Hi everyone, a quick update re the three Russian White Fronted Geese. They were first seen on Tuesday 21st January around midday by my pal Ian Rigney in the field mentioned below, adjacent to Crime Lane Failsworth. We had to get our heads together to think what they might be! They were grazing on the grass but seemed quite wary, eventually being spooked by a Herring Gull. They flew off to Crime Lake a couple of 100 yds away. Over the next couple of days, they alternated between the fields near to Crime Lane and Crime Lake.
Yesterday, Friday 24th January around 4.30pm a stray dog that was roaming along Crime Lane decided to run into the aforementioned field. Inevitably the geese flew off ,luckily relocating to the lake. I haven't seen them today, others may have seen them early on. There was no trace of them by 11.30am on Crime Lake or Crime Lane. It's possible they have moved on. I will repost if they come back.
It's been brilliant to see them on our patch, I believe a first for the Oldham area. The last previous sighting of the Russian variety in Greater Manchester was in January 2006 when there were two on Pennington Flash. There were 12 of the Greenland variety seen in November 2024 at Little Woolden Moss. (Thanks to Steve Atkins for the data)
As a bonus today on Crime Lake we had 2 x Pink Footed Geese 10 Teal and a Little Egret.
2 Pink-footed Geese - flew in at 8am with a flock of Canada Geese and still present 1pm 1 Little Egret 8 Goosander 6 Teal 4 Tufted Duck 2 Mute Swans 1 Kingfisher
No sign of the Russian White-fronted Geese despite extensive searching from early morning
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A few photos of the 3 Russian White Fronted Geese taken on the big camera lens at lunchtime today, after I'd left the lane abd as was walking back towards the Crime Lake car park they relocated to the lake approx 13:20
The three Russian White-fronted geese are still in field close to Crime Farm at 12.45pm. Coming up the hill approaching Crime Farm you follow the road around bend and the geese were in field on your right. Advised that they have been roosting nightly on Crime Lake.
The three Russian White-Fronted Geese still present until dusk, feeding in a field on the east side of Crime Lane, north of the canal near to Crime Farm. Free parking on the small Daisy Nook/Crime Lake car park next to Sul Lago restaurant on Cutler Hill Road. Walk through the car park and down to Crime Lake. Follow the canal towpath until you can drop down on to Crime Lane via a steep set of stone steps. Turn right, uphill along Crime Lane. The field they were in today is on the right, though presumably they could be in any. Crime Lane is very narrow, with no parking possible without blocking the road. To avoid the steps (but also missing Crime Lake) you could walk from the car park past the restaurant and along Cutler Hill Road-Stannybrook Road and turn left up Crime Lane.
-- Edited by dave broome on Thursday 23rd of January 2025 07:02:42 PM
three adult Russian White-fronted Geese in fields off Crime Lane, Oldham and are now present for their third day, at approximately ///tricky.lonely.audit this afternoon. They are mobile and wary though and get on Crime Lake at times.
Please note that Crime Lane is very narrow and not suitable for driving down, let alone parking, which should instead be made in Crime Lake car park off Cutler Hill Road, and the short walk to view the fields made.
Morning stroll from warden centre to Crime Lake & return. 20 Mallard, 17 male / 3 female 3 Hybrid Mallard 60+ Canada Geese. 2 Mute Swans 11+ Coot. 7 Moorhen 1 Willow Warbler. 3 Chiffchaff seen + at least 5 more calling 4 Long Tailed Tits 1 Greenfinch 1 Coal Tit 1 Dunnock 2 Wrens, several more heard. At least 3 Nuthatches heard, not seen. Not counted - Magpies, Crows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, House Sparrows. Robins
Goosander 1 M Crime Lake Goldcrest 1 Grey Heron 1 Crime Lake, round the corner at the top end. Tufted Duck 2 - pair on Sammy's Basin. Treecreeper 1 Ring-necked Parakeet 2 minimum, in the usual area, possibly more over the other side of the valley later Pied Wagtail 1 on feeder tray at Visitor Centre Common Buzzard 1 over Visitor Centre mobbed by Carrion Crows. It or another seen circling over Bardsley later before it headed back towards Crime Lake Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 calling and drumming.
Also Canada Goose Mute Swan Coot Moorhen Mallard Long-Tailed Tit Coal Tit Great Tit Blue Tit Robin Dunnock Goldfinch House Sparrow
Walking around Daisy Nook this morning at approximately 09.15 am with the dogs. Heard the familiar sound of honking very high up and a way off. Thought I would see a skein of wild geese when I eventually caught sight of them. The sound was not as high pitched as Pink Footed Geese which was strange, through binoculars saw that the birds were all white, long white necks, I'm sure they were Whooper Swans. There were 37 altogether in a fairly tight skein with one out at the front. They were flying roughly East or North East. Did anyone else see them flying over Greater Manchester?
(This evening I was lucky enough to see a Curlew flying over and calling, heading for Stalybridge/Glossop.)
Please can someone confirm that this is a lesser black backed gull. I really am useless with gulls and wouldn't know a yellow legged gull if it fell on my head, I always go for the obvious first.
8.15am to 9am Crime lake area.
