06:02: The early start pays off: just heard the Pheasant, twice!
06:42: Swallow south.
06:46: Whimbrel just flew north! Garden Lockdown #60.
07:05: Flock of 11 Woodpigeon east.,
07:09: Meadow Pipit north.
07:18: 4 Mallard north-west, a record flock for the garden.
07:23: Pheasant heard again!
07:43: Swallow north.
08:18: Osprey! Farily low, flying north, mobbed by 3 Jackdaw. So after weeks of staring at a mainly empty sky, waiting for an Osprey, and beginning to think I'd missed my chance, one nearly sneaks past, near rooftop height, while I'm indoors on the phone! Huge thanks to those Jackdaws for the tip-off!
09:39: Canada Goose heard.
09:57: Meadow Pipit south-east at low altitude.
10:02: Another 2 low-flying Meadow Pipit south. Weird.
10:09: Think I might be able to hear a Common Whitethroat singing on the green, but my neighbour has just decided to fire up the power tools.
10:52: Buzzard north-east.
10:58: 3 House Martin feeding overhead.
12:42: A pair of Long-tailed Tit gathering nest material.
13:31: 3 Buzzard high to the west.
18:50: Canada Goose east.
19:52: A heart-shaped balloon drifting slowly south-west. #4 for my lockdown balloon list.
20:06: 4 Cormorant south.
20:07: approx. 15 Sand Martin north.
20:23: Pied Wagtail south.
21:00: The usual 2 Pipistrelle zooming around
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 23rd of April 2020 09:10:05 PM
08:00: Skylark singing to the north. There was some excitement about half an hour ago when I thought I heard a distant pheasant, up-wind of me, to the east. But, despite some intensive listening, I haven't yet been able to confirm...
08:05: Hobby flying quickly west, just to the north of me. Something decent at last!
19:12: Cormorant north, really high. Spotted whilst looking for a swift that my parents alerted me to (they live a couple of hundred metres away from me, as the rook flies), but I haven't seen the swift yet.
20:17: Pied Wagtail south.
20:19: Sparrowhawk over, with what looked like a very small prey item.
21:37: A beast of a helicopter, sounded like it was heading north-west.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 22nd of April 2020 09:39:00 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Tue Apr 21 1:22 PM, 2020
Tuesday 21 April 2020
13:20: Sand Martin heard.
13:25: 3 Swallow south.
15:35: Sparrowhawk circling.
I decided to brave the blustery wind today and work from the garden anyway. However, having lots of work on, including several conference calls, meant I didn't have much opportunity to either look away from my laptop nor listen for birds. Whenever I did have opportunity, the clear blue skies, howling wind, rattling fence panels, and neighbours' lawn mowers and power tools, meant I didnt see or hear much. Also, it looks like the previously forecast change in the weather at the weekend has now been un-forecast... at least it should get slightly less bloody windy though, I hope!
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Tuesday 21st of April 2020 11:25:03 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Tue Apr 21 8:44 AM, 2020
Monday 20 April 2020
That easterly wind was a bit too blustery for me to work from the garden today, so spent most of the day at the kitchen table, with the occasional glance through the window revealing nothing of note. I did take my lunch break outdoors, with one of the local Sparrowhawks hanging in the wind overhead briefly. Also, while watching a Herring Gull heading north, fairly high up, I picked up a couple of Buzzards in low-earth orbit - totally invisible to the naked eye.
Looking forward to the wind easing towards the end of the week, and also a bit of cloud cover at the weekend might help with the skywatching...
Rob Thorpe said
Sun Apr 19 11:23 AM, 2020
Sunday 19 April 2020
11:22: Siskin west.
11:32: Swallow north.
11:41: Sparrowhawk west.
11:56: Swallow north.
14:18: Sparrowhawk west.
14:23: Swallow north.
14:25: 2 Swallow north.
14:34: A number 7-shaped balloon west, really high. Also seen over the past couple of weeks have been a number 3 and a number 8.
14:44: Sparrowhawk low, east.
16:03: Buzzard high, west.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 19th of April 2020 10:47:32 PM
08:28: Jay over, to the south-east. I thought I'd heard one earlier, but couldn't be certain... never thought I'd be sprinting across my garden to get a glimpse of a flyover Jay!!!
09:00: Male Sparrowhawk through at low altitude, again.
09:15: Kestrel south.
09:35: Cormorant south.
10:05: 2 House Martin.
10:18: Skylark south.
10:26: 3 Canada Goose east.
11:31: Sparrowhawk north.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 18th of April 2020 11:32:30 AM
Rob Thorpe said
Fri Apr 17 7:30 AM, 2020
Friday 17 April 2020
07:29: Meadow Pipit north.
07:38: I can hear a Peacock calling in the distance.
07:45: Reed Bunting heard.
08:30: Cormorant south.
08:51: Pied Wagtail north.
08:53: Canada Goose heard.
09:11: Meadow Pipit north.
10:14: House Martin singing overhead. Only seen a handful over the last few days, following the high count of 12 last weekend.
11:27: Buzzard south.
11:31: Another Buzzard, south-east.
11:40: Pied Wagtail heard.
17:50: Male Sparrowhawk nearly took my nose off!
18:46: Male Sparrowhawk is now sitting on neighbour's fence.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 17th of April 2020 06:49:06 PM
I've mainly been looking west to be honest... if I sit down the end of the garden I get a decent-ish bit of a view out across the green and over Bolton Road. And also probably helps that I've literally lived outside for the last 3 weeks! I'm scared of missing something!
