wren 6 robin 12 blackbird plenty of activity in trees behind scrapyards, flocks of long tailed tit, great tit, blue tit,single coal tit, 9 bullfinch, 6f 3 m, 8 goldfinch. trees at bottom of new road flock of long tailed tit 3 yellowhammer in trees behind weed choked pond. plenty of wood pigeon and magpie, 2 crow 4 collared dove 4 canada geese over heading in direction of pennington flash 2 swan over and landing on fir tree flash 1 kestrel 1 sparrowhawk higher hall flash mallard,3 swan, 3 great crested grebe, coot, tufted duck, black headed gull, 1 gadwall.
10-10am--1-35pm constant drizzle 9 blackbird 3 robin small flock long tailed tit plenty of great and blue tit with a single coal tit dunnock wren 8 siskin in trees near Edna Road labour club playground goldfinch magpie, collared dove, wood pigeon, crow. kestrel 1 common gull in flooded area near bottom of rucks on leigh side. fir tree flash 4 pochard mixed in with tufted ducks mallard including 1 white farmyard type coot, moorhen, black headed gull, 2 swan, great crested grebe higher hall flash tufted duck,coot, moorhen, 3 swan, 2 great crested grebe,mallard, 1 heron, 1 cormorant, black headed gulls, 1 lesser black backed and 1 herring gull. 21 fieldfare in trees at bottom of new road c30 starling in trees at top of new road.
8.30 - 10.45
Only other bird of note to add to Bernards list was 3 Shelduck on flash below top Rucks on Leigh side which if we have too much more rain will become part of fir tree flash
1 kestrel 2 blackbird 1 wren small flock great tits with a single blue tit small flock long tailed tit 4 goldfinch wood pigeon, magpie, crow, collared dove 2 cormorant flying over a single pink footed goose over at 14-47 fir tree flash very little on open water 2 swan and a few mallard plenty of mallard + coot and a few moorhen in reeds beside path leading from Edna Road labour club towards Bickershaw Higher Hall flash was dark by the time i walked round flash so gulls had gone back to roost at pennington swans, coot, mallard, tufted duck, great crested grebe and moorhen were all identifiable but couldn't make out anything else. plenty of gulls overhead presumably making their way back to roost at pennington, mainly black headed but did see 2 herring gull a few lesser black backed and a single great black backed, 3rd time this week i have seen a single over presumably same bird, don't know where it's spending it's time. Thursday afternoon falconers flying a goshawk, my dog Charlie didn't know what to make of it when goshawk flew past quite low with bells jangling. monday different falconers flying a pair of Harris Hawks.
6 blackbird 3 robin small flock goldfinch c50 starling in trees near haulage yard on smiths lane small flock great tits with 3 blue tit 5 fieldfare first i have seen over here since boxing day 8 bullfinch feeding on floor near scrapyards 5m-3fm c60 pink footed geese over at 15-56 higher hall flash coot, tufted duck, mallard, gadwall, moorhen, swan,great crested grebe, lesser black backed gull, black headed gull, with a single great black backed gull over. magpie, crow, wood pigeon + collared dove.
-- Edited by Bernard McGurrin on Friday 6th of January 2012 08:33:05 PM
12-00 till 4-00pm first 2 hours in very heavy rain seeing only magpies, collared dove 2 blackbird and 3 wood pigeon, about 2ish weather picked up a bit 2 goldfinch flocks 6+ 15 robin great tit 2 flocks long tailed tit flock of c40 starling in trees near new road 1 mistle thrush 1 buzzard 2 crow fir tree flash 1 heron, 1 cormorant, 36 mallard including 1 white farmyard type, 8 coot, 6 tufted duck, 4 moorhen, 1 herring gull with black headed gulls.1 great crested grebe higher hall flash c40 coot, c40 tufted duck, 12 mallard, 6 moorhen, 3 swan, 2 great crested grebe, 2 gadwall, 1 heron, 1 lesser black backed gull with black headed gulls. 2 wigeon ( 1m+1f) on yesterday but no sign of them today. hundreds of gulls heading towards pennington flash mainly black headed but did see 5 lesser black backed and 1 massive greater black backed. did see coal tit and blue tit on my back garden feeders( didn't see on walk) + great tit, house sparrow, robin, starling, blackbird and collared dove that i did also see on walk. at 2-37 near bottom of new road also saw a stoat.
