08921 am including a Carbon Landscape Dragonfly Survey

Chat Moss

3 Snipe

1 Hobby

2 Willow Tit

2 Wheatear

130 Teal

2 Sparrowhawk chasing a Kestrel.

070921 am

Barton Moss

2 Nuthatch

17 Mistle Thrush

24 Skylark

12 House Martin

35 Swallow

4 Snipe

(PS does anyone know why someone would be trapping flies...please see photo...there are six of these where I discovered them)

060921 am

Chat Moss

2 Tree Sparrow

8 Swallow

Irlam Moss

2 Snipe

21 Skylark

7 Reed Bunting

20 Meadow Pipit

1Whitethroat

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

7 Buzzard

1 Hobby

3 Whinchat.

050921 am

Cadishead Moss

3 Willow Tit

3 Great Spotted Woodpecker chasing one another

2 Treecreeper

1 Nuthatch

160 Swallow

34 House Martin

1 Whitethroat

6 Yellow Wagtail

Little Woolden Moss Nature Reserve

2 Ringed Plover

145 Teal

2 Yellow Wagtail

040921 Midday

Irlam moss

1 Grey Partridge

48 Starling

3 Snipe

5 Swallow

Cadishead Moss

6 Tree Sparrow

3 Buzzard

4 Yellowhammer

43 Swallow

Astley Road to Little Woolden Moss to Glazebrook Station 13:45 - 16:20, highlights:

• Spotted flycatcher in hedge by the entrance to Prospect Grange on Astley Road
• Two kestrels, a buzzard and the female marsh harrier on Little Woolden Moss reserve
• Three yellow wagtails with fifty-odd pied wagtails on the ploughed field by the Western path on Little Woolden Moss. The wagtails were happily feeding alongside a buzzard that was digging for worms, were spooked into flight by a female sparrowhawk that made a few tries at catching a couple of them in flight, then settled back down alongside the buzzard.
• The only waders on Little Woolden Moss were the couple of dozen lapwings feeding on  the fields.

030921 am

Irlam Moss

50 Starling

2 Willow Tit

3 Swallow

Barton Moss

1 Grey Partridge

3 Chiffchaff

Chat Moss

1 Marsh Harrier...female chased by Carrion Crows

14 Swallow

2 Whitethroat

4 Snipe

8 Chiffchaff

32 Teal

1 Yellow Wagtail

2 Wheatear.

This early afternoon on Little Woolden Moss NR:

2 juvenile Little Ringed Plover

1 juvenile Dunlin

1 juvenile Hobby

6+ Yellow Wagtail

2 Shoveler

(phonescoped images of the above on the website)

Brief Midday Visit 020921

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

1 Hobby

1 Wheatear

72 Lapwing

7 Buzzard

1 Raven

1 Chiffchaff

14 Pied Wagtail.

am 010921

Chat Moss

8 Yellow Wagtail

1 Sparrowhawk...male

2 Buzzard

1 Whinchat

1 Wheatear

32 Lapwing

27 Stock Dove

31 Linnet

34 Meadow Pipit

17 House Martin

24 Swallow.

am 310821

Chat Moss

12 Swallow

1 Sparrowhawk...Male chased by the Swallow

1 Wheatear

Little Woolden Moss

1 Wheatear

12 Grey Partridge

90 Greenfinch

6 Tree Sparrow

9 Skylark

13 Swallow.

300821 am

Irlam Moss

85 House Sparrow

3 Yellowhammer

6 Grey Partridge

2 Yellow Wagtail

4 Snipe

6 Skylark

4 Chiffchaff

Cadishead Moss

3 Wheatear

18 Skylark

3 Yellow Wagtail

5 Yellowhammer

47 House Sparrow

130 Swallow

45 House Martin

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker

2 Nuthatch

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

1 Peregrine

2 Kestrel

Chat Moss

2 Wheatear

2 Snipe...flying over

1 Whinchat.

Little Woolden Moss NR this evening (I think that must have been Steven I chatted to as I arrived and he left)

Didn't see any Hobby 

Actually pretty quiet compared with previous visits.

