Just stumbled across your website & got to thinking about Snow Buntings which I found years back, in winter, on Hambledon Hill. They were feeding close to sedges which may have been Birds Foot Sedge Carex ornithopoda, they hung around it for a few days and at the time I wondered if it was their preferred food plant.
I guess several Snow Buntings have been seen around Rossendale since then and I wonder if anyone else has noted their presence close to sedges?
Thanks for posting a message Andy, though I'll leave the task of answering your question to Bob Ives, who spends a lot of time on hameldon and who has had records of Snow Buntings over the years.
Hi Andy, what you say is quite right. I'm sure it was a conversation with you some years ago about this that got me going up there in the first place. It is hard to prove just what they are feeding on when the ground lacks any snow cover. But once it has snowed C.ornithopoda is just about the only plant left protruding with any seed left on it. On several occassions I've found bunting droppings next to the plant along with the empty husks. However over recent years (2000 onwards) there has been a distinct lack of snow and buntings. All my sightings have been on Great Hameldon, I still await my first bird on Hameldon itself. I trust that France is still to your liking and that business is good.
Thanks for the feedback. The Snow buntings I had were just a bit west of the masts on Hamledon. I'll try & track some down over christmas. Incidentaly, if it is indeed bird's foot sedge then it maybe rare-ish.
Have you managed any Dotterel around Hameldon? Nutshaw Hill, Clowbridge looks ideal and I've had them on the hill overlooking Pad Lodge, Loveclough.
Buisness is fine - beats engineering! Today, whilst mushrooming, had Griffons, Black Vultures and a Golden Eagle overhead. But no mushrooms - maybe they'd eaten them.
