15 - 20 Mallard, 1 female with 4 almost similar sized young
biggest surprise was Great Crested Grebe pair with minimum 1 young
1 Coot
2 Moorhen
charm of 8 - 9 goldfinch
Calf Hey
5.30 - 6.30
2 stonechat
1 whitethroat song flighting and displaying vigorously...
1 grasshopper warbler reeling now and then nearby
willow warbler, chiffcaff and blackcap in song......5 species of warbler must be a grane record for me?
approx. 10 mallard
min 1 great crested grebe
song thrush, blackbird, dunnock, goldcrest in song
my brother saw a bird which the way he described could have been a male redstart
The Grebes are down to 3 chicks.....and parents have taken them to the middle of the reservoir..chicks are quite big....main predators now would probably be Pike and larger Gulls Willow Warbler family plenty of juvenile Swallows
Calf Hey - of note 1 Grebe
-- Edited by sarfraz on Thursday 28th of July 2016 11:39:19 PM
Grebes down to 2 chicks. 3 min Oystercatcher 15-20 Meadow Pipits --looks like some family parties/flocks 15 - 20 Mallard 2 Moorhen 1 Willow Warbler in sub-song
1 Wren in full song
Took a walk by Musbury Brook - met Mr Jim Rostron on the way back - had a great chat and thanks for the coffee!
A Warbler Tit flock - 12-13 Willow Warblers with Blue Tits, 6-7 Long Tailed Tits and a few Great Tits Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers both heard 2 Kestrel 2-3 Pied Wagtails 10-15 Sparrows near houses at bottom including many juveniles Greenfinch, Chaffinch A juvenile Robin just1 swift
min 20 House Martins
could be a good spot for passage birds ..
-- Edited by sarfraz on Monday 1st of August 2016 09:24:17 PM
-- Edited by sarfraz on Monday 1st of August 2016 09:35:44 PM
Nice fungi photo. I am not an expert on mixed Tit Warbler etc flocks but from what I have seen and read Warblers are not the most numerous species in these. Flocks can include Wren, Robin and Nuthatch and probably other species such as Finches and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers for the very lucky ones.
Grebes still with 2 young, still In centre of reservoir
5 Reed Bunting
1 Whitethroat near dam wall - a mover!
approx 10 mallard
1 Linnet over
2 Redpoll
min 13 Meadow Pipit
3 Pied Wagtails
1 maybe 2 Rook 1 Moorhen with 2 large youngster on field below farm with 30 B H Gulls 29 Mallard
1 Buzzard 1 Grey wagtail 5 Pied Wagtail incl adult with 2 young
min 12 Reed Bunting incl family part of 6 young
Grebe pair with 2 young still 2 Whitethroat at Dam wall family part of 4-5 Willow Warbler 1 Blackcap 1 juvenile Robin coming into adult plumage
15 Meadow Pipits family party of stonechat maybe 4-5 in ferms between Holden Wood and Ogden
Mistle Thrush alarming
4-5 Linnet 2 Oystercatcher 1 Kingfisher Ogden
min 15 Linnet incl 2 family parties some flew across to other side min 13 Goldfinch in 3 Reed bunting min 20 Meadow Pipits incl pair with 3-4 just fledged young 3 Grey Wagtails 1 Pied wagtail min 72 Lapwing a possible third may have dipped out of view and not been photographed - not seen any for a while ad now have such a high number
Calf Hey
1 Grey Heron 1 Green Woodpecker yaffling 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker calling min 8 - Stonechat 1 pair of Stonechat alarming at me on side of wall, 1 pair with min 4 young in felled plantation 1 wren with 6-7 young in felled plantation
-- Edited by sarfraz on Tuesday 16th of August 2016 09:47:33 PM
min 4 Grey Wagtails under dam wall, 2 other wagtails present but could not be identified due to light
40 min Meadow Pipits....lots of movement
min6 Reed Bunting
6 Moorhens - 4 separate young ones
min 5 Willow Warbler and a mixed flock
Grebes still with 2 young
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
small bird without tail flying..not a Wren..juvenile moulting bird of some sort
1 Redstart
Osprey spotted by Andy Young form Troy, picked up by us as it moved from that area towards Calf Hey, Ogden, Musbury Heights, Musbury and then across to Haslingden and then lost over Hutch Bank - slow moving bird, took it's time - must have been in view form just under 30 minutes!
