New Moss Wood...Planning for Everyone stated that on this site there would be a 10% biodiversity gain as 'compensation' for building on the Moss...I asked at one of the Inspector Examinations I had attended "which trees do Skylark Nest in" it was worth, the very fair I must admit, Inspectors remark to me that 'this is not a quiz Mr Steel'....allowing me to continue my point ...they don't---they nest on the ground on the Mossland PfE proposes to build on...saying further...There will be NO GAIN for the most threatened of all our bird species...Farmland birds...my point was seemingly (in my opinion) seen floating way above the heads of the two Kings Council employed to support the PfE plans....
...and on the Stewardship Crop...yet another Superb Stewardship crop carefully sown and Nurtured by Whitegate Farm (this year dominated by Sunflowers---the understory has other feed plants)
There is an intention by the LWT to bring in contractors (along with volunteers) to remove the Birch...it's part of their ongoing effort to rewet the site to such a degree that these trees will be unable to grow...peer across the reserve from the North Gate looking south and west and you will see how much they have achieved...and can continue to achieve...they are a charity after all and it takes money to tackle jobs of such enormity...
The Hobby have been a fairly regular feature of the site ONLY SINCE the LWT started their slow but sure restoration of the site since the purchased it in 2012...before that the completely bare peat caused by Peat Milling held no dragonfly and hence no Hobby...now it can abound with Dragonfly
Field 62 is now owned by Natural England and they have started to remove the Willow that sprung up since the field was left fallow...their intention is to re-wet it but as they have only purchased it in recent times such transformation will take time
Field 52 is Wheat Stubble and is quite wet (it was always a soggy field especially in it's Northern Section...it will be left fallow but I feel that the oddity of the Moss is that once fields dry out (due to the hot summers we have had of late) they never really attain their pooled like state which brought in Whooper Swan and Pink-Footed Geese...but I hold out hope that the planned re-wetting now Natural England own it will eventually improve the wildlife potential of this and the other Fields NE now own...There may be a spring sown crop next spring which I am hoping for because this suits and supports Lapwings in the breeding season...
There is MUCH positivity for the Moss and its struggling wildlife than in previous decades of my regular visits...especially with the long term commitment by the Charity Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Now Natural England...it's just that we have to be patient...as for me at my age I wish it could all take place tomorrow...but at least there is hope for future generations in my opinion
Sparrowhawk - female - being mobbed by 2 crows as I drove to the east end of the reserve
Marsh Harrier - 2+1 - all female or immature - definitely 2 because I saw them together, the one I saw over an hour later may have been one of those 2
Buzzards - several
Kestrels - 2
Grey Heron - 3 - together
Yellowhammer - 2
FieldFare - about 15 flew over in a spread out flock
Snipe - 1
Absolutely NO ducks, not even a Mallard, no Teal at the western end, no waders either - I suspect the water level's a bit too high although I could of course have just missed them, and definitely no Black Grouse
I've been coming here (the reserve) about once a month for nearly 2 and half years - the vegetation has definitely increased in that time, there seem to be loads of small trees (silver birch?) springing up and the vegetation is much thicker around the perimeter. Now it may well be that this improves the site ecologically and encourages more species of all sorts of things; plants, flowers, insects, even birds maybe, but in my opinion, it's become a worse site for birdwatching, much more difficult to see anything - I'm starting to wonder whether I'll bother outside of Hobby season.
And what is all this quick growing stuff in field 62 and field 52 off the Twelve Yards Road? Two winters ago there were 500 Pink-footed Geese in 62, can't see that happening this winter.
-- Edited by Michael Hood on Sunday 29th of October 2023 06:14:25 PM
The reserve quiet this lunchtime but a big finch flock feeding on sunflowers at Red House Farm contained 8 Brambling, 2 Tree Sparrow, a Yellowhammer, 4 Reed Bunting along with 10 Linnets and many Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch. Hedges/trees around Glaze Brook alive with >600 Fieldfares and 200 Redwing. A Raven and a Golden Plover over.
Little Woolden Moss NR - foggy first thing: 1 Whimbrel heard but not seen due to fog 2 flocks of Pink-footed Geese heard but not seen 1 Marsh Harrier - female 26 Lapwing 6 Bullfinch over in a flock 45+ Redwing 8 Lesser Redpoll over 9 Siskin over in a flock
Chat & Irlam Mosses: 2 Little Egret 3 Water Rail calling to each other 1 Brambling 4 Yellowhammer 2 Bullfinch 16 Lesser Redpoll 7 Goldcrest 11 Snipe 150+ Fieldfare 30+ Redwing 100+ Stock Dove 3 Kestrel 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
...and a prime example of how 'green waste' is not that green...with several fields despoiled with plastic after 'saving the plane 'green waste' (hollow laughs now permitted) has been spread over them during the past few years
3 Little Egret 1 Tree Sparrow - my first on this part of the mosses for a long time 1 Willow Tit 2 Chiffchaff in mixed tit flock 2 Stonechat 160+ Fieldfare 40+ Redwing 28 Lesser Redpoll 1 Yellowhammer 40+ Reed Bunting 26 Linnet 400+ Woodpigeon 12 Snipe 1 Water Rail heard 22 Goldcrest 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 3 Kestrel
Late post for yesterday early evening: Yellow-browed Warbler calling and seen fleetingly a couple of times at eastern entrance with Goldcrests and tit flock.
