Third time lucky in the last few days with this bird this morning!
Had a lovely, peaceful half hour or so in sunny and still weather conditions , at around 8.00 am, enjoying its song. Could hear it but then spent the first ten minutes or so looking in the handful of trees, which are present here, for it - but with no luck! Finally, discovered that it was actually singing from a pylon and not a tree! Pylon Pipit doesn't sound quite as attractive as Tree Pipit does it though!
Settled down to watch it from a nearby area of heather, before I got not so subtle hints to move on from a Meadow Pipit wanting to carry food into its nest! Anyway, it was great to hear its song - a mixture of Chaffinch, Redstart and Meadow Pipit to my ears. It only "parachuted" twice - once from the pylon back onto the pylon and once from the pylon to the ground. The parachute - as indicated in field guides - was much steeper than of a Meadow Pipit.
A terrific find Steve and one I thoroughly enjoyed and also learnt from this morning.
I'm glad you managed to see it Geoff. After discussions with another birder I decided to remove the location details. If anyone would like directions please send me a PM. The Tree Pipit was in tetrad SD91Q Denshaw, so if it's still singing next Saturday we'll be able to record it as breeding code T for territory, which would classify it as a probable breeder. Rochdale is proving to be one of the last remaining areas of GM where this species is still hanging on, as a pair has been reported from another location in the borough this weekend. In 2008 breeding was only confirmed in 2 tetrads in GM with possible breeding in a 3rd. Birds were also present in 2 border tetrads in the north but may have been in Lancs.
Steve
-- Edited by Steve Atkins on Sunday 24th of May 2009 07:42:08 PM
-- Edited by Steve Atkins on Monday 25th of May 2009 08:54:43 AM
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The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
Rather a quaint sounding name, not sure of its origins, apart from the fact that the area is in Rochdale. Anyway, whilst out doing the Crompton Moor TTV this morning, I came across a Tree Pipit singing for all it was worth and parachuting from a sapling onto the ground. Dave Ousey managed to get good views of it at midday.
-- Edited by Steve Atkins on Sunday 24th of May 2009 11:52:50 AM
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The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
, at around 8.00 am, enjoying its song. Could hear it but then spent the first ten minutes or so looking in the handful of trees, which are present here, for it - but with no luck! 
Finally, discovered that it was actually singing from a pylon and not a tree! Pylon Pipit doesn't sound quite as attractive as Tree Pipit does it though! 
Anyway, whilst out doing the Crompton Moor TTV this morning, I came across a Tree Pipit singing for all it was worth and parachuting from a sapling onto the ground. Dave Ousey managed to get good views of it at midday.