I recorded the following for GMC at St Johns Shuttleworth On April 17 2016........
41 nest sites constructed or under construction, 28/32 appeared to be in use with 53 adult birds feeding on adjacent fields some of which are in Rossendale.
I agree with Kevin the small rookery at Irwell vale is now nearly empty, possibly because of the increase of Carrion Crow and Jackdaw in the area.
I was just checking the site for recent rookery counts and came across this thread from last year. I was a bit shocked to see how few rookeries and nests there now appear to be in Rossendale.
I wonder if people would be able to carry out counts this year (2017) too? From now to mid-April is the best time to do it before leaves obscure things.
One thing to say regarding the overall total is that John Sykes's surveys from 1976 onwards treated Rossendale as a flexible area. As well as Shuttleworth Churchyard, he included counts from Ramsbottom (Kay Brow), Summerseat, Holcombe Church, Holcombe Brook and probably others which are actually part of Greater Manchester so the past counts are not directly comparable.
I'm also trying to count ones in Bolton this year (also in short supply) so I'll try to get over to Holcombe Brook etc to see if the rookeries are still there.