So thats an OSPREY, ROSE-COLOURED STARLING, LITTLE EGRET and EIDER all recorded in this area in 2009. Not to mention Green Sandpiper and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that have also been noted here this year.
green woodpecker yaffling in the trees behind the cottages on the NW end of whiteash res before flying over the res towards jericho/fairfield. 2 swallow 1 kestrel 1 pied wagtail 1 heron 1 mistle thrush 3 mipits
thanks Simon. We checked the roch and queens park to no avail. The lodge is the only unfrozen standing water locally (it has a large running inlet) it is behind the paper mill at the bottom of ashworth road (turn right off the b6222 heading towards bury) . No access and limited view from the road. But worth checking again tomoz.
Great find Paul and Dave - any more news on this bird after 1410 - have you got any directions to the lodge it was on as I was thinking of going to have a look tomorrow?
LITTLE EGRET seen by Paul Cliff at 12:45 flying due east along the B6222 near Fairfield Hospital, Rochdale today.
Refound at 14:10 by Paul and David Winnard on a small lodge by a nearby paper mill but then flew to the River Roch and is currently being looked for once again.
Excuse me being pedantic Paul, but being as we live in a world of fairly specfic tetrads etc, is Birtle not in fact within the Heywood boundary or I am mis-reading the OS map?
concerted effort today to pick up a new year woodpecker drew a visual blank, where have all the great spots gone at the minute i wonder?
heard 2 separate greens calling one over the roch valley another later just before dusk at the back of grizlehurst moving towards the pack horse.
had interesting conversation with a friend who has "two woodpeckers regularly using her feeders both black and white; a big one with red underneath it and a little one without any red" will be taking a look for sure...
Paul Cliff Date: Thu Dec 27 2:22 PM, 2007 have a tailless dunnock feeding on my birdtable...
too weird almost a year later a tailless dunnonck is again in my garden - surely not the same bird, forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't the tail have grown back?
Green and great spotted woodies today plus, nuthatch and all the usual tits finches and winter thrushes. Kestrel over White ash res, 2 tufted ducks on it with 6 mallard and large numbers of Canada geese. 1 goosander over heading towards amr as I type.
usual tits and finches plus large flocks of redwing and fieldfare. 3 goosander over 200+ jackdaw over sw in one flock and then bugger me if i didn't accidentally flush a woodcock from the undergrowth on the edge of the trees about 20 yards from where i'd been sitting.
2 kestrel 1 little owl 2 peregrine (m&f) hundreds of starling, fieldfare and redwing also a dozen or so mipits feeding in grass of a pony field 1 pied wagtail 30+ lapwing over
2 m 2 f goosander 30 mallard 60+ canada's grazing above white ash lots of redwing, a few fieldfare 2 m kestrels hunting almost side by side 1 f sparrowhawk over 37 lapwing over heading north 4 goosander over same direction.
smethurst hall blue, coal, great and lt tits gold, green, chaf and bull finch 30+ redwing 1 gsw carrion crow, jackdaw and magpie lots of 2 wren 2 dunnock 2 robin 6 cormorant over in a group 9 goosander over 4 blackbird large unidentified raptor - hawk like shape disappeared behind trees across the valley over heywood 1 sparrowhawk
i nipped to the garage for a drink mid morning and as i walked back down the lane a mixed finch flock perched in a holly tree suddenly changed their calls as i walked by, it made me stop, turn and look back at them from less than 15 feet away. as i stood looking the whole flock lifted from the tree, for one bird to be taken a foot or so from where it took flight by a stunning male sparrowhawk. i actually heard the soft muted thud of the impact. i stood there my mouth gaping as a soft cloud of feathers drifted down towards me. the speed and agility of the sparrowhawk was utterly mind blowing - the finch simply disappeared in mid air during the pause between 1st and 2nd wing beat bursts. incredible.
6 fieldfare feeding on berries off elbut lane 20 or so meadow pipits in horse field off elbut lane 1 male stonechat in billy tricket's field - same location as last winter.
Hi Paul, It's nice to know that I'm not the only birder that does TTV's accompanied by their dogs! My Springer Spaniel flushed a Woodcock for me when I did the Watergrove tetrad last November.
Cheers
Steve
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The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
Encouraging to see you cracking on with the Atlas work so quickly, Paul. Glad to hear that the LT recovered - you're not supposed to count dead birds for the Atlas!
did my TTV this morning. cracking surprise when the dog flushed a woodcock above ashworth valley.
sparrowhawk 2 magpie 21 carrion crow 29 blue tit 15 chaffinch 2 redwing 67 dunnock 1 kestrel 2 longtail tit 28 (including one poor mite that hit a window stunning itself for 10 mnutes, i assume it was ok to stop my clock whilst i waited to make sure it was safe) blackbird 15 goldcrest 2 blackheaded gull 107 lesser blackbacked gull 5 pied wagtail 4 goldfinch 3 meadow pipit 7 greenfinch 3 mistle thrush 8 canada geese 47 tufted duck 1 moorhen 4 great tit 7 wren 9 robin 12 house sparrow 19 coal tit 4 great spotted woodpecker 3 jay 4 starling 17 woodpigeon 3 little owl 1 woodcock 1 feral pigeon 7 collared dove 3
disappointed not to pick up a few regulars - heron, green woopecker, mallard, goosander, stonechat, jackdaw, coot
phil jennison and i found a roosting tawny owl in an oak tree on the edge of grizlehurst wood, great views of the bird approx 20ft away, shame it spooked as phil quietly tried to get his camera out. :(
3 jays 1 gs woodpecker goldfinches 1 f bullfinch a few chaffinch woodpigeons carrion crows magpies no sign of any redwings. great tit greenfinch blue tits blackbird heron
on whiteash res 2 male tufted ducks 3 mistle thrush 7 moorhen 2 kestrel 2 mipits heard some redwing couldn't locate in the fading light and heavy rain.
did I mention a photo of a hybrid? Have completely forgotten it ("CRAFT" moments are becoming increasingly regular!). Have got quite a few hybrid goose photos (non-digital) - will dig them out - if I can remember!!!
70 or so canada geese on the lodge at white ash this afternoon along with a single hybrid greylag, did a quick search and it seems there's been one knocking around for a while - steve s, have to still got the pic you mentioned in another thread a while back? this one seems to have a more barnacle face than a canada throat.
6 mallard 1 female tufty first in ages 10 redwing 1 jay 3 blackbird 2 kestrel 1 sparrowhawk 1 pied wagtail 2 goldfinch 3 greenfinch m-pipit over 1 coot 5 moorhen
cracking view of a short eared owl approx 6pm tonight. circled overhead then headed west towards holcombe. total of 10 swallows over. 9 housemartins later. 1 heron 1 kestrel