27th November.

This morning was only my fifth visit to the valley this month (all have been very brief) and the first one since 16th November. Therefore it was a really nice surprise to find what was presumably one of the Hollingworth Lake Great Northern Diver juveniles showing really well, but in poor weather conditions on Ogden Reservoir at 10.20 am. This bird was also seen by Matt and Chris - two keen birder watching employees of UU based at Piethorne and was still present at 11.40 am. A re-visit early afternoon (1.15 to 2.15 pm) - to try and photograph the bird found that it appeared to have gone I presume it has returned back to Hollingworth Lake via Rakewood - I hope it observed the 50 mph speed restrictions through the roadworks on the M62 Rakewood Viaduct...otherwise it might be the first diver ever to be captured on a motorway speed camera photograph!

This would appear to be only the third ever record of this species at Piethorne - the previous two birds were sighted on Piethorne Reservoir on 7th August 1957 and 19th November 1975.

Also at least 1 Raven, a flock of c35 Greenfinch and a flock of c12 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Sparrowhawk and 2 Grey Wagtails.

Water levels on the valleys reservoirs have been low since April '09. Piethorne Res. is now just about to start overflowing but Kitcliffe and Ogden Reservoirs are still very low - I wonder if we could do with a bit of rain to help things along

Cheers,

Bill.

Bill,

when you have finished with the diver, could you please sent it on its way over the hill to Castleshaw.

Cheers.

It is indeed one of the Hollingworth birds (only one there this morning), Bill kindly texted me after he found it but I was at Seaforth at the time and my hands were so cold I couldn't post it from my phone!

Hi Neil

if it is one of the Hollingworth Lake birds at Ogden, then it is heading in the right direction for Norfolk. Have you had a Great Northern on the Nunnery Lake?

Steve

Great Northern Diver on Ogden Reservoir at 10.20am this morning (news courtesy of Bill Myerscough). Assume it's one of the Hollingworth Lake birds?

All I know is I'm stuck in work in Norfolk and there's a patch tick in Manchester, I feel a twitch coming on......

Neil

27th October.

A small flock of 7 Siskin flying about the lower valley this morning. 1 Lesser Redpoll over.

Also there appeared to have been a small influx of Goldcrest into the valley. In some of the previous years this has been a really substantial influx and October is the month that this usually occurs, when birds can sometimes be seen and heard along the whole length of the large conifer plantation in the lower valley. The elusive nature of these tiny birds and the fact that they are well spread out makes counting the numbers of these arrivals quite difficult but numbers must be substantially into double-figures. Today "only" 7 or 8 concentrated at one end of the plantation. Maybe the larger influx is yet to come?........ isn't the folklore that they are supposed to arrive on the backs of the continental Woodcocks that spend the winter here! Hence their nickname of "The Woodcock's Pilot". What a lovely image that conjures up... I can see them now, sat on the backs of the bigger birds - all wearing tiny little pairs of goggles as they cross the North Sea! A Treecreeper was amongst the Goldcrest today.

Also c40 Redwing moving east and 4 Fieldfare not quite certain which direction to take! 11+ Long-tailed Tits.

Cheers,

Bill.

25th October.

A party of 5 Ravens heading due west over the valley before appearing to turn sharply northwards and head in the direction of Hollingworth Lake.

The only other thing worth reporting is that almost all of the large numbers of winter thrushes appear to have moved on from the valley for the time being.

Cheers,

Bill.

15th & 16th October.

15th - 7.30 to 9.30.

Still a flock of c25 Linnet in the valley. 1 Kingfisher. 4 Goosander.

c64 Redwing west, c33 Fieldfare west.

Also on both 15th and 16th three figure counts of winter thrushes down in the valley feeding. Mostly Fieldfares with just small numbers of Redwings and Starlings although there was one Redwing flock in one of the plantations of c40 birds. A female Sparrowhawk was hunting the new arrivals on 15th! Small numbers of heard but unseen Skylarks passing over on both days.

16th - 7.30 - 11.00.

2 Ravens - not a pair - in dispute and after a brief skirmish they went in opposite directions. c15 Common Gull, 9 Reed Buntings.

Cheers,

Bill.

14th October.

2.30 pm to 5.00 pm.

A large flock c250 of Fieldfares down in the valley feeding on rowan berries with a much smaller number c15 of Redwings amongst them. Later sightings of flocks of Fieldfares (with very small numbers of Redwings amongst them) of c100, c70 and c70 which may or may not have been part of the initial large flock? The last flock of c70 were down in the valley foraging on short cropped upland sheep pasture and were later joined a flock of c50 Redwings.

