Hi All,

As we're travelling down to Liverpool this weekend, we have the option to go a day early and spend Friday trying for the Watergrove Shrike if it should still be around for another 48 hours.

Any updates therefore, (especially on Thursday evening) would as usual be really appreciated please.

Best Wishes,
Mike P.

Having spent over an hour scanning the plantations on the west side of the reservoir from the hillside above, I reached the hide just before 8pm. There was no sign initially and then the Great Grey Shrike suddenly appeared at the top of a birch approx. 100 metres to the north of the hide

It took flight and landed in the birch just 50 metres to the north of the hide and perched for about a minute. A Reed Bunting started mobbing it and it flew towards the dry stone wall and disappeared from view.

Simon Hitchen will be opening the hide up tomorrow morning at about 6.30 and it will be left open until about 8pm.

Good luck Simon. You certainly deserve to see this bird after so many fruitless visits

Steve

Any word on Great Grey Shrike sightings today, I was thinking of driving over this Evening?

The hide at Watergrove is now open this morning.

Info thanks to Steve Atkins/Alan Nuttall

2.45 - 6.30pm
Met some nice people today including Chris Chandler.
The Great Grey Shrike was picked up in a tree in front of the hide by another birder, I take it that was you Mark. It didn't hang about for a photo and it flew off to the other side of the res.
Another birder and his son located it with a scope on the far side. We had a walk round but what looked like the Shrike flew back over towards the hide.
I didn't see it again whilst I was there.

Other sightings include:

Meadow Pipits
Buzzard
Peregrine
Raven
Jay
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler ( heard )
Curlew ( heard )
and of note... a Roe Deer in the open field next to Little Town. It got spooked and bounded off into the wooded area.

Thanks very much Steve, I'm on site now after dipping on the Two-Barred Crossbill at Binn Green AGAIN !

Great Grey Shrike still showing at 11:05.

Info thanks to Dave Ousey

It's not often you twitch three Simon's together in a flock With Simons Johnson and Warford. Simon Hitchen was just seen briefly in a fly past.

Just a tip for anyone going to see the Great Grey Shrike. It was showing really well to the north of the hide. Hovering at one point and showing off its white wing bars and when perched fanning its tail. View through the windows straight ahead as you walk through the door with the main pool to your right but was being mobbed by two male Blackbirds who dislodged it from its perch and then started fighting each other. However, it then disappeared from view for quite a while. We relocated it perched in a birch behind a willow bush which is out of view from the hide. So it's worth scanning the trees on the far side of the pool at the start of the path to the hide. The birch is at the top end of the pool on the left hand side when viewed from the path, but the shrike was moving around in the area.

63 (is that the correct number Simon J?) Herring Gulls were circling low over the plantations and drifted west over the valley, gaining height until they were well over the top of Brown Wardle and heading west, probably towards the coast. It's unusual to see this species here in such numbers. Probably brought down by the low cloud earlier this morning.

Redshank - 1
Oystercatcher - one pair seen and a probable third bird flew in and caused the pair to get very vocal
Chiffchaff - 1 singing
Willow Warbler - 1 singing
Goldcrest - 1 singing
Fieldfare - 40 + flying SW
several Lesser Redpoll calling and flying around.




-- Edited by Steve Atkins on Sunday 6th of April 2014 10:45:37 AM

Rob, before you get to the sailing club, there is a memorial gardens on your right, in front of that by the water, are some trees it was perching on them, got a record shot on my i-phone, one of Steve Atkins mates Deon got some excellent shots on his camera, and you quite right two dog walkers were all we saw, spent four hours wandering around , just in the right time at the right moment, it flew from the direction of the nature res onto the trees, then into the memorial gardens, flew back to the waters edge, then over the trees to Little town Ruins.

A group of ramblers had it there about 12,50, when they were having their dinner.



Keep Birding

-- Edited by Paul Heaton on Sunday 6th of April 2014 09:52:00 AM

Great Grey Shrike showing very well at 15.30 perched in small tree by water edge. spent 4 hours there today, excellent tour round with Dino,

Keep Birding.

Good to catch up with you again Steve. The escaped Goshawk was perched on a wall about half a mile north of the res at 6pm then dropped into the ravine and it still had loads of crows for company, as well as the 4 Ring Ouzels, there were 5 male Wheatears, Woodcock, Willow Warbler, Green Woodpecker, 75 Fieldfare, 15 Redwing and 4 Curlew overhead. No sign of the Shrike up to 7pm despite a thorough search of the whole area.

Escaped female Goshawk perched in hawthorns and at least 4 ring ouzel (2 males) scattered around the area just north west of the reservoir inlet at 5.10pm.


