Tues 27/9 08:00- 12:00 Higher Naden res Ring Ousel 1w male perched on top of berry filled rowan then flew off up hill Chiffchaff in same tree Middle Naden At leat 4 Chiffchaffs 1 singing Naden House Chiffchaff singing Green Woodpecker calling Raven a pair knocking about valley Pi f footed geese c 20p East just after 9:00
Wed 22/9 9:00-11:30 Spotted Flycatcher at least 2 on fence and pines up from pylon on East path Naden House - Stobechat 1m, c 12 chiffchaffs, some singing, at least 3 blackcaps. Feeding o Rowans c 6 blackbirds, 2 song thrushes an 5 Crows Middle naden c o8 chiffchaffs in trees
On a walk from the top of Greenbooth Res today, up to the GM boundary at Scout Moor wind farm, birds included 1 Swallow 5 Wheatear 2 Stonechat 10 Willow Warbler 3 Redpoll 2 Stock Dove 3 Buzzard
-- Edited by dave broome on Friday 15th of April 2022 08:28:49 PM
Quick circuit of Middle Naden Reservoir in the late afternoon. Driving uphill from Norden there appeared to be plenty of Gulls around the edges of Greenbooth, but none could be seen on any of the Reservoirs once we got to carpark at the top
- Flocks of Linnet and Starling around Riding School off Woodhouse Lane - 2 Kestrel - Buzzard being mobbed by Crows
and very little else, save from a few pigeons. Lovely scenery though.
Late morning walk around greenbooth and middle Naden reservoirs in sunshine befor showers hoping for Ring Ouzels but to no avail, very few Roman berries left, I think autumn is several weeks early this year and come mid September
Several Goldcrest heard Long tailed tit flock going into lord wood Kestrel Raven Cormorant with Bhd and L Bb gulls and Grey heron on spit opposite greenbooth dam
This afternoon 5 male & 2 female Goosanders on Greenbooth Reservoir and a pair of Goldeneye on Higher Naden Reservoir. Also a mystery duck on Higher Naden; small, diving repeatedly, close to the edge, grey colouration with white showing on flanks, rather like a female Goldeneye, but grey head (not Brown), no golden eye nor yellow on bill or white on neck. Head shape different too.
Lovely autumnal walk around the reservoirs 09-12 hoping to get some Hawfinch invasion action but to no avail. No Rowan berries left either so no chance of a late Ring Ouzel
Herring Gull c 40 L Bb Gull c 30 Cormorant 2 Goosander f
Fieldfare over (first for me this Autumn) Redwing 9 over
Stonechat 1+ Grey wagtail 1+
Kestrel imm male
Great spotted and green woodpeckers (latter in Naden House garden)
Siskin over
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 31st of October 2017 01:54:18 PM
Sun 11/10 morning 10:15-13:15 cloudy sunny later cold e breeze
Searching for ring ouzels none unfortunately
Green booth
Cormorant juv B had gull c 50 L Bb gull 4 Goldcrest several Crossbill heard flying over Raven 2 roaming around the valley Stonechat mf imm M Naden C goose c 80 Stonechat mf 2 imm
H Naden Kestrel Grey wagtail
-- Edited by Mike c cooper on Sunday 11th of October 2015 10:37:17 PM
3 Whinchat and 1 Common Whitethroat in Bracken at Naden Dene. 4 Partridge here also. 1Little Owl 2 Stonechat at lower naden. 4 Willow Warbers calling. 2 Chiffchaff. 1 Siskin 1Cormorant Plenty of Reed Buntings around. 2 Raven Green and G.S Woodpecker.
Also 9 large raptors drifting South, high over wind turbines,looked Buzzardish,but too distant.
Nice walk and plenty to see,great time for passage whinchat,check the Bracken patches,regards Dave
11th June Green Woodpecker active on the hillside above the Water House. Stonechat female on bracken nearby (where the male was the other day). Blackcap singing in the larches at Greenbooth Wood. Stonechat pair in the vicinity of Higher Naden.
Birchen Holts Grey Wagtail on the stream. Linnets x 4 on the bracken beds. Reed Bunting singing from a large bracken bed - a dry situation from which they have sung each year for more than 40 years. Wheatear pair with juveniles out on the stoney hillside.
8th June Green Woodpecker flying along lower reaches of Woodhouse Lane (Ellis Fold) - and calling beside Greenbooth Res and at Naden Dean. Stonechat male x 1 above the Water House Reed Buntings singing throughout the valley - perhaps a dozen sites. Wheatear pair on a stoney scree slope. Numbers probably still declining in the valley. Solitary Cormorant seems to have taken up residence.
