Wed 28/4/10

Still 2 Grasshopper Warblers reeling this am.

-- Edited by Robert Adderley on Wednesday 28th of April 2010 05:48:55 PM

John,

I'm glad to hear that you did last night's shift on the badlands, and still gladder that it produced some new arrivals. The state of the site recently has not offered much hope for a good warbler crop this year.

I went over the lower part of the site five times last week and managed little, other than Swallow, Blackcap and Chiffchaff in the early part of the week, though two Willow Warblers had returned by Saturday. I heard a Whitethroat this Wednesday morning, but could not locate it.

The local roughnecks have upgraded from comical tiny motorbikes to a sort of monstrous All Terrain Vehicle. This has the disadvantage that it opens up new areas for them to defile. The speed at which they drive, and their reluctance to slow down or divert for other users of the site is very intimidating; the noise must also be terrifying to birds. The only bright note is that their practice of grossly overloading the vehicle suggests the darwinian promise of population thinning of the more reckless elements.

The situation for warblers is made still worse by the fact that fairly large areas of bramble and reed have been burned, either for the sheer pyromaniacal pleasure, or to help clear the way for the ATV.

Last week's unleashed canine undesirables featured a bull terrier, a hugh rottweiler ("don't worry he's more scared of you, than you are of him"), and a lurcher with one ear. This is not a country for the faint-hearted.

Nigel.

Buzzard (3 drifting east)
Reed Bunting (male)
Bullfinch (pair)
Chiffchaff (2)
Lapwing (1 south)
Pit Bull (1 free-range. "It's all right mate, it's only a barker")

Cheers, John

I checked Adswood out yesterday morning at about 11:00. It was more remarkable for what I didn't see than for what I did. The highlights were three Bullfinch, a Snipe, a Pheasant and a Buzzard. There was no sign of Linnet, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Woodcock etc. for which I had reasonable grounds for hope. The bright sunshine seemed a perfect invitation to Skylark to celebrate the approach of Spring; sadly, there was no sign of a bird once so common here.

A quick tramp over Adswood Tip this afternoon where the thaw is now on.

There was little of real interest. Carrion Crows (30+) held the majority, feeding in the recently scraped area. Three Pheasants rose from the long grass, and two Reed Buntings were, appropriately, in phragmites reeds. A Redwing was in a tree at the perimeter, and a Linnet flew through.

There was no sign of Snipe or Woodcock. The snow and ice may have forced them to move on.

Phil,

There is no official public access to the tip. I enter via a gap in the trees at the top (Bramhall end) of Tenement Lane: SJ887869. You can clearly see the gap from the track here, as it is used by dog walkers. Be warned it is very muddy at this point. There are various other rough access points along Tenement Lane, plus others from the Adswood end that I know less well.

With quite a number of local Jack Snipe sightings reported recently, I set off for Adswood Tip at lunchtime today, quietly confident that I too would find one.

It was not to be. Some of the eleven Snipe that I flushed at various points over the site seemd slow to get up, but all were Common Snipe. That I managed two Woodcock was pleasing, and a pair of Pheasant were the first that I have actually layed eyes on here for a while, though I often heard them calling from hiding places in the long grass over the summer.

Two small groups of winter thrush passed over: half a dozen Fieldfare, followed by a similar count of Redwing. Otherwise, three Meadow Pipits, a Mistle Thrush, a Dunnock, two Wrens, two Blackbirds, two Greenfinch and a mixed party of about 80 Carrion Crows and Jackdaws were my lot.

The land has been scraped near the brick works, creating an area that was popular with the crows, plus some pools with the odd Snipe. It is definitely worth another visit once the bitter wind relents.

The unsettled weather overnight led me to hope that something different might have dropped in. I also had more time available than usual, so was able to give the site better coverage. The overall net result was greater numbers of the regular species, though with one welcome addition for the year.

The stars of the show, once again were the warblers. Whitethroat numbers are now up to at least ten, relegating Grasshopper Warbler (4) to second place in the charts. Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were all represented by two singing birds, while a Sedge Warbler was in full song near the the sunken car: the third year that I have located this species here. Only Garden and Lesser Whitethroat are now missing from those species that I might reasonably expect to find here.

Away from the warblers, a pair of Stonechats was an encouraging find. Two Stock Doves were on the area recently burned by vandals, showing that there is usually some benfit to be gained from a negative event. A couple of Buzzards perched in the saplings nearby. I had rather hoped that this area might turn up a passing Tree Pipit or two, but no sign of any pipits this morning.

There was just one Skylark singing briefly in the chilly wind. Numbers definitely seem to have reduced here over the past few years, despite no obvious disturbance to the habitat. Two Swallows have settled in and a single Swift swept past.

31 species in al: full list

Canada Goose 1
Pheasant 2
Grey Heron 1
Buzzard 2
Stock Dove 2
Woodpigeon c 6
Swift 1
Skylark 1
Swallow 2
Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) 1
Wren 3
Dunnock 1
Robin 3
Stonechat 2
Blackbird 5
Song Thrush 3
Grasshopper Warbler 4
Sedge Warbler 1
Blackcap 2
Whitethroat 10+
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 2
Great Tit 1
Jay 1
Magpie 2
Jackdaw 2
Carrion Crow c 4
Starling c 6
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 1
Reed Bunting 2

Another Whitethroat newly in this morning, close to the brickworks.

A single Lapwing was flying around in the same area, plus the usual numbers of the usual spring visitors: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Swallow.

Oh, and two Grasshopper Warblers reeling away.

Hi Mike,

I bumped into Geoff a couple of hours ago and he is still scrupulously recording the local patch. He's concentrating on Lady Brook Valley and Poynton Pool this year and he found a Common Sandpiper at PP this morning, which was my 103rd local (SJ98 10k square) bird of the year.

Cheers, John

Two Grasshopper Warblers were reeling here on Sunday at 5:00pm: one near the top end of Tenement Lane, the other in burnt brambles near the methane burner. There is much disturbance at the moment from junior motorbikers and arsonists, so I don't know how long the birds will stick around.

Also present: two Chiffchaffs and three Meadow Pipits, but still no sign of Whitethroat, which is generally common here throughout the summer.

A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling from inpenetrable brambles for about a minute around 6pm this evening.

Only other migrant detected was a singing Chiffchaff.

Could you please give me directions?

Adswood Tip was in great form this sunny morning.  I spent an hour from about 07:45 enjoying the warbler song.  Last night's Lesser Whitethroat was still present, and no longer skulking.  It perched in the tops of a birch and a hawthorn to allow good, clear views.

Another unexpected treat was a singing Garden Warbler, though this was visually less obliging, as it kept low in the brambles; it was another site first for me.

Making up a total of five warbler species were Chiffchaff (3), Willow Warbler (4) and Blackcap (4+).  There is still no sign of Common Whitethroat, which is the most obvious warbler here by mid-summer.  I have also seen Sedge and Grasshopper here in the past couple of years, but no sign of these either as yet.

Other species included:

1 Bullfinch (1m)
6 Linnets
4 Goldfinch
1 Chaffinch
2 Greenfinch
1 Skylark
2 Reed Bunting
2 Swallow
1 House Martin
1 Lapwing
4 Song Thrush.

I took the dog for a walk down Middlewood Way later in the morning, where the only warbler was another Lesser Whitethroat (SJ945868).  There was also a Buzzard overhead.

At least three House Martins are back at the breeding site on Woodsmoor Lane, Woodsmoor.

A Willow Warbler was singing near the anglers' pool at Mirrlees fields yesterday morning.

All things considered, a good weekend.