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

Around the Dukinfield/Ashton border this morning

Dipper on Tame along Coopers Ride
4 Grey Heron on roof of Tulip Foods building, 1 on Tame and a further 2 flew over towards the canal
3 Common Gulls among the Black-headed Gulls
Goldcrest among a small mixed tit flock
Cormorant over

Dipper on the Tame just on the Dukinfield/Ashton border late morning today.

Sunday 17th December 2017, 8.30 - 10.30am

Harrop Edge, Stalybridge. A dry start, then rain and driving sleet, as the morning progressed.

In the fields between Harrop Edge Road and Matley.

c35 Fieldfare
c10 Redwing
11 Rook
10 Carrion Crows
c60 Jackdaw
4 Red-legged Partridge

At the Paddock Farm side.

1 Buzzard
1 Mistle Thrush
6 Redwing over
7 Chaffinch over
6 Bullfinch
45 Black-headed Gulls in the fields towards Mottram
No Canada Geese today

Thursday 7th December 2017, 1.30pm

Printworks Road Pond, Heyrod.

9 Goosander (5 male)
1 Little Grebe, feeding continuously
1 Coot
3 Cormorant on a pylon

Sunday 3rd December 2017, 9.45 - 11.15am

Harrop Edge, mainly around Paddock Farm

1 female Stonechat
1 Buzzard, feeding in the fields
9 Fieldfare; 8 over together, and a single having a dispute with a Mistle Thrush over holly berries
1 solitary Redwing in a berry-less Hawthorn
2 Mistle Thrush
10+ Blackbirds
1 Jay
2 Rook at the Harrop Edge Road side
3 Pied Wagtails
70 Canada Geese feeding in the fields towards the A57
45 Black-headed Gulls in the same fields

Printworks Road Pond, Heyrod, 11.30am.

6 Goosander (2 males)
2 Moorhen
2 Mallard
6 Cormorant on the pylons

Tuesday 28th November 2017, 1.15pm

Printworks Road, Heyrod.

6 Goosander on the pond (3 males)
5 Cormorant on the pylons
Mistle Thrush
Nuthatch
Flock of Bullfinch

Thursday 23rd November 2017, 10.30am - 12.00pm

Pennine Bridleway between Carrbrook and Brushes. Very windy and quiet.

1 Kestrel
1 Buzzard, feeding in the fields
1 Mistle Thrush
12 House Sparrows
Great and Blue Tits, and Dunnock, around the cottages
1 Red Grouse
1 Starling

Carrbrook Pond

1 redhead Goosander
2 Moorhen
10 Canada Geese
20+ Mallard, plus assorted farm ducks

Printworks Road, Heyrod

8 Goosander (4 male, 4 redhead) on the pond
6 Cormorant on the pylons
1 Buzzard over