As I could see the rain that would hit in the afternoon on the Met Office weather app, I tried a walk around Hilltop a.m. (all well within half a mile of home), ostensibly to see if I could find the Autumn's first redwings. It did have a feeling of migration, and I did have some success. I saw probably 20+ meadow pipits, some of them down, some at height, as well as 4 house martins (1+3) going South, and there had been an obvious arrival of song thrushes, with at least 8 in loose association. I had not seen any hereabouts for at least three weeks. 2 chiffchaffs hung on. A final bonus was a peregrine floating about low above me which went into a stoop towards my home! Other best sightings were kestrel, rooks and nuthatches.

Nothing to match those two recent sightings, but had a good breeding bird survey down and up the Romiley golf-course side of Werneth Low yesterday morning. Entering the data today it turns out that the new species for the square was sand martin (bombing through near the Compstall road), bringing the list up to 65 species over ~20 years of data (only the most recent ones from me). There were 30 species this time, which felt good, having missed some obvious regulars (like Jay, which was there 2 minutes before starting the transect which, along with great spotted woodpecker and long-tailed tit must surely have been deliberately hiding).

Absolutely pristine male 'COMMON' REDSTART in fields just north of Sunfield estate until 4.50 p.m. at least. What a great bird to see five minutes from your front door. Managed to raise another local birder who also got decent views.

An OSPREY flew to the west of my garden at 11.40, reasonably low and drifting towards me. I went to the front of the house to follow its flight by which time it was at quite a height and drifting east. Was not in any hurry, so may turn up elsewhere in the east of the county.

A real spirit lifter was the sound of the first blackcap singing on Romiley Common this afternoon. As I had not come across one locally this Winter, perhaps it could be a 'true' migrant (probably not).

A two hour+ stroll from home, to Cowlishaw Lane, up to Werneth Low and home. Best was a peregrine circling for a time over the golf course (viewed from Greave), before making off strongly N-NE. Chiffchaff on golf course, plus raven, buzzards and stock doves seen from there. Towards the Greave end of the Low there was a flock of c40 meadow pipits feeding on the fields.

First signs of Spring movement locally (not including geese going home!) when a curlew flew quite low over Hilltop, Romiley this afternoon, going NE.

a.m. Around 120 pink-feet passed over Werneth Low going NW.  p.m. A peregrine flew in low from towards Bredbury Ind. estate powering eastwards at 4.30. Perhaps heading into the hills to breed (hopefully unmolested).  In between these sightings, butterflies were on the agenda (see other wildlife), so it was a pretty good day. 

5.05 p.m. A flock of c200 thrushes viewed at distance from Greave school area. They came down off Werneth Low going roughly west before deciding that they liked the look of what was beneath them and decended somewhere north of Woodley (Holland Park?). Most were fieldfare sized, but I could not rule out the odd redwing being in the group. Also seen around Hilltop - 1 raven.

A hobby flew over Sunfield estate quite low at approx 11.45 a.m. going South(ish). I was just getting out of my car on returning from a mundane morning at Audenshaw. It just shows, the 'hotspots' aren't always that.

A hobby went low (South-east) over Sunfield estate (causing panic to the pigeons, proving they are stupid birds) at 3.00 p.m. It then spiralled upwards over Romiley 'village' before continuing towards Compstall.

A tawny owl called near to my garden a couple of times just before midnight last night. Also heard one day last week, so activity ramping up. Two jays were in the garden this morning.

2 ravens buzzed Sunfield Estate mid p.m., spiralling off towards Werneth Low.

3 little egrets (part of the earlier Audenshaw contingent?) were tracked from Werneth Low flying in from the N-NW over Bredbury/Woodley before taking a small diversion left over Romiley (looked like close to my home!) and continuing towards Marple.

A Hobby flew over Romiley swimming baths last night at 8.45pm.

Garden warbler north of golf course this afternoon, back where it was (exact spot) last year. A couple of blackcaps singing in the same area (occasionally the same bushes as the garden) had me worried about my hearing for a while! 

First young long tailed tits of year near the railway bridge on Quarry Road. Willow warbler and common whitethroat in song somewhere near to where the two rail lines diverge. Lots of fledged house sparrows visting garden in last week.

The hobby obviously didn't go far as I saw it twice this afternoon about 2 and a half hours apart. The later sighting at 4.45 had it arrive from the north of Hilltop, drift about in front of me for a while before moving to the SW and go into a fast, straight dive below the horizon of the hill, somewhere over the Romiley/Bredbury border. Looks as if it likes the area?

A half-hour or so 'vis-mig' from Hilltop (south east view), Romiley had a hobby fly through just downhill from me at treetop level at 4.20 p.m. No coincidence that the first swifts in the skies of Romiley this year had been seen a few minutes before!

A little quiet today, but there's always something. Watching a superbly marked male sparrowhawk just a few meters away attempting to break twiggy branches off a tree, and then dropping to the ground to see what it could find was something not often witnessed I suspect. Otherwise just a few fieldfare were north of the golf course, and the Harris' hawk was back sparring with the buzzards.

2 ravens over Hilltop heading towards Werneth Low at 3.30 p.m 

At 4.00 p.m., a medium-sized falcon was flying north at great speed (was out of binocular range inside two minutes when over Audenshaw area). Possible hobby but needed much more light than we had today to clinch!

The quite incongruous sight of a red-legged partridge in a field below Hilltop, Romiley late this afternoon. It was very wary, making off (a fast jog!) when I tried to get a closer look. I have never seen this species in the vacinity before - even pheasant is virtually unknown on my home patch.

Saturday 24th March:

Green woodpecker heard along Pinfold lane towards the golf course end (around 1pm).

Steve.

