and thats just at bin green or so i have heard

Hi Roger

thanks for the phone call the other night. Glad you've taken the plunge and started posting on this forum.

As regards the disappearing young Dippers, mink are definitely culprits, as are herons (they'll eat just about anything), but other male Dippers are a big problem too. You will have seen the African wildlife programmes where a new male Lion takes over the pride and kills the cubs of the previous dominant male - well that seems to be par for the course in the Dipper world too. Then there's the incest and bigamy...

Steve

Hi Roger,
Hello and thanks for your observations.
There are quite a few of us who would appreciate any ongoing news from your area, especially about Crossbills at Binn Green.
Is Binn Green one of your regular birding patches?
I ask because Crossbills are of particular interest to both year listers, and a few who (like me) have never seen one in the Greater Manchester area, and it remains one of my target species for my next trip down from where I live here in the N.E.

Regards,
Mike Passant

This is my first ever post so please bear with me. I work in a yard at side of river in Stalybridge so see it's many moods. Have watched the Dippers for last 6 years. Breeding success every year but raising chicks another story.Starts off with 2 or 3 chicks but soon whittled down to one. I always suspected mink (seen regular) but actually witnessed a chick picked up by a heron so wondered if this was the regular culprit ? Had an odd visitor last Friday night (23rd) around 8-30.......always gulls circling over the piggeries and Bailey St tip, B/heads, Herring and odd Lesser B/backed but this night a Greater Blackback turned up, I saw it coming from piggeries then it circled over yard a couple of times before it vanished over the horizon. Probably only around for about for 5 minutes but would have been a surprise in winter let alone July. Made up a good day for me as I had nipped up to Binn Green near Greenfield in the morning and seen a small flock of Crossbills (14). Completely unexpected. Roger.