Limefield quarry (sand hills), near Walmersley

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

RE: Limefield quarry (sand hills), near Walmersley

Roger Baker 3 · Status: Offline

(I hate this predictive text thing! ) ..... Well switch it off then .... go to Settings > General > Keyboard, and turn Predictive on or off.
Hope this helps.

Roger.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

It has been a while since I posted on this patch, but there are souls riding motorbikes, chopping down trees, starting fires and leaving litter all over it . It just seemed easier to miss the place out.

Yesterday, late afternoon (3:30-4:30) from on the hill overlooking the quarry.

Magpies gathering in the quarry roost (25 ish)

woodpigeon also roosting

finches gathering near the phone mast in the dense bushes

jackdaws south along the Irwell valley ( Phillips park ?)

big gulls mainly south ( heat on park res?)

black headed gulls in groups north east (Ashworth moor?)

three b h gulls made a sudden about face and a rapid exit as a male peregrine low over me and circled the quarry, it then performed a sort of hover (more like a hang in the air)with head angled down looking at the wood pigeons, before circling again and flying off over Burrs country park and the Irwell valley.

cheers, Peter. (I hate this predictive text thing! )

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Today,morning walk.

4x goosanders (2 pairs) on the water. Showing good sense as this water is clear of ice. All four birds were nervous, probably because it is quite confined.

I say good sense because a mallard on the rain covered ice of Windacre lodge didn't and slid into a bush.(is it still OK to find this amusing while in the company of serious birders? )

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Walk around the quarry and Walmersley g.c. Footpaths.

quarry.

4x coal tits

3x goldcrest

4x blue tits

2x great tits

2x great spotted woodpeckers ( 1x m. 1x f )

all in the conifers by Lowes park g.c.

4x blackbirds

5 x robins

2x dunnock

3x wren

15x goldfinches

walmersley g.c.

2x mistle thrush

8x redwing

5x magpie

2x carrion crow

on field by Leakses water

>200x Canada geese

~50x starling

15x jackdaw

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Plenty going on today after very quiet spell.

3x blackbirds,

4x robin,

10x h. Sparrow,

2x jay,

6/7x longtaileded tits, with blue & great tits in the flock.

pairs of great, blue &scold tits.

1x great spotted woodpecker

6x Siskin, with 2x Lesser redpoll.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Super, super flock passed through the quarry this morning, taking about five mins to pass me : including, blue, great, coal & long tailed tits, 2x treecreepers, 4x siskins, 2x lesser redpoll & a chiffchaff (?) and finally 2 x goldcrest.

other birds around the quarry were jay, magpie ( the roost in an evening is getting quite busy ) robins ,wren, blackbird , goldfinch, bullfinch, great spotted woodpecker & house sparrow.

over, 4x Ravens (together ), carrion crow, jackdaws, wood pigeon and a heron.

the previous visit with 3x springer spaniels I saw nothing!

Mike Chorley · Status: Offline

We won't ask how you smuggled it home, Peter biggrin

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

During the spring I posted about an ex-budgie on Walmersley golf course. Today I can go one better and claim a live budgie in gorses quarry. If any body knows of a lost bird, I have it at home. Failing that any recipes?

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This morning, a super flock of long tailed and blue tits with a family of willow warblers embedded and treecreepers following close behind.while the treecreepers and warblers were just mingling in there was a high level of cooperation between the long tails and blue tits. I hadn't noticed this before.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Thursday 1st of July 2021 10:20:19 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

two female sparrowhawks engaged in a dog fight over the quarry yesterday afternoon. One male hunting this morning.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Sunday 27th of June 2021 04:10:40 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Plenty of young being fed in the quarry over the weekend.

great, blue, coal & long tailed tits, dunnock & wren, chaffinch, bullfinch & goldfinch, willow warbler& chiffchaff.

also seen were greenfinch and whitethroat, not had white throat in the quarry for a good few years but some clearance has provided a good patch for them .

blackbird and robin Young have been poor this year as have swallows and martins and in particular meadow pipits.

while walking along the path on Walmersley golf course we came across a circle of bright blue and white feathers, it seems that somebody has lost a budgie. As this was probably a loved pet it would be inappropriate to do a gag but any statement to the effect that this budgie is still a going concern are from here on inoperative.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 21st of June 2021 09:37:47 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Don't go throwing your iPad about, they don't work well after.

