Come and join Tony from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group who will lead a Spring Bird Walk around Alexandra Park. We will hear and see what birds are out and about for Spring.
Please meet outside of the Pavillion Café front entrance facing the lake at 10.30am.
Please bring binoculars, if you have them, and dress for whatever the weather may be, including suitable walking shoes or boots.
The walk will last for about one hour and is free.
All ages welcome.
WR4Wildlife is deeply saddened to know that Dave Saunders passed away on Friday evening 19th January 2024.
Dave Saunders, a local resident of Whalley Range, was well-known for establishing the Whalley Rangers group of local volunteers which spearheaded various projects, activities and events within the Whalley Range community. He championed so many wonderful changes and improvements to Whalley Range which included the establishment of flower beds, litter picks of local streets, the tidying up of green spaces and supporting community vegetable allotments.
He was a well-known local community advocate and campaigner. I first met Dave when I first came to Whalley Range and joined large groups of local volunteers who came out to do a litter pick around the streets of Whalley Range. There was such a feel of common solidarity amongst those who came out to support each other to help make our local community look and feel better with a view on valueing and improving our local environment for the benefit of all. It didn’t matter whether you were an individual, a couple, a family with children, old or young, everyone joined to together with this one aim and objective – and Dave was at the forefront of it all. I remember his encouragement, enthusiasm and overall positive attitude.
Dave was also known for supporting activities that took place in Alexandra Park including the annual car boot sales. He was a familiar face around Whalley Range on his mobility scooter with his little Jack Russell dog, Bandit, and he always had a smile and a wave.
Dave was a well-loved and admired community stalwart of Whalley Range and he will be very much missed. In fact, Whalley Range will not be the same without him.
Rest In Peace Dave Saunders.
Are you looking for a book to read over Christmas or are you thinking of buying someone a book for Christmas? Do you, or someone you know, love Alexandra Park? Then this book may be one to add to the Christmas list.
‘ALEXANDRA PARK – AN OASIS IN LOCKDOWN: Words and Images of Alexandra Park, Manchester, During Lockdown 2020’ is a book by a member of the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group who wrote of her own experiences during the Covid-19 Lockdown in 2020 and her relationship with the park.
The book is in Paperback, Hardback and Kindle format and is available from Amazon.
There were 6 participants on the walk held in the morning and we recorded 26 species.
Birds seen or heard were:-
Cormorant 5, Grey Heron 2, Canada Goose 25, Mute Swan 1, Mallards, Mallard x Spotbill
hybrid 1, Tufted Duck 20, Moorhens, Coots, Lesser Black backed Gull 4, Black headed Gull
30, Common Gull 2, Wood Pigeons, Feral Pigeons, Ring-necked Parakeets, Kingfisher 1,
Robin (heard), Blackbird, Mistle Thrush 4, Redwing 20, Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tit, Great Tit,
Tree Creeper 3, Chaffinch 2, Goldfinches, Magpies and Carrion Crows.
TONY O’MAHONY
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The Alexandra Park Wildlife Group would like to thank those who bravely turned up for the Winter Bird Walk on Sunday 10 December despite the weather!
The storm from the previous day had brought down another tree which blocked the Lime Walk.
Despite the rain, a pleasant walk around the park was accompanied by seeing and hearing several different species of birds including a kingfisher on the lake!
The Alexandra Park Bird Walks are free seasonal events which take place throughout the year with the next one being planned for early Spring 2024.
*Please note the new time – 10.30am
This will be the last Seasonal Bird Walk in Alexandra Park for 2023.
Join Tony, from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group, who will lead a walk and talk around the lovely Alexandra Park to identify the birds that are around at this time.
Please wrap up warmly and wear suitable footwear. Bring binoculars if you have them.
The event is free and will start from the front entrance (facing the lake) of the Pavilion Cafe at 10:00am on Sunday morning 10 December.
On the same day, the Friends of Alexandra Park will be hosting their annual Christmas Crackers event from 12 Noon until 4pm.
Come along on this coming August Bank Holiday Monday and join Tony, from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group, who will be leading a late Summer Bird Walk around the lovely Alexandra Park.
Meet outside the front entrance of the Pavillion Cafe facing the lake at 10:30am. The walk is likely to last about one hour. Tony will identify the different bird species around the park by their singing and their species.
Please bring binoculars, if you have them. Children are welcome if they are accompanied by an adult.
This event is free.
Are you interested in or curious about BATS?! Do you want to find out more and have a chance of seeing some flying around the lovely Alexandra Park? Then come along next Friday evening for 7:30pm to the Alexandra Park Community Centre (off the Russell Street Car Park) to listen and watch a presentation by Bat Specialist Martin Prescott before venturing out into the park at dusk to look for the bats! Please register via the Eventbrite link below. Tickets are £3 but children under 16 are free if accompanied by an adult.
