08:30 - 11:00. Sheep Dog Trials and a party of 4 shooters added disturbance to an already quiet morning! Goldeneye, male on Calf Hey, Mallard, 1 on Holden Wood, Kestrel, 1 Snipe 3 on Haslingden Moor, 1 dodging the shotguns! Golden Plover, 2 again dodging the shot on Haslingden Moor! B.H.Gull, c30, Common Gull, 1, G.B.B.Gull, 1 flew east down the valley, Meadow Pipit, 4, Redwing, 2 parties of 6 & 10, Finches, very few except for the odd Chaffinch! Regards, David Nuttall.
i managed to go to holden wood about 3pm boxing day and:-
13 canada geese, 2 goosander flying north, long tailed tits heart but not seen,a small flock of fieldfare - 6 seen must have been more present, 2 mallards flying south,
5 b h gulls on the water, more passing over north and south
upto 4 black bacled gulls seen.....big ones...darker more prominent backs......as they were flying over quite low i thought they were herons.....due to the size ....i was nt sure if they were greater black backed or a migrant lbb gull subspecies from europe which would have been darker backed and considerably bigger than the local lbb gulls.... 1 moorhen heard
and the ususal carrion crows, magpies, woodpigeons, blackbirds