06/09/2012 - 12pm:

1 Ruddy Shelduck - female

Hi Henry,
Yes,there was a big woosh, then it saw us and went to look. Ian saw it all - I saw it as it was taking off and flying away - Jim was in the loo, and therefore a bit upset.

Geoff

p.s. does anyone know if the "spring walk" today is a walk around the mere, as I might go?

-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Saturday 28th of April 2012 08:16:12 AM

-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Saturday 28th of April 2012 08:16:33 AM

10.30am - 12.45pm

70 Swift
40 Swallows
handfull of House and Sandmartins
1 Buzzard
1 Peregrine landing on the bird table for a second
1 Pheasant on the bird table
male and female Kestel mating in dead tree opposite the hide
2 pairs Gadwall
4 pairs GC Grebe
2 pairs Tufted Duck
Bullfinches,Great and Blue Tit on the table.

3 cold birders in hide

Shame it hadn't stayed. Must have moved on overnight. A few bits and pieces showed themselves:

2 Greylag Geese
2 Kestrels
2 Buzzards
1 Green Woodpecker
2 Stock Doves
2+ Meadow Pipits
2 Sand Martins
2 Chiffchaffs

31/03/2012 - 6.30-8pm with Mike Duckham:

1 Osprey - female perched up in tree on east side, may have roosted
1 Goldeneye
2 Gadwalls
c20 Teal
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Kestrels
3 Buzzards
1 Green Sandpiper
6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls - several flew straight through
2 Herring Gulls - flew North
3+ Sand Martins
2 alba Wagtails
1 Green Woodpecker
2 Stock Doves
1 Treecreeper

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Saturday 31st of March 2012 09:40:08 PM

Called in at the church and saw the following towards the mere

1 Kestrel m hunting
5 Buzzard
1 Nuthatch
2 Great crested grebes
1 Cormorant
mixed flocks of tits
Woodpeckers heard drumming

14/01/2012 - Fairly quiet gull roost again this evening but with such brilliant weather I didn't care, just good to be out enjoying it all. Plenty of signs of spring about even whilst it's freezing, with Stock Doves in song, ducks displaying and some spring bulbs in flower already. Stuff seen this evening:

c4500 Black-headed Gulls
c100 Common Gulls
56 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
6 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
8 Goldeneyes
46 Shovelers
c40000 Starlings - again, hard to estimate when the sky is just full of them but slightly less than on the 5th.
c900 Jackdaws - two seperate roosts of c400 and c500, but under-recorded, as I was driving home along the A556 in the last embers of daylight (5pm) there were still large groups flying towards the mere.
1 Peregrine - female
2 Green Woodpeckers
2 Stock Doves
1 Goldcrest

05/01/2012 - 3.45-4.45pm with Mike Duckham - some spectacular sights tonight:

8 Goldeneyes
7 Herring Gulls - including 2 argentatus adults
c30 Common Gulls
c140 Lesser Black-backed Gulls - influx, returning spring birds?
c6000 Black-headed Gulls - sheltering really close to the obs for a change with the strong NW wind
1 Stock Dove
50000+ Starlings - a vague estimate but a great number showing for ages until dark in a swirling mass over the water and amongst the gulls at times.
1 Goldcrest

not a single Jackdaw flew in to roost

20/11/2011 - Roost visit with Mike Duckham just before dusk:

1 Med Gull - same adult winter bird still in the roost
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
14 Common Gulls
c5000 Black-headed Gulls
c180 Cormorants
3 Mandarins
5 Wigeons
4-5000 Jackdaws - incredible numbers and noise from this species in the woods adjacent to the mere
c8000 Starlings - not so many this evening but the roost area is out of sight from the obs, thus birds may be arriving unseen from other directions.

Recent sightings in the log-book include Bittern, Raven and Green Woodpecker.

An ad winter Med Gull in the roost this evening.

A single Whooper Swan this morning.

Single ad Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls in the roost this evening,also 160 LBB Gulls.

As Tim says, the wood itself is a protected nature reserve - especially with the Cormorant colony. I surveyed the area as part of the CAWOS Bird Atlas and I got a special permit from English Nature to enter the wood itself.

Even then I had to co-ordinate with Peter Day and the Rostherne wardens and keep to the boardwalk.

