Croston Mill, the weir.

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John Edwards
Peregrine
Posts: 1265
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 7:43 pm
Location: Eccleston.

Croston Mill, the weir.

Post by John Edwards »

I don't know if anyone else has noticed the complete lack of wildfowl at the weir since they built the flood defences up-river of the weir? In fact a general lack of ducks along the whole stretch from Croston Mill to St. Marys. In past years during winter a normal count at the weir would be 40-60 Mallard, Mandarins, Goosanders and usually a Moorhen or two. This winter the weir has usually been devoid of any ducks at all though usually good numbers can be found at nearby ponds or ditches and even feeding on the fields. Does anyone have any thoughts on why this is happening? Could it be lack of food at the weir?
John Edwards
Neil Southworth
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Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 2:57 pm

Re: Croston Mill, the weir.

Post by Neil Southworth »

I've not been round there recently, John. Has the water flow, or the land use changed?
John Edwards
Peregrine
Posts: 1265
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 7:43 pm
Location: Eccleston.

Re: Croston Mill, the weir.

Post by John Edwards »

The land usage is exactly the same Neil, the water levels are as they have always been - high when we have a lot of rain and low when we have dry spells. When I get a bit of spare time I'll try to compare some counts from a couple of years ago to counts this year. In fact I walked that stretch of River this morning, again nothing at all at the weir and only 6 mallard along the river.
John Edwards
John Edwards
Peregrine
Posts: 1265
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 7:43 pm
Location: Eccleston.

Re: Croston Mill, the weir.

Post by John Edwards »

I looked at my records for the months February and March in the years 2014/15/16 and 17, unfortunately although my records show the total numbers of Mallards seen they don't show if they were seen on the river or at ponds or elsewhere also prior to 2014 the records don't show if the complete circular route was surveyed or just a part of it , without complete records it's impossible to come to any conclusions. However the records do show that there were twice as many Mallards seen in 2015 than were seen in 2016 (when the work started on the flood defences) & 2017, However a half the number were seen in 2014 as were seen in 2016.
John Edwards
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