juv Whitethroat along the concrete road behind the scrapyards this morning

Little to report from morning walk, set out just after 7-00am wet and windy, small flock of long tailed tit behind scrapyards off Bolton House Road 4-5 great tit and 1 blue tit in same area caught a brief glimpse of what i think was a pied wagtail in same area but not enough for a positive i.d.. pretty quiet on flash no gulls and didn't see any mallard, plenty coot and tufted duck a few moorhen and 1 great creted grebe with 1 young, swans on small stock pond. did spot a weasel crossing path and plenty rabbits, Charlie back in a chasing mood.

Set out with Charlie about 3-00pm, a few goldfinch, long tailed tit and great tits in the trees beside path leading up to flash car park, walked across field and onto new road and around fields behind flash a few swallow feeding over fields, 2 pheasant flushed by Charlie who was on her best behaviour, 1 Wheatear on old farm track between fields at 4-40p.m. walked Zac around flash about 25 swallow feeding over flash with at least 2 sand martin with them( may have been more but it was difficult to keep track) all usual on flash, still very windy but it did stay dry while i was out.

Set out at 7-40am very windy not much showing birdwise, 3 collared doves, 4 great tit, 1 male chaffinch numerous wood pigeon and magpie, most of usual on the flash although surprisingly only 1 black headed gull, didn't see the great crested grebe family and the little grebe are still managing to evade me, probably have to go without dogs and wait them out.
On the plus side for me saw a squirrel and numerous rabbits but Charlie was much calmer today and only pulled to get at one rabbit that burst out of cover very close to us, if she had been off she may even have caught that one.

Very little to report, left it a bit late last night and most of walk was done in dark and rain
1 kestrel hunting just before dark in very light drizzle. This mornings walk was a washout donned waterproofs and didn't even bother to take bins.
This evening set out at 4-45 very windy a few long tailed tit near flash car park usual coot,mallard, swan, moorhen, tufted duck, black headed gulls and great crested grebe with 1 young, a few swallow over the field behind flash, Charlie really hard work tonight i have been working on trying to stop her chasing rabbits and pheasant with some success although tonight she reverted to type chasing a pheasant and 2 rabbit before i put her back on the lead nearly pulling my arm out the socket trying to chase further rabbit, sugar stealers a crisp packet and leaves being blown by strong wind so i probably missed quite a bit, did see 2 cormorant heading in direction of Pennington Flash from East Leigh area could have been on Fir Tree Flash, did 2 hours with Charlie then an hour with Zac but by the time i got out with Zac it was raining heavily again and only saw a couple of blackbird and a robin went back around flash all the usual still there. Weather forecast not great for tomorrow, hopefully Charlie will be calmer than today.

I usually walk dogs over this area at least twice a day so will try to keep it updated, depending which dog i have with me, both rottweilers but if with youngest Charlie probably miss more than i see, older dog Zac much calmer. Set out with Charlie about 10-00am, small flock of goldfinch near flash car park (about 12-15) walked down road heading towards Plank Lane flock of long tailed tit about 20, with a couple of great tit behind scrap yards off Bolton House road, robin, blackbird and a wren around same copse of trees, cut across feilds heading towards Fir Tree flash Charlie put a couple of Pheasant and a Skylark to flight usual Magpie, Crow and Wood Pigeon, walked around Fir Tree Flash pair of Mute swan a few Mallard and Coot, pair of Great Crested Grebe with 3 young fishing match taking place may have sent birds to seek cover on the island, headed back towards new road about 20 goldfinch feeding on thistle heads in field, walked around fields without seeing anything although with Charlie on the loose she had probably scared everything away, made my way back towards Higher Hall Flash, plenty Coot, Tufted duck Mallard, pair of Swan with 1 sygnet (started with 7 but gradually whittled down to 1 survivor) 3 Moorhen, 1 adult Lesser Black Backed Gull + 1 immature, 1 immature Great Black Backed plus plenty of Black Headed Gulls, pair Great Crested Grebe with 1 young, male very aggresive seeing off Gulls that got too close.
I know from other birders and anglers that a liitle Grebe is on flash with at least 1 young but so far it has managed to elude me.
Sorry missed out flock of 15-20 Sand Martin passing over new road heading towards Hindley Green.

-- Edited by Bernard McGurrin on Sunday 4th of September 2011 12:07:59 PM

210+ Swift feeding over Bickershaw Colliery around mid-day
Willow Tit near the end of the access road off Smiths Lane

Cuckoo today, around the concrete road about half-way between Bolton House Road and Crankwood

Originally posted today by James Hall:

nice peaceful walk round produced:D

6+whitethroat
plenty linnets
4+reed warbler
1 kesterel
1 willow warbler
loads and loads of swift,swallow and house martins
2 skylarks

Reed Warbler today at Tinker Joes Flash.

Info thanks to Dave Wilson

Wednesday 29 December 2010

45 Magpies going to roost at dusk.

Saturday 11 December 2010

1 Raven over this morning, heading west. Also 2 Treecreeper and a Willow Tit in wooded area off Plank Lane.

Monday 27 September 2010
morning

1 Red-legged Partridge
1 Grey Heron
2 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
8 Herring Gull (over)
9 Lesser Black-backed Gull (over)
7 Black-headed Gull
9 Snipe
3 Lapwing (over)
4 Stock Dove
15 Woodpigeon
4 Carrion Crow
3 Jay
15 Magpie
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Skylark
2 Pied Wagtail
2 Grey Wagtail
26 Meadow Pipit
2 Chiffchaff
3 Wren
14 Robin
1 Blackbird
3 Song Thrush
2 Mistle Thrush
1 Redwing (my first of the autumn)
2 Chaffinch
2 Linnet
1 Lesser Redpoll
57 Goldfinch
10 Bullfinch
7 Great Tit
12 Blue Tit
19 Long-tailed Tit
4 Reed Bunting

1 Pony 'on the loose'

-- Edited by Rob Thorpe on Monday 27th of September 2010 08:04:48 PM

Lesser Whitethroat today just off the west end of this site, in horse paddocks at the south end of Bolton House Road

Saturday 27 March 2010
late morning - early afternoon

2 Little Grebe
2 Tufted Duck
24 Golden Plover
1 Wheatear
4 Chiffchaff
3 Yellowhammer
Linnets singing

Saturday 06 March 2010

South end of the rucks, late morning:
2 Mute Swan
5 Mallard
2 Grey Partridge
2 Great Cormorant
2 Grey Heron
1 Little Grebe
1 Common Buzzard
1 Common Moorhen
2 Common Coot
22 Northern Lapwing
3 Common Black-headed Gull
3 Stock Dove
10+ Eurasian Magpie
3 Carrion Crow
11 Sky Lark
4 Meadow Pipit
5 Common Linnet
7 Lesser Redpoll
1 Common Reed Bunting

27/2/10 (am)

2 Buzzard
2 Yellowhammers at Heron Lodge Farm
10+ Skylark, 1 Reed Bunting & 3 Stock Doves near Cartridge Hill
28 Lapwings & 3 Common Gulls on floods off Bickershaw Lane
1 Great Crested Grebe & 2 Tufted Ducks on Diggle Flash
1 Grey Partridge, c45 Fieldfare, c10 Redwing & 3 Mistle Thrush near Ewe Copse.

Park lane abram to Dunsters Farm area early am ,very pleasant walk ,Just myself and 3 other walkers encountered.

10 snipe(probably more)
1 heron
1 curlewflushed by a dog and flew back to cover
2 partridge
3 meadow pipit
4 mistle thrush
20 skylarkall over the rucks and belting out song
12 magpie
4 crows

cheers geoff

23/1/10 pm

Mr Thorpe and myself did the 4hr circular `Yellow Sculpture Trail`.

Sightings from: Kingsdown Flash, Bickershaw Common, Maypole Stables, Cartridge Hill, The Rucks, Bickershaw Fen, Bikky Floods, Fir Tree Flash, The Moss, Dead Man`s Ridge, Heron Lodge Farm & Ewe Copse..

2 Goosander (pr) over >E
1 Buzzard
3 Snipe
3 Grey Partridge
2 Kestrel
7 Lapwing over
2 Mistle Thrush
1 Meadow Pipit
4 Bullfinch
2 Cormorant over

Sunday 03 January 2010

1 Stonechat (male) on the rucks this afternoon.
Water Rail heard
1 Kestrel (male)
11 Redpoll
a few Bullfinch
also, in nearby fields:
c50 Lapwing
c20 Snipe
c70 Starling
4 Skylark
1 Buzzard

Stonechat just off Smiths Lane this morning, where the access road was put in for the proposed golf course by Diggle Flash

On the same walk as below,just a bit windy and wet which didn,t help, none the less a pleasant morning organised by rob ian must have put the mad sheep encounter on the wildlife forum,cos it was quite funny watching ian gracefully fend off the attacking yew with his size 10

cheers geoff

no sheep or wiganers were harmed in any way during this walk

14/11/09 Mid morning

With Mr Hargreaves, Mr Meadows and Mr Thorpe.
Circular walk from Kingsdown Flash, along Park Lane passing Maypole Stables, the coal rucks, and back round through Heron Lodge Farm.

4 Snipe
6 Grey Partridge
2 Kestrel
1 Kingfisher
2 Bullfinch
1 Skylark
8 Meadow Pipit
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Varying numbers of Redwing, Fieldfare & Mistle Thrushes, Goldfinch & small tit flocks.

sorry i,ll just add this not quite alone i met some banjo pickers with greyhounds/lurchers who have seen woodcock and an seo with chick, I just love dogs bounding over my stuff in the fog

cheers geoff

annual snipe hunt,very foggy and wet but quite alone in the strange landscape
6 blackbirds 12 b h gulls
50 coot 4 mallard
6 moorhen 2 stonechat
2 tufted 4 magpie
2 wren 4 reed bunting
3 robin 4 crows
1 pied wagtail 1 kestrel
6 bullfinch 12 redpoll
2 g tit 1 heron
1 g s pecker 1 lapwing

bolton house road,loads of stuff,tits ,thrushes,13 moorhen,20 redwing ,this spot needs a bit more time to log them all.
oh nearly forgot 18 snipe

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Geoff Hargreaves at 20:29, 2008-12-14

3 Stonechat this morning
2 Goldcrest
9 Mistle Thrush on the wind-speed monitoring mast