9th June
About 9.30am a male Cuckoo flew down the valley and called several times over the following forty minutes or so near the Water House. Common Sandpiper calling . Little Owl on a hillside beside Lower Naden.
8th April Woodhouse Lane - top farm - Chiffchaff x 1 Doctor Dam Cottages - Chiffchaff x 1 Greenbooth Res - Ravens x 3 over plus Kestrel Greenbooth Wood - Goldcrest singing in larches Lower Naden Res - Goldeneye pair
9th April Top of Holt Wood - Chiffchaff x 1 Naden Wood - Jay x 3 Rainshore near farm - Chiffchaff x 1 Greenbooth nr quarry - Green Woodpecker x 1 Lower Naden - Stonechat pair Greenbooth above Water House - Linnet x 2 Greenbooth Wood - Goldcrest singing in larches again - different spot.
Off Woodhouse Lane Towards mid-day flushed a covey of c5 Grey Partridge from rough grass on the banks of the stream. It is several years since I have seen any in this locality and feared the worst. It appears all is not lost. Also flushed two from a streamside at Red Lumb four or five weeks ago.
Greenbooth Cormorant x 2 Jay x 1 Kestrel x 1 Goldcrest x 2 Woodhouse Lane Green Woodpecker - mid-reaches then down in the trees at rear of Ellis Fold Reed Bunting x 3 L T Tit x 12 Fieldfare x 2 Redwing x 6 Raven x 1 over Meadow Pipits - c6 Twite x 2 feeding with c6 Chaffinch on ground where, in the summer, a pile of herbage had stood to feed the Highland cattle.
A nice walk around with Mr Hill this morning produced;
2 Whooper Swans on Greenbooth which then flew off over Norden and then to the East (the 11 low over Norden this morning were probably off Greenbooth as well) 9 Ring Ouzel - around Naden Dene with a few Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush 3 Stonechat 2 Green Woodpecker 1 Kestrel
Middle Naden Res Common Sandpiper x pair Canada Goose x 2 pairs - each with five young Stonechat pair very agitated near to rushes - suspect young out of nest.
Walk up from dr dam 17:30-20:20 sunny/cloudy, cool SE wind. Hail squall at 19:15-19:40 (hoping for ring ouzel or dotterel) Dr dam Grey wagtail m Willow warbler 2singing
Green booth Willow warbler 6+ singing Oystercatcher 2to E Wheatear f Kestrel Stove dove 3 (Possible crossbill heard tchlip call heard from spruces on way back several times but didn't seen bird) M naden Willow warbler 2+ singing Stonechat MFN display/copulation
H naden Chaffinch f nb wool Mallard MFN (n?) Willow warbler singing
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 26th of April 2014 09:46:44 PM
-- Edited by Mike c cooper on Sunday 27th of April 2014 01:01:23 PM
East Knowl Farm - 1/4 mile below Twite x 2 on overhead wire - agitatedley watching the progress of a wall hopping Little Owl. Looking against strong light I couldn't actually see if they were a pair.
Naden Valley Wheatear x 1 on rocky hillside at Greenbooth. Stonechat pair again at Lower Naden
Stonecat pair at Middle Naden. Male at Lower Naden. Taking into account previous sitings, looks like we are shaping up for three to four pairs. Goosander pairs on Higher and Middle Naden. Chiffchaff x 1 at Lady Lees and Mistle Thrush singing. Reed bunting pair at Naden Dean, male beside Middle Naden Dipper on Middle Naden overflow
Stonechat - pair on the hillside up and above the 'Water House'. Male x 1 at Naden Head. Wheatear x 1 at Naden Head. Kestrel x 1. Goldeneye - pair on Lower Naden. Male x 1 on Middle Naden. Goosander - Brownheads x 4 - Middle Naden
Top of Woodhouse Lane > Rooley Moor > Top of Leach Skylarlks abundant throughout. Meadow Pipits less so. Pair of Reed Buntings in rushes off Rooley Moor Road at 1300 ft level. Other than a few crows, nothing else. Curlews not seen or heard.
Don't hold your breath Colin. I've been up there at the prime time and a few meadow pipits on the periphery were all I could muster.