Chiffchaff at Romiley Golf course, unusually seen before heard, then seemed to move on. Tawny owl heard, and that was it really. Pretty hard work at present with no insect back-up.

Another 'migration' watch, this time from Romiley Common for about 45 minutes p.m.

1 curlew calling from high over W-SW at 4.00 p.m. Does it know something we don't leaving the Pennines?

2 tawny owls calling from woods just behind me 4.05 p.m.

On walk back home, a few redwings disturbed by two female sparrowhawks having a low-level dispute which eventually saw them both on the ground having a quick set-to. Drama!

WOODCOCK flushed from site north of Romiley golf course (south east slope of Werneth Low). First time I've seen one close up in mid p.m. Best of the rest 1/2 siskin, 2 buzzards, 1 stock dove seen and also heard 'singing', 2 bullfinches, great spotted woodpecker.y

RED KITE seen from the field north of Sunfield estate at 1.40 p.m. It was off to the north west of the hill, generally just floating into the headwind (N/NE). It dipped below the horizon (of the hill) after about 20 seconds and could not be relocated.

A raven was seen and heard cruising the fields to the north of Sunfield Estate at 3.30 p.m.

c120 lapwings flew over Grieve at 3.15 looking like they were heading for Bredbury Industrial Estate to roost.

Some signs of Spring this week (not that I'm wishing my time away). A song thrush just about getting a few notes out near Romiley Marina on Tuesday, and today a great spotted woodpecker was hammering out its calling card on a hedgerow tree just off Sunfield Estate. More in tune with winter, a post-roost flock of ten greenfinches (Romiley Common) was good to see after hearing of their decline in the news this week. Only two redwings seen is in keeping with their presence this year which has been the worst in number since I've lived here (30+ years).

A quick stroll p.m. from home to the golf course and back. The only bird that I would consider to not be commonplace (these days) that I saw was two siskins (at least) on the golf course. Nearby, the Harris' hawk was still as large as life. This is the 4th time I've seen it in the general area recently, so I think it is definitely 'at large'. Things were very subdued otherwise. March seems a long way off.

c20 fieldfares just flew low over home. Came from a westerly direction, then decided to bank and go north. First of autumn for me anywhere.

I was on the hill behind home this afternoon when I heard a slightly redwing-like call, fairly high-pitched and slurred. Whatever, it was not something that sounded familiar to me. Looking up, I saw two shapes at about 25 meters height that were not thrushes (too small and compact), and when I got the bins on one it had an obvious wide translucent panel in mid-wing. I've heard hawfinches abroad, and this was not that sound, and the only call mentioned in the 'Birds of the Western Palearctic' is that single, metallic note. I was therefore not expecting to hear anything else when I just sampled two or three recordings on the zeno-canto site. However, I was very surprised to hear what was very much what I had heard this afternoon! I'm not going to claim the record because without knowing that there is a mini-invasion of hawfinches going on, the chance that I'd have associated the call with them would have been very small. I just hope that we can find a bird which turns up regularly at a feeder this winter so we can all get a good look.

Just for info. Which calls are others hearing (if any) from birds that have been encountered this autumn?

Redwing(s) over the garden after dark this evening. First nocturnal birds this autumn for me. Still a chiffchaff round Hilltop yesterday.

Am commuting between garden and computer as I'm mothing. Further redwings just heard, and a single call, not at height, that was a song thrush in my book. A little 'dryer' than usual, so I'm thinking it was a migrant from Europe. Have never heard a migrant song thrush before. Might be a day to check for 'exotic' thrushes tomorrow.

-- Edited by Andy Bissitt on Sunday 15th of October 2017 09:21:56 PM

Not the 'Yankee job' that I would wish for, but a close-to sighting of a Harris' hawk in the golf course area was still something to break the monotony. Was a beautiful, pristine adult with no jesses apparent just in case it causes any local confusion if it remains at large. 

Two tawny owls just off Sunfield estate at 11.00 p.m last evening. Pretty sure they are the first I've heard this year. Thought we'd lost them.

Today, I thought that the crows and magpies had found one of them in the line of trees along the station car park as they were going mental. However, as I approached, a common buzzard made a quick escape dash, flying low toward Stockport Rd. It seems unbelievable that they have become such an urban (well suburban) bird in quite a short time. Everything isn't always doomy and gloomy, thank goodness.

Garden warbler back and in superb song adjacent to Romiley Golf course.

Filling the bird feeder this evening (yes, still) at 5.15 when I heard a starling raptor alarm call, and looking up soon saw a hobby appear from over the rooftops in a stoop-dive towards Romiley station. In the present conditions, I suppose starling is on the menu!

Just entered my Werneth Low to Romiley and back breeding bird survey visit data from Saturday. It felt a good morning and it looks like it was, with 37 species in under 2h, which equals, in a single visit, the maximum number of species ever previously seen across a year's two visits (records, with a few gaps, back to '96).

Highlights included two new species for square (mandarin duck and, surprisingly, raven, bringing the total ever up to 64) plus several species that only seem to stray within sight or sound of a transect visit in a small minority of years (e.g. red-legged partridge and lapwing).

There was the Harris hawk not so far away near the M60 earlier in the year (see here)

2 common buzzards were circling over Sunfield estate just after 11.00 a.m. Views of rump were not possible.

A peregrine cruised around the sky for about 5 minutes this morning over Sunfield estate before making off north-west. Seconds later, a sparrowhawk took its place in the same piece of sky.

Three waxwings were apparently on central drive Wednesday lunchtime (14th) my other half has a tiny but undeniable snap on her phone.

Finally added peregrine on the garden fly-over list heading East over the upper end of Guywood Lane towards Werneth Low, carrying something substantial (blackbird?!).

Unconfirmed suggestion that it was around yesterday, contemplating the garden chickens.