Bright and sunny from 1st light. Flat calm to 5mp North breeze.
1st session this autumn. Only 1 60ft net used today. Quite a few birds around all morning. A steady trickle of M Pipits, 2+ Tree Pipits down to net area but wouldn`t go in !! a few R Bunts flitting around, 2-3 Willow/Chiffs and 2 Blackcap seen. A bonus bing a 1CY Whitethroat found in the net. 50 birds ringed..
M Pipit - 100+ S. Steady trickle. ( 19 ringed )
Tree Pipit - 2+ Down to net site then South.
R Bunt - 10+ blogging then moving off S. ( 4 ringed )
Greenfinch - 20+ i 1-2`s S. ( 3 ringed )
Goldfinch - Lots of birds around but difficult to see if migrants or blogging birds. ( 2 ringed )
Chaffinch - decent numbers moving S in 1-2`s. ( 7 ringed )
Other birds ringed/ seen - Whitethroat (1 ringed), Blackcap 2 (1 ringed), Dunnock (3 ringed), Robin (2 ringed), Chiffchaff 3 (1 ringed), Goldcrest 3 (1 ringed), G Tit 3 ringed, B Tit 2 ringed, Wren 1 ringed.
A few pics from today. Whitethroat, Blackcap, R Bunting, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and M Pipit.
Dry, with no wind but murky low cloud on arrival. But, typically, just after getting a net up and the lures on it started doing what had been forecast overnight, raining!!
The showery rain put a stop to what was only minimal movement of Pipits etc. so packed up after everything got wet. It didn`t get any better David..
Birds caught in early rain - Blackbird 1 ringed, Chaffinch 1 ringed, M Pipit 2 ringed..
Other birds seen - Spotted Fly 1 in Limey Lane bushes, Goldcrest 2, Coal Tit 2, Kestrel 3, Jay 1.
Lovely pictures. Can't make it this weekend as no car for Sunday......big birds of another kind this aft as the Two only remaining (airworthy) Lancaster Bombers in the world do a fly past the Thwaites Brewery in Blackburn.
Today looks promising for a few birds moving.
Look forward to the report.
Are you heading to Spurn soon Craig?
-- Edited by Ste Rush on Sunday 7th of September 2014 09:42:51 AM
__________________
www.wildrossendale.blogspot.co.uk/ Go On...Go Wild!!
Dry, no wind but with very thick fog which cleared slowly but stayed on the hills to the North almost certainly killing any passage at this site. It didn`t lift until 10ish and nothing of note was moving after that time. A very disappointing morning after yesterdays rain and now fog stopping play!
M Pipits were the only real birds moving and at a trickle only. They seemed to be very high, above the fog, with a few dropping into the lure. Only other obvious migrating birds were a Tree Pipit, heard only, and a flock of Swallows going South in a small bright patch when the sun managed to peep through.
37 birds ringed.
Tree Pipit - 1 heard near net.
M Pipit - 100+ in 2-3`s South at high level. ( 21 ringed ).
Goldfinch - 20+ blogging on thistles. ( 2 ringed ).
Swallow - c20 in 1 group South.
Chaffinch - 10+ South in 1-2`s. ( 3 ringed ). Very few other Finches moving.
Others ringed - Blackcap 1, Dunnock 1, G Tit 1, Robin 2, Reed Bunting 1, Greenfinch 4, Wren 1.
Birds seen - Buzzard 1 soaring over Nutshaw Hill, Cormorant 1 North, Coal Tit 2, Kestrel 2.
Steve... yes forecast looked good but turned out to be rubbish with the fog. Pitty really as Dave was with me all morning but not a lot to watch!
Was looking at going to Spurn last week but was busy and didn`t get there. Will wait now for some forecasted Easterlies and go then.. I believe Mandy has booked you in for a couple of days soon??
Yes she has and I hope it won't be the last of the year! May see you there. Do you tend to do any ringing while you are there or just have a break, as it were.
Looking forward to more of your postings.
__________________
www.wildrossendale.blogspot.co.uk/ Go On...Go Wild!!
I used to go and stay regularly for a full week and do none stop ringing, usually down at the point where no-one else ever seemed to bother!! And it was really good.
The last few years we normally just go for the day or maybe 2.
I will be there soon though.. Superb place in autumn.
