Hi readers !!
Monsieur Acrocephalus a votre service !
I took a trip out to Old Moor today to pass on a few hours and to make up for yesterday's rubbish weather ...
Plenty to see as per normal and I even managed to stay too late as I was supposed to be leaving at 4:00 to get a haircut !!
So .. at 4:30 I ran into the Visitor Centre and took a quick photo of the Sacred Diary with my Ipod ..
So now I can tell you what the other visitors saw ..
Well .. I can try .. The picture on my Ipod looks as though it was taken while I was still running so this is going to be a struggle !!
I'll also add my own sightings in as we go
First the Wader Scrape .. Reported from here were a dunlin, 2 avocets with a chick, at least 3 redshanks, ringed plovers, 2 ringed plovers, 4 common terns, a teal, mallards, gadwalls, tufted ducks, coots, moorhens, black-headed gulls and Canada geese with goslings plenty of swifts and a huge flock of starlings !!
Wath Ings had mallards, 2 pintails, a redshank, 3 oystercatchers (2 flying over) , a great crested grebe on her nest,little grebes, coots, moorhens, lapwings, a little ringed plover and a sedge warbler, swifts, house martins and sand martins..
The Mere had 2 redshanks, avocets, 3 'Med' gulls, 2 lesser black-backed gulls, black headed gulls, mallards, gadwalls, tufted ducks, swifts, house martins and sand martins ..
The Field Pool had ... Nope .. Its no good I cant read that one !!
Lastly the Bird Garden had .. Right lets see ... collared doves, bullfinches, tree sparrows, great tits, blue tits, greenfinches .. Nope .. struggling with the rest ...
I also had what I thought was a hobby but I only got a brief view as it disappeared out of sight
I took quite a few pictures today and there were a couple where you could actually tell what they were !! I have posted 3 in the 'Photo' Section ..
Night chaps ..
Bert xx
Hello friends !!
Here is the Bank Holiday news ..
Despite the constant rain there was still plenty reported by today's visitors ..
The Wader Scrape had 3 turnstones, a common sandpiper and 4 little ringed plovers. A hobby was also reported from here.
The Mere had Avocets + chicks, ringed plovers and oystercatchers.
There were 2 pintails on Wath Ings along with a shoveler, reed bunting and 5 oystercatchers .
A skylark was reported from the Field Pool as was a drumming snipe .. That's a new one on me that is ... I never knew that snipe could play musical instruments !!
Whatever next ??
Viewers in the Bird Garden had the pleasure of a female mallard proudly showing off her 8 ducklings right in front of the window to the Visitor Centre .. There were also great tits here with their fledglings!!
Nice !!
Young Bert back again to bring you today's tidings ..
First of all from Bolton Ings .. Reported from here were pochards with 4 ducklings .. Great to see those guys breeding here again ! Also here were 4 common terns, a barn owl and a grasshopper warbler ..
Edderthorpe Flash had 4 avocets with chicks, 22 ringed plovers, a greenshank and 6 dunlins ..
Old Moor had 2 Mediterranean gulls on the Mere along with 2 avocets and their chicks.
The Wader Scrape had 4 avocets with chicks, a drake teal (not seen one of those for a while !) and 2 common terns.
A pintail was seen on Wath Ings and a little grebe was reported from the Bittern Hide ..
The Field Pool had redshanks with chicks and a snipe ..
So !! .. Chicks galore .. I spent some time on Old Moor late yesterday evening and couldn't even begin to estimate the number of black-headed gull chicks !!
Let's hope that the avocets have a successful outcome to their breeding efforts too as this would be a great bonus for Old Moor and its' visitors ..
Its going to be tough for them though ...
Have a great evening chaps !
Hi readers !
Young Bert here again bringing you today's tidings ..
All from Old Moor today ..
Firstly, it appears that the least sandpiper has scarpered .. Maybe thats why it has the name 'least' ...
Over on the Mere were 2 avocets .. and .. 3 baby avocets !!!
The Wader Scrape had a little -ringed plover , 5 ringed plovers and 4 dunlins ..
A red kite was reported as being seen passing over Wath Ings and a hobby was seen over the Visitor Centre ..
And thats all folks !!
I'm off out as normal to eat, drink and play golf on the Wii !!!
I wonder when I will grow up ...
Night all !
I travelled as far as Greater Manchester this week, giving a talk to a group studying for their City and Guilds in Horticulture about wildlife gardens.
Now, I should explain that I in fact know very little about gardening in general. Some of you will know by now that I do not have a garden of my own (other than a series of pots with a shambolic array of second-hand and failed plantlife). So was I really the right person?
Possibly, and I'll tell you for why. Each year, I'm learning a little more about gardening, what to plant, where and when. I do not have a natural flare for it and have the opposite of green fingers, but what I lack in experitise, I make up for in sheer enthusiasm. I do like to have a nice-looking area outside to sit in, and feel happy working on this, but there is more to my interest than this. I am acutely aware of the contribution that gardens can and do make to wildlife conservation and biodiversity in the UK; nearly a million hectares across the country, and arguably more important than the pesticide-drenched farmland areas that sourround them. So I tried to put our tiny gardens into this wider context for the group.
The RSPB provides a range of excellent advice on wildlife gardening and signing up for Homes for Wildlife will unleash a world of hints and tips to help you on your way. So what - in my opinion - is the single most important thing you can do for wildlife in your back garden? Stop using peat-based compost.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/d/dovestone//moorland.aspx
www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening
We have several wildlife garden areas at Old Moor, which are constantly evolving as volunteers take over descreet areas. They are all situated close to the visitor centre so that paople can see for themselves waht they can do. Have a look and let us know what you think.