10.30 - 13.45 very heavy drizzle brightened up with some sun, not for long though, and retuned cloudy an dull. usual birds seen with plenty of Goldfinch , Blue, Great and LT Tits. Full list as follows:
Pink-footed Goose 100+ flying towards Bickershaw Buzzard 1 Lapwing 12 Black-headed Gull Woodpigeon Meadow Pipit Wren Blackbird Long-tailed Tit Great Tit Magpie Goldfinch Mallard 20+ Coot Snipe 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 close to scrap yard Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) Robin Fieldfare Blue Tit Jay 4 Carrion Crow
A strange incident happened when some ballons appeared from Penny Flash direction and a helecopter flying towards them landed in the long grass while balloons passed by, then took off again, must of thought they were a ufo
plenty of bullfinch spotted them in 4 different spots, pretty even mix of m+ f 14 birds in total. 5 blackbird 4 redwing 2 robin flock of c30 long tailed tit tit flock with 12 great tit, 2 blue tit and 2 siskin 2 cormorant flying over 7 goldfinch higher hall flash c40 coot c30 tufted duck 9 mallard 3 moorhen 3 swan 4 gadwall 1 lesser black backed gull c 80 black headed gull 3 great crested grebe, first time in about 6 weeks i have seen the male, the female and juvenile i have seen every day.
5 blackbird 1 wren plenty of great tit, with a few blue tit goldfinch 6 bullfinch plenty of long tailed tit 1 mistle thrush singing from top of crane jib in scrapyards wood pigeon, collared dove, crow and magpie. Higher Hall Flash c 200 gulls mainly black headed but did spot a couple of common gulls, 1 herring gull and at least 3 lesser black backed. 20+ tufted duck 40+ coot 1 heron several mallard 3 swan 2 great crested grebe 3 moorhen 1 cormorant 1 gadwall didn't see any sign of the 2 wigeon that were here yesterday and only saw 1 gadwall,
1 buzzard 5 goldfinch 3 great tit 6 blackbird 3 wren numerous magpie, wood pigeon and crow Higher Hall Flash 2 wigeon 1m, 1f 4 gadwall 1 heron 1 great crested grebe 3 moorhen 3 swan 20+ tufted duck 20+ coot c100 black headed gull 2 lesser black backed gull Fir Tree flash very little on open water 2 swan, 3 coot,4 mallard, 1 tufted duck. in reeds beside path heading from Edna Rd labour club towards Bickershaw about 20 mallard, 8 coot and 3 moorhen. Have a good Christmas everyone.
Higher Hall Flash 3 swan, 2 great crested grebe, 1 heron, 1 cormorant, 3 moorhen, 4 gadwall, 20+ tufted duck, 40+ coot, 30+ black headed gull, 1 lesser black backed gull,7 mallard. Fir Tree Flash 8 mallard, 1 tufted duck, 14 coot, 2 swan, 2 heron. 1 great crested grebe.
collared dove, wood pigeon, magpie, jay, crow, 1 buzzard, 1 kestrel. 20+ blackbird, 1 mistle thrush, 1 song thrush fieldfare flocks of 27,5,3, and a single 1 very few small birds a couple of tit flocks mainly great tit and blue tit a single long tailed tit, 3 goldfinch, 1 robin, 2 bullfinch 1 m 1 f,
pleasant walking weather cold but dry 1-30pm--- 4-30pm
Higher Hall Flash 3 swan. 1 shoveler 4 gadwall 4 lesser black backed gull 2 heron 3 moorhen 30+ coot 40+ black headed gull 20+ tufted duck 8 mallard very few small birds only saw 2 great tit and 1 wren plenty blackbirds 3 flocks of fieldfare 12, 14 and 20+ the flock of 14 fieldfare were feeding on berries along with 3 blackbird,2 redwing and 2 mistle thrush saw another 2 mistle thrush and 1 song thrush during walk 1 jay + magpies, crow and wood pigeon 1 buzzard 1 kestrel
at least 40 blackbird during the length of my walk, the rain had stopped just before i set out and the blackbirds were making the most of it with plenty of worms. plenty of activity in trees beside road from hh flash down to plank lane with long tailed tit, coal tit, blue tit, great tit, 3 female bullfinch, 4 lesser redpoll, linnet, goldfinch, robin, wren, dunnock and 2 reed bunting. 2 jay wood pigeon crow magpie buzzard kestrel Higher Hall Flash coot,mallard, 3 swan, great crested grebe, moorhen, heron,tufted duck, 1 lesser black backed gull, black headed gull, gadwall and i managed to see the little grebe that has successfully managed to avoid me for the best part of 12 months.