@ Craig - last Friday morning I had exceptional numbers of Meadow Pipits around the Reservoirs and Musbury easily in excess of 1000. There were lots on the ground and many disturbed moved on, southwards even though it was clear and sunny. Why were there so many there but less elsewhere? I cant remember much in terms of Mipit activity recorded elsewhere on Friday so why so much in Western Rossendale? Dave Ousey saw lots too some hours later.
Other migrants included a Kingfisher, 8 Whinchats seen by me, 4 by Dave Ousey - 12 minimum and I don't think any overlap, 4 Tree Pipits, 4-5 Wheatear, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, and an osprey - the latter two I was aware of on my return journey only. I have never had a day like that in Rossendale and it has inspired me to spend more time here and less time elsewhere. I actually do believe this year has been much better in many respects. Kevin had Redshank and a male Redstart on Holden Wood as well. None of these birds are likely to get the crowds arriving but definitely good birds for Rossendale and even locally and nationally nearly all of the birds in this paragraph are on the decrease.
@ Ste - where do you plan to stay around Spurn? Are there any decent places? Next time I go I will spend the night I hope. I wanted to make two trips to Spurn - one early September to get the British breeding migrants and European breeder and again in October to get the winter thrushes and others coming in. I will only be able to do the latter I think now.
There is lots of reasons, some we dont understand yet!!, why certain days produce very large numbers then similar days can be really poor. But the weather is usually dominant.
It has been a very good breeding season for lots of species, ie Whinchat, Spotted Fly etc so there will naturally be more birds around this autumn than there has been in previous years where numbers locally have been poor. The weather and wind direction has a huge impact on where and where migrants move and where they end up. For example,, Misty murky mornings can be poor for M Pipits if you are stuck in the murk and adjacent hills and valleys can be clear so the birds naturally deviate from murky areas to clear areas so they can see where they are going. Grane and Cribden end have always been very good areas for concentrating M Pipits during the day before they depart again late afternoon/evening weather permitting.
Last Friday morning was clear and sunny at Clowbridge with a light North breeze (not normally a good direction for Pipits) but decent numbers were heading south all morning! But looking South down the valley it looked murky and if the birds are looking that way aswell they may have altered there flight path to avoid that and cross over Cribden and end up in the Grane valley. Other day migrants will also follow suit, ie Tree Pipit, Reed Bunt etc.
This morning, Sat 12th Sept, over Crown Point Rd the view was mostly clear all the way round so migrants would have been widespread. Then you need to target natural bottle necks which gather and funnel the birds through narrow channels, ie Waggoners/Limey Lane or Burnley Golf Club area of Crown Point. Hundreds of M Pipits were going through for the first 3 hrs today along with other species. A brilliant sight to watch.
Fri 12th Sept `14. 7 - 9.15am. Clear and sunny. 5 E breeze.
Lots of M Pipits from 1st light heading S. 1st Yellow Wagtail of the autumn watch, a few Swallows but very few finches. Quite a bit of stuff flitting around in L Lane bushes. A Kingfisher flew North over moor past Waggoners Pub??
37 birds ringed. Busy early but tailed off by 9am.
M Pipit - 300+ in decent groups to 20+. ( 29 ringed).
Yellow Wagtail - 1 South.
Tree Pipit - 3 singles South all dropped to lure but didnt go in net..
Kingfisher - 1 North over past Waggoners Pub, prob off back pond.
R Bunting - 8 S.
Swallow - 35+ S. A few groups of 5-6 birds direct South.
Other birds - Greenfinch 2 (1 ringed), Robin 8+ seen (3 ringed), Blue Tit 4 ringed. 2 Kestrel, 1 Raven, 1 Stonechat, 1 Song Thrush.
Sat 13th Sept `14. Crown Point Rd Site. Slight haze then high cloud, occ sunshine. 5 - 10 East wind.
Due to the easterly wind i moved to the Crown Point site, as last year, where the nets get a bit more shelter from the wind. Net rides cleared last night and M Pipits were going over South until almost dark..
Turned out to be a good decision as it was a very good morning with hundreds of M Pipits moving South, along with several T Pipit, R Bunting, Swallow, Pied, Yellow and Grey Wagtails. Still very few Finches and again, as noticed last year, a noticeable absence of L Redpoll in any numbers.
A Female Merlin found her way into the net, whilst chasing Pipits at the net area ,but it got out before i could grab her. But a young male Kestrel which also entered the net didnt get away!
