First Light
6 Goosanders on main lodge, 2 on fishing lodge 2 on river
Long Tailed Tits everywhere
Heron and Kingfisher on back lodge
One possibly two tree creepers high up on tree in woods at back of rear lodge
Usuals

A clear frosty morning for the Saturday morning walk with Bolton RSPB.

The best of the usual stuff :

Buzzard...1 in tree near river.
Sparrowhawk... 1 over low
Goosander... 7 (with 3 drakes)
Song Thrush....3 heard with 2 seen.
Mistle Thrush...1
Bullfinch...pair
Grey Heron...3 or 4
Among the Gulls were at least:
Common Gull ...2
Herring Gull ....2
Lbb Gull...1
Cormorants... 2 over.


-- Edited by keith mills on Saturday 14th of January 2012 01:19:10 PM

A quick walk round in the gloom today produced:

1 Cormorant on the smelly and very fast flowing River Irwell
1 Kestrel over and on the trees behind the river.
1 Song Thrush singing high up in a tall tree in front of the locked hide.
15 Goosander on the smaller lodge at the back (7m 8f)
1 Juvenile Heron on smaller lodge
3 Goosander on main lodge (2m 1f)

All the massess of usual regulars (Mutes Swans, Coots, Mallards, Canada Geese, Moorhens) but no treecreepers or Goldcrests that I was hoping to see. A few Tits and Robins were singing and calling the wooded areas along the walkways.

Late PM Crompton Ldges

Shoveler Pair
Goosander 10
G.C. Grebe 1
Tufted Duck 38
Mute Swan 60
Few Moorhen
Lots Canada Goose,Mallard and Coot.

Late posting for yesterday (4/11/11)

A Grey Wagtail was on the river pebble banks near the red bridge. Great views down to three or four metres - didn't seem bothered about me. Fantastic colours and long tail. Unfortunately the light wasn't great for photos, but I did try.

The usual waterfowl were present on a walk round the lodges with a flock of long-tailed tits, two great tits, two robins being the highlights in the wooded areas and two different (juvenile?) herons on the river and one on a lodge.

Not much Two Goldcrest Coal tit and 50 Mute Swans heron 2 pied wagtail and one white wagtail.

55 mute swans, about hundred canada geese, (Swans seem a lots happier with less of these feathered monsters) 2 Great Crested Grebes,15 tufted ducks a young heron the male goldeneye and a cormerant that was about it.

Quick visit this morning. Usual Goldeneye on the Sunblest shores of Lake Crompton. Few tufted ducks and three common tern, two of which were juvenile. Loads of Canada Geese that have taken over around the car park side to the point that swans are restricted to the other shore and seem to be decreasing in numbers. Even humans are excluded from the area by a mass of the feathered monsters. Time for a cull? Lots of young coots and a juvenile Heron.

Not much really, one common tern, twelve tufted ducks have reappeared, the male goldeneye gets even tamer, female teal on back lodge, two young heron squabbling and a dipper flying up the river towards the weir.

Hi Simon.
I saw it fly low over the south end of Nob End LNR towards Little Lever. I think it had been feeding nearby and was flushed by a dog-walker. Hope they become more regular in the area.
Henry.

06/07/2011 - 5am-10am - Crompton Lodges, Nob End LNR and Darcy Lever areas covered:

61 Mute Swans
189 Canada Geese
2 Great Crested Grebes + juv
c120 Mallards
1 Moorhen + juvs
22 Coots
1 Tawny Owl
8 Sand Martins
1 Grey Wagtail
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Green Woodpecker
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
1 Garden Warbler - at top end of Darcy Lever near model aircraft field
6 Blackcaps
2 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
2 Whitethroats
2 Treecreepers
8 Coal Tits
7 Jays
1 Siskin - flew over
2 Bullfinches

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Wednesday 6th of July 2011 11:53:27 AM

On central lodge raft has come loose and hit the far bank. Pleasantly surprised to see one juvenile great crested grebe chick on main lodge with parents, considering the abuse the coots give the adult pair over the past three years, this is an achievement. A pair of bull finches, two black caps in the woods, dipper heard on river and sand martins near canal viaduct at Nob End. The male Goldeneye appears to have gone.

male Goldeneye still present today.

2 Arctic Terns around at 7 45am to 8am.

Not much quite quite Goldeneye still present

Common tern being mobbed by gulls
Coal tit and LT tit with nesting material
Blue tit with young in a hole
Chiff Chaff x 2 Willow Warbler x 2 Black cap x 3
GS Woody
Jay
Goldeneye
and sparrow

goldeneye teal still present, Two GCGrebes one getting duffed up by the coots same every year

Two chiff chaff, coal tit, and willow warbler in wods behind lodges

pied wagtail dipper river

e

Late afternoon (after Man Utd beat West Ham 4-2).

Single male Goldeneye
One pair of Great Crested Grebes doing a little bit of their dance on the main lodge
Mute Swan pair nest building at one end of main lodge
2 Coots on nests and many others about
1 Grey Heron in trees
Several Moorhen
1 pair of Teal, male agressively seeing off anything that came near him
Loads of tufties, black-headed gulls, Canada Geese, Mallards, Mute Swans etc

Some pictures on my blog (address below)

-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Sunday 3rd of April 2011 04:29:09 PM

Redshank, on main Lodge, 7am.

Nuthatch, behind wildlife lodges.

Had a lovely walk round this afternoon in the sunshine!!
8 goosander on the lodge to the right of the main one, 4 male 4 female.

Late afternoon Crompton Lodges

17 Goosander (7 Male)
53 Mute Swan
33 Tufted Duck
1 F Pochard
2 Common Gull
Lots of Canada Geese, Coot & BH Gull

-- Edited by Alan Warford on Wednesday 19th of January 2011 05:28:58 PM

Corvid roost this evening from Radcliffe road entrance opp Farmer Arms.

Jackdaws 800
crows 60.

First vist to this side of the park, looks as if it could be good.


Keep Birding

Redhead Smew landed very briefly on Crompton Lodges around midday today before heading off east. Also Raven over.

Info thanks to Kane Brides