Down on the pools part of the patch this morning, sunny and mild.

A total of 6 Goosanders were on the pools, a full drake on Small Pool, and 2 eclipse drakes plus 3 females on Big Pool. There were 6 Wigeon too, a full drake and 3 females on Small Pool and an eclipse drake plus female on Big Pool. On Big Pool a group of 7(1drk) Teal were seen. A group of 20 Greylag Geese were on Big Pool. A Kingfisher was on Big Pool near Gorse Point.

 There were 2 Ravens near Common Farm actually taking food from a paddock. A nice group of 5 Stock Doves was near Common Farm.

A very brief morning patch walk, sunny but ice & frost!!

On Big Pool a total of 6 Mute Swans, the resident pair with three young who have now swapped pools and driven all but one of the other adults off! A skein of 48 Pink-footed Geese flew NNW at 9.36am just north of the Pine Belt. Two Cormorants flew low over Big Pool.

The first 3 Bullfinches for a while were in scrub on the north side of Big Pool.

Morning on Newchurch, sunny and warm.

A drake Pochard was new in on Big Pool, the star bird today. The 2 eclipse drake Wigeon were still on Small Pool. A small flight of 9 Greylag Geese flew low over Shemmy Moss. Two Common Snipe were on the muddy pool on Shemmy Moss. A Grey Heron came up off Gull Pool where it was on a landing stage.

A good morning on patch with lots of bird sightings of note. Overcast, drizzle but mild for October!

New in were 6(4f) Goosander on Big Pool with the two males being eclipse drake. Another good sighting was 5(3f) Wigeon, with again the two drakes being in eclipse. The two drakes were on Small Pool and the three females on Big Pool. Sadly these Goosander and Wigeon totals came a day late to make it onto yesterdays WeBS Count! A female Teal flew across Big Pool, another species not seen yesterday. Continuing the theme of new wildfowl there was a total of 191 Pink-footed Geese over in 4 skeins, all moving in a south to south-east direction. The strangest skein was a small group of eight that came low over Big Pool and flew silently through not uttering a single call! There were 11 Mute Swans left on the pools today, the six adults on Big Pool and the family of five on Small Pool. A particularly friendly female swan came so close that I could read her BTO ring (W53343), she had no darvic! Further digging revealed her to be one that had spent some time in captivity and rehab at Stapely Grange a while ago, thus explaining why she came out of the lake and walked up to me.

The first 5 Redwings of the autumn on patch flew over the east meadows and up over the Pine Belt. A Stock Dove flew over the field NE of the Pine Belt.

A morning on Newchurch, colder, but dry and at the end sunny.

There were 10 Mute Swans again, 5 adults on Big Pool and the family on Small Pool. A high count so far this autumn were 4 Cormorants, all but one on Big Pool.

A feeding flock in Gull Pool Wood contained a Chiffchaff as star bird along with 10 Long-tailed Tits and several Blue & Great Tits.

A morning walk on Newchurch in the pools area, sunny and mild.

A Tawny Owl Pellet was in the woodland by Big Pool Island Cut. A male Kestrel was hovering very low, only about 5m up over the main path.

EDIT: I returned & collected the Tawny Owl pellet and I am now dissecting it!

A morning on patch in warm, sunny weather.

There were now 10(7ad) Mute Swans on the main pools, 5 adults on Big Pool and 2 adults and 3 juveniles on Small Pool. This is a high count for this site.

There were 3 Treecreepers associating loosely with a large roving tit lock in Gull Pool Wood.

Morning on patch, sunny and warm.

There were 2 Wigeon new in on Small Pool. A big group of 90 Greylag Geese were on Big Pool. Noteworthy was a group of 7 Moorhens feeding on the harvested field next to Lymm Vale.

Morning on Patch, sunny and warm.

A Cormorant was again on Big Pool.

A Kestrel was on Sandy Lane, not common in this exact spot. A cracking passerine fall in the horse paddocks near the Sandy Lane/Novia Scotia Lane junction included 10 Meadow Pipits and 15 Pied Wagtails.

An afternoon on Patch again, sunny and warm.

The first returning Wigeon (fem) was on Big Pool.

A Chiffchaff was feeding along the main track.

Morning again, dry and bright.

A skein of 33 Pink-footed Geese flew over the north side of Big Pool westwards at 10.30am. On Big Pool 122 Greylag Geese and 160 Canada Geese dominated the wildfowl sightings.

A male Kestrel was over the fields north of the north arm of the Pine Belt.

Morning and afternoon on Patch, overcast but mild.

A female Shoveler flew in and landed on Big Pool, the first this autumn. There were 97 Greylag Geese feeding in the maize stubble NE of the Pine Belt. A total of 9 Mute Swans were made up of 4 adults on Big Pool and the family of five on Small Pool. A Cormorant flew over Shemmy Moss.

