Highlights from a morning circuit:

Small numbers of Redwing, Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush in Red Brook valley.

Treecreeper, Goldcrest and Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woodland.

1 Snipe flushed from the high ground of the moor, my first record since the spring.

1 Little Owl.

Best from a morning circuit 8.00 to 11.20:

2 Dipper in Redisher Wood.

2 Treecreeper, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Stock Dove, also in the Wood.

150 Pink - footed Goose over to the south east.

First site record of Great Black-backed Gull.

5 Raven.

1 Little Owl.

And a new record count of 37 Mallard on the Redisher Wood pond!

Best from a morning circuit 7.30 to 10.30:

1 Green Woodpecker.

5 Redwing and 3 Mistle Thrush.

Still lots of Jay activity with at least 10 birds.

3 Grey Wagtail In Redisher Wood.

c130 Woodpigeon.

1 Little Owl and 1 Kestrel

 

Of interest during morning circuit 8.30 to 12.00:

Two flocks of Fieldfare, 50 and 30. 1 Redwing among them and 5 Mistle Thrush.

c20 Meadow Pipit still on the higher ground. 1 Grey Wagtail.

2 Raven and still plenty of Jay activity.

1 Little Owl and 1 Kestrel.

Highlights from a high level walk over Holcombe Moor and Harcles Hill this afternoon:

Still good numbers of Meadow Pipit on the high ground, but now mainly in flocks, 80+ birds in total. 2 Skylark.

2 Raven.

1 Sparrowhawk north and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker east, both over the open moorland.

1 Little Owl and 2 Kestrel.

Biggest surprise was 2 Wheatear on the top of Harcles Hill.

Morning circuit 7.40 to 11.00:

Migrants included:

Flocks of 8 and 16 Fieldfare south through Red Brook Valley.

6 Mistle Thrush.

Flocks of 12 and c80 Goldfinch.

Only 5 Meadow Pipit and 2 Skylark.

Also:

2 Stonechat and 1 Grey Wagtail.

1 Green Woodpecker.

1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrel and 1 Little Owl.

 

Highlights during morning circuit from Redisher Wood, up the Red Brook valley and over the Moor to Holcombe from 7.00 until 11.15.

Much evidence of moving birds with:

3 Cormorant, my first site record.

155 Meadow Pipit.

2 Mistle Thrush.

6+ Wheatear and 2 Stonechat at the north end of the valley.

3 Skylark.

Compact flock of 6 Jay.

3 Swallow.

3 Goldfinch.

3 Bullfinch.

Single Reed Bunting and Alba Wagtail.

Also 1 Buzzard, 4 Kestrel, 2 Raven and 3 Green Woodpecker- including one well above the tree line.

 

Excellent morning loop around the moor with much evidence of migration.

A very large flock of mixed passerines on the eastern side, with the hillside being alive with small birds. It was impossible to count or identify all the birds but Goldfinch (25+), Blue Tit (20+) and Chiffchaff (10+) were most evident. Mixed in were 7 Mistle Thrush, a few Great Tit, 4 Bullfinch, 3 Starling, 1 Whitethroat and a Green woodpecker that seemed to be moving south.

c40 Swallow and 3 House Martin.

No less than 10 Kestrel in the air together on the updraught on the western side of the moor, 1 Sparrowhawk and the star bird was a Hobby that zipped straight through.

2 Raven, 1 Jay, a 2nd Green Woodpecker and 3 Wheatear around the firing range area.

-- Edited by Roger Halsey on Thursday 16th of August 2018 02:45:38 PM

Walked a long circuit from Redisher Wood up the Red Brook valley, over Holcombe Moor to Peel Tower and down Holcombe Old Road this morning. Just about everything has stopped singing on the high ground so birds a bit harder to find now. Some birds of interest though:

At least 4 Raven, 4 Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk.

2 Little Owl in different locations.

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker.

2 Wheatear, 2 Stonechat with fledged young and a Lesser Redpoll.

1 Grey Wagtail.

Swallow starting to gather in small flocks with maybe 60 birds seen. A few Swift and House Martin too.

