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.

On my patch am & pm today, hot and sunny whilst I was out.

On Shemmy Moss the 2(1ad) Water Rails were seen again despite reports of a Mink on the dried up pool which they frequent. The youngster has lost most of its down now and is showing brown barred feathering and a longer beak more akin to an adult. On the same pool a surprise was a Snipe which came out of the rushes into the middle of the 'mud'.

On the same dried up pool as the Water Rails a very bedraggled looking Grey Wagtail was collecting damselflies.

On Shemmy Moss today in hot sun.

Just two raptor species to report. The Hobby again, on a dead tree on South Mossand calling. Also calling were an adult & juvenile Common Buzzard over Shemmy.

An afternoon on the Shemmy Moss part of patch. Sunny and warm.

The 2(1ad) Water Rails were on the usual pool on Shemmy Moss. Initially the adult showed 4 times with no chick so I feared the worst, but then the chick showed well twice too. The chick did look bigger than last time too, so is hopefully finding lots of food!

A shortened morning on the mosslands, overcast, breezy and even cold!

It was a short visit as I was staking out the pool with the two Water Rails on. I did see the adult and chick Water Rails three times but they were very skittish. They never stayed in the open so my quest for photos failed. There were 3 juv Moorhens too on the same pool that were equally nervous.

There were 2(m+f) Kestrels over Shemmy Moss, flying together and obviously a pair.

A shortened walk this morning, overcast and warm.

The visit was short due to me finding an adult summer Common Gull on Big Pool. This was my second different Common Gull in four days and in summer the species is a scarcity. I thought that I'd better get a record of it so hot-footed it back to the car and got my scope and returned to phonescope the gull at a great distance. It was watched at length but always the far side of the pool, so rubbish record shots were all I got but they show what it is at least! As well as the Common Gull I recorded 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the resident on the pool and four flying over calling. As I wanted to drop the scope and tripod back at the car I decided to head home to sort through the pics, so that was the end of the visit!

Out am and pm on patch in hot sunshine again.

An adult Water Rail showed exceptionally well on Shemmy Moss, out in the open probing the mud on a pool that is nearly dried up but still has soft mud. An Oystercatcher flew low over me calling as I was insect hunting north of the Pine Belt. A hirundine flock containing a Swallow and 10 Sand Martins fed over Big Pool am.

A group of 4(1ad) Ravens flew over Big Pool, cronking and palying high up in the wind. One bird was tatty, a presumed adult, and the other three were pristine, presumed juveniles. The adult always led and the juveniles followed.

On Newchurch am in hot sun.

Just a Grey Heron of note, fishing the edges of Big Pool where there are huge shoals of fry to eat.