I guess that does make sense - you'll have a bit more sky to look at than I will. West and south give me houses and north is blocked by trees so I'm stuck looking into a smallish gap SW or fairly high over the houses. Still. Added Meadow Pipit today.
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Apr 16 8:36 AM, 2020
Thursday 16 April 2020
08:35: Oystercatcher heard.
08:55: Cattle heard.
10:25: Meadow Pipit north.
10:28: Peregrine north.
11:32: Swallow south.
11:39: Swallow (same?) north, and 2 Buzzard circling.
11:45: Meadow Pipit north.
12:28: Pied Wagtail north-east.
12:34: Pied Wagtail (same?) south-west.
14:15: Sparrowhawk north.
14:43: Sparrowhawk north.
15:57: Orange Tip butterfly.
18:55: Sparrowhawk east.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 16th of April 2020 06:56:19 PM
Was far too cold and windy this morning Rob, I agree!
I seem to miss quite a few birds that you are seeing - am clearly our at the same time as you, and as we're only a hundred metres apart am quite surprised. I'm wondering if its because the way you are looking (N) has more open sky than the way I am looking (SW)? There could well be some observer effort difference as well I guess but just seems like I'm missing something!
I've mainly been looking west to be honest... if I sit down the end of the garden I get a decent-ish bit of a view out across the green and over Bolton Road. And also probably helps that I've literally lived outside for the last 3 weeks! I'm scared of missing something!
Craig Higson said
Mon Apr 13 10:33 PM, 2020
Was far too cold and windy this morning Rob, I agree!
I seem to miss quite a few birds that you are seeing - am clearly our at the same time as you, and as we're only a hundred metres apart am quite surprised. I'm wondering if its because the way you are looking (N) has more open sky than the way I am looking (SW)? There could well be some observer effort difference as well I guess but just seems like I'm missing something!
Rob Thorpe said
Mon Apr 13 9:13 AM, 2020
Monday 13 April 2020
Woke up to what sounded like a Black-tailed Godwit calling at 05:20, but couldn't be 100% sure. Very cold wind this morning, not sure I'll be spending quite as much time in the garden today...
11:20: Sparrowhawk hunting.
14:39: Swallow north.
14:58: Grey Heron north, at height.
15:13: Sparrowhawk circling.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Monday 13th of April 2020 03:14:13 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Sun Apr 12 6:48 AM, 2020
Sunday 12 April 2020 (Easter Day)
06:46: Blackcap singing.
09:26: Meadow Pipit north.
09:37: 3 House Martin.
09:42: Bullfinch just flown into neighbour's garden. It's so peaceful out here this morning!
10:03: Meadow Pipit north.
10:39: Skylark low over Town Green, and 6 House Martin.
10:45: Swallow north.
11:22: Grey Heron north.
12:07: House Martins now up to 12.
12:12: 2 Meadow Pipit north.
12:39: 2 Buzzard circling.
13:10: Sparrowhawk unsuccessfully pursuing a Starling.
13:34: 6 Meadow Pipit north.
14:07: Buzzard west.
14:31: 2 Sparrowhawk high overhead.
15:00: Pied Wagtail escorting a Sparrowhawk.
16:23: Sparrowhawk back again.
17:11: The usual 3 Mallard (1 fem, 2 drk) just flew over and the lady one pooped in my garden!!
20:07: Buzzard south, low.
20:37: Canada Geese heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 12th of April 2020 08:41:09 PM
09:39: Feral Pigeon - hadn't counted it until now, as never sure of how 'feral' the birds I see here really are, and I know somebody local keeps some pigeons as I regularly see the flock swooping around... however, over the last few days I've observed ones or twos flying from or towards the town centre, and I'm satisfied that these are true 'ferals'.
10:50: Bullfinch (male) over, north, calling! Garden first
10:58: 2 Buzzard circling over Town Green.
11:00: 2 Linnet north.
11:06: Sparrowhawk circling and House Martins increased to 5.
11:15: Skylark singing while flying over north, really high up! Lockdown species #50!
11:27: 2 Little Egret over, north. Absolute garden MEGA! Don't think I'll bother 'going birding' anymore... just gonna sit here!
11:36: Meadow Pipit north.
12:10: Linnet north-east. I'm now relegating Linnet to the "regulars" category, so I won't be reporting them anymore, unless it's like a huge flock or something (or it's a very slow day) - there's obviously a lot more linnets around here than I previously thought!
12:51: Meadow Pipit north.
13:31: Peacock butterfly.
13:52: Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.
13:55: Raven south, chased by 2 Carrion Crow.
20:06: Pied Wagtail south. Despite the lack of sightings this afternoon, I have been in the garden, just nothing happening (except for linnets, but I said I wasn't going to mention them!)
20:10: Pipistrelle.
22:27: Just went outside because I thought the rain had stopped. It hadn't, but a Pipistrelle was still zooming around regardless!
22:55: unidentified presumed wader over... I have literally no idea what that was. Called twice, moving north, second call just before I managed to start sound recorder.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 10th of April 2020 11:06:25 PM
09:28: 3 Linnet landed briefly in next door's garden, before flying off again to the east. Another individual flew high south almost immediately after.
10:36: Raven heard.
Accidentally deleted some updates between 10:36 and 13:00... but they included:
A Raven, high, south.
