Saturday 14th April 2018, 7.00 - 11.00am

Brushes Valley, to Higher Swineshaw Reservoir and Lees Hill.

Brushes Valley.

11 singing Willow Warblers
2 singing Chiffchaff
2 Cormorant over, down the valley
1 Curlew calling from Cock Knarr

Higher up.

6 Lesser Redpoll around the scout hut
3 singing Willow Warblers
1 Linnet singing by Lower Swineshaw Reservoir
5 Reed Bunting at Higher Swineshaw
One pair of Stonechat, the male singing
4 Skylark singing around Lees Hill and Boar Flat
20+ Meadow Pipits
1 Raven over

We had a couple of additional sightings of the Willow Tit last weekend. If these were at the feeders, and are submitted to GMBRG, please record the site as "Brushes Road", rather than Walkerwood Reservoir, or Stalybridge Country Park, to avoid duplicity of records. If anyone wants any information about any of the recording sites (not sightings, please) for this thread, feel free to PM me.

12.00-13.30 with Chris Chandler

Down the valley from Higher Swinshaw Res. back into Stalybridge

2 Red Grouse above Lower Swineshaw Res.
4 Redpoll in the trees by the Scout Hut
2 singing Willow Warblers, first of the year for us
1 Willow Tit, Bullfinch pair and Nuthatch pair on the feeders at Walkerwood Res.
Numerous singing Chiffchaffs down there too

That hillside at Brushes still looks juicy for Nightjars, fingers crossed!

Also of note, we saw a pair of Dippers gathering nesting material on the river in the middle of Stalybridge earlier on in the morning

Sunday 8th April 2018, 8.45 - 11.45am

From Walkerwood Dam, up past the rifle ranges, then a full circuit of Wild Bank Hill, returning via Cock Wood.

Wild Bank Hill.

1 male Wheatear, my first locally of the year.
1 Ring Ouzel flew over east, calling, at 9.30.
7 singing Willow Warblers
2 singing Linnet
4 Lesser Redpoll
1 singing Skylark
2 Long-tailed Tits
50+ Meadow Pipits, displaying
2 Pied Wagtails around Shaw Farm
1 Chiffchaff singing at Flaxfield
1 female Sparrowhawk at Flaxfield

Brushes Road

20+ Meadow Pipits, many displaying
6 singing Willow Warblers
2 singing Chiffchaff
1 Nuthatch
2 Pied Wagtails at Walkerwood Dam
Pair of Bullfinch around the feeders
A Buzzard drifted down the valley, before veering off towards Millbrook.

Three Ring Ouzel over Lower Swineshaw at 9.40, heading in the direction of Chew. 

Info thanks to David Walsh

Thursday 5th April 2018, 10.30am - 12.30pm.

As part of a Willow Tit Survey, on behalf of GMEU.

From Walkerwood Dam, and around the wet woodland of the valley bottom.

1 Willow Tit
1 Woodcock, flushed from the valley bottom
4 singing Chiffchaffs, my first of the year at this site
4 Chaffinch
2 Goldfinch
2 Lesser Redpoll
12 Great Tits
12 Blue Tits
2 Long-tailed Tits
4 Coal Tits
2 Song Thrush
1 Nuthatch
1 male Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeder

Friday 30th March 2018, 9.30 - 11.30am

From Walkerwood Dam, up past the rifle ranges, and onto Wild Bank Hill.

Wild Bank Hill.

4 Linnet, with two males singing lustily, were a welcome sight and sound. Plumage still fresh, and the males looked particularly drab, but still good to see.
9 Lesser Redpoll, was my best count, in and out of the birch trees - like counting dust!
1 Curlew
1 Buzzard
1 Raven
20+ Meadow Pipits
1 Skylark singing

Walkerwood

A pair of Goosander flew off the reservoir at 9.30
1 pair of Grey Wagtails

Saturday 24th March 2018, 7.00 - 11.00am

From Walkerwood Dam, up to Higher Swineshaw Reservoir, then back along the opposite side of the valley, as far as Pack Saddle.

The first sighting of the morning was the most unexpected, in the form of a Woodcock flying, in broad daylight, over the country park, along Wild Bank, and into Cock Wood. Possibly flushed out of the country park, but they don't usually fly so far or high as a rule?

Walkerwood area:

1 Willow Tit
1 Nuthatch
3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, in an identical situation to one I witnessed the other week. One male was drumming, with a female close by, then another male arrived, causing a commotion which resulted in all three birds flying noisily away.
1 Lesser Redpoll over
1 Grey Wagtail
Pair of Pied Wagtails

Brushes Valley:

A Tawny Owl hooting at 10.45am, on my way back down, was a surprise.
2 Curlew between Cock Knarr and Lower Swineshaw
6 Lesser Redpoll
2 Goldfinch
Raven over Cock Knarr

Around the Swineshaws:

Pair of Stonechat
6 Reed Bunting, all except one being female.
2 Raven over, towards Boar Flat
1 Buzzard
1 Linnet
3 Goosander (1m, 2f), on Higher Swineshaw Reservoir
6 pairs of Canada Geese on Higher Swineshaw
15+ Meadow Pipits
1 Skylark

Around Pack Saddle:

5 Curlew
4 Grey Partridge
2 Pied Wagtails
20+ Meadow Pipits
4 Skylark
Lapwing visible in the fields past Ogden Brook, in Derbyshire.
A flock of Golden Plover were in the area midweek, but no sign for me today.

