Pete Astles wrote:

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Sorry to hear about your loss nick. I know how much it hurts to lose a loved cat or dog.

One thing that can't be denied Charlie had a lovely life with lhose regular trips to the moss and I know he help you find the odd bird too.

Not many dogs have those opportunities.

Remember the good times.

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Cheers Pete. See you down there sometime.

A slightly emotional visit to the moss this morning as it was my first visit without my faithful doggy companion Charlie. We sadly lost him last week after an emergency operation. The spirits were uplifted a little though as the birds sang and there was a definite feel of spring in the air. Good numbers of Skylarks were in full song as were several Chaffinches and Yellowhammers.

2 Buzzards
13 Yellowhammers
8 Skylarks
10 Chaffinches
2 Mallards
12 Reed Buntings
c35 Fieldfares
4 Grey Partridges - two pairs.
3 Long Tailed Tits
11 Lapwings - over north west.
1 Pied Wagtail
6 Goldfinches

Large numbers of finches and buntings in the hedgerows to the south too as reported in recent posts on the Winwick thread.

Barrow lane and big moss

Low numbers of fieldfare on barrow and much reduced number of finches / buntings on parkside road.

However at least a dozen or more skylarks displaying and singing on barrow lane.

I buzzard

I willow tit in the thicket by the airfield

Otherwise very quiet

thanks nick for that info, regards mike

Hi Mike. There are a few footpaths off Newton Road that head towards the moss but probably the easiest to direct you to would be the one just by the Travellers Rest pub on Newton Road. Just follow the footpath sign there and it'll take you directly to the moss.

Barrow Lane and big moss. Huge numbers of fieldfare covering both fields on barrow lane impossible to count but must have been well over a thousand.

Skylark heard singing.
2 grey partridge.
I buzzard.

Again good numbers of fieldfare in the fields by the moss but nothing like Barrow Lane.

Very large numbers of chaffinches and yellowhammer by Parkside road which obligingly were near the road and I managed to get the bins onto a male brambling which was nice.

-- Edited by Pete Astles on Thursday 7th of February 2013 01:43:01 PM

Has couple of hours down on the moss this morning and my first visit for just over a week. Several Yellowhammers and Chaffinches now in full song giving the whole place a very spring like feel to it.

3 Buzzards
c30 Fieldfares
2 Goldfinches
11 Chaffinches
1 Willow Tit - I'm pretty sure there's only one bird present down here at the moment but I'm amazed how often I manage to find it.
1 Jay
10 Yellowhammers
7 Reed Buntings
1 Common Snipe
9 Long Tailed Tits
c150 Mixed Corvids feeding in the stubble.

Pete Astles wrote:

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Morning walk very quiet not much about,

Went barrow lane, big and little moss,

3 kestrel
Meadow pipits on barrow lane
1 buzzard
Huge flocks of rooks.

On the negative front off road bikes have been on the moss and they havnt half made a mess of it some of the tracks are now totally destroyed because of the very soft ground. Even with hiking boots they are impassable and parts now resemble a motocross track pure mud. A network rail fence panel has also been taken down to allow access to the moss. I have reported to local police and lane head residents LENDF

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This is something that's been peeing me off for a while Pete. For the last couple of months I've been seeing the tracks of these bikes down there. I've yet to see any of the culprits though. My guess is it's only very occasional. One of the local residents who I talk to down there told me it was just kids on scramblers but as I said, I've not seen anyone yet.

Thanks for reporting it to the local police Pete. I was talking to two officers down there a few months ago who were investigating off road bikes so maybe with a few more calls they might increase their presence down there.

A nice crisp morning today down on the moss. A good covering of snow made the place look very picturesque. Bird wise there was quite a bit of activity but this was mainly centred around the woods and the trees on the southern boundary. Loose, roving flocks of finches and buntings were present in these areas with the majority of birds being Chaffinches. Also present were Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, Goldfinches and at least two Bramblings. Bird counts were difficult though due to the roving nature of the birds and I suspect my counts may be slightly low.

