3 Whimbrel in the field along the driveway to Little Woolden Moss associating with a Curlew this evening. Wheatear fresh in on same field, and at least 6 Grasshopper Warblers across the site. Marsh Harrier, Shoveler, and Gadwall present.
Sunday 28th April 2024. Little Woolden Moss NR, Little Woolden Moss and along section of River Glaze. Sightings included:
Hobby (2) above western section of reserve at 15:30 hrs. First of year for me. Yellow Wagtail (2) White Wagtail (1) Pied Wagtail (4) Wheatear (1) Curlew (1) Grey Heron (1) Linnet (5) Shoveler (1) Chiffchaff (2) Willow Warbler (3) Lapwing (25 plus adults, and saw 5 chicks) Skylark (1 in song)
Little Woolden Moss FN64/57/56 with group from U3A Hale
4 Yellow Wagtail
3 White Wagtail
5 Wheatear
4 Grey Partridge
18 Skylark
26 Lapwing
4 Young Lapwing at Field Edge
Farmer now ploughing fields where a number of Lapwing young had just hatched but the farmer(s) working these fields have always worked at their utmost to avoid/move nests and as in this case because the land has been too wet to plough for spring cereals up to now he explained once more that he had added more time to his job due to moving the young away from the plough...if only this working in harmony with nature whilst still making a living from the land had been more widespread in the UK this would have resulted as here this spring in a Harvest of young Lapwing....yet to return to try and count these recent hatchlings...
Little Woolden Moss LWTNR viewed from North Path before we retreated from the hail laden showers...
4 Curlew along with 2 Oystercatcher...chasing off a Marsh Harrier
Fields north of Little Woolden Moss NR: 1 Channel Wagtail again 4 White Wagtail 4 Yellow Wagtail Plenty of Lapwing chicks
Little Woolden Moss NR 1 Whimbrel 3 Curlew 2 Little Ringed Plover 1 Ringed Plover 2 Oystercatcher 2 Marsh Harrier 2 Mediterranean Gulls - pair in full summer plumage landed for a few minutes before flying off north 4 Swift 1 Grasshopper Warbler reeling
Chat Moss: 1 Sedge Warbler singing but not seen 1 Little Grebe 3 Coot 2 Herring Gull 6 Lesser Redpoll 4 Grey Partridge - 2 pairs 8 Swallow 3 Shoveler 4 Gadwall
-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Saturday 27th of April 2024 10:35:24 PM
Productive morning at LWMoss and some of Twelve Yards Road- 4x Wheatear 3x Grasshopper warbler 2x Whitethroat 1x Marsh Harrier 3x Yellow Wagtail 1x White Wagtail 2x Ringed Plover 1x Little Ringed Plover 1x Shoveler 2x Mediterranean Gull 2x Linnet 2x Curlew 9x Swallow Plus good numbers of Willow Warbler and Lapwings with chicks
8 Lesser Black-Backed Gull taking advantage of recently ploughed field...pity the 'crop' is to be Turf...but at least it's farming of sorts that gives some succour to wildlife albeit transient...
2 Herring Gull
2 Swallow
1 Wheatear
4 Lapwing
1 Skylark in song
1 Shoveler...Male
Little Woolden Moss LWTNR...the start of another year of Breeding Bird Surveys underway since LWT acquisition (in 2012) of this site after its years of Peat Milling destruction...not quite the weather for bird song with the cold North Wind...but it still didn't quite deter them...
5 Lapwing in display
2 Swallow
2 Gadwall...Pair
1 Oystercatcher on nest
3 Teal
34 Willow Warbler in song
21 Meadow Pipit
20 Reed Bunting
2 Sedge Warbler in eclectic song mode---as ever!
1 Wheatear
2 Snipe
1 Redshank
3 Coot...yes the pools are quite extensive to accommodate these 'new' colonisers...
2 Water Rail...calling loud and clear
1 Golden Plover flying over @ 1020
1 Marsh Harrier @ 1242
1 Swift...my first fleeting view of the season...
2 Grasshopper Warbler...testing the 'old' hearing...
A productive couple of hours for migrants late afternoon:
Fields immediately north of LWT reserve: 1 Whinchat - male 2 Wheatear 1 Channel Wagtail - male 5 Yellow Wagtail - all males 2 White Wagtail 1 Pied Wagtail Good numbers of Lapwing chicks running around with protective parents nearby 2 Grey Partridge - pair
LWT reserve: 1 Whimbrel - flew over S constantly calling 3 Curlew - pair + 1 1 Marsh Harrier - constantly harassed by the Curlew pair 2 Oystercatcher 4 Tufted Duck - 2 pairs 3 Shoveler 3 Gadwalll 1 House Martin 5 Swallow 2 Buzzard patrolling low over the reserve
Rindle Road area very quiet with 2 Greenland Wheatesr in the horse field being the the best . Also a single Red Legged Partridge and a .Buzzard struggling to get airborne with prey as it was being mobbed by 2 Crows. Nice to see a few Lapwings holding territory on the horse field and a couple of Yellowhammers calling away.
