Morning walk on the Moors, Ranges to Red Brook. 0915to 1400. 1 f Sparrowhawk over Saplin 4 Green Woodpecker thoughout the area 3 f Wheatear 1 m Stonechat 2 Raven ( the pair with missing primaries on right wing) Peregrine over Harcles Hill Lots of Meadow Pipits/Skylark 1 Red Grouse top of Red Brook 4 Curlew above Red Brook 2 Stock Dove, Red Brook 3 Chiffchaff, Redisher Rob Archer

Short walk over... 1500 till 1700..Saw the following; Great views of Little Owl in Harcles Quarry 1 Kestrel Green Woodpecker 1 f Stonechat back in Pony field.. Willow Tit in Grants Wood Rob Archer

Mountain bike ride 4-5pm:

Mooorbottom Road:
Skylark
1 Wheatear
1 Stonechat
Calling Green Woodpecker

On the moor:
Meadow Pipit
Curlew x2

Rammy weir:
Dipperx2

Some light movement up here this morning

Meadow Pipit 29 N
Woodpigeon 30 N
Goldfinch 10 NW
Siskin (heard) over moor
Pied Wag 2 N
Grey Heron 3 single birds NE
Curlew 1 NE plus 3 on moor top
LBBG 27 N

Green Woodpecker 2 in valley,
Nuthatch 2,
Meadow Pipit 20 back on territory,
Skylarks 11
Buzzard
Kesterl
Spahawk
Stock Dove 5

reddisher woods and rifle range
Large flocks of redwing, goldfinch, LT tit
One nuthatch, Coal tit, few Jays goldcrest two bullfinch

moor bottom road very little
lots of carrion crows 2 bullfinch 1 meadow pippit

7.30 - 10.30 am

Ring Ouzel 4 - 3 Birds flew over the riffle range and looked to land on the far hill. Another bird flew west tailing a large flock of fieldfare

Golden Pover 4 SE and 2 sperate calling birds SW (not seen)
Fieldfare 255 NW
Redwing 55 SW
Woodpigeon 88 SW
Chaffinch 30 SW (mainly heard going over)
Siskin 3 south
Redpoll 2 south
Meadow pipit 29 NW also 50 on the tops
Skylark 1 south 2 on the tops

Snipe, Red Grouse, & Raven seen on the moors

One my best days birding in greater manchester.
on the lower farmland

2 Weatears

soaring over the hills was 2 raven

100s of hirundines flying on the hill top around peel tower etc.

In the same bushes from my last visit
1 male Redstart as opposed to the female type seen last time
3 spotted flycatchers
5+ willow warblers associating and acting like spotted flycatchers, also feeding on the ground
1 kestrel
2 sparrowhawks persuing each other
3 snipe/woodcock type birds seen too breifly flying down on the top of holcombe (looked more like woodcock, ie broad winged but habitat was more snipe like)

on the road going upto Peel Tower, lots of birds in the trees that form a line with telephone lines going up slope. Theres a rough path running parallel.
More spotted flycatchers, the same batch as seen at the top but counted at least 4
also 1 Tree Pipit

2 juvenile Stonechats in lower slopes of the heather

And a sore back carrying my spotting scope!

Morning and Afternoon Sessions - Lovely sunny day

Wheatear
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Stonechat
Little Owl
Kestrel ( 11 in sky all at once!)
Buzzard
Peregrine
Swallow
House Martin
Magpie
Crow
Willow Warbler
Green Woodpecker (heard)
Will Young walking his dog ( honestly - quite a nice chap too)

Must be the most unlikely famous person I have ever met while out birding. Does this happen to other people?

Cheers

Mark

Hi there,

Has anybody come across Whinchat on Holcombe Moor? Passage birds or whatever. Just interested cheers.

Thanks Mark

Couple of hours up here today

Best bird was a single Twite which flew over calling on the moors.

Other than than quieter than what would have expected a few young birds about though.

Kestrel 7
Buzzard
Little Owl 2 juv
Green Woodpecker 3 juv
GSW 2 juv
Willow Warbler 10
Blackcap
Whitethroat
Coal Tit 12 juv
Treecreeper 3
Jay 3
Swallow 114 SW
Mistle Thrush 10 SW

Pretty much the same as Ian today, Heard a few green woodys over the day but saw none, also saw a young wheatear and a little owl near the farm, lots of swifts and swallows, jackdaws, ravens....

bolton rspb visit today through the woods onto the moor,

woods...