A spectacular to make my comeback. A hobby chasing and catching a swift. It then circled the quarry area twice while feeding, before drifting off south ( the feeding and drifting off all done without a single flap of it's wings).

the quarry itself was full of young being fed including a nuthatch family.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

No sign of the wood warbler, must have moved on . Last years bird stayed for 5 weeks. The birch trees in the quarry will provide a good source of food for a pit stop ( as with the cutting at burrs) . This year there has been an increase in disturbance, bikes, fires & air rifles etc.

on a brighter note the blackcaps are up to normal numbers and fledging has begun all around the site, particularly the tits. Still not many swallows and no garden warbler yet.

Mark Earlam · Status: Offline

That would be great Peter,

As you say, i will wait to see if it reappears.
thanks

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

First thing this morning.

no sight of a wood warbler in the quarry. Plenty of early singing going on, willow Warbler and blackcap holding their own against blackbird, song thrush, robin & wren.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Mark, IWould be happy to show you. Best place to park is outside Walmersley conservative club if you can give me a day and time. Let's see if it sticks around ( last year it stayed for five weeks.but there is no way of saying it will this year).

Mark Earlam · Status: Offline

Peter, Are you able to say roughly where the Wood Warbler was seen, from checking on google maps the Quarry looks to be a fairly large area ??

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This morning. Return of last years wood warbler, not singing and only seen because the blackcap I was looking at moved. First seen in silhouette against the sky where longer wings were noticeably, then dropped down a few branches to show bright yellow breast and eye stripe. (Note for Simon Warford Same spot as last year.).

also numerous willow warblers, blackcap numbers climbing, great tits with 3x Young. Redpoll,Siskin & goldfinch.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This morning.

>15 willow warblers singing around the quarry, 6x chiffchaff, 2 x blackcap ( numbers well down on last year), 10 x Siskin in one group and a separate pair. Green, chaff, bull & goldfinches. Blue, coal, great & long tailed tits. Robins & wren numbers > 10 pairs. Canada goose on nest, as are mallard & moorhen.

starlings are flying over constantly between nests in housing estate and the golf courses.

not a single swallow seen by me all week.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

3x swallows & 2x house martins over.

something strange about listening to chiffchaff and willow warblers stood in 2" of fresh snow!

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

> 10x wrens singing, similar numbers of robin. 3x willow warblers, 5x chiffchaff (including a dyslexic individual, either that or a chuppchapp ).

4x Siskin, 2x lesser redpoll, chaffinch, bullfinch

blue, great, coal & long tailed tits, 2x gold rest.

wood pigeon ,collared dove & a pair of stock doves.

magpies & carrion crows in another squabble, jay.

sparrow hawk hunting the woods, kestrel hunting the cleared ground & buzzard over.

2x pairs of moorhens, 3x pairs of mallard & a pair of Canada geese ( female on nest on the cliff ledge )

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Perfect morning visit, sheltered from the wind and bathed in sunshine.

feeders quiet except for robins, magpies hovering with intent & greedy house sparrows.

Around the quarry, blue, coal, great & long tailed tits

Chaff, bull, green & goldfinches

Wren, robin & dunnock

Blackbird, song & mistle thrush

Chiffchaff, blackcap, & willow warbler( quiet practice song )

lesser redpoll, Siskin & great spotted woodpecker & goldcrest, were special

Mallard, moorhen & Canada geese on pond with grey wagtails near the waters edge.

2x heron (feeding on frog spawn in marshy bit )

A jay doing a good impression of a buzzard ( weird! )

2x cormorants over.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 2nd of April 2021 09:37:24 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Addition to birds looking like nesting in the quarry.

1 pair of Canada geese, 3 pairs of mallard, 3 pairs of moorhen. 2x goldcrest were singing/ displaying in the conifers by lowes park golf glib and today 2x Siskin males were singing in adjacent trees.

the feeders are all quiet. I have begun to reduce the food now.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This week around the quarry ( I pad issues! ).

feeders are all quiet, except for house sparrows, even so the food is always gone.3x chiffchaff and a blackcap. The blackcap sang very quietly twice which allowed me to locate it,but then remained silent preferring to feed around the new buds. A tawny owl has been hooting near Lowes park golf clubhouse ( A regular nesting site )

Evidence of nesting, (pairs, singing, fighting, nest building, etc. )

>10. Robin, blackbird, wren, blue tit.

