Five Stock Doves present this evening, plus a very probable 22 more in with distant Wood Pigeons, but just on the edge of my bin range. Lapwing 4 in display flight. Swallows 6 Song Thrush singing.
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
A flock of c80 Skylarks moved over the Cattery track, circled for a while. and then went down into green shoots. Virtually impossible to see when feeding but they did regular fly abouts, usually low in one direction and then reversing sharply. Great to watch them Thanks for your sighting Bill! Also there 100+ Jackdaws& Carrion Crow flock and c90 Feral Pigeon flock.
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Rumworth List 2019, species to date: 63 Latest: Sand Martin, Reed Bunting, Redshank, Pink-footed Goose, Curlew.
The really thrilling spectacle this morning (11/1) of a flighty flock of c200 Skylark on stubble fields here. I was only able to guesstimate numbers courtesy of the presence of a female Sparrowhawk, who put all the birds up in the air. She had her work cut out here getting any lunch though, given the large size of the stubble fields and the open aspect of the location and the fact that there were many pairs of eyes watching out. She departed empty handed.
This morning - Rooks had increased to c60. Also 120+ Woodpigeon, a single flock of c30 Linnet and additionally c45 Skylark in the stubble fields. The true numbers of the latter only became apparent when farm vehicles entered the field I was watching to collect the round wheat bales, putting all the larks up in the air. Plus c25 House Sparrow.
Stopped off this morning to have a look over the grain fields here, some of which have been recently harvested. Plenty of spilt grain, so possibly looking good for some large flocks of birds to polish off the left-overs?
30+ Rook. Not being a local I tried to look up where the nearest substantial rookery was and came up with Tyldesley. Possibly birds from there? Other corvids on the ground amongst the stubble - c15 Carrion Crow, c15 Magpie and c10 Jackdaw. Also 70+ Woodpigeon and 2 Skylark (probably more). Nb - I had some good sized flocks of Skylark here earlier in the year - c150 on 15/1 and c50 on 12/2.
Also seen - 1 Buzzard, 3 Kestrel, 1 Mistle Thrush, c10 Swallow and 2 Pied Wagtail. Heard but not seen - Linnet, Reed Bunting and Goldcrest.
Cheers,
Bill.
-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Sunday 16th of September 2012 04:56:57 PM
24 Golden Plovers in the centre of the field tonight at 5.30, the field that joints watergate lane to plodder lane, easy viewed from plodder lane looking down towards the motorway, seemed all settled for the night, some looking superb coming into breeding plumage
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Did you see it? It was small and brown and flew that way.........................