A patch scarcity, a juvenile Greenfinch was in Finch Hedge.

On Newchurch am, dry and mild.

There were 17 Greylag Geese on Big Pool as well as a Cormorant.

In Sheffield all day yesterday so had to delay my BTO WeBS Core Count by one day until today! Bright, mild, mainly dry but a very light shower at the end, 10.10am-12 noon.

There were 72(37drk) Tufted Ducks, 21(10drk) Gadwall and 38 Mallards today, all up on last month. A mass of 241 Canada Geese and 7 Greylag Geese were on the pools when I arrived but most flew off to feed whilst I was there, again both increases on the August count. The 7(4ad) Mute Swans present was the same as last month. There were counts of 191 Coot and 4 Moorhens, the former down slightly and the latter not significantly different to last month. A count of 11 Great Crested Grebes was slightly up. As for gulls, 16 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Common Gull and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen, which was a bit low. Finally 2 Sand Martins flew through Big Pool and 2 Swallows flew over Small Pool.

A total WeBS Count of 614 birds of 14 species was recorded, which means total birds was up substantially (mainly due to the geese!) but number of species was the same compared to August.

On patch am, warm and overcast.

Just one bird sighting  note, today 9 Mute Swans were on the two main pools, 4 adults on Big Pool and the family of 2 adults and 3 juveniles on Small Pool. This is probably the highest day count of the species all year.

On Newchurch am for my first Sept 2026 visit. Overcast and warm.

Very quiet with the only new sighting being a Little Grebe on Big Pool.

A longer morning visit checking out both pools today. Overcast but mild.

There were 9(6ad) Mute Swans in total, the 4ads on Big Pool and the family on Small Pool.

On the farmland a Kestrel on the wires was causing panic amongst a flock of 35 Linnets, the post breeding gatherings are truly in full force now!

Morning on patch, sunny intervals and mild.

There was a total of 9(6ad) Mute Swans, the family of 2 adults and 3y on Small Pool and 4 adults on Big Pool. Possibly 2 Kingfishers were again present as one was on Big Pool, and then a male was watched at close quarters on Small Pool dispatching a fish and then swallowing it.

A fem/imm Blackcap was seen eating blackberries on the NW side of Big Pool.

A very short walk on Newcchurch Common, mainly cutting back brambles & foraging. Overcast, mild, and a smattering of light rain.

Just one report of note, 2 Kingfishers flying across Big Pool together.

Designated BTO WeBS Core Count Day today so out am in overcast mild weather.

There was a good increase to 15(8drk) Gadwall today on Big Pool. Other duck counts were 48(25drk) Tufted Ducks and 23 Mallard. Just 16 Canada Geese and 7(4ad) Mute Swans. A massive 205 Coot were seen, but not the max. ever by far, also 3 Moorhens were logged.  A total of 14(11ad) Great Crested Grebes was good. A surprise were 3 Cormorants on the willow spit on Big Pool. Gull counts were good with 28 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Common Gulls, 5(3ad) Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 6(2ad) Herring Gulls. In addition 8 Swallows and 2 House Martins were in a flock just north of Big Pool. The House Martins not being on the list as countable in the WeBS Count though!

In total on the WeBS Count 381 birds of 14 species were seen (383 of 15sp inc the House Martins!). This was quite comparable to last month, with just a small increase in numbers of birds seen.

On patch am, warm and cloudy.

Over Big Pool, a flock of 20 Sand Martins probably included adults and this years young. A Grey Heron flew past north of Big Pool.

A Reed Bunting was on wires north of Big Pool.

On in the morning again, sunny and hot.

There were 2(1drk) Gadwall on Big Pool, the drake being very vocal. Also on Big Pool were 2 adult Common Gulls and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A very weird find was a dumped egg in Big Pool east meadows, the best fit is a Grey Partridge egg, but with none seen in the area fro many years that seems so unlikely. It just doesn't fit anything else!!

A shortish morning walk to get my knee back moving, warm and sunny, getting hotter as the morning progressed.

A drake Gadwall was again on Big Pool. Also on here was a Cormorant, the first back down on the pools for over 6 weeks at least. There were 2 adult Common Gulls today, one on each pool. A Grey Heron flew out of cover on Small Pool.

The first Stock Dove for some time was near Common Farm. A House Sparrow nest was found on the track at Common Farm, not sure why it was there or what possibly predated it.

A dull and mild morning on patch without real warmth!

On Big Pool the first 2(drk+fem) Gadwall had returned, early if my memory serves me right. A late brood of 2 Mallard ducklings were new on Small Pool following their mother. The Water Rail chick was seen on its pool on Shemmy Moss. A Kingfisher sat on a rock just 6" off the ground on one of the Big Pool fishing pegs.