There is currently no public access to the Peat Pools due to pipeline work severing our usual footpath. Hopefully this work will be over soon (though I doubt it!) and I'll post on here when access is resumed.
Curlew- 2 Teal- 33 Sand Martin- 6 flew straight through west Crow- 320 in a single flock off the tip and over Botany Bay Woods Buzzard- atleast 8 soaring around Oystercatcher- 2
Gadwall- 22, which is remarkable considering there's only been one site record before! Teal- 18 Mallard- 2 Curlew- 3 Redshank- 1 Buzzard- 3 over Lesser Redpoll- 2 over
Chaffinch- 330+ along Nook Lane, no Bramblings though. Wigeon- 2 (a pair), a Peat Pools mega Fieldfare- 2 flocks of 90 and 100 flying south-west Peregrine- 1 then flew west over Botany Bay woods Collared Dove- 208 flew very low NE over the peat works yard from the Rindle Road area and seemed to drop in the fields around Worsley Moss Pink-footed Geese- 443 east at 2:30pm
Major passage through the fields immediately north of the Peat pools this am with many birds crossing the pools themselves.
08:15-10:30am (one wonders how many I missed not getting there until 08:15?)
Redwing- 3525 west in 24 flocks, the largest of 600. Fieldfare- 537 west in 19 flocks, the largest of 200. Mistle Thrushes- 70 west Whooper Swan- 12 south-east 09:10 Pink-footed Goose- 110 east 09:06 far north of the peat pools 220 east 09:06 far north of the peat pools 320 east 09:08 far north of the peat pools Brambling- 20 west 09:28 Chaffinch- 120 west in dribs and drabs Siskin- 15 west Skylark- 27 Sparrowhawk- 6 with a few of those heading west Teal- 1 female on peat pools
Peregrine - adult low through south Hobby- adult through and over towards the top of Rindle Road, no doubt the same bird as seen by Duane Martin in his Astley Moss post. At one very brief point both Peregrine and Hobby were in the same binocular field of view very close together!
I've just started going over to the Moss's and wasn't sure if it was supposed to be like that. Went to Pennington today and bumped into Judith at Horrocks Hide. Judith heard a Greenshank but we couldn't manage to spot it amongst the hundreds of Lapwings.
I've sorted the viewing screen at the pools out ,but by whom I don't know, those branches had been placed there maliciously to prevent birders from viewing over them , if anyone should find a similar situation where viewing is restricted for whatever reason, the path is obstructed or similar then please contact me by telephone asap (07958 687481).
Cheers. Of course we did have the one at Elton the other day. Also very near the peat pools, a landowner was telling me he had 30 Siskins in his garden on 10th July. He breeds finches so knows them well. Whilst I was talking to him I saw and heard several. Something's gone wrong in Scandinavia this year!
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
I know that this is an early sighting especially for a flock at this time of the year.
The Fieldfares and Mistle thrushes came down together as a flock from over the peat works and I watched them feed on the ground and on the berries on the far side of the horse paddock. They were very flighty and took flight twice and circled around before landing in the same area.They were still there as I left around 10am. On the way back to my car I met a fellow birder called Wayne who was going to the pools, I told him what I had seen and asked him to watch for them as he went along the path. He did mention this forum so hopefully he will post his sightings if he saw them.
The pools were very quiet this morning only a Buzzard having a drink ,3 Mallard and single Canada goose over. Considering that the water levels are excellent for waders ,I was suprised not to see any.
However in the fields alongside the path leading to the pools were alive with birds,
Please note that Nook Lane, leading to the Peat Pools will be closed at weekends for several weeks as major road improvements are undertaken. This will apparently mean there is no vehicular access what so ever although I assume there will be access somewhere along the line for pedestrians.
2 Green Sands this evening and a possible (only) female/immature Garganey with about 18 Mallard, brief views as I flushed it whilst letting water out of the pools (water levels currently extremely high, not surprisingly) and could swear it was one but needs confirming.
Just out of interest and not that anyone has or should, but if anyone comments on us utilising the path to the pools as outlined in the site guide, it has been provided specifically for us by the sand extraction company and is actually for OUR use only!
Had a look today to check out the new access but very little there apart from 30-40 Sand Martins and a couple of Moorhens feeding a single chick. Well there's one less Moorhen there now. The chick, which was lurking in the fringe of rushes, was taken by a Buzzard.
It came in low from the LHS, flopped into the rushes and rose with the chick squirming in its talons with the parents called loudly throughout. The Buzzard disappeared to the left, the way it had arrived.
Ringed Plover- single through west Green Woodpecker- single in the field on the left heading up the path to the screen, the first record here for a couple of years Sand Martin- still hundreds Buzzard- 1
I've also started a program of cutting the vegeatation back along the path, but it's a long process so please bear with it.
Although viewing is closer now than it ever was before, the overall 'peat pools experience' is a shadow of it's former self, although to be fair there's little or no real evidience so far that any of the sand extraction workings and alterations to the site have had any effect on birdlife. Fact remains that it's always been pretty quiet there and has never quite lived up to it's potential but tere's plenty of time yet
Ian I managed to get photo's of both sandpipers which as I left the pools put their heads under their wings and went to sleep. The sedge warbler perched on the screen at the viewing point as I watched from under the small Oak tree. I was very suprised on how much the area has changed in appearance around the peat works and pools.
Only the 3rd record of Common Sandpiper this year Dave and the 2nd of Sedge Warbler, the latter a species which has only been recorded probably 3 times there ever! The increasing amount of juncus is likely to encourage more records but a singing bird this spring didn't stay more than a day.
A welcome return to the pools this evening between 7-9pm
2 Common sandpipers 2 Grey wagtails 11 Mallard 5 Moorhens 1 Coot 1 Lapwing and 15 over 1 Sedge warbler 4 Yellowhammers 6 Reed buntings 1 Kestrel 100's of Sand martins and Swallows.
As Ian mentions in his details about the new access to the pools, the path is not for the faint hearted and is very overgrown. I half expected Attenborough and an ape to put in an appearance at one point. Its good to have the access back after all this time.
New access to the Peat Pools has now been arranged but anyone considering a visit MUST read the new site guide on the website before doing so.
A visit this evening with Pete Berry produced:
Little Ringed Plover- 2 juvs Teal- 4 Green Sandpiper- 1 (flew over calling only) Peregrine- 1 flew over from the north calling and continued low south over the sand works
Sightings this year have been poor and probably affected by the monsterous sand works here but a summary of the best birds are:
Mediterranean Gull- 1 Iceland Gull- 1 Turnstone- 2 Black-tailed Godwit- 20 in total Green Sand- a maximum of 2 Hobby- on 3 occasions so far Whimbrel- many but less than previous years Dunlin- poor year so far, only 3 individuals Kingfisher- 1 (only the 2nd site record) Raven- family party of 6 birds over
, if anyone should find a similar situation where viewing is restricted for whatever reason, the path is obstructed or similar then please contact me by telephone asap (07958 687481).