2 Buzzard west.
2 Canada Goose north.
4 House Martin.
A few Meadow Pipit.
13:08: Comma butterfly.
13:10: Meadow Pipit north.
13:33: Peacock butterfly.
13:37: Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit north.
13:41: Sparrowhawk circling.
13:50: Siskin north-west, finally! (#45 for the lockdown list, and #50 for the garden yearlist)
14:31: Sand Martin heard, but not seen against the clear sky... sounded like it / they were going north.
14:55: 2 Sparrowhawk circling.
15:06: Meadow Pipit north.
15:14: 3 Sparrowhawk and 2 Herring Gull circling overhead.
20:20: Pipistrelle.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 8th of April 2020 10:45:20 PM
08:52: Long-tailed Tit quickly through the garden. Surprisingly a lockdown first.
09:42: Oystercatcher north.
11:40 Willow Warbler - garden mega! It sang from some nearby rough vegetation, then flew over my head, straight after heavy rain shower.
16:13: Linnet south.
16:30: Buzzard west.
22:14: Oystercatcher heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Monday 6th of April 2020 10:14:58 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Sun Apr 5 8:56 AM, 2020
Sunday 05 April 2020
After a quick check of the patch, by bicycle, now time for an oat flat white and back to gardenwatch.
08:57: 2 Canada Geese over.
09:12: Sparrowhawk over.
09:48: Mistle Thrush. Also heard a Linnet about 10mins ago.
09:50: 2 more Linnet just gone over, heading for some spare ground nearby.
Today has osprey written all over it!
09:56: Buzzard over, north.
09:59: Grey Heron east.
10:22: Meadow Pipit north.
11:20: Peacock butterfly.
11:39: Swallow north. My first for the year!
12:50: 2 Herring Gull and a Carrion Crow fighting over a tasty morsel.
13:30: 3 Meadow Pipit north.
13:45: Linnet north. Can't figure out if all these Linnet are local or on the move, never known them to be so regular here.
13:47: Meadow Pipit north.
16:50: Not much going on. Spent the last couple of hours being a convenient wind break for a hoverfly. Earned its trust enough for it to land on the palm of my hand.
18:00: House Martin over Craig Higson's street! No. 40 for my lockdown list.
20:11: Pipistrelle.
20:30: Song Thrush singing away in the distance again.
21:00: Too breezy, and sulking 'cuz osprey let me down, so calling it a day... so no NocMig tonight.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 5th of April 2020 09:06:43 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Sat Apr 4 6:20 PM, 2020
Saturday 04 April 2020 continued...
18:20: Back to the watchpoint (garden bench) for the evening session, and hopefully some more NocMig later...
19:27: Pied Wagtail north. And my mum just messaged me to say they're going outside to listen for VELVET scoter!! Good luck to them!
19:45: Pied Wagtail SW, maybe same as 19:27.
20:15: Pipistrelle.
20:43: Can hear a Song Thrush singing in the distance. Amazingly the first I've had during "lockdown".
Threw the towel in at 22:00. Nothing happening
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 10:33:36 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Sat Apr 4 10:04 AM, 2020
Saturday 04 April 2020
Oystercatchers displaying again this morning.
10:00: Linnet over.
10:07: Reed Bunting over, going west.
11:55: 3 separate Meadow Pipits over in the last few mins.
12:32: Meadow Pipit north.
13:14: Sparrowhawk over.
13:27: Meadow Pipit going the wrong way (south).
14:05: Loose flock of 7 Meadow Pipit, north.
14:13: Linnet, north-east.
14:18: Sparrowhawk back again.
14:24: 3 Meadow Pipit north.
14:45-18:20: No observations due to shopping, cycling and crossfit.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 07:36:10 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Fri Apr 3 8:26 PM, 2020
Friday 03 April 2020 continued...
NocMig Live...
20:25: Snipe
20:30: 2 Pipistrelle
20:45: Cat
21:05: Listening to Pipistrelle echo-locating... worried I'd lost that frequency range, obviously not - yet.
21:35: Why is everybody so noisy !?!
23:00: Mallard.
23:04: COMMON SCOTER!!! what sounded like 2 birds, but probably more, maybe, going west to east.
23:13: Shelduck! It's all kicking off now!
Well, seems it wasn't "all kicking off"... Shelduck was the last bird I heard, I called it a day at 00:15.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 09:42:47 AM
Rob Thorpe said
Fri Apr 3 12:49 PM, 2020
Attached is a 180ish degree panoramic view from my north-facing garden. The garden itself is a work in progress... I laid a new patio nearly two years ago, but haven't yet got round to doing anything else. I'm situated in a residential area, just less than 1km NE of Ashton town centre.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 12:50:37 PM
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 12:51:56 PM
11:20 3 Oystercatcher noisily overhead, going north. 11:24 2 Oystercatcher now in display-flight overhead...
A few Rook going back and forth this morning, presumably commuting between a favourite feeding spot, near Lily Lane Farm on the A58, and their rookery. If rooks fly "as the crow flies" then these birds would be from the Haydock Racecourse rookery...
Spent some time in the garden last night between 9 and 10pm, listening for ducks... heard a couple of dogs. Will try again tonight.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 11:39:51 AM
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Apr 2 2:11 PM, 2020
Thursday 02 April 2020
14:10: Just had a Curlew over, heading west. Garden tick!
