Thought I'd have a see what had been grounded due to the snow storm. Highlights:
-6 meadow pipits, group of 5 on grass beside the car park & a single flushed from a garden on Turn Moss road
-2 skylarks, flushed from side of Turn Moss road
-14 redwings on tree cuttings in car park

Are members aware of the development planned by Gary Neville for Turn Moss?
There is a local campaign running at the moment and objections have to be handed in by March 8th.
The plan is to fence off a large section of the Turn Moss area alongside the Turn Moss Road, create all weather pitches, a sports centre, car parking for 100 cars, all night pitch lighting, a social centre, gym trail and exercise mounds. There will be no public access. This will surely have an impact on wildlife.

Common gull - 106 .
Lesser Black-back gull - 2.
Black-headed gull - c100.
Mistle Thrush - 2.
And on the way back at 3.30pm c40 Carrion Crow feeding in a group prior to roosting maybe?

Herring Gull 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull 3
Black-headed Gull 269
Swift 1
Sparrowhawk 2

2:15-3:00
The grass to stretford grammer was being mowed to the birds in the hedge were constantly moving
1 male whitethroat flew along the hedge as the tractor went past
1 willow warbler
4 chiffchaff
1 mistle thrush
25+ starlings
2 mallard
1 dead woodpigeon with a blue ring its left leg, wrote down all the info from it but I dont really know what to do with it.
+ all the usuals

Not exactly turnmoss but nearest place i can think of. Tawny owl flew over kingshill road, heading towards turnmoss, coming from C of E/St Clements church area

morning visit

300+ black headed gulls
120+ common gulls
2 herring gulls
5 lesser black backed gulls
75 starling
1 pied wagtail
3 buzzard in the air at once
1 goldcrest
1 bullfinch
2 chaffinch

Yellow Wagtail 1 briefly
Swallow c30, mostly juveniles
Ring-necked Parakeet 9
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Stock Dove 1

Forgot to add that yesterday I saw a pair of blackcaps in the redstart hedge.
A quick early afternoon visit today. Highlights:
A pair great spotted woodpeckers
A pair of mallards
5 robins
9 great tits
7 blue tits
4 long tailed tits
1 female blackcap in the redstart hedge
3 bullfinchs in the redstart hedge
2 goldfinch in the redstart hedge

Went for another visit at 3:50, no sign of him. At 4:10 he was back in the same place I first found him. Still present when I left at 4:40.

Decided to carry on with my morning visits this morning and today it paid off. Arrived at 9:45 and went straight to that hedge to check and there it was. Steve popped down to check for one without even seeing that I'd spotted on.
It flew over to the tree in the middle of field and while we were watching what we thought to be the silhouette of the redstart, steven pointed out that this was a female wheatear and the redstart was further down in the tree. The wheatear left over the trees while the redstart went over to the other row of hawthorns on the other side of the car park but went back the hedge next to the school. I left at 1 with phil, pete and chris still watching it.

Redstart present in the hedge along the school parallel to the car park at 10:20.

Info thanks to Joel Tragen

3 mistle thrush
1 ring-necked parakeet
2 chiffchaff
3 bullfinch
5 jay
2 meadow pipit, over
1 pied wagtail

Currently 1 male ring ouzel, a different male than the one in Longford park.

My apologies this one is actually a female.

-- Edited by steven burke on Wednesday 15th of April 2015 11:40:51 AM

10am this morning a c2000 gulls, possibly more with plenty more moving around, on what has been described as a mini lake just behind the cemetery...

c500 common gull
23 lesser black backed gull
c1500 black headed gull

also c100 starling, 10 goldfinch.

info thanks to phil Kelly.

Merged flocks of 60 Redwings and 70 Starlings feeding together, a group of 20 Carrion Crows and c. 25 Common Gulls which is far fewer than is normal for this time of year.  I looked but could see no other gulls - Black-headed Gulls in numbers and the occasional Lesser Black-Backed Gull are what I expect to see.

Yesterday afternoon

1 first winter Wheatear
1 Chiffchaff singing
1 Swallow
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
21 Canada Geese grazing on the school field

Ben Smart wrote:

---

Thanks to Steve for sharing news of the find. Great to meet yourself, Pete Hines and Gerry Flanagan, plus the Redstart itself. Showing beautifully, and still present at 2.30 when I left.
Slightly tricky moment when one of the Grammar school parents quizzed us as to why we were pointing binoculars and cameras towards the school playing field. Fortunately Steve rescued the situation by showing the woman some of his Redstart photos!

---

no problems ben and nice to of met you too. I am glad you mentioned it was still present at 2.30 because that was when I located the Longford park one.

Male Redstart found again in same location at 1.30pm showing well

I can't believe my luck this afternoon because soon after I left the ring ouzel, and walked across turn moss I have now found a common redstart at 6.30 pm but unfortunately I have not seen it since. It is in the hawthorns along the fence that surrounds the school playing field, same location as last year.

29th march

11 meadow pipits
1 grey heron
2 pied wagtails
1 alba wagtail
8 jackdaws
8 mistle thrushes
14 long tailed tits
3 stock doves
1 wren
c30 house sparrows
1 coal tit
2 chaffinches
11 redwings
6 great tits
10 blue tits
2 goldfinches
8 fieldfares
1 song thush
117 woodpigeons

info thanks to phil Kelly.

116 Common Gull
7 Lesser Black-backed Gull

on 27th

1 Herring Gull
1 Skylark over

130 Common Gull at 1.45

Magpie (20+)
Black-headed Gull (20+)
Common Gull (30+)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (3)
Pied Wagtail
Jackdaw (2)