Monday 16th April 2018, 8.20am

Ashton Town Centre.

A recently fledged Blackbird being fed worms by its parent on the edge of the car park at Glebe Street was a nice way to start the working week.

Also in the area.

Greenfinch singing above Crickets Lane health centre
Several Dunnock singing
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
House Sparrows
4 Goldfinch
Jackdaws nest building

Sunday 15th April 2018, 9.30am - 12.00pm.

Pennine Bridleway, between Carrbrook and Brushes.

1 Ring Ouzel, a handsome male. Fortunately, it called once, otherwise I would never have found it. It was feeding on the edge of the heather, mainly behind a collapsed stone wall, for about fifteen minutes, then flew higher up the moor, and disappeared into an area cleared of heather. It seems to be a good year for passage. That makes five different sightings for me, at five separate local sites, in the past week and a half.
1 male Wheatear, in the same area, at the same time, as the Ouzel.
1 Curlew calling from high up on Harridge was good to hear.
10 Lapwing visible in the fields, with 7 appearing to be sitting.
1 singing Willow Warbler
House Sparrows around the cottages
Pair of Pied Wagtails
3 Chaffinch
2 singing Greenfinch
5 singing Dunnock

An enjoyable morning.

Good to hear a Blackcap singing in Dukinfield this morning.

5 + Sand Martin today at 10.30 on the river Tame seen from the bridge on Bailey Street, Stalybridge

Saturday 31st March 2018, 10.00am

Printworks Road Pond, Heyrod.

4 Coot, with one pair nestbuilding
1 Moorhen
2 pairs of Canada Geese
My first singing Chiffchaff of the year
2 Nuthatch
2 Greenfinch singing

First Chiffchaff of the year, at the lower part of the mettled footpath from the bottom of Mottram Old Road up to Wildbank - about 50m up - always a reliable spot for this spices being first migrant of the summer.

Thursday 22nd March 2018, 9.00pm

Tawny Owl hooting from the woods between Grove Road and Crowswood Drive, Millbrook.

Thursday 15th March 2018

Harrop Edge, 9.30 - 11.15am. Blustery and very quiet.

2 Skylark
1 Lesser Redpoll
2 Meadow Pipits
1 Kestrel
1 Curlew flew over east, carrying on up Longdendale Valley, until it was a speck.

Printworks Road, Heyrod, 11.30am.

Similar sightings to Roger's, minus the Geese.
Also, a pair of Greenfinch in the surrounding Bush
1 Grey Wagtail in the horse paddock
Several Nuthatch calling

Pennine Bridleway, Carrbrook, 4.30 - 5.30pm.

11 Lapwing seen, all on the ground.
c 20 Redwing. There seems to have been a clear out of Fieldfare since the weekend. Not one seen this evening.
15 Starlings
26 Pheasant
2 Pied Wagtail

Saturday 10th March 2018, 8.00 - 10.15am

Pennine Bridleway, Carrbrook to Millbrook.

Similar fare to Thursday, with an accurate Lapwing count again proving difficult. On the way up, 12 birds were in the air together, doing a wide circuit of the moor, but it was at a point before I could view the fields where the birds are on the ground, so I have no idea whether this is the total population or not. One bird seems to be sitting tight in the middle of the beet field. At least six birds were displaying.

Fieldfare and Redwing numbers were slightly down, and around 10 Chaffinch were mixed in with the Goldfinch and Starlings. Again, most of the action was in and around the beet field.

3 Meadow Pipits back on territory were new for the site this year.

Thursday 7th March

Two lesser redpoll on our garden feeders which backs on to Gorse Hall, Dukinfield area. They were present for most of the afternoon.

An unusual sighting for the area early this afternoon, 2 Lapwing flew low across Dukinfield Park and then over our house.

A few Redwing have been frequenting the park over the last few days also just across Pickford Lane on our garden feeders in the last week or so, couple of Siskin and Redpoll, male Blackcap, male and female Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Goldcrest, daily mid teens of Goldfinch and Greenfinch, 4 Chaffinch, c10 House Sparrow. Also around the garden 4 Blackbird, 3 Robin, 3 Dunnock, all 4 of the commoner Tits, a few Starlings and probably the best for me a Song Thrush that has been around since late autumn although it has been seen less frequently lately.

Good weather today made walking to/from Stalybridge Station more enjoyable than recent times

A pair of Goosander were on the canal by Tesco this morning.

This evening two Dippers on the Tame downstream from Melbourne St bridge. Whilst upstream near Corporation St were two Grey Wagtail and some Long Tailed Tits

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 23rd of February 2018 06:45:09 PM

Wednesday 21st February 2018, 5.30 - 6.30pm

Shireclough, Carrbrook.

