An update on the Green Woodpecker

I have spoken to the lady is taking care of it and she says it is doing well and she has managed to get it to feed which is normally a struggle with this and other similar species. It will be kept for a period, possibly a couple of weeks and will be released where I found it when it has recovered

Went to Piethorne in search of Stonechat and Green Woodpecker and got more than I bargained for!

In a ditch was a Green Woodpecker being mobbed by Carrion Crows. I shoed away the Crows but the woody was in a poor state, probably exhausted from defending itself. It allowed me to close in and pick it up. I put it in my hat and put it inside my fleece.

Having rang a RSPCA inspector for advice, the woody now resides in a local vets. Thankfully, it shows no sign of injury and will be given antibiotics as a precaution and given food. When/if it makes a recovery, it will be released back where I found it

Short-eared owl - My second in the valley (at least 20 years apart) I'm inclined to keep the exact location to myself unless specifically asked.

I also flushed the largest covey of partridges that I have seen in the valley for a number of years. There were about 10 and I have to assume they were grey partridges because visibilty was very poor. However I have previously only ever seen grey parteidges in the valley. These were some distance away from the usual haunts so we may have 2 coveys which would suggest that breeding was far more succesful last year than I thought. (Last winter there were 5 birds around Binns ruins and this year 4. My highest number before today was 11 about four years ago and that was in the meadow east of Goodfleckers.)

Heron on the brook at Woodmill. (I have not seen the dippers there for a couple of weeks now.)

Had a wander 11.00-2.00
Very quite not much about. Other than plenty of snow.
3xcormorant
3xteal
8xmallard
highlight of day 1xgreen woodpecker
Very enjoyable in conditions.
Cheers Danny

After a productive morning baggin' the ring-billed gull at Mirfield (on the third attempt), upon arriving home I decided on a bracing and snowy walk up Ogden this aft'. The walk yielded the following:

1. Goldcrest in Rough Bank Plantation.
2. Woodcock (my first of this winter) in Raghole Clough and a fine looking brown hare here also.
3. Not in the valley, but seen from the Rapes Highway, above Doldrum, two buzzards over Hoar Edge, across the M62. They were briefly mobbed by a small falcon that could've been a merlin, but couldn't be sure.
4. Circa 25 lapwing flew down from the moors, but didn't appear to settle in the valley.
5. Stonechat (my first for a while in the valley) looking miserable in a hawthorn just by Springholes.
6. Two very confiding fieldfares in the entwined elder and hawthorn trees, just through the stile hole across from Gate House.
7. Single cormorant over.

The track above Doldrum was treacherous. I did the can-can and ended up on my back three times.

Chris

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Geoff, it's not unusual to see Black-headed Gulls with all full dark hoods at this time of year

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Thanks Ian. Helpful second opinions are always appreciated

Geoff, it's not unusual to see Black-headed Gulls with all full dark hoods at this time of year

None of the reservoirs have completely iced over.

6 cormarants on Ogden
3 Goosanders and a pair of Mallards on Piethon.
Black-headed gulls present around lower end of the valley as usual but one almost in summer plumage (Which may be worth checking out in case it is something other than a BHG.)

Pied wagtail and grey wagtail seen today, together on the bank between the cobbled road to Rough Bank and the Plantation of the same name. (Just outside the Piethorn watershed - up by Readycon Dean reservoir I also saw a single willow (red) grouse.)

Monday evening. Some snow and a lot of ice -
Little Owl at Sprinholes - My first sighting of this valley regular for quite a few weeks.
Great tits in Knowsley Plantation may not be that exciting until you think about how hard it is for them in such harsh conditions compared with all those that you see on the nations birdfeeders.

Pleasent walk this morning.

Pair of Goosander on Ogden Res, took flight and moved up to Kitcliffe.
Various Gulls
22 Canadas grazing
8 Malard

Merganser on Piethorne res about 11:30
Various gulls

Not a bird in sight at Hanging Lees

Large flock of mixed starlings and firldfares around Kitcliffe Farm meadows. Approx 30 - 40 firldfares which is the most I have seen in the valley this winter. There was at least one mistle thrush in there also but no redwings seen.