1 Buzzard - happily directly above me quite low

2 Kestrels

50+ Teal - spooked by a couple of people (not birdwatchers) biking around the west side

1 Marsh Harrier - male (possibly juvenile but certainly not one of the females) flew highish along the north side around 6:45 and then settled down near the west side

1 Wheatear - looked just like Dave's photo so presumably juvenile - near the north side path, surprisingly approachable

lots of tits (20+) in the ditch and foliage along the north side path; at least blue, great & long-tailed

290821 am

Chat Moss

26 Teal

32 Lapwing

2 Blackcap

17 Chiffchaff

42 Linnet

16 Skylark

15 Swallow 

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

8 Buzzard

1 Hobby

Irlam Moss

1 Wheatear...Juvenile

32 Swallow

am 280821 including a Carbon Landscape Dragonfly Survey

Irlam moss

1 Goldcrest

1 Coal Tit

50 House Sparrow

Chat Moss

2 Whinchat

49 Swallow

130 Goldfinch

55 Lapwing

15 Teal

4 Willow Warbler...with one giving a few bursts of song

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

1 Peregrine which took umbrage at a Lesser Black-Backed Gull which had, had the temerity to challenge it...the Gull retreated asap!

1 Marsh Harrier...the female in moult...record photo attached.

Little Woolden Moss. 9 till 11am
Following all the Marsh Harrier sightings here, I decided to give it a go as I need it for my GM list.  Had to wait an hour before the lone tatty looking female showed hunting over the Moss. Also up to 5 Buzzards circling and a single Hobby hawking dragonflies.  A very satisfying morning.

am

Chat Moss

31 Swallow

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

16 Chiffchaff

3 Willow Warbler

2 Hobby

3 Marsh Harrier

1 Stonechat

12 Buzzard

6 Teal

1 Peregrine

13 Reed Bunting

14 Snipe

1 Willow Tit

Little Woolden Moss

1 Yellowhammer

4 Buzzard

1 Whinchat.

This morning 7:30-9:30

Little Woolden Moss NR:

3 Marsh Harriers - 2 females, 1 smart 1 a bit more shabby, 1 male or juv - more than 3 sightings but "extras" were most likely one of these 3 birds

1 Peregrine chasing pigeons - without any success that I saw - large compared to the pigeons so probably female

2 Buzzards when driving away from E side

2 Kestrels (or 3 if they were all different birds)

40-50 Teal - I think I must have spooked these to move to a different bit of wet - they certainly saw me before I saw them in flight

7 sandpipers in flight but unable to tell against the light whether common or green

4 or 5 young pheasants that scooted away or exploded into flight when you're almost stepping on them

But didn't see any Hobby which is what I really wanted to get a good view of, especially hunting dragonflies - probably too early in the day

2pm to 5pm walk from Chat Moss railway down Astley Rd to Little Woolden Moss NR & back.

6 Mistle Thrush in newly ploughed field off Astley Rd.

Plenty of House Martins & Swallows around the all the farms off Astley Rd.

10 Buzzards - 6 of which were juveniles scattered around the newly baled field 63.

Also Tree Pipit heard, Willow Warbler, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Pied Wagtail & Kestrel.

Disappointed not to see Marsh Harrier & also Hobby considering the abundance of Dragonflies but more than made up

with seeing my first UK Spotted Flycatcher in trees near the ex hide at Little Woolden Moss NR.

I rather foolishly donned shorts & got absolutely mutilated with the hoards of stinging insects! 

Today after Holcroft Moss 

Sightings similar to Pete Hines plus...

1 Whinchat on The Far West Pools

am after Woolston

Irlam Moss

2 Whinchat

2 Yellow Wagtail

2 Grey Partridge

72 Swallow

1 Snipe

Little Woolden Moss (west)

Marsh Harrier 2
Peregrine 1
Hobby 2
Kestrel 2
Sparrowhawk 1
Buzzard 9
Green Sandpiper 1
Little Ringed Plover 1
Yellow Wagtail 9
Pied Wagtail 30
Meadow Pipit 8
Skylark 1
Swallow 36

Must have just missed Ian as I called in very briefly with the Grandchildren after a Woolston visit (BTO bird ringing to watch)...birds almost nil...but as a matter of interest wrt the Corn Bunting...only ONE on the moss this year...not even sure if it bred successfully...but Dave Stewart has had 2 on the adjacent fields across the border across the Glaze...I also noted 2 on the wires on Holcroft lane this summer...have we finally lost CB on GM mosses???

Dave. 