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Apr 2 11:04 AM, 2020
Sunday 29 March 2020 to Wednesday 01 April 2020
Nothing of note
Rob Thorpe said
Sun Mar 29 1:00 PM, 2020
Saturday 28 March 2020
Most of the watching was from the house today, not much time outdoors. Not much of interest seen, but added Canada Goose and Mallard to the Lockdown List, taking the total to 32.
Rob Thorpe said
Fri Mar 27 5:54 PM, 2020
Friday 27 March 2020
The skies were very quiet today, except for a pair of Oystercatcher over, early doors, and a few groups of Herring Gull and a couple of Buzzard thermalling once it warmed up a bit. That was pretty much it apart from the local birds, until a Cormorant flew over, late afternoon, whilst I was mid crossfit session - 30th species for my Lockdown List.
It's been nice being able to sit out in the garden whilst working this week, but with the weather set to break tomorrow it looks like I'll be pretty much confined to the house now. Although I'm hoping the cloudy weather might be slightly more conducive to a bit of passerine vis-mig...
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 27th of March 2020 05:55:04 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Mar 26 11:17 AM, 2020
Richard Thew wrote:
Rob Thorpe wrote:
I was interested to read Steve Nelson's Lockdown post about the Curlew Starling...
I know what you mean Rob, I've long been fascinated by starlings with the sounds they imitate. They do travel some distances from their wintering grounds like you suspected. We have birds wintering over here in the uk from East Europe and Scandinavia etc. Sometimes I wonder where they get their sounds from myself. I have however, identified a number of local sounds they make including:
Chickens Kids screaming Car alarms Horses trotting Factory signal Train guard whistle
I used to feed our local starlings before I had to cut down for financial reasons, but it was always a pleasure to sit in my garden just to listen to their sounds that they imitate.
Ta!
We also have a Song Thrush who does a cracking Greenshank!!!
Richard Thew said
Thu Mar 26 10:44 AM, 2020
Rob Thorpe wrote:
I was interested to read Steve Nelson's Lockdown post about the Curlew Starling... I have one doing exactly the same in my garden. I do wonder where they learn it from. I've always assumed my local breeding starlings are the same birds that hang around here in wintering flocks. But there ain't no Curlews around here, apart from the odd overhead migrant! I wonder if this points to these breeding birds possibly wintering on coastal marshes where they would then regularly hear the sound of Curlew?
I know what you mean Rob, I've long been fascinated by starlings with the sounds they imitate. They do travel some distances from their wintering grounds like you suspected. We have birds wintering over here in the uk from East Europe and Scandinavia etc. Sometimes I wonder where they get their sounds from myself. I have however, identified a number of local sounds they make including:
Chickens Kids screaming Car alarms Horses trotting Factory signal Train guard whistle
I used to feed our local starlings before I had to cut down for financial reasons, but it was always a pleasure to sit in my garden just to listen to their sounds that they imitate.
Ta!
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Mar 26 10:13 AM, 2020
Thursday 26 March 2020
10:40 a pair of Oystercatcher noisily overhead.
06:30-10:00: A good start to the day, with 6 additions to my Lockdown List... the highlight being a flyover Heron, which was also new for the Garden 2020 yearlist. The other lockdown additions being: Robin, Wren, Mistle Thrush, Great Tit and Rook. Total now 28.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 26th of March 2020 10:45:47 AM
Rob Thorpe said
Thu Mar 26 10:09 AM, 2020
I was interested to read Steve Nelson's Lockdown post about the Curlew Starling... I have one doing exactly the same in my garden. I do wonder where they learn it from. I've always assumed my local breeding starlings are the same birds that hang around here in wintering flocks. But there ain't no Curlews around here, apart from the odd overhead migrant! I wonder if this points to these breeding birds possibly wintering on coastal marshes where they would then regularly hear the sound of Curlew?
Rob Thorpe said
Wed Mar 25 10:57 AM, 2020
Wednesday 25 March 2020
The afternoon was quiet, a local pair of Buzzards soaring around and a Sparrowhawk circling. A couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterfly around, and at dusk, as I returned from a run, a Pipistrelle Bat was hawking overhead. At the end of day 2, "Lockdown List" is currently on 22 species.
11:05: A Brimstone butterfly through the garden, and a lot of noisy Lesser Black-backed Gull activity (although unfortunately not mobbing any big bird of prey).
10:50: Linnet just flown over, number 40 for the 2020 garden yearlist.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 25th of March 2020 10:37:45 PM
Rob Thorpe said
Tue Mar 24 5:59 PM, 2020
Tuesday 24 March 2020
Working from home, in the garden. Very quiet bird-wise today, a few Meadow Pipits making their way north, and one Pied Wagtail possibly doing the same.
Yes, but you will end up with what Jenny calls a "sausage roll nose"! (My nose has gone like flaky pastry!!!)
06:29: Sparrowhawk north.
06:37: Cormorant north-east.
07:26: 2 Long-tailed Tit flying east, relatively high-up, was a weird sight.
07:41: Kestrel east.
08:20: Swallow north.
08:33: Buzzard, chased north by a crow.
08:48: Raven north-west.
09:25: Swallow north.
11:38: 2 Stock Dove south-west. A new one for the lockdown list.
12:15 Swallow singing high overhead.
14:19: Peregrine super high up with a couple of circling Herring Gull, then diving to the south. 6th BoP in 3 days!
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 24th of April 2020 02:25:32 PM
06:02: The early start pays off: just heard the Pheasant, twice!
