9.15am to 10.45am

Walked over along Longworth Road seeing nothing until I saw about 5 Bullfinches at Higher Whittaker Farm with a couple of Dunnocks also there.

On the field just before the reservoir 11 Fieldfares were mixed with 31 Starlings.

Around the reservoir :-
1 Great Crested Grebe
2 Cormorants
14 Canada Geese
Approx 150 Mallards
30+ Teal
20 Lapwings
6 Black-headed Gulls
2 Pheasants
2 Meadow Pipits
1 Wren
1 Dunnock
1 Robin
2 Blue Tits
2 Magpies
7 Carrion Crows
3 Chaffinches
3 Goldfinches

Around the village the usual suspects included a Song Thrush, 3 Mistle Thrushes, and a few of Siskins. A Reed Bunting was using a tree on the edge of the village and flying into gardens.

12.20 to 13.30

1 Cormorant
21 Canada Geese
58 Mallards
54 Lapwings stayed on the reservoir throughout. Another 60+ flew off as I arrived, returning as I was leaving.
2 Black-headed Gulls
1 Merlin flew low across the road, reservoir, and island. If I had missed any birds I am sure this bird would have flushed them, as it did with the Lapwings. A few days earlier one had flown across the Sailing Club according to one of the members I was talking to. He said nothing else of note had been around recently.
1 Meadow Pipit
2 Wrens
1 Dunnock
1 Robin
2 Magpies
2 Chaffinches
1 Greenfinch
5 Goldfinches

10.45am to 11.55am

2 Cormorants
16 Mallards
1 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
Lots of introduced Pheasants
49 Lapwings
6 Snipe
3 Black-headed Gulls
4 Meadow Pipits
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
3 Wrens
1 Robin
5 Redwings
A flock of a few Blue Tits/Great Tits
1 Jay
9 Magpies
1 Carrion Crow
6 Starlings
5 Chaffinches
4 Goldfinches

A few Carp were showing, including one that was rising vertically out of the water after flies.

10.45am to 12.20pm

2 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
25 Mallards
1 Kestrel
3 Pheasants
100+ Lapwings
2 Snipe
5 Black-headed Gulls
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
3 Collared Doves (in village)
40 House Martins (before lunch around the bleachworks, after lunch feeding over Hill Top Wood)
8 Swallows
5 Meadow Pipits
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Robin
1 Blackbird
9 Mistle Thrushes
1 Magpie
25 Starlings
1 Chaffinch
2 Greenfinches (village)
1 Goldfinch
1 Siskin (village)

10.30am to 12.30pm
My first trip since May when the water levels were reasonable. Hardly anything on reservoir today, mostly moorland birds above and below the reservoir. No gulls at all instead of the thousands last time.

1 Cormorant flying past
35 Canada Geese on fields at Higher Pasture House Farm
5 Mallards, the only birds on the reservoir until the flock of Lapwings arrived
1 Kestrel
1 Moorhen on sailing club ponds
4 Pheasants
80 Lapwings
3 Woodpigeons
2 Stock Doves
6 House Martins in Belmont Village
17 Swallows
45 Meadow Pipits
1 Grey Wagtail on sailing club ponds
2 Pied Wagtails
2 Robins
2 Stonechats at Wards Reservoir
6 Wheatears
1 Willow Warbler between church and Wards Reservoir
Mixed flock of Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, and Blue Tits at sailing club
3 Magpies
2 Carrion Crows
2 Chaffinches
2 Goldfinches

Common Hawkers, Brown Hawkers
Green-veined Whites, Small Tortoiseshells (12 + 6 Peacocks on a Buddleia in the village allotments), Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns.

Pair of Red Legged Partridge in fields off Belmont Rd morning of 19th

Superb close up views of a Raven playing in the strong breeze over the moor just north of the reservoir. It seemed strange to find the island deserted.

Also plenty of Meadow Pipit and Mistle Thrush. Wheatear and Stonechat near Bromiley's farm.

A good hour this afternoon watching the mass of BH Gulls on the reservoir. Also seen were 5 Curlews, 3 Redshank and 2 Terns in the distance. Best of all was as I was getting back into my car a Green woodpecker flew across the main road

Bolton rspb walk today, A med gull present today at the gull roost on belmont res, thanks for spotting it out to us from the two birders already there, i did not get there names?

A few redshanks, curlew, snipe, lots of meadow pipits, linnets, a single redpoll,

We also got bit by loads of midgys today

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 6th of June 2010 05:24:38 PM

Black headed gull colony were in full voice yesterday afternoon could not see what had disturbed them though, also pair of redshank flying.

Now dont forget to take a brolly this time buddy

Keep adding to that GM list

Stones Bank Road - 9-10pm yesterday

Barn owl
Tawny owl (calling)
4 roding woodcock
Grasshopper warbler reeling

A great evening,Simon.

The Gulls going up was a fantastic sight and the Med Gulls are stunning

Midgies not too bad, don't think they like the local food much
However in Scotland they love the foriegn cuisine and i get chomped

Cheers Dean.

1/7/2007

Pair Med Gulls with 1 chick.
4 Oystercatchers

no mud either here now

4/6/07

Adult Mediteranean Gull on the island at Belmont this evening amongst the hundreds of B H Gulls..also 2 Common Sands, Redshank and Tawny Owl flew over the road near Belmont village.

Drove over Belmont rd today. What a sorry sight There's been more fires reported recently but i didn't expect it to be this bad. A huge area from Belmont res up past the Tockholes rd is black! On the left of the road right up to the top of the moor is completely burnt out. God knows how many Lapwing and other ground nesters have lost their br
broods.


Dean.

 There was i passed it on the way back from martin mere. It didn't look too bad but there were about 10 fire engines parked up on the road. Firemen where looking but there didn't seem to be any urgency.