Kestrel perched on a telegraph pole, just before dusk
3 male Tawny Owls hooting, one at Shireclough Farm, the other two from Cowbury Dale.
Lapwing calling from the fields below the Bridleway.

Monday 19th February 2018.

Bayley Street, Stalybridge, 2.30pm.

Pair of Dipper on the River Tame between Bayley Street and Tame Street bridges.

Gas Street, Ashton (back of Boots), 4.00pm.

A flock of c 20 House Sparrows around the hedging of the car park
1 Dunnock singing
1 Pied Wagtail

Steve Suttill wrote:

---

Always good to see challenging vocabulary on the forum ....
...and always good to see Peewits!

---

Thanks Steve. Use it or lose it, as they say

Any literary expression from this morning would relate to fog, mist, drizzle, and grime, so I won't bore you with it.

Printworks Road Pond, just visible, held the following:

4 Coot, again moving around as two pairs
1 Little Grebe, moving around the pond today. Normally it skulks around in one area.
6 Mallard
10 Canada Geese
Couple of Mistle Thrush singing around the area

Also, a pair of Goosander on the canal at Grove Road

Saturday 17th February 2018, 9.30 - 11.00am.

Pennine Bridleway, Carrbrook to Millbrook.

A Vanelline deceit ushered in springtime in Stalybridge this morning, despite the icy rain blowing up the hill, with 26 Lapwing moving around the fields below the Bridleway. The target species for the morning, and four days earlier than my first record of 2017, although I don't visit this area every day. Despite the weather, a fantastic sight and sound

Again, the old beet fields held good numbers of winter thrushes, as well as other species as follows:

70 Fieldfare
40 Redwing
30 Goldfinch
11 Starlings
44 Pheasants
10 Chaffinch (2 singing)

Elsewhere:

6 Mistle Thrush (2 singing)
1 Song Thrush singing
8 Blackbirds
7 Dunnock (4 singing)
2 singing Greenfinch
2 Ravens
1 Buzzard
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Jay
2 Red Grouse

Sunday 11th February 2018, 9.30 - 11.00am.

Pennine Bridleway, Carrbrook.

Much the same mix of species as last week.

A mixed flock of winter thrushes in the old beet field, almost impossible to count accurately on the bare earth littered with beet fragments. My best estimate would be 70 Redwing and 15 Fieldfare.
5 Mistle Thrush
4 Chaffinch
4 Goldfinch
2 singing Greenfinch
2 singing Dunnock
13 Starling
13 Pheasant
1 Buzzard

Printworks Road Pond, 2.00pm

4 Goosander swimming as two pairs
1 Little Grebe
3 Coot
4 Canada Geese
6 Mallard
1 Cormorant on the pylon
Nuthatches calling in the surrounding trees

Sunday 4th February 2018, 10.30am - noon.

Pennine Bridleway, Carrbrook to Brushes.

Two flocks of winter thrushes. Approximately 20 Redwing and 5 Fieldfare in the beet field at Shireclough, and approximately 70 Fieldfare with around 25 Redwing in the fields towards Millbrook.
5 Mistle Thrush (one singing)
1 Buzzard feeding amongst molehills
4 Chaffinch
10 Goldfinch
1 singing Greenfinch
2 singing Dunnock
4 Long-tailed Tits
1 Coal Tit
5 House Sparrows
8 Pheasant
2 Red Grouse

1 redhead Goosander on Carrbrook Pond

Thursday 1st February, 2018, 11.00am

Printworks Road Pond, Heyrod.

1 Little Grebe
4 Moorhen
2 Coot
2 Canada Geese
8 Mallard

Quite lively in the surrounding vegetation, including at least two Nuthatch

An hour an a half earlier around Harrop Edge yielded very little. The fields were still covered with last night's snow:

1 very vocal Buzzard
6 Fieldfares moving around
2 Raven

Dunnock, Wren, Robin and Song Thrush all singing around Crescent Road in Dukinfield before first light this morning.

Four Rook present around Ashton bus station this morning

On grass near Ashton town centre tram stop this morning

c20 House Sparrow, the most I have seen here at once
c38 Starling

Flock of about 150 Jackdaw roosting in a single tree in Armentieres square in Stalybridge at 07.30 this morning. 

Sunday 21st January 2018

Pair of Tawny Owls hooting and calling from Grove Road woods, Millbrook, at 8.15pm. Also heard last evening at 7.00pm.

Thursday 4th January, 2018, 11.40am

Printworks Road, Heyrod.

4 Goosander on the pond (2 redheads)
12 Mallard
5 Cormorant on the pylons
2 Nuthatch