A covey of 13 Grey Partridge were a welcome sight as I trekked up the valley looking for Ring Ouzels......but with no luck there I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Bill.

12th October.

A single Fieldfare amongst the large flock of Mistle Thrush this morning.

c5 Redwing, 4 Reed Bunting, 3 Goldcrest and 6+ Linnet - including one in song! Lesser Redpoll and Siskin both heard in flight.

Bill.

11th October.

A miserable morning weather wise at Piethorne - low cloud, driving drizzle and leaden skies and that was just the better spells!

At 9.00 - 17 Pink-footed Geese flew right over the valley. They appeared to be a little disorientated by the weather conditions, the skein was well broken up and they looked at one time as if they might even come down. They managed to sort themselves out and then headed due east in an orderly fashion.

Also c60 Starlings loosely associating with the resident flock of c22 Mistle Thrush. The first trickle of Redwings seen/heard - 2 possibly 3 birds over the valley.

Cheers,

Bill.

2nd October.

A flock of 22 Mistle Thrush feeding with a slightly smaller number of Starlings in the drizzle shrouded valley this morning.

Last Swallows reported on 26/9.

Cheers,

Bill.

21st September.

2 Wigeon - different birds from those seen on 16/9. On 16/9 those seen were two dapper looking males partially out of eclipse plumage - these two today were very drab looking specimens.

Also 2 yellow-gaped, recently fledged Swallows perched on telephone lines in the lower valley being regularly fed by adult birds.

19th September.

1 Buzzard,
c30 House Martins,
1 Lesser Redpoll,
2 Blackcap feeding on elderberries - one was in almost inaudible, poorly formed, but just about recognisable as Blackcap, sub-song.

Cheers,

Bill.

18th September.

Morning visit - 8.00 - 11.30.

Chilly very early on - but not too cool for c(h)ats! ... 2 Wheatear, 5 Stonechat, 2 Whinchat and there seemed to be plenty more Robins about than usual as well.

Also - plenty of migrant Chiffchaffs passing through the valley - 3 singing and other parties of 2 and 3 birds seen. Other birds on the move - Meadow Pipits absolutely everywhere in the valley - the largest party seen was of about 40 expending all their nervous energy chasing after a Kestrel.... but there will have been three figure numbers in the valley. Also 4 Skylarks present.

Singles of - Gt Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Dipper, Goldcrest, Siskin, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck (male) and Song Thrush.

There was a female Pheasant with what appeared to be 5 well grown young - although they did seem to be a bit too approachable.... it made me wonder if they might have been releases? A pair of Collared Doves were with 1 juvenile.

Now down to the last 8 Swallows!

Cheers,

Bill.

16th September.

2 male Wigeon on Ogden Res. early afternoon. Not an awful lot else about - a few Swallows (c10) hanging on!

Bill.

A nice walk around the valley but head down looking for fungi rather than birds, still a few things

Green Woodpecker - 2 around Kitcliffe
Raven
40+ Goldfinch on hillside N of Kitcliffe
25+ Meadow Pipit in same area.

Wildlife sightings on the wildlife forum.

Dave

5th September.

Morning - 1 Teal, 1 Green Sandpiper, c80 Linnet, c20 Goldfinch and 3+ Siskin.

Late evening - 1 Kingfisher and 1 Common Tern (possibly the same one that Simon had at Hollingworth Lake?) trying to forage over a very breezy Ogden Reservoir.

Cheers,

Bill.

2 green sand pipers , 2 lrp,4 teal and a female sparrowhawk hunting finches and swallows/martins over the kitcliffe edges brilliant

3 green sandpipers(firsts),2 lrp or r/plovers ,numerous finches inc a few bullfinches also nice warbler either willow or chif chaf and 3 teal gsw heard in woods

29th August.

A flock of c70 Linnet - an exceptional count for here! - foraging on weeds/wild flowers on the drained floor of Kitcliffe Reservoir.

A few Chiffchaff about - one seen and one heard singing weakly. One or maybe even two Green Woodpeckers?

A Swallow was still visiting a nest site.

Far too windy and cloudy to practice my photographic "skills". Thank goodness!

Cheers,

Bill.

Mike,Hello and welcome to the forum ,just don,t start 'county listing' untill you,ve sat down with your nearest and dearest and explained that your not an addict it,s just a 'hobby'.