107 birds ringed..
M Pipit - 600+ min all South. Some in big groups to 50+. ( 88 ringed ).
Tree Pipit - 6 South in singles.
R Bunt - 20+ South in 2-3`s. ( 8 ringed ).
Yellow Wag - 1 South.
Pied Wag - 10 South, 1-2`s.
Grey Wag - 12 min South! Not noticed this before but defo migrant birds.
L Redpoll - 3 !! ( 1 ringed ).
Chaffinch - 5+ S. singles.
Other birds seen - Merlin fem, 2 Kestrel ( 1 ringed ), Willow Warb ( 2 ringed ), Chiffchaff ( 1 ringed ), 4 Raven, 5 L T Tit ( 4 ringed ), 2 G Tit, 4 B Tit, 10 Goldfinch blogging, Wren 5+ ( 1 ringed ), 3 Dunnock ( 1 ringed ).
Lots of birds, mainly M Pipits, moving from just after first light until c9am. Noticeably more Goldcrest around this morning but still very few finches. Numerous Pied Wagtail and Reed Bunts in with the M Pipits. First probable "migrant" Song Thrushes and 1st Pink footed Geese seen today also.
A very good selection of Raptors today with Osprey, Hobby, Peregrine, Merlin, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk all seen, the latter being a pain around the net !!
63 birds ringed.
M Pipit 500+ min South in good sized groups up to 9am. Tailed off to a trickle of birds after 9 but still moving through Loveclough and Res area all morning.. ( 36 ringed ).
Song Thrush - 7 S. ( 3, 2, 1, 1 ).
P Wag - 30+ singles in with Pipits S.
Chaffinch - 4 S ! ( 1 ringed ).
Goldfinch - 20 blogging.
Goldcrest - 15+ ( 9 ringed ).
R Bunting - 25+ in 2-3`s S. in with Pipits. ( 9 ringed ).
Swallow - 11 together S.
Pink Footed Goose - 12 North overhead low in the mist.
Others ringed/seen - Chiffchaff 4 ( 2 ringed), L T Tit 15, Wren (1 ringed), G Tit (3 ringed), Robin 6+ ( 1 ringed ), B Tit 5 ( 1 ringed ),
Osprey 1 Juv, later seen on C/bridge Res and Loveclough. 1 Male Merlin, 1 Hobby South, Male Peregrine, 4 Kestrel, 1 fem Sparrowhawk.
Sat 20th Sept `14. 6.45 - 11am. ( Crown Point Rd site), with Craggy..
Murky and dull with very little wind. Warm tho. Wind picked up to 10 NE later.
Another excellent, and expensive, morning for M Pipit movement today with a none stop large movement all morning only slowing down a bit by 11am but still good numbers after that!!
Other birds moving with the Pipits including Tree Pipit, Yellow Wag, Pied Wag, R Bunts, Skylark and Chaffinch. Osprey over SW towards Clowbridge Res at c10.45. Later seen hunting on C/Bridge at 11.20. Perched on a pylon with a Cormorant...
122 birds ringed.
M Pipit - 1000+ min S. None stop parties to 20 birds. (87 ringed in 1 net)..
Tree Pipit - 2 singles S.
Skylark - 10+ in singles very high SW.
Pied Wag - 25+ S. in 2-3`S.
R Bunt - 30+ S. 1-2`s in with M Pipits. (10 ringed).
Chaffinch - 20+ S. (7 ringed).
Siskin - 4 S.
Yellow Wag - 2 singles S.
Osprey 1 SW to C/bridge.
Others ringed/seen - Goldfinch 60+ blogging. (14 ringed), L Redpoll 6+ (2 ringed), Robin 4+ (1 ringed), Chiffchaff 3+ (1 ringed), Jay 2, Kestrel 7 seen together, Sparrowhawk 1 fem in net then out!, Mistle Thrush 13 together blogging, S Thrush 2 South.
Sat 27th Sept `14. Crown Point Rd site. 6.30 - 10.30am.
Clear and sunny, calm then 10 SE-S.
An average morning with stuff moving from 1st light but they tailed off quicker than the last couple of visits. First Redwing of the autumn was heard flying W in dark as i was putting nets up. Clearly nowhere near as many M Pipits today even though weather conditions were far better for their migration. Maybe the peak has now gone through. Still good numbers of R Bunting, and a few Pied Wags going through with the Pipits. Very few Finches (Chaffinch, Greenfinch) again and all L Redpoll seen were caught. Party of 16 Siskin and 4 single Swallows through South.
