Ian, its a shame you couldnt have returned my text or perhaps rang me to let me know about the Owl, ,ive been up winter hill myself this morning and knowing about the owls presence would of been rather useful considering that im keeping a Bolton list this year & ive been up there most weekends
Sorry Simon, I'm a CAD and a BOUNDER and am sitting at home waiting for a knock on the door from a hit squad. Which I fully deserve, please have mercy on me as I have a wife and family to support. I faithfully promise to let you know next time I luckily locate a good bird. Sorry once again. ps I've sent a PM with even more grovels in it Cheers Ian
Ian, its a shame you couldnt have returned my text or perhaps rang me to let me know about the Owl, ,ive been up winter hill myself this morning and knowing about the owls presence would of been rather useful considering that im keeping a Bolton list this year & ive been up there most weekends
Went up to Winter Hill this a.m. 7.15-9.00, hoping for Ring Ouzel, very misty and no chance. However was sat at roadside at a fenced area with warning about falling ice when lights flash, listening to passing Meadow Pipits and singing Skylarks, when out of the mist flying up the road and straight past me was a Short-eared Owl, totally unexpected and a GM first for me. Also heard 5 Red Grouse and 1 seen and 2 Curlew heard. Cheers Ian ........................... Just getting in car to leave when I got your text about the Herons Warfy
-- Edited by Ian Campbell on Friday 2nd of April 2010 10:50:10 AM
smithills moor and burnt edge today.2 mistle thrush,2 pheasant,2 grouse,and 1 raven displaying some suberb aerobatics.also a small grassy pool absolutely alive with mating and spawning frogs.croaking loudly and generally partaking in a free for all.i didnt know they lived this high up.how they survived the last few months god only knows.no mipits.
150 Pinkfeet NW just before a blizzard was unexpected up there(well done Melanie). Peregrine 1 Little Owl 1 - peering at us with one eye from its bracken covered cave, what a coward. Red Grouse 10
Me and Andy Makin had a decent morning up on Winter Hill. The male Black Redstart gave us the run around before finally giving itself up on a fence 100 yards or so to the west of the mast, it seems to be following the pair of Stonechats around. Andy got some decent video of it. Last seen flying back into the mast compound where it tends to be elusive. Also several Raven almost constantly on view, 3 Peregrines flying around including 1 perched up on the smaller mast plus several Red Grouse around.
Black Redstart still present this morning (possibly an immature male apparently), still with the 2 Stonechats around the building (which are in Lancs) and 100 yards west of there along the fenceline (which is in GM).
Female/immature Black Redstart this morning with 2 Stonechats on the top of winter hill by the mast itself though mobile and certainly in Greater Manchester when initially found. Also single Golden Plover over.
Info thanks to Andy Makin
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 12th of December 2009 12:06:25 PM
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 12th of December 2009 12:06:44 PM
No sign today 10.00 - 13.30 and again 15.00 - 16.00. Nice to see John Lyon and John Taverner also on a fruitless search. get back to penny you 2 and find me summat fert wickend there could be owt on there and yer piggin about ont moorsand look at the you could be gettin beltin pics ont flash im off boss here
Mast Road 9.00 till 11.00 dark dank and misty,didn,t connect with the buntings but did manage 2 stonechat 2 raven 1 kestrel,10+ meadow pipit,1 skylark,as i left for brekkie the mist started to clear
Close views of sunlit male snow bunting ,2.15.to 3.0 this pm. first flushed from gully east of bridge by 3 landing grouse. It flew up and down the gully spending 10 min. on bridge rail and feeding on grass seed by bridge and at end of gully. Also present Andrew, Mike, and Peter Turner.
-- Edited by keith mills on Sunday 15th of November 2009 04:16:02 PM
-- Edited by keith mills on Sunday 15th of November 2009 04:16:58 PM
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
Glad you suggested walking around that gully Paul wonderful to catch up with the pair of Snow Buntings a new bird for me in greater Bolton, and nice to see them by the pile of seed even though they werent eating it. Both birds still by the wooden bridge at 2.45pm at least, wasnt impressed by the sheep eating the seed though!
