This morning's visible migration highlights from Scout Road 07:30-11:30:

Woodpigeon 663 SW
Fieldfare 763 in 17 flocks S/SW
Redwing 63 S
Song Thrush 28 S in two low flocks S
Brambling 4 N and 1 S
Crossbill 4 down in Gale Brook plantation

Info thanks to Andy Makin

Today's visible migration totals from Scout Road, 07:30-11:45:

Pink-footed Goose 4955 over in 19 skiens all heading SE
Woodpigeon 1567 S/SW in 30 flocks
House Martin 1 S
Redwing 824 mainly W/SW in 23 flocks
Fieldfare 568 W/SW in 14 flocks
Crossbill 13, with 10 S and 3 N

Info thanks to Andy Makin

Highlights from this morning from Andy Makin and myself:

4 skeins of Pink-footed Geese, with SE and a skein of 16 NW
579 Fieldfare S over Scout Road in 16 flocks and 120 feeding at Holdens Farm before heading off NW
343 Redwing S in 16 small flocks
23 Ring Ouzel with 18 over Scout Road in two flocks and 5 together S over Higher Meadows
67 Crossbill S over Scout Road
2 juvenile Hen Harrier over Smithills Moor, one of which had earlier in the morning been hunting over Wildersmoor/Two Lads Hill

Highlights from a couple of hours this morning at Scout Road, thanks to Andy Makin, Dan Brown and Paul Wilson:

2 juvenile type Hen Harriers hunting over Horrocks Moor.
3 Swallow S
132 Redwing
flock of Crossbill heard overhead but not seen

Visible migration sightings from Scout Road all day today thanks to Andy Makin:

Merlin 1 SE
Hen Harrier 8 sightings during the day involved at least 5 individuals
Single Long-eared Owl seen coming from long distance south over the moor briefly landed on a dead tree and departed
Ring Ouzel 1 east with Fieldfare and 1 adult male over NE
Fieldfare 1741 in 31 flocks the largest of which was 450+, all heading S/SW
Redwing 4272 W/SW in 100 flocks the largest of 500
Swallow 12 S
Brambling 2 E
Crossbill 3 S

Wheatear 2 feeding on the Moor

Red Kite circling Smithills Moor slowly drifting south at 11am.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Don't get hooked on the thought that they are only in sugar loaf plantation. On Sunday there were 6 in the trees on the left hand side as you approach sugar loaf plantation coming from burnt edge. They were feeding on berries. Then they were also in the field opposite holdens farm. (Could have been the same birds, I only ever saw a group of 4 or 6 together) Many thanks to Phil Rhodes for kindly letting me and my family have a look at them through his scope. Chris

Andy Voisey wrote:

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Myself and the wife visited the moor from 1030 until 1300 primarily to see the ouzels.

We dipped out on the ouzels mainly because we didn't know where sugar loaf plantation was.

We visited the plantation at the top of burnt edge, holden's plantation, and the one with the beech trees and stream running through, just east of holden's farm.

The moor was very quiet, with just a few mippets and stonechats, but I was surprised to find a pair of reed buntings in the bracken below burnt edge. I suppose they were migrants passing through.

Can someone tell me where sugar loaf plantation is for future reference please?

Cheers.

---

Down the track from Holden's Farm towards Burnt Edge it's the plantation on the left as you get the where the stream goes under the path (there is a small sign denoting the plantation and it's name).

Myself and the wife visited the moor from 1030 until 1300 primarily to see the ouzels.

We dipped out on the ouzels mainly because we didn't know where sugar loaf plantation was.

We visited the plantation at the top of burnt edge, holden's plantation, and the one with the beech trees and stream running through, just east of holden's farm.

The moor was very quiet, with just a few mippets and stonechats, but I was surprised to find a pair of reed buntings in the bracken below burnt edge. I suppose they were migrants passing through.

Can someone tell me where sugar loaf plantation is for future reference please?

Cheers.

Thought I saw the Ringtail Hen Harrier yesterday afternoon around 12.45 along Coal Pit Lane but it was as we were putting the binoculars away after our walk and so only an extremely brief view before it disappeared over the hill.

Saturday morning walk 8.45 to 12.30. Coal Pit Lane> Holdens>Mast Road>Georges Lane to just past kennels, return via Georges Lane> Mast Road>Burnt Edge> Sugar Loaf Plantation> Holdens>Coal Pit Lane.

Highlights include:-

Appx 15 Siskin, Coal Pit Lane

Mixed flock appx 20 birds Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings plus a couple of Bullfinch and Goldfinch (Coal Pit Lane) with a further flock of abt 20 Meadow Pipits nr Holdens and a small flock of Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings along Burnt Edge.

Noticeably a few Blackbirds around with min 7 at Holdens and flock of abt 15 birds at Sugar Loaf that contained probably 4 Ring Ouzels. The latter seen around noon but all flew quite strongly up and away.

Flock 20 - 30 Goldfinch at Holdens, also a loose flock of around 10 Chaffinch in same area.

Stonechat, just below kennels George's Lane.

Wheatear, 2 in fields bottom of Mast Road

2 small flocks of 15 - 20 Redwing over plus several Mistle Thrushes over.

Min of 4 Kestrel in the area plus 1 Common Buzzard.