5-10. Great tit, coal tit, long tailed tit, dunnock, goldfinch, wood pigeon

<5. Carrion crow, magpie, jay, collared dove, greenfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, song thrush, mistle thrush .

on weds I witnessed a spectacular battle between 4x carrion crows and 8x magpies around the south end feeders. The magpies were taunting the crows which were giving chase, with great agility. 2x jays joined in alongside the magpies, prompting the crows to call for backup from neibouring individuals. As the battle raged on (for approx five mins) a pair of Ravens flew in with wing beats audible and cleared the area. They were obviously disappointed to discover that rather than tasty carrion all that was on offer was a handful of peanuts and we're off as quickly as they had turned up.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

First chiffchaff of this year! Seen first then started singing very quietly before letting rip.

also long tailed tits 3x pairs & a group of 4. Blue tits were active, but coal tits only heard. Great tits seem to have moved into nearby hawthorn hedges to nest and no sign of bullfinch or chaffinch. Plenty of wrens & robins singing.

while walking around Walmersley g.c. Footpaths a steady flow of meadow pipits over with odd skylark.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Gorses quarry. North end feeder, pair of great tits on feeder, blackbird, dunnock & robin below on the ground.

Seed feeders, house sparrows in good numbers, at least 15. Nothing else could get a look in.

South end feeders, pairs of great, blue &longtailed tits, 3x chaffinch ( 2x f, 1x m ) pair of bullfinch,(male stunning ). Blackbird, dunnock & wren on ground.

around the quarry, 5x magpies waiting for the dogs to move away from the feeders. A lot of tit activity, the long tailed tits are still busy in the gorse. Plenty of finches flying about, at least 4x bullfinch pairs & 2x greenfinch pairs. Goldfinches still seem to be in groups, with only a few pairs separate. On the pond was a grey wagtail, a kingfisher, 2x moorhen pairs & a pair of mallard.

yesterday I went down to Chesham woods for a change, so I didn't see Fred or a big brown raptor -typical! I have seen 2x osprey flying over in the past, but not feeding here. There are regular buzzards by leeks water, usually with attendant magpies and some time before Christmas the was a large bird of prey flew past (with jesses on) that was being treated with a great deal of respect by 20x jackdaws, that also flew towards Bury. It wasn't a buzzard and not a goshawk. The jackdaws obviously thought it was dangerous, I thought maybe a red tailed hawk but couldn't find a missing bird anywhere.

fredford · Status: Offline

Leeks water , eight canada geese , several moorhens who all scurried away, very tuneful jackdaw over . Thanks Peter .
Also large , unidentified , brown bird flushed from the slope near the motorway , flew towards Bury with powerful flight and , on reaching a certain height , shook himself as raptors do having taken a fish from water. Any ideas ?

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Hello Fred,

If you stand on the footpath that runs up the side of the 4th hole of Walmersley golf course and look across the field towards what was the tetrosylhe factory (now a Barratt housing site off Walmersley old rd ).leeks water is the pond half way across. There is no footpath access to the water and the view from the golf course is limited. I hope this helps, but it's not an Elton, Pennington or Hollingsworth lake, just a grand puddle really!

By the way, I haven't a clue where the little face came from on Friday's post.

fredford · Status: Offline

Peter , where is leeks water , please . Fred .

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Morning circuit of quarry & Walmersley golf holes3-5.

south end feeders. Pairs of long tailed, great, blue & coal tits, chaffinch, bullfinch, dunnock, blackbird & 2x pairs of robin (more scrapping than feeding.) one of the long tails put on a spectacular show of acrobatics, swinging upside down with one leg while holding a sunflower heart in the other foot while eating it.this it repeated three times.

seed feeders. House sparrow numbers remain high, but no sign of the white tailed individual. Also 2x coal tit & 3x goldfinch.

north end feeders. 2x wood pigeon, 2x great tit,

around the quarry. 2x herons in the marshy area, 2x moorhen pairs building nests on the ponds, along with 2x pairs of mallard & a pair of Canada geese. Plenty of tit & finch activity with robin, dunnock, wren& blackbirds singing. An irregular visitor was a pheasant and a nuthatch,which turned out to be the song thrush again."dead ringers" the song thrush can now do green woodpecker, curlew & nuthatch!

walmersley golf 3-5. Carrion crow near nest. Coot pair on top pond, moorhen pair on lower pond. 3x pied wagtails on fairway.Over by leeks water the oystercatcher pair were feeding alongside a common gull and 4x pairs of Canada geese.

on a political note I was talking to the landowner of the quarry, who is also concerned about the motorbikes and amounts of litter in the quarry,But doesn't know what to do about it. If anybody has any ideas or has dealt with this problem before please let me know. This could be the start of something special.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

A strange week in the quarry, dominated by sand blasting, ground work (drainage on golf course) tree felling, bloody motorbikes, kids not doing home learning and the odd bird.