saw the owl again at 4-15pm still only got a brief sighting in poor light but i am leaning towards short eared. higher hall flash 3 swan, 25+coot, 30+ black headed gull, 1 lesser black backed, 2 moorhen, 6 mallard, 2 great crested grebe,12 tufted duck, 2 gadwall. 1 cormorant over fir tree flash 4 tufted duck, 6 mallard, 2 swan, 2 moorhen, 4 coot, 1 great crested grebe, c80 starling over Edna Road Labour Club. flock 29 fieldfare 2 robin 1 kestrel 14 blackbird seen with at least 6 more heard 1 kestrel 4 crow 1 wood pigeon c 50 magpie pre roost at bottom of new road 23 canada geese heading towards Abram at 4-30, seen them around same time all last week varying from minimum of 15 up to 23 today.
Managed a couple of hours before dark and reasonably dry just a couple of lightish showers. kestrel long tailed tit flock with 1 coal tit and great tits plenty blackbirds flock of 30+ fieldfare 2 goldfinch + dunnock feeding on side of path at 4-15 pm in dim light an owl flew low over the field, from the brief sighting i got i think either a short eared or long eared owl but with the sighting i got my id skills are not good enough to say which. higher hall flash 3 swan 2 great crested grebe 21 tufted duck 12 mallard 3 moorhen c30 coot c50 black headed gulls
11-37 - 14-50 walk with dogs in changeable weather, changed from raining hard to raining very hard to raining very, very hard
wren, robin,chaffinch, long tailed tit, 1 house sparrow ( don't usually see sparrows over fields here) numerous blackbird and magpie,flock of about 50 fieldfare near Herons lodge farm, 3 redwing feeding in pouring rain, crow,
higher hall flash,20+ coot, 3 swan, 2 great crested grebe, 1 mallard, 3moorhen, 1 lesser black backed gull, numerous black headed gulls, 1 cormorant over, 27 lapwing over, strangely didn't see any tufted duck and only a single mallard,
typical since i got home and dried off the rain has stopped.
12:00-12:30 today, from Smiths Lane a dark, clean brown Common Buzzard hunting the fields between the access road and Diggle Flash 17 Meadow Pipits mobbed a passing Sparrowhawk
plenty of raptors started the day with a sparrowhawk in my back garden on Bickershaw Lane marsh harrier seen at 11-50 quartering field behind Bickershaw school with legs dangling, and at 14-21 over field before being dive bombed by kestrel and flying off towards Hindley Green. Buzzard kestrel peregrine falcon. 11 blackbird 5 jay wren robin chaffinch good flock of mixed tits, long tailed, great tit and blue tit cormorant flying over great spotted woodpecker mistlethrush numerous goldfinch 3 woodpigeon magpie, crow and collared dove skylark higher hall flash tufted duck coot 3 swan 2 great crested grebe 2 moorhen black headed gull fir tree flash all same as water fowl hh flash plus mallards
Marsh harrier hovering close to the main road near beacon rd Bikky lane. Spotted whilst driving the #658 bus Thats what u call a brucie bonus Sighting at 10.20 am
Marsh Harrier over field beside new road, being harassed by flock of loft pigeons and flying off towards Hindley Green. A first for me so in excitement forgot to look at time but would guess around 12-30. H.H flash 3 swan, 3 great crested grebe, 26 coot, 1 moorhen, 40+ black headed gull, 1 lesser black backed gull, 6 mallard, 8 tufted duck. Fir Tree flash 2 swan, 1 great crested grebe, 13 coot, 18 mallard 1 white farmyard type. didn't see any tufted duck or the single pochard that has been with them all this week. only saw small flocks of fieldfare, 7, 9, 10 and two of 12. golfinch flocks 40+, 14, 12. long tailed tit 30+ 2 great tit 1 kestrel 1 meadow pipit 1 bullfinch (m) 1 wren 1 robin 9 blackbird 1 woodpigeon numerous magpie and crow.
