Four teams took part in the Winter Bird Race in very misty and frozen conditions with a very creditable grand total of 64 species being seen. Several other members contributed although they did not record the total number of species seen. If Neil saw his Blackcap today that would boost the total to 65 and be the 100th different species seen on a winter bird race day? The results were as follows:
Brian: 53 species.
Sarfraz: 51 species.
Kevin: 44 species.
David: 41 species.
Highlights for the day included:
Great Crested Grebe, 1 at Grane,
Teal, 8 on a almost frozen Shortclough Res was a surprise,
Tufted Duck, 3 drakes at Cowm,
Goldeneye, 3 on Spring Mill plus birds at Grane,
Sparrowhawk, male over Shawclough,
Buzzard, near Strongstry,
Coot, 1 on HWR,
Woodcock, 4 near Strongstry & 1 at Warth,
Snipe, 2 at Shortclough plus 1 near Chapel Hill,
G.B.B.Gull, 5 on Ogden plus 4 on Clowbridge,
Collared Dove, an impressive 9 in Stacksteads along with several others,
Tawny Owl, 1,
Barn Owl, 1,
Short Eared Owl, 1,
Kingfisher, 1 on Wallbank Lodge & 1 on The Irwell,
Green Woodpecker, Warth,
Dipper, 3 on Limy plus 1 on Irwell at least,
Stonechat, at Grane,
Rook, Holcombe Road & Bacup,
Raven, calling over Chapel Hill, Grane & Bull Hill,
Kind Regards,
ROC Winter Birders.
-- Edited by David Nuttall on Sunday 10th of January 2021 10:33:24 PM
I did a count around Grane when walking, socially distanced, with Paul Burke. It was an interesting day - most of the water at Holden Wood Reservoir was frozen but a small covering of water was on the ice. Some common species only registered small counts - did the fog put them off? There were just a handful of birds in the woods on the far side of Calf Hey from the car park. It almost seemed devoid of birds.
Pied Wagtail - 4 (2 on my roof)
Lesser Black Backed Gull - 1 - adult seen by SH - possible juveniles seen by both at HWR ? Photos will be attached
House Sparrow - min 3 but flock in a bush - seen by SH
Magpie - 8
Blue Tit - min 25 around
Collared Dove - 1 - seen by PB
Woodpigeon - 4 - numbers are very low, PB says poor Whinberry crop last autumn could have something to do with it
Jackdaw - min 15
Carrion Crow - min 20
Great Tit - min 30 - 10 around Holden Wood Res, very active today
Robin - min 20 - 8 at Holden Wood Res alone
Goldfinch - min 50 - bulk at Calf Hey feeders
Starling - 4
Wren - 6 - numbers very low
Bullfinch - 1 - heard by SH
Chaffinch - min 20 - only 1 at Holden Wood Res, the bulk at Calf Hey feeders
Cormorant - min 10, the murk made it difficult to count how many roosted
Mallard 46 - including a male head bobbing, many flying west over Holden Wood.....could roost at the other reservoirs or west?
Great Black Backed Gull - 12 - 5 were already on the ice at Holden Wood Reservoir, they made quite a sight, others in flight
Herring Gull - approx 300, approx 200 coming to bread at Holden Wood Reservoir. Numbers flying over having shot up this last few days.
Meadow Pipit - approx 6
Grey Wagtail - 1
Redwing - min 1, maximum 2 - after seeing so many until yesterday not sure where they disappeared too!
Unidentified 6 Thrushes - Was not decided whether Redwing or Fieldfare
Black-headed Gull - min 100
Blackbird - approx 10 - numbers down since Friday
Kestrel - 3
Dunnock - 3
Common Gull - approx 10
Stonechat - 2
Reed Bunting 6 - all at Holden Wood Reservoir
Grey Heron - 2
Goldeneye - 3
Fieldfare - 3 - bigger numbers before but now much reduced
Great Grested Grebe - 1
Goldcrest - 4
Coal Tit - approx 20 - 1 in the whole of the woods at the far side from the car park
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Long Tailed Tit - 4 min
Siskin - 1
Song Thrush - 2
Treecreeper - 1
Greenfinch - 3
Nuthatch - 1 - seen by PB
Jay - 1 seen by PB
Canada Geese - approx 15 - took a long time to see this species
Morning all, bird race list attached, in poor conditions I covered the Irwell valley from Stubbins to Helmshore in the morning and Holcombe Moor to Tor hill in the afternoon.
Canada Goose...Alden fields
Mallard.....plenty on Irwell and Ogden.
Goosander....Irwell
Pheasant....Alderbottom
Grey Heron .....Alderbottom
Buzzard....Lumb woods
Moorhen....Irwell
Lapwing.....Holcombe road fields
Woodcock......Chatterton
Snipe......Buckden Woods
Black-headed/ Herring/Lesser Black-Backed Gulls....over and EBSW