Alexandra Park Manchester Wildlife Group will be hosting another Bird Walk around the lovely Alexandra Park on Coronation Bank Holiday Monday, 8th May.
Come and join Tony, from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group, to see and hear what birds are in the park in May.
Meet outside the Pavilion Cafe front entrance facing the lake at 10:30am. The Bird Walk is free and open to all ages. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear according to the weather. Bring binoculars if you have them although not essential.
The annual Earth Day event takes place on April 22 each year. This year, Earth Day is on Saturday, 22 April 2023. Participating in this global event raises awareness of the importance of protecting our planet and its natural resources. In addition, it encourages people to engage in conserving the environment. Rallies, concerts, and tree-planting activities are among the many activities and events that take place on Earth Day. Anybody can participate in celebrating Earth Day even just by simply planting something in your garden, doing a litter pick in the local park or even checking out what events are happening locally.
Earth Day Big Weekender at Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum, Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PL
22 – 23 April 2023
Sat 1pm – 4pm, Sun 10am – 1pm
The following report was kindly submitted by Tony O’Mahony who led the Early Morning Early Spring Bird Walk on Sunday 5th March.
There were 13 participants who attended on the early Spring Bird Walk.
29 species overall were either seen or heard. These were as follows:
Heron 2 adults and chick at nest on island; Canada Geese , Mute Swan 1; Mallard 50, Tufted Duck 30, Moorhens, Coots, Goosander 4, Lesser Black backed Gull 3, Black headed Gulls, Common Gull 4, Wood Pigeons, Feral Pigeons, Ring-necked Parakeets, Wren (heard), Dunnock (heard), Goldcrest 1, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush (heard), Mistle Thrush (heard), Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch (heard), Tree Creeper (heard), Goldfinch (heard), Jay 1, Magpies and Carrion Crows.
TONY O’MAHONY
For those who missed the Early Morning Early Spring Bird Walk in Alexandra Park on 5th March, you may be interested in a Bird Walk taking place in Hough End.
Friends of Hough End have organised a bird walk for Saturday 18th March. Please meet at the Leisure Centre entrance off Princess Road at 10.30 am.
Please bring stout footwear, clothing suitable for the weather and binoculars (if possible). The walk is planned to last an hour and a half.
Join Tony, member of the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group, on an early morning early Spring Bird Walk around Alexandra Park on Sunday 5th March at 10:00am. Spring is on its way towards full bloom and at this time already the snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils are emerging in Alexandra Park. Come along and also see and hear what birds are out and about at this time.
Meet at 10:00am outside of the Pavilion Cafe front entrance facing the lake.
There is also going to be a Volunteer Day of activities in Alexandra Park starting at 11:00am and anyone joining the Bird Walk is welcome to join that too or just come along and see what is going on. More details on the day!
This weekend over Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2023 is the Annual RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch.
This is an activity for everyone, individuals, friends and families and can take place in your local park, greenspace, garden, backyard or balcony.
For further details of this event please see the link below.
There were 3 participants on the morning walk and 6 on the afternoon walk. The morning
group carried out the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WEBS) Count. The lake had 60% ice
cover but still held good numbers of birds:-
Canada Goose 25, Mute Swan 2 adults, Mallard 65, Mallard x Spotbill hybrid 1, Teal 3,
Shoveler 14, Tufted Duck 26, Moorhen 8, Coot 8, Herring Gull 1, Lesser Black backed Gull 2,
Black headed Gull 155, Common Gull 9, Pied Wagtail 1.
Also seen or heard on the walks were:- Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet,
Wren (heard), Dunnock (heard), Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Blue Tit, Great Tit,
Nuthatch (heard), Chaffinch (heard), Bullfinch (heard), Magpie and Carrion Crow.
TONY O’MAHONY
Please watch this space for upcoming Seasonal Bird Walks for 2023!
TONY FROM THE ALEXANDRA PARK WILDLIFE GROUP WILL BE LEADING TWO WINTER BIRD WALKS
11:00am
2:00pm
MEET OUSIDE THE PAVILION CAFÉ FRONT ENTRANCE FACING THE LAKE
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN EITHER WALK OR MAYBE BOTH!
THE BIRD WALKS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO ALL AGES
PLEASE DRESS FOR THE WEATHER!
* PLEASE NOTE THE BIRD WALKS MAY BE SHORT DUE TO THE COLD WEATHER
Saturday 15th October from 10:00am to 12 Noon
Tony from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group will be leading an Autumn Bird Walk around the wonderful Alexandra Park in Manchester.