wind keeping small birds grounded because was pretty quiet other than plenty of Fieldfare about,
Grey Partridge 3 Marsh Harrier 1 female first seen 1.15 flying over Bickershaw rucks, then over road to proposed golf course. spent more time on ground than in air last saw it about 2pm when landing on ground again.
Only got out late today so much of walk done in darkness
higher hall flash 3 swan 2 great crested grebe 20+ coot 6 mallard 1 lesser black backed gull 3 black headed gull ( my lowest ever count on this flash, ) 4 moorhen 7 tufted duck 1 cormorant flew over and landed on flash 1 fieldfare 3 blackbird, small flock of long tailed tit in trees around stock pond.
2 kestrel 1 Pheasant 2 blue tit several blackbird a steady procession of fieldfare heading in direction of Abram possibly to roost flocks of 7,9, 15, 28,37, 59. fir tree flash 16 Mallard including 1 white farmyard type 14 coot 1 swan 3 tufted duck 3 moorhen
at 4-43pm a skein of approx 25 geese flew over heading in a north easterly direction it was too dark for my limited id skills to be sure what they were overall they were quiet in flight ( 1 sounded like a small terrier yelping) and they weren't as organised in flight as geese usually are.
much better today after being very quiet for past week
wren plenty of fieldfare today not seen any for previous 6days, flocks of 6, 9, 28, 34, 38, 61,63, 68 and one of over 100. kestrel buzzard 2 redwing 21 blackbird quite a few decent flocks of long tailed tit and goldfinch with great tit, 4 linnet, 3 siskin, 1 lesser redpoll and 1 blue tit. 5 skylark 1 dunnock magpie and crow in good numbers fir tree flash 1 pochard mixed in with 9 tufted duck and coots 20 mallard including 1 white farmyard type ( very vocal larger and louder than normal mallard) 2 swan 16 coot 4 moorhen 2 black headed gull 1 cormorant over higher hall flash 3 swan 2 great crested grebe 68 black headed gull 26 coot 2 tufted duck 6 mallard 2 moorhen
1-15-4-50pm pretty quiet nice walking weather, but chilly wind when stopped especially on top of rucks.
2 small flocks long tailed tit blackbird robin great tit covey of 11 grey partridge flushed from very top of rucks 12 skylark magpie crow wood pigeon higher hall flash 3 swan 20+ coot mallard moorhen tufted duck 1 lesser black backed gull black headed gulls
First visit here with John Parkinson. Sitings very little different than Bernard's. However:
FIR TREE FLASH:- Kestrel seen hunting ,feeding and in a tree by Fir Tree Flash. Tufted Duck ...8 Mute swans ...2 Cormorants ...3 departing FTF Coots...6 Moorhen (juv ) 2 Mallards ..few. Long Tail Tit .. small flock c8 Blue Tit ..2 Redpoll (lesser) 2 Goldfinch 2 GC Grebe 1 BH Gulls...2 No luck with Jack Snipe but we did get a Common Snipe at Pickley Green. Nice to meet Bernard and Charlie.
-- Edited by keith mills on Tuesday 15th of November 2011 03:05:11 PM
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
initially very quiet in the trees and shrubs from around higher hall flash down to the scrapyards only 1 blackbird and 7 fieldfare. much better on the way back with a good tit flock of mainly blue tit with great tit, long tailed tit and 2 coal tit, 7 blackbird and 1 robin. fir tree flash 20+ coot 8 tufted duck 1 great crested grebe 2 swan 12 mallard 1 common snipe 1 cormorant over Kestrel perched in trees around flash and hunting in surrounding fields in copse of trees and long grass on very top of rucks crow and magpie 2 pheasant 1 skylark 5 grey partridge 8 goldfinch 1 common snipe. Nice to speak to Keith Mills who was searching for jack snipe hope you found some Keith i spotted 2 common snipe but no jacks.
