Wednesday 5th October 2017, 9.30 - 11.30am.

Walkerwood Dam, up past the rifle ranges, and onto Wild Bank Hill. Cold, windy, with intermittent drizzle. Deathly quiet.

Walkerwood

1 drake Mandarin, swimming with four Mallard
1 Willow Tit, plus the usuals around the feeder, including a Jay.
2 Lesser Redpoll
4 Bullfinch

Wild Bank Hill

1 Little Owl
10 Meadow Pipits
2 Greenfinch
Mixed group of Great, Blue, and Long-tailed Tits
1 Jay

Saturday 23rd September, 7.00 - 10.30am

Brushes Valley, from Walkerwood to Lees Hill.

Around the Swineshaws.

6 Stonechat, in three different areas
1 Dipper, flying across Higher Swineshaw Reservoir
3 Pied Wagtails
20+ Meadow Pipits
1 Lesser Redpoll over
Several Reed Bunting
Bullfinch in the trees at the scout hut

Walkerwood Dam, more lively than in a long time, particularly around the feeder.

1 Nuthatch was a very unusual sight on the feeder. They are common in the trees around Brushes Cottages, but not Walkerwood Dam.
1 Willow Tit
6 Lesser Redpoll
6 Jays, carrying acorns across the reservoir, towards Wild Bank.
4 Chiffchaff
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Grey Heron
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Kestrel over Harridge

Several each of:
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

Wednesday 13th September 2017, 7.00pm

One drake Mandarin swimming with 8 Mallard on Walkerwood Reservoir.

Monday 4th September 2017, 7.00 - 8.30pm

A wander around the top of the moor at Turf Pits, until the rain came, as darkness fell.

1 male Stonechat high up on the moor
6 Swallows over south at dusk
12+ Red Grouse

This morning, at Walkerwood, 6.15 - 7.15am

2 Cormorant, fishing.
2 Kestrels, high up at first, being mobbed by Hirundines that came through in two groups, about 100 in each. The first contained even numbers of House Martins and Swallows, the second mainly Swallows.
Several Bullfinch calling
Lesser Redpoll over

Wednesday 30th August 2017, 6.30 - 7.30pm

Higher Swineshaw

2 Wheatear around the reservoir (male and juvenile)
10 Stonechat - 2 males with five and three juveniles respectively
1 juvenile Whitethroat following one of the male Stonechat around.

Friday 18th August 2017, 7.00am

Walkerwood and Cote Farm

1 Buzzard over Harridge
5 Kestrels mobbing the Buzzard, my highest post-breeding count this year
2 Raven, flying together, but also having a dig at the Buzzard
Lesser Redpoll over
Several Bullfinch
Willow Tit on the feeder yesterday morning

Saturday 12th August 2017, 9.30 - 11.00am

Around Higher Swineshaw, in atrocious conditions. Cold, low cloud, and intermittent driving rain.

2 Raven, harassed by Meadow Pipits
1 juvenile Kestrel eating a rodent at Irontongue Hill
9 Stonechat, in three groups: a pair with two young, a pair with one youngster, and a pair that became very agitated when the Kestrel dropped in with its breakfast.
Several Reed Bunting
Willow Warblers singing
3 Cormorant flew over from Arnfield direction, towards Carrbrook

A circuit of Wildbank and the trig point this morning 8:30 to 10:00. Highlights were 2 male Kestrel, 1 Little Owl, 1 Buzzard, 2 Redpoll and 2 swift over

Tuesday 1st August 2017, 6.00 - 7.30am

Walkerwood

42 Canada Geese on the reservoir
23 Mistle Thrush moving between the fields on Harridge and Cock Wood
Plenty of juvenile Gold-, Green-, and Chaffinch

Friday 21st July 2017, 10.00 - 11.45am

A Kingfisher flying around the top end of Brushes Reservoir was a first for me, and an unusual record for the valley.
Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the valley bottom
Male and juvenile Stonechat at Higher Swineshaw Reservoir
Common Sandpiper on Higher Swineshaw Reservoir

Tuesday 18th July 2017, 7.30 - 10.00am

Flaxfield, Brushes Rifle Ranges, and a circuit of Wild Bank Hill.

One pair of Stonechat in their usual area at the southern end of Wild Bank Hill, but the highlight was another female carrying food in a completely new territory.
2 Little Owls
1 juvenile Kestrel
4 Linnet
2 Lesser Redpoll
1 Greenfinch
6 Goldfinch
4 Willow Warblers
20+ Meadow Pipit
6 Swallows around Flaxfield Farm
3 House Martins

Saturday 15th July 2017, 7.30 - 10.30am

Brushes Valley, as far as Irontongue Hill.

12+ Reed Bunting, including a pair feeding green caterpillars to their fledglings. As Steve noted earlier this week, there is an interesting plumage range amongst the juveniles, with birds of differing ages around the area.
4 Stonechat; a male with a juvenile at Irontongue Hill, and a female plus juvenile at Higher Swineshaw
2 Common Sandpiper at Higher Swineshaw
2 Buzzard, one over Turf Pits, and one perched up in Brushes Valley, calling repeatedly.
1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling at Lower Swineshaw
1 Kestrel over Harridge
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker at Walkerwood Dam
Pair of Linnet feeding four young at Higher Swineshaw dam
Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing at Brushes Cottages

Weds 12.07.17 - 13.10 - 15.40

circuit of Walkerwood, Hyde Green, Shire Clough, Turf Pits, Brushes Valley:

Linnets (inc male feeding juvenile)
Red Grouse (inc 5 well-grown young)
Reed Buntings at Higher Swineshaw (inc several very birght-looking juvs)
Willow Warblers (inc 4 recently-fledged juvs at Higher Swineshaw)
Common Sandpiper (silent) at Higher Swineshaw)

Saturday 8th July 2017, 7.00 - 10.00am

Flaxfield, Brushes Rifle Ranges, and up Wild Bank Hill.