Tuesday 20th March 2018, 6.30 - 7.15am

Around Walkerwood.

1 drake Mandarin swimming with Mallard
1 Lesser Redpoll around Brushes Cottages
1 Pied Wagtail on Walkerwood Dam
1 Grey Wagtail in the overflow
1 Willow Tit
Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in the country park
Plenty of singing this morning, notably Song Thrush.

Saturday 10th March, 1.30pm.

An hour spent cleaning out nest boxes in Brushes Valley. Every box, including those not used last year, showed signs of being used for shelter over the winter, in the form of droppings on the floor.

8 Coal Tits were calling over a distance of just 400 yards on the way down. A lot of agitated sounding Great and Blue Tits suggested that perhaps a little prospecting had already taken place.

Note to self, Roger. "Next time, add buying a packet of seed to errand list".
.............................................................................................................................
Typical callous remark of youth ........ picking on an old age pensioner ... If I could afford seed I would be able to use it to make some gruel !!

Roger.

Tuesday 27th February 12.00 - 12.20 hrs.

Just nipped up after my errands ..... seed feeder virtually empty but there was a big fat grey squirrel joining in the fun !

Dunnock.
Great, Blue and Willow Tit.
Nuthatch on the Peanut feeder.
Cock and hen Pheasant under the feeders.

Grey Wagtail (F) feeding in the overflow channel.

I arrived in sunshine ... left in a blizzard 20 mins later !!

Roger.

Friday 23rd February 2018, 9.00 - 11.45am

From Walkerwood Dam, up on to Wild Bank Hill, past the trig point, to Hollingworthall Moor. A fine, icy morning, but the bitter easterly wind, once out the shelter of Wild Bank, made it almost impossible to stand still. Consequently, nothing at all seen or heard past the 1,000ft contour.

Wild Bank Hill.

Pair of Little Owl at a regular site
2 Red Grouse
1 Dunnock singing at Shaw Farm
6 Starlings
4 Wren
1 Kestrel struggling in the wind over Hollingworthall Moor
Other than a handful of Woodpigeon and Magpies, that really was it for Wild Bank.

Lower down.

3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the country park. One male was drumming, with a female close by, then another male flew in and noisily mobbed the first. All three could be seen (and heard!) flying around the area over the following fifteen minutes, as I was making my way up towards the rifle ranges.
1 female Grey Wagtail in Walkerwood overflow
The usual suspects around the feeders, including the Willow Tit
Yesterday, a drake Mandarin was on Walkerwood Reservoir

Sunday 18th February 2018, 8.00 - 11.00am

The length of Brushes Valley, with an hour spent on the moor around Turf Pits.

Top of the valley.

4 Skylark calling from the moor around Turf Pits, my first of the year locally
1 Kestrel
24 Red Grouse - but it is a grouse moor.
11 Reed Bunting around the scout hut

1 Willow Tit on the Walkerwood feeder

Wednesday 14th February 2018, 6.15 - 7.15am

1 Woodcock back into the woods at 6.54am, much lower down the valley from those of yesterday, in the area of Brushes SBI (alongside Brushes Reservoir).
12 Canada Geese on Walkerwood Reservoir.

Friday 9th February 2018, the length of Brushes Reservoir.

At least one Woodcock flew over Brushes Reservoir, then circled above the woods several times, before plummeting down into the trees on the Harridge side, at 7.05am.

Tawny Owls calling further down the valley, around Walkerwood, but none any higher up this morning.

Roger Baker 3 wrote:

---

I had 3 male Tawny Owls calling within hearing distance, all at the same time, late on Sunday night David.

Good to hear them as I didn't have a single hoot during October or November when I expected to hear them calling and answering from Cheethams Park and Bower Fold.

Roger.

---

It was unusually quiet last Autumn in the valley, but they have made up for it in the past month. I quite regularly see them flying around before dawn.

I usually count the valley and the country park in sections, and there is also at least one pair in the woods at Grove Road. You can do the light duties around Roe Cross, Roger. All we need now is someone to do Cowbury Dale - doesn't Steve Suttill like wandering around up there after dark?

I can see it now. "Owls of Stalybridge". Do you think anyone would want to read it?

Tuesday 6th February 2018, 6.30 - 7.20am

At least 4, probably 5 Tawny Owls around Walkerwood this morning.