58 birds ringed.
Redwing - 1 W in dark. 1st of this autumn.
M Pipit - 400+ S in smaller parties to 10. ( 23 ringed ).
R Bunting - 30+ S in 2-3`s with Pipits. Bit more obvious with less Pipits about. ( 12 ringed ).
P Wag - 6+ singles S.
Siskin - 16 S in 1 party.
Swallow - 4 singles S.
Chaffinch - 10 S. ( 4 ringed ).
L Redpoll - 7. ( 7 ringed ).
Greenfinch - 11 S. ( 5, 6,).
Goldcrest - 10+ blogging. ( 7 ringed ).
Others seen/ ringed - Dunnock 2 ( 1 ringed ), G Tit 3 ( 1 ringed ), Wren 3 ( 2 ringed ), B Tit 3 ( 1 ringed ), Buzzard 1 SW towards C/bridge, L E Owl 3 at 1st light.
Lots of birds around for 1st 2 hrs then quietened off.
The first Ring Ouzel of the autumn was seen and heard in with a flock of M Thrushes heading South just after 1 st light. Also 11 Golden Plover over to the West at 8am.
Decent numbers of Pipits, R Bunts going South early on then they tailed off quickly to a steady trickle. Noticeable numbers of Goldcrests again and 4+Chiffchaff passed through in a L T Tit flock. No Finches again except 20+ Chaffinch and a single party of 5 Siskin late morning.. 2-3 Jays around for the 1st time.
79 birds ringed.
R Ouzel - 1 S with M Thrush flock.
M Pipit - 300+ in smaller parties mostly in 1st 2 hrs. ( 36 ringed ).
R Bunt - 25+ in 2-3`s with Pipits. ( 15 ringed ).
Swallow - 6 singles S.
Golden Plover - 11 to West.
Chaffinch - 20+ S in with Pipits 1-2`s. ( 5 ringed ).
Siskin - 5 S. ( 1 ringed ).
Others seen / ringed - L T Tit 15+ ( 8 ringed ), Goldcrest 10+ ( 5 ringed ), Jay 4+ ( 1 ringed ), Chiffchaff 4+ ( 3 ringed ), B Tit 10+ ( 2 ringed ), Robin 3+ ( 1 ringed ), Blackbird ( 1 ringed ), Song Thrush 2 ( 1 ringed ).
Beautiful Male Goldcrest with fire orange feathers under the gold/yellow head stripe. And a Juv male Siskin with some fly tipped tyres !!!
-- Edited by C Bel on Sunday 28th of September 2014 01:10:49 PM
Clear and sunny, slight E breeze. Cold, 1st proper frost on the ground at 1st light.
A bit quieter today with noticeably less birds moving and so i packed up earlier than normal. A steady trickle of Pipits with no big parties, a few P Wags, Chaffinch and R Buntings going through. Not a lot else to mention except a Juv GS Woodpecker dropped in from the North, and a few Jays about again.
43 birds ringed.
M Pipit - 200+ S, in 1-2`s. ( 5 ringed taking total ringed to 354 in a month..Lure turned off to another species!! ).
P Wag - 25+ S. 1-2`s.
R Bunting - 25+ S. Singles. ( 19 ringed ).
Chaffinch - 20+. ( 7 ringed ).
L Redpoll - 7 S. ( 4 ringed ).
Others seen/ ringed - G S Woody 1 ringed, Jay 4, Goldcrest 3 ( 2 ringed ), Chiffchaff 1 ringed, Wren 1 ringed, Robin 1 ringed, Dunnock 1 ringed, G Tit 1 ringed.
A few pics from today. juv G S Woodpecker, Redpoll, male Chaffinch, juv male Reed Bunting.
Sun 5th Oct `14. 7 - 11.30am. (Limey Lane site.) with Ste Rush and AndyY.
Clear and sunny with a light S breeze.
A quieter morning for some species but improving for others, Greenfinch in particular.. Pipits still coming in lower numbers, R Bunts and a few P Wags in with them aswell. But the noticeable species today was Greenfinch, which have been sparse up to now along with most of the Finch family. Maybe Oct will see the start of more finch movement.