Hi Danny
On my way home I saw some falconers down by the dyeworks presumably trying to hunt rabbits but it looked somewhat sad if not a little pathetic compared with that display up on the hills.
(I found a dipper in the upper reaches of Piethorn Book a few minutes after we went our seperate ways.)
Geoff

Hi geoff i'm the other person you spoke too.
What a spectacle, i was convinced they were just playing together until the third bird which i am sure was another falcon joined in. Then the raven decided to exit quickly.Wise chose in my mind.
Pleased to have met you.

Sunday midday. I was privilaged to watch a dogfight between a couple of ravens and a peregrine taking place right over my head - so close that a couple of times I could hear the wind in their feathers. This was on the slopes above Norman Hill Reservoir. It started with two ravens mobbing the Peregrine but when one lost interst the tables turned and it looked like the peregrine was sizing up the remaining raven for dinner. For at least 5 minutes they twisted and turned with both parties doing their share of the attacking. Then the Raven took rapid flight out of sight over the hill pursued by the peregrine and a third bird that I had naturally assuimed was the other raven. Another person who I spoke to a short while after who had also seen this action said that the third bird was another peregrine that had flow in from across the valley!

Given the size difference I wondered if once the peregrine had turned on it that the raven was having to continue to fly close in order to prevent it getting a decent stoop where the impact may have offset that size and weight inbalance. Other than that it was almost as if they were playing and I do know better than that!

Ref the possigle merlin? Over the last two or three weeks I too have had a three brief sightings, around the dyeworks, of what I thought may be a merlin - but all sightings have been too brief to call with any certainty. (Particularly when the hunting tactics of a bird of prey described to me by a resident in that area sounded very much like a sparrowhawk.) My last two trips had turned up nothing so I was beginning to think it had moved on - the last being on the 27th - so hopefully this is the same bird and a positive outcome is still possible.

had a fantastic day exploring this site weather conditions realy bad but was rewarded when watching two dippers on the small stream that runs alongside Huddersfield rd a hobby came gliding down following the contours of the river obviously avoiding the wind like me but seemed really interested in the dippers and landed on a nearby rock but was flushed before i could get my camera out by a passing bus maybe next time lovely markings though and a very welcome end to great day cant wait till the kinder months weather wise
regards
deon
my mistake sorry for the earlier missidentification it was more likely to have been a merlin still a welcome sight on an otherwise unproductive windy day
regards
deon


-- Edited by Deon Meadowcroft on Friday 30th of December 2011 12:03:33 PM

From yesterday, 18th December 2011:

On a morning binocular-less walk, via Ogden, to Blackstone Edge, the White House and Littleborough (fantastic walking conditions on t' tops), a couple of things of note, included, a pair of goosander on Ogden Res', plus a lone reed bunting and a meadow pipit over, at Doldrum.

Regards, Christopher

Out before sunrise this morning to make the most of the snow and was rewarded with a snipe in the clough between Turf Hill and Rhodes Barns.

PM visit.
8 Goosanders on Kitcliffe
1 Great Crested Grebe on Ogden
1 Cormarant on Ogden
5 long-tailed tits Ogden Lane beside dyeworks
3 mistle thrushes on lower slopes of Ogden Edge.

The few tress and walls at Cold Greave turned up another good assortment for such a bleak spot.
7 Goldfinches
5 starlings
1 Fieldfare
1 Blackbird

Nothing but a few black-headed gulls on Piethorn, Hanging Lees, Rooden or Norman Hill.

Pm visit

Cold Greave.
In the last of the snow squalls 11 starlings, 1 mistle thrush, 1 blacbird and 1 robin were all ground foraging. Up intil then I had given up much hope of seeing anything other than the usual crows and magpies.

Ogden Reservoir
3 Goosanders
1 Great Crested Grebe
1 Cormarant
2 Mallard
1 Jay at the bottom end of Goodfleckers.

Between Ogden dam and Woodmill
1 Grey wagtail
1 Heron (flew over)
1 Green Woodpecker
1 Sparrowhawk

Geoff Eldridge wrote:

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Despite the cold and snow up on the hills there were still 3 meadow pipits seen along the Rooden catchwater drain.