Did an extensive walk around the moors and the Moorbottom rd area this afternoon just before the heavens opened. Apart from the usual's the only thing of note were the increased linnet numbers (I saw 8) and It was nice to see two newly fledged Wheatear's looking very healthy, being chaperoned by their parents. Both looked very strong in flight and alert. One posed nicely for a photo in front of me before being angrily moved on by its mother 

Late report from yesterday evening 6pm till 9pm with Simon Adams 

No sight or sound of any Cuckoos

X 5 Linnets, x1 grasshopper warbler reeling approx halfway down Moorbottom Rd, lots of Wheatear, meadow pipit & skylarks about, only spotted two stonechat's though, their numbers are way down on last year 

Starling flocks Turing into small murmurations now, at least a thousand plus. 

X2 kestrels, x1 buzzard X2 green woodpecker 

X1 little owl (in a different part of the Moor from the two pairs I already know of ) 

Curlew calling

Possible male merlin on Crowthorne side too 

 

-- Edited by Martin Loftus on Friday 25th of May 2018 11:00:40 AM

Only from Moorbottom Rd,top to bottom

4 Wheatear

4 Stonechat

5 Meadow Pipit

6 Linnet

2 Ring Ouzel

4 Swallow

Skylark

Green Woodpecker(giving great views)

Raven

Pheasant

Kestrel

Curlew heard

Not a single Tit seen all the way

Highlights from a 4 hour circuit round Redisher Wood and Holcombe Moor:

Curlew and my first site record of Snipe singing.

1 Sparrowhawk,  2 Kestrel and a Raven.

3 reeling Grasshopper Warbler, with one being seen well.

Single Garden Warbler, with lots of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

4 Wheatear. Abundant Meadow Pipit and Skylark singing on the high ground.

Green Woodpecker.

Little Owl.

 

Birds of note from a morning walk round Moorbottom Road and over Holcombe Moor:

2, probably 3 Ring Ouzel on the steep west side of the Moor. They then flew west to the opposite side of the valley.

10 Wheatear.

Single  Goldcrest and Swallow.

2 Curlew including one in bubbling display flight.

2 Grey Heron.

Single Little Owl.

At least 15 each of Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

 

11am till 3pm Stonechat x 7 Moorbottom Wheatear x 9 Moorbottom Kestrels x 3 Buzzard x 3 Raven x 2 Lots of Skylark Lots of Meadow Pipit Reed Bunting x 1 Curlew heard, not seen Green Woodpecker heard, not seen

4 Ring Ouzel on this mornings Holcombe BBS Squares, all on the Red Brook boulder fields ...2 Red Grouse also at the top of the Brook.

Excellent year for singing Skylark's on the Moors up here ..Best numbers I have recorded.. 

Evening walk with V. Irving ... 6 Ring Ouzel, all on the sunny,  West facing hillside above Moorbottom Road .. 

Did an evening loop on the mountain bike along Moorbottom rd. Didn't take my bins, just my camera, plus had to split my attention on concentrating on any birds I saw out of the corner of my eye and not crashing my bike into stone walls .

Signs of spring starting to appear. 

X4 male wheatear, some were being very vocal and displaying. 

X7 stonechat, mixture of males and females, males seemed to be fighting each other whilst the females were all collecting nest material. 

X4 medow pipits 

And one very vocal green woodpecker 

Best birds from a 1 hour walk round Redisher Woods:

2 green woodpecker, apparently calling against one another, pair of  Goosander and a jay.

Walk from Redisher Lane through the wood of that name, and up Moor Bottom Road as far as the Red Brook Clough - just about all in GM I think.

In the woods, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Dipper all in evidence, as well as the usual common tits, with a Tawny Owl on the northern edge near the moor.
In the open valley, a Green Woodpecker was yaffling and glimpsed a couple of times at some distance, a pair of Raven were circling, and a Stonechat male was hopping around in a tall tree, unusually, near one of the ruins.

2 Green Woodpecker and a Kestrel this morning, and a Stonechat yesterday.

My first site record of a Kingfisher in Redisher Wood yesterday. It was by the pond in the upper part of the wood.

Roger,

Taking a friend walking on the moor area a little owl and I not seen one for months ! where is it.

Mike Horwood

Highlights from the last two mornings over the moor:

Little Owl yesterday.

Sparrowhawk flushing a Green Woodpecker out of a tree today.

2 Redwing today.

Small movement of Corvids, mainly Jackdaw and Rook, and Meadow Pipit South.

kestrel on both days.