Wheatear and five Golden Plovers in fields off Holly Bush Lane this morning

A two hour walk this afternoon, 12-2pm

The best passerine in the LNR was singing Coal Tit; the drake Shoveler couldn't be relocated.

Over the main heath near Manchester Road, soared four Buzzards at once, then later two Kestrels.
2-3 Jays were near Moat Lane

A walk down to Prospect Lane produced the best bird of the day - Corn Bunting which bolted out of conifers near the farm and ducked to feed in a furrow. Also, a single Geenfinch and several Goldlfinch, plus six Collared Doves and two Lapwings.

Moat Lane pool had the usuals - 15 Tufted, 1 Mute Swan.

All in all a lovely day.

Short-eared Owl this evening. Also 7 Buzzards and 6 Grey Partridges

Approximately 1500 Pink-footed Geese flew over south at 08:50 this morning in three skeins

Male Merlin perched on telegraph pole off Prospect Lane until it was chased off by one of the five Kestrels in the area.

Also around the mosses:

5 Buzzards
80+ Linnets
55+ Goldfinches
9 Mistle Thrushes
220+ Herring Gulls
160 Black-headed Gulls
15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

1 Wheatear off Wood End Lane this morning (quite late for here). Also 2 Kestrel, 3 Yellowhammer, 10 Skylarks, 16 Fieldfare, c50 Linnet and c30 Goldfinch in a short walk around the mosses.

A mooch around Rixton moss and Moat Lane pools yesterday afternoon.

The two highlights were a Hobby which flew no more than twenty feet over my head and the eruption of small brown jobs from a rape field when a Kestrel flew over. This flock consisted of 150+ Linnets plus Goldfinches, Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and even the odd Whitethroat. I had previously spotted only a dozen or so birds in this field before the falcon arrived.

Also:

Lesser Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
2 Kestrels
4 Buzzards
32 Tufted Ducks including broods of 7, 6 and 5
Reed Warbler
20 Whitethroats
6 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
10 Willow Warblers
15 Yellowhammers
16 Reed Buntings
5 Yellow Wagtails
Nuthatch
6 Mute Swans inc 3 cygnets
59 Lapwings
70+ Swifts
160+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Moat Lane 11.30-12.00pm
2 Common Terns
Cuckoo - heard in distance

27 Wheatears this evening plus 8 Yellow Wagtails and 4 White Wagtails

28 Wheatears on the mosses this afternoon plus 7 Yellow Wagtails and a White Wagtail.

14.00-16.30

Not a single gull on the pool just West of Moat Lane that on my last visit contained hundreds.

Apart from Coot, Mallard etc, the pool contained 4 Gadwall and a pair of Tufted Ducks.

A hundred or so Woodpigeon were on a newly tilled field by Moss Side Farm, and with them 12 Lapwings.

As I was walking around the clay pits, I heard the shotguns open up, presumably on the pigeons, I hope these guys know a Woody from a Peewit?.

Rixton Clay Pits NR

Very few birds around, the large cleared area held a group of 4 Lesser Redpoll, 1 bird seen collecting the silky down from last years dead Rosebay Willowherb heads.

1 Song Thrush also here plus a small group of Chaffinches. 2 Buzzards flying over, and a single drake Shoveler on one of the pools, otherwise just the usual Coot and Moorhens.

A Long Tailed Tit was seen putting the finishes touches of moss to what I assume will be it's new family home.

No sign of Toads or Frogs yet either, just a single diving beetle in one pool, not 100% sure of the exact species, but "fenestratus" bore the nearest resemblance in the field guide.


-- Edited by John Williams on Thursday 14th of March 2013 11:26:48 AM

14.30-16.30

The pool on the West side of Moat Lane held a sizeable gull roost.

300+ Black Heads, 40+ Herring, 6 Common, 2 Great Black Backs, 2 (Huge) Argentatus Herring and just 1 Lesser Black Back.

By 16.30 only a few Black Heads remained, all the other gulls had moved off westwards.

The same pool held a pair of Mute Swans, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Gadwall plus Coot, Mallard etc.

A single Woodcock flew into the nearby copse, and a group of 3 Buzzards flew over.

There was a single Grey Heron at the pool, it quite often flew up and landed amongst the Black Headed gulls scattering them, I got the impression it was trying to find a weakness in one.

