cheers for the advice Steve

cheers Henry, better set my alarm clock!

visiting this site this weekend for first time. Would appreciate any advice on where to go once inside entering from Tenement lane Bramhall entrance. Especailly want to target grasshopper warbler!

Quick look round the lower part of the tip this morning.

Rough circuit between Tenement lane, the vent stacks and the brickworks.

Lots (and lots) of Whitethroats (in pairs mostly) churring away - they were everywhere.
Willow Warblers in trees by vent stacks.
4x Male Reed Buntings on centre hill having a sing-off
2x Grasshopper Warbler.
Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, mostly along the lane
Nuthatch and Greater Spotted also along lane
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Bullfinch
One Buzzard over the Eco-centre

Still no Lesser Whitethroats on my list for this site, maybe next time.

SS

Steve,

It's never easy to give exact directions in the Adswood wilderness, but here goes.

If you enter from the top (Bramhall) end of Tenement Lane, you should turn right and follow the path. It soons joins a line of old wire fence with fairly heavy vegetation growing alongside. There is a break in the fence with a path leading up to the top section: ignore this and carry on until you reach the next break in the path, just beyond a small section of loose stone, with a brick chimney 50 yards to your left. The LW was singing from the bushes in this area. If you don't hear it here, try immediately above this point: it was in that area last week.

Good luck.

Lesser Whitethroat still present this afternoon. Also 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Whitethroat (i/c one fully fledged young), Willow Warbler and Reed Bunting.

A Buzzard was using the stiff wind to pretend to hover, while harassed by a Crow.

I searched the general area where the Spotted Flycatcher was last seen for a further 1.5 hours, but no more sightings. The nearby, large gardens off Tenement Lane look ideal habitat for a pair to take up residence.

Cheers, John

21/05/2011 - 6.00-7.45am, cloudy, breezy and cold, sightings of note:

3 Canada Geese (over)
2 Sparrowhawks
1 Kestrel
3 Lapwings (over)
1 Stock Dove
3 Swallows
2 Swifts
1 House Martin
1 Meadow Pipit (over)
1 Garden Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Treecreeper (along Tenement Lane, carrying food)
5 Bullfinches
2 Reed Buntings

8 May 07.15 - 08 15

All the usuals (no groppers)
Swift (a party of 18)
Swallow (14 in steady passage south)
Kestrel 1

Cheers, John

Its a sad state of affairs when you have to check your personal safety & think twice about going on to a site, but in this case, its a definate requirement at certain times of the day.

Ian, if you knew the sort of undesirable people that frequent this place you may not want to go there either (birders excepted). I am purely asking from a personal point of view, it has nothing to with the birds.

What time and whereabouts was this John? Might pop down later to see if I can find it.
Were there many other people around?

Cheers
Adam

Hi John,

Tree Pipit seen by the trees and shrubs along fence running by side/back of Jewsons. It flew high up from tree singing and then parachuted back down and out of sight down the slope on the far side of the trees towards the fence and into the shrubs and undergrowth. I tried to get to see where it landed but, as you know, the ground is pretty rough round there and by the time I got to the edge of the slope there was no sign of the bird again.

Rick.

This morning 08:00 to 09:30 - sunny but cool and windy.

Only 1 Grasshopper Warbler seen and heard reeling towards centre of tip.
4 Whitethroats
1 Blackcap - female
3 Reed Buntings
Many singing Willow Warblers
1 Chiffchaff
1 Pheasant heard calling
3 Stock Doves
1 Kestrel
1 Tree Pipit
Loads of Crows, Magpies and Blackbirds
1 Swallow and 1 Sand Martin
1 Tree Pipit
A few Wrens, Dunnocks, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Robins mainly in trees round the perimeter
Rick.

April 28th 07.30 - 08.30

Grey Heron 2
Jay 3
Willow Warbler 2
Chiffchaff 2
Kestrel 1
Whitethroat 9
Grasshopper Warbler 3

Cheers, John

Late post for yesterday, 19th ..
Brief opportunistic visit ,yesterday ,about 11am ..
Only had time for a quick look round lower section of site , birds seen included...
3 very vocal jays over ,
At least 3 grasshopper warblers still reeling from brambles ,
6 goldfinch ,
1 blackcap
3 linnets
buzzard
GSW heard drumming from over towards Tenement Lane.
Several chiffchaff heard .
Large plume of accrid black smoke ,( I can only assume that the fine selection of discarded tyres, on Tenement Lane ,had been ignited , by some of the local junior nature lovers !!! )
What seemed like thousands , of small tortoise shell butterflies !! I spent most of my time , trying to avoid standing on them , on the paths !