-- Edited by Simon Warford on Friday 4th of April 2014 09:18:09 PM

Probable willow warbler in opposite corner of paddock where I dipped shrike by 5-10 mins

Greenish upper parts, white underparts lemon wash on side of breast pale legs

Martyn Jones wrote:

---

Quick Steve, get over there!

---

He's way ahead of you there

Great Grey Shrike still present at midday.

Follow the cobbled road from the windsurfers clubhouse past the ruins on your left (with is 'Little Town') and the bird is in the open field with isolated bushes just north of it. Please view only from the track.

Info thanks to Steve Atkins

A pair of Shoveler on the reservoir this evening, possibly the same birds seen by Dave Winnard at Ashworth Moor Reservoir yesterday.

20 Teal in the middle of the reservoir, so almost certainly migrants.

A Redshank landed on the inside of the dam and a Curlew was alarm calling over the moors then heard giving display call.

Monday 31st March

An interesting cross over of returning winter migrants and incoming spring birds

A minimum of 8 Brambling were in the plantations including a male seen at close range starting to moult into breeding plumage

100 Starlings landed in trees on the edge of the moor and then took flight. Probably migrants on their way back.

46 Fieldfare flew north
8 Siskins

2 Sand Martins over the reservoir
A Chiffchaff singing by the hide.

5 Wigeon (1 male) on the reservoir out from the dam at 13:00 hrs. The birds weren't here early this morning when an Oystercatcher was on the shoreline in front of the windsurfers' club house and 5 Snipe on the main pool by the hide.
Also this afternoon a Curlew was circling over the reservoir calling. The first of the year was heard yesterday calling over the moors.

A Bar-tailed Godwit in winter plumage was on the spit in front of the windsurfers' club house at 9 am. It gave excellent views before taking flight south just before 10 am. So it may be worth checking Kingsway Business Park. I'd actually hoped it was a Black-tailed Godwit, as I still need this species for my Watergrove list.

Alan Nuttall took some excellent photos of the bird which I'm looking forward to seeing.

A Dipper was seen last Sunday, a fairly unusual sighting here.

13 Pink-footed Geese flew west at 18:10 hrs.

with Debs Wallace and Deon Meadowcroft

Shelduck - a pair with 2 juveniles flew in at at 12:40 hrs and departed SW at 12:55 hrs.
juv. Tufted Duck (remaining survivor from brood of 3 first seen in early Aug)
Teal - 4
Great Crested Grebe
Kestrel - 2 over East Hill repeatedly flushing a flock of 50+ Meadow Pipits
female Sparrowhawk
Lapwing- 36
Black-headed Gull -110
Lesser Redpoll - 8

A Ring Ouzel was heard calling in the NW corner of the reservoir (just to south of Kathray Wood) at approx. 10am. A brief flight view and then it disappeared. Deon Meadowcroft and I spent half an hour searching for it and eventually relocated the bird (a f./imm.) perched at the top of a larch with two Mistle Thrushes. We were watching from the bridleway to the north of Roads Farm.

Otherwise fairly quiet in misty conditions.
Lapwing - 24
Chiffchaff - 3
Goldcrest - 3
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Reed Bunting - 2
Meadow Pipits - quite a bit of movement but no large flocks

19:00 - 19:45 hrs
Greenshank were heard calling as I reached the south-east corner of the reservoir. Two birds were picked up in flight low over the water and landed on the north shore near the hide. Not particularly active they seemed to be just resting up. Still present at 19:45 hrs.

Also a female Tufted Duck on compensation lagoon with 3 ducklings just over a week old. Quite comical to watch them jumping into the air to gain sufficient momentum to dive under the water, then popping up above the surface.
I just hope they survive to fledging. Tufted Duck broods don't have a good track record here. Might have something to do with the large Pike lurking in the reservoir

Steve

-- Edited by Steve Atkins on Thursday 8th of August 2013 08:59:06 PM

Late post from Thurs 25th July.

4 Crossbills flew across the bottom of Ramsden Rd by the windsurfers club house at approx. 18:30 hrs. They were picked up on call and I managed to briefly get onto 2 birds with my bins before they disappeared into the plantation. These were females. No further sign since.

I wasn't expecting to see any waders this evening as two people and a dog were on the main spit Clearly the numerous footpaths around the site aren't good enough for some folk.

Anyway as luck would have it, just as I was walking away from the hide six Whimbrel flew in low over the resr, called once and landed on the hide spit. They gave excellent views for about 10 minutes and then flew north calling. The largest ever flock recorded at Watergrove. The previous highest count was four birds on nearby Crook Moor on 4th May 2007.

The combination of low water levels and bad weather is certainly turning up the waders here this spring.

Steve