The feeders are very quiet with food being leftover from previous day, except for the seed which is attracting more sparrows, one which has a pure white tail. aww

today I watched a pair of long tailed tits building a nest deep in a gorse bush, while the rest of the quarry is dominated by song from robins, wrens, great tits and song thrushes other birds such as blue tit, coal tit, bullfinch & chaffinch are also active.

As the evenings get lighter a wander round has produced up too 100 x magpies coming in to roost and a lot of gulls flying over, some to Ashworth res, others heading towards shadsworth near Blackburn.

on Walmersley golf course (holes 3-5) the oystercatchers are not in evidence but pied wagtails have returned.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This this week the quarry has been unremarkable, feeding seems to have taken a backseat while thoughts turn to spring. I had a wander round at dusk for a change. The singing was dominated by 4x song thrush, with robin, wren & blackbird in support. This morning I heard a green woodpecker as I entered the quarry, but couldnt find it anywhere, I heard it again, but close by, looking up I discovered a song thrush which mimicked the call as part of its song.

while at the top of the cliff, overlooking the quarry, I noticed a feral pigeon circling above the trees, not a bird often seen in the quarry. As I watched it I picked up a wood pigeon flying towards me from the Bury direction. as it got closer to the feral pigeon its flight changed and with two huge pulls of its wings realisation dawned as the wood pigeon became a peregrine and feral pigeons became a bit less common in the quarry.

over on Walmersley golf course( holes no 3-5 ). pairs of coot, moorhen & mallard on the ponds. The carrion crow pair have returned to their nest and the oystercatchers are back by leeks water.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

This morning I the quarry.

North end feeders, quiet, singles of blue, great & coal tit , 2 x longtaileded tit & 3 x redpoll.(one the regular very red one).

seed feeders. One feeder has gone missing, house sparrows , blue, coal & great tit &chaffinch all squabbling over one feeder.

south end feeders. first up the pushy robin & 2x long tailed tits. 5x magpies held at bay by the dogs. Chaffinch ,dunnock, blackbird & wood pigeon on the ground. A single bullfinch made a fleeting visit, followed by blue, coal & great tits and two more robins.

Around the quarry 2x pairs of greenfinch, plenty of wrens. A sparrowhawk(f) sped through but was spotted by blue tits. The alarm call cleared everything, which shows that all the birds are tuned in to each other's alarm calls.

Walmersley golf course. Despite the clearance of much of the bushes and scrub, there were good numbers of tits wren , robin & dunnock. Singing song & mistle thrush. The ponds held coot & moorhen pairs and 2 x pairs of mallard.

Over were 4x skylarks & my first two curlew this yr.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Morning visit, On way to a bigger walk , yesterday I had decorating to do ( how lucky can one man be?) so I owed the dogs a big walk.

Feeders in total . Not a lot going on . Blue, great & blue tits, chaffinch, bullfinch & a single robin only.

Around the quarry. Plenty of singing, robin, blackbird, wren. Blue, coal, great & longtailed tits, chaffinch, bullfinch, goldfinch, wood pigeon, jay magpie & a collared dove. Song & mistle thrush singing across Lowes park GC.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Sorry, I forgot the dramatic bit. Walking across the waste land near lowes park rd I heard alarm calls from Chesham woods. A female sparrowhawk came across the field, along the hedge and shot across the open space at knee level, accelerating with deep wing pulls before plunging into the trees of the quarry. Also over were 2x skylark heading towards the moorland.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Following a week of nothing happening, thanks to weather and motorbikes, things are looking up again.

south end feeders busy with blue,great,coal & long tailed tits all active. The pushy robin (which actually came to my hand over the weekend) was first to arrive, followed by coal tit & bullfinch. By the time the bullfinch was going to allow other birds a look at the buffet, chaffinch,goldfinch,greenfinch blackbird,dunnock & 3x other robins were all in the vicinity, as were 4x magpies (waiting for the dogs to go ).

