2 Short-eared Owls this evening. Both came up in the far west corner and were forced high by passing corvids which mobbed them. Otherwise they could easily have hopped over the trees and out of the reserve unobserved.
2 Tawny Owls vocal and mobile behind the tower.
10 Woodcock, 18 Snipe, 3 Willow Tit, 3 Coal Tit, Nuthatch, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest, 12 Fieldfares, 1 Redwing and 365+ Jackdaws over (quiet night for corvids)
Yesterday 3.30-4.45pm with Martyn Jones & Dave Beetham
No owls tonight, and not many Common Snipe, but we did manage nine Woodcock, largest count so far this winter. Four Yellowhammers came in to roost too.
-- Edited by Jonathan Platt on Wednesday 19th of December 2012 08:44:25 AM
The last few hours of saturday afternoon was an attempt to salvage something from a disaster visit to Richmond Bank, and thanks to the keen eyes of the locals the last 30 mins of daylight produced: 1 Short Eared Owl chased off by crows into the sunset 2-4 Woodcock 1 Merlin 3 Buzzard 1 Sparrowhawk took a Blackbird
Fantastic views of a Short-eared Owl quartering the moss in the winter sunshine this afternoon. Daytime views of Shorties are rare here as corvids invariably mob them heavily, but over the last few weeks the pre-roost corvid gathering on the moss has declined steeply. If this trend continues maybe we'll be treated to more afternoon owls?
A female Peregrine flew over the moss yesterday and eight Redpolls circled the watchpoint before heading off west - sadly the largest flock I've seen here for some time. Today there were several Siskins calling from the trees as I walked down to the watchpoint, though I failed to find them.
I missed the first Shorty which flew into the moss from Rixton around 3.30pm. The second bird flew over the watchpoint when it was almost too dark to see. Two skeins of Pinkfeet flew NW, one of 150(?) before I arrived, the other c90 geese around 3.50pm. Several yellowhammers came in to roost too.
-- Edited by Jonathan Platt on Wednesday 12th of December 2012 07:37:30 AM
The first skein of PfGeese was 250+ over at 15:20. Also 3 Goldcrests and 3 Yellowhammers plus Sparrowhawk.
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 12th of December 2012 08:20:50 AM
I missed the first Shorty which flew into the moss from Rixton around 3.30pm. The second bird flew over the watchpoint when it was almost too dark to see. Two skeins of Pinkfeet flew NW, one of 150(?) before I arrived, the other c90 geese around 3.50pm. Several yellowhammers came in to roost too.
-- Edited by Jonathan Platt on Wednesday 12th of December 2012 07:37:30 AM
09.30-12.00 Woodland hide 2xgs woodpecker 2xjay Various tits Single robin 3xchaffinch Magpie Viewing tower closed for maintenance f Sparrowhawk flushed by ranger Buzzard V corvids 4xteal 2xcanada geese Not a sausage at the other hide cheers Jay
13+ Waxwings flycatching over work this evening (Risley Road, not far from the Moss).
Risley Moss - 4.00-5.10pm
Two Short-eared Owls lifted from the Moss and flew over the boundary towards Rixton 17+ Snipe heard 4 Woodcock 1 Yellowhammer came in to roost
We (Dave Beetham and I) also had a third owl which appeared briefly over the far bank of the first pool before disappearing into trees over by the southern boundary. Too dark to ID but was quite possibly a Long-eared Owl.
Two Short-eared Owls were mobbed relentlessly when they rose from the moss, the corvids driving them higher into the sky until they drifted off to surrounding farmland. At least seventeen Common Snipe flew out from the moss as darkness closed in, but only a single Woodcock appeared. Just before we left, two Tawny Owls were calling from the wood.
Four Swallows today, along with the first real numbers of Fieldfare - several flocks flew through numbering between 20-50. Smaller numbers of Redwing too. Raptors have been few and far between this week as it's not been exactly perfect thermalling weather, but two Buzzards were floating around at tree height over the moss.