Bill,keep up the digiscoping efforts ,i,m no technical expert but the cameras prices keep on coming down and the features on them keep growing,I,m using a samsung s1065(argos £70/80) hand held at the scope and i.m more than pleased with the results
,the only trouble is you have to pick the good days ,,bright sunshine no wind and a bird willing to sit still for a millisecondsimples

cheers geoff

Hi Mike,

A warm welcome to the Greater Manchester area and also to Ian's top-notch GM birding website and forum.

I keep a monthly record of all the bird sightings at Piethorne and hope it is in order for me to include your excellent records from today in the August '09 log.

I think I might have spotted you on the north side of the valley in mid to late afternoon. Other birders are quite scarce at Piethorne - so you tend to notice them! Don't know if you spotted me but I was the half-wit stood at the side of Kitcliffe Reservoir trying to digiscope some birds but with the flash on the camera repeatedly going off in bright sunlight! Just can't get the hang of this photography lark - mind you I did manage to get some incredibly rubbish photos of some really blurred distant blobs! After I had wasted my time downloading them from the camera on to my computer I have a suspicion the "birds" I snapped might actually have been stones!! It was hard to tell either way!!!

Hope you enjoy your visits to other GM bird watching sites. As a general rule of thumb I think the further west you go the more variety and greater numbers you are likely to see. Details of many local sites can be found on this website under the banner "County Birding sites and Maps" on the home page. Have been meaning to try and produce a site guide for Piethorne for Ian but the only (?) thing that's holding me back is the lack of some decent photos to accompany it!! Honest!

Best wishes,

Bill.


-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Thursday 27th of August 2009 08:20:34 PM

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Thursday 27th of August 2009 08:21:59 PM

Hi

I'm new to the Manchester area and I'm just beginning to familiarise myself with some of the sites discussed on this forum.

A first visit to Piethorne Valley today was rewarded with 4 Green Sandpipers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers and 2 Teal on Kitcliffe, a Green Sandpiper on Hanging Lees (possibly one of the Kitcliffe birds) and a Tree Pipit over (heard only), and a Whinchat showing really well next to the track at the top end of Piethorne Res.

A thoroughly enjoyable day in a great location!

Mike

Nb. I stand to be corrected with the LRPs as I was without scope and they were a little distant for my bins; they were certainly Little Ringed or Ringed and when they flew a short distance they appeared to lack wingbars. I also just about heard an LRP-like call when they flew.

24th August.

Visit early morning - hoping the overnight grimy weather might have brought something different in. A few scoter maybe or some different waders.....no such luck!

A Tree Pipit flew north(?) calling.
Now 2 Teal.

Still no records yet this year for Piethorne for either Redstart or Spotted Flycatcher which have been annual vistors here over the last few years....and time is running out.

Cheers,

Bill.

Obviously, Bill, it's the Pingus

Thanks for the Dave!

Re the local christmas lights - have also subsequently heard that the council has put them up so all faiths and beliefs can benefit from them. Fair enough, I'm all in favour of equality.....except I just can't quite bring to mind which religion it is that has a penguin on skis as part of its religious and spiritual beliefs!

Bill.



-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Sunday 23rd of August 2009 06:02:19 PM

"c45 feeding on Common Sorrell Rumex acetosa seeds." - Much better Bill, keep it up! On the Christmas decoration thing, i believe they are for Eid (sp?) and not early christmas decorations (must be the same ones though?

Dave

-- Edited by David Winnard on Sunday 23rd of August 2009 05:09:49 PM

23rd August.

Regular daily visits to keep an eye on a few things over the last week or so has found the following:-

Green Sandpipers (on Kitcliffe Reservoir) have remained there since the first sighting on 7/8. Numbers have ebbed and flowed, with max 5 on both 12th and 13th. 4 yesterday and today (23/8).

Kitcliffe Reservoir has been low for several months and the floor is now covered with numerous weeds (I'm sorry what I really meant to say was wild flowers! ) - Linnet numbers have built up to what is really good counts for here - today 23/8 - c45 feeding on Common Sorrell Rumex acetosa seeds.

A juvenile Teal has been on Kitcliffe the last three days.

A single adult Little Grebe on Hanging Lees Res. this afternoon.

2 Skylarks this morning were presumably migrants, with the valleys summer resident birds having been gone for a few weeks now.

On 21st August a Sparrowhawk flying over one of the reservoir overflow drains put up a party of c10 Grey Wagtails.

