emails - tony.usher@zen.co.uk or tony@10X50.com
texts also ok to 07710 508 544
Hi Tony,
There hasn't really been a great deal to say about Marton's birds these last few days. The highlights have actually been recorded from home: a fine male Great Spotted Woodpecker one morning - the first for four weeks on the nut feeder, and both Little and Tawny Owls calling at 2300hrs on Sunday evening. The cold wind this morning supressed our activity and bird song. Only a handful of species, none of them warblers, sang from the small copse by the sewage works where in better conditions recently we have counted up to ten songsters. The tiny numbers of Swallows, which on previous days were hunting high over the village, were this morning, to and froing low over the fields looking for sufficient insects to sustain themselves. Hopefully there will be a speedy return to warmer and brighter weather.
Cheers Steve
Hi Tony
On Monday evening I walked out to the field pool, which did not disappoint: Two little ringed plovers, male and female shoveler, one shelduck, a few mallard although the ducklings were not visible, two Canada geese, two greylag geese, one swallow, one yellow wagtail, two pied wagtails, goldfinch, two linnets. That's the first time I've seen greylag geese there. Plenty of singing skylarks over the fields, and a buzzard being mobbed by crows over Mobberley SQ.
A rather drizzly walk this afternoon, my best sighting was a singing common whitethroat perched on top of brambles beside Pavement Lane.
Jayne
Jill Thornley recalls an embarrassing incident on Lindisfarne - there were plenty of those over the years Jill!!
Hi Tony,
2 amazing military birds today. The first a Tornedo that banked as it went over the house extremely low, what a noise! The second ,a few minutes later on same trajectory , a Hercules transport plane ,that's an ugly beast , managed to get over the house, with not much to spare.
Song thrushes were feeding 2 well grown young this morning. A goldcrest was investigating a nice thick bush ,and the blackbird has nested 2 metres from the garden bench. Built in a day, she is now sitting happily and we have had to move the bench a bit further away.
Lots of gardening today ,but I did sit around in the sunshine yesterday with the scope looking towards Cross Fell in too much heat haze.
Do you remember the time when we were on Holy island and all viewing an owl in a lone bush in the dunes? Only to discover it was a newspaper when we got up to it.
Jill
Back to Rostherne this morning - a different season - really cold (for me anyway)! Well over 7km walk by doing an additional footpath in Mere. Sedge Warbler was very vocal at the Little Mere, also a Reed Bunting - only a small patch of reeds as well. Walked along Mere Mill Lane then through to the Cicley angling pond . By the way, the rubbish that 2 fishermen left on Friday had completely disappeared (without me contacting the Warrington Angling Assoc!). Having thought about it, I'm sure they were there illegally. Anyway, there were different 2 fishermen there and one caught a fish and landed using a net where he was carefully removing the hook. I went across to ask which species. His answer Carp - do you want to see it? Of course I said yes. He took it out of the net to show me, shortly before he released it back in the water. It was apparently c12lb but the biggest is 35lb! I said we've seen large fish swimming across the pond showing their back. He's not surprised because it's only 18in deep! Very interesting.
The main target was always to look down at Rostherne Mere and hoping for hirundines. Success! A lot of Swallows and at least 2 House Martins and a Sand Martin - both new species for our Lockdown List. Quite surprising to see just 1 Sand Martin - thought we'd miss the boat (excuse the pun). The other highlight was watching a pair of Goldcrests foraging, until the farmer complained that we were looking at his property L
Cheers.....Sheila and Geoff
The farmer is probably a tenant so it's not his property and belongs to Tatton Estates or whatever they're called this week - their latest plans make interesting reading - click here looking at the map at the top of the page the proposed housing development covers a greater area than Shaw Heath or Longridge! It will of course include affordable homes. Affordable by who though? Weasel words.