Hardly a raptor around today, just singles of Kestrel and Buzzard. A number of Redwing had arrived however and were feeding somewhere beyond the landfill. Difficult to say how many, all we could see were small parties rising above the trees occasionally - 20-40 perhaps. 50+ Skylarks moved through south-west, 150 Lapwings kept flushing from farmland to the east, and just before I left 300 or so Pinkfeet flew over heading south-east.
-- Edited by Jonathan Platt on Thursday 18th of October 2012 08:26:58 PM
A Merlin was buzzing a Peregrine over the moss this afternoon. Plenty of Buzzards around plus a few Sparrowhawks and a Kestrel. The thunder and lightening flushed 30-40 Teal off the pools. A calling Siskin flew over just before I left.
1 Red Kite flying North, 1 juvenile Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, single flock of 160 Lapwings, 2 flocks of Snipe (13 + 4), 1 female Tufted Duck plus the usual corvids, tits etc.
Three Hobbies have been showing really well this week, coming very close on occasions. Lots of Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks around too, and a light passage of Meadow Pipits over this afternoon.
Very quiet really but birds present included Hobby(distant most of the time but perched a couple of times and seen fairly close eating a dragonfly) Siskin Linnet Yellowhammer Kestrel Buzzard Bullfinch And thanks to John tymon black darter and emerald damselfly aswell.thanks John!
Very quiet really but birds present included Hobby(distant most of the time but perched a couple of times and seen fairly close eating a dragonfly) Siskin Linnet Yellowhammer Kestrel Buzzard Bullfinch And thanks to John tymon black darter and emerald damselfly aswell.thanks John!
One of the wardens out on the moss flushed a Bittern at 3.15pm today. It flew SW to NE across the front of the watchpoint, giving excellent views. It dropped in again in the NE corner of the moss. It was seen yesterday by Pete Hilton around the same time.
Three hobbies at the moss at dinner time, plus a cuckoo.
I missed the cuckoo but saw two Hobbies just after lunch - looked like they were catching plenty of insects and eating them on the wing - and I saw a very off white looking GSW in the woods
The cranes left the moss just after 5.00pm and headed towards Rixton Moss. Just before they disappeared behind the pine trees to the south they set their wings and appeared to be planing down. Unfortuantely I had to return to work so couldn't check Rixton. Hopefully they will return to the moss to roost as they did ten days ago apparently (I was in Cumbria at the time so failed to see them at all!)
A short-eared owl was also seen on the moss this afternoon.
Found a stonking male hen harrier on the moss at 2.30pm, gave great views to the regulars before being chased off by crows. Flew off in a NE direction - next stop Astley Moss perhaps?
Good selection of woodland birds from the hide this lunchtime, including:
Willow Tit [can't remember seeing them here before] Coal Tit Yellowhammer Sparrowhawk Buzzard Nuthatch [at least 4] Great Spotted Woodpecker [at least four, one of which was ringed] Bullfinch [2 male, 1 female] plus all the more normal tits and finches.
Lots of behaviour that suggested pairing off and defending territory.
Pete, were the yellowhammer feeding at the hide?!?!
One female Joe - really lovely markings - I have seen males there in the past. They tend to feed under the seed table to the right of the hide. pm me an email address if you like and I'll send you a photo or two ;)
Good selection of woodland birds from the hide this lunchtime, including:
Willow Tit [can't remember seeing them here before] Coal Tit Yellowhammer Sparrowhawk Buzzard Nuthatch [at least 4] Great Spotted Woodpecker [at least four, one of which was ringed] Bullfinch [2 male, 1 female] plus all the more normal tits and finches.
Lots of behaviour that suggested pairing off and defending territory.
Pete, were the yellowhammer feeding at the hide?!?!
Good selection of woodland birds from the hide this lunchtime, including:
Willow Tit [can't remember seeing them here before] Coal Tit Yellowhammer Sparrowhawk Buzzard Nuthatch [at least 4] Great Spotted Woodpecker [at least four, one of which was ringed] Bullfinch [2 male, 1 female] plus all the more normal tits and finches.
Lots of behaviour that suggested pairing off and defending territory.
At least four, possibly up to six short-eared owls this evening. Also a couple of buzzards, a sparrowhawk and five woodcock. Two ravens flew over when I was there at lunchtime, one of them spent an hour perched in the belt of trees at the south end of the moss.