recently fledged. You sometimes see them more or less in a row on the fence behind the flare .

Breeding Kestrels is a good record Brian. Earlier in Spring I saw Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and Lapwing
on the Basell site, viewed through the fence; all potential breeders there.
It's important that we formally submit these kind of records since the Basell site and a huge part of Carrington Moss are under threat
of development since Shell sold the Carrington Estate to Langtree (developers).
Langtree didn't buy this land because they enjoy the wildlife, they bought it to build a New Town, so keep your records coming in.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 1st of August 2015 08:48:11 PM

-- Edited by Tony Darby on Sunday 2nd of August 2015 03:13:18 PM

Richard Would · Status: Offline

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. hmm

B Benson · Status: Offline

There are breeding Kestrels in the area. On the Basell site we have had a nest with 4 young which have only recently fledged. You sometimes see them more or less in a row on the fence behind the flare .

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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!

Tim Wilcox · Status: Offline

Grey Partridge family of 2 adults and 3 fledged young on the track between f24 and f25 this afternoon.
60 Lapwing in f1 ignoring a gas gun.
Yellowhammer 4 f1
Linnet 6 f1

No sign of Hobby or Yellow Wagtail (or Quail)

Ian Boote · Status: Offline

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

PHIL GREENWOOD · Status: Offline

Tuesday, June 9th.

Walk from Isherwood Road to ETW, Brookheys Covert, and return via Orchard.

Totals of singing males:

Yellowhammer 8
Whitethroat 14
Blackcap 18
Chiffchaff 11
Chaffinch 5
Skylark 6
Willow Warbler 2
Garden Warbler 1
Greenfinch 2

also

Buzzard 7
Kestrel 1
Lapwing 3
Stock Dove 2
etc.etc.etc.

A good day, only bitten once!

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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.

Mike Savage · Status: Offline

Walk around northern section in preparation for a guided walk on Sunday - haven't been around these tracks since late 1990s!

5+ Yellowhammers heard around fields 1 and 2, with great views of male and female on the ground in 1, and a superb male on the track between 2 and 11.

Female Whinchat in 1

Mike

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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.

Steve Scrimgeour · Status: Offline

Late post from Saturday 9-5-15.

Met up with Dave aka Fungal Punk, an had a mooch around 1030-1300hrs.
He took me to where he had seen 2 Quail and a Whinchat the previous weekend.

The Quail were in field 10, same field as last years 2, (have they returned, or indeed never ventured far), alas no sign this week, although Dave couldn't believe how much the crop had grown. Would be very lucky to spot anything in there now.
The Whinchat was in field 1 in the corner on the crossroads with 10/11/2, No sign this week either, although they don't hang around long.
Very showy Wheatear was in 1, hanging around in the scrub.

Apart from all the usual suspects picked up 5 or 6 Yellow Wagtails on the paths again at the crossroads of 1/2/11/10, there possibly were more, feed off the paths and seemed very flighty.
Also Grey Partridge in 11..

Dave, remember to print of the map for the Moss, as you have seen its far bigger than you expected...lol..

See you soon.
Steve

Jeff Clarke · Status: Offline

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 · Status: Offline

Cheers Tim and will get said form and do the bit. The vegetation was just tall enough to cover the birds but there were a few furrows which they crossed and one poke his head up several times. The one closer in was just nowhere tpo be seen, totally hidden and very frustrating. Yes - the whip call was what to me sounding like bubbly water - must be my lugs.

Hopefully a few more can get down and seek out and find these tinkers.