Come and join us at this most colourful season to see and hear what birds are around.
This is a free event for all ages.
Please meet outside the main entrance of the former Coffee Cranks Pavilion Cafe front entrance facing the lake. Please note that the cafe may still be closed and we cannot guarantee that the toilets will be open.
Please dress suitably for the weather. There is no obligation to stay for the whole two hours.
The Bat Talks/Walks are back in Alexandra Park after almost 2 years! The Alexandra Park Wildlife Group have invited Martin Prescott, a Bat Specialist, to talk about bats and then lead a walk around the lovely Alexandra Park to hear and see these mysterious flying mammals.
Numbers are strictly limited and registration is via Eventbrite. Cost is £3 per adult (to cover Martin’s expenses). Free for under 16s. Please wear suitable footwear/clothing and bring a torch as the park will be getting dark for the Bat Walk. Full details of meeting place and times on Eventbrite.
The following newspaper article is from 2011 but still relevant. Basically it is against the law to pick wildflowers/fruits from a public park. This question recently came up after people were spotted back in Spring helping themselves to whole bunches of daffodils from local parks by cutting them until the otherwise daffodil area looked completely barren! This is not only against the law, it is quite selfish too as it denies others from enjoying the floral displays in the parks and damages the flowers from growing back again the following year. The same can be said more recently regarding people helping themselves to nearly every blackberry growing in the parks! Again this is selfish and ignores the need of local wildlife that depend upon the berries as a food source. Flowers and fruits can be bought in stores – they should be left where they belong in the parks!
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/mar/16/rules-picking-wild-flowers
Come and join Tony from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group who will be leading a Bird I.D. Walk around Alexandra Park in Whalley Range. This is a free event open for all ages.
Meet at 10:00am outside the Coffee Cranks Cafe front entrance facing the lake. The Bird Walk is scheduled to last from 10:00am to 12 Noon but people can stay for how long they wish.
Tony will be identifying the sights and sounds of the different birds in the park this season.
Please note that the Cafe is currently closed so you may wish to bring your own refreshments.
On Monday May Bank Holiday 2nd May, a Spring Bird Walk was hosted by Tony O’Mahony. The Bird Walk, which was held from 10:00am to 12 Noon in Alexandra Park was very successful and attracted 25 people.
Tony has kindly provided a list of all the birds that were seen and heard and 34 species are listed:
Alexandra Park Bird Walk Monday 2nd May 2022
A group of about 25 people walked round the park for two hours on Bank Holiday Monday
and recorded 34 species either seen or heard:-
Grey Heron 4 juveniles from two broods
Canada Goose
Mute Swan 2 adults
Mallard
Tufted Duck 16
Moorhen 2 young
Coot 1 juvenile and an occupied nest
Black headed Gull
Lesser Black backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove 4
Ring-necked Parakeet
Great spotted Woodpecker 1 heard
Grey Wagtail 2
Wren heard singing
Dunnock I heard singing
Blackcap 2 heard singing
Chiffchaff 1 heard singing
Goldcrest 3 heard
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush 1 seen and 3 heard singing
Mistle Thrush 2
Blue Tit
Great Tit heard
Nuthatch 2 visiting nest site
Tree Creeper 1
Chaffinch 2 heard singing
Greenfinch 2 heard
Goldfinch
Starling 20 in a flock
Magpie
Carrion Crow
TONY O’MAHONY
Thank you to Tony, from the Alexandra Park Wildlife Group, for leading the Bird Walk on Bank Holiday Monday and thank you to everyone who turned up to take in the sights and sounds of the birds around the park!
It was a lovely day – not too warm and not too cold – and the Spring was in full swing with the birds!
A list of all the birds seen and heard will be uploaded soon. If anyone who was on the Bird Walk took any photos please feel free to send them and we will post them on this website and of course credit you.
Watch this space for the next Bird Walk!
If you took part in the Big Garden Bird Watch this weekend – either in your garden, yard or local park – there is still time for you to send in your results to the RSPB.P
Please click onto the link below to send in your results.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
A Great Spotted Woodpecker has been spotted in and around Whalley Range and is being seen more frequently recently especially on residents’ bird feeding stations. If you are participating in the Big Garden Bird Watch this month organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), keep a look out for this colourful bird who may visit your garden!
This is a free survey for all ages where you simply count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour between 28 and 30 January 2022. Just go to the link below and sign up to recieve your fee pack and further instructions. WR4Wildlife would also love to know your results so please feel free to send in to this website details of the birds you have recorded over that time.
