Had a number of Redwing here today together with Bullfinch stripping a white berried tree. Also Siskin, into double figures, but couldn't get a decent count.
A walk around Stenner woods and along the Mersey. Goldfinch x 4 Feral Pigeon x 10 Starling x 6 Carrion Crow x 8 Raven x 1 Wood Pigeon x 7 Blackbird x 5 Ring Necked Parakeet x 14 Nuthatch x 6 Lesser Black Backed Gull x 1 Black Headed Gull 14 Goosander x 1 (F) Mallard x 9 Herring Gull x 2 Long Tailed Tit x 20+ in a single flock Chaffinch x 2 Robin x 5 Blue Tit x 3 Grey Heron x 1 Moorhen x 1 Stock Dove x 2 Coal Tit x 2
A friend mailed me this morning to say that she had seen a male goosander guarding a dead female near Simon's Bridge. It looked as if the female was caught on something, but she wasn't sure and that may not have been the cause of death.
Does something like this need to be reported? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing in hedgerows between the Mersey and Old Bedians Rugby Club.
Goosander flew downstream from the river near Parrswood School playing field and over the Manchester Road bridge. Re-found further towards Northeden near Milgate Fields but flushed no back up river by an irresponsible dog owner.
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 9th of April 2020 06:04:24 PM
First visit of the year to this beautiful place yesterday. At the feeders: Robin x6 Starling x 2 Feral Pigeon x3 Magpie x 2 Wood Pigeon x 3 Ring Necked Parakeet x 1 Great Tit x 12 Blue tit x 2 Coal tit x 1 Nuthatch x 1 Stenner Woods: Robin x 3 Carrion Crow x 4 Magpie x 4 Wood Pigeon x 6 Ring Necked Parakeet x 12 Great tit x 4 Blue Tit x 4 Moorhen x 1 Blackbird x 4 On the swollen river Canada goose x 4 Grey Heron x 1 Mallard x 2 Herring gull x 1 Black Headed Gull x 6
A flock of 20+ Siskins have been in the park and the edge of Stenner Woods for a few days now. Stonechats still in the hayfield today, totally ignoring us and the dogs.
21 ring-necked parakeets including the blue one, photo attached. 1 whitethroat 2 reed buntings 1 buzzard 2 kestrels, male with kill. Blackcaps & Chiffchaffs 1 vocal tawny owl, eventually seen.
38 ring-necked parakeets seen including the blue one, 13 seen in trees near the rugby posts, a flock 23 & 2 flew over heading north & the ones in the trees flew off to join them, there certainly was more than 13 there but hard to see through the trees. obviously all going to roost elsewhere. 1 buzzard 2 grey heron 1 great spotted woodpecker 2 chaffinch 2 stock dove 1 mistle thrush several song thrushes singing.
8.00-10.30 around the wet meadows by Stenner Woods and the flood basin area running away alongside Millgate Lane
29 species, highlights:
1 Lesser Whitethroat in a massive hawthorn bank between the two meadows 5 Bullfinch, very active 2-4 Reed Bunting - I thought 2 pairs but could have been 1 mobile pair 1 Blackcap singing 3+ Chiffchaff singing 1 Stock Dove
The Lesser Whitethroat was nice but only seen very briefly. I expected to see plenty of Blackcaps but only found 1 and it was very wet so perhaps no surprise that there were no Whitethroats
This morning with Tony Darby the Lesser Whitethroat was singing loudly in the hedge between the two parts of Millgate Fields and showed briefly a few times
Grasshopper warbler present this evening but only reeled a few times briefly & was not seen. A lesser whitethroat was a bit more vocal nearby but was still unable to view it in the shrub it was in. 1 swift & 1 swallow over.
Grasshopper Warbler still present this evening. Very elusive, reeling from the ground, and also going quiet intermittently as a male Kestrel hunted the field.
Post for yesterday.Walked around the park ,then through Stenner woods and along the Mersey. The following birds were seen. Blackbird 7 magpie 5 Feral Pigeon 20 Wren 1 Wood Pigeon 14 Robin 11 Blue Tit4 Bullfinch 1 Great Tit 2 Carrion Crow 6 Mallard 12 Grey Heron 1 Nuthatch 2 Ring Necked Parakeet 2 Chaffinch 3 Black Headed Gull 3 Canada Goose 2 Coot 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 - active and calling Nuthatch 4-5 - again lots of activity Song Thrush singing Goosander 3 - 2 nice males and female on the river, some squabbling Grey Heron - on the flooded meadow
Plus plenty of vocal usuals
As ever, the habitat aches for some 'better' birds, but a Sunday afternoon shows perfectly why only the more human-tolerant birds seem to be there. Still a brilliant site in urban Manchester though.
Two little grebes on the river near Simon's Bridge this afternoon. Haven't seen them on this stretch of the river before, could be the same ones seen further up-river near Cheadle weir.
I had a nice walk around the woods 11.00-13.00 with my niece Grace, who is nine. In between prodding mud and icy puddles with sticks we saw 4 Teal, a Nuthatch, a Ring-necked Parakeet, a Grey Heron, a Great Tit, a Kestrel being chased by a Crow and a few Magpies. I also noticed a Treecreeper, Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker but these were a bit less obvious for her to see. Some brilliant fungi in there too. Despite being typically busy with 'normals', birds were showing well and in bright sunshine it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.
Re Simon Gough's post, I am convinced that the Parakeets have had an impact on the Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Stenner Woods and other local areas. Is it that they are taking over their nest holes? Jamie Dunning will know the answer. Where are you Jamie?
I'm sitting very quietly
As some of you will know, I did attempt, a few years ago now, to put up some boxes in that hope the Parakeet would use them and we could glean something from those nets records. After all, our parakeets are a limited, closed population, and persuading them to use a box (where we can access them) over a nest hole (where we can't) seemed like the obvious answer, we also metal ringed a few. The literature on them does have an example of Rose-ringed Parakeet having a direct impact on another species, although it isn't one of the Woodpeckers, It's Nuthatch [on the continent]. I did also compare some data (from the GMBRG and BTO) one afternoon, but there just isn't enough to infer anything like that in Manchester at the minute. The main threat therefore is posed to other secondary cavity nesting species, and in particular I'd bet, those which are specialists that do not nest colonially (That's Nuthatch and Starling to some extent around us?).
It's an interesting idea that they may put off other birds with their presence in an area, although being colonial, I would think the woodpecker will just move elsewhere with the parakeet population what it is currently.
Good discussion this one, I wasn't trying to suggest that there was direct competition for nest-holes, my point was more about the way the Ring-necked Parakeets occupy the area by the Boardwalk and whether they could 'dominate' a territory in the first place. My supposition was that if a Woodpecker wasn't comfortable in the area it wouldn't get as far as excavating a hole, in favour of moving somewhere else. I think I've read that this can occur between Great and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, correct me if I'm wrong of course.
I have seen less Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Stenner Woods this year than in both the last 2, and also nearby in the wood by Priestnall Fields in Heaton Mersey, where last year there was at least a pair. Both areas are occupied by Ring-necked Parakeets. They are not scientific studies by any means but I didn't think the Great Spotted Woodpecker was in decline, so where are they? As a kind of control, I have seen less than usual near my office in Wythenshawe, so maybe it is all a coincidence. Last year and the year before there were at least 3 pairs within half a mile of my office in 3 separate little woods, and this year I've only seen 1 pair. Again not scientific but of some anecdotal value perhaps?
Tim gets out locally much more than me, due to not having a job anymore, the lucky swine, so he will probably have more information to hand than me in any case.