Greenfinch started arriving in regular small flocks from c8am, dropping into the lure very well as usual then departing South when disturbed. This tailed off late morning but birds were still coming through when we left. With being very busy ringing, watching migration took a back seat so it was difficult to say how many birds of various species actually moved through. 2 S Thrush and a noticable increase in Blackbirds and Robins about.
84 birds ringed.
M Pipit - 100+ min S. No lure on today so numbers lower. Difficult to say how many as busy with ringing.
P Wag - 10+ S.
Swallow - 5 S in 1 party.
Goldfinch - 20+ blogging. ( 1 ringed ).
Greenfinch - 120+ min S. Decent parties coming regularly all morning. ( 61 ringed, at the very least the same number not caught!!).
Siskin - 6+ blogging late morning.
L Redpoll - 10+ blogging late morning.
Chaffinch - 20+ S. 1-2`s. ( 3 ringed ).
R Bunt - 15+ S. 1-2`s. ( 7 ringed ).
Bullfinch - 2-3 in L Lane bushes.
Skylark - 4+ high SW in 1 party.
W Pigeon - 15+ S in 1 flock, unusual here. Usually just single birds blogging.
A day off so had a 3 hr session. Better weather this morning after 2 days of showery rain but the birds were quieter than of late. Put Redwing lure on whilst setting nets up just to see if any moving Thrushes were overhead and had a juv Male Blackbird tumble out of the sky into a net. Its always a brilliant sight to see them falling out of an early morning, half dark sky.. No others though. Measurements and plumage suggested typical male continental one. (pic below)
M Pipits were busy for the 1st hr then stopped completely. Then at c8am the Finches started passing over in dribs and drabs. Mostly Green and Goldfinch but a few Redpoll and Siskins aswell. Very poor for Chaffinch. A few Skylarks and P Wags also passed over.
49 birds ringed.
M Pipit - 200 in 1st hr S.
P Wag - 10 S.
R Bunt - 10+ S. ( 2 ringed ).
Goldfinch - 30+ S, 10+ blogging. ( 9 ringed ).
Greenfinch - 50+ S. ( 23 ringed ).
Siskin - 15+ S.
L Redpoll - 10+ S. ( 1 ringed ).
Chaffinch - 10 max S. ( 1 ringed ).
Blackbird - 1 in from high level 1st light. ( 1 ringed ).
Skylark - 10 W, ( 6, 4).
Swallow - 9 S in one group.
Others seen/ ringed - L T Tit 15+ ( 11 ringed ), Goldcrest 4 ( 1 ringed ), MERLIN 1, Goosander 4 redheads S to res, Dunnock 2, Robin 2, G + B Tits c20.
Pics from today - prob continental Blackbird, Greenfinch, L T Tit and a Goldfinch.
That Goldfinch looks really stunning in the morning light. A few weeks ago we both sighted a male Merlin on the same date. I saw one before you about 30 minutes. It tore across Calf Hey and eastwards. Could it be a the same bird?
Possibly but probably not the same bird as we seem to get quite a few passage Merlin following the Pipits southwards every autumn. That's at least 3 birds I have seen since early Sept.
Sat 11th Sept `14. (Limey Lane site) 7 - 10am.. with A Young for an hr...
Misty and murky then cloudy. Little bit of sun at times. Wind 10SW.
A very good 1st 2 hrs for moving birds but bad for ringing as they just wouldn`t go in the nets !! Put the Redwing lure on again whilst setting nets up to see if any passing Blackbirds would drop in again, but on checking the nets for the first time the 1st 2 Redwing to be caught this autumn were in the net along with a Song Thrush. I didn`t even hear the Redwing arrive.. The most notable movement today was a steady trickle of Song Thrushes from 1st light with at least 30 birds South in 1st hr. M Pipits were going through in large numbers for the time of year in big groups which dwindled to a trickle by 9am. Several Brambling went S with the many Chaffinch moving early on. Male Stonechat on fence line was the first seen here since August. The commoner Finches, excluding Chaffinch, were a bit fewer today though.
Only 21 birds ringed.
Redwing - 7 W. (2,2,1,2). ( 2 ringed ).
S Thrush - 35+ S. Most in 1st hr. ( 2 ringed ).
M Pipit - 300+ S in 1st 2 hrs. ( 1 ringed ).
R Bunt - 10+ S. Fewer today. ( 3 ringed ).
P Wag - 30+ S in parties to 8.
