27 January 2012

Friday 27th January
Firecrest
Bullfinch
At long long last after an agonising wait I can now well hopefully get my pictures on, it turned out their was a slight virus on my blogger which affected almost everything apart from updating the site, certain codes also disappeared but now after major surgery It might get back to some kind of norm. Today I was out from 11:40am - 1pm, which produced the long staying Bullfinch, 1 Chiffchaff and the Firecrest which I eventually tracked down by the cement works. Apart from that it was fairly quiet with just 14 Common Gulls, 60 Black-headed Gulls, 4 Goldcrests, 2 Meadow Pipits and 4 Green Woodpeckers reaching the notebook.

Thursday 19th January

Ring-necked Parakeet
I watched the patch for just under 2 hours in mostly heavy rain, the best part was probably another year tick when a Lesser Redpoll headed west, also present was 2 Firecrests, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 25 Chaffinches, 25 Greenfinches, 10 Goldfinches, 4 Goldcrests, 20 Common Gulls, 70 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet and 10 Starlings.

Wednesday 18th January

I went out for a short time today in pretty miserable weather but it did produce 2 Firecrests which showed together near the main entrance, and the male Bullfinch by the garden of rest. There was also 2 Chiffchaffs, 20 Chaffinches, 10 Goldfinches, 10 Greenfinches, 20 Common Gulls, 7 Goldcrests, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 20 Stock Doves, 4 Mistle Thrushes, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets and 15 Black-headed Gulls.

Tuesday 17th January

Firecrest
Yet another glorious day but a lot more different than yesterday. I watched the area from 11:20am - 1:05pm, and the day started off in a very strange manor with my first two birds being a Firecrest and Chiffchaff which were by the main entrance, and even before I recorded Wood Pigeon but after that it was fairly quiet apart from the long staying Bullfinch which showed very well near the cement works. Others noted were 7 Goldcrests, 4 Goldfinches, 25 Chaffinches, 1 Kestrel, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Linnet, 2 Skylarks, 28 Magpies, 10 Stock Doves, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Common Gulls, 20 Black-headed Gulls, 70 Wood Pigeons and 1 Corn Bunting (no 48 for the cemo year list).

Monday 16th January
Mediterranean Gull
It was a lovely day to be out and about and although a bit nippy the sunshine was lovely, the birds were pretty good also with another 3 new species for the year and a nice local find. I watched the area from 10:50am - 12:40pm, and as soon as I entered the cemetery it was pretty busy, but firstly I decided to do the paddocks and adjacent fields which turned out to be the right decision when 4 Mediterranean Gulls were found flying around the fields by the cement works mixed in with a total of 30 Black-headed Gulls and 10 Common Gulls, and which stayed around for a good 20 minutes before heading off east. The paddocks itself was very quiet apart from a nice male Peregrine which was sitting on nearby pylons probably waiting for its next kill. I then ventured into the cemetery and pretty much straight away located 3 Chiffchaffs near the garden of rest, followed by the male Bullfinch which was present on its own. Shortly after another good January record was to come when another Brambling was seen (2 in January what's going on) associated with 20 Chaffinches and 3 Siskins which eventually headed east. The good day was coming to an end but not without the late flurry of Sparrowhawk (new for the year), and the lingering Firecrest which was near the cement works. Other bits included 7 Goldcrests, 1 Kestrel, 4 Goldfinches, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 4 Skylarks, 3 Mistle Thrushes and 6 Stock Doves.

Friday 13th January
Bullfinch
I was out this morning for a couple of hours and met up with a very nice chap called Alan Stewart who thoroughly enjoyed his visit and especially as he managed to catch up with the remaining Firecrest. The male Bullfinch was also on show and a further 7 Crossbills were seen heading north over the crematorium. Other bits noted were 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Redwing, 11 Goldcrests, 30 Chaffinches, 4 Goldfinches, 10 Greenfinches, 1 Linnet, 1 Kestrel, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 80 Black-headed Gulls, 4 Common Gulls, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (first of the year), 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 Jays, 2 Song Thrushes and 10 Starlings, there was also 1 Hare in the cemetery.

Wednesday 11th January

Yes yes yes I will settle for that result Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool in the Carling Cup Semi-Final 1st leg, a long way to go I know and a good game to follow at Anfield but I put the reds favourite for the second leg, and hopefully another Final to enjoy. Away from footie I was out this morning in glorious sunshine and it was certainly worth while with a few good bits around, in fact bird wise it was quite similar to yesterday. The first good bird was another Crossbill which headed west over the crematorium, followed shortly after by the male Bullfinch which was present with 30 Chaffinches, 25 Greenfinches and 6 Goldfinches. The remaining Firecrest was again present by the cement works, and a male Peregrine was sitting on pylons by the paddocks. Another surprise came in the form of 4 Chiffchaffs near the main entrance. Others noted were 11 Goldcrests, 2 Redwings, 1 Linnet, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Kestrel, 90 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Common Gulls, 4 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Mistle Thrushes, 25 Crows, 15 Magpies, 5 Jays and also my first Skylark of the year.

