Local patch

Barton Clough

The sparrows spent yesterday morning complaining that there was hardly any food left in the feeders. I filled them all up yesterday teatime and haven't seen a sparrow since. It'll be their own fault if the squirrels scoff the lot.

I was feeling a bit low energy today so I just had a wander round the local patch. It was another quiet afternoon visit.

Whitethroat, Barton Clough

At least one pair of whitethroats have been successful, two young birds were flitting round one of the bramble patches by the footpath.

It's been quiet on the goldfinch front lately but it's been a bad year for thistles and there's better pickings over in Trafford Park. On the plus side, numbers should pick up in Autumn: after somebody decided to strim one of the bramble patches last Winter it's going to be a very good year for goldenrod.

I only had a brief sighting of the buzzard. It had been perching in the copse by the school when it was buzzed by a couple of black-headed gulls. A quick flourish of claws persuaded them to leave well alone.

• Black-headed Gull 4 overhead
• Blackbird 3
• Blue Tit 3
• Buzzard 1
• Carrion Crow 3
• Chiffchaff 1
• Feral Pigeon 20 overhead
• Goldfinch 1
• Great Tit 1
• Greenfinch 5
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 overhead
• Long-tailed Tit 2
• Magpie 11
• Mistle Thrush 1
• Whitethroat 5
• Woodpigeon 21

I had an errand to run in Altrincham. Some of the gulls loafing on the roof of Carpet Warehouse looked odd so I went over for a closer look. There were sixteen lapwings amongst the black-headed gulls.