Always good numbers of Goldfinch and Swallows in the valley at this time of year - with c140 Goldfinch on 22/8 and 130+ Swallows today (23/8).

At the "top end" of the valley there is a well known local alpaca farm. Walking across the fields here this afternoon I was watched by numerous pairs of camelid eyes. There were some absolutely beautiful jet black ones in the fields today and also some cute looking young ones , which apparently are called cria. Not many birds up here but these certainly made up for it!

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Sunday 23rd of August 2009 04:58:30 PM

Bill Myerscough wrote:

---

21st August.

Plenty of interesting birds in the valley this morning.

Nice to catch up with Pat and Maggie Culkin again.

Always feel a bit sad at this time of the year, when my favourite birding time - the breeding season - is coming to an end. The feeling that it was all coming to an end rather too quickly was heightened when driving through Milnrow on the way home I noticed that the local council had put up the Christmas street lights! Honest.... on 21st August!!

Therefore, can I be the first to say a very Merry Christmas to all!

Cheers,

Bill.

---

Sorry but made the unforgiveable error in my earlier post of forgetting to mention any birds seen this morning .......... thought I better correct that error.... by mentioning that one of the christmas tree lights seen actually depicted a penguin on skis!
All sorted now!

Keep (christmas light) birding.

Bill.


-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Friday 21st of August 2009 01:16:55 PM

21st August.

Plenty of interesting birds in the valley this morning.

Nice to catch up with Pat and Maggie Culkin again.

Always feel a bit sad at this time of the year, when my favourite birding time - the breeding season - is coming to an end. The feeling that it was all coming to an end rather too quickly was heightened when driving through Milnrow on the way home I noticed that the local council had put up the Christmas street lights! Honest.... on 21st August!!

Therefore, can I be the first to say a very Merry Christmas to all!

Cheers,

Bill.

14th August - 7.30 am to 11.30 am.

Plenty of birds about this morning.

1 Whinchat was loosely associating with a party of Stonechats (at least 8 of them and possibly as many as 11). The Stonechats had a really interesting range of plumages - at least 5 that I saw clearly were juveniles in various individual transitional stages to adulthood plumages.

A family party of 4 Grey Wagtails and several crisp looking young Willow Warblers were seen. 11 Mistle Thrush were together and there were Meadow Pipts and Swallows everywhere - widely spread across the valley and in good numbers - impossible to count accurately but probably approaching three figures for both. 1 Meadow Pipit was carrying food for young in a nest. A flock of c70 Goldfinch contained numerous begging youngsters.

The Siskins here are really starting to bug me! For the last few days, I have heard calls from this species that I am not at all familiar with. Several years ago I had large numbers (double figures) visiting the feeders in my garden during the winter months and I became very familar with their range of vocalisations. Being a bit slow-witted it only crossed my mind this morning that this new sound might be the begging sounds of young birds? - a sound which I have no experience of. Disappointingly, despite spending some considerable time trying to see them and even though they were only a few yards away at times I could not get to see any birds - other than two in flight. There is suitable breeding habitat at Piethorne for this species although I am reasonably certain they haven't bred here. Most odd.

Only 2 Green Sandpipers seen this morning - this place is going downhill rapidly!

Cheers,

Bill.

13th August.

5 Green Sandpipers in close proximity on Kitcliffe this afternoon.

Looking through my collection of old local birding records, this would appear to be a record count for Rochdale MBC?

Cheers,

Bill.

Now 4 Green Sandpipers on Kitcliffe Res at 3.30pm.

Also Sparrowhawk(male) and several Siskin.

10th August.

3 Green Sandpipers this morning on Kitcliffe Res. Isn't it just typical... you wait absolutely ages for one to turn up, then three turn up at once!

Begging sounds of young Linnets heard and a few Siskins still flying about.

Cheers,

Bill.

7th August.

2 Green Sandpipers found on Kitcliffe Reservoir (7/8) by Neil Calbrade was a great record for Piethorne. Still present when I visited late afternoon - thanks for the tip-off Neil! Enjoyed listening to them and watching them for a good while - particularly their eccentric feeding behaviour - where they stand in the shallows and skittishly change direction several times all incredibly quickly - presumably to stir up any potential food hiding in the water or mud? Watching a couple of Common Sandpipers standing and feeding next to them on several occassions was a much better way of seeing the differences between the two species than any field guide!

Even in this hot weather I feel the urge to pull on my heavily-padded, bright orange Piethorne anorak to report that this is certainly my first sighting of this species in the valley and probably the first sighting here since 27/9/01! So those of you who visits sites where this species is a regular feature - consider yourself lucky!

