Tittesworth Reservoir Summer 2005

DEPARTURES:
Siskin 26th February
Pochard 23rd March
Goldeneye 4th April
Redwing 10th April
Fieldfare 17th April
Wigeon 20th April

The Bird Report for 2003

At the time of writing this newsletter £154 has been generated from the sale of the report. The money has been donated to the RSPB via the Macclesfield local group. The group's Treasurer, Gordon Howard, has acknowledged receipt of the donation. Thanks to all those that purchased the report, thus providing further support for British birds.

The Bird Report for 2004

The report is now complete and has been passed to Severn Trent Water to arrange printing. Hopefully copies will be available by the end of August. Once again Severn Trent are sponsoring the report. The proceeds will as usual be donated to wildlife charities. The cover price remains at £2.

The report runs to 56 pages and provides an analysis of the 130 species found on or close to the site in 2004. It is decorated with 16 original drawings and another half dozen illustrations. Information is also provided about the site's non-avian wildlife and plantlife. There is a short article about emblematic birds.

The Next Site Event

The very popular Animal Day will take place on the 23rd August. Thousands of people will visit the site to enjoy the demonstrations and activities. There will be many tents and stalls manned by commercial, wildlife and animal welfare organisations. Animal Day has grown in popularity over the last few years and is now an established local event.

BIRD NEWS: selected highlights.

The section "Arrivals and Departures" demonstrates an interesting overlap of summer and winter visitors. Further selected highlights from the last three months are featured below.

APRIL:

On the 2nd an Oystercatcher bathed and preened by the Conservation Pool. Two Meadow Pipits and a Skylark were spotted on the 3rd. Skylarks have been few in number on the site in the last couple of years. Undoubtedly the best find on the 4th was an Osprey, which appeared at about 1.30pm and flew north without stopping. Thirty-eight Sand Martins hunted over the reservoir on the 9th. The 10th yielded four Stock Doves, a goodly number for this site. Tufted Duck numbers stood at 14 on the 11th. A Redshank and five Greylag Geese spent the day with us on the 15th and at least 200 Swallows were swooping over the main reservoir. The find of the day on the 16th was a Green Woodpecker - a rarity on site these days. The local find of the day on the 17th was the Great Grey Shrike found in woodland near the trig point on the top of Gun Hill, just one mile from the site. Two Gadwall were present on the 17th, a species, which all too rarely visits Tittesworth. A super find on 21st was a Yellow Wagtail near the fishermen's lodge. Also on the 21st over 30 male Willow Warblers were in full song. On the same day a Brown Hare was found and hundreds of tadpoles were swimming in the pools to the south of the new Churnet bridge. A Wheatear on passage was noted on the 23rd. Common Sandpiper numbers had risen to three by the 25th. Six Mallard ducklings were noticed foraging for food on the 26th. On the 29th a Black Tern fished in the main reservoir for four hours and two Common Noctule bats were seen at about 8pm. The first Swifts of the year were noted on the 30th. Pink Purslane, Greater Stitchwort, Marsh Marigold, Lesser Celandine, Butterbur, Gorse, Wood Anemone and Sun Spurge were all in flower by the month's end.

MAY:

The month started with a bang. On the 1st two Shelducks, two Oystercatchers, a male Shoveler and four Common Sandpipers entertained a few birders. It was noted that the meadow areas were decorated with thousands of Lady's Smock (Cuckooflower) plants. Bright Red Campion flowers were
also on show and Orange Tip butterflies were much in evidence. A Whimbrel put in a brief appearance on the 6th and on the same day a family party of Grey Wagtails was observed on the River Churnet. There was an amazing sight on the 7th when about 2500 Swallows filled the air. Also four Brown Hares were located. An Osprey called in on the 12th, caught a fish and moved on. On the 14th a Hobby flew over the reservoir. Five Common Sandpipers were counted and a Cuckoo called on the 15th. A ring-tailed Hen Harrier appeared on the 17th and was promptly mobbed by Crows! A Ringed Plover and two Dunlin popped in for a short while on the 19th. A Peregrine was a good find on the 22nd. There was violence at the west hide feeding station on the 23rd when a Sparrowhawk attacked and caught a Chaffinch. A lone Pink-footed Goose swam near the Large Island on the morning of the 27th. There was a brief stopover by an Oystercatcher on the 28th. Eleven Canada Goose goslings were also noticed. A Reed Warbler was found on the 29th, the first sighting at Tittesworth for many, many years. It was still present the following day. Another Oystercatcher graced the reservoir on the last day of the month. Other plants bursting into flower during the month included Cow Parsley, Red Clover, Bistort and the blue Germander Speedwell.