06:42: Swallow south.
06:46: Whimbrel just flew north! Garden Lockdown #60.
07:05: Flock of 11 Woodpigeon east.,
07:09: Meadow Pipit north.
07:18: 4 Mallard north-west, a record flock for the garden.
07:23: Pheasant heard again!
07:43: Swallow north.
08:18: Osprey! Farily low, flying north, mobbed by 3 Jackdaw. So after weeks of staring at a mainly empty sky, waiting for an Osprey, and beginning to think I'd missed my chance, one nearly sneaks past, near rooftop height, while I'm indoors on the phone! Huge thanks to those Jackdaws for the tip-off!
09:39: Canada Goose heard.
09:57: Meadow Pipit south-east at low altitude.
10:02: Another 2 low-flying Meadow Pipit south. Weird.
10:09: Think I might be able to hear a Common Whitethroat singing on the green, but my neighbour has just decided to fire up the power tools.
10:52: Buzzard north-east.
10:58: 3 House Martin feeding overhead.
12:42: A pair of Long-tailed Tit gathering nest material.
13:31: 3 Buzzard high to the west.
18:50: Canada Goose east.
19:52: A heart-shaped balloon drifting slowly south-west. #4 for my lockdown balloon list.
20:06: 4 Cormorant south.
20:07: approx. 15 Sand Martin north.
20:23: Pied Wagtail south.
21:00: The usual 2 Pipistrelle zooming around
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 23rd of April 2020 09:10:05 PM
06:30: Grey Heron west.
06:39: Sparrowhawk looking for its breakfast
08:00: Skylark singing to the north. There was some excitement about half an hour ago when I thought I heard a distant pheasant, up-wind of me, to the east. But, despite some intensive listening, I haven't yet been able to confirm...
08:05: Hobby flying quickly west, just to the north of me. Something decent at last!
09:06: Canada Goose heard.
09:24: Swallow north.
09:28: Now 3 Swallow hanging around.
09:44: Buzzard east.
09:45: Swallow north.
10:11: Swallow north.
10:42: 11 Lesser Black-backed Gull heading noisily east.
10:49: 3 more Lesser Black-backed Gull east.
11:26: Another 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull east.
19:12: Cormorant north, really high. Spotted whilst looking for a swift that my parents alerted me to (they live a couple of hundred metres away from me, as the rook flies), but I haven't seen the swift yet.
20:17: Pied Wagtail south.
20:19: Sparrowhawk over, with what looked like a very small prey item.
21:37: A beast of a helicopter, sounded like it was heading north-west.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 22nd of April 2020 09:39:00 PM
13:20: Sand Martin heard.
13:25: 3 Swallow south.
15:35: Sparrowhawk circling.
I decided to brave the blustery wind today and work from the garden anyway. However, having lots of work on, including several conference calls, meant I didn't have much opportunity to either look away from my laptop nor listen for birds. Whenever I did have opportunity, the clear blue skies, howling wind, rattling fence panels, and neighbours' lawn mowers and power tools, meant I didnt see or hear much. Also, it looks like the previously forecast change in the weather at the weekend has now been un-forecast... at least it should get slightly less bloody windy though, I hope!
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Tuesday 21st of April 2020 11:25:03 PM
That easterly wind was a bit too blustery for me to work from the garden today, so spent most of the day at the kitchen table, with the occasional glance through the window revealing nothing of note. I did take my lunch break outdoors, with one of the local Sparrowhawks hanging in the wind overhead briefly. Also, while watching a Herring Gull heading north, fairly high up, I picked up a couple of Buzzards in low-earth orbit - totally invisible to the naked eye.
Looking forward to the wind easing towards the end of the week, and also a bit of cloud cover at the weekend might help with the skywatching...
11:22: Siskin west.
11:32: Swallow north.
11:41: Sparrowhawk west.
11:56: Swallow north.
14:18: Sparrowhawk west.
14:23: Swallow north.
14:25: 2 Swallow north.
14:34: A number 7-shaped balloon west, really high. Also seen over the past couple of weeks have been a number 3 and a number 8.
14:44: Sparrowhawk low, east.
16:03: Buzzard high, west.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 19th of April 2020 10:47:32 PM
Hat and gloves weather this morning!
08:23: Canada Geese heard.
08:28: Jay over, to the south-east. I thought I'd heard one earlier, but couldn't be certain... never thought I'd be sprinting across my garden to get a glimpse of a flyover Jay!!!
09:00: Male Sparrowhawk through at low altitude, again.
09:15: Kestrel south.
09:35: Cormorant south.
10:05: 2 House Martin.
10:18: Skylark south.
10:26: 3 Canada Goose east.
11:31: Sparrowhawk north.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 18th of April 2020 11:32:30 AM
07:29: Meadow Pipit north.
07:38: I can hear a Peacock calling in the distance.
07:45: Reed Bunting heard.
08:30: Cormorant south.
08:51: Pied Wagtail north.
08:53: Canada Goose heard.
09:11: Meadow Pipit north.
10:14: House Martin singing overhead. Only seen a handful over the last few days, following the high count of 12 last weekend.
11:27: Buzzard south.
11:31: Another Buzzard, south-east.
11:40: Pied Wagtail heard.
17:50: Male Sparrowhawk nearly took my nose off!
