December 24, 2011 at 8:59 pm
On the seventeenth of December it was a cold day with sleet showers in a North West wind and the hills around were covered in snow as I went for a walk on Hopwood hoping to see a Short Eared Owl. I encountered a brown raptor quartering the rushes and as it was flying into the wind its white rump caught my attention. To my amazement it was a Ringtailed Harrier and flew close by on several occasions giving me a good view of its yellow eyes, indicating it was a female Hen Harrier. It was the best bird I have seen on Hopwood during the last thirty years of watching and a bird I could have only dreamt of seeing within view of the center of Manchester. The day was completed with the sighting of a male Merlin, a Jack Snipe and four Woodcock, making it the best Winter birding I have ever had locally. Needless to say the Harrier had moved on within the hour and further visits in perfect weather produced nothing.
The cold weather also improved the birds coming into the garden with individual Reed Buntings coming and a welcome pair of Bullfinches. A Song Thrush was in full song on the twenty first and on another day the male Sparrowhawk had to release a Starling from its talons as we came to its rescue. Not in my back garden being the appropriate comment!
December 17, 2011 at 10:34 pm
An Icelandic name for the Great Northern Diver is Himbrimi. One of the photos shows it on its nest in Iceland displaying its magnificent Summer plummage. The other photo is the same species taken at Castleshaw reservoir this week, in its Winter plummage. It is hard to believe that they are the same species.
The Wintry weather has now brought an influx of birds into the garden. During the week we have had maximum counts of eighteen House Sparrows, fifteen Starlings, two Song Thrushes, one Reed Bunting and a garden record of eleven Chaffinches.
On the Hawthorn berries along the canal has been one Fieldfare and ten Redwings.
December 11, 2011 at 5:50 pm
The good news is that the Raptor’s DVD is now available to buy through my website .
This last week I have been out showing films every night so I have had little or no time for filming. Despite the Winter weather there have been some good audiences with a record 153 people attending Monday nights talk at Preston. As this society is more than 100 years old it is very pleasing to now hold the attendance record.
In the garden the colder weather has brought in nineteen Collared Doves, six Chaffinches and a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers. On two days the pair of Goosanders were still feeding on the local canal.
December 4, 2011 at 11:50 am
Whilst searching the pine forests this week I came across Greenfinches bathing in the only water around, which was a puddle in a car park.Not many people realise that in order to keep their feathers in good condition birds have to bath almost daily, even in Winter. The pool was visited by Siskins, Greenfinches , Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Blue and Coal TIts with a Jay calling for a drink.
Along the canal on the 30th of November were a pair of Goosanders. Nearby a single FIeldfare was feeding on fallen apples beneath three apple trees. Hopefully, with colder weather conditions to come more Fieldfares will join it and provide me with some photos. So far this Winter it has been extremely quiet with regard to filming.
November 27, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Now that full feeding has been restarted in the garden the male Sparrowhawk has returned, no doubt attracted by the increased number of small birds. During the week he was seen to fly off with a House Sparrow and probably caught other prey when we weren’t watching.
On Hopwood, at dusk, I encountered a flock of seventy Redpolls, representing the largest flock of Redpolls I have ever seen. They were feeding in birches and looking to roost in some pines nearby. As I walked off in the semi darkness a Kingfisher was still present on a pipe over the stream. As far as I am aware there are no fish in the stream so may be he was roosting on the pipe for the night.
A search of a moorland plantation failed to find any Long Eared Owls. However, feeding on larch cones was a flock of more than one hundred Siskins which were a delight to watch as they extracted the seeds from the cones.
Along the canal one morning were six Long Tailed Tits and a Dabchick – the first I have seen on the canal for years.
November 20, 2011 at 3:48 pm
The exceptionally mild weather is prolonging Autumn and without a gale there may be some leaves still on the trees in December.
Whilst there are very few Fieldfares about at present I did see a flock of fourteen Redwings on the 17th. On Hopwood the first Woodcock arrived on the 14th with others appearing the following day. One dusk twenty Goldfinches were going to roost in a single Oak tree that was still retaining its leaves and providing plenty of cover for the night.
A visit to Tandle HIll to film the spectacular colours of the Beech trees resulted in Crossbills being heard in the pine trees nearby and the Holly bