Pink-footed Geese 2 skeins of 100 SW and 90 NW Swallow flock of 12 on wires Redpoll 16 Meadow Pipit 20 in feeding flock and a steady trickle of at least 30 SE (all in very small groups of 1-4) Sparrowhawk 1 Greenfinch 16 Bullfinch 4 Starling 120 Skylark 3 Lapwing 19
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Wed Sep 25 2:25 PM, 2019
Couple of hours this morning 10.00 - 12.30
Vocal Tawny Owl (poss 2) Meadow Pipit 73 Skylark 6 Reed Bunting 6 Goldfinch 84 (inc flock of c60 at Cloughend) Cormorant over N Jay 8 migrating SW Starling 30 Coal Tit 2 LBB Gull 4
Pink-footed Goose skein of c90 SE House Martin 5 SE Swallows 17 mostly SE Jay 4 Meadow Pipits flock of c200 near Pistol Farm + 17 elsewhere Sparrowhawk successfully caught one of the 200 Raven 1 Linnet 6 Chaffinch 6 Goldfinch 21 Reed Bunting 1 Skylark 1 Pied Wagtail 6
Cheers, John
Ray Scally said
Mon Sep 16 3:53 PM, 2019
Mid morning through to lunchtime, pipit movement very evident early morning cycling from New Mills to Moor, between Rowarth and Ludworth had circa 250 - 300 Mpipits going SW, other birds on the moor consisted of
Northern Lapwing - 20 SE Common Snipe - 9 Common Buzzard - 3 Gt spotted Woodpecker - 1 Green Woodpecker - 1 Peregrine - 1 Skylark - 5 - SW Barn Swallow - 30 S / SW House Martin - 10 Chiffchaff - 3 Goldcrest - 2 Wheatear - 1 Chaffinch - 8 Bullfinch - 2 Linnet - 6 Goldfinch - 15 Reed Bunting - 7
Mark Walsh said
Tue Sep 10 3:44 PM, 2019
7am through till 9:30 this morning with John R:
Birds through;
Meadow Pipit 97 N/NW Chaffinch 25 SW and 26 N Swallow 32 SW and 14 NW
7:30 - 10am this morning, mainly concentrating around Cloughend, Hillside and the quarry with a small meander up the PR Path.
2 Redstart still with one female opposite April Cottage and another bird between Cloughend and Hillside 6 Wheatear, 4 around the pool seen from Gun Road and a further 2 up near the Picking Rods C120 Swallow over with 10 House and 60 Sand Martin's through higher up 19 Pink-Footed Geese over South 38 Meadow Pipit with small numbers over 10 Linnet
Usual other bits and pieces
Cheers
Mark
Andy Bissitt said
Thu Aug 29 4:42 PM, 2019
Additional to what John & Mark saw: 1 whinchat fem. 3 buzzards, flock of 25 greenfinches & 2 tawny owls hooting in the 'valley'.
John Rayner said
Thu Aug 29 10:29 AM, 2019
07.30-09.00. With Mark Walsh. Andy arrived as we were leaving.
A party of 11 wagtails in the horse paddocks at Hillside - all Pieds Juvenile Buzzard still Male Redstart 2 Whitethroats 2 Juvenile Bullfinches 2 Greenfinches c12 Goldfinches 150 Starlings perched on a pylon
Cheers John
Robert Adderley said
Tue Aug 27 7:49 PM, 2019
Afternoon visit, a few migrants still around the most unexpected being a flock of 9 Yellow wagtails.
An early morning visit from 7:00 - 10:30 proved quite fruitful;
4 Redstart; a pair opposite April Cottage and then a single male inbetween Cloughend and Hillside with a female a bit further up the valley in the same area. 2 Spotted Flycatcher 2 Whinchat
C300 Starling in one large flock 82 Lapwing 54 Meadow Pipit (single group 33 along the PR path) 13 Goldfinch 9 Chaffinch 6 Linnet 5 Chiffchaff 4 Willow Warbler Singles of Whitethroat, Blackcap, Kestrel, Buzzard and a Hobby just as I got back to the car.
Cheers
Mark
Andy Bissitt said
Tue Aug 20 8:47 PM, 2019
Pretty mundane stuff this afternoon as I searched for a seasonal merlin or such. However, until some meadow pipits turn up, things will remain quiet. Sparrowhawk, buzzard, raven, 5 common gulls and a single whitethroat were only things worth half a look. This was Ernocroft Lane-Brown Low - Larkhill - Smithy Lane - Gird Lane only.
John Rayner said
Sat Aug 10 3:39 PM, 2019
07.30-10.00 with Paul and Mark. Surprisingly no rain but the wind kept most passerines in deep cover.
Peregrine 1 juv Redstart 1m Whitethroat 2 Swift 2 Skylark 1 Swallow 14 House Martin 2 Raven 2 Starling c300 Lapwing c90 Woodpigeon c120
Good other wildlife sighting.
Cheers John.
Mark Walsh said
Thu Aug 8 11:38 AM, 2019
Still good numbers of Redstart for the Ludworth area with at least 5 birds, 1 male 2 female and 2 birds that flew to a distant Hawthorne and so were too far away to decide whether they were male or female. 1 Garden Warbler at Cloughend 3 Whitethroat between Cloughend and the quarry.
Otherwise;
Good numbers of Goldfinch with small flocks seemingly everywhere, largest was 22 but there appeared to be small groups of between 5 - 10 all over. 13 Lapwing 11 Chaffinch 9 Willow Warbler 6 Chiffchaff 6 Meadow Pipit 1 Raven 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Skylark
Usual other tits and finches
Cheers
Mark
John Rayner said
Tue Aug 6 6:19 PM, 2019
Another excellent morning, joined by Paul:
2 small flocks of Redstarts. The first, all in a small hawthorn in Cloughend Valley, comprised 4m and 1f. Later another group, 300m away but possibly some overlap with the first group, comprised 2m, 2f. Therefore the count was 4-6m and 2-3f.
The second group also had 2 Spotted Flycatchers in attendance.
Other birds: Singles of Whitethroat, Wheatear, Swift, Lapwing and Buzzard 40 Rooks 25 Meadow Pipits
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Sat Aug 3 10:52 AM, 2019
7.30-10.15.
Highlight birds were 4 Crossbills. Probably came out of Hillside Plantation but picked up calling in flight going NE towards Gun Road.
Juvenile male Redstart near Cloughend Bungalow. Other youngsters seen were Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove and Pheasant.
Teal 1 Meadow Pipit 12 No raptors at all.
Cheers John.
-- Edited by John Rayner on Saturday 3rd of August 2019 02:43:43 PM
Mark Walsh said
Fri Aug 2 1:23 PM, 2019
7:15 - 9:40, a good morning for migrants - concentrating around Coughend, April Cottage and the quarry.
A flyover Tree Pipit above the quarry was a first for me. Spotted Flycatcher moving between Cloughend and Hillside on the opposite bank. 3 Redstarts (1 male and 2 female), the male was presumably the same bird that's been opposite April Cottage for a week now. 4 Whitethroat 1 Green Woodpecker
Beyond that;
26 Goldfinch in the quarry area 14 Starling 7 Chiffchaff 6 Willow Warbler 1 each of Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.
Usual other stuff.
Cheers
Mark
John Rayner said
Tue Jul 30 12:52 PM, 2019
06.50-10.30. In part with Mark.
A decent enough morning - highlights being:
Spotted Flycatcher Redstart (2 males) Green Woodpecker Stock Dove 3 Tawny Owl 2 Raven 1 Chaffinch flock building up c25 Linnet 12 Willow Warbler 12 (minimum) Chiffchaff 6 Blackcap Whitethroat 2 Pied Wagtail feeding young
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Sat Jul 27 10:51 AM, 2019
07.30-09.30 with Mark Walsh
Some migration in evidence today: Hobby 1 Lapwing 43 Swallow 44 SW Starling 106 Willow Warbler 4 Chiffchaff 7 (inc family party) Linnet flock 25 NE Redpoll 2 Bullfinch 2 Singles of Goldcrest, Greenfinch, Kestrel, Buzzard
Cheers John
Mark Walsh said
Fri Jul 26 5:08 PM, 2019
Must have got up not long after John and Paul left, about 12:30 through till just after 3pm, the day continued to have a good assortment of birds.
1 Lesser Whitethroat quite far down Smithy Lane 7 Raven was nice, these up around Gun Farm and the PR path. 1 Wheatear in the Quarry area 1 Hobby low between Cloughend and Hillside 1 Male Redstart, just walking past April Cottage to the car and out it popped in one of the shrubs.
Plenty of other birds about as well;
52 Black Headed Gulls opposite Larkhill where the farmer was spreading manure 43 Woodpieon, most of these in a single flock 15 Goldfinch 11 Rook 10 Swift 9 Swallow 4 Linnet 4 Bullfinch 3 Willow Warbler 3 Green Finch 2 Chiffchaff 2 Meadow Pipit 2 Blackcap 1 each of Robin, Nuthatch, Greats Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Reed Bunting and Kestrel
Cheers
Mark
John Rayner said
Fri Jul 26 3:06 PM, 2019
Excellent morning with Paul Greenall. 07.45-12.15. Main highlights were...
2 Red Kites. Drifted over from Brownlow at 08.05 and remained in the Hilltop Farm area till 08.55 where they gave stunning views from as close as 100m. They even perched up a couple of times in the 'Ring Ouzel Field' but eventually drifted away towards Gun Road.
1 Crossbill. Whilst watching the Kites a Crossbill flew overhead calling. It dropped into the Hilltop conifer plantation where it both called and sang, unseen. This was a bit of a puzzle as in flight it showed no red in the plumage. It eventually showed itself well and turned out to be a streaked immature. This was definitely the songster as it was watched whilst it sang, Premumably a young male.
Spotted Flycatcher. Seen by Paul only and not relocated
2 Grasshopper Warblers (Far Bradshaw area). Both reeling within 50m of each other. Do females reel?
There seemed to be more small birds around today. c50 Goldfinches - mainly juveniles 4 Whitethroats 4 Redpolls 6 Willow Warblers and 10 Chiffchaffs, both still in song Singles of Blackcap, Song Thrush and Bullfinch.
Cheers John
John Rayner said
Sun Jul 21 9:09 PM, 2019
Hilltop-Cloughend-April Cottage-Quarry-area (in part with Mark Walsh)
Red-legged Partridge (1 calling below quarry. A young bird flushed from the quarry area was probably a Red-legged) Redstart 1 adult male Linnet 4 Redpoll 2 Blackcap 2 Raven 2 Goldfinch 14 Buzzard 1 juv Swift 1 Lapwing 7 Song Thrush 1
Cheers John
Mark Walsh said
Mon Jul 15 2:57 PM, 2019
Midday walk round from Larkhill - Gird Lane - Lakeside - Cloughend - Kennels - Quarry and back.
Had good views of a Juvenile Redstart down Smithy Ln with about 11 Tree Sparrows, no adults about though. Decent numbers of Swallows hawking over the fields probably over a 100 in various locations, biggest group was 27 around the fields just prior to Larkhill.
Called up again today while the weather stays reasonable.
Groups consisted of;
36 Goldfinch around the quarry area 25 Lapwing with a few young 23 Swift through in small groups 20 Starling 16 Swallow with a further 18 at the Kennels 14 Meadow Pipit 7 Skylark
12 Golden Plover there today with only a handful of Lapwing. The rest consisted of Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.
Cheers
Mark
John Rayner said
Sun Jul 7 1:21 PM, 2019
Not a lot of bird activity but a flock of 15 Golden Plovers with c120 Lapwings was noteworthy. Juvenile species seen: Lapwing, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Skylark, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.
Insects on other wildlife.
Cheers John
Robert Adderley said
Tue Jul 2 9:54 PM, 2019
This evening. ...birds included Lapwing -110. Curlew - 9. Golden Plover - 2. Kestrel - 1. Stock Dove - 2. Swift - c30 Skylark Redpoll- 1 Reed Bunting- 3
Mark Walsh said
Fri Jun 28 5:26 PM, 2019
Headed up today on the off chance of finding the Willow Tit again and getting a recording, instead found a Reed Warbler singing in the middle of a Holly bush surrounded by heavy scrub and fields. Both myself an John R heard the bird and had brief glimpses, whilst it would seem to be rather out of place in that kind of habitat listening to the song and viewing the bird (albeit not particularly well) it looked and sounded like our regular Reed Warbler as opposed to anything more exotic.
John Rayner said
Tue Jun 25 8:05 PM, 2019
I have had a couple of responses regarding the Willow Tit images in the last post. Mainly regarding the apparent pale spot on the upper mandible, which is a recognised field mark for Marsh Tit. What wasn't mentioned previously was the fact that this bird gave a classic raspy "che ney ney ney" call and came zooming in overhead when Willow Tit call was played. In an old British Birds article (BB Nov 2009) there is a suggestion that around 4% of Willow Tits can show some sort of pale bill mark.
Cheers John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 25th of June 2019 08:17:01 PM
John Rayner said
Tue Jun 25 3:49 PM, 2019
Another look at the Willow Tit after lunch but still in the rain. Better views than yesterday's rushed 30 seconds, with no binoculars. (All I could spare yesterday, don't ask - grandkids). It looks like a bird of the year with pale tips to the greater coverts and tertials.
Also: Ravens 3 Sparrowhawk Willow Warbler family party (feeding young) Bullfinch 2 (1 juvenile) Redpoll flying over Kestrel pair Linnet pair
Cheers John
Edit: Personally it was my first local Willow Tit since 1977 but it has been pointed out that a small number lasted at Etherow CP into the 80s and possibly 90s
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 25th of June 2019 03:53:32 PM
Midday visit proved very fruitful with a borough rarity in the form of a Willow Tit just past Cloughend. Good views had by myself John Rayner, John Tromans and Andy Bissitt down to 3 or 4 meters quite frequently as it fed in the bushes along Sandhill Lane.
Mark Walsh said
Sat Jun 8 2:45 PM, 2019
A brief visit midday as I was in the area.
One of the fields in-between the PR path and Gun Farm has been ploughed in, to be specific the second field after the PR path. 100+ Lapwing and a few Black Headed Gulls were on the exposed soil and a couple of Curlew were in the air over Gun Road.
A visit a couple of days ago produced 2 Grey Partridge.
Cheers
Mark
Mark Walsh said
Sun May 12 5:32 PM, 2019
As the weather was so fine I had a 2 hour walk around the PR, Far Bradshaw and Quarry area.
At the risk of stealing someone elses thunder (Mark Walsh was first there), there was actually a bit of interest up here today. 3 whinchat, c5 wheatear, garden warbler, common whitethroat were all pretty good, but the jewel in the crown was actually hearing a cuckoo - the first I've personally witnessed up here for perhaps a decade. Curlews, lapwings, sparrowhawk, kestrel, c10 stock doves, tree sparrow, 6+ linnets, a couple of oystercatchers (not inside boundary), and buzzard were some of the other 'usual' suspects.
Mark Walsh said
Mon May 6 8:27 PM, 2019
10:30-12:30 wander round from Hillside, Gun Road, the PR's, the Quarry and back up Sandhill lane.
13 Lapwing 9 Skylark 6 each of Pied Wagtail, Swallow and Wheatear 5 Curlew 4 Willow Warbler 4 Meadow Pipit 2 Reed Bunting 1 Linnet 1 Redpoll 1 Oystercatcher and my first few Swift of the year with 6 going through.
Cheers
Mark
Chris Harper said
Sun May 5 4:59 PM, 2019
Walk up to Coombes Tor from Ludworth 11.20-13.00
Cuckoo calling frequently and distant views obtained. It was on wires around Coombes Farm. Grainy shot attached .
Also Oystercatcher, 4 Curlew , 3 Wheatear, 2 Willow Warbler, Raven, many Lapwing some with chicks, 6 Skylark, 12 Meadow Pipit .
On way back by Bot Wood a second or same Cuckoo flew across road, mobbed by Jackdaws.
Wheatear 3 Curlew 6 Linnet 4 Raven 1 Oystercatcher 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Many Lapwings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits
Cheers John
Geoff Walton said
Sun Apr 28 4:52 PM, 2019
3-4pm
1 Curlew flying over and back
1 Wheatear
6 Lapwing
Skylark singing but not seen
Geoff Walton said
Fri Apr 26 2:23 PM, 2019
C11.45am. very short 5 min stop when passing through from Hayfield
1 Curlew flying
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Wheatear
4 Lapwing
1 Skylark on the ground
John Rayner said
Tue Apr 23 4:22 PM, 2019
Further to Marks post. A cracking morning 07.00-11.15.
Paul and I did locate the second Grasshopper Warbler The male Ring Ouzel was in the same area but flew strongly towards Hillside Farm area. Whilst trying to relocate it (just up from Cloughend) a Cuckoo flew up the valley towards Hillside. Wheatears totalled 7 Oystercatcher 1 Sparrowhawk male Blackcaps 2-3 Willow Warbler 4 Red-legged Partridge 2 (Paul)
Recorded 45 species between us.
Cheers John
Mark Walsh said
Tue Apr 23 3:49 PM, 2019
Hi Julian, I passed the horse drawn carriage as well so must have seen you up there. Lapwing numbers seem to be about the same as last year but with fields being strimmed and sprayed I'd agree that that number is down on what it was a few years ago.
On to today's sightings though. A 7am start with John Rayner and joined later by Paul Greenall. Things seemed quite quiet to begin with but picked up a bit as the morning wore on. A single male Ring Ouzel was again in the quarry area feeding while being harassed by a female Blackbird. At least 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the SBI area adjacent the quarry, though I left John and Paul looking for a second bird calling about 100 meters form the first.
A good flock of about 82 Fieldfare were feeding in the fields South of the quarry, 7 Golden plover were also occasionally taking flight up around the PR path. There were 6 Wheatear dotted about and a few Curlew displaying on what remains of the 'moor'.
Cheers
Mark
Julian Winstanley said
Tue Apr 23 3:25 PM, 2019
I think we passed you on our way up, just as we passed a lovely horse-drawn gig
Stopped to look for Ring ouzel in the usual spot but likewise didn't see any
Went for a wander up picking rods and back via the quarry edge. Few curlews around as yet, lapwing numbers reasonably consistent with last year, which felt much lower than previous seasons. lots of skylarks and numerous wheatear (more than previous years I would say), which this year seem much closer to the road than in previous years. Saw a flock of approx a dozen plover come in to land. Highlights would be group of 3 kestrel and a pair of stock dove in the quarry area.
Mark Walsh said
Mon Apr 22 3:15 PM, 2019
Managed to get a couple of hours in before the family turned up at Midday;
Passing Cloughend Bungalow on the way back to the car a Grasshopper Warbler started reeling, while he was quite vocal getting views proved to be impossible. While I was looking a male Pied Flycatcher popped out of a nearby bush, caught a couple of flies and moved on to the scrub opposite Cloughend.
Cheers
Mark
Andy Bissitt said
Sat Apr 20 8:30 PM, 2019
Went looking for the ring ouzels, unsuccessfully, but found 2 male whinchats and a common whitethroat in the same area as they had been. Quite a hot spot today, in a few ways.
Mark Walsh said
Sat Apr 20 2:28 PM, 2019
Met up with John Rayner at Etherow and decided to head over for a look around hoping for the Redstart and Partridge Andy had yesterday. Missed the Redstart but had excellent views of the Grey Partridge at about 5mtrs away. Highlght was the Ring Ouzel's who put in an appearance at the end of a good morning's birding, not particularly high numbers of anything though.
Mark
Forgot to add 2 Oystercatchers
Butterflies in other wildlife.
-- Edited by Mark Walsh on Saturday 20th of April 2019 02:34:47 PM
Mark Walsh said
Sat Apr 20 1:03 PM, 2019
2 Ring Ouzel (1m + 1f) in the quarry area as well as 1 Grasshopper Warbler in the SBI adjacent the quarry. Will give a full list later.
Andy Bissitt said
Fri Apr 19 7:59 PM, 2019
A redstart was heard calling, and in song a couple of times, at the woods on Brown Low (from the footpath along the western edge; no entry to wood). Nearby, a pair of grey partridge was seen, a first for me up here in many a year.
-- Edited by Andy Bissitt on Friday 19th of April 2019 10:10:12 PM
1.30pm for about 90 mins. Road to Quarry, and back up towards the Picking Rods and back.
Not much around .
2 Wheatear - first right field on the PR's path
A few lapwing in the same field, and some opposite in foreign parts, with a flock flying to the right behind the PR's
2 Curlew flying and landing on our side of the PR's path, two fields up from the road. I walked along the road and saw them together on the ground. Looks like a pair. As I was watching two horses arrived, and the occupant of one said there were quite a few Curlew around, with some either side of the road to the Little Mill Inn - not ours, but nice to hear about. Perhaps there might be some breeding?
1 Skylark in the air, and plenty heard on the ground.
2 Pied Wagtail on the pond edge, again not our side.
2 Oystercatcher also on the edge of the pond
1 hovering Kestrel
Nice to meet you on your travels John.
Reagards
Geoff
-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Saturday 6th of April 2019 09:52:41 PM
Mark Walsh said
Fri Apr 5 2:36 PM, 2019
2 hours from 11 - 1pm;
A flock of about 90 Fieldfare in the SBI adjacent to the quarry. 10 Lapwing 6 Skylark 5 Meadow Pipit 3 Linnet 3 Chiffchaff 1 Buzzard 1 Curlew
A pleasant amble in the sunshine 08.00-10.30
Pink-footed Geese 2 skeins of 100 SW and 90 NW
Swallow flock of 12 on wires
Redpoll 16
Meadow Pipit 20 in feeding flock and a steady trickle of at least 30 SE (all in very small groups of 1-4)
Sparrowhawk 1
Greenfinch 16
Bullfinch 4
Starling 120
Skylark 3
Lapwing 19
Cheers John
Vocal Tawny Owl (poss 2)
Meadow Pipit 73
Skylark 6
Reed Bunting 6
Goldfinch 84 (inc flock of c60 at Cloughend)
Cormorant over N
Jay 8 migrating SW
Starling 30
Coal Tit 2
LBB Gull 4
Cheers, John
Pink-footed Goose skein of c90 SE
House Martin 5 SE
Swallows 17 mostly SE
Jay 4
Meadow Pipits flock of c200 near Pistol Farm + 17 elsewhere
Sparrowhawk successfully caught one of the 200
Raven 1
Linnet 6
Chaffinch 6
Goldfinch 21
Reed Bunting 1
Skylark 1
Pied Wagtail 6
Cheers, John
Northern Lapwing - 20 SE
Common Snipe - 9
Common Buzzard - 3
Gt spotted Woodpecker - 1
Green Woodpecker - 1
Peregrine - 1
Skylark - 5 - SW
Barn Swallow - 30 S / SW
House Martin - 10
Chiffchaff - 3
Goldcrest - 2
Wheatear - 1
Chaffinch - 8
Bullfinch - 2
Linnet - 6
Goldfinch - 15
Reed Bunting - 7
Birds through;
Meadow Pipit 97 N/NW
Chaffinch 25 SW and 26 N
Swallow 32 SW and 14 NW
Also;
C180 Lapwing
27 Goldfinch
25 Starling
15 Chaffinch
9 Snipe
8 Pied Wagtail
5 Reed Bunting
4 Mistle Thrush
3 Chiffchaff
2 Raven
2 Bullfinch
Cheers
Mark
2 Redstart still with one female opposite April Cottage and another bird between Cloughend and Hillside
6 Wheatear, 4 around the pool seen from Gun Road and a further 2 up near the Picking Rods
C120 Swallow over with 10 House and 60 Sand Martin's through higher up
19 Pink-Footed Geese over South
38 Meadow Pipit with small numbers over
10 Linnet
Usual other bits and pieces
Cheers
Mark
A party of 11 wagtails in the horse paddocks at Hillside - all Pieds
Juvenile Buzzard still
Male Redstart
2 Whitethroats
2 Juvenile Bullfinches
2 Greenfinches
c12 Goldfinches
150 Starlings perched on a pylon
Cheers John
Other birds
Buzzard - 1
Raven- 1
Blackcap- 2
Whitethroat ,-2
Willow Warbler- 4
Chiffchaff- 3
Spotted Flycatcher- 1
Bullfinch- 1
Linnet-3
4 Redstart; a pair opposite April Cottage and then a single male inbetween Cloughend and Hillside with a female a bit further up the valley in the same area.
2 Spotted Flycatcher
2 Whinchat
C300 Starling in one large flock
82 Lapwing
54 Meadow Pipit (single group 33 along the PR path)
13 Goldfinch
9 Chaffinch
6 Linnet
5 Chiffchaff
4 Willow Warbler
Singles of Whitethroat, Blackcap, Kestrel, Buzzard and a Hobby just as I got back to the car.
Cheers
Mark
Pretty mundane stuff this afternoon as I searched for a seasonal merlin or such. However, until some meadow pipits turn up, things will remain quiet. Sparrowhawk, buzzard, raven, 5 common gulls and a single whitethroat were only things worth half a look. This was Ernocroft Lane-Brown Low - Larkhill - Smithy Lane - Gird Lane only.
Peregrine 1 juv
Redstart 1m
Whitethroat 2
Swift 2
Skylark 1
Swallow 14
House Martin 2
Raven 2
Starling c300
Lapwing c90
Woodpigeon c120
Good other wildlife sighting.
Cheers John.
1 Garden Warbler at Cloughend
3 Whitethroat between Cloughend and the quarry.
Otherwise;
Good numbers of Goldfinch with small flocks seemingly everywhere, largest was 22 but there appeared to be small groups of between 5 - 10 all over.
13 Lapwing
11 Chaffinch
9 Willow Warbler
6 Chiffchaff
6 Meadow Pipit
1 Raven
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Skylark
Usual other tits and finches
Cheers
Mark
2 small flocks of Redstarts. The first, all in a small hawthorn in Cloughend Valley, comprised 4m and 1f. Later another group, 300m away but possibly some overlap with the first group, comprised 2m, 2f.
Therefore the count was 4-6m and 2-3f.
The second group also had 2 Spotted Flycatchers in attendance.
Other birds:
Singles of Whitethroat, Wheatear, Swift, Lapwing and Buzzard
40 Rooks
25 Meadow Pipits
Cheers John
Highlight birds were 4 Crossbills. Probably came out of Hillside Plantation but picked up calling in flight going NE towards Gun Road.
Juvenile male Redstart near Cloughend Bungalow.
Other youngsters seen were Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove and Pheasant.
Teal 1
Meadow Pipit 12
No raptors at all.
Cheers John.
-- Edited by John Rayner on Saturday 3rd of August 2019 02:43:43 PM
A flyover Tree Pipit above the quarry was a first for me.
Spotted Flycatcher moving between Cloughend and Hillside on the opposite bank.
3 Redstarts (1 male and 2 female), the male was presumably the same bird that's been opposite April Cottage for a week now.
4 Whitethroat
1 Green Woodpecker
Beyond that;
26 Goldfinch in the quarry area
14 Starling
7 Chiffchaff
6 Willow Warbler
1 each of Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.
Usual other stuff.
Cheers
Mark
A decent enough morning - highlights being:
Spotted Flycatcher
Redstart (2 males)
Green Woodpecker
Stock Dove 3
Tawny Owl 2
Raven 1
Chaffinch flock building up c25
Linnet 12
Willow Warbler 12 (minimum)
Chiffchaff 6
Blackcap
Whitethroat 2
Pied Wagtail feeding young
Cheers John
Some migration in evidence today:
Hobby 1
Lapwing 43
Swallow 44 SW
Starling 106
Willow Warbler 4
Chiffchaff 7 (inc family party)
Linnet flock 25 NE
Redpoll 2
Bullfinch 2
Singles of Goldcrest, Greenfinch, Kestrel, Buzzard
Cheers John
1 Lesser Whitethroat quite far down Smithy Lane
7 Raven was nice, these up around Gun Farm and the PR path.
1 Wheatear in the Quarry area
1 Hobby low between Cloughend and Hillside
1 Male Redstart, just walking past April Cottage to the car and out it popped in one of the shrubs.
Plenty of other birds about as well;
52 Black Headed Gulls opposite Larkhill where the farmer was spreading manure
43 Woodpieon, most of these in a single flock
15 Goldfinch
11 Rook
10 Swift
9 Swallow
4 Linnet
4 Bullfinch
3 Willow Warbler
3 Green Finch
2 Chiffchaff
2 Meadow Pipit
2 Blackcap
1 each of Robin, Nuthatch, Greats Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Reed Bunting and Kestrel
Cheers
Mark
2 Red Kites. Drifted over from Brownlow at 08.05 and remained in the Hilltop Farm area till 08.55 where they gave stunning views from as close as 100m. They even perched up a couple of times in the 'Ring Ouzel Field' but eventually drifted away towards Gun Road.
1 Crossbill. Whilst watching the Kites a Crossbill flew overhead calling. It dropped into the Hilltop conifer plantation where it both called and sang, unseen. This was a bit of a puzzle as in flight it showed no red in the plumage. It eventually showed itself well and turned out to be a streaked immature. This was definitely the songster as it was watched whilst it sang, Premumably a young male.
Spotted Flycatcher. Seen by Paul only and not relocated
2 Grasshopper Warblers (Far Bradshaw area). Both reeling within 50m of each other. Do females reel?
There seemed to be more small birds around today.
c50 Goldfinches - mainly juveniles
4 Whitethroats
4 Redpolls
6 Willow Warblers and 10 Chiffchaffs, both still in song
Singles of Blackcap, Song Thrush and Bullfinch.
Cheers John
Red-legged Partridge (1 calling below quarry. A young bird flushed from the quarry area was probably a Red-legged)
Redstart 1 adult male
Linnet 4
Redpoll 2
Blackcap 2
Raven 2
Goldfinch 14
Buzzard 1 juv
Swift 1
Lapwing 7
Song Thrush 1
Cheers John
Had good views of a Juvenile Redstart down Smithy Ln with about 11 Tree Sparrows, no adults about though.
Decent numbers of Swallows hawking over the fields probably over a 100 in various locations, biggest group was 27 around the fields just prior to Larkhill.
Elsewhere;
15 Goldfinch
5 Willow Warbler
3 Chiffchaff
2 Blackcap
2 Buzzard
2 Redpoll
2 Swift
1 Kestrel
Cheers
Mark
Groups consisted of;
36 Goldfinch around the quarry area
25 Lapwing with a few young
23 Swift through in small groups
20 Starling
16 Swallow with a further 18 at the Kennels
14 Meadow Pipit
7 Skylark
Best of the rest;
5 Pied Wagtail
4 Redpoll
3 Chiffchaff
3 Willow Warbler
3 Whitethroat
2 Linnet
2 Stock Dove
Cheers
Mark
Cheers
Mark
Juvenile species seen: Lapwing, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Skylark, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.
Insects on other wildlife.
Cheers John
Lapwing -110.
Curlew - 9.
Golden Plover - 2.
Kestrel - 1.
Stock Dove - 2.
Swift - c30
Skylark
Redpoll- 1
Reed Bunting- 3
In an old British Birds article (BB Nov 2009) there is a suggestion that around 4% of Willow Tits can show some sort of pale bill mark.
Cheers John
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 25th of June 2019 08:17:01 PM
It looks like a bird of the year with pale tips to the greater coverts and tertials.
Also:
Ravens 3
Sparrowhawk
Willow Warbler family party (feeding young)
Bullfinch 2 (1 juvenile)
Redpoll flying over
Kestrel pair
Linnet pair
Cheers John
Edit: Personally it was my first local Willow Tit since 1977 but it has been pointed out that a small number lasted at Etherow CP into the 80s and possibly 90s
-- Edited by John Rayner on Tuesday 25th of June 2019 03:53:32 PM
One of the fields in-between the PR path and Gun Farm has been ploughed in, to be specific the second field after the PR path. 100+ Lapwing and a few Black Headed Gulls were on the exposed soil and a couple of Curlew were in the air over Gun Road.
A visit a couple of days ago produced 2 Grey Partridge.
Cheers
Mark
1 Whinchat in the area,
32 Golden Plover
15 Lapwing
11 Swallow
6 Linnet
5 Pied Wagtail
4 Skylark
3 Willow Warbler
3 Meadow Pipit
2 Chiffchaff
2 Garden Warbler
1 Whitethroat
1 Oystercatcher
Cheers
Mark
At the risk of stealing someone elses thunder (Mark Walsh was first there), there was actually a bit of interest up here today. 3 whinchat, c5 wheatear, garden warbler, common whitethroat were all pretty good, but the jewel in the crown was actually hearing a cuckoo - the first I've personally witnessed up here for perhaps a decade. Curlews, lapwings, sparrowhawk, kestrel, c10 stock doves, tree sparrow, 6+ linnets, a couple of oystercatchers (not inside boundary), and buzzard were some of the other 'usual' suspects.
13 Lapwing
9 Skylark
6 each of Pied Wagtail, Swallow and Wheatear
5 Curlew
4 Willow Warbler
4 Meadow Pipit
2 Reed Bunting
1 Linnet
1 Redpoll
1 Oystercatcher
and my first few Swift of the year with 6 going through.
Cheers
Mark
Walk up to Coombes Tor from Ludworth 11.20-13.00
Cuckoo calling frequently and distant views obtained. It was on wires around Coombes Farm. Grainy shot attached .
Also Oystercatcher, 4 Curlew , 3 Wheatear, 2 Willow Warbler, Raven, many Lapwing some with chicks, 6 Skylark, 12 Meadow Pipit .
On way back by Bot Wood a second or same Cuckoo flew across road, mobbed by Jackdaws.
Wheatear 3
Curlew 6
Linnet 4
Raven 1
Oystercatcher 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Many Lapwings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits
Cheers John
3-4pm
1 Curlew flying over and back
1 Wheatear
6 Lapwing
Skylark singing but not seen
C11.45am. very short 5 min stop when passing through from Hayfield
1 Curlew flying
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Wheatear
4 Lapwing
1 Skylark on the ground
Paul and I did locate the second Grasshopper Warbler
The male Ring Ouzel was in the same area but flew strongly towards Hillside Farm area.
Whilst trying to relocate it (just up from Cloughend) a Cuckoo flew up the valley towards Hillside.
Wheatears totalled 7
Oystercatcher 1
Sparrowhawk male
Blackcaps 2-3
Willow Warbler 4
Red-legged Partridge 2 (Paul)
Recorded 45 species between us.
Cheers John
On to today's sightings though. A 7am start with John Rayner and joined later by Paul Greenall. Things seemed quite quiet to begin with but picked up a bit as the morning wore on. A single male Ring Ouzel was again in the quarry area feeding while being harassed by a female Blackbird. At least 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the SBI area adjacent the quarry, though I left John and Paul looking for a second bird calling about 100 meters form the first.
A good flock of about 82 Fieldfare were feeding in the fields South of the quarry, 7 Golden plover were also occasionally taking flight up around the PR path. There were 6 Wheatear dotted about and a few Curlew displaying on what remains of the 'moor'.
Cheers
Mark
Stopped to look for Ring ouzel in the usual spot but likewise didn't see any
Went for a wander up picking rods and back via the quarry edge. Few curlews around as yet, lapwing numbers reasonably consistent with last year, which felt much lower than previous seasons. lots of skylarks and numerous wheatear (more than previous years I would say), which this year seem much closer to the road than in previous years. Saw a flock of approx a dozen plover come in to land. Highlights would be group of 3 kestrel and a pair of stock dove in the quarry area.
5 Swallow
5 Willow Warbler
4 Wheatear
3 Chiffchaff
2 Oystercatcher
2 Redpoll
2 Linnet
2 Raven
Plus the usual culprits
Passing Cloughend Bungalow on the way back to the car a Grasshopper Warbler started reeling, while he was quite vocal getting views proved to be impossible. While I was looking a male Pied Flycatcher popped out of a nearby bush, caught a couple of flies and moved on to the scrub opposite Cloughend.
Cheers
Mark
Went looking for the ring ouzels, unsuccessfully, but found 2 male whinchats and a common whitethroat in the same area as they had been. Quite a hot spot today, in a few ways.
8 Lapwing
5 Meadow Pipit
4 Wheatear
3 Pied Wagtail
3 Willow Warbler
2 Linnet
2 Skylark
2 Reed Bunting
2 Grey Partridge
2 Ring Ouzel (1m + 1F)
2 Red Legged Partridge
2 Redpoll
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Buzzard
1 Raven
1 Curlew
Cheers
Mark
Forgot to add 2 Oystercatchers
Butterflies in other wildlife.
-- Edited by Mark Walsh on Saturday 20th of April 2019 02:34:47 PM
A redstart was heard calling, and in song a couple of times, at the woods on Brown Low (from the footpath along the western edge; no entry to wood). Nearby, a pair of grey partridge was seen, a first for me up here in many a year.
-- Edited by Andy Bissitt on Friday 19th of April 2019 10:10:12 PM
Wheatears 8
Willow Warblers 9
Golden Plovers c80 (30 departed NE)
Tawny Owl 1
Tree Sparrows 4 (Smithy Farm)
Linnet 1 singing male
Red-legged Partridge 2 (Cloughend)
+ Usual beeeding birds
Cheers John
Red-legged Partridge 2
Fieldfare 80
Redwing 1
Wheatear 3
Willow Warbler 4
Golden Plover 23
Snipe 1
Cheers, John
1.30pm for about 90 mins. Road to Quarry, and back up towards the Picking Rods and back.
Not much around .
2 Wheatear - first right field on the PR's path
A few lapwing in the same field, and some opposite in foreign parts, with a flock flying to the right behind the PR's
2 Curlew flying and landing on our side of the PR's path, two fields up from the road. I walked along the road and saw them together on the ground. Looks like a pair. As I was watching two horses arrived, and the occupant of one said there were quite a few Curlew around, with some either side of the road to the Little Mill Inn - not ours, but nice to hear about. Perhaps there might be some breeding?
1 Skylark in the air, and plenty heard on the ground.
2 Pied Wagtail on the pond edge, again not our side.
2 Oystercatcher also on the edge of the pond
1 hovering Kestrel
Nice to meet you on your travels John.
Reagards
Geoff
-- Edited by Geoff Walton on Saturday 6th of April 2019 09:52:41 PM
A flock of about 90 Fieldfare in the SBI adjacent to the quarry.
10 Lapwing
6 Skylark
5 Meadow Pipit
3 Linnet
3 Chiffchaff
1 Buzzard
1 Curlew
Pretty breezy out there though.
cheers
Mark