18:46: Male Sparrowhawk is now sitting on neighbour's fence.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 17th of April 2020 06:49:06 PM
I've mainly been looking west to be honest... if I sit down the end of the garden I get a decent-ish bit of a view out across the green and over Bolton Road. And also probably helps that I've literally lived outside for the last 3 weeks! I'm scared of missing something!
I guess that does make sense - you'll have a bit more sky to look at than I will. West and south give me houses and north is blocked by trees so I'm stuck looking into a smallish gap SW or fairly high over the houses. Still. Added Meadow Pipit today.
08:35: Oystercatcher heard.
08:55: Cattle heard.
10:25: Meadow Pipit north.
10:28: Peregrine north.
11:32: Swallow south.
11:39: Swallow (same?) north, and 2 Buzzard circling.
11:45: Meadow Pipit north.
12:28: Pied Wagtail north-east.
12:34: Pied Wagtail (same?) south-west.
14:15: Sparrowhawk north.
14:43: Sparrowhawk north.
15:57: Orange Tip butterfly.
18:55: Sparrowhawk east.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 16th of April 2020 06:56:19 PM
11:45: 6 Buzzard circling high overhead.
11:52: Holly Blue butterfly.
12:05: Sparrowhawk west.
12:20: Small White butterfly.
13:02: Speckled Wood butterfly.
13:10: Peregrine north, very high.
15:40: 5 House Martin and a Sparrowhawk.
17:08: Pied Wagtail south-west.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 15th of April 2020 05:10:09 PM
10:55: Raven south, high over the town centre.
11:10: Canada Goose north, unusually silent, it circled once over George's Pond before continuing north.
11:51: Blackcap singing.
11:55: Single House Martin feeding overhead, and a Speckled Wood through the garden.
13:01: Sparrowhawk high west, pursued by a crow.
13:35: Grey Heron north-west.
13:39: Buzzard high west, and 2 Coal Tit gathering nest material.
14:20: 3 Buzzard soaring.
14:26: Now 6 Buzzard in the same thermal, over to the north-west.
14:43: Sparrowhawk diving down to the west from really high up.
14:52: Grey Heron really high, east.
15:45: Quite a few groups of Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull drifting round this afternoon, mainly heading east.
15:54: 2 Sparrowhawk circling.
18:50: 2 Oystercatcher heard, first time in a few days.
23:32: Oystercatcher heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Tuesday 14th of April 2020 11:33:06 PM
I've mainly been looking west to be honest... if I sit down the end of the garden I get a decent-ish bit of a view out across the green and over Bolton Road. And also probably helps that I've literally lived outside for the last 3 weeks! I'm scared of missing something!
I seem to miss quite a few birds that you are seeing - am clearly our at the same time as you, and as we're only a hundred metres apart am quite surprised. I'm wondering if its because the way you are looking (N) has more open sky than the way I am looking (SW)? There could well be some observer effort difference as well I guess but just seems like I'm missing something!
Woke up to what sounded like a Black-tailed Godwit calling at 05:20, but couldn't be 100% sure. Very cold wind this morning, not sure I'll be spending quite as much time in the garden today...
11:20: Sparrowhawk hunting.
14:39: Swallow north.
14:58: Grey Heron north, at height.
15:13: Sparrowhawk circling.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Monday 13th of April 2020 03:14:13 PM
06:46: Blackcap singing.
09:26: Meadow Pipit north.
09:37: 3 House Martin.
09:42: Bullfinch just flown into neighbour's garden. It's so peaceful out here this morning!
10:03: Meadow Pipit north.
10:39: Skylark low over Town Green, and 6 House Martin.
10:45: Swallow north.
11:22: Grey Heron north.
12:07: House Martins now up to 12.
12:12: 2 Meadow Pipit north.
12:39: 2 Buzzard circling.
13:10: Sparrowhawk unsuccessfully pursuing a Starling.
13:34: 6 Meadow Pipit north.
14:07: Buzzard west.
14:31: 2 Sparrowhawk high overhead.
15:00: Pied Wagtail escorting a Sparrowhawk.
16:23: Sparrowhawk back again.
17:11: The usual 3 Mallard (1 fem, 2 drk) just flew over and the lady one pooped in my garden!!
20:07: Buzzard south, low.
20:37: Canada Geese heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 12th of April 2020 08:41:09 PM
08:53: Skylark singing.
08:56: Pied Wagtail north.
09:08: 5 Meadow Pipit north.
09:17: Sand Martin north.
09:23: Swallow west.
09:26: Meadow Pipit north.
09 31: Meadow Pipit north.
09:39: Feral Pigeon - hadn't counted it until now, as never sure of how 'feral' the birds I see here really are, and I know somebody local keeps some pigeons as I regularly see the flock swooping around... however, over the last few days I've observed ones or twos flying from or towards the town centre, and I'm satisfied that these are true 'ferals'.
10:16: Sparrowhawk circling.
10:21: 4 Meadow Pipit north.
10:29: Meadow Pipit north.
10:40: Yellowhammer over, calling, heading north. Garden tick!
11:49: Meadow Pipit north.
12:00: Skylark singing again, somewhere to the north of me.
12:15: Raven north.
12:22: Sparrowhawk circling.
13:18: 7 House Martin and a Buzzard overhead.
13:22: Now 2 Buzzard...
13:49: Sparrowhawk circling.
14:15: Peregrine, very high!
16:30: Grey Wagtail west, lockdown #55.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 11th of April 2020 05:27:38 PM
09:10: Canada Geese heard.
09:20: Single House Martin feeding overhead.
