22/01/2023 Usual walk down the brook to Lees following January Webs. Seems more rubbish in the brook than there was a decade ago. Effects of recent storms not helping with several small trees partially blocking the stream and catching lighter debris.

Grey Wagtail 1 m
Bullfinch 1 fem/juv
Wren 1
Dipper flypast
Moorhen 3 bottom pool (99% frozen)
Siskin 10 willows above the pool.

Usual January walk back along Lees Brook and along the old railway line to Clarkesfield.

Dipper 1 (unringed) in usual spot
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Blackbird min of 6
Mistle Thrush 2
Robin
Greenfinch 4
Goldfinch 10 min
Chaffinch 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Jay 1
Goldcrest 1
Wood Pigeon
Carrion Crow 1
Magpie 6
Collared Dove (heard only)

Back from Strinesdale along Lees Brook to get my first Dipper of the year. One obliged in one of the usual locations.
Jackdaw C 30 around Greenacres Road end
Starling 4
Great Tit, several heard, 1 seen
Long-tailed Tit small party heard
Bullfinch 1 heard (embankment)
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 heard, one of them located
Blackbird 3

Nearly knee-capped by a couple of brown blurs at the Stamford Rd. end of St John's street around 16.05 this afternoon. When I turned to see what they where it was a female Merlin in pursuit of a little brown job. Both jinked behind a conifer and were lost to view.

I had an osprey over hreaton park this afternoon... but for some reason the search function doesn't work for that site

An Osprey just flew South over my Lees garden at 1725hrs

Had to take an alternative route to Strinesdale today because of a burst water main on Huddersfield Road. A combination of high water levels and wintry weather meant there wasn't much to see or hear.

Dipper 2 at the weir
Grey Wagtail 1 M on top section
Long-tailed tit 6+
Robin 1 heard
Blue Tit 1 heard.

3 Dipper along the brook
Grey Wagtail in the usual spot

Not much else except

Wren 1
Blackbird 1
Robin 1

and 3 Wood Pigeon with a very relaxed attitude to humans

Whilst at work tonight I received a call from my distraught son who told me that a Carrion Crow had just attacked the pair of Collared Dove which were nesting in the garden and took thier eggs.

First Swifts back today.

A Raven has just flown over my house! A nice, long awaited garden tick!

c200 Pink-footed Goose flew north-west over my garden at 1355hrs

Meadow Pipit flying over was only my second ever garden record of this species in 20 years!

Another 'actually in the garden' tick this afternoon with a Chiffchaff amongst a small Long-tailed Tit flock.

Chiffchaff
6 Long-tailed Tit
2 Coal Tit
2 Great Tit
Collared Dove

Garden birds this afternoon

Nuthatch visiting feeders was my first 'in the garden', the others being fly-overs
Lesser Redpoll
Bullfinch
2 Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Collared Dove

Over my house just before dark last night.

2 Swift
3 House Martin
Siskin

A single Swift over my garden this afternoon, but no Swallows or House Martins

2000hrs over my garden

7 Swift
2 House Martin
10 Swallow

2/8/15

Common Gull over at rooftop height. 100's pass high up on the way to Audenshaw in winter but this is only my 2nd ever at that height

Osprey over Lees village at 13.00 hrs in direction of Mossley.
Only just got 3G data signal to post sighting, my apologies.
Cheers
Rob

First Chiffchaff of the year on the 'spore' singing at 1440hs

3 Swift over my garden all drifting off to the south between 1-5pm

1340hrs

Adult Gannet flew west over my garden in Lees

2 Swift and 12 House Martins over my garden at 2000hrs heading south

11 Swift over my garden this evening at 2030hrs before drifting off to the south.

2 Swift heading south just before the heavens opened. Local birds left over a week ago.

First Blackcap of the year this morning and 2 Chiffchaff's displaying!

Both garden ticks

Late news for yesterday.

Chiffchaff singing in Medlock Valley at 0630hrs

2 Goldcrest in a small tit flock this morning-only my 2nd garden record

2 Great Tit and 2 Blue Tit on garden feeders this afternoon
Jay over
c20 Goldfinch doing the rounds
2 Redwing over

4 Grey Wagtail's over my garden at 1645

Also a House Sparrow and Great Tit on the feeders.