Occassionally they do escorted walks, but the idea is to keep the area as undisturbed as possible - otherwise it would turn into a dog-walkers / children playground area like Dunham Massey, Tatton Park or Marbury CP.

It might sound elitist but there are very few areas left in North Cheshire dedicated for wildlife. Rostherne Mere can be viewed from the churchyard, a public path or the Observatory.

Tim Coleshaw (Team Leader, National Nature Reserves West Team) has very kindly provided me with the definitive access arrangements for this site:

Access Arrangements, Rostherne Mere

Rostherne Mere National Nature Reserve is managed by Natural England, with the A.W Boyd observatory being run by CAWOS. Access to the observatory is via an annual permit (£10 single, £15 family, £5 senior citizens / children 11-16 years) available from Mrs S Canovan, 7 Pownall Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire,SK8 5AZ. Day permits are also available for £1.

Away from the Observatory, part of the NNR can be visited via a concessionary path which gives views of the Mere and woodland.

Visits to other parts of the reserve are also possible with the wardens (generally Sunday & Wednesday mornings – contact Peter Day, 41 Dorrington Road, Sale, M33 5DX, tel: 0161 973 0067 for details), or on Natural England guided walks (see www.naturalengland.org.uk for details). The reserve car park is on the main village street, opposite Egerton Hall.

Regards

Tim

Mereside (whitely?) hide is out of bounds to anyone but the wardens and whoever is with them. I think your allowed to go down to it with the warden, but if you go anyway by yourself and are caught then I think they take away your permit (needs verifying), which is a bit harsh. I've only ever been to the boyd observatory, but thats good enough for birding. If you want a day permit I think you knock on the door and hope someone opens it and put your quid in the box on the table.
Hope this helps,
Joe

If you just want to view from the church or side roads there's no need for a permit Stuart. If you would like access to the observatory then yep a permit is needed. I posted the details further down in this thread if you have a look. Don't know about the mereside hide though. Locked when I first tried and haven't really tried since, plus it all looks too overgrown for a good view from it.
Hope that helps.
Henry.

Not much on the Mere this Morning.
Coote
Cormorant
GC Grebe
Mallard

Saw
2 Buzzard.
1 Stockdove
1 Mistle Thrush
male and female Bullfinch
Blue Tit
Great Tit

16/04/2011 - 2-3.30pm in the obs. and quick scan of the sandbar on the west side.

1 Marsh Harrier
2 Shelducks
2 Mandarins
8 Goldeneyes
4 Greylag Geese
2 Oystercatchers
1 Lapwing
4 Stock Doves
3 Swallows
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs

also reported recently: Black-necked Grebe, c2000 Sand Martins, Redstart and Wheatear.

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Saturday 16th of April 2011 05:06:53 PM

One Green Sand still present yesterday in a brief visit.

Tues 29/3/11 - early evening 2 Green Sandpipers 3 Oystercatchers 2 Swallows with c10 Sand Martins 2 singing Chiffchaffs

23/02/2011 - Hoped to try the gull roost this evening but attacks from a Peregrine and disturbance from a chainsawer made the gulls hide out of sight from the obs. The Peregrine was once again successful and disappeared into the mereside woods with it's black-headed gull dinner. Generally quiet but some stuff spotted:

194 Cormorants
9 Goosanders
4 Goldeneyes
1 Treecreeper
4 Lesser Redpolls
1 Siskin

Hi Joe.
The details on CAWOS website for obtaining a permit for the obs at Rostherne are wrong. The permit application should be sent to:

MRS. S CANOVAN, 7 POWNALL ROAD, CHEADLE HULME, CHESHIRE,
SK8 5AZ

It's still £5 for OAP/Children, £10 for a single or £15 for family membership. If I remember rightly cheques are payable to the Boyd Observatory.
Thanks. Henry.

-- Edited by Henry Cook on Thursday 17th of February 2011 06:11:35 PM

17/02/2011 - An hour over noon:

1 Curlew - flew over NE
1 Kestrel - hunting in front of the obs
11 Greylag Geese - dropped in at 12.30pm
2 Wigeon - very quiet on the duck front
4 Great Crested Grebes
15 Goosanders
72 Cormorants
1 Siskin - bird table
6 Bullfinches - bird table

02/01/2011 - Pretty quiet with very few ducks about now in particular. A juvenile Peregrine bothered the gulls gathering for roost and 8 Goosanders were present.