The female/immature Snow Bunting was present this morning in the area around the second barrier along Mast Road but with no sign of the male bird so far.
Could anyone visiting the Snow Bunting(s) or indeed Winter Hill tomorrow or at any other time please NOT drive up Mast Road beyond the first cattle grid and car park alongside it.
Although it is possible to drive beyond this point, signage clearly states that the road is private and no unauthorised vehicles should pass beyond that point. Failure to comply with this notice will severly damage existing good relations between regular site birders and employees in the area.
Please park in the small car park (maximum of 5 or 6 vehicles) at the side of the road by the first cattle grid. Should this be full then parking is only permissable in the Wilderswood car park along Georges Lane where a nice uphill walk across the moors awaits. Still, there's lots to see on the way up and the view is great, as long as it's not foggy.
Dennis Weir had a Snow Bunting today (probably male) perched on the handrail of the new footbridge on the east side of Mast Road at SD658138 ( not far from where you can park if you drive all the way up to just short of the masts.
Single Woodcock this morning hugging Wildersmoor as it sped south (flushed from elsewhere perhaps) was one of the few birds on the moors and surrounding area!
Simon "Vis mig king" Johnson told me today would be a good day. Today was a good day.
Vis mig watch Burnt Edge 8am-11.30am
Starlings - 1700 all NW Meadow Pipit 44 W and some local Skylark 34 mostly W or NW including a single flock of 23 Redwing 390 mostly W or NW Fieldfare 75 mostly W or NW Woodpigeon 73 W plus 50 in Walker Fold Wood Woodcock 1 W Brambling 2 W Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 high W CROSSBILL - 14 (6+ males) flew around Walker Fold Wood then flew west towards Wilderswood 10am. Redpoll 3 NW Siskin 9 SW Chaffinch 21 SW Goldfinch 40 W Raven 2 local ones Buzzard 1 S Sparrowhawk 2 Kestrel 4 local
This afternoon, "Vis Mig" watch 1-4.30pm between winter hill and Smithalls moor
Twite 2 flying around calling then flew NW (my first in Bolton) Mipits 40+ on the moor and single flocks of 25+27 high South Siskin 6 SW Chaffinch 15 West Goldfinch 12 West Skylark 6 high South Buzzard 1 high South
Also Sparrowhawk sat on a wall, Peregrine and 4 Raven over.
Just a postscript on these Ring Ouzels - Andy told me there was first of all a pair, then a group of 4 - both lots alighted only very briefly then flew off high NW (!) so no use hoping they will still be around tomorrow (unless more arrive of course) - they weren't with any winter thrushes.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
A good 5 hour yomp around the mast, two lads,rivvy pike and burnt edge produced very little, it was very windy which didn't help.
Plenty meadow pipits 4 Wheatear 1 Winchat, near Holdens plantation 2 Snipe 2 Raven and a Heron over the dog kennels, which had me going for a minute
Bumped into Phil Rhodes and another guy, Andy Makin perhaps? Mentioned the 57 wheatear from yesterday, so i assume so. Who'd had a Merlin near Holden's.
Smithills Moor area, 07:30-11:00 today, myself and Andy Makin.