13 Reed Buntings
5 Lapwings - all fly overs, moved by the recent snow.
5 Skylarks - four attempting to feed in the stubble and one fly over.
2 Buzzards
1 Meadow Pipit
13 Fieldfares
8 Goldfinches
2 Mistle Thrushes
c70 Chaffinches - a couple of males in full song too.
6 Grey Partridges
17 Yellowhammers
2 Bramblings - both males.
1 Kestrel - male. Looked completely fed up due to the snow.

Reasonable numbers of Blue and Great Tits around with many in fine song.
c100 Mixed Corvids in the stubble.

Last hour upto dusk tonight. A few birds around but not helped by the guy who's now taken to flying his Peregrine near the southern end on an almost daily basis now.

2 Buzzards - one seen carrying a largeish prey item.
1 Mistle Thrush
c20 Chaffinches perching near the line.
1 Skylark
4 Yellowhammers
1 Willow Tit
1 Jack Snipe
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Common Snipe
17 Reed Buntings including one flock of 12.
1 Kestrel
c100 Mixed Corvids

Late afternoon mooch and unsurprisingly quite quiet.

8 Long Tailed Tits
11 Chaffinches
3 Yellowhammers
9 Reed Buntings
1 Willow Tit
1 Common Snipe
1 Siskin - over north east.
3 Fieldfares

One for sorrow, two for joy, etc etc. what is it for 31? An unbelievable 31 Magpies getting ready to roost in trees to the rear of the quarry this afternoon. Very noisy too!

Other than that there were unsurprisingly few birds around this afternoon partly due to a local falconer who was exercising his Peregrine that was busy devouring a Pigeon it had caught.

1 Bullfinch - female.
1 Chaffinch
2 Fieldfares
2 Buzzards
1 Mistle Thrush

Nice conditions this morning but with a slightly biting breeze. Also no one else around which is always a bonus on here.

3 Mistle Thrushes
1 Fieldfare - with the Mistle Thrushes feeding in stubble.
c40 Chaffinches - three small flocks.
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Peregrine - disturbed from its roost and flew away west.
1 Skylark
7 Common Snipe
2 Reed Buntings
3 Yellowhammers
1 Pheasant
1 Willow Tit
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Buzzard
1 Sparrowhawk - a male accidently flushed from its meal of a Starling.
c150 Mixed Corvids
A small passage of gulls also containing mostly Black headed Gulls and Lesser Black Backed plus a single Common Gull.

Late afternoon mooch today in reasonable conditions. Apart from the odd large flock of birds though it was fairly quiet.

3 Mistle Thrushes
1 Redwing
1 Kestrel
c50 Chaffinches
32 Fieldfares
c100 Starlings - mixed in with the Fieldfares.
1 Willow Tit
5 Yellowhammers
1 Meadow Pipit

Last hour up to dusk tonight. Fairly quiet around the moss apart from the Chaffinches and flocks of Fieldfares.

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Buzzard
c75 Fieldfares
3 Redwings
c25 Chaffinches
1 Brambling
1 Jay
2 Yellowhammers
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Sparrowhawk

Full tour of the moss this morning in nice conditions with a bit of a biting wind.

2 Mistle Thrushes - feeding in stubble to the north.
114 Pink Footed Geese - 44 east, 60 east and 10 west.
2 Buzzards
4 Bramblings - very good views. Two males, two females in with large flock of Chaffinches.
c80 Chaffinches - two flocks. 60 on the eastern side and 20 on the west side feeding with Fieldfares.
1 Goldcrest
89 Fieldfares - c60 on the east side and 29 on the west side feeding in the fields.
1 Willow Tit
7 Reed Buntings
7 Yellowhammers
1 Sparrowhawk - female.
1 Kestrel - male.
6 Redwings - with the Fieldfares.
6 Skylarks - feeding in the stubble to the north.
c100 Mixed Corvids in the stubble.
A slow but steady passage of gulls westwards - mainly Herring Gulls.

Also sad to see one of the scourges of birding has been present - motorbikes!! Tracks seen and the footpaths a bit chewed up on the edge of the moss. Thankfully they've kept to the footpaths - for now at least!