Cheers Chris

Adswood Tip was in fine form this beautiful sunny morning.

Warbler numbers seem to be gradually increasing, with at least five (probably more) Grasshopper Warblers on site. The Whitethroat seen earlier in the week has settled in nicely, and has started the characteistic little parachute leaps from the top of brambles; another has appeared on the upper section.

A Tree Pipit was a good find. It was settled in the top of a shrub for five minutes or so, before heading strongly northward.

At least three, possibly four Sparrowhawks were circling in the clear skies, and a male Kestrel was on the western side of the site.

One Redpoll, one Sand Martin and one Swallow passed overhead.

Best find of all, three gentlemen birders: Messers Lightfoot, Donkin and Shaw.

Full list:

Canada Goose 4
Mallard 1
Grey Heron 1
Sparrowhawk 3
Kestrel 1
Stock Dove 1
Woodpigeon 18
Sand Martin 1
Swallow 1
Tree Pipit 1
Wren 8
Dunnock 4
Robin 1
Blackbird 4
Song Thrush 1
Grasshopper Warbler 4
Blackcap 2
Whitethroat 2
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 4
Long-tailed Tit 1
Blue Tit 2
Jay 2
Magpie 8
Carrion Crow 4
Reed Bunting 2

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit, Steve. If you see another birder there in the future, there's a fair chance that it's me. It is, as you say, quite a large site, though with not much habitat variety. It has turned up a fair few interesting birds for me over the years, and is worth covering in all seasons. Now is probably the most rewarding part of the year.

It does seem peaceful at the moment, but is not always so. This time last year it was home to an array of unruly youths with off road vehicles, and a liking for fire raising. Happily, access seems to have been made more difficult from the Adswood side now, and this seems to have deterred them for the time being.

I was there briefly this morning, and can add a reeling Grasshopper Warbler at the Tenement Lane end to your list.

Two Grasshopper Warblers were reeling again this morning, within 50 yards of each other, close to the Tenement Lane entrance.

Willow Warblers were the warbling chart toppers with four, followed by Chiffchaff (3). A single Blackcap was joined by a 2011 chart entry: Whitethroat. As with Grasshopper Warbler, this is my earliest ever sighting since I started recording arrivals here in 2001. I can't comment on whether this is a migration trend, or a feature of more optimistic birding on my part.

A Kestrel was present again, also one Swallow and a male Reed Bunting.

I managed about 20 minutes on the lower section of the site at about 19:00, on the way home from work. Three Chiffchaff, one Willow Warbler and one Blackcap were the only warblers that I found.

A Swallow passed over, as did two Sand Martins: the first that I have ever seen here in many visits. A female Kestrel was a welcome sighting, as this species seems to have become rather scarce this year at the patches that I cover. A Pheasant called a couple of times.

I will try the upper section on the way into work early tomorrow.

Quiet in the late afternoon sun 1 female Wheatear 13 Meadow Pipits 2 Buzzards 2 Chiffchaffs singing 12 House Sparrows in a noisy party Unfortunately more habitat destruction to report. Someone seems to have systematically cleared willow scrub in the area near the footbridge and there has been the first grass fire of the year on the lower level. Cheers, John

A one hour tour of the site this afternoon produced few birds, though, as always, there were one or two quality sightings.

Highlight was a Woodcock, flushed from the Midland Road end.

A large female Sparrowhawk was near the only sizable body of water.

Two Meadow Pipits is a low count for this time of year, but welcome as they seem to be absent from many other regular sites.

Apart from these there were very few small birds: Greenfinch predominated, one Bullfinch; two Blackbirds; two Long-tailed Tits; a Wren.

Notable absentees were Snipe and Reed Bunting (all at garden feeders I guess from what I have seen of other people's observations). The days of wintering Stonechat seem distant.

Perhaps he? was thinking of Kathy Tyson, who played the tart in 'Mona Lisa'

There was neither sight nor sound of Sedge or Grasshopper Warblers last night, though the area was heavily disturbed by morons.

Numbers of the commoner warblers are now building: 3 Chiffchaff and 3 Common Whitethroats were found. There are still Stock Doves around (2 last night), which seem attracted to the recently burned areas. Also present: Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Buzzard, Kestrel and Reed Bunting.

Strangely, I have yet to see a Swift in this part of Stockport so far this year. There was one hawking briefly over the sports fields at Cheadle Hulme School in the late afternoon, where I also picked up a passing Tree Pipit. These bring the Stockport list to 77 - quite some way behind the champion elect, Mr. Raynor.