Sun 7-Feb-2021 (13:45-15:00)

Nice but chilly walk up Elbut Lane/Birtle Rd to the top
- 1 Fem Sparrowhawk over the Pack Horse Inn

at the very top
- 1 Kestrel Over
- 1 Buzzard being mobbed by Carrion Crows
- Mixed flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls

Many mistle thrushes in flocks . Counted twenty-one in one flock . Two wheatears on wall near chicken farm .

Amazing sight yesterday afternoon . Seventeen , beautiful , juvenile mistle thrushes feeding in a horse field. Sun reflecting from their plumage . Hurrah !

No sign at 12.50, unfortunately.
Cheers Ian

Adult Iceland Gull in field of Castlehill Road at 12:15
Cheers Steven

Originally posted today by Fred Ford:

A group of Three pairs of crossbills in trees by the golf course 11am. Lifer for me. Anyone else seen them here? Rookery busy with fourteen nests thus far. The other rookery,behind Robinson's farm has approximately twenty nests.

Thanks Colin,

Yes it was alone in a field. There were a couple of crows in a nearby tree but I didn't stick around long enough to see if they would join the white one.

Was quite a nice surprise on what had been a quiet afternoon walk.

Joe

Joe

Two or three months ago one of the local residents pointed it out to me in a field and said it had been around about four years. I noted at the time it was on its own and wondered whether it had been shunned by the others.

Regards

Colin

Afternoon,

1st post on the forum! Glad to be here.

Took an inaugural trip to Birtle Lane (the pack horse area, for a walk and a pint) and saw what I thought was a leucistic carrion crow?!

I have some (grainy) photo's of it if anyone is interested?? (where do I post them?!)

Oddly enough it had an extremely feathery abdomen (hanging down in front of the feet!), not seen this before?

Thanks,

Joe

Sun 30/11 13:00

Large loose thrush flock in field next to pack horse inn silent unusually?

Fieldfare 120+
Redwing c 40
Chaffinch
Goldfinch c 10

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 30th of November 2014 04:27:57 PM

3rd March.

Whilst sat at the side of the scenic reservoir at Birtle this morning I could hear a Curlew callling from land somewhere to the north. My first of the spring.

Also two Ravens put on a quite spectacular aerial acrobatic display, sometimes appearing synchronised and at other times doing their own thing, soaring, tumbling and twisting, rolling over and diving as they got higher and higher in the air before appearing to drift off eastwards. At one stage they appeared to interact with what might have been another two Ravens but by this time they were very distant. At one fortunate time I had these two Ravens in view at the same time as a pair of displaying Kestrels. Absolutely thrilling bird watching.

Cheers,

Bill.

Birtle Brook/White Ash Resr am.

1 Kingfisher , 1 Little Grebe, 2 Mute Swan, 31 Canada Geese, 1 Tufted Duck, 5 Moorhen, c70 Black-headed Gull hassling 6 Goosander that were trying to feed.

In surrounding area - 40 Fieldfare over, 1+ Meadow Pipit over, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Bullfinch, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Jay.

Little Owl and Green Woodpecker here 31/8.

Cheers,

Bill.

Whiteash
on it - 4 mallard 3m
1 coot
1 moorhen

singing round it
1 whitethroat
5 willow warblers
chaffinch
goldfinch
greenfinch
linnet
robin
blackbird
wren
dunnock
house sparrow
starling
great tit
blue tit

over it

stock dove 5
house martin 2
sand martin 12
swallow 10
swift 4
kestrel 1m

-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Tuesday 4th of May 2010 01:27:47 PM

this morning above white ash

2 sand martin
3 swallow
2 mistle thrush
11 starling
4 wood pigeon
2 pied wagtails
1 meadow pipit
2 linnet
1 wren
2 dunnock
2 reed bunting
2 chaffinch
1 willow warbler
1 chiffchaff
2 canada geese
4 mallard
1 moorhen
4 greenfinch
2 goldfinch
4 blue tit
2 great tit
2 long tailed tits
usual magpie, crow and jackdaw flyovers

smethurst hall/roch valley this afternoon

1 jay
2 swallow
12+ sand martin
3 sparrowhawk (1 male 2 female - possibly the same bird twice)
male and female great spotted woodpecker copulating
6 blue tit
3 great tit
2 chaffinch
6 bullfinch
2 willow warbler
1 chiffchaff
1 wren
4 blackbird

1 stag roe deer

From smethurst hall.

Over the roch

5 sand martin hawking toegether
2 f 1 m goosander
2 willow warbler
coal and great tit, wren, chaffinch all in song.
Edit to add 1 snipe accidentally flushed
2 male bullfinch

-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Friday 9th of April 2010 04:23:56 PM

2 willow warblers singing in White ash
6 linnet in the gorse
4 stockdove over
2 swallow
1 wren

oystercatcher flew west calling as i ate a sandwich and had a pint outside the pack horse.

a female wheatear 2 metres out of county off scotland ln above cuckoo narr.

2 swallow over
a pair of tufted ducks on White ash
1 heron
3 stock dove

Albino carrion crow near Harefield Hall, Heywood about two years ago.

Philip Gee had that Swallow on 30th, Paul!