This morning: Unfortunately no further sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler this morning
Also: 1 Black Grouse - male - showed well on one of the bund walls for over 30 mins before flying off. 1 Marsh Harrier - fem/imm 1 Peregrine in a noisy skirmish with a Kestrel 1 Sparrowhawk - female 2 Kestrel 1 Buzzard 1 Stonechat - male 60+ Fieldfare 24 Redwing 300+ Woodpigeon over south 4 Snipe 60+ Skylark 5 Goldcrest including a male displaying to a female 8 Lesser Redpoll 6 Herring Gull over east 10 Great Black-backed Gull over east
-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Monday 23rd of October 2023 01:42:47 PM
2 Marsh Harrier - fem/juv 1 Sparrowhawk - female 42 Pink-footed Geese flew in to roost 1 Stonechat 32 Great Black-backed Gull over west in numerous small groups 18 Snipe 75+ Fieldfare 1 Siskin 14 Reed Bunting 1 Grey Heron
Irlam & Chat Moss and Little Woolden Moss NR - morning
Highlights:
54+ Lesser Redpoll - a notable movement mostly passing over W-E including flocks of 18, 14 & 9 but some feeding in trees. More were heard but not seen. 2 Raven over west 2 Little Egret 2 Stonechat - pair 10 Snipe over 2 Bullfinch 1 Water Rail heard 3 Buzzard 4 Kestrel 12 Goldcrest 18 Fieldfare 1 Redwing 5 Song Thrush - probably migrants 1 Mistle Thrush 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 14 Skylark - some in song flight 1 Cormorant over fishery
Late afternoon wander round Chat Moss and Irlam Moss. Highlights: 3 buzzards on Irlam Moss; 30+ stock doves on Twelve Yards Road; 2 little egrets and 12 snipe on the pool to the North of Twelve Yards Road. (Also bumped into a chap who was looking for his goshawk which had done a runner from Rixton, a juvenile female with a tail bell.)
1 Little Egret over west 1 Willow Tit heard 1 Chiffchaff 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Kestrel
Little Woolden Moss NR - late afternoon/early evening:
3 Merlin - 1 smart male sat in a tree, then 2 females which arrived together from the west, with one bird swooping quite low over my head! Both females began putting on a great show hunting over the reserve. The highest single count of Merlin for me on the mosses or indeed anywhere!
Also: 2 Marsh Harrier together - female/imm 1 Green Sandpiper 20+ Snipe flew in 3 Lapwing 80+ Meadow Pipit including a flock of 60+ that flew in and then flushed by the Merlins. 24 Fieldfare 21 Pink-footed Geese over east 2 Greylag Geese over west 12 Canada Geese 2 Goldcrest 4 Lesser Redpoll 1 Great Black-backed Gull over west 3 Grey Partridge calling ..And 1 ex-Goldfinch - large clump of feathers found
Possible Ring Ouzel amongst a small group of Blackbirds that flushed from a hawthorn bush as I walked past. But it was a very fleeting glimpse and all the birds quickly disappeared into dense vegetation and couldnt be relocated. A pale patch underneath was noticeable as it flew. The Blackbirds were most probably migrants. It will have go down as one that got away.
Also: 3 Snipe 1 Siskin 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Buzzard 60+ Stock Dove 3 Skylark 12 Greenfinch 4 Chaffinch 4 Great Black-backed Gulls over 40+ Linnet Grey Partridge heard
Little Woolden Moss LWTNR...with Ian Jenkinson (such sharp eyed observations...good job my hearing is still on form...no rock concerts when young I guess!) for the most part of this wander
115 Meadow Pipit
12 Reed Bunting
22 Skylark
14 Snipe
30 Teal
250 Redwing following the glaze and heading south @ 1117
2 Golden Plover (thanks ears) 1 flying south @ 1120 and 1 @ 1135
5 Lapwing
5 Swallow @ 1142 (ta Ian)
1 Black Grouse (male)...to Ian's delight...as for me where has this bird 1 come from...and 2 where has it been of late since I first noted it on April 24th
Little Woolden Moss NR: 1 Tawny Owl - landed on the path 10 metres in front of me for a few seconds. Presumably it had caught something. 7 Snipe flew in 5 Great Black-backed Gull over west 11 Skylark over
4 Golden Plover....to think @ this time of the year over in Worsley along the Bridgewater Canal I used to see 400 plus of these birds in the early sixties...now I rejoice at seeing just 1% of that number...what on earth have we done to our wildlife in only one lifetime....
A ringtail Hen Harrier was identified by Barry Reed on 1st October at Little Woolden Moss (no sign yesterday morning) as well as 3 Marsh Harrier in the air together.
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