8.05am to 9.50am.

5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
14 Canada Geese
50+ Mallards
1m Gadwall. As they are very unusual around here I presume it is the same one as at Wayoh yesterday
1m + 4f Goldeneyes
1m + 2f Goosanders
6 Moorhens
20+ Black-headed Gulls
6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Flew up from the direction of Bradshaw Lodges before passing low over Bradshaw Road fields
3 Common Gulls. 2 of these also flew up from Bradshaw Lodges, before landing on the reservoir
3 Pied Wagtails
Pair of Grey Wagtails on overflow pipes

8.00am to 10.15am

4 Great Crested Grebes
5 Cormorants
2 Grey Herons flying over + one by a pond with frogspawn
14 Canada Geese + the hybrid
c65 Mallards
11 Moorhens
20+ Black-headed Gulls
3 Common Gulls
2 Oystercatchers which flew off about 8.30am heading over Bromley Cross
1 Curlew calling from the direction of Birches Farm
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Grey Wagtail on Bradshaw Brook
4 Redwings near information centre + 10 with a Mistle Thrush on field above Horrobin Fold
Other species :- Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch

8.15am to 9.10am + short visit on the way back home from Hawkshaw early afternoon.

5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
1 Grey Heron
18 Canada Geese
30+ Mallards
Pair of Tufted Ducks
2f Goldeneyes
4 Moorhens
80+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
1 Buzzard
Grey Wagtail & Dipper at the overflow
Pied Wagtail at Walsh Fold

9.20am to 10.30am.

4 Great Crested Grebes
3 Cormorants
2 Grey Herons
3 Canada Geese
Numerous Mallards & Moorhens (some birds hidden away from the strong wind, as could be the case with the grebes)
Pair of Goldeneye
20+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Flock of Redwings still along Grange Road & a couple more by the reservoir

11.20 to 13.45

4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron at yatch club + 2 flying over
23 Canada Geese + the hybrid
50+ Mallards
Pair of Tufted Ducks
1m + 3f Goldeneyes
4 Moorhens
1 Curlew. Flew around for about 10 minutes before heading off. Not seen one locally in February before.
c75 Black-headed Gulls
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Buzzard
Feral Pigeons, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Pied Wagtail, Wrens, Dunnocks, Robins, Blackbirds, Redwings (c100 Grange Road), Song Thrushes, Mistle Thrushes, Goldcrests, Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Jays, Magpies, Jackdaws, Rooks, Carrion Crows, Starlings, House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Bullfinches.

12.15to 13.30

Started off along Grange Road with 70+ Redwings, 30+ Starlings, & 20+ Goldfinches. Presumably the Holts Fold flock has moved down to this sheltered area. Nothing at Holts Fold today.

Reservoir :-
5 Great Crested Grebes
3 Cormorants
10 Canada Geese + the hybrid
70+ Mallards
4 Moorhens
c65 Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
Sparrowhawk soaring around above a Buzzard
2 Siskins by the yatch club

Ousel Nest Meadow :-
Mixed flock of Chaffinches/Goldfinches
2 Nuthatches
Sparrowhawk, possibly same one as the one seen earlier, being mobbed by corvids

13.50 to 14.40.

Drake Wigeon was a nice surprise to finish off today's birding.
1m + 2f Goldeneyes also present, + the usual water birds.

Similar to yesterday apart from a drake Goldeneye. Even though it was on it's own it was displaying.

8.20am to 9.25am.

The pair of Goldeneyes which have been here for a few days had another female with them close to Horrobin Lane car park. All was peaceful until another male flew in and joined them.
Almost immediately both males started displaying to the females, and it did not take long for the original male to start trying to chase off the other one, whilst still displaying in between chases. Displaying and chasing was still going on when I headed off from this area.
On my way back from Hawkshaw I checked to see how they were going on, but could only find one male, which was flying around the reservoir to different areas.

Other birds included :-
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
8 Canada Geese (including 2 on ledges on the quarry wall) + the hybrid
Numerous Mallards
6 Moorhens
20+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Buzzard
1 Tawny Owl calling at the top end

Heading back to the reservoir from Walsh Fold early afternoon I saw a flock of up to a hundred birds fly across and land not too far away. Mostly Redwings, one Fieldfare seen, and a few Starlings.

10.00am to 11.10am.

8 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
4 Canada Geese
80+ Mallards
1m + 3f Tufted Ducks
Pair of Goldeneye
2m + 5f Goosanders
80+ Black-headed Gulls
6 Common Gulls
No Moorhens or Coots seen today, must be some Moorhens somewhere

Brief visit this morning.

6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Grey Heron
Numerous Mallards
4m + 3f Tufted Ducks
2m + 5f Goosanders
A few Moorhens
50+ Black-headed Gulls

10.30am to 13.20am.

6 Great Crested Grebes
9 Cormorants
2 Grey Herons
3 Canada Geese
c75 Mallards
1m + 2f Tufted Ducks
2m + 4f Goosanders
9 Moorhens
130+ Black-headed Gulls
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Common Gulls
1 Buzzard
Plus the usual woodland and field birds

1 Grey Heron & 1 Grey Wagtail along Bradshaw Brook

Just outside the country park area, on the field between Ousel Nest Meadow & Grange Park Road, I saw a Chiffchaff

9.30am to 12.15pm. Whole area covered in constant light drizzle.