Also yesterday - 2 Ravens. 2 recently fledged Song Thrush sat patiently on a branch in dense undergrowth, waiting for an adult to bring in food - which it did - slugs or shelled snails looked to be high on the menu! A lovely sight.

8th August

2 Green Sandpipers still present early afternoon (reported by Chris Jepson- Brown) and still there at last light when I visited this evening. Also tonight - a largeish finch flock feeding on weed seeds at the western end of Kitcliffe Reservoir - say c40 - most appeared and sounded to be Linnets but with some Goldfinch and Greenfinch also present.

Cheers,

Bill.

3rd August.

For the first time in several months spent a good few hours in the valley today and really enjoyed the good weather and some decentish sightings. Mind you - didn't spend quite as long as Riggers marathon session of 11hrs and 35 mins at Castleshaw on 24/7. What was that all about then Mark?- someone slash your tyres? and super-glue the soles of your shoes to the reservoir road? and also inject and overdose you with a muscle relaxant? - surely these can be the only possible reasons for such madness.... er I mean epic and worthy feat of endurance!

Anyway today and for the last couple of days there have been a few Siskins and Lesser Redpolls flying about. Indeed a Lesser Redpoll was displaying yesterday! - bit late for that sort of stuff mate!

A Green Woodpecker was yaffling and a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker seen. A Chiffchaff was singing and also in the last couple of days a small number of Willow Warblers have recommenced singing - albeit it rather weakly and half-heartedly. Have ofter wondered if these late season singers are this years fledged young, which might be getting in a bit of early practice for next year? After all if young birds can call after they have recently fledged - why is not possible that they might be able to sing after a short time too? When do birds actually learn to sing? One to think on maybe? - unless anyone knows the answer!

Two Chaffinches put on a great display of flycatching in the style of Spotted Flycatchers! Really energetic, twisting airborne sorties to pick off flies out of mid-air before returning to a perch. Also watched a female Chaffinch feeding a begging juvenile 10 times in approx. 3 or 4 minutes - the female had no trouble just shuffling along branches and picking off insects at will and feeding her grateful juvenile.

A covey of 9 Grey Partridge consisted of 2 adults and 7 juveniles. Plenty of other young birds about - begging Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Robin & Pied Wagtail. 3 independent juvenile Stonechats and 3 Wheatears included a juvenile. A flock of 8 Mistle Thrush rested on a pylon.

c40 Swallows and c10 House Martins. Like at many other locations in GM this year, House Martins have been pretty scarce and have not bred in the valley this year.

3 Kestrels hovered together over a small area of moorland. Probably a family party? Sat and enjoyed watching them for a while. Got me to idly thinking..... so there you are as a young Kestrel sat very comfortably in your nest on a cliff face or on the ledge of a disused factory, being regularly fed by you parents and then all of a sudden bang .... you are "turfed out" and have to learn to hover in a stiff breeze, whilst keeping your head very still all the while trying to spot some tiny rodent sneaking through some long grass 50 or so feet below you!! What a culture shock!!

Cheers,

Bill.




-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Monday 3rd of August 2009 08:38:00 PM

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Monday 3rd of August 2009 08:44:06 PM

A lone male Common Scoter on Ogden reservoir this morning 9.30. Single juvenile wheatear at the small pool @ SD 971127, above lime house.

11th and 14th July.

Small numbers of heard but unseen Siskins in the valley on these two dates. These small summer influxes of this species appears to becoming a regular occurence? - they were also present in small numbers briefly in late June & early July of last year.

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Tuesday 14th of July 2009 07:50:20 PM

25th May.

Brilliant spectacle this morning of a noisy flock of c600 Starlings in the lower valley. Approx 75% of which were juveniles - it was amazing to watch adult birds purposefully carrying food into the restless, apparently disorganised and noisy mass of begging juveniles, which were sat waiting in hedgerows and trees - it's incredible to think how they manage to find their own offspring to be able to feed them in such circumstances!

Looks like it might be a good year for this species here - the best previous post-breeding flocks at Piethorne were in 2004 - when c1000 were in the valley on 30/5/2004, increasing to a whopping c2500 on 7/6/2004.

Cheers,

Bill.

