First Swift arrival back in its box last night 22:05
Hoping for another successful breeding season this year, 4 chicks fledged last year.
Cowlishaw.

Low Crompton

10 Redwings over
c120 Pink-footed Geese west at 12:30pm

8 Redwings, 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Goldcrests on Low Crompton Lane this morning

Autumnal vibes on Low Crompton Lane, Long-tailed Tit flock, Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs (1 briefly singing), also Starlings and Mistle Thrushes starting to flock together on the fields

Low Crompton

8 Chiffchaff (4 singing)
4 Skylark
15 Meadow Pipit
1 Bullfinch
2 Greenfinch
2 Mistle Thrush
35 Pink-footed Geese east

Low Crompton

3 Chiffchaff
5 Swallows
2 Meadow Pipit
30 Common Gulls
2 Rose-ringed Parakeets

Friday 5th August 2022

Low Crompton

1 Swift
8 Common Gulls

In recent days up to 50 Swallows in feeding frenzy over the fields

Tuesday 3rd May 2022

Low Crompton

10 Swallows
1 singing Skylark

Low Crompton

5 Swallows
1 singing Blackcap
1 singing Chiffchaff
1 singing Goldcrest
1 Sparrowhawk

Low Crompton / Crompton and Royton Golf Course

3 singing Chiffchaff

2 Oystercatchers on Puckersley Farm Flash / Thornham St James, also 1 Kestrel

Thursday 10th March 2022

Low Crompton Road

4 Siskin
6 Redwing
20 Goldfinch
1 Sparrowhawk


12 Common Gull, 1 Herring Gull and 20 Black-headed Gulls commuting between Puckersley Farm Flash and fields just south of the Puckersley Inn

1 Chiffchaff, Cowlishaw Moss, showing and calling frequently in the hedgerow adjacent to the styal, also 1 female Sparrowhawk, 1 Reed Bunting and 8 Swallows

Friday 6th August 2021

20 Swifts on Cowlishaw Moss

Thursday 5th August 2021

c20 Swallows on Cowlishaw Moss

c50 Swallows and 2 Chiffchaffs on Cowlishaw Moss

Cowlishaw Moss on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May

Up to 20 Swifts, 2 Sand Martins, 10 Swallows and 20 House Martins feeding around the site

Male and female Reed Bunting giving good views on the marsh

Singing Sedge Warbler on the marshy area near the boardwalk off Moss Hey Street in Shaw on 12th May and still present on 13th May

Information thanks to Gary Crowder

Cowlishaw Moss

5 Reed Bunting
8 Swift
20 House Martin
5 Swallow
1 Willow Warbler (on the golf course)
2 Chiffchaff
1 Blackcap
1 Grey Heron

Little Egret NW over High Crompton at 3:55pm

Information thanks to Peter Joy

Perhaps the same Little Egret was seen briefly in Shaw on 19th April

Information thanks to Bob Kenworthy

Red Kite over cowlishaw at c09:20 this morning

A dog walk around a number of sites in Shaw today produced 2 Dippers, Grey Wagtail, 2 Treecreeper, 2 Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, plenty of Coal Tits and 2 Reed Buntings

At least 4 Tree Sparrow in bushes near Fairview, High Crompton this morning.

10th August 2020

Cowlishaw Moss - 2 Swifts

9th August 2020

Female Northern Wheatear Cowlishaw Moss along Cocker Mill Lane (info thanks to Gary Crowder)

Tuesday 30th June 2020

Common Sandpiper flew over Cornish Way, Royton, calling, 11:59pm

Sat in the garden, in Cowlishaw this Evening, about 5:30 enjoying the sunshine, a Red Kite up really high drifting in the general direction of Oldham.
First ever sighting locally for me.

Singing Chiffchaff, Pennine View in Royton

Sunday 24th November 2019

Great Egret Cowlishaw Moss between Shaw & Royton mid-morning then flew SW over Crompton & Royton golf course 10:55am towards Chadderton

Info thanks to Gary Crowder

-- Edited by James Walsh on Monday 25th of November 2019 11:47:25 AM

Cowlishaw Swifts Still lower numbers than recent years, but birds now circling about daily. 8 birds being the biggest group Ive seen so far. Definite signs of nesting activity in one location so far, next door to where similar activity was seen last year.

Cowlishaw Swifts. Numbers definitely down on recent years so far. Getting regular sightings of three Swifts and certainly seem to be prospecting for possible nest sites locally. Had a couple of very close fly pasts near the boxes so still hoping.

Female Whinchat at Cowlishaw, also singing Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Also 3 Swift

Sunday 5th May 2019

Hooded Crow reported in a garden in Royton (but the observer did not see it on Monday 6th May)

Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler and Blackcap all singing at Cowlishaw this morning

Cowlishaw Swifts Little bit disappointing at the moment, the birds spotted on Wednesday may have just been passing through, as no sign since. Id be interested to know if anybody else in the Shaw area has seen any Swifts about locally. On a more positive note the House Martin colony in the centre of Shaw seems to be back in full swing. Possibly 30+ hawking about yesterday.

The Cowlishaw Swifts have returned from their travels. 3 flying around at height when I got home at 16:00. Spotted them several times since. This is earlier than last year when my first sighting was 6th May. Ive been seeing these birds, in varying numbers, in the area for a number of years. After last year seeing a bird entering under a neighbours eaves I decided to put a couple of boxes up to see what happens and have now got a Swift call CD playing out the window. Heres hoping.

2 Grasshopper Warblers reeling at Cowlishaw

Thursday 5th July Peregrine seen flying over the Oldham Leisure Centre

2 Oystercatchers Cowlishaw Moss 5am

Broadway Park singing Chiffchaff & Great Spotted Woodpecker

Glorious morning for International Dawn Chorus Day on Cowlishaw Moss - singing Grasshopper Warbler, Skylark, Whitethroat, Blackcap & Reed Bunting

Whitethroat and Blackcap both singing at Cowlishaw today

Chiffchaff Cowlishaw Moss on the hedge between Crompton Way styal and golf course

Cowlishaw Moss 1 male Reed Bunting, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Sparrowhawk & 20 Redwings

2 singing male Reed Buntings on Cowlishaw Moss on the marsh adjacent to the golf course hedge, also a light passage of Meadow Pipits this morning

Monday 25th March 2018 Pair of Sparrowhawks on Cowlishaw Moss

A pair of Sparrowhawks at Oldham Edge this morning

2nd Winter Caspian Gull circled the fields at Cowlishaw for five minutes at 9:10am but never landed and then flew off over the Golf Course. A pair of Teal on one of the floods were new (for me) for the site.

A fox flushed the Caspian Gull and it flew south at 10:05am