JUNE:

Dunlin, Kingfisher and Redpoll were the most interesting finds on the 3rd. Sedge Warbler numbers had risen to five by the 5th and a pair of elusive Bullfinches was found. A Great Spotted Woodpecker's nest hole was located in an Ash tree by Blackshaw Lane on the 8th. Young could be heard calling from within the tree. A Shelduck arrived on the 8th and was confirmed as a Cape Shelduck not a Ruddy Shelduck. Obviously an escape but from where? The Cape Shelduck was present all month long. Coot numbers appeared healthy at eleven. A red-headed juvenile Great-Spotted Woodpecker was seen looking out of its Ash tree nest hole on the 16th, calling lustily; it was later seen being fed by its parents. A Mute Swan spent the day on the reservoir on the 18th. This is a very uncommon bird at Tittesworth. There were 362 Canada Geese present on the 19th, thirty less than at the same time last year. A Little Grebe was present on the same day, another uncommon visitor. On the 26th two Barn Owls were logged, a species not seen in the area for many years. This was also the day that the first Green Sandpiper arrived. Ninety Lapwings were also present and three juvenile Coots were much in evidence. On the 27th a fledged Spotted Flycatcher was "spotted"! Two Redshanks also turned up on the 27th. The Large Island hosted a roost of 40 Curlews on the 28th. On the 29th the two Barn Owls were found hunting over fields at the northern end of the site. Flowering plants noted this month included Common Sorrel, Meadow Buttercup, Broad-leaved Dock and Ragged Robin. The predominant butterfly in flight was the Green-veined White but the less common Wood White was also seen.

The above observations represent about 5% of those recorded but hopefully the most interesting have been included. Thanks to all those who contributed information.

Websites

A reminder. For up to date information on the birds at Tittesworth access the West Midland Bird Club (WMBC) website at www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/staffs/tittesworth. For information about birds to be found in the Macclesfield catchment area use www.macclesfieldrspb.org.uk. The WMBC website may also be accessed from the Macc RSPB group website.

Future bird reports

The 2004 bird report is the fourth in the current series and for me the penultimate report that I shall produce. In other words the 2005 bird report will be my last. With my current and future commitments I will not have enough time to produce reports as a solo effort. I believe that the report is worth doing and has many benefits including giving back to the logbook contributors an analysis of the year's birding and raising a little cash for wildlife charities. If anyone feels that they can take on the task for 2006 and perhaps beyond, then please contact me and I will offer assistance to get them started. Better still a small group of people would spread the work load. Tittesworth does not have a bird club, thus anything done towards birding and wildlife in general is through individual volunteers. Where sites have bird clubs, then small sub committees are set up to produce reports etc. There can be problems in co-ordination but the amount of work done by an individual member is relatively small. Anyway, think about it and contact me if you would like to discuss a way forward from the beginning of 2006.

To contact me use a letter, the phone or email. Details are as follows:

Address:

31 Thirlmere
Macclesfield
Cheshire SK11 7XY

Telephone: 01625 - 432668

Email: ray_perry@btinternet.com
Please note there is an underscore between ray and perry, thus ray_perry.

Once again, thank you to all the logbook contributors. Please continue to make interesting comments about birds, in fact any wildlife or plantlife observations that catch your attention. Don't forget the more common birds; they tend to get overlooked and, unfortunately, some like the Starling and the House Sparrow are RED listed and are, therefore, endangered.

Ray Perry
7th August 2005