April 27th

No sign of yesterday's two Arctic Terns first thing this morning but two Sedge Warbler's found instead , these being the first records since May 2015. Also a Peregrine and two Sparrowhawk over , a drake Shoveler and a single Little Grebe. Sand Martin's , Swallow and House Martin's also noted.

To report SIGHTINGS

astburywildlife@yahoo.co.uk

April 27th

I texted Mark from work this morning saying that there was a few Arctic Terns reported at reservoirs and lakes below us in Staffordshire and and a few above in Manchester. And within fifteen minutes he rang me back to say we had two at Astbury only our second ever record for the site. Conditions were absolutely appalling with heavy rain and strong winds , but with my camera already in the car I decided to go straight after work to try and get something on camera. Needless to say I got soaked as did Mark this morning but it was worth it. The images below are the best I could get in the conditions.

April 26th

A single Oystercatcher flew through this morning also a single Kestrel noted . During heavy showers mid afternoon a estimated 400+ Sand Martin along with 37 Swallow's and eight House Martin's.Earlier in the week on Wednesday an adult Common Gull dropped in breifly. A REQUEST FOR SIGHTINGS.......Birds that you see every day at other lakes , pools and reservoirs etc may not be common at Astbury Mere . Myself and Mark would rather receive all records of sightings no matter how common you might think they may be. If you have not got our mobile numbers which most of you have , use the email address on the right hand side of the blog. All e mails do get answered . So next time you have a wonder around drop us a line it will be much appreciated, for those that do please keep it up. It's not just birds we are interested in it's all aspects of wildlife , Butterflies , Dragonflies / Damseflies and if your into them Bees aswell. Just to show you what we mean the last Common Whitethroat record was 3 years ago and the last Sedge Warbler was May 2015, so come on help us get records into our database for the mere.


Congleton Area
Mow Cop
Ring Ouzel fem (AG)

April 22nd

Still very quiet at the mere nothing changed with nothing new in but a second hand report of a Red Kite over the mere yesterday. Quiet a bit happening nearby.

Congleton Area.
Cloud
Redstart
Tree Pipit (MS)

Canal (bridge 83)
Lesser Whitethroat (JS)

Mow Cop
Ring Ouzel
Wheatear x 2
Whitethroat x 2.

Ring Ouzel Mow Cop.

April 20th

Still very quiet at the mere early morning three Shoveler two males and a female also 67 Tufted Duck. Blackcap , Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler all in song very little else of note.

Congleton Area.
The Cloud
Tree Pipit . (MS)

Mow Cop
Ring Ouzel male
Wheatear x 3 (AG)

April 19th

Common Sandpiper again at the mere early morning , along with good numbers of Blackcap , Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. Also Sparrowhawk and Buzzard over.
Butterflies out in the sun today included.
Small White.
Brimstone.
Orange-tip.
Peacock.
Small Tortoiseshell
Speckled Wood.
Green-veined White.
Comma.

Comma photo by Brian Hicks.

April 16th

Willow Warbler's were in good voice this morning with four birds in full song . Also several Blackcap and eleven Chiffchaff. Two Shelduck flew around the mere but didn't land heading off north west . Also present 8 Brambling , single Buzzard , Greylag Goose over and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Eight Swallow were hawking insects over the water .

Shelduck over the mere.

April 15th

Still four singing Willow Warbler this morning also good numbers of Chiffchaff and Blackcap . At least 14 Brambling still scattered around the mere also noted Sparrowhawk , Buzzard , Mistle Thrush , 18 Sand Martin's , 5 Swallows and 6 House Martin. Butterflies seen.
Comma
Brimstone
Orange-tip
Green-veined White
Peacock
Small Tortoiseshell

April 14th

We have had a increase in migrants during the night with ,4 x Willow Warbler , 10 x Chiffchaff and 9 x Blackcap now all singing away. Also noted 39 x Sand Martin's , 12 x Brambling , Sparrowhawk and 44 x Tufted Duck.