(In the ruined building at the far northern extreme of the drain there is a good collection of pellets amongst the obvious droppings if there is an enthusiast of such things reading this.  Although I didn't think any of them were freshly deposited) 

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Geoff, regarding the old building in question, when I was a kid, swallows used to nest in there and in the past I've flushed a kestrel from there. An 'owd' local several years ago told me little owls used to frequent the place, but can't recall ever seeing any myself.

Christopher

A cowd and windy walk up Ogden and Wickenhall this aft' yielded very little, save for:

five goosander and a tufted duck on Kitcliffe Res' and a great spotted woodpecker over Bluebell Wood.
Dismal it was.

Christopher

At last . . .

5 grey partridges - in the rough pasture behind Binns Ruins between Town Hill And Turf Hill.

It's as much about luck as patience to spot these because of the terrain up there and you almost have to walk into them before they break cover.

More like the early winters that I would expect up in the valley today. Windy on high ground and exposed areas so very little to see on the upper reservoirs - and reluctance to hang around too long for close study.

4 Goosanders and tufted duck on Kitcliffe.
2 Ravens on Town Hill - ( A raven was also vocal and flying around the close to the corvid roost at Old House Grounds last night - do they roost with crows?)
1 female kestrel in Town Hill area and another seen at Higher Ogden 2 hours later. Could be the same bird.
1 Jay at Springholes and another in Piethorn Plantation 2 hours later - but I know there is (or was) at least 3 in the valley around Kitcliffe.
Approx 30 black-headed gulls around the lower end of the valley
3 Cock pheasants foraging the manure heap on below Springholes added some colour to the day.

On the way home 2 dippers and a grey wagtail in the brook at Woodmill below the dyeworks.

Fair enough Steve. We live and learn but as I said it is purely speculative and doesn't count. (I reckon it was one of the two but lack the experience and confidence to call it on such a short showing.)

Much more likely to be a Green Sandpiper, Geoff. The do like lurking in drains!

Cheers, Steve

PM visit

Dippers As well as the pair at Woodmill there is another pair on Piethorn Brook above Norman Hill Resevoir.
Gadwell 1 (My first for the valley.) Norman Hill Reservoir.
Teal 3 Norman Hill Reservoir.
Kestrel 1 Springholes
Little Owl 1 Springholes
Goosander 1 male on Kitcliffe
Cormarant 1 on Ogden.

Plus 1 unidentified wader flew up from the drain that runs along the northside of Norman Hill Reservoir. It was about 30 metres from me and I got a 3 or 4 second view as it flew up over the wall. It had a striking white rump and was sandpiper size but putting an ID on it with hindsight is purely speculative but if I was to give it a shot - a wood sandpiper seems to fit closest to what I think I saw. (it wasn't a jay!)

Late pm visit.
7 goosanders (3M) on Kitcliffe Reservoir.
3 jays around Springholes
The wind had picked up a little and veered around to the east which made the crows heading for the roost in Old House Grounds fly in very low. It really is quite special to come down off the hills looking into the last light of sunset with calling crows flying in all around you. An experience I was able to share with a dog-walker who, liked me, has now become a compulsive crow-counter.

Early walk this morning - too foggy to see much but the peregrine was about again. This time on the pylon (47R) on the south side of Kitcliffe Farm and flew off north easterly.

PM visit. Murky with easterly winds. Lower 3 reservoirs only checked.
Very little wildfowl - only a couple of mallards on Ogden Reservoir.

Fieldfares 3 - Binns Ruins
Starlings approx 30 Springholes
Jay 1 Springholes
Kestrel 1 Flew over Ogden dam up to Rough Bank Farm.
Ravens 2 Flew over from Town Hill and appeared to go down into Newhey Quarry.