09:25: Linnet north.
09:36: Linnet south.
09:47: Goldrest singing.
10:10: Swallow north.
10:11: 2 Canada Goose north.
10:16: Meadow Pipit north.
10:43: 4 Raven north.
10:50: Bullfinch (male) over, north, calling! Garden first
10:58: 2 Buzzard circling over Town Green.
11:00: 2 Linnet north.
11:06: Sparrowhawk circling and House Martins increased to 5.
11:15: Skylark singing while flying over north, really high up! Lockdown species #50!
11:27: 2 Little Egret over, north. Absolute garden MEGA! Don't think I'll bother 'going birding' anymore... just gonna sit here!
11:36: Meadow Pipit north.
12:10: Linnet north-east. I'm now relegating Linnet to the "regulars" category, so I won't be reporting them anymore, unless it's like a huge flock or something (or it's a very slow day) - there's obviously a lot more linnets around here than I previously thought!
12:51: Meadow Pipit north.
13:31: Peacock butterfly.
13:52: Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.
13:55: Raven south, chased by 2 Carrion Crow.
20:06: Pied Wagtail south. Despite the lack of sightings this afternoon, I have been in the garden, just nothing happening (except for linnets, but I said I wasn't going to mention them!)
20:10: Pipistrelle.
22:27: Just went outside because I thought the rain had stopped. It hadn't, but a Pipistrelle was still zooming around regardless!
22:55: unidentified presumed wader over... I have literally no idea what that was. Called twice, moving north, second call just before I managed to start sound recorder.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 10th of April 2020 11:06:25 PM
07:40: 2 Raven winding-up the local crows.
08:12: Meadow Pipit north.
08:18: Linnet north.
09:34: Reed Bunting east.
11:32: Great Spotted Woodpecker! Just flew into trees on what I think is called Town Green. Totally unexpected with no proper woodland nearby.
11:43: Kestrel drifting over east, only second I've ever had over the garden.
11:48: Meadow Pipit north.
12:37: 2 Swallow and 3 House Martin mobbing a Sporrowhawk.
12:55: My first Wasp of the year.
13:07: Meadow Pipit north.
13:29: Buzzard over, mobbed by 3 Jackdaw.
13:35: 2 Linnet south-east, Sparrowhawk north.
15:00: 6 House Martin feeding overhead.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 9th of April 2020 03:20:30 PM
08:06: 8 Meadow Pipit north.
08:28: Meadow Pipit north.
08:36: Meadow Pipit north.
09:26: Meadow Pipit north.
09:28: 3 Linnet landed briefly in next door's garden, before flying off again to the east. Another individual flew high south almost immediately after.
10:36: Raven heard.
Accidentally deleted some updates between 10:36 and 13:00... but they included:
A Raven, high, south.
2 Buzzard west.
2 Canada Goose north.
4 House Martin.
A few Meadow Pipit.
13:08: Comma butterfly.
13:10: Meadow Pipit north.
13:33: Peacock butterfly.
13:37: Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit north.
13:41: Sparrowhawk circling.
13:50: Siskin north-west, finally! (#45 for the lockdown list, and #50 for the garden yearlist)
14:31: Sand Martin heard, but not seen against the clear sky... sounded like it / they were going north.
14:55: 2 Sparrowhawk circling.
15:06: Meadow Pipit north.
15:14: 3 Sparrowhawk and 2 Herring Gull circling overhead.
20:20: Pipistrelle.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 8th of April 2020 10:45:20 PM
06:57: Goldcrest singing.
07:34: 2 Meadow Pipit north.
07:42: Linnet south.
08:38: Raven heard.
08:43: Linnet west.
09:56: Meadow Pipit heard.
10:16: Oystercatcher east.
10:36: Pied Wagtail east.
10:46: Buzzard north.
11:00: 3 House Martin feeding overhead and drifting south.
11:28: Raven circling, drifting north, then back south, before flying off west.
11:38: Speckled Wood butterfly.
12:09: Meadow Pipit north.
12:39: Meadow Pipit north.
12:50: Brimstone butterfly.
13:37: 2 Buzzard high overhead.
13:57: 2 Meadow Pipit north.
14:05: Grey Heron south.
20:10: Canada Geese heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Tuesday 7th of April 2020 08:45:09 PM
08:25: Oystercatcher heard.
08:52: Long-tailed Tit quickly through the garden. Surprisingly a lockdown first.
09:42: Oystercatcher north.
11:40 Willow Warbler - garden mega! It sang from some nearby rough vegetation, then flew over my head, straight after heavy rain shower.
16:13: Linnet south.
16:30: Buzzard west.
22:14: Oystercatcher heard.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Monday 6th of April 2020 10:14:58 PM
After a quick check of the patch, by bicycle, now time for an oat flat white and back to gardenwatch.
08:57: 2 Canada Geese over.
09:12: Sparrowhawk over.
09:48: Mistle Thrush. Also heard a Linnet about 10mins ago.
09:50: 2 more Linnet just gone over, heading for some spare ground nearby.
Today has osprey written all over it!
09:56: Buzzard over, north.
09:59: Grey Heron east.
10:22: Meadow Pipit north.
11:20: Peacock butterfly.
11:39: Swallow north. My first for the year!
12:50: 2 Herring Gull and a Carrion Crow fighting over a tasty morsel.
13:30: 3 Meadow Pipit north.
13:45: Linnet north. Can't figure out if all these Linnet are local or on the move, never known them to be so regular here.