Two males hooting at either end of the reservoir, on the Wild Bank side, plus a female calling.
Also very good views of a bird flying around the trees on the Harridge side, which then started a very squeaky hoot. Another bird was seen higher up, towards the gamekeeper's cottage, which started a more confident, mature sounding hoot. Didn't sound like the same bird to me.

These males seem very close together, possibly youngsters involved in trying to lay down territories. I have it in my head that Tawny Owls can have territories as small as 12 hectares, which, using a piece of rudimentary arithmetic, gives a circle of radius approximately 200 metres.

-- Edited by David Walsh on Tuesday 6th of February 2018 01:40:52 PM

Saturday 13th January 2018, 9.30am - 12.00pm.

Brushes Valley, and around Higher Swineshaw.

Another quiet morning, with a strong, cold wind from Lower Swineshaw up. I've lost track of the last time I was up here and the weather wasn't either snowing, foggy, or blowing a gale.

A pair of Stonechat feeding at Lees Hill
3 Ravens at Higher Swineshaw
1 Buzzard over Swineshaw Moor
Male Kestrel struggling with the wind over Lees Hill

Lower down.

2 Treecreeper
Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Steve Suttill wrote:

---

Walkerwood Dam to Higher Swineshaw and back, mainly in thick fog (chance to test low-light capabilities of new binoculars )

No sign of any of Mr Walsh's Stonechats, Woodcock or Willow Tit!

---

Steve

The image burned indelibly in your memory is partly my fault; I forgot to forewarn you of that suit on the evening in question.

With regards the three species you didn't see yesterday:

Willow Tit - hardy ever seen away from the feeders. Either text me before 6.00am next time you're visiting, and I will make sure the feeders are filled, or bring a handful of black sunflower seeds with you.

Stonechat - hit and miss. They feed over a wide area at this time of year, on both sides of the valley, and can lie low for long periods.

Woodcock - winter sightings are very fleeting, and crepuscular. Dawn is still breaking a little late for my routine, but I have had several excellent views of Tawny Owls flying around the trees at 7.00am recently, to compensate. Alternatively, you could engage the services of my Springer Spaniel - she may improve your chances of seeing a Woodcock later in the day.

This morning's visit started inauspiciously, at 10.00am, when I realised I had forgotten my binoculars, so had to use my emergency pair from the car boot, with only one functioning lens. So all sightings are courtesy of my left eye only.

Most of the action at this time of year is around the woods, particularly at Brushes Cottages.

8 Coal Tits, very vocal, and a little singing going on.
2 Lesser Redpoll over.
The usuals around the feeder, including the Willow Tit

Almost four years after the first sighting, the Willow Tit has only ever been seen singly. There is a prize on offer for anyone recording two birds, in the shape of a bespoke anti mosquito suit (slightly worn).

No sign of any of Mr Walsh's Stonechats, Woodcock or Willow Tit!
.................................................................................................................

Be careful what you wish for Steve otherwise you may find yourself being dragged round the circuit at 05.00 hrs.
I thought that you would have realised that you were dealing with madmen when we had you up there at midnight ... although it was noted how quickly you produced a sick-note when you received your next invite.

Roger.

Thursday 4th January 2018, 10.00 - 11.30am

Walkerwood area

1 Cormorant fishing on the reservoir
A female Peregrine drifted over Harridge, from the north, and had a couple of half-hearted attempts at Woodpigeons around the gamekeeper's cottage. Its left wing was very ragged, missing several flight feathers.
1 Kestrel, having a go at the Peregrine.
1 Buzzard calling from Wild Bank Hill.

A lot of life around Brushes Cottages.

At least 4 Treecreepers
2 Nuthatch
Several Goldcrest

The usuals around the feeder, including the Willow Tit

From Walkerwood Dam to Higher Swineshaw in bright frosty conditions on the way up, and a snow shower on the way back down. 09:00 - 10:30 am.

Raven and a pair of Stonechat near the top.

Treecreeper, Nuthatch highlights lower down.

Saturday 16th December 2017, 8.00 - 11.00am, clear, with intermittent snow showers.

From Walkerwood Dam, up onto Wild Bank Hill, including a wander around the trig point. Wild Bank still blanketed beneath several inches of snow.

Wild Bank Hill

2 Little Owls
3 Reed Bunting around the trig point
10+ Red Grouse
5 Meadow Pipits
10 Long-tailed Tits feeding in the birch trees above Cock Wood
3 Bullfinch

2 Rooks feeding in the fields around Flaxfield Farm, with several Carrion Crows and Jackdaw
Plenty of Bullfinch around Brushes Road and Walkerwood
2 Jays
The usuals around the feeders, including the Willow Tit

Thursday 30th November 2017, around dusk.

1 Woodcock over Lower Swineshaw scout hut, towards Lees Hill, at 4.35pm
Tawny Owl singing in the trees around the gamekeeper's cottage