*** Posting to this blog - Please read ***

*** Posting to this blog – Please read ***

Welcome to the St Helens Birds and Wildlife blog. We welcome your reports from across the borough regarding all forms of wildlife. Please click on the "Report a sighting" tab if you would like to contribute to this blog.

We ask that you refrain from posting exact breeding locations of any species which may be considered scarce or vulnerable, and in particular schedule 1 species. In the context of St Helens, schedule 1 species usually means kingfisher and little ringed plover. Little ringed plover should not be reported at all on this blog between 1st May and 1st August.

Scarce or vulnerable species include but are not restricted to any species of wader, ducks other than mallard, all owls, any birds of prey, grey or yellow wagtails, grey heron, all grebes, Cetti’s warbler, water rail, willow tit, corn bunting etc. If in doubt, please ask.

We reserve the right to edit or delete posts which contravene this rule.


Havannah flash

Starling, Yellowhammer, both observed with nesting material.
Male Tufted duck on Sankey brook, along with a report of a Mink sighting.
Steven.

Frogspawn

This morning, I noticed large amounts of Frogspawn in several locations on Havannah flash.

Cooper lane

Cooper lane Haydock 7-30am.
Buzzard 2.
Sparrowhawk 1.
Nuthatch 2.
Great tit
Blackbird.
Robin.
Pete Kemp.

Buzzards

Total of seven Buzzards observed soaring together over Clipsley lane Haydock at 2-30pm this afternoon.
Pete Kemp.

Fiddle Pool

March 24th 2018

Fiddle Pool (Seasonal pond opposite Fiddle 'ith Bag pub, Alder Lane, near Burtonwood.

17 Lapwings
Pair of Shovellers
Pair of Redshanks
Pair of Mallards
Pair of Oyster Catchers
2 Mute Swans (immature)
Small group of Teal
Coot
Moorhen
Black-headed Gulls
Magpie
Wood Pigeons

Graham Mercer


Eccleston Mere

Chiffchaff 1
Goldcrest 1
treecreeper 1
willow tit 2
water rail 1
bullfinch 1 m
kingfisher 1

Damian P

Sankey brook

 Sankey brook /Havannah flash.
Goosander 1.male.
Tufted duck 2 1 male 1 female.
Plus Kestrel 1 Stanley bank link way.
Pete Kemp.

Buzzards

Buzzard 6.
Together over the Flash, soaring. 10-40am
Pete Kemp.

Cooper lane

Late report, Cooper lane Haydock.
Buzzard 2.
Grey partridge 2.
Also two more Buzzards spotted later, near the woods behind Station road Haydock soaring.
Pete Kemp.

Brambling - my garden Eccleston

I finally managed a half decent photo today of the brambling that have been visiting my garden for the past few weeks.

I took this by setting up my camera on a tripod focussed on a branch that the brambling has often been perching on. I've got a radio controlled remote shutter so can fire the shutter from my house when the brambling eventually landed in the right place. I'd like to get one in full sunlight but I think that might be asking too much!

 

Damian P

 

 

 

 

 

Bird sightings

Sunday March 11th

Sidings Lane Rainford

Upwards of 800 Pink-footed Geese in field adjacent to the Old Coach Road, just beyond Sidings Lane Nature Reserve.

Also (among other sightings) 8 Lapwings, 6 Yellow Hammers.

Graham Mercer

Havannah flash

Cormorant 1.
Mute Swan 2.
Along with three very vocal Canada geese, which chased each other around the flash.
Pete Kemp.

Cooper lane

Around twenty Redwings seen in the fields along Cooper lane Haydock 9am this morning plus, thirty or so Teal on Sankey brook.
Pete Kemp.

Sankey brook

Sankey brook/ Havannah flash.
Tufted duck 6.
5 M- 1 F.
Grey heron 1.
Moorhen.
Mallard.
Plus the two Mute swans on the flash, which is still frozen over in most places.
Pete Kemp.

My Garden Eccleston

The bad weather has brought some decent birds to my garden for the past few days. The feeders have been constantly covered in birds, mainly goldfinch, chaffinch and greenfinch but for the past three days a few brambling have been visiting too. Today there were two females and one male which were present pretty much all of the day. The snow on Tuesday also brought two fieldfare to the garden although they didn't find anything to eat. I will have to get some apples for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Damian P

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

Sankey brook

Had a walk along Sankey brook this morning observed the following.
Grey heron 1.
Tufted duck 6.
 4 M- 2 F.
Mallard.
Moorhen.
The best sighting of the morning was what I thought was a
Jack Snipe, good view of it, Snipe like bird but smaller bill, flushed and flew low only to land again twenty or so yards further on.
Pete Kemp.

Havannah flash

1st March.
Attached photo of Havannah flash frozen over.
Two Snipe flushed from the banks of Sankey brook
9am.