Little Woolden Moss 0825-1315

1 Golden Plover heading South @ 0850

1 Ringed Plover Heading South @ 0850

170 Skylark

55 Reed Bunting

2 Swallow Heading South @ 1037

2 Swallow Heading South @ 1050

6 Herring Gull

7 Teal

12 Snipe

78 Meadow Pipit

58 Lapwing.

Irlam Moss brief visit

70 Starling

16 House Sparrow

24 Meadow Pipit

2 Chifchaff

2 Grey Wagtail

2 Redwing

This early afternoon's highlights:

67 Pink-footed Geese down in the centre of the moss

17 Buzzards, with some local birds but many seemingly moving NW over the moss 

7 Snipe

60 Skylark

150 Stock Dove

0730-1000

Irlam Moss

2 Grey Partridge being chased off by an aggressive male Pheasant

Little Woolden Moss

92 Redwing

1 Lesser Redpoll

2 Raven

3 Swallow

5 Snipe

28 Pink-Footed Geese Flying SE @ 0802

25 Pink-Footed Geese Flying E-W @ 0855

230 Pink-Footed Geese Flying E @ 0900

46 Pink Footed Geese milling about the area @ 0917

38 Linnet

1 male Peregrine.

Irlam Moss 1245-1350

185 Starling

4 Snipe

2 Redwing

26 House Sparrow 

8 Swallow

38 Linnet

A brief visit on my way home from Elton

 Barton Moss

7 Snipe

3 Chiffchaff

12 Meadow Pipit

3 Reed Bunting

2 Buzzard 1 of which was hovering in an atypical ungainly way for this species...the two Kestrel were it seemed disdainful of its efforts.

2 Stock Dove.

Little Woolden Moss today:

c100 Skylark

93 Meadow Pipit

15 Reed Bunting

35 Linnet

7 Snipe

1 Raven

5 House Martin

2 Swallow
a pair of Sparrowhawk up with 7 Buzzard

Info thanks to Dave Stewart

Other sightings from Little Woolden Moss this mid-afternoon:

6 Grey Partridge

108 Crow in a single flock

700 Woodpigeons (single flock)

1 Raven over west

4 House Martin together through SW

Chat Moss and Croxden 0740-1000

18 Chiffchaff with 6 giving bursts of song

8 Goldcrest

26 Teal

32 Pied Wagtail

6 Snipe

1 Green Sandpiper which flew off west @ 0820

1 pair of Stonechat

24 Skylark moving north south

2 Grey Wagtail

28 Lapwing

1 Marsh Harrier flying north south @ 0940

1 Golden Plover flying north south @ 0845

Single juvenile Little Ringed Plover and a very bedraggled Wheatear were the highlights on a very wet Little Woolden Moss this early afternoon.

Croxdens today:

c150 Lapwing

2 Redshank

8 Snipe

22 Teal

Info thanks to Dave Stewart

Little Woolden Moss early to mid-afternoon today:

Juvenile Little Ringed Plover

2 Ringed Plover

Marsh Harrier circling high with a Sparrowhawk, both drifting off SW

2 Raven circling high off SW

1 Peregrine, though west

1 Yellow Wagtail

1430 House Martin through SW, in three main flocks, the largest of which, some 540 strong, fed voraciously over one of the pools before departing

110 Swallow through SW

Chat Moss

110 House Martin

150 Swallow

19 Pink Footed Geese flying East-Northwest @ 0842

20 Meadow Pipit

1 Grey Partridge

Little Woolden Moss

191 Skylark

68 Meadow Pipit

44 Pied Wagtail

5 Grey Partridge

1 Golden Plover over @ 0905

1 Ringed Plover over @ 0942

8 Yellowhammer

1 Raven

Little Woolden Moss brief check eastern section

18 Buzzard...an almost expected double figure count at this time of the year these days..its been a joy to see this steady rise in numbers of this raptor through the peat milling days through to now when there is this positivity for this site aided by the LWT whom I recall begging to get our moss under its wing...they proved true to their agreement with me and their belief in its worth and value.......sometimes it pays off, even in this day and age, to show a persistance in visiting a site over a long period....through the less productive days to now..I recall a Curlew nest out on a spread of completely cleared peat due to the milling ....it failed..this year in an entirely changed habitat in the same area...the east..it raised young..albeit one it was one more than then...