13:47: Meadow Pipit north.
16:50: Not much going on. Spent the last couple of hours being a convenient wind break for a hoverfly. Earned its trust enough for it to land on the palm of my hand.
18:00: House Martin over Craig Higson's street! No. 40 for my lockdown list.
20:11: Pipistrelle.
20:30: Song Thrush singing away in the distance again.
21:00: Too breezy, and sulking 'cuz osprey let me down, so calling it a day... so no NocMig tonight.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Sunday 5th of April 2020 09:06:43 PM
18:20: Back to the watchpoint (garden bench) for the evening session, and hopefully some more NocMig later...
19:27: Pied Wagtail north. And my mum just messaged me to say they're going outside to listen for VELVET scoter!! Good luck to them!
19:45: Pied Wagtail SW, maybe same as 19:27.
20:15: Pipistrelle.
20:43: Can hear a Song Thrush singing in the distance. Amazingly the first I've had during "lockdown".
Threw the towel in at 22:00. Nothing happening
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 10:33:36 PM
Oystercatchers displaying again this morning.
10:00: Linnet over.
10:07: Reed Bunting over, going west.
11:55: 3 separate Meadow Pipits over in the last few mins.
12:32: Meadow Pipit north.
13:14: Sparrowhawk over.
13:27: Meadow Pipit going the wrong way (south).
14:05: Loose flock of 7 Meadow Pipit, north.
14:13: Linnet, north-east.
14:18: Sparrowhawk back again.
14:24: 3 Meadow Pipit north.
14:45-18:20: No observations due to shopping, cycling and crossfit.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 07:36:10 PM
NocMig Live...
20:25: Snipe
20:30: 2 Pipistrelle
20:45: Cat
21:05: Listening to Pipistrelle echo-locating... worried I'd lost that frequency range, obviously not - yet.
21:35: Why is everybody so noisy !?!
23:00: Mallard.
23:04: COMMON SCOTER!!! what sounded like 2 birds, but probably more, maybe, going west to east.
23:13: Shelduck! It's all kicking off now!
Well, seems it wasn't "all kicking off"... Shelduck was the last bird I heard, I called it a day at 00:15.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Saturday 4th of April 2020 09:42:47 AM
I'm situated in a residential area, just less than 1km NE of Ashton town centre.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 12:50:37 PM
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 12:51:56 PM
11:20 3 Oystercatcher noisily overhead, going north.
11:24 2 Oystercatcher now in display-flight overhead...
A few Rook going back and forth this morning, presumably commuting between a favourite feeding spot, near Lily Lane Farm on the A58, and their rookery. If rooks fly "as the crow flies" then these birds would be from the Haydock Racecourse rookery...
Spent some time in the garden last night between 9 and 10pm, listening for ducks... heard a couple of dogs. Will try again tonight.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 3rd of April 2020 11:39:51 AM
14:10: Just had a Curlew over, heading west. Garden tick!
Nothing of note
Most of the watching was from the house today, not much time outdoors. Not much of interest seen, but added Canada Goose and Mallard to the Lockdown List, taking the total to 32.
The skies were very quiet today, except for a pair of Oystercatcher over, early doors, and a few groups of Herring Gull and a couple of Buzzard thermalling once it warmed up a bit. That was pretty much it apart from the local birds, until a Cormorant flew over, late afternoon, whilst I was mid crossfit session - 30th species for my Lockdown List.
It's been nice being able to sit out in the garden whilst working this week, but with the weather set to break tomorrow it looks like I'll be pretty much confined to the house now. Although I'm hoping the cloudy weather might be slightly more conducive to a bit of passerine vis-mig...
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Friday 27th of March 2020 05:55:04 PM
We also have a Song Thrush who does a cracking Greenshank!!!
I know what you mean Rob, I've long been fascinated by starlings with the sounds they imitate. They do travel some distances from their wintering grounds like you suspected. We have birds wintering over here in the uk from East Europe and Scandinavia etc. Sometimes I wonder where they get their sounds from myself. I have however, identified a number of local sounds they make including:
Chickens
Kids screaming
Car alarms
Horses trotting
Factory signal
Train guard whistle
I used to feed our local starlings before I had to cut down for financial reasons, but it was always a pleasure to sit in my garden just to listen to their sounds that they imitate.
Ta!
10:40 a pair of Oystercatcher noisily overhead.
06:30-10:00: A good start to the day, with 6 additions to my Lockdown List... the highlight being a flyover Heron, which was also new for the Garden 2020 yearlist. The other lockdown additions being: Robin, Wren, Mistle Thrush, Great Tit and Rook. Total now 28.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Thursday 26th of March 2020 10:45:47 AM
The afternoon was quiet, a local pair of Buzzards soaring around and a Sparrowhawk circling. A couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterfly around, and at dusk, as I returned from a run, a Pipistrelle Bat was hawking overhead. At the end of day 2, "Lockdown List" is currently on 22 species.
11:05: A Brimstone butterfly through the garden, and a lot of noisy Lesser Black-backed Gull activity (although unfortunately not mobbing any big bird of prey).
10:50: Linnet just flown over, number 40 for the 2020 garden yearlist.
-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Wednesday 25th of March 2020 10:37:45 PM
Tuesday 24 March 2020
Working from home, in the garden. Very quiet bird-wise today, a few Meadow Pipits making their way north, and one Pied Wagtail possibly doing the same.