Highlights from another day's visible migration watch from Scout Road early morning to just after midday:

Hen Harrier 2 with one female SW at 09:17 and 1 juvenile SW at 10am
Snipe 20 N
Meadow Pipit 124 S
Redwing 650 SW in 28 flocks
Ring Ouzel 3 NE
Swallow 21 S in ones and twos
House Martin 3 S
Goldfinch 121 S
Siskin 232 S moving in small flocks all morning
Crossbill 2 S
Linnet 50 S

Info thanks to Andy Makin

Highlights from today thanks to Andy Makin and Rick Else:

Merlin 1 S
Hobby 1 adult S
Redwing 231 in 19 flocks
House Martin 21 S
Swallow 21 S
Siskin 95 S
Linnet 78 S
Crossbill 6 S
Meadow Pipit 138 S

Today's visible migration totals with Rick Else and Andy Makin from Scout Road:

Common Buzzard 3 NE
Sparrowhawk 1 S
Marsh Harrier adult female E at 10:53am
Greylag Goose 1 NE
Golden Plover 1,
Snipe 15
Woodpigeon 30
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 high S
Swallow 39
House Martin 13
Sand Martin 3
Skylark 3 E
Pied Wagtail 35
Meadow Pipit 374
Mistle Thrush 2
Song Thrush 12 N
Redwing 708 with birds moving S then SW
Dunnock 1 S
Siskin 91
Chaffinch 29
Goldfinch 23
Linnet 34
Greenfinch 12
Redpoll 14
Crossbill 1
Bullfinch 2 N
Reed Bunting 7

Birds down and feeding included 3 Wheatear and 5 Stonechat

This mornings Vis Mig watch highlights with Andy Makin, Paul Wilson, Dan Brown and Rick Else -

ringtail Hen Harrier, quartering Smithill's Moor at 7.20am and again around 8.30am before disappearing, the same or a different Hen Harrier seen about an hour later beyond Deans Ditch in Lancs.
3 Ring Ouzels dropped out of the sky and landed in Gale Brook plantation.
173 Redwing
5 Crossbills dropped in to Gale Brook plantation.
53 Pink-footed Geese SE
48 Swallow south
39 House Martin south
152 Meadow Pipits south
41 Siskin
40 Jackdaw south

Also present across the moor were a single Merlin, 12 Wheatear and 15 Stonechat.

-- Edited by Simon Warford on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 03:17:33 PM

All day Vis Mig session with Andy Makin and Rick Else, a very memorable day included -

dark phase Honey Buzzard south east at 4.15pm (Andy), the bird seemed to be just outside GM, but no doubt went through GM airspace.
1 Merlin south
10,096 Meadow Pipits in what was a remarkable broad front movement right over the whole moor and valley. Overwhelming and two of us with clickers could barely keep up with the amount of birds
4 Golden Plover south
50 Skylark south
51 Pied Wagtails south
8 Grey Wagtail south
1 Sand Martin south
87 House Martin south
374 Swallow south
15 Mistle Thrush south, 5 north
2 Song Thrush south
23 Redpoll south
132 Linnet south
117 Goldfinch south
245 Siskin south
141 Chaffinch south
15 Reed Bunting south

5 Wheatear.

Visible migration watch today from Scout Road courtesy of Andy Makin and Simon Warford, with all birds moving south from 07:10-10:10

Siskin 13
Goldfinch 14
House Martin 46
Snipe 9
Reed Bunting 10
Bullfinch 5
Lesser Redpoll 13
Swallow 132
Chaffinch 45
Pied Wagtail 50
Meadow Pipit 2259

Highlights from today's visible migration watch by Andy Makin:

1753 Meadow Pipit south
629 Swallow and 1424 House Martin south
116 Chaffinch, 64 Siskin and 65 Goldfinch mainly south

Late news for yesterday with just 1 Wheatear and a total of 52 Snipe north in 8 small flocks.

Info thanks to Andy Makin

Vis Mig watch with Andy Makin this morning produced,

1 Osprey flew north-west over Belmont Resr at 07:45 (in Lancs).
1 Merlin south
55 Pink-footed Geese SE
577 Meadow Pipits south
1 Wheatear straight through south and 25 present across the area
4 Grey Wagtail south

Sightings from the moors today when the very top of Winter Hill around the mast buildings had received a decent fall of migrants:

Vismig from Scout Road early am saw:

543 Meadow Pipit
41 Swallow
15 House Martin
8 Grey Wagtail south

Birds around cable and mast compounds mid morning:

34+ Chiffchaff
3+ Willow Warbler
2 Whitethroat
2 Blackcap
1 Grasshopper Warbler
2 Whinchat
1 Robin
19 Wren
2 Goldcrest
30 Wheatear

Info thanks to Andy Makin

Female or immature Red-breasted Merganser at 07:30 SSE over Scout Road.

Info thanks to Andy Makin

This morning's sightings, including a sudden rush of hirrundines around midday:

882 Swallow and 560 House Martin south
59 Meadow Pipit south
A single Garden Warbler in sub song from brambles and weeds by Scout Road quarry
1 Whitethroat on Edge Lane
35 Wheatear

Info thank to Andy Makin

Sightings from a full day today:

149 Meadow Pipits moving south
First winter Redstart around the compounds on the top of Winter Hill
17 Wheatear
1 Whinchat pony field off Mast Road
924 Swallow and 463 House Martin south
Possibly as many 6 Hobby moved through south
Female Marsh Harrier south just after midday
39 Buzzard through south

Info thanks to Andy Makin and Andy Pinches; images by Andy Makin.