47 Meadow Pipit

1 Snipe

8 Teal

1 Wheatear

1 Tree Pipit over @ 1240

Irlam moss

1 Redstart Male...soon into cover but record pic taken...

33 Swallow

45 Meadow Pipit

6 Chiffchaff

2 Swift

2 Snipe

8 Grey Partridge

110 Linnet

Cadishead Moss

220 Swallow in a southerly movement @ 1125...

44 House Martin

11 Meadow Pipit

1 Yellow Wagtail 

310 Black Headed Gull

Little Woolden Moss brief check east

11 Chiffchaff

33 Meadow Pipit

Croxden brief visit am

57 Lapwing

7 Teal

2 Snipe

23 Swallow 

70 House Martin

11 Chiffchaff

3 juvenile Sparrowhawk being chased by 12 Magpie and 4 Jay...the raptors gave as good as they got and simply refused to give way ... it seemed quite clear that the raptors were working as one yet only a few days ago two juvenile Sparrowhawk were locking talons in the sky above this same area...I surmise that at the end of the day birds of a feather must stick together....endlessly fascinating this birdwatching even after so many decades...

A couple of hours either side of midday, staring out over Little Woolden Moss in the drizzle was quite productive!

86 Snipe- 74 came noisily in from mainly high N/NE in 6 flocks, circled the moss a few times, often skimming low over the vegetation before finally dropping in (largest flock size was 18). Another 12, in 3 flock, seemed to come in from a more easterly direction and carry on straight through SW, often quite high.

15 Ringed Plover- 4 dropped in to one of the pools and remained, whilst 11 flew through low SW in one flock which also contained 4 Snipe!

20 Swift through SW in four flocks of 9, 4, 4 and 3

160 Lapwing in fields just to th east of the moss

1 Peregrine- adult female

420 House Martin, 80 Sand Martin and 30 Swallow through SW in some smallish flocks and dribs and drabs; highest House Martin flock was 80.

1 Wheatear

c200 Meadow Pipit still in one flock in fields at the very western edge of the moss (also getting into Cheshire).

230 Starling feeding in stubble fields at the very eastern edge of the moss. 

1320-1450

Irlam Moss

44 Goldfinch

140 Linnet

2 Blackcap

4 Chiffchaff

26 House Sparrow

5 Swallow

3 Yellow Wagtail

3 Wheatear

2 Sparrowhawk

0830-1340

Croxden

24 Chiffchaff

1 Willow Warbler

4 Snipe

34 Linnet

16 Meadow Pipit

216 Swallow

174 House Martin

48 Swift

18 Sand Martin 

14 Teal

3 Wheatear

1 Peregrine...male

2 Sparrowhawk fighting almost talon to talon in a clear blue sky...

Little Woolden Moss this afternoon:

6 juvenile Ringed Plover

1 juvenile Little Ringed Plover (phonescoped shot on website)

1 juvenile Dunlin

12 Wheatear

1 Yellow Wagtail

24 Meadow Pipit (on the peat)

824 House Martin through W/SW in just under 90 minutes

21 Swift as above

0845-1415

Chat Moss

53 Swallow 

1 Common Gull

18 Pied Wagtail

81 House Sparrow 

130 Linnet 

2 Grey Partridge 

Little Woolden Moss

21 Swallow

1 Dunlin

3 Ringed Plover

1 Peregrine...male

1 Green Sandpiper 

5 Wheatear

1 Swift

10 House Martin

1 Marsh Harrier ...third noted this week this came in from the north...hunted for a short while then gained height and moved off south by 1145.

Little Woolden Moss 0720-1000

1 Marsh Harrier

16 Chiffchaff

3 Willow Warbler

1 Ringed Plover 

8 Snipe

43 House Martin

4 Swift

44 Swallow

1 Wheatear 

1 Green Sandpiper

1 Peregrine...juvenile female

Little Woolden Moss 1140-1350

41 Swift

8 Swallow 

27 Meadow Pipit 

2 Raven

6 Green Sandpiper 

3 Ringed Plover 

1 Wheatear

2 Raven

2 Peregrine

1 Hobby

Little Woolden Moss 0900-1400

2 Green Sandpiper 

10 Swift

1 Hobby taking dragonfly

5 Grey Partridge 

33 Chiffchaff

4 Willow Warbler

13 Swallow

9 Raven which included a flock of 8 which moved north-south @ 1310

also noted on Chat Moss

120 Linnet

46 Starling

34 House Sparrow

Croxden 0830-1330

14 Snipe

12 Green Sandpiper

42 Teal

47 Lapwing

1 Curlew flew over @ 0908

28 Chiffchaff

3 Blackcap

5 Whitethroat

10 Sand Martin

16 Swallow

1 adult and 1 juvenile Peregrine

4 Swift