Everything from yesterday had not surprisingly moved through and numbers were well down on yesterdays which actually and amazingly rivalled anywhere else in the country
Still plenty to look at though and some serious searching produced (all definately new birds from yesterday, other than perhaps Meadow Pipits):
Whinchat- 3 by Holden's Farm Tree Pipit- 1 right on the top not far from the mast (but in GM of course) Spotted Flycatcher- 3 in the wonderfully secluded (and not checked yesterday!) little valley called New Field Plantation near to Walker Fold Meadow Pipit- 500 on the moors and along Georges Lane early am Wheatear- 11 Garden Warbler- 1 off Georges Lane, Wilderswood Siskin- 3 (New Field Plantation) Chaffinch- 80+ Blackcap-1 (New Field Plantation) Chiffchaff- 5
A very good day indeed on the moors above Horwich today. Between myself and Andy Makin covering Georges Lane, Wilderswood, Mast Road, Burnt Edge and Walker Fold we amassed the following sightings, which would currently rival many an east coast bird observatory:
Spotted Flycatcher- 9 (largest single flock of 5) Redstart- 3 Whinchat- 8 Wheatear- 83 Meadow Pipit- 1600 (many heading over but plenty dropping into the moors and evident all day feeding around) Tree Pipit- 1 Raven- 10 Ringed Plover- 1 over Pink-footed Goose- 23 over west Skylark- 24 good numbers of Chaffinch, early morning only
The 'Warford incident' eclipses everything I've seen up there before Rob.
Imagine a man hell bent on catchng up with a stunning male Hen Harrier, striking out in his wellies across a very bleak moor as half a dozen mates look on from the road as terrible weather and the darkness of night can be seen rapidly approaching. Not content with giving him the soaking of a lifetime (he actually poured water from his wellies on his eventual return to the car!) the weather cast upon him fog which appeared from nowhere (and was actually the rain cloud which itself) and which reduced visibilty on the moor to within 30 feet. All alone on the moor, his worried mates cried with laughter, occasionally widing down their car windows when the heaters in them got too warm. We even flashed our headlights like lighthouses and laughed even louder to direct him towards us before Paul decided to get out and wave his very bright torch into the fog and gloom in a vain atempt to rescue his pal from the moor. The rest of us of course (including Warfy snior), chuckled some more and turned the heaters up a little warmer. He of course and thankfully returned eventually, but it was quite a sight indeed
I don't think this phenomenon is restricted to the 1st of September. Out of 6 visits over the last month or so, only 2 have lacked the "Horwich Monsoon"
Incredible I was up there taking some shots for a site guide I'm working on too and was chuckling to myself about that very incident but didn't remember the date. One that will always be in the memory, no doubt about it.
Big mooch today with great intentions and expectations. Viewing in the distance to the south west though clearly portrayed terrible weather to come but hey, it's only rain right
Single Wheatear just north of the quarry. Single Tree Pipit in with a decent flock of Meadow Pipits feeding on the side of Burnt Edge.
Then the heavens opened I always wondered why I'd paid so much for that rather 'unsuitable' looking climbing fleece/jacket and found out as it defeated the worst the clouds could throw at it. Unfortunately it just ran down the jacket, onto my light weight, thin as a sheet of tracing paper pants and into my waterproof boots which of course aren't waterproof if the rain runs inside them! Fourty minutes later (still in the horizontal rain) I'd made it back to the parking spot on Mast Road to find the missus was still doing her mooching around the Reebok! Walking down Mast Road to find shelter by the houses at the bottom though it stopped raining and the sun came out! In the grass fields at the bottom 11 Wheatears had dropped in during the down pour. They were scurrying all over the dry stone walls and perhaps there was more or the odd Whinchat, but the optics had had enough and steamed up every time I put my eyes to them. By the time the missus had returned some 15 minutes later, all but a couple had continued onwards and over the moor on their way to Africa. Good luck to 'em too
Most people seem to be specific to a particular section of 'the moors' which is the best way to go. The title of the thread as 'Horwich Moors' is a generalisation of the whole area.
A site guide is in preparation but it's a big area and will take a while
I think there is some confusion amongst posters on this website as to the locations of Horwich Moor and Smithills Moor. On the Greater Manchester street atlas (invaluable as it includes grid references and all of GM) p.42 Horwich Moor is clearly indicated as south of Matchmoor Lane. The area to the north of Matchmoor Lane, including Burnt Edge , Holden's Farm, Coal Pit Lane, Mast Rd is Smithills Moor. It would be great if people could use those as it helps me no end when putting records onto the database. Cheers.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!