Swallow - 4+ S in 1 party.
Brambling - 4+ S in with Chaffinch.
Chaffinch - 80+ S steady passage for 1st 2 hrs. ( 2 ringed ).
Linnet - 30+ S in regular small groups. Not seen this many before at this site.
L Redpoll - 20+ S.
Greenfinch - 30+ S not as many as last 2 visits, today. ( 9 ringed ).
Siskin - 10+ S in 1-2`s.
Bullfinch - 3 S in singles.
Others seen/ringed - Stonechat 1 male on fence line, Robin 6+ ( 1 ringed ), Wren 3+ ( 1 ringed ), Chiffchaff 1 male singing, Goldcrest 4+.
Pic (in early bad light)- One of the 2 1st caught Redwing this autumn. Hopefully many more to follow ...
Thick fog until it started to slowly clear to sunshine at 10am !! 5 SE breeze.
The fog certainly stopped most things moving with just an occasional Finch/Bunting passing through until 10am then a few more Buntings and Finches started to arrive as the fog thinned.. The main mover today was Reed Bunting with a steady trickle passing through, 28 were caught during the session with many more flitting around the net site. Only 1 Redwing was heard, not seen, this morning so no big arrival as yet. Single figure numbers of Siskin, Linnet and L Redpoll passed after the fog went away. Quite quiet really.
51 birds ringed.
Redwing - Only 1 heard in fog.
R Bunting - 40+ S with most after 9.30. ( 28 ringed ).
M Pipit - 20+ S. Very few.
Linnet - 20+ S. ( 3 ringed ).
Chaffinch - 10+ S. ( 2 ringed ).
L Redpoll - 10+ S. ( 2 ringed ).
Goldfinch 20+ S. ( 6 ringed ).
Treecreeper - 1 in with a Tit flock. ( 1 ringed ).
Wow.. A fantastic morning for Redwing movement over the site, especially until 9.15am then it faded to a trickle of 1-2`s. A conservative 2800+ birds passed to the South, all coming in very low from the North, below cloud base and nearly all dropped into the bushes around the nets. At times it looked like snow falling in a blizzard !!! They are always difficult to catch anyway and when they do go in the net they are very good at getting back out. Also 3-4 in the net cause the whole net to move and so the other birds then see it making catching lots of them almost impossible. A total of 51 in 2 small nets was a very good morning. 4 Ring Ouzel were in with the Redwing parties and my 1st Fieldfares of the autumn. Another highlight of the morning was seeing 2 Dunnock come over high up from the Waggoners direction, stalll over the net site, then carry on South. Never seen this happen before with Dunnocks. A decent number of Skylark also passed to the South, as did Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinch.
60 birds ringed..
Redwing - 2800+ min all low to S. ( 51 ringed ).
Fieldfare - 200+ S. in small groups.
Ring Ouzel - 4 S in with Redwings. (1, 1, 2.)
Blackbird - 10+ , singles in with Redwings. ( 1 ringed ).
Dunnock - 2 in high from the North and carried on to the South. 5+ others in L Lane bushes.
Brambling - 10+ S. 1-2`S coming with Thrushes.
Chaffinch - 50+ S in 1-2`s.
Goldfinch - 30+ S. small groups. ( 2 ringed ).
Siskin - 30+ S. (15, 7, 9,)
Greenfinch - 25+ S. in small groups. ( 4 ringed ).
Cloudy, windy and 1-2 showers. wind 15-20 S increasing.
Poor this morning compared to yesterdays superb showing. A few Redwing and Fieldfare around for the 1st hr or 2 then nothing really coming. Poor for everything really probably due to a strengthening wind and a threat of showers.
Started pulling nets down around 10am and whilst dropping a net a small bird giving 2 very distinct calls flew low over the bushes from Limey Lane side towards the footpath/back pond bushes. With what i was sure to be a Y B Warbler call i immediately re-erected the nets and played a YBW lure to see if it would return but to no avail. A quick search of the near bushes did not result in anything but a few tits and goldcrests could be heard in that direction. A short return after lunch also returned nothing as no tit flock could be found. I will be back in the morning...
Only 15 birds ringed today.
Redwing/ Fieldfare/ Blackbird - 200+ , 20+ and 5 respectively mainly in first 1 1/2hrs. Very few after 9am. ( 12 redwing/ 1 Blackbird ringed ).