Had a Garden Warbler singing around lunchtime in the lower valley today- and went back around teatime and bizzarly saw it bathing in a nearby stream (assuming its the same one!)
Also present
2 male Blackcap
Male & female Bullfinch
20 Sand Martin
2 Oystercatcher
Grey wagtail
And tits etc

Cheers
Steve

I have noticed a reduction in Stonechat sightings at Castleshaw as well. Late last year it was usual to see 6 or 7 birds but after the cold snap you are lucky to see them now!

There are a few pairs at the mo in the Naden Valley, at least 2, but far fewer than usual - havent seen them in a while around AMR.

Dave

-- Edited by David Winnard on Monday 20th of April 2009 09:07:06 PM

Bill,

I was fearing the worst for Stonechats but 2 pairs have appeared back at Chelburn Res. in the last week and I've also had single pairs above the Lake and at Higher Shore, Littleborough so they're still hanging on in SD91 but numbers are definitely down and I think some of our birds are only just returning to higher ground after moving down to lower altitude during the cold weather.

BBGM ( 1984 ) states that cold weather exterminates Stonechats - there were 8 breeding sites 1974-8 but only one in 1979 after a cold winter and none breeding in the period of the atlas (1979-83). After this winter just gone, I think we can only expect them to have been knocked back - Colin found none today in the Naden valley, either. However I know of a pair on territory in the Leigh area, so they survived (they bred there last year too).

20th April,

Pat - your excellent Ring Ouzel nicely brings up the "hat-trick" - with this species having now been recorded in the valley in each of the last three years. A bit of a turn around from earlier times when there were very long spells without any records at all. I don't think the increased frequency of sightings can be put down to "observer effort" as Neil Calbrade had the valley very well watched for many years and whilst he has some great species on his Piethorne list, I think I am right in saying that Ring Ouzel is one of his notable absentees! So it looks like this species might be doing a little better of late?

On the other hand?........ Simon Hitchen mentioned on the Hollingworth Lake thread on 2nd April '09 his concerns about the local Stonechat population. I visited the valley on 11th March and again today (20th April) and went to all of the favoured Stonechat haunts but failed to find any birds whatsoever on either occassion!! I did receive a report of a pair in the valley on 17th March but I have hardly seen any this year at Piethorne. Maybe it is just a coincidence that their favoured areas were the parts of the valley that were "SCaMPed" last year. (See post 24/3) - although, I would have thought it was far too early for this initiative to have impacted on them? However, it has a been a relatively hard winter here, certainly when compared to preceeding years and I wonder if that is the cause of their absence?

Has anyone else seen any here this spring? Maybe they have moved locations in the valley and I have missed them? If they have actually been lost and between 2 to 4 pairs have bred here each year for the last 5 or 6 years, then it is a very sad loss and a sizeable chunk of the GM breeding population may have gone. Hope I am just being unduely pessimistic and proved to be wrong.

Both Common Sandpiper and Blackcap heard but not seen today.


Bill.

eveng visit 19 April ( 5.pm - 7.45pm)

4 wheatears - all at the eastern end of valley (Norman Hill & Hanging Lees res's.) also a single Ring Ouzel in the field immediately west of the old quarry on the south side of the valley, above where the building cabins were - GR 964123.

+ all the usual suspects

15th April.

1 Redshank at the side of Kitcliffe Reservoir this evening.

Also spent a couple of minutes watching a pipit along the shoreline of Kitcliffe - which I am 80% certain was a Rock Pipit but it was so incredibly, incredibly windy here that I don't feel I was able to see all the necessary features through a shaking scope to be able to clinch ID - which is a terrible shame - as it would have been a first for here!

Cheers,

Bill.




-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Wednesday 15th of April 2009 08:22:23 PM

Sunday 13 8.30-9.30
Had a Buzzard behind Ogden Res watched it for sometime before it was seen off by a pair of Curlews. Willow warblers in good numbers also a few Swallows about.

Dave Phillips

Had a good walk round the valley on Sunday. Up by Hanging Lees there was a male Lapwing which landed flat on its face like a plane landing without lowering its undercarriage! It lay on the ground with its wings outstretched for quite a while. At first I thought it was some kind of distraction display but when it flew off its legs did look a bit dodgy. Has anyone else noticed this?

Steve

6th & 7th April - evening visits.

6/4.

A large mixed flock of c130 winter thrushes, almost all Fieldfares, could see only 2 Redwing.

7/4.

The winter thrushes were still foraging in roughly the same area. Came to count the corvid roost here - approx 240 birds, numbers probably equally split between Carrion Crows and Jackdaws.
c5 Sand Martins foraging over Ogden Reservoir.

Cheers,

Bill.