Afternoon/evening visit.
Raven 1 Town Hill Pylons
Peregrine 1 (Roosted briefly on Pylon near top of Goodfleckers - Last light of day and disrupted the crows heading for the roost in Old House grounds as it flew off towards Rochdale.)
Carrion Crows 168 counted heading for the roost.
Goosanders 6 all female. 3 on Norman Hill Reservoir 3 on Rooden Reservoir(1 left and was later see on Hanging Lees Reservoir.)
Mallards 6 (4m 2F) All on Hanging Lees Reservoir but 4 moved down to Kitcliffe.
Cormarant 1 Flew up the valley and heading for Denshaw area.
Teal 5 on Kitcliffe Reservoir.
Canada Goose 27 feeding on meadows around Cold Greave.
Starlings 5 (amongst the Canada Geese)
Common Gulls 4 on Rooden Reservoir dam(south)
Black headed gulls 6 on Rooden Reservoir
Lesser black-backed (juv) 1 (Probable) Rooden Reservoir dam
Little Owl 1 Springholes.
Tawny Owl 1 heard from some way off but in vacinity of Dyeworks.

Large flock of mixed tits in the trees between north shore of Piethorn Reservoir and Old House Grounds. Mostly long tailed tits (probably 20+). Blue tits, great tits and coal tits amongst them - and I briefly saw what I thought was a marsh or willow tit but sighting was too brief to be sure.

27 fieldfares flew over Piethorn dam this morning and appeared to be heading for Cold Greave Clough. That's the biggest flock I have seen in the valley this autumn.
5 female goosanders on Kitcliffe. (No sign of any other wildfowl this mornong on any of the lower 3 reservoirs. Not even mallards!)
Flock of about 25 starlings and 2 mistle thrushes and a few blackbirds around the Springholes and Binns Ruins area but none of the usual fieldfares or redwing.
1 Kestrel over Town Hill
Large flock of long-tailed tits below Rough Bank Plantation.
Springmill bird feeders were very busy with greenfinches, goldfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits, coal tits with 2 pied wagtails and 1 house sparrow nearby.
There were about 30 bllack headed gulls around Ogeden Reservoir. (Last Saturday showed about the same number of lesser black-backed gulls and a dozen common gulls on Rooden Reservoir.)

Quick trip today - it's still fairly quiet

1 male and 4 female goosanders flew down the valley and landed on Foulwater Lodge but had relocated to Ogden Reservoir by the time I was back down that end of the valley.
1 male and 3 female tufted duck on Kitcliffe Res.
1 Raven on Town Hill pylons
1 Cormarant on Ogden Res.
1 Little Owl at Springholes

Slightly outside of the valley 2 dippers seem to have weathered the roadworks disruption at Woodmill below the dyeworks and were both very visible and vocal today.

4 Ravens flew over Ogden Reservoir heading over towards Rakewood. These are seen quite regularly in this area.
6 meadow pipits above Knowlsey plantation/quarry.
1 cormarant flew into the valley over Rooden reservoir from Denshaw direction.
1 Little Owl and 2 Jays around Springholes but no sign of any winter thrushes that tend to collect there. (Nor have I found any sign yet this autumn of the grey partridges that usually winter around Binns ruins and Springholes.)
Not much seen on the reservoirs either - I female Goosander on Norman Hill and a couple of Tufted Duck on Kitcliffe
The heron that is often seen around Foulwater Lodge and the pool below it is likely to be the dead one in the brook below the dyeworks.

Solitary Whooper swan just flew over my house heading up into Piethorn valley. (11:15) (see Hollingworth Lake and Watergrove - probably the same bird.)

Little Grebe on Foulwater Lodge last night. Leastwise I think it was it but may be worth checking out for something 'better' if you are going that way. It was very secretive and tended to retreat to the few reads in the Northwest corner between dives. (4 tufted ducks also on there yesterday and a female goosander seen a couple of times last week)

13/10.

Pink-footed Geese - viewable from Rooden Reservoir at Piethorne but flying over slightly to the south of the valley above the Denshaw/Crompton Moor area this morning:-

c140 W at 10.25 am,
c75 W at 10.30 am,
c40 W at 10.43 am.