Due to an enforced absence, following foot surgery, during which I haven't been able to get far, or see a great deal, I made my first visit to the top of Wild Bank in two months, a panting shuffle up the last few hundred feet. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), I have missed the first Stonechat brood, but did eventually see an independent juvenile, as well as the female alarm calling.
What was most notable was the low numbers of Meadow Pipits, Lesser Redpoll, and particularly Linnet. All are plentiful in other parts of the valley?

Flaxfield

1 Buzzard
10+ Swallows
6 Goldfinch
1 Greenfinch singing
A family group of 4 Willow Warblers
1 Meadow Pipit

Wild Bank

15+ Meadow Pipits
7 Willow Warblers
1 Whitethroat singing behind Range House, and another in the field by Brushes Road
5 Linnet
4 Lesser Redpoll
1 Bullfinch
1 Song Thrush singing
1 Kestrel
10+ Swallows
House Sparrows at both Range House and Shaw Farm
1 Little Owl

Higher Swineshaw Reservoir, late morning.

1 adult and two very young Common Sandpiper. These are definitely not from the same brood as the juvenile seen last weekend, as they still do not look old enough to fly. Last year the young were flying on all four reservoirs by 25th June. This year they seem very late.

Thursday 6th July 2017

Higher Swineshaw, 9.30pm

11 Pied Wagtails. One pair on the dam, and a flock of 9 flew from a northeasterly direction, down the valley.

Sunday 2nd July 2017, 9.30pm.

2 adult and one juvenile Common Sandpiper at Higher Swineshaw Reservoir

Roger Baker 3 wrote:

---

That info off Bill would tie in with my history of Brushes .. started going up around 1961 for various reasons but I would not have been allowed out late at night.
The older lads at school who went nesting knew about the Nightjars ..... I would have been all ears !

The habitat has all changed round now over the years, on both Brushes Valley and T'Harridge with trees maturing .... the key being the birch scrub and heather with bare patches (think this is where the burn helped on Wildbank ?).

As Pete Berry mentions about putting in the time and effort , especially at dawn and dusk, I do think it would be probable (???
) for others to be found .... not only in this valley as they have been moving steadily over Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Anyway, it's great fun trudging about in the dark, tripping over rocks in the rain with mozzies biting lumps out of you ..... give it a go ... you don't know what you're missing !

Roger.

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Sounds like great fun Roger; I might just do that.

-- Edited by David Walsh on Thursday 29th of June 2017 01:06:28 AM

This site used to be Bill Underwoods local patch until he moved to Arnfield in 1978!

Nightjars last bred in 1961 on the wooded slopes of Harridge. It was a traditional site and both Barry Walker and Bill looked for them in the early 1970s with no success. Ironically a bird was heard churring very early one morning by a Stalybridge dentist called John Pickup when he was fly fishing on Brushes Reservoir in 1969. Feel free to divulge to whoever you want.

Info thanks to Bill Underwood

Evening visit with Simon Gough, nice to see Andy Makin & co.

As Karen says, 2 Nightjar seen last night.
Heard churring, then calling, then decent flight views against the moor to right of the Res occasionally breaking the skyline.

Other birds of note...
- Common Buzzard 1
- Kestrel 2
- Lesser Redpoll 2, more heard
- Tawny Owl few heard close by

Pete you are right, that's ironic as I was telling Simon last night the very same thing. When we were kids (in the 70's and 80's) my Dad used to take us birdwatching to Brushes on a weekly basis during the summer and we used to see all sorts, and I remember him saying there were Nightjars on the Brushes moors. Although I'm sure I can remember hearing them, we never actually saw them there.
Shortly after that if my memory serves me correctly, a spate of arsen wiped out a lot of ground nesters habitat, and I remember my Dad was gutted as we all were!

Two Nightjars were seen tonight flying over Wild Bank, the area where the Nightjar was originally heard and seen and a male heard churring at frequent intervals from 19:50. This confirms my original thoughts that I did see two birds on the 13th. A very special night!

nightjar seen this evening above brushes reservoir at 10.30 , had churred a few times earlier from the usual area on the otherside of the valley, 7 birders present tonight who all saw the bird including ian campbell, john raynor and congrats to john tromans on his 200th county bird, county tick for me and ian campbell.

Saturday 24th June 2017, 9.00 - 10.30pm

Curlew up alarm calling and seeing off two Buzzards at Lees Hill, above Lower Swineshaw Reservoir
Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the valley after dark
Young Tawny Owls hunger calling
A female Stonechat with a fledgling in a new area was a bonus for an evening visit.

Saturday 24th June 2017, 8.30 - 11.00am

Higher Swineshaw and Irontongue Hill

3 Buzzards together over Hoarstone Edge
1 Kestrel
Female Stonechat with five (possibly six) juveniles, high up on the moor: some attempting a bit of flycatching, some following their harassed looking mother. This is the sort of thing that, for me, makes all the trudging around seeing nothing, on cold, wet mornings (and evenings), worthwhile.
Pair of Lesser Redpoll on Higher Swineshaw dam, the male in stunning plumage.
2 pairs of Linnet
Male Reed Bunting on a new territory at the foot of Irontongue Hill
Juvenile (independent) Stonechat feeding at Higher Swineshaw dam
3 Common Sandpiper

All in all, a good morning, despite the Bob hat and gloves.

Chris Everett wrote:

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where are the sandpiper we have not seen any this year

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Chris,

If you familiarise yourself with the call of the Common Sandpiper, then sit for ten minutes on the bench in your profile photo, you should locate them.