Clay Pits Nature Reserve

All the pools were frozen, the heathland held 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 male Bullfinch and a very determined Sparrowhawk that dashed around at low level and really spooked the Woodpigeons.







-- Edited by John Williams on Friday 18th of January 2013 09:13:51 PM

10.30-1.00 on and around the moss
Generally quiet but highlights were:

2-3 corn bunting
Reed bunting
c20 lesser Redpoll
2 siskin
2 grey partridge
3 kestrel(1 male with small rodent)
Buzzard
2 great black backed gull
And on moat lane pools were:

3 pintail(1 drake)
5 gadwall

And 20+ meadow pipit also

-- Edited by chrisdorney on Wednesday 26th of December 2012 06:14:17 PM

Pink-footed Goose on Moat Lane pool this afternoon

3 Whooper Swans currently on Moat Lane pool - 2 ads plus juv

Nev - I have not seen a Red-crested Pochard on the pits but anything can happen. A few years ago one was present on the small lake at Birchwood Conference Centre for about a week (presumably an escape)

Could it have been a female Gadwall they have pale heads and brown bodies; they do frequent the pits at Rixton.

Regards

David

A quick but productive hour's birding, with Les Jones and Brian Baird. Most impressive were the c.8,000 Starlings on wires and feeding in the fields to the west of Hollybush Lane as I was leaving. Other stuff included:26 Fieldfares, 6 Moorhens, 2 Mistle Thrushes, 1 Raven, 1 Bullfinch, 5 Grey Partridges, 1 Pied Wagtail, 9 Skylarks, 2 Kestrels, 3 Common Buzzards, 8 Goldfinches and 7 Linnets.

Cheers David

First day back and fairly quiet.bright spot was a peregrine coming in low over the moss putting all the wood pigeons up then plucking one out of the air around 6 feet up as it took off.it flew on and up with feathers going everywhere then just dropped,finished the job off and tucked in.
Other birds present:
30 skylark
20 linnet
3-7 buzzards
2 kestrel
A few meadow pipits in ones and twos mainly(7 the biggest group)
And two cock pheasants having a fight in front of the car and didnt want to move!even when i pulled alongside them they just carried on.
Also a few swallows hanging about with c10 house martins.

Afternoon mooch round the claypits looking for spotted flycatchers(which have been present here around this time for the last two years)ended in failure.few bits and bobs which included:
5 siskin
Redpoll
Willow tit
Bullfinch
Yellow wagtail
Jay(with full crop)
Lots of dragonflies about mostly common darter plus black darter and common hawker

On the moss:

Yellow wagtail
White wagtail
2 buzzard
2 kestrel
c60 meadow pipit in (ex) potato field off prospect lane

Brook lane

3 yellow wagtail
Peregrine
Meadow pipit

Really quiet.had a quick look on the moss but the farmers were out in force so I left it.

This afternoon:
2 Wheatears at the end of Holly Bush Lane.
Great Spotted Woodpecker and Willow Tit off Prospect Lane in small copse at the foot of the tip.
100+ hirundines over the potato field mainly House Martin but also Swallow and Sand Martin
Numerous Yellow Wagtails mainly in the potato field, not as many as Chris's c80 evening count but they seemed everywhere in the field
c50 Goldfinch and c40 Linnet


David

Clay Pits

11.00-14.00

1 Willow Tit, 1 Common Whitethroat, 3 Buzzards, 1f. Bullfinch, 4 Tufted Duck, 1 Kestrel and 2 Herons.

1 Great Crested Newt lazing in one of the ponds. 3 Common Frogs almost trodden on along the paths.

Lots of resplendent Peacock butterflies, plenty of Gatekeeper and Meadow Browns too, plus a single Common Blue on the meadow.

Southern Hawker, Four Spotted Chaser, and Common Darter dragonflies abundant, plus a green darter that I'm struggling to I.D.

Lots of Swallows and House Martins swooping over the site.

Green Sandpiper off Moat Lane this afternoon. Good numbers of butterflies and dragonflies on the clay pits including a male Common Hawker

110+ House Martins were feeding over one of the Moat Lane pools yesterday before heading off east - superb to see so many over a small patch of water!