Also 1 Fieldfare south and a flock of c50 mixed thrushes flying west - most of which were Redwings but Fieldfare(s) were heard amongst them. Just looked back through my last 5 years records for Piethorne for Fieldfare and this seems to be an "average" autumn arrival date (11/10/10, 12/10/09, 18/10/08, 3/10/07, 26/10/06).

c40 Goldfinch, 5 Meadow Pipits, 3 Tufted Duck and 1 Great Crested Grebe. 3 Wigeon and 4 Teal landed on Piethorne Reservoir late morning and after a 30 second stop decided it wasn't really to their liking and left for greener pastures!

On 28th September there were 6 Stonechats in a loose congregation foraging together around one of the bracken patches in the upper valley.


Cheers,


Bill.

2 Grey Partridge seen again today nearer to Rooden RES . On Rochdale side of boundary

5 swallows at carpark
willow warbler singing - nearly drowned out by no of skylark singing
tufted duck - pair on Ogden
Oystercatcher - 2
Wheatear - at least 3 pair on walk round - 1 with nest mat
Curlew

and two grey partridge


-- Edited by Kath Butterworth on Saturday 9th of April 2011 07:57:56 PM

3rd April 1 Buzzard over Higher Ogden, a Great Crested Grebe on Ogden and 3 Tufteds on Foulwater Lodge on a quick look in the afternoon. Neil

Originally posted by Dave Phillips today:

Thursday pm.

Nice to see a pair of Little Owl in usual place above Ogden Res. Had my doubts after such a hard winter.
Cheers Dave Phillips.

Had wander 1-2pm

Main res,
oystercatcher
canada geese
Mallard

flying over,
Plenty green finch
Goosander(female)

100+fieldfare
sparrowhawk in bush behind
In quarry between 2 + 3 res

1xhare

pat culkin wrote:

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3 wheatears in the valley this afternoon, all in the field to the east of limehouse. two of them definitely males, uncertain about the third.

---

What a great record Pat and Maggie - have just checked my Piethorne early/late dates for Wheatear since I started keeping records in 2003 and this is the earliest arrival date that I am aware of for the valley. Other dates being 30/3/03, 23/3/04, 22/3/05, 31/3/06, 29/3/07, 18/3/08, 24/3/09 and 19/3/10.

Cheers,

Bill.

3 wheatears in the valley this afternoon, all in the field to the east of limehouse. two of them definitely males, uncertain about the third.

17th January.

Single calling Skylark heading purposefully NW over the hills between Piethorne and Longden End this morning.

Cheers,

Bill.

My first visit since Christmas. Ogden is still completely frozen over. Piethorn is mostly frozen but no wildlife seen.
Kitcliffe has a few pools of water and the streams are flowing but it is nearly empty. One male Goosander was seen on it from the hills above but had gone when I got there a couple of hours later. 3 teal (2m 1F) and half a dozen mallards made up the valley's duck collection on that reservoir. About twenty Black-headed gulls were also on there - one of which was similar to one that gave me a bad time a couple of months back. Its head was almost in full summer plumage. 2 Common Gulls also.
Best of the day was superb stoat tracks hunting rabbits in the fresh snow.

Ogden and Norman Hill reservoirs still iced over. Hanging Lees has an ice free patch at the south side inlet. Piethorn and Rodden more or less ice free. They have been draining Kitcliffe while it is frozen over so in places the ice is considerably higher than the water levels of streams and what is left of the reservoir - which makes some interesting and challenging birdwatching. There were Teal and Mallards on'and under it. The only diving bird seen was a cormarant on Piethorn.
There were quite a few Lesser Black Backed and Common Gulls very active on and around Rooden. Two Ravens flew over. A kestrel below the piethorn dam.
The easiet birding remains at the lower end of the valleyaround the mill. Bullfinches; mixed flock of Long-tailed tits, Blue tits and Great tits; Dipper, Robin and Sparrowhawk all seen on a casual stroll through.

All reservoirs look to be still mostly frozen over but low cloud gave poor visibility on Piethorn. What water that could be seen was largely on top of the ice. The road side of the valley was okay for walking but water on the packed snow and ice of the regular paths on the otherside makes progress very difficult.
The most noteable sighting for today were a goldcrest near the mill and a wren under Roughbank Plantation.