A single swallow sat on a power wire beside White ash. 1 day later than last year, 3 days earlier than the previous year.
2 linnet
2 kestrel
1 heron
4 mallard
6 Canada geese
1 robin

-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Thursday 1st of April 2010 06:47:11 PM

Rose had one the other day Paul near Hopwood Woods

Dave

a friend of mine saw what she's described as a white carrion crow locally. didn't we have a report of one in the borough recently?

41 fieldfare through heading ENE

1 jay
1 stock dove over when out walking the dog.
11 stock dove over in one flock later at teatime.

what a lovely day for a walk over your local patch!

a bit of the walk was out of county so i'll stick an ooc next to them...

robin 9
wood pigeon 43
house sparrow 15
goldfinch 28
blackbird 5
magpie 23 a further 8 ooc
collared dove 5
great tit 9
blue tit 13
carrion crow 27 a further 6 ooc
dunnock 6
treecreeper 2
cormorant 1
kestrel 2
goosander 3
canada geese 19
black headed gull 6
mallard 11
meadow pipit 3
lesser black backed gull 11
chaffinch 9
pied wagtail 2
wren 3
greenfinch 5
mistle thrush 4
coal tit 2
siskin 7
lesser redpoll 3
lapwing 7 ooc
little owl 1 and a further 2 ooc
skylark 1
jackdaw 4
long tail tit 4
pheasant 1
starling 3
buzzard 1


really disappointed to miss out on sparrowhawk, moorhen, great spotted and green woodpecker, bull finch, goldcrest, rook and not a single winter thrush

male Brambling behind Smethurst this afternoon. Dipper and Kingfisher on the river below.

plus that very rare fungi. More on Wildlife Forum.

Dave

-- Edited by David Winnard on Sunday 7th of February 2010 03:45:55 PM

White ash still almost all of it iced over
8 mallard
2 mistle thrush
78 fieldfare over in a single flock handful of redwing amongst them.
8 mipits
1 bh gull sat on the ice
2 collared dove
1 wren
4 stock dove over
5 wood pigeon over


-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Thursday 21st of January 2010 12:50:11 PM

Iam sat above whiteash in the snow and all around dancing above the exposed clumps of heather are hundreds of midges!

the roch this afternoon from smethurst back to the plastics factory

1 snipe
2 goosander
1 dipper
17 mallard
8 moorhen

a mooch today...

2 meadow pipits
1 reed bunting
1 GSW
1 sparrowhawk
2 kestrel
chaffinches
goldfinches
starlings
house sparrows
collared doves
1 buzzard in the roch valley with food, mobbed by 3 magpie
blue tits
coal tits
great tits
long tail tits
wood pigeons
jackdaws
carrion crows
1 cormorant over
1 f bullfinch



-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Friday 8th of January 2010 07:34:09 PM

I never thought I would see it but here it is. Gordon Brown is so woeful even the Greenfinches are planning to vote for Cameron. Well done Greenfinches just shows you dont need a high IQ to see the obvious.

Just had a female kestrel fly by with a vole in her talons - heartening considering how much snow is on the ground.
10 lt tits and wren is all else so far.

If Greenfinches were to have political allegiances Paul, i'd have thought it would be the Green party or at worst the Lib Dems!
Good count these days though. Numbers seem to have plummeted in many parts following on from the trichomoniasis epidemic.
Henry.

c120 (conservative) greenfinch in a single flighty flock in the trees above white ash. impressive when they all took flight at once.

today. snipe circling high over the lodge calling.

4 goosander on whiteash

possible jack snipe as i crossed billy trickets field - couldn't relocate it when it went down...

water level very low this morning brought in a dunlin feeding in the newly exposed mud. very nice.
30 or so goosander and a couple of cormorants and a heron also.

Whiteash
45 goosander
1 little grebe
1 heron
1 coot
3 moorhen

Whiteash
162 Canada geese
60 mallad
22 goosander (5 males)
1 kestrel
1 heron
2 mistle thrush over


-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Monday 30th of November 2009 05:03:03 PM

3 mallard
7 goosander - 5 f/imm 1 adult male and 1 moulting into adult male - 2nd winter bird?
3 bh gull
2 morrhen
1 coot.

whiteash

16 mallard
2 tufted duck
4 goosander 1m 3f
1 coot
2moorhen
1 heron
2 bh gulls

1 stock dove over southerly


-- Edited by Paul Cliff on Monday 16th of November 2009 11:46:30 AM

totally nerded into the nerdpad, totally.

Paul Cliff wrote:

---

possible judith, they were heading SE as they tussled and tumbled.

it was an amazing and vocal performance.

---

Did you log it in your nerdy notepad?

possible judith, they were heading SE as they tussled and tumbled.

it was an amazing and vocal performance.

This pair of Peregrines possibly the same as on St Luke's Church Heywood today and also 2 weeks ago.

Mallardfest still in full swing on White ash still 60+ birds
2 goosander male and female
sparrowhawk thro female
amazing ariel assault by a male peregrine on a female peregrine! Diving bombing talons and calling.
Pied wagtail over
heron over

64 mallard on White ash
2 canada geese
1 coot
2 moorhen
1 goosander
1 tufted duck yeah! First in ages!
Kestrel
f sparrowhawk over
1 jay
5 blackbirds