the seed feeders were busy,once I'd filled them, with the house sparrows were blackbird,robin, great,blue & coal tit & chaffinch dunnock & wood pigeon on the floor.

north end feeders are becoming quiet, with only blue & great tit present.later I looked in on my way back home and 3x redpoll were feeding.

around the quarry robin, dunnock, blackbird & song thrush were singing and a lot of tit & goldfinch activity. There are wrens about but not in the same numbers as last year.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Morning walk, Gorses quarry.

south end feeders. Robin, bullfinch (pair), chaffinch, blue & coal tit. On the ground, blackbird, dunnock & magpie.

seed feeders. 12x house sparrow, bullfinch, greenfinch(pair), goldfinch, lesser redpoll(fleetingly, then moved to north end feeders), blue & great tit . On the ground, blackbird, wood pigeon & dunnock.

north end feeders . 3x lesser redpoll, bullfinch(pair), long tailed, great, blue & coal tits.

around the quarry. Grey wagtail, grey heron, jay, wren & many other robins.

yesterday evening dog walk. Tawny owl and 4x shelduck over(heading towards elton res, but obviously didn't drop in)

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Over the weekend things have been quiet around the quarry. Much of the activity has been territorial, blue,great & coal tits, robin, wren, dunnock, song thrush & blackbird.

at the feeders , chaffinch,bullfinch, greenfinch & goldfinch have all been visiting and today a group of long tailed tits.

the seed feeders for the sparrows has been busy, 12x house sparrows, and blue,great & coal tits all visiting, despite not bothering with seed when the feeders were only a matter of yards away!

on the pond were 2 x pairs mallard, a moorhen & the Kingfisher ( present for four days now.)

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Both Feeding areas were quiet today, couples of great tit, and chaffinch. With blackbird, robin, dunnock & magpie on the ground. A pair of greenfinch and flock of goldfinches were active in the trees but did not feed.

around the quarry was very different. Coal, blue & great tits calling. Robin, blackbird, dunnock, wren & song thrush singing. 2x pair of mallard, 1x pair of Canada geese & a kingfisher on the pond. The Canada geese nested last year half way up the cliff and that is where the female was today.

i have moved the seed feeders from both north and south areas and repositioned them together near where I see the house sparrows. This has proved popular with the sparrows (and a blue tit ).

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

At last, my first greenfinch for a long time ( anywhere around here, not just in the quarry.) a pair came to the south end feeders with a group of goldfinches and long tailed tits. As l said yesterday about the dogs, just having them sat in view was enough to deter the magpies while none of the smaller birds seem bothered, even the ground feeders.

Around the quarry. I counted 8x robin territorpies, 9x great tit territories, 2x dunnock territories & 6x wren .

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Yesterday, a nice day, lots of birds around the quarry. Nothing out of the ordinary, but most birds in pairs.

south end feeders. The 4x magpies were as usual first on the scene with everything else holding back. I let the dogs go up to scare them off and immediately there is a rush of activity. I'm not suggesting that this makes my dog a key stone predictor species, but it makes you think about the role of the predictor in nature.

north end feeders, again, pairs of birds were obvious exceptions being a single dunnock and a group of six long tailed tits.

my attention was drawn to a group of gulls (approx 20 ) circling high above. Most were herring gulls but one individual had no black and white wing tips, it was a simpilar size and build and looked paler when the sun shone through the wings. Could it have been an iceland gull?

Today, sleat, snow, cold wind. Quarry empty except for the three pushy robins, one of which couldn't even wait for me to rehang the sunflower hearts.

over by leeks water, in mature trees, 32x rook, including adults, the grout of 24 from previous weeks were juveniles, but as I watched the adults flew off towards the Birte rookery.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

RE: Limefield quarry (sand hills)

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Gorses quarry, morning walk . South end feeders . A robin who can't wait, 3x chaffinch, 2x bullfinch, coal, blue, great & long tailed tits, on the ground , blackbird, dunnock, 3x magpies, wood pigeon &. Wren.

North end feeders. 2x bullfinch, 3x lesser redpoll, 3x chaffinch, blue, coal& great tits on the ground , blackbird,robin & wood pigeon.

Around the quarry. Carrion crow, jay, 5x singing robins, 7x. Great tits, mistle thrush song thrush & 6x house sparrow.

Over . constant but sparse fllow of herring & lesser black backed gulls ( north) .

no bikes, but a big stick, which the dog ran off with anyway!