Greenfinch - 25+ in limited flocks. ( 1 ringed ).
Chiffchaff - ( 1 ringed ).
Others seen - poss Y B Warb ?? , Cormorant 2, Mallard 11, Sparrowhawk 1 fem.
Sun 19th Oct `14. Limey Lane site.. 7 - 9.15am. with Ste Rush.
Sun and cloud. Windy and picking up. Gusty. 15 - 20 S/SW.
Another poor morning with very little moving prob due to the weather. I really went up to see if the poss Y B Warbler was still about. Put nets up at 1st light with Redwing and Y B Warb songs on and soon after Ste was down at 1 net ride and had the Y B Warb hanging in the net but it got out and wasn`t seen/caught again..Great !!
A few small parties of Redwings, a few 1-2`s of R Bunts and a few Finches were all that moved this morning. A juv male and a fem Sparrowhawk were seen, the former being found in a net after attacking a Redwing already in the net. Luckily the Redwing survived and later flew off ok.
Only 11 birds ringed today.
Redwing - 100 max, small groups S. ( 8 ringed ).
Mistle Thrush - 2 high East.
R Bunt - 10+ S in 1-2`s.
Single figures of M Pipit, Goldfinch, Siskin, L Redpoll to South.
Starling - 100+ blogging near road + c15 high to West.
Sat 25th Oct `14. 7 - 10am. (Limey Lane site). with Ste Rush.
Cloudy and misty but clearer to the East.. Wind 10-15 SW.
Another poor morning with hardly any Thrushes moving and only a small number of Finches passing from 8.30am onwards. The mist/low cloud conditions may have been the cause with birds probably heading to the east side for a clearer route.
Only 19 birds ringed today.
All South..
Redwing - 50 max in small groups of 5-10 birds. ( 6 ringed ).
Fieldfare - 4 singles !
Song Thrush - 1 in with Redwings. ( 1 ringed ).
Reed Bunting - 10+ singles.
Goldfinch - 50+ in small groups. Difficult to tell if migrants or blogging birds re appearing.. ( 2 ringed ).
Greenfinch - 20+ in 1-2`s.
L Redpoll - 10+ in 1-2`s. ( 6 ringed ).
Bullfinch - 3+. ( 1 ringed ).
Siskin - 5 singles.
Starling - 100+ blogging and 3-4 parties of 10-20 birds to West.
A superb first 2 hrs from 1st light for Thrushes coming over low from Crown Point Rd area with large flocks of Fieldfare and a few Redwings with them. Starlings also moving through properly today. Poor for anything other than Thrushes though with just single figures of the Finch species.
Just 23 birds ringed today.
Fieldfare - 1800+ min in BIG flocks, all from C Point Rd direction and turning SW over the res and down towards Rawtenstall.
Redwing - 300+ min most in amongst F/Fares. (10 ringed ).
Sun 2nd Nov `14. ( Limey Lane site) 6.30- 9.30am..
Murky and showers then cleared to sunshine. Wind 10 SW increasing all the time.
Wasn`t expecting much this morning with the overnight heavy rain just clearing to showers at 1st light but it didn`t seem to matter as Redwings could be heard passing over in the rain at the 1st glimmer of daylight. As the light increased they started to poor through with Fieldfares aswell. A reverse of yesterdays numbers with Redwing far more numerous this morning. The highlight other than the Thrushes was a cream crowned Marsh Harrier Juv low from Crown Point area, over back pond and across the main rd and onto Nutshaw Hill at c7.30. Another decent sighting were c60 Pink Feet going east at 8.04am, not seen here that often, also picked up by Archie who counted 74. I struggled to find them until the were disappearing over the hilltop in the murk.
Not much else over baring a few Finches, R Bunts, Starlings and 2 Grey Wags..
Only 21 birds ringed today.
Marsh Harrier - Juv low SW at c7.30.
Pink Feet - 74 East at 8.04.
Redwing - 800+ S all in 1st 2 hrs. ( 17 ringed ).
Fieldfare - 300+ S, fewer than yesterday.
Goldfinch - 20+ S or blogging. ( 1 ringed ).
L Redpoll - 10+ S. 2-3`s. ( 3 ringed ).
Starling - 200+ W.
Grey Wag - 2 singles S.
M Pipit - 10+ still a small trickle of birds going S.
Wood Pigeon - 200+ S in several decent flocks.