Tuesday 10th January

Thanks Alan all the best for 2012 and I hope you get that elusive Firecrest, my overwintering ones will soon disappear until about March time when hopefully the next will arrive. Today I only had an hour spare from 9:00 - 10:00am, but it did produce a flyover Crossbill which headed west at 9:30am, and a single Firecrest which these days is proving even more hard to find. The male Bullfinch put in an appearance mixed in with 30 Chaffinches, and nearby 22 Greenfinches were in the garden of rest. Other bits included 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Heron west, 6 Goldfinches, 8 Goldcrests, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 6 Ring-necked Parakeets.

Monday 9th January

Many thanks for the message Warren all the best yourself for 2012 and we will be in touch throughout. Today I was out from 11:20am - 1:20pm, which at first was pretty hard going until I tracked down the 2 Firecrests which were showing well in bramble near the cement works, the male Bullfinch was also causing me difficulty as on this occasion it spent most of its time wandering the cemo with a count of 15 Chaffinches, wouldn't it be nice if he found a mate. The gulls went mad over the paddocks at 12:30pm, so on me travels I had a look and found 2 Grey Herons sitting in the adjacent field, no I'm never going to get the repeat of last years crazy total of 64 in one hit but it was nice never the less. It's also good to get some kind of tally going for the year especially the less easy ones so finding a male Peregrine chasing pigeons by the cement works was an early bonus. Other bits included 8 Goldcrests, 3 Kestrels, 1 Redwing, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 9 Goldfinches, 7 Common Gulls, 90 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Ring-necked Parakeets, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 15 Crows, 15 Magpies, 500+ Wood Pigeons and 1 Pied Wagtail, (and also Robin, Wren and Song Thrush).

Thursday 5th January

Brambling
First of all happy new year Don have a good one mate. Today at long long last I managed to get out for the first time since November 2011 and what an enjoyable one it was. I watched the area from 9:30 - 11:50am, which produced a rare January record of Brambling which in itself set up the rest of the morning. As soon as I entered the cemo it was pretty lively but it took some time to find what I was after, I then eventually tracked down 3 Firecrests which have obviously had a good winter here, followed by 3 Chiffchaffs which have also done the same. Goldcrest numbers peaked at least 17 and probably more, which is way above what I normally record here during the winter, and the smart male Bullfinch was present in its favourite location for its 3rd month. Other bits included 17 Long-tailed Tits, 30 Chaffinches, 1 Kestrel, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Rook, 1 Jackdaw, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 4 Common Gulls, 73 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Mistle Thrushes, 3 Goldfinches, 1 Grey Partridge and 45 Wood Pigeons, but strangely no Wren, Dunnock or Song Thrush!!.

Monday 2nd January

Nice bright day after the recent gloom. Good sightings today of normal birds including 2 Jays, 3 Magpies, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Green Woodpecker, a nice flock of 14 Greenfinches flew in from the allotments and 2 Firecrests showed well behind the crem. A total of 30 Chaffinches were in the main cemetery with the male Bullfinch closeby and 2 Chiffchaffs showed by the cement works. A Woodcock was flushed by a dog walker and there was also large numbers of Goldcrests with at least 20 birds present (which was certainly a conservative estimate), also 5 Goldfinches, 2 Mistle Thrushes ad 25 Crows.

(Colin Musselwhite)

8 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Hi Steve, look forward to hearing about another year on your patch :-)

Alan Pavey said...

Sounds like a good start to the year so far Steve, I'm hoping to find a wintering Chiffy or Firecrest here :-)

Alan Pavey said...

It was nice to get some consolation against Man City after the 3-0!! hopefully we'll hold on to the advantage in the second leg :-)

Nice selection of birds, Firecrest, Crossbills etc.

Marc Heath said...

Good to see you back updating and some photos too.

Warren Baker said...

Thats better Steve, a few photo's :-) Nice ones too!

Alan Pavey said...

Great that blogger is behaving for you Steve, some nice shots there and like the new header :-)

Alan Pavey said...

p.s. Great result today, the substitutions certainly perked us up a bit !!

Steve Tomlinson said...

Thanks Marc, Warren and Alan its certainly nice to be back and with some photos to go with it, fingers crossed a!!.

Great result Alan even better when you knock out both Manchester clubs in a few days shame, not.

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