6 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
5 Canada Geese
40+ Mallards
1 Buzzard
5 Moorhens
80+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Lesser Black-backed passing over
1 Common Gull
21 Woodpigeons
2 Collared Doves
Lots of Tawny Owl pellets found in one particular area, but no sign of any owls in the trees there
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Grey Wagtail
3 Pied Wagtails
4 Wrens
4 Dunnocks
15+ Robins
15 Blackbirds
3 Redwings
2 Song Thrushes
4 Mistle Thrushes
2 Goldcrests
2 flocks of Long-tailed Tits
2-5 Coal Tits
20+ Great Tits
20+ Blue Tits
6 Nuthatches
1 Treecreeper
1 Dipper on Bradshaw Brook
6 Jays
12 Magpies
120+ Jackdaws
30+ Rooks. Mixed with the Jackdaws most of the time, but eventually I managed to see them apart to get an estimate of each species
5 Carrion Crows
4 Chaffinches
2 Greenfinches
c25 Goldfinches
2 flocks of Siskins, c20 at sailing club & the dozen or so at Ousel Nest Meadow
10+ Bullfinches

Also found Snowdrops by Horrobin Lane.

9.35am to 11.30am.

Reservoir :-
6 Great Crested Grebes
15 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
3 Canada Geese
70+ Mallards
1m Goldeneye
29 Goosanders (17m + 12f). Easily my highest count here, even though I have had higher counts on Wayoh.
5 Moorhens
80+ Black-headed Gulls
3 Common Gulls
1 Kestrel
A few Redwings

Moved down to Bradshaw Brook and found a Dipper near Bradshaw Lodges.
As I was watching the Dipper I counted about 200 Pink-footed Geese flying over heading W. (11.05am).
A Buzzard took off from Ousel Nest Meadow as I watched a flock of 80+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over.
More Pink-footed Geese came over from over the reservoir with my estimate this time being about 600, heading SW. (11.15am).
Still mooching in the same area of the meadow I saw about a dozen Siskins mixed with Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Bullfinches, and a Goldcrest.

After days of seeing hardly anything locally, this morning made up for a poor start to the year.

50+ Redwings between Grange Road & railway. Another dozen or so at the yatch club.

Usual birds on reservoir and in woodland.

9.35am to 11.45am. Ousel Nest Meadow, Bradshaw Brook, Reservoir, & farmland between reservoir & Bradshaw Road.

3 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Cormorant, 7 Grey Herons, 1 Canada Goose, c90 Mallards, 1m Goldeneye, 2 Moorhens, 1 Coot, c90 Black-headed Gulls,
Feral Pigeons, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wrens, Dunnocks, Robins, Blackbirds, Redwings (small flock), Song Thrush, Mistle Thrushes,
Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Dipper (Bradshaw Brook), Jays, Magpies (including 21 in a tree by Horrobin Lane), Jackdaws,
Rooks, Carrion Crows, Starlings, House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Siskins (25+ on Ousel nest Meadow), Bullfinches.

Late post for yesterday morning :-

3 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
2 Grey Herons
3 Canada Geese
c70 Mallards
4 Moorhens
2 Coots
20+ Black-headed Gulls
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Grey Wagtail
1 Pied Wagtail
1 Dipper on Bradshaw Brook near the overflow
Small flock of Redwings
Usual woodlands birds, the highlight being a flock of 6 Bullfinches

Merry Christmas everybody

9.15am to 10.30am.

5 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
2 Grey Herons
40+ Mallards
1m Tufted Duck
2m + 1f Goosanders
4 Moorhens
2 Coots
30+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
1 Buzzard

8.50am to 9.50am

4 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
5 Grey Herons
30 Canada Geese
50+ Mallards
4 Oystercatchers. Flew in for a couple of minutes before heading off over Bromley Cross.
20+ Black-headed Gulls
2 Common Terns
40+ House Martins

8.40am to 9.35am

Dipper at the overflow, and fairly quiet on the reservoir.

6 Great Crested Grebes
5 Grey Herons
6 Canada Geese + the 3 goslings
30+ Mallards
Family of Moorhens
1 Black-headed Gull
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Common Tern

8.00am to 9.30am

6 Great Crested Grebes, including one on a newly built nest
2 Cormorants
7 Grey Herons
8 Canada Geese + the goslings + the hybrid which flew in
20+ Mallards
An Oystercatcher flew around for a few minutes before heading off down Bradshaw Valley
4 Black-headed Gulls
A few Swallows
Grey Wagtails at the overflow
+ the usual woodland species

Just a couple of Common Terns and the usuals on the reservoir this morning.

Grey Wagtails provided some interest though :-
Family group flying around Bradshaw Brook at the overflow
Pair in a bush below the quarry
An adult and a juvenile on the brook between the reservoir & Turton Bottoms

9.10am to 10.40am

5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Grey Herons
22 Canada Geese + the goslings, and the hybrid flew in
30+ Mallards
1 Moorhen
1 Common Sandpiper, my first of the year
A few Black-headed Gulls flying over, none on the reservoir
1 Common Tern
10 Swallows
1 Sparrowhawk, Pheasants, Woodpigeons, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Grey Wagtails, Pied Wagtail, Wrens, Dunnocks, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Mistle Thrushes, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, Goldcrests, Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Nuthatches, Jays, Magpies, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Lesser Redpolls, & Bullfinches.

7.50am to 9.00am

Only 2 Great Crested Grebes. The lack of grebes here probably explains more than usual on Wayoh.
1 Grey Heron
16 Canada Geese
30+ Mallards
1 Moorhen
3 Common Terns
10+ Swallows
1 Kingfisher giving great views around the creek area at the bridge near the information centre. At one point it landed in the top of a tall tree.

Whitethroat back on Ousel Nest Meadow, otherwise just the usuals on a fairly quiet morning.