First visit to the site and spent a couple of hours from 8.45 this morning in glorious weather.
Sightings 8 long tailed tit 2 Sedge Warbler (1 giving great views) Reed Warbler 5 Willow Warbler 2 Swift Swallow House Martin Whitethroat Reed Bunting everywhere Buzzard enjoying the thermals Lapwing Lots of Black-headed Gulls
Great site and I'll definitely be returning very soon
1 male whinchat and possibly a female as well. 2 grasshopper warblers, 1 reeling, 1 in undergrowth just about 3 feet away. 2 possible marsh tits, may have been willow tits don't really know how likely marsh tit is around here. Also 1 whitethroat seen along with 20+ reed buntings, tons of swallows and 8 lapwings.
early evening stroll Red Moss and environs......Chiffchaff at "Mount Reebok", a pair of Jay, singing Goldcrest, calling Pheasant, Snipe flushed from waters edge, a few Grey Heron and another Chiffchaff at Gibb Farm (far end of the Moss).....very pleasant evening walk......
Sedge and Grasshopper Warblers audible while doing Bolton 5k yesterday morning. I don't think they were happy at 300 people running through their territories.
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My (beginner) bird photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davec1977
First view was a Buzzard comming from tree near the farm close up being pursed by two magpies.
Over six snipe in small groups once out on the marsh proper
Flocks of long tailed tits, reed bunters, some teal a swallow and a willow tit
Saw the metal bridge but it started to rain and so I called it a day but saw all this in an hour
Entered the site from the west on the track under the motor way acess was through the farm and through a stile to a padlocked barbed wire gate and then down the track and out onto the marsh. Maps shaow a right of way in this area. Is this site private restricted access and which is the best way to approach. Cracking Site and I will return.
cheers
ian
-- Edited by Ian Boote on Monday 9th of August 2010 08:54:51 PM
FOURTH VISIT, this afternoon. At least 2 Kestrels hunting regularly . Swallows and House Martins overhead. Usual Magpies and Herring Gulls. Further out on the Moss. were families of Reed buntings and 2 Reed Warblers. Found a larger pool, new to me, on which a mallard took up sole residence. 2 Roe Deer slipped through the cover in front of me. A walk down the east side path was aborted due to my lack of Wellingtons,but 2 Wrens seen in the thickets.
-- Edited by keith mills on Thursday 5th of August 2010 07:01:08 PM
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
Lucky? Some people cover many sites daily and make their pastime trying to find decent birds (and have done for many years, long before this website and forum came along), carefully considering various factors as to where their next decent bird is likely to be. Don't forget, I would have had 28 Crossbills had 14 (another 14!) not have been found a few days earlier and perhaps in hindsight I should have taken my highest count of the flock instead of taking an average. As for the egret, you snooze, you lose. Rumworth next
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 3rd of August 2010 06:46:43 PM
Not bad for your first visit in 3 years pal Some people are born lucky.. is this some kind of game were playing, i find 14 crossbills then you do, i find Little Egret then you do. Whats next? By the way the next time i see your car at any Bolton site it will be clamped!
Little Egret this afternoon at 2:45pm. On a small pool just beyond the little metal 'bridge' over the ditch, flew off low to the SE and out of view (which was obscured by trees). Not relocated in a relatively short search though surely still likely to be present.
Also 3 Snipe, 3 Redpoll and decent numbers of Willow Warber, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat with a few Blackcaps around the more wooded areas.
Green Sandpiper 2 Snipe 7 Willow Tit 2 amongst a decent sized tit flock which also held 2 Blackcap, several Willow Warblers. Still several Sedge Warblers in song with others carrying food. 3 or 4 Reed Warblers in one willow tree, looked like a family party. Redpoll 5 Whitethroat 4+
My first visit to RED MOSS. I spent 2 hours there this afternoon and only touched the surface. The OS Explorer 276 map appears to be the only one for here, but a lot of the paths are not shown. What a great place. The only people I met were 3 ramblers who were lost.
Overhead was a Buzzard and several Kestrel. Plus Swifts and House martins. On the peatlands were Lapwing and Reed Buntings. In the trees I had 3 Whitethroat on one branch. Willow Warbler was heard and seen , but no other warbler sang. A small flock of Long tail tit seen. I will tackle the Hill and try to locate the main pool on my next visit.
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
This morning with Simon Johnson. Bad news a fire last week seems to have destroyed about one third of the main moss, unfortunately the area right accross the middle. Hardly any Sedge Warblers singing but not suprising really given the habitat loss, which probably couldnt have happened at a worse time of year. The cause of the fire isnt yet known according to the Bolton News.
Only birds of note were a fly over Raven & Common Tern.
-- Edited by Simon Warford on Saturday 29th of May 2010 09:33:22 PM
Tree Pipit singing(even got a pic through my new camera Ian) Green Sandpiper Grasshopper Warbler 2 Garden Warbler 2 (1 by old tip mound and 1 near Motorway) Reed Warbler 1 Whitethroat 6+ Plenty Sedge Warblers Buzzard 1 Redpoll 5
1.30 - 6.30pm later joined by Judith, Andy Makin, Ken and Jill.
Spent 4 hours down here today after flushing a warbler @ 14.30 which possibly could have been an Aquatic Warbler. I flushed the warbler down one of the tracks and could only get flight views of it flying away from me each time landing in the bottom of juncas patches out of view and it eventually flew into the middle of the peat bog miles from reach. It was very clean lookin, Golden yellow in colour with 2 prominent yellow stripes down its back, but just couldnt get to grips with it other than in flight! It then became like looking fr a needle in a haystack.
Otherbirds
Crossbill calling over west Snipe 22 Lapwing 11 Teal 18 Buzzard Spahawk Kestrel 3 Swallow 200 south with 14 House and 16 Sand Martin Grey Wag south Whitethroat Sedge Warbler Jay
Tree Pipit Willow Tit Repoll 3 - think have bred in area as one seemed to be a begging for food Lapwing 100 Swift 45 House martin 20 Whitethroat Blackcap
Buzzard, Kestrel 2 LRP Lapwing 110 Snipe 6 House Martin 40 Swift 50 Sedge Warbler 6 Whitethroat 10 Gropper Redpoll 5 inc 2 male on territory Water Rail 2 heard Loads of Reed Buntings and Mpipits
Si
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 18th of January 2013 10:26:33 PM