thanks i will keep my eye out for them...tim

Hi Tim, I have seen Fallow Deer on numerous occasions, and they are breeding as I saw young ones last year. They are presumably escapes from Smithills Open Farm, and a few months ago I saw a buck at the fence on the outside of the enclosure, with another buck at the fence inside the enclosure, quite happy together. When I first saw them reported on here I also wondered about them. Obviously there are still plenty of Roe Deer about also.

Chatting to farmers and horse riders I am led to believe there are maybe a dozen living wild.

are you sure they were roe deer ,i thought there was only roe around there

Pair of Fallow Deer watched me walking up Coal Pit Road, and were still lying in the same place when I came back down again. A fine set of antlers on the buck.

Sugar Loaf Plantation

1 Roe Deer

1 Grey Squirrel running along the road by the last two masts. A surprise for the workmen there. I have seen them by the masts and along Dean Ditch years ago, a long way from the nearest tree.
Violet Ground Beetle at Dean Ditch
Small Tortoiseshell at Bryan Hey Reservoir
Peacock along Coal Pit Lane

Saturday 6 October sightings

2 Roe Deer near Holdens plus one barking close to Burnt Edge watchpoint
Stoat ran across Edge Lane
2-3 Peacock

Sunday 7 October

1 Roe Deer viewed from Burnt Edge
Lots of Small Tortoiseshells moving around Dean Ditch and Mast Road area
Also 1 Gatekeeper sized butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell basking on the sheltered side of a dry stone wall off Mast Road this afternoon

Walker Fold ( 12.00 ish)

1 Fox plus 2 Speckled Wood butterflies.

Burnt Edge

1 dead Hedgehog

Bryan Hey Reservoir :-
2 Common Blue damselflies
White-tailed Bumblebees
1 Green-veined White
1 Speckled Wood

Coal Pit Lane :-
1 Green-veined White
1 Small Tortoiseshell
4 Peacocks
2 Gatekeepers
1 Meadow Brown
1 hairy caterpillar in road, unable to identify but not a woolly bear
Common Green Grasshoppers + Field Grasshopper
Common Pond Skaters in a puddle

Horrocks Moor :-
1 Common Frog
3 Peacocks

10.00am

Wilderswood

1 Roe Deer and 1 Small Copper butterfly.

Georges pond area, late post for Sunday

Roe Deer and youngster in deep cover
Brown Hawkers near pond, one caught what looked like a Cranefly and managed to get some film of it eating it. http://youtu.be/kKskLqrUGZg
Blue tailed and Azure Damselflies also in good numbers.
Meadow Brown, small Copper, Gatekeeper and Peacock Butterflies all present

Burnt Edge:

Adult Roe Deer with 1 youngster



Georges Pond:

Emerald Damselflies
Brown Hawker
and a nice hoverfly - Sericomyia silentis

Cheers, John

Dead Hedgehog on Burnt Edge Lane today, one wonders how anybody could run any animal down on this track!

Live wildlife included

6 Pond Skaters in a puddle!
Gatekeeper - several
Meadow Brown - several
Small Tortoiseshell - 3
Also lots of Large and Small Whites

Sightings today between myself, Andy Makin and Ken Haydock.

5 Fallow deer, 1 Weasel & 2 Common Lizards.

25/3/2012 am with Andy, Ken and Jill.

1 Weasel by main mast building
1 Roe Deer Montcliffe

Butterflies included 4 Peacock, Red Admiral and 6 Small Tortoiseshell.

18/3/12 (PM)

1 Peacock on the footpath at Adam Hill. My first butterfly of the year

Around 20 Roe deer and a fox this afternoon in the fields between the M61 and lower rivington res.

3 Roe Deer on Winter Hill at 8.30 this morning. Spooked myself as I drove past them and they bolted for the moors.

3 Roe Deer at 30 yards.
10.25am today, near Matchmoor Lane/Georges Lane junction.

Excellent views of the Welsh Mountains and a sunlit Liverpool showing both Cathedrals.

Two Roe Deer sighted from the watchpoint yesterday, both ran full pelt down the slope at Burnt Edge when they sighted us.

A Weasel on the path in front of me near the quarries today was a nice sighting, it took cover in the ditches at the side. waited for a while but didnt re show

Cheers Dave, almost enjoyable this

Very likely - Black Darter are very common up on the moors around here and are one of the last species on the wing locally. When I read your description it was the first thing that sprang to mind.

Dave

Thanks Mike, your suggestion sparked another look through the possibilities, which I hadn't really done before. It wasn't a Broad-bodied Chaser as it's body (arse end) wasn't that wide, rather it was narrower by the thorax and flattened out slightly by S7/8/9 (if my topography's correct!). It was basically the same dark colour but I noticed four yellow 'spots' near the end of the abdomen.

I came across the illustration and images of Black Darter which seems to fit very well with what I saw. What's the likelihood of this species up there?

Female Broad-bodied Chaser?

Sightings from today:

Small Copper around the pond by the Big Hedge
Single Speckled Woods by the cottages on Georges Lane and also by the dell
Single Large White heading out across Wildersmoor
Single Small Tortoiseshells by the cottages on Georges Lane and on Burnt Edge
Single Red Admirals on Wildersmoor and Burnt Edge
2 Common Blues by the cottages on Georges Lane

In Brownstones Quarry some marvellous dragonflies caught my eye so I set about identifying them with the aid of my Birdguides dragonfly app which I've had (unused) for about two months now! Needless to say I narrowed them down to either Common or Migrant Hawker but after nearly 40 minutes I gave in and conceded defeat. It was like starting out birding again but worse as the damn things wouldn't sit still for a second.

There was also another dragonfly, much smaller, very dull and dark looking with what looked like four tiny yellowish spots right on the tip of its arse end, or whatever its called. Also, said 'arse end' looked like it had been hit with a spade as it was slightly flatter than the rest of the arsy bit.

In hindsight I may stick to birds in the future

Today, 2/10/2011

2 Weasel Burnt Edge
2 Roe Deer
1 Mole near Mast!

Yesterday 1/10/2011

2 Weasel Burnt Edge
8 Red Admiral heading south

Nice timing on the new forum Ian