Regards Peter.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Is it ethical to ram a big stick into the front spokes of a scramble bike? Just thought I'd ask.

not much going on in the quarry,in birding terms. South end feeders. 2x robins (not put off by anything )coal tit & blue Tit. North end feeders , arrived just in time to see everything fly off as chummy roared past. I think there were great, blue, coal & long tailed tits,chaffinch, bullfinch,blackbirds & wood pigeon. One day !

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Gorses quarry, south end feeders. Busy day , 3x robins presumably 2xm & 1xf based on the battle going on. ( one male was the robin I lost yesterday, so he has spread his patch or invaded another's patch) , all the usual tits, chaffinch, brambKing, bullfinch and on the ground, blackbird & dunnock.

North end feeders. Quieter , great,blue & coal tits, robin & bullfinch. On the ground were blackbird, jay, magpie & carrion crow.

Around the quarry. Not much else about. More carrion crows than usual ( reinforcements to see off the rooks? or following me round for food.) great tits, robins & wrens singing.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Morning walk, Gorses quarry. Large flock of long tailed tits when I entered the quarry and a lot of magpie activity.

south end feeders, back to normal after moving them to better cover, although now I can't see them as well. Blue,coal & great tits ,joined by long tailed tits , bullfinch & robin. Chaffinch, robin, dunnock, blackbird, magpie & wood pigeon on the ground.

north end feeders, relatively quiet, great,coal & blue tits & a goldfinch.

around the quarry, carrion crows in good numbers ( 2x family groups ) 2x pairs of jay 5x great tit singing , and a similar number of wren. The friendly robin that started the feeding was missing today, ( it never misses).

walmersley golf club,I was going to Chesham woods but the dogs had other ideas. nothing on the golf course except a couple of blackbirds,but near leeks water( still frozen) were 147x Canada geese. Over was a kestrel and 12x redwing. As I walked back to the quarry a cormorant circled round looking for open water , golf course pond and leeks water frozen so it settled on windacre lodge joining two others and 3x goosander.

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Gorses quarry was invaded by scramble bikes, quad bikes and off road 4x4s most of the weekend so you can imagine how much bird watching I did. This morning huge stone blocks have appeared across the access point, so it would seem that it isn't just me that's annoyed!

the feeders at the southern end,having been moved appear to be a success, this morning I saw a female sparrow hawk shoot through that area but strike nothing. On the feeders once I had filled them were, bullfinch,chaffinch,a robin( which couldn't wait for me to hang the sunflower seeds back up before helping itself), blue,great & coal tits.

At the north end feeders were long tailed, great, blue &I coal tits , bullfinch, chaffinch, blackbird,robin & a carrion crow flying off with a very full crop.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 25th of January 2021 09:54:35 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

Gorses quarry, morning walk. South end feeders . The nerves continued , so I did move the feeders. When I returned later , after a wander round the rest of the quarry, there was plenty of activity around the new site, including a brambling which near the previous site. I was trying various vantage sites and was up at the original site when all the birds shot into the gorse bushes and a male sparrowhawk was in the tree with the feeders looking straight into my binoculars with eyes like lasers! No wonder they were nervous.

Meawhile, back at the north end feeders,all was tranquilpity. 8x long tailed tits, great, blue & coal tits, bullfinch, chaffinch & robin on the feeders. Blackbird, dunnock, wood pigeon & jay on the ground And a carrion crow in the trees nearby watching intently.

Over, 15x black headed gulls , a kestrel, sparrowhawk ( f) with attend magpie & a stream of herring gulls (south) .

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 22nd of January 2021 09:35:51 PM

Peter Whitehead · Status: Offline

gorses quarry. Yesterday rain stopped play completely. Today was much better. The quarry was quiet with only a pair of jays being active, but the feeders were very busy.

South end feeders. Blue,coal & great tits, chaffinch, bullfinch, blackbird,& robin. I have looked at an alternative position for these feeders, in case the nervousness of the birds is a predator not me. I didn't move them because of all the activity, at the north end feeders I did move them having seen a sparrowhawk with a kill at the feeders,and here the birds are not as wary.

North end feeders. 8x long tailed tits showed dissatisfaction with the speed of my topping up, blue, coal & great tits , 2x goldcrest, robin & chaffinch on feeders and robin, blackbird, dunnock & wood pigeon on floor.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 25th of January 2021 09:55:05 PM