Fairly brief visit to Little Woolden Moss around midday:

5 Yellow Wagtail still on very western fields

1 Tree Pipit along the western edge of the nature reserve where yesterday’s two were, so possibly one of those.

Biggest surprise was a Corn Bunting which circled low calling over the western edge of the reserve before heading off west again.

240821 am

Irlam Moss

1 Wheatear

8 Snipe

13 Grey Partridge

2 Yellow Wagtail

Chat Moss

125 Swallow

6 Sand Martin

32 House Martin

1 Hobby...flew South North through the hirundine @ 1041

27 Pied Wagtail

80 Goldfinch

1 Golden Plover...flew east @ 1100

Chat Moss

8 Grey Partridge

35 Meadow Pipit

17 Linnet

13 Teal

3 Raven flew southwest  @ 1154.

Just before and after midday today on Little Woolden Moss NR:

17 Snipe flew west in flocks of 11 and 6

3 moulting adult Golden Plover circled before heading off west and appearing to drop into freshly ploughed fields just over the border in Cheshire

80+ Teal

2 Shoveler

1 juvenile Peregrine, chasing the Teal at one point

2 Marsh Harrier, an adult female and juvenile

2 Tree Pipit along the western edge

5+ Water Rail calling from cover

3 Raven over south together

8 Yellow Wagtail and 20+ Pied Wagtail in fields west of the reserve

1 juvenile Wheatear in fields west of the reserve

Tuesday 230821 am

Irlam Moss

2 Willow Tit

1 Whinchat...Juvenile

3 Sparrowhawk...2 chasing after a Juvenile Buzzard

Barton Moss

1 Peregrine...chasing off a Carrion Crow that got too near

9 Willow Warbler

5 Chiffchaff

3 Yellowhammer

Little Woolden Moss Nature Reserve

1 Marsh Harrier...female

3 Little Ringed plover

1 Wheatear...Juvenile

1 Hobby.

Little Woolden Moss 

3 Marsh harrier together (including 1 dark juvenile) above Field 63

Little Woolden moss L.W.T. N.R.

1/2  Marsh Harrier (possibly 5 seen today)

2 Raven over west

3 juvenile Little Ringed Plover

1 juvenile Wheatear

2 Kestrel 

7 Buzzard 

7 Swallow high over southwest

Late Record am 220821

Chat Moss

1 Wheatear...juvenile

1 Whinchat...juvenile

5 Yellow Wagtail

32 Swallow

24 Swift

21 House Martin

4 Teal

13 Chiffchaff

4 Snipe

2 Raven

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

1 Marsh Harrier

2 Peregrine

2 Hobby taking Dragonfly

Late Record for midday 210821 Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve

170 Lesser Black-Backed Gull

15 Pied Wagtail

318 Canada Geese

2 Whitethroat

1 Willow Warbler

10 Lapwing

2 Green Sandpiper.

Am Wander

Irlam Moss

1 Hobby Chasing Swallow and House Martin on high...it seems the prey have got wise and the dogfight ended in a nil-nil result...as ever amazed at such displays of flight agility...and bravery displayed by, I assume, the adult birds in 'attacking' their potential nemesis in defence of their young. 

26 Swallow

9 House Martin

Chat Moss

1 Whinchat...juvenile

1 Greenshank...flying south @ 0952

13 Willow Warbler

14 Chiffchaff

5 Bullfinch

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature reserve

11 Willow warbler

1 Curlew...flying over @ 1158

10 Buzzard

1 Golden Plover...flying over @ 1300.

Juvenile Bird...the start of their first migration to Africa!...this in reply to the question posted by 'Barrie'

Dave.

Little Woolden Moss (West) L.W.T. Reserve brief visit 

I Female Marsh Harrier

1 Immature Hobby

1 Peregrine (at a distance)

2 Kestrel

1 Juvenile Ringed Plover on the peat pool then flew southwest 

10 Swallow 

137 Canada Geese (increasing year on year)

Hi Dave was the Wheatear in the photo a male ?

Late Record for brief  lunchtime visit 190821

Little Woolden Moss LWT Nature Reserve 

22 Meadow Pipit

2 Willow Warbler

230 Swift brought to lower levels  due to another heavy shower

7 Sand Martin

1 Green Sandpiper

28 Swallow

1 Wheatear