Waste land along side Seaman way

2 Skylark
6 Jackdaw
2 Magpie

Oystercatcher on the island at Hindley Hall Golf Course lake early p.m. today

Darby Lane Filter Beds 4pm-430pm

1 Moorhen
1 Coot
2 Mallard
8 Magpie
22 Woodpigeon over
8 Starling over
2 Carrion Crow over


1 Mistle Thrush
8 Reedbunting
2 Robin
1 Great Tit
1 Coal Tit
1 Blue tit
3 Longtailed Tits

Amberswood Lake 5.30pm-6.30pm

9 Canada geese over
10 Tufted Duck
12Mallard
4 Great crested grebe Displaying
2 Moorhen

St. Peter's Church
1 pied wagtail in grounds
30 Carrion crow over

Lone pied wagtail looking for food , tesco car park 0830.

Darby lane filter beds 12pm-1pm
11 starling
2 Mistle thrushes on over head wires
1 comerant over
2 coots on water inside compound
2 Carrion crow
2 Magpie
1 blackbird
2 great tit
2 Reedbunting
8 Longtailed tits on feeders.

I've heard them in the trees alone the railway line Dave,but despite sounding really close I've never had the privilege of seeing them.

Darby Lane Filter beds.

1 lonely Coot
2 Robins
6 Magpie
2 Blackbird
2 Great tit
2 Blue tit
2 longtailed tits
3 housesparrow
6 Reedbunting
7 woodpigeon over
38 Carrion crow over

Darby Lane Filter beds 11.30-12.30
Most of the snow now cleared by last nights rain
Blackheaded gull ......4 over.
Starling .......26 over
Magpie ......4
Carrion crow......2
Robin........1
Blackbird.......2
Coot....1
Moorhen........1
Great tit........2
Longtailed tit.........6
Coal tit........1
Willow tit...........1

Darby Lane filter beds.
4 Reedbuntings exposed due to snow flattening the tall reeds
2 Moorhen
1 Robin
2 Blue tits
6 Longtailed tits
6 Fieldfare over

Darby lane filter beds last half hour before dark.
Very Quiet

Long tailed tit............8
Reed bunting...........2
Moorhen.............2
Wood pigeon..........20 over

Barn owl hunting both sides of hall lane 2215 last night.

Darby Lane Filter beds 11am-1pm Today

50 Blackheaded Gulls
18 Starlings
2 Goldfinch
6 Linnets
2 Greenfinch
8 Magpie
4 Carrion Crow
4 Field fare
6 Blackbirds
4 Mistlethrush
5 Long-tailed tits
2 Blue tits
1 Great tit
2 Water hen
2 Buzzard
2 Robin
1 Kingfisher near waterfall.

Beautiful crisp sunny day.

Filter beds off Darby Lane 3.30pm-5pm

120 wood pigeon over
3 Crows
1 Jackdaw
25 Black headed gull
2 Jays
8 Magpie
2 Robin
3 Blackbirds
3 Water hens

2 flocks off mistle thrush, 15 and 3.
2 grey wagtail.
1 sparrowhawk
all flying over the garden 1730- 1900 tonight.

4 ravens very vocal flying towards wigan noon today.

3 cold , hungry and fluffed up pied wagtails standing about waiting for tesco to open 730 this morning.

Red Kite showing well circling low around fìelds by the railway lines at Jacks Lane/Hart Common at the border of Hindley and Westhought at 12:30 today.

Info thanks to Andy Makin

This morning

Sussex Close
1 Chiffchaff in partial song

Bedford Gardens
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker


Cheers Jimmy

A Blackcap with aberrant song is present at Hindley Deep Pits and well worth a visit by anybody with decent sound recording equipment.

When I first heard it yesterday I doubted that it was a bird, thinking somebody was doing something like stripping cable for scrap (don't really know why I thought that, but the road there can be a fly-tipping hotspot). It basically sounded like a loud Wood Warbler with it's batteries nearly run-out. A loud, stuttering series of clipped notes (each individual note quite finch-like), delivered very slowly, with a slight wavering flourish.
It basically had me baffled and I thought it most likely an abberant song or an escaped cagebird. I initially thought it was a finch, until a brief flight view, when it did look like a Blackcap. The closest I could find on the internet last night was aberrant Garden Warbler song.
This morning it was still singing and eventually it did so completely in the open, high on an Alder. As it sang it was noticeably quivering in the manner of a singing Wood Warbler. Before I had seen it properly , a couple of times it flew between song posts in the woodland edge while making a high-pitched 'schreep' call, which I don't recall hearing from a Blackcap previously. This morning at close range, at the end of the song-phrase there was a short very quiet twittering jumble of sweeter notes.

From Ladies Lane, Hindley take the unadopted Highfield Rd opp Hindley Railway Station. Don't drive much beyond the houses due to extremely bad pot-holes further down the track. Go past a signposted public footpath on the left, then where a cornfield starts on the right, the bird has frequented the woodland edge on the left (opposite a green 'No Tipping' sign on a timber power cable pole).

It would be interesting to find out whether this bird develops a more regular song if it remains there.

Top of hall lane after golf club,quick first visit,20.00 21.30 on well marked public footpaths

whitethroat,grey heron,yellow hammer,crows,kestrel,partridge calling,willow warbler,
garden birds,nice spot of arable land.

cheers geoff

After months of trying to get goldfinches to feed on our nyjer seed, yesterday was jackpot day a pair fed on and off all day.

Green woodpecker observed calling fom trees next to liverpool road near hospice. great spotted heard drumming in same trees.