9.30 - 12.15 pretty quiet this morning birds noted:
Mute Swan 2 fir tree flash Mallard f t flash Grey Partridge Buzzard 2 Water Rail 1 calling on flash by football field Black-headed Gull Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 f t flash Meadow Pipit Dunnock Long-tailed Tit Great Tit Magpie Carrion Crow Chaffinch Linnet Canada Goose 30 f t flash Tufted Duck 4 f t flash Pheasant Kestrel 2 Coot Woodpigeon Skylark Wren Blackbird Blue Tit Jay 2 Jackdaw Starling Goldfinch Reed Bunting 1
9-30am--1-00pm blackbird siskin great tit blue tit long tailed tit goldfinch jay magpie crow great spotted woodpecker reed bunting buzzard skylark bullfinch ( male + female) covey of 5 grey partridge small flock fieldfare wren robin cormorant and 15 lapwing over new plank lane marina all same water fowl present at both fir tree and higher hall flashes swan mallard tufted duck coot moorhen black headed gull
higher hall flash 3 swan 2 pochard 3 great crested grebe 2o+ coot 30+ black headed gull 1 lesser black backed gull 1 common gull 3 moorhen 12 tufted duck 2 mallard 1 cormorant.
tits and finches very active long tailed tit blue tit great tit 1 coal tit 2 chaffinch goldfinch robin wren blackbird magpie wood pigeon crow 5 rook 3 kestrel 3 grey partridge very brief glimpse of a yellowhammer, not seen one over here for a while, father in law of owner of Herons lodge farm used to put out loads of feeders and you could always see them around farm but he has now moved and feeders are not there anymore.
2-30 - 500pm windy with cloud and a couple of light showers
3 blackbird 1 robin 1 kestrel 1 jay flock of 18 goldfinch 2 small flocks long tailed tit 2 flocks fieldfare 14 and 29 higher hall flash 7mallard 8 moorhen 12 tufted duck. 20+ coot 3 great crested grebe 3 swan 40+ black headed gulls 1 lesser black backed gull 1 cormorant on stock pond fir tree flash 2 swan 12 coot 5 tufted duck 34 mallard including white farmyard type
Mute Swan 2 fir tree flash Pheasant Marsh Harrier 1Juv huntig over Bickershaw side reaching fir tree flash twice and eventually losing site over bolton old road side after some 2 hours or so, light conditions not great but seemed quite a dark individual. Moorhen Lapwing Black-headed Gull Woodpigeon Meadow Pipit Dunnock Fieldfare 50+ on football field plus plenty others continually flying over Blue Tit Magpie Goldfinch Mallard Cormorant 1 flying away from fir tree flash Kestrel 1 mobbing Harrier Coot Snipe 1 bottom of top rucks Lesser Black-backed Gull Skylark Wren Blackbird Long-tailed Tit Jay Carrion Crow Linnet
higher hall flash 3 swan 2adult 1 juv 3 great crested grebe 2 adult 1 juv 25 coot 8 tufted duck 30+ black headed gull 1 lesser black backed 3 moorhen 7 mallard flock of long tailed tit with 1 siskin tagging along 3 jay 5 blackbird only saw 1 flock of 50+ fieldfare 3 reed bunting 1 tree sparrow ( behind scrapyards off bolton house road) 1 cormorant flew over and landed on new marina at plank lane. numerous tit flocks mainly long tailed and great tit with a few blue tit and 3 linnet 3 skylark 2 jackdaw 1 snipe fir tree flash 1 cormorant 2 swan 30+ mallard including white farmyard type 2 great crested grebe coot, moorhen and tufted duck plenty magpie, wood pigeon and crow had a female sparrow hawk kill a collared dove in my back garden on bickershaw lane 11-30ish this morning.