Chris
Colin Ramsden wrote:
Naden Valley to Wind Farm Goosander - pair x 1 on Middle Naden, pair x 2 on Higher Naden Reed Bunting - c6 beside Higher Naden Stonechat - male x 1 singing at Lower Naden again
Wind Farm area - my first visit since the farm was layed down and made possible by my now well embedded new right hip. Plenty of skylarks but other than that a desolate bird fee zone. All masts and roads where we once watched a few grouse, golden plovers and dunlin - not to mention redshank and the odd lapwing. To be fair, its early yet, so I will suspend judgement pending further visits a little later in the year. Didn't even hear a curlew. On descent, after a birdless hour or so, it was almost exciting to flush a Little Owl from the rocks at Birchen Holts.
Naden Valley to Wind Farm Goosander - pair x 1 on Middle Naden, pair x 2 on Higher Naden Reed Bunting - c6 beside Higher Naden Stonechat - male x 1 singing at Lower Naden again
Wind Farm area - my first visit since the farm was layed down and made possible by my now well embedded new right hip. Plenty of skylarks but other than that a desolate bird fee zone. All masts and roads where we once watched a few grouse, golden plovers and dunlin - not to mention redshank and the odd lapwing. To be fair, its early yet, so I will suspend judgement pending further visits a little later in the year. Didn't even hear a curlew. On descent, after a birdless hour or so, it was almost exciting to flush a Little Owl from the rocks at Birchen Holts.
17th July Grasshopper Warbler singing in rushes at top of Woodhouse Lane. With respect to Bill's previous post, there are certainly two and possibly three pairs of breeding Stonechat in the valley this year, something of a relief after the winter. Regarding Reed Bunting I estimated something like ten pairs in and around the valley a few years ago, so they have certainly held their own. There are additional pairs in the edge of moor rushes above the valley.
A male Whinchat, a total of 7 Stonechat and a single independent juvenile Wheatear. Reed Buntings in 11 locations, two of which had small family parties. Meadow Pipits seen with young and also carrying food plus a male Chaffinch fed a single juvenile. Juvenile Grey and Pied Wagtails with adults.
A Sedge Warbler was singing from blackthorn to the south of Greenbooth Resr dam at SD854151. This appears to be the first record from the area since 2005.
A high altitude Sedge Warbler at 220m above sea level, but still doesn't beat the Watergrove birds at 250m asl
Also a Whitethroat and 2 Willow Warblers singing nearby. A male Goosander on Greenbooth Resr.
Dipper on spillway below the dam.
__________________
The Watergrove Skyline (January 2010) - before desecration.
Holt Wood Blackcaps x 2 in song Wood Warbler x 1 singing at the top of the wood Rainshore / Red Lumb Whitethroats x 2 in song Naden Valley Grasshopper Warbler still singing in rushes above top end of Greenbooth. Common Sandpipers x 2 Raven x 1 calling Oystercatcher x 1 Wheatears settling in.
Red Lumb area Glorious morning. Lapwing pairs x 2 Greenland Wheatear x 1 Raven x 2 - leisurely floating around at height in front of Knowl Curlew x 1 - not seemingly as many about Goldfinch c 4 Greenfinch x 1 Mallard x 3 M Pipit x 3 Willow Warbler x 3 No Whitethroats up her yet Swallows c 4
Wheatears x 10 feeding on the short grass at Middle Naden dam and several others around the valley- considerably in excess of the breeding population. Stonechat - two pairs. Grasshopper Warbler singing from rushes at Lower Naden - and showing well from the top of a small willow. Pheasant x 1 Willow Warblers throughout the valley Ravens x 2 on top of a pylon near Greenbooth dam.
4th April Stonechat pair adjacent Higher Naden. Goosander pair on Middle Naden M Pipits - a few in but not many.
In March Single Oystercatcher since middle of March - and remains single 29th March - Goldeneye pairs x 2 Little Owls at Greenbooth quarry and on the rocks above the Water House
Ravens seem ever present on the sheep pastures above Shawfield c 4 or 6 but possibly more. They are regularly in the air above the valley and across to Ashworth Moor and beyond. I am presuming they are non breeders.
Rainshore Lodge Little Grebe x 1. Haven't visited the lodge in a long time so I need to establish whether there is a pair. The shrouding presence of the former mill is gone - cleared c 5years ago for housing development which got stuck at square one due to the financial crisis. The lodge is now open to hugely more light and well vegetated.
Summery calm. C 60 Canada Geese Oystercatcher x 2 flew up the valley Sparrowhawk x 1 over the bracken above the water house. Wrens x 2 singing Goldfinches c 6 on thistle seed. BH Gulls x 7 Heron x 1