Great spotted woody heard, jay, other than the usual willow warblers and chiffchaffs there is a great singing wood warbler, blackcaps, dipper on the brook

moor..

loads of jackdaws, green woody flying over, skylarks, linnets, swallows, wheatears, rook, curlew heard,

no luck for little owls or ring ouzels, no stonechats neither

Wood Warbler still present in Redisher Woods this afternoon.

Info thanks to Mark Rigby and those young guns. Go for it you crazy kids!

Decided to go to Redisher Wood with my niece today to look for the Wood Warbler.

After walking an hour or so listening out through the woods with no joy and our luck seemingly not in, we were on our way back to the car when we bumped into Ian Campbell who kindly took us to the exact spot where it has been showing.

After a short hailstone shower!!, the sun finally decided to come out and so did the Wood Warbler which thankfully sang a couple of times from the canopy.

Also seen were Dipper, Green Woodpecker, Lesser Redpoll, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Treecreeper amongst others and also we heard a Garden Warbler towards the far end of the wood.

After a walk round we decided to return to have a last look at the Wood Warbler which was singing just before we decided to leave around 3.30pm.

Thanks for pointing the spot out Ian and also thanks to the original finder who was there today (we have seen each other many times out and about and we still don't know each other's names!!)

A cracking place to visit, even though the walk through the woods is a tough one!!!

At least 6 Garden Warblers in the Holcombe area this morning with a further 2 in Saplin wood on top of the ones already mentioned.

Also good numbers of Chiff chaff, Willow Warbler, at least 8 Blackcap and 2 Whitethroat.

7 Wheatears up on the moors.

2 Tawny Owls were seen along with 2 Spahawk, 2 Raven, 2 Little Owl, 2 Kestrel and male peregrine

Ian McKerchar wrote:

---

Wood Warbler singing at the northern end of Redisher Wood at Holcombe this morning.
Info thanks to Simon Johnson

---

Also at least 2 Garden Warblers. Wood Warbler showing very well.

1200- 1400

Green woodies on steroids - loud & showy!!

No Ouzals BUT heard Cuckoo and found Wood Warbler both at top of Reddisher

Woods

6.30pm - 8pm Moorbottom Road

2 Ring Ouzels(1m & 1f) seen. At least 1 other heard calling in the valley.
2 Curlew over.
1 Red Grouse
c15 Wheatears
2 Green Woodpeckers
2 Little Owls

Up there this a.m. with Paul W & Peter J, Wheatears in double figures also many Meadow Pipits, Curlew over, 2 calling Green Woodpeckers, good views of Treecreeper nest building, Red Grouse but no Stonechat. Glad to read that Ian Boote saw them here today. Also did not see any Ring Ouzel
Cheers Ian

Another couple of hours spent up here this morning with Mark Ribgy looking for Ouzels but no joy here.

Little Owl 3
Green Woodpecker 3
Curlew 3
Fieldfare
Linnet 10
Redpoll couple heard
Wheatear Male and female
Grey Partridge 2
Stock Dove 4
Treecreeper 2
Skylark at least 15 birds
Kestrel

Simon's lodge, near shooting range 1130am today 2 Canada geese, pair mallard and pair goosander, most birds seen on lodge for ten years, hopefully this means no mink

lol steve! i actually thought about whether that was right or not and convinced myself it was the right way round - in my defense it was early this morning!:D

hi mark

lots a lovely walks all with a chance of seeing birds.
if you take the bridal path from holcombe old road (moor bottom road) but rather than climbing the hill towards the tower go out and along - there are lots of points you can either, turn off to go up onto the top of the hill, or on to pilgrims cross, or round the horseshoe towards edgeworth or drop down into reddisher woods.

often green woodpecker, linnets, stonechat, mipits even raven can be seen and you soon start to pick up little owls if you look carefully - it's been good for passing ring ouzels too...

Along Moor Bottom Moor Rd to Holcombe Head Farm Riuns
Pheasant
Carrion Crown
Rook
Kestral
Curlew
PiedWagtail
Blue Great and Coal Tit
Chaffinch Dunnocks etc
very pleasant hour