Others seen - Raven 2, Kestrel 4, Blackbird 3, Greenfinch 3, Robin 4+, G S Woodpecker 1, Skylark 2.
-- Edited by C Bel on Sunday 2nd of November 2014 07:40:07 PM
Thought i would try C Point site with the Northerly breeze. Excluding Wood Pigeon, there was hardly a bird moving after 7.30 !! And before then it was still very poor with just a few 4-5`s of Redwing and a few L Redpoll flying around. Things seem to be ending now in the migration period.
Just 13 birds ringed.
Wood Pigeon - 200+ all high to S. Decent groups to 50. More WPigs seen this autumn than normal, especially in last 2-3 visits.
Redwing - 20 max mostly to the N. ( 2 ringed ).
L Redpoll - 20+ in small parties prob blogging birds. ( 9 ringed ).
Siskin - 2 singles S.
Others seen/ringed - Goldcrest 2 ( 1 ringed ), Wren 3 ( 1 ringed ), L E Owl 2 at dawn, Raven 4.
Overcast, hazy sunshine then rain. Wind 10SW turning SE 15-20.
It feels like most of the migration has happened now. There will probably be more good mornings to come but they are getting fewer and further between them so getting out of bed and going up there is a lot harder with little reward for putting the time in..So this may be the last posting/watch of Autumn 2014. So, if it is, then to anyone who has read and followed this thread i hope you have found it of interest and perhaps inspired you to go and have a look yourself.
A few Redwing at dawn, very infrequent but large Fieldfare flocks started after 7.30 and a few Finches started appearing after 8am, but quiet again as the rain came by 9.30ish. Again, lots of W Pigeons from dawn to South. Peregrine swooped in and took a Fieldfare over L Lane.
39 birds ringed.
W Pigeon - 800+ in large parties to 100 birds to S.
Fieldfare - 1000+ in large parties to S. Lots dropping in to net site but almost impossible to catch.
Redwing - 50+ in small groups, some with FFares, all S. ( 5 ringed ).
Blackbird - 10+ in with FFares. ( 1 ringed ).
Song Thrush - 1 with FFares.
L Redpoll - 30+ S or blogging but no re traps after ringing. ( 13 ringed ).
Siskin - 6+ with Rpolls.
Chaffinch - 5+ S. ( 2 ringed ). Very few for the last 3-4 weeks here and almost no Brambling as yet.
Goldfinch - 50ish, most blogging. ( 9 ringed ).
Greenfinch - 10+ S. ( 1 ringed ).
Others seen/ringed- B Tit 10 ( 3 ringed ), G Tit 10 ( 4 ringed ), L T Tit 5+, Goldcrest 3+, Wren ( 1 ringed ), Raven 2, Peregrine 1 Male, Kestrel 4, Sparrowhawk 1 Fem, Goosander 1 redhead S to res, Cormorant 2.
It has been a very good autumn watch/ringing period with around 1000 birds caught and ringed using only 2 or sometimes 3 nets. I will summarize the numbers/species later this week and add any interesting recoveries of birds processed at Clowbridge to this thread should i get them.
Couldn`t help myself and had another go, the last one, this morning with the weather forecast being ok. Quiet again...
Today - Sun 9th Nov `14. Limey Lane. 6.30 - 9.30am.
A few Redwing parties, several large flocks of Fieldfare, a single Brambling and a pair of Bullfinches falling out of the sky from hundreds of feet up were the only birds of interest this morning. The rest mostly being probable blogging Finches.
21 ringed.
Fieldfare - 500+ in a few big parties S. All in 1st hour.
Redwing - c20 in small parties or roosted birds leaving the woods. ( 7 ringed ).
Blackbird - 5+ with FFares. ( 2 ringed. Both continental black beaked males).
Brambling - 1 S with FFare flock.
Bullfinch - 2 (a pair) tumbled out of the sky from very high up with a FFare flock. Also left with them to S. Never seen this before with Bullfinch.
Goldfinch - 20+ blogging and migrants. ( 9 ringed ).
A very good autumn ringing total reflects what has probably been a better than normal breeding season for many species.
1049 birds caught and ringed during Sept, Oct and the 1st week of November, most being lured down whilst they passed over, was by far the best yearly return from the 4 years i have been up Clowbridge with around 400 more birds ringed than ever before.
Lets hope we get some interesting recoveries from them.