Blackbird
Mallard
Mute swan
Moorhen
Coot
Canada goose
Shoveler
Grey heron
Dunnock
Red wing
Robin
Blue tit
Great tit
Magpie
Woodpigoen
Carrion crow
Chaffinch
Black headed gull
14.00 Today - walk from cafe to crime lake and back
All the usual Coots, Moorhens and Mallards. One female mallard on the first pond after the visitor centre with some very recent ducklings
Both adult Mute swans with 5 juvs - getting big now! All on the boardwalk around Sammys basin having a group preening session
Just the 1 adult Great crested Grebe on crime lake with 3 young - 4th may have been with adult elsewhere
Hirundine and swift numbers noticeably less. A single Swift over crime lake, 3 Swallows and 2 house martin
Bridge over crime lane where food has been left out was really productive - 2 nuthatches, a great tit, 4 robins and a coal tit all feeding right on the wall by the path giving really close up views 20 Canada geese and domestic Chinese goose
What looked like Mallard/Call duck hybrid on canal
X2 Grey herons
-- Edited by Sean Molloy on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 04:30:20 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 04:49:58 PM
Fantastic views of Kingfisher on NW end of crime lake fishing from low branches and fishing platforms
Grey Wagtail on river medlock viewed from bridge on main path
Swifts 10 + flying low over bridge several came very close
Great Crested Grebe 2 with 4 chicks - enjoying watching these guys grow, still have their striped heads and are currently practicing their diving skills. They were quite close and you could see them underwater like black and white torpedos!
2 Mute swans with their 5 cygnets
2 House Martin
Flock of c10 Long-tailed tit
Goldfinch
Song Thrush
Swallows
All the usuals Mallards, Coots, Canada Geese, Moorhens all out in force
Collared Dove
Small flocks of Great Tits around the canal path
-- Edited by Sean Molloy on Wednesday 15th of July 2020 08:43:48 PM
Moorhens and Coots still doing well with many still building nests and plenty of young chicks about
8 Swallows and 3 Swift over Sammy's basin
Coots with young having repeated standoffs with brown rat at the basin - rat wanted to get to some bird food that had been put around their but the coots were having none of it!
Chiffchaff heard several times
2 Adult Mute Swans and 5 cygnets! The 5th one must have been hiding very well last time but I was chuffed to see it'd rematerialised
1 of the adult swans spent a good ten minutes pursuing a female mallard with chicks, repeatedly trying to peck the female. Eventually the mallard chicks went and hid under the overhanging trees on the edge of the canal and the female mallard led the swan down to crime lake before flying off back in the direction off it's chicks.
25 Canada Geese with a domestic Chinese goose amongst them
2 Adult Great crested grebe with 4 chicks - all doing well and growing up quickly
Walk from visitor centre and back this PM. 1430 - 1645 drizzling rain
Lots of Moorhen and Coots in every available bit of water either with chicks or nest building - seem to be doing really well this year
Bridge over medlock very productive:
2 Grey Wagtails (M + F) feeding in river viewed from bridge
9 Swifts diving over really close
Flock of 5 Long-tailed tits
Sammy's basin to crime lake:
Fledgling robin very close to the path waiting for parents to return
The 2 Mute Swans were on Sammy basin with 4 cygnets - 1 must have died as I stuck with them a while and there was definitely no sign of a 5th. One adult (silver ring left leg) later passed by with the 4 cygnets on the canal going toward crime lake
Brief fly-by from Kingfisher flying away from Crime lake over crime farm close to canal. Flew over trees and down presumably toward the river
2 Black-headed Gull - one over sammy basin and another at crime lake
2 adult Great crested grebe with 4 chicks on crime lake reasonably close to the path which gave fantastic views of the chicks and the parents fishing for them
5 goldfinch in trees around crime lake
Dunnock
Chiffchaffs heard several times
Attached a few mobile phone pictures of the cygnets and adult when they passed on the canal - other adult remained at Sammy's basin
Followed the Bardsley Canal from Ashton Road to Crime Lake. Quite busy but fairly easy to avoid most people apart from the odd speeding cyclist!
Willow Warbler fly-catching over the water Great Tit Blue Tit Linnet 2 over Chaffinch 1 singing House Sparrow Blackcap several singing Long-tailed Tits Robins inc several juveniles Swallow 1 over the farm just to the north, and a pair around Crime Lake Coot 12 at least 3 birds on nests, including one on the lily pond, one pair apparently with a first brood of 3 quite large chicks. Another pair with 5 younger chicks just on the water and a third with a slightly older chick, just 'post-punk' Mute Swan pair with 5 cygnets Canada Goose 37 - 1 nesting pair Mallard 5 Great Crested Grebe 2 Grey Heron 1 Moorhen 4 Swift initially 2 over Crime Lake, joined by a 3rd
While I was watching the Swifts I spotted a Common Buzzard hunting an area to the north of the lake, hovering several times before dropping from view.
Also along the canal Woody Nightshade Yellow Flag Red Campion Yellow Waterlily
8 male and 1 female Broad-bodied Chasers (the female possibly newly emerged as she was so bright) 6 in tandem pairs of Common Blue Damselfly 1 Red Admiral
Pair of Wigeon still on Crime Lake along will Call duck and what I thought was a female teal a few weeks ago turns out to be a juvenile male who's looking quite smart now.