Just to the side of Jamestones 1 :-
1-2 Whinchat
some Wheatears and Stonechats
Meadow Pipits, Goldfinches
4 Kestrel
2 Buzzard
1 Spotted Flycatcher
1 small Grebe species probably Little but kept hiding under water, associating with Mallards at point where Reservoir widens out as you walk from dam side.
1 Sparrowhawk harassed by 4 Crows
then visit from 6.15 -8pm
Water Rail at far side near feeder stream from Ogden where two small trees are - definitely had grey head and under side with some barring but beak was not bright red ...adult moulting or juvenile going into adult plumage?
Redstart in scrub at side of dam wall - could not make out if female or juvenile, possible at Ogden side too but got distracted by Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
approx. 13 Cormorants
2 Common Sandpiper
2 Juvenile moorhens
3 Buzzards
1 Greenfinch
min 10 Goldfinch
5-5 Linnets
1 grey wagtail
1 Grey Heron
min 6 Willow warbler
no sign of small grebe
Osprey seen about 10am by a fisherman who chatted to 2 guys with big lenses...
no particular change at holden wood but much quitter with regards to small birds ie pipits, buntings, finches expected to see
although 50 min house martins and just a few swallows
Musbury brook:-
2 stonechat at top end
quiet otherwise
just below Jim Rostron's house at least 3 Stonechat
min 300 B H Gulls.....50 around the rest the rest flying to Fishmoor
0 Warblers seen
couple of Reed Buntings and Wrens
1 Kingfisher gave great views
3 Grebes - 2 adults and juvenile......not together .....juvenile not seen on way to top end but appeared later.....then sort of ran and flew to other side...still making piping noises.....I have seen it dive before so I wonder if it is self sufficient?
1 Whinchat just after reservoir narrows down again
big feeding frenzy of tits around dam wall - mainly 20 min long tailed tits, a few blue tit, some warblers and goldcrest
3 great crested grebe - 2 adults with juvenile
1 kingfisher - ranging from dam wall pass cormorant roost
min 10 cormorants
1 buzzard
min 6 reed buntings
36 Mallards
7 Moorhen on field 1 Grey Heron
min 15 Cormorants
0 Grebes
min 80 meadow pipits
2 lesser black backed gulls
min 40 back-headed gulls
1 lapwing
1 male stonechat in ferns between holden wood and ogden
prob min 60 swallows
Ogden:-
8 Grey Wagtails
6 Linnets
40 swallows min ..
with some Meadow Pipits calling and dancing in a frenzy in the air..4 species
1 Merlin on the ground probably with a prey item - the reason why birds were going ballistic in the air
Calf Hey:-
1 adult G C Grebe
1 Stonechat
tit flock with goldcrest and treecreeper
Carrion Crow chasing a Green Woodpecker
Musden Head Moor:-
1 Snipe
1 Skylark
1 Unidentified bird kept hiding in long grasses - some sort of Warbler I suspect Grasshopper
Musbury Heights:-
1 male Stonechat
min 40 Meadow Pipits heading south and west
Holden Wood:-
1 Hobby chasing swallows
1 Whinchat on the walls near the pile of branches in traditional lapwing field
1 Wheatear - was associating with the Whinchat both on wall together
1 Stonechat also on pile of branches
1 Wigeon at top end
1 Spotted Flycatcher at top end
2 Chiffchaff at top end
2 male Stonechat around pile of branches
Swallow numbers down
Min 30 Meadow Pipits
8-9 MMoorhen in field
1 Snipe near boardwalk
1 common sandpiper heard
1 wigeon still present
26 long tailed tits in flocks of 15 and 11 - 11 had blue tits and treecreeper
1 Skylark heading west over
2 Raven
1 kestrel male in field on a post
2 Chiffchaff
2 Teal
Tuesday 20 Sept
Holden Wood from 11.30am - 12.30 with Russell
1 Wigeon
1 Great Crested Grebe
7 Moorhen
1 Grey Wagtail
min 10 Meadow Pipit
1-2 Jay
1 Linnet
2 Starling
2 Reed Bunting
Wednesday 21 Sept
Holden Wood 9.30 - 11am
8 magpies on path
4 Wigeon - been some Wigeon influx at Martin Mere and other areas too
2 Chiffchaff
min 20 Cormorants
Buzzard on way back
Calf Hey from 11 - 12
6 Teal
1 Buzzard
1 Chiffchaff
4 Grey Wagtails
8 Pied Wagtails
min 15 Meadow Pipits
in 40 House Martin
2 Reed Bunting
1 Stonechat
Clough Head:-
mix flock of finches and tits.....blue, great and coal and chaffinch and min 20 goldfinch
1 Buzzard
Haslingden Moor:-
8 Skylark
Min 20 Meadow Pipits incl 8 heading south
1 Kestrel at Deep Clough
Made a few visits over the last 7 days but keep forgetting to put the sightings on - do not worry nothing major sighted.