Last hour upto dark.

7 Long Tailed Tits
1 Goldcrest
1 Buzzard
c100 Fieldfares - all feeding near to Highfield farm. Came into roost on the moss a little later.
1 Jay
4 Yellowhammers
4 Reed Buntings
1 Song Thrush
2 Meadow Pipits

Nice to bump into Pete Astles down there too.

Last hour upto dusk.

1 Pied Wagtail
4 Chaffinches
2 Mistle Thrushes
2 Buzzards
2 Kestrels
3 Yellowhammers
199 Pink Footed Geese - one skein of c190 that flew over west. Whilst watching them the skein suddenly swerved to the right as a Peregrine made a half-hearted attempt at one of the outermost birds.
1 Peregrine
3 Long Tailed Tits
2 Goldcrests
3 Reed Buntings
2 Snipe
39 Fieldfares
2 Meadow Pipits
3 Pheasants
7 Grey Partridges

Last hour before dark this afternoon.

1 Buzzard
3 Chaffinches
c40 Fieldfares
3 Mistle Thrushes
1 Kestrel
1 Jay
21 Pink Footed Geese - came into roost just south of the border in the potato crop.
3 Reed Buntings
1 Yellowhammer
3 Snipe
1 Jack Snipe
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Redwing

A crisp cold and bright morning on the moss today with good numbers of birds around. Best of the morning was picking out two Brambling in a loose flock of over a hundred Chaffinches.

24 Lapwings - flocks of 18 and 6.
58 Fieldfares - one flock of 47 plus singles.
4 Redwings
2 Pied Wagtails
1 Buzzard
c120 Chaffinches
2 Bramblings
2 Snipe
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
11 Reed Buntings
8 Yellowhammers
5 Greenfinches
3 Tree Sparrows
3 Meadow Pipits
1 Goldfinch
3 Long Tailed Tits
1 Goldcrest
1 Pheasant
1 Skylark
10 Grey Partridges

Stuck in traffic at 8am this morning on winwick lane 2 buzzard circling over area kept putting up several hundred woodpigeon and c60 lapwing also 2 skeins of pink footed goose got up from fields just into Cheshire 1 of 17 flew of south and 1 of c.50 circled area and dropped down again.

Late post from yesterday morning 8.00 till 10.00.

Phenomenal number of Woodpigeons moving around. I estimated around 1500 birds but I suspect there were nearer 2000. Many of them were feeding on an adjacent field to the moss and they turned the sky black when they all rose at once. Quite a sight!

Also of note was a large flock of mixed finches. Predominantly Chaffinches with several Goldfinches and Greenfinches mixed in too. Sadly I couldn't pick out a Brambling amongst them despite have very good views.

1 Buzzard
1 Mistle Thrush
22 Reed Buntings
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
4 Goldfinches
43 Chaffinches - one flock with 37 birds.
10 Yellowhammers
5 Grey Partridges
27 Redwings
45 Fieldfares
3 Greenfinches
16 Long Tailed Tits - two flocks of 3 and 13.
1 Willow Tit - with a small flock of Blue Tits.
4 Skylark - over north.
1 Pied Wagtail

Dennis atherton wrote:

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Have you had any fly over Waxwings yet pal for the list?

Keep them ears open

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No Dennis but I'm living in hope.

Theres plenty hawthorn berries on the edge of the quarry but the local Fieldfares and Redwings have made these their own.

With so many Waxwings around I'm hoping to get lucky.

Managed an hour or so before dusk tonight.

Best birds were a pair of Bullfinches near to the quarry. Other than that all the other usual stuff around.

2 Bullfinches - m,f
42 Fieldfares
18 Redwings
1 Mistle Thrush
1 Buzzard
4 Chaffinches
1 Greenfinch
3 Pied Wagtails
1 Kestrel
4 Yellowhammers
1 Linnet
2 Pheasants
4 Long Tailed Tits
2 Reed Buntings
1 Snipe
5 Grey Partridge