5 Coot - 2 pairs plus a single. Considering Coots are not common on the mosses this is a significant count and easily my highest count. 3-4 Little Grebe - pair seen at nest plus and another 1-2 birds seen so probably a second pair. 1 Little Egret 1 Tawny Owl 1 Marsh Harrier 20+ Lesser Redpoll 7 Whitethroat singing 2 Teal - pair 1 Lapwing chick with parents 2 Oystercatcher 2 Curlew 2 Herring Gull 2 Buzzard 2 Grey Heron 2 Yellowhammer 2 Jay
Little Woolden Moss NR: 33 Snipe - flocks of 21 & 12 flew over high east 2 Grasshopper Warbler reeling - 1 seen 2 Water Rail heard 6 Lesser Redpoll 2 Oystercatcher 1 Curlew 2 Gadwall - pair 1 Grey Partridge
08:00 until c. 11:00 - LWM Nature Reserve + LWM Highlights
Grasshopper Warbler x 2 Corn Bunting x 2 Yellow Wagtail 1m 1f Little Egret (flew E) - first time I've seen one at LWM Teal 2m 1f Gadwall 1m 1f Shoveler 1m Wheatear 1m / 2f followed by 1m Redshank heard Willow Warbler by the boat load! Chiffchaff x 3 Song Thrush Linnet Oystercatcher x 2 Pied Wagtail Reed Bunting
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Garden Life List: 57 My UK only life list: 257 My Global Life List: 521 Global 2024 year list: 133 My UK 2024 year list: 121 My 2024 Garden List: 26
11am-2pm walk. First Hobby of the year for me hawking over the East end of Little Woolden Moss LWT. Sedge Warbler singing from same perch as last year on small pools near the burned out containers.
Other highlights were Whitethroat, Blackcap, Yellowhammer, Marsh Harrier, Curlew, 3 Grasshopper Warblers reeling in the sunshine.
10 Brambling 40+ Lesser Redpoll 3 Little Grebe - pair seen together + another heard calling from opposite side 2 Coot - pair 1 Little Egret 1 Swallow 2 Teal 2 Shoveler - pair Mallard female with 3 young
Each Visit here haunted by musings of my misspent early youth here when Turtle Dove/Curlew/Tree Sparrow/Lesser Redpoll/Woodcock etc all bred here whilst Cuckoo roamed in good number....plus the Winter expected Hen Harrier graced the site ...ALL (and much more gone)...it can be a tad depressing to wander where youth and wildlife (in abundance) are now but ghostly apparitions...
Only a couple of Bramblings left this afternoon (a pal of mine saw 12 there this am) Also an immature Marsh Harrier over,heading towards the SSSI 3 Buzzards up together and a Swallow feeding over the treetops.
1 Whitethroat singing 20+ Willow Warbler 5 Chiffchaff 7 Blackcap 2 Coot - pair - not a common bird on the mosses 2 Moorhen 2 Little Grebe - one seen collecting nesting material 1 Little Egret 1 Curlew in display flight 1 Oystercatcher 2 Gadwall - pair 2 Swallow 2 Sparrowhawk - pair in display flight 1 Raven over
.And worryingly still no sign of any Willow Tit in 2024
-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Saturday 13th of April 2024 12:32:11 PM
Chat Moss....ahh the further joy of having two large (Greyhound Type) Dogs chasing through an area which once had no such regular (now daily) disturbance...then again it's ONLY an area that hosts ground nesting birds....
1 Yellowhammer
4 Lapwing in Display
1 Lapwing on nest
400 Woodpigeon
3 Teal
2 Lesser Redpoll
22 Willow Warbler in song
1 Curlew hoping to nest where dogs rule...yeah right...and we wonder why such as Curlew are on the Red Data List....
Little Woolden Moss LWTNR Thursday 11th afternoon until the rain got bad...
Western end first:
Mallard, Teal, Gadwall & Canada Geese on the Glaze (from the bridge)
Sand Martin & Swallows above the river and around
Redshank on the big "puddles" in the field above the Glaze and several also flying about and landing on the "puddle" in the field beyond the western end
1 Oystercatcher
1 Chiffchaff - I didn't see this one
Willow Warbler - lots, I saw some of these
5 Lapwing on the field
Mallard duck with 12 or 13 ducklings - bit difficult to count
1 Snipe - which of course I only saw after it had flushed
Then from the Eastern end - walked most of the southern boundary path and back:
Sparrowhawk - as I drove round, soaring above Glazebrook "village", actually I'd seen 2 soaring above the East Lancs on the way there
Somebody photographing something from the far side of the field next to the track to the Eastern end parking spot - they should have some great photos unless they're totally incompetent
Chiffchaff - in 3 different places - saw 2 of them - so that was 4 overall
Willow Warbler - lots more, again I saw some of these but from the amount singing there must be at least 10 for every Chiffchaff
Curlew - several, lots of calling and flying about - is the bit where they almost stall a display flight?
Gadwall - 2 pairs
Teal - 1 pair
Shoveler - 5, a pair and 3 other males, at one point the male from the pair was getting really aggressive with one of the other males
Tufted Duck - 1 pair
Lapwing - several
Greylag Goose - 2 flying W, landed somewhere in the Western pools
And of course several Mallard, Canada Geese, Crows, etc
I've never seen the water level so high, the ditch next to the track to the Eastern end parking spot was almost overflowing. The rain means that there's loads of water in most of the fields and a lot of birds will be on these "puddles" rather than in the more normal wet spots.
I'd forgotten how uplifting it is to have singing Willow Warblers all around, enhanced by the Curlews calling.
62 Lapwing....possibly last vestiges of hope for these birds in the breeding season on Chat Moss South of the Manchester Liverpool Railway Line now that most of the Farming Activities have ceased/virtually ceased on much of a Farmed Landscape (to the east of this Farmland) that in only recent times could 'boast' of hosting a good population of these birds in the breeding season especially when it had more wildlife friendly Spring Sowing (might have offered less money making yields---BUT was MORE THAN compensated for in its wildlife 'value' (sadly only monetary value is the order of the day on farmland these days)...Admittedly Farmers aren't Charities but surely if LWM can do it....????
35 Linnet
1 Curlew in Display
1 Stock Dove Nest
6 House Sparrow...extremely worrying decline in the space of a few months as this Farmstead usually had a large population of these birds...Habitat/Owners Feeders as full as ever...????????