This bird was seen in Alexandra Park, in Whalley Range, on Sunday afternoon 12th December and seemed quite tame and was sitting on people’s backs and shoulders and flying around by the Children’s Play Area. The bird had a white-ish body and yellow plumage on the head. Apparently, it may be the same bird that is the missing one in the image here. If you see the bird, have taken the bird in or know someone who has taken the bird in and it matches the one in the image, please contact the telephone number: 07306 101 101 to reunite the bird with its owner.
The image above is from a poster notice displayed in the park.
Some residents in the Whalley Range area attended a Planning Consultation recently concerning the British Muslim Heritage Centre (BMHC) on College Road, in Whalley Range, and apparently plans are for the BMHC to be extended into a larger venue to accommodate a bigger wedding venue, complete with a huge underground car park and this will result in bulldozing trees to build flats and offices. Concerns have been raised that this may increase flood risk, decrease wildlife habitat, make air quality even worse with massively increased traffic, especially near to local schools. and also destroy the otherwise historic and aesthetic quality of the building. If any residents in the Whalley Range have any concerns about this please make your opinions known. Deadline for feedback is 14th December. Email pba@paulbutlerassociates.co.uk
Please click onto the link below for further details regarding the BMHC Planning Project.http://www.bmhc.org.uk/public-consultation/?fbclid=IwAR0iq_lwH3ngVu5pKP10Q9G_XIuUZ1v1PHvFIysviZeTvTgivWyjznNNLy0
Below is an image plan of the intended site
These are some images taken of the lake in the first week of September. All images taken by Author – Julie B.
This book is a personal presentation of the author’s experiences of Alexandra Park, in Manchester, during Lockdown 2020 recorded in her own photographs and words. It includes a short history of Alexandra Park, which was 150 years old in 2020, and how the author came to fall in love with this park and realised her own valuable connection to nature during the Coronavirus Pandemic. The book is a journey from March 2020 until January 2021 through the seasons of a green urban oasis of an inner-city park in Manchester and tells its story accompanied with selected images. More importantly it highlights how green spaces, like parks, have been such a valuable asset for local communities especially during the Lockdown to provide health and well-being for all. Alexandra Park is a much-loved and well-visited park by its local communities and this book aims to provide an insight into its beauty and hopefully inspire readers to visit and get to know their own local parks too.
Available on Amazon in Hardback and Paperback
Please see the following statement regarding Hough End Fields. If you are a member of a local community group, wildlife, nature or environment group or an individual who would like to sign to support the appeal to save Hough End Fields, please click onto the Google Form Link at the bottom.
Joint statement on Hough End Fields
We, the undersigned, have serious concerns regarding the current planning application at Hough End Fields and how the proposals will impact on people’s health and the environment.
The proposals include a fenced softball/baseball complex, artificial football pitches with fencing and floodlighting, an extension to the leisure centre and 167 additional car parking spaces. These plans would involve the felling of trees in a woodland designated as a priority habitat by Natural England.
The proposed car park and fenced pitches would lead to a reduction in the open green space that is vital for physical and mental health and well-being. These changes would see multi-functional grass fields that are freely accessible and open to all converted into fenced areas for specific team sports and restricted to those who can afford to pay.
The fields are an important habitat for a wide range of wildlife, including priority species such as starlings and hedgehogs. Now more than ever we need to focus on protecting, enhancing and connecting nature, especially in cities, where woodland and green space are at a premium.
Manchester City Council has declared a climate emergency and set a target to halve the city’s carbon emissions in the next 5 years. However, the current proposals include a large extension to the existing car park that will only increase car usage and emissions.
Princess Road is one of the busiest roads in Europe with harmful air pollution that exceeds World Health Organisation limits. This has a disproportionate impact on children and older people. The Council has a duty to reduce air pollution rather than adding to the problem by encouraging more car journeys.
For these reasons, we call on the Council to withdraw its proposed plans for Hough End Fields, and engage with the local community and all users of the fields to develop a shared vision for the future of this precious green space.
Signed
*** TO ADD YOUR ORGANISATION AS A SIGNATORY, FILL IN THIS GOOGLE FORM ***
Important Information You Need To Know! Please read the document and exercise your democratic right to either object or approve that these installations should be erected onto private property without consent?
This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 14 June 2021
Click onto the link below to find out more about what Freedom for Animals is doing to raise awareness of zoos and wild animals.
https://www.facebook.com/freedomforanimals/photos/a.132896843399307/4065127946842824/
For all the bat lovers amongst us, please click onto the link below for more information and to register for this free lunch-time webinar tomorrow – Wednesday 31st March.
https://batsinchurches.org.uk/events/bats-in-churches-live-series-2/
Please see link below for more information and to register – for only £3
https://www.freedomforanimals.org.uk/Event/spring-quiz-2021
WR 4 wildlife 