Friday 23rd Sept
Visit to Holden Wood and Musbury
4 BOP seen - Sparrowhawk male dive bombing a male Peregrine must have been a juvenile as it did not respond or try chase it away and a Kestrel seen not far form it.
Buzzard seen over Musbury, 1 other Sparrowhawk and Kestrel
Skylark head 3 times over Holden Wood
20-30 Meadow Pipits
3 Wigeon
In Musbury lots of small birds seen Tits, finches, Robins, Wren - approx. 4 young Pheasantsalso seen prob same as Dave Nuttalls from day after
Monday 26 Sept
Holden Wood :-
3 wigeon
1 great crested grebe
1 Kingfisher
Thursday 29 Sept
3 Reservoir visit
Holden Wood:-
min 20 Cormorants seen at one time
11 Moorhen on field
min 60 Jackdaw around farm
20 min Meadow Pipits
Skylark heard
1 Chiffchaff
1 Kingfisher
1 Grey Heron in trees
1 Kestrel
Bullfinch heard
1 Chaffinch
3 Wigeon
12 juvenile large Gulls....lesser/herring types
2 redpoll near dam wall
0 reed buntings seen
Ogden:-
2 Great Black Backed Gulls - juvenile and adult/near adult
min 10 Meadow Pipits on side
Calf Hey
just Mallard on
min 20 meadow Pipits
2 grey Wagtails
1 Kingfisher
0 Wigeon
1 Great Crested Grebe
1 Chiffchaff
Tuesday
Holden Wood:-
Redwing heard but not seen, although 1 was seen at end of trip
1 Moorhen
2 Teal
1 BOP on opposite side of valley below Hutch Bank what appeared to be a Hen Harrier immature/female
Troy Quarry and Jamestones with Russell
minimum of 40 in a tit flock ..min of 18 were Long Tailed Tits plenty of Blue Tit in and Great and Coal.......
min 5 Goldcrest heard
1 Treecreeper heard
min 60 moving Meadow Pipits
min 61 Redwing - in 3/4 flocks
1 Teal on Jamestones
3 Mallard
Bullfinch heard
1 Peregrine
5 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Buzzard (5 species BOP day)
in 6 Chaffinch
1 Reed Bunting
2 Jay
in 3 Linnet
min 4-5 Pied Wagtails
just a quickie
cracking male Ring Ouzel at Calf Hey on the slope .......as you come on middle path from Ogden it will be in Hawthorns...dropped in....
also 1 lone Fieldfare
lots of G W egrets in lancs over last 2 days............9 heading north along Lancs coast ..lots of them around 7 at Leighton Moss today...
blackbird and mistle thrush today - both needed on last visit so I could get 6 thrushes in a day
redwings heard not seen
min2 moorhen
min 10 mallards
quite a few goldcrest heard..more than usual
9.15 - 11.45am
Alden:-
lots of tits and some finches in trees............min 2 greenfinch, chaffinches, maybe some brambling? but could not be confirmed,
2 wrens
min 30 goldfinch
3 pied wagtails
5-6 house sparrows
min 80 red wings heading south bound
min 160 fieldfare - half heading south and half in musbury valley
Raven calling
Musbury:-
robin dunnock wren
7 stonechat ...together
1 male kestrel being harassed by 3 magpies
1 female sparrowhawk
usual suspects but heard a squeal which I could not identify as either Moorhen or Water Rail
Thursday 20 October 10.15 - 11.30 at Holden Wood
1 Chiffchaff -chiffing and chaffing
Seemed to be a few more Robin and Dunnock around also min 5 Blackbirds and 3 Song Thrush - bit of an influx of these species
28 Lapwing
26 jackdaw min
5 Moorhen
1 teal female
5-6 Mallard
1 Grey Heron
1 grey wagtail
Chaffinches
Tit flock consisting of about min 10 individuals...Long tailed and Blue tits mainly, some1-2 Great
1 Redwing
1 Raven
5 -6 Meadow Pipits
6 Reed Buntings
Ogden:-
great black backed gull on as seen from Calf Hey
Calf Hey:-
0 Ring Ouzels in usual spots but could have been at Ogden
2 Raven above woods
2 female Sparrowhawks in air together
2 Song Thrush
2 Blackbird
quite a few Robins again!