Pretty quiet lately in my garden until today.

At 1650, the fat balls were infested with a mixed tit flock including several juvenile Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tit. About 30 birds in total! They stayed for a couple of minutes before moving off to the next garden.

After a couple of days of searching the small wood opposite my house for Nuthatch which had woke me up twice, it finally gave itself up and flew over my garden calling

A garden tick

Originally posted by Steve Exton today:

female blackcap in my garden most of the morning enjoying the Mahonia Bush


__________________

Medlock valley (Lees Brook)

Dipper 1 (unringed) between Turner St. Bridge and the metal footbridge
Magpie 2
Wood Pigeon 4
Great Tit 2
Long-tailed Tit 2
Carrion Crow 2
Wren 1
Dunnock 1
Blackbird 4

Medlock Valley, Lees

6 Siskin
Greenfinch
Redwing
Blackbird
Moorhen
6 Mallard
5 long-tailed Tit

Dipper over my garden at 1730hrs!

3 Swallow flew south-east at 1750hrs

Single Swift low over my house flying south at 1840hrs

2 Swift flew south over my house at 2030hrs

Lees Brook - Huddersfield road to Lees Road

pond behind the Bull's Head Inn:
Black-headed Gull 6
Mallard 4

between the weir and the metal bridge:
Dipper 2 (both unringed)
Kingfisher 1

Cracking views of both species, just as the battery in my camera expired!

Wren 3+
Song Thrush 1
Robin 3+
Magpie
Wood Pigeon
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Blackbird

No sign of any Water Rails at the dipping pond.

Oystercatcher has just flown over my house heading south-east. A new bird for my garden list

10 Swifts over Lees this afternoon.

Originlly posted by Steve Exton today:


1st summer visitor of the year Chiffchaff heard singing close to co-op

Lees Brook

At least 1 Dipper (unringed)

Plus Kestrel, Jay, Mistle Thrush collecting food.

Also Noctule Bat over the Brook by the humpback bridge approx 3 p.m.

Water level was so high today that none of the 3 Dippers (all unringed) had anywhere much to perch - apart from the bright pink kiddie car

Apart from a few Wood Pigeons and Magpies

8 Long-tailed Tits (and 3 more at the dipping pond)
2 Great Tits
2 Blue tits
1 Coal Tit
1 Treecreeper

2 Redwing
1 Song Thrush

only a Moorhen at the dipping pond

-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Sunday 16th of January 2011 05:49:08 PM

31 Redwing over my garden today. They have been particularly scarce around here last for the last couple of years.

As an alternative to freezing my bits off waiting for the bus back from Strinesdale I decided to do the 'Winter Wonderland Walk' in the hope that, as in other years, a Kingfisher would turn up. Despite Lees Brook being the most litter-fre I've seen it in ages, no luck.

3 Dipper (1 def. unringed, the other 2 both fly pasts)
6 Wood Pigeon
4 Magpies
3 Great Tits
1 Blue Tit
1 Wren

Tried the bottom pond in case there were any Water rail but no luck there either

Old Railway line section
2 Robins
1 Blackbird
1 Chaffinch
1 Great Tit
1 Coal Tit
1 Long-tailed Tit
3 Blue Tits
5 Starlings (1 mimicking Curlew & 1 producing the strangest, harshest call I've ever heard)

Hi Tom

Over the last few years I've had Peregrine heading east a couple of times at the Huddersfield road end of Strinesdale which is just to the north and parallel to where you were. I don't think Riggers has mentioned seeing any around the village

(Also had Hobby along the route of the old railway line, but that was a long time ago)

Drove through Lees (A669, heading away from Oldham towards Mossley) earlier today (~1300) and spotted a large, v dark falcon fairly low over the road (close to the Bridge Inn). I was unable to stop, and it then appeared low again a bit further on up the High St. Didn't have any bins with me, but it was definitely not a kestrel and very dark, I'm presuming a peregrine. Any sightings in this area previously?

Common Buzzard drifted south-west over Lees at 1446hrs.