First post of the year, and the the main news is the first Skylarks of the year! At least 7 birds were singing on the higher ground. Also 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Mistle Thrush and 2 Stonechat.
Passage over Holcombe Hill this lunchtime included nearly fifty swallows (and a similar number of red admirals), two house martins and a yellow wagtail. Dozens of meadow pipits about, single figures of skylarks and carrion crows. Also one kestrel and a family of four ravens.
Highlight from 3 visits this week on 20th, 21st and today:
1 Red Kite today circled for a few minutes over the Peel Tower area today, then headed steadily north. Only my 3rd record here. It had a missing central tail feather so the tail looked even more forked than usual! 2 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Kestrel on 21st.
2 Raven on 21st.
1 Stock Dove on 21st.
1 Curlew on 20th.
3 Wheatear including 2 just fledged juveniles (first breeding record this year) and 3 Stonechat on 21st.
1 Garden Warbler today singing from different bushes so presumably an unmated male, my first record this year. Lots of Willow Warbler including my first family party of 5/6 birds.
Mistle Thrush was the bird of the morning with at least 10, and probably 12/13 present in the Red Brook valley. At least 2 and possibly 3 family parties.
Spent a couple of hours on Tuesday 18 April and another couple of hours today visiting all my known Ring Ouzel spots around the Moor. No luck until right at the end of my walk today when 2 females were seen high on the sides of the Red Brook valley. Also:
2 Curlew.
1 Green Woodpecker.
3 Stock Dove.
2 Mistle Thrush.
8 Wheatear including what appeared to be a migrant group of 5, and 3 Stonechat.
Excellent morning circuit with another patch tick in the form of a Woodcock! I have looked for this species many times in the damp boggy areas, but this bird flushed out of the undergrowth very close to a public footpath! Other birds of interest:
75 Pink Footed Geese over to SW and a record count of 50 Mallard!
5 Stock Dove.
1 Green Woodpecker showed well and 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.
4 Raven.
1 Little Owl.
Good numbers of Redwing around with a lone Fieldfare and 2 Song Thrush.
Last couple of days there have been at least 300 swallows around the fields on moorbottom road. Rain on Monday caused them all to gather on telephone wires allowing a rough count. Also yesterday 3 kestrels, sparrowhawk and 10 ravens- presume 2 family groups. Pair of stonechat still feeding young.
The juvenile Cuckoo has been hanging around the Red brook valley for over a week now. It's very elusive, yet today we were lucky to catch up with it. It's feeding well on caterpillars and is managing to stay out of the way from the bullying corvids.
X 10 Kestrels
X2 Green Woodpecker
X2 stonechat (m+f)
Had a family group of whitethroat on Moorbottom rd one adult and 3 juveniles.
1 Garden Warbler singing in yet another new location. Ive never seen/heard more than one on any day so suspect it is an unmated male. 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling and 1 Whitethroat.