Congleton Area
Newsbank Pool
Shelduck x 2
Oystercatcher x 2
Skylark
Swallow

April 12th

Very quiet at the mere last few days seven Chiffchaff six Blackcap and a single Willow Warbler . Sand Martin numbers have dropped with around thirty birds and six Swallow , no House Martin's seen for last couple of days. Butterflies include Comma , Peacock , Small Tortoiseshell , Orange-tip and Green-veined White. Still Sandpit Mining Bee along with Tawny , Clarke's and Gwynne's.

April 10th

Very quiet at the mere today just handful of Brambling left , ten Sand Martin's , usual Chiffchaff and Blackcap and a single Willow Warbler. Also Buzzard , Nuthatch and Mistle Thrush.

April 8th

A Common Sandpiper was along the fisherman's shoreline early morning , also noted around 30 Brambling still . A single Cormorant , Buzzard , 6 x singing Blackcap and 5 x Chiffchaff. Two new Bee species located this morning with Ashy Mining Bee which was seen again this afternoon and Early Nomad Bee . Mid-afternoon fifteen Sand Martin's.
Butterflies today were Orange-tip , Brimstone , Holy Blue , Small Tortoiseshell , Green-veined White , Comma and Peacock.

Congleton Area
Barn Road
Willow Warbler....RB.

Ashy Mining Bee .

April 7th

Still around Fifty plus Brambling along the east side between the steps and the raised bench area. Also a single Willow Warbler , 6 x Blackcap , 7 x Chiffchaff and two male Reed Buntings.


Congleton Area
Newsbank Pool
Shelduck x 2
Oystercatcher x 4
Lapwing x 2

Apr 6th

Early morning (6-30 / 7-30) around 150 Sand Martins , nine Swallow , seven Chiffchaff and four Blackcap .Also noted Buzzard , Sparrowhawk , Meadow Pipit , Bullfinch and Goldcrest. This afternoon a pair of Shoveler , still Brambling around , Willow Warbler , Blackcap , Chiffchaff and Sparrowhawk. Two new Butterflies seen today Speckled Wood and Green-veined White, also Brimstone , Small Tortoiseshell , Orange-tip and Peacock.

Tawny Mining Bee by Tracey Stubbs.

April 5th

Excellent find by Mark Stubbs an adult Little Gull on the Mere for just 30 minutes this afternoon , the last record was a 2nd winter bird in 2013 . Was always distant so photography virtually impossible . The bird kept going up high then coming back down flycatching over the water before finally going up and disappeared out of site. Around 300 Sand Martin , nine Swallows and a single House Martin. Also the Brambling flock still present but far less birds ,and one singing Willow Warbler , four singing Blackcap.

Little Gull.

Little Gull.

Blackcap male taken this morning by David Collis.

April 4th

Our first Willow Warbler of the year singing this morning it has arrived on the same date as last years bird. Still good numbers of Brambling around along the east side of the mere . We still have a good passage of Sand Martin's with around 70 birds recorded again today .

April 3rd

The first record of Peregrine this year seen this afternoon , absent last year with no sightings at all. Meadow Pipit over this morning also a pair of Wigeon on the mere. Good numbers of Sand Martin's with 100 recorded again today along with ten Swallow and a single House Martin. Brambling still around but numbers seem to be dropping. Three Blackcaps present late afternoon.

Peregrine record shot by Tracey Stubbs.

Martin's and Swallows.

The last couple of days has seen good numbers of Sand Martin's passing through the mere with numbers reaching into treble figures. Twenty Swallows have been noted aswell. It's hard to say if these birds are staying close by and returning or they are just simply passing through with new birds coming in daily.

Sand Martin.

Swallow.

April 2nd

Still around fifty plus Brambling this morning also 100 Sand Martin and 15 Swallows. Despite the cold weather a Tree Bumblebee and a Common Carder Bee was seen.

Common Carder Bee photo by Brian Hicks.

April 1st

Between 70 and 100 Brambling this morning , the size of the flock continues to grow , surly they must be ready to go any day now. There are some nice looking males amongst them but always out of camera reach. Seven singing Chiffchaff and four singing Blackcap noted but still no Willow Warbler. Around sixty Sand Martin's , twenty Swallow and four House Martin. Also G S Woodpecker , two male Reed Bunting , Nuthatch , Treecreeper , several Bullfinch , Buzzard and male Sparrowhawk. Butterflies noted Comma , Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.