Off to Spurn on Sunday if any one is interested then do send a PM or text!!
Holden wood and Heap Clough/Jamestone Wednesday 2 November:-
forgot to add this.
The area looks good for a Shrike I believe so worth checking out. Always a good presence of Kestrels here.
nothing exceptional to add except 200 min Fieldfares moved over Holden Wood and probably to Heap Clough area.
7 Mistle Thrush and 4 Fieldfare loosely associating
6 Moorhen
Today Holden Wood:-
3 Stonechat - 1 feeding in field with Meadow Pipits, B H Gulls, Corvids, Lapwings, Starlings
min 150 Lapwings ...some flew off towards 13 Stone Hill whilst 50 settled around Holden Wood
1 Redshank - top end in stream ..flew off to Ogden - re-found later by Andy Young.
min 24 Starling
min 4 Robin
7 Teal
Tit flock working it's way around - Great, Long Tailed and Blue
min 10 Mallard
only 1 Canada Goose flying over.
11 Redwing min
21 Fieldfare
Dipper heard
Buzzard heard
min 30 B H Gulls
1 Common Gull
3 Grey Wagtails
Fisherman last week saw 2 Kingfisher and 2 male Goosander at Holden Wood
3 Goosander - drake and 2 redheads
min 15 mallard
3 Teal
1 Moohen
2 Reed Bunting
min 6 Long Tailed Tits
min 40 Starling
min 30 Jackdaw
min 10 Meadow Pipits
2 Wren
min 30 Redwings
70 - 80 Lapwings
min 40 B H Gulls most on the reservoir
1-2 Cormorants
frozen at far side, yesterday looked even more so. Ground solid - good to walk over!
1 Great Crested Grebe
2 Goldeneye
min 9 Teal
min 8 Mallard
2 Goosander flying westwards
10 Common Gull
2 Great Black-Backed Gulls - adult and an immature - latter looks like one that has been seen before. It pounced on something in the rushes.
1 Snipe
4 Lapwing
1 Kestrel
min 4 Backbird - 3 with dark bills
1 Mistle Thrush
min 6 redwing
min 60 Fieldfare
Min 6 Meadow Pipits
flock of Blue and Long Tailed tits
min 3 Chaffinch
min 10 Cormorants
4 Goldeneye - a record here for me!
5 Teal
1 Great Crested Grebe
min. 9 Mallard
1 Grey Heron
min 11 Meadow Pipits
min 4 Chaffinches
min 10 Long tailed Tits
2 Great Black-Backed Gulls - immature and adult - same juvenile seen previously.
min 250 Black-headed Gulls
Min 31 Jackdaw roosting in trees at end
29 Cormorants in roost and 1 flying around when I arrived. Probably a minimum of 10 flew in but only 35 counted at end....although it was dark enough for some to be obscured.
1 female Merlin flew in from Heap Clough side and settled on a post at a farm
1 Kestrel
1 Herring Gull (looks like same individual as from last 2 weeks) and 1 Common Gull in fields with Black-headed Gulls Large Gull passage over head North to Fishmoor mainly Herring, approx. 10 Lesser Black-Backed and 1 Great Black-Backed
no Gulls on grass below Ogden dam wall
1 Dunnock 1 Buzzard 1 Robin 0 Pipits and Wagtails not many ducks on show except 3-4 Teal
18 Starling type birds - flying a bit indecisively - from Musbury to Heap Clough but not settling on ground
1 chaffinch
-- Edited by sarfraz on Sunday 25th of December 2016 06:23:36 PM