fieldfare flocks of 9, 2of 12, 15, 19,23,35. 6 blackbird 1 robin 1 wren 1 mistle thrush 4 jay 20+ long tailed tit fir tree flash 2 swan 1 cormorant 6 tufted duck 2 moorhen plenty coot and mallard including 1 white farmyard type 1 little grebe ( made up to see this i haven't seen many this year, they keep avoiding me) higher hall flash swan family 2 adult 1juv 2 great crested grebe 1 adult 1 juv tufted duck mallard coot moorhen black headed gulls magpie crow wood pigeon collared dove 1 kestrel
14-40pm- 17-10pm windy but dry 3 blackbird 1 jay 1 kestrel magpie wood pigeon collared dove skylark long tailed tit fir tree flash 2 swan mallard coot tufted duck 1 cormorant black headed gull good views of buzzard over fields soaring and riding thermals came quite close at times anyone with a good camera could have got some great shots. plenty fieldfare flocks of 30+, 40+,27,24,70+, 9 and 15 while walking fields but at bottom corner of fir tree flash in trees,shrubbery and field heading back towards Bickershaw in excess of 200 then in field behind higher hall flash amongst copse of small trees and shrubs c150. only managed to pick out 4 redwing
10.15 - 11.45 sunny periods , pleasantly warm with stiff breeze fairly quiet, birds noted:
Mallard Pheasant Snipe 1 flying along ditch on Bickershaw side below top rucks then flushed by dogs on waters edge on Leigh side later on. Lesser Black-backed Gull Skylark Wren Blackbird Redwing c12 Long-tailed Tit Jay 1 Jackdaw Starling Goldfinch Grey Partridge 7 Lapwing 11 Black-headed Gull Woodpigeon Meadow Pipit Robin Fieldfare 40+ Mistle Thrush Blue Tit Magpie Carrion Crow Chaffinch Linnet plenty more thrush about but to distant to possitivly identify
set out quite late today 5-45pm so most of my walk was done in the dark but i did get a superb view of a barn owl at 6-51pm glided across the new road built to service the proposed golf course only about 10 foot in front of me and at eye level magic. other birds seen before i lost the light were 8 blackbird 2 great tit 4 long tailed tit 2 robin 1 wren 6 woodpigeon 1 crow 4 magpie
11-15am till 2-55pm started sunny then dull with showers
6 blackbird 4 robin 3 wren 4 jay 2 skylark 1 snipe flock of long tailed tit 2 linnet goldfinch great tit blue tit 30+ lapwing overhead 15 fieldfare fir tree flash coot tufted duck mallard plus white farmyard type 2 swan 2 juv moorhen higher hall flash swan family 2 adult 1 juv coot tufted duck mallard moorhen black headed gull 1 lesser black backed gull
4-00pm till 7-00pm most of last hour in dark, cold but sunny for 1st 90 mins.
7 blackbirds wren 2 robin 4 skylark 1 kestrel 1 mistle thrush plenty long tailed tit, great tit, blue tit and goldfinch making the most of the late afternoon sunshine 3 redwing fieldfare flocks of 16,15,14, 10, 9, 4 and a single 1 seen in different areas but could of been the same birds moving around. higher hall flash swan family 2 adult 1 juv great crested grebe family 2 adult 1 juv tufted duck, coot, mallard and moorhen black headed gulls with 1 lesser black backed didn't walk around fir tree flash but from field above west side could see 1 swan plenty of mallard including white farmyard type, 2 moorhen and plenty coot with an heron hunting in reeds at bottm.
Mute Swan 2 Teal 2 flying over football field towards Fir Tree Flash Kestrel 1 Woodpigeon Skylark Wren Blackbird Long-tailed Tit Jay 3 Jackdaw Goldfinch Pink-footed Goose 50+ flying towards Pennington Buzzard 1 Black-headed Gull Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 Meadow Pipit Dunnock Fieldfare 20+ Blue Tit Magpie Carrion Crow Linnet
2 pheasant crossed path in what seems to be a regular spot seen them cross in same place 4 times now
7 jay robin blackbird numerous long tailed tit flocks with great tit 1 coal tit cormorant 3 over i heading towards pennington 2 heading away from pennington 40 strong flock of fieldfare heading towards crankwood 22 fieldfare heading towards eastleigh and 4 fieldfare behind scrapyards 1 wren 1 snipe 1 heron 2 swan tufted duck mallard including white farmyard type coot moorhen 1 reed bunting 5 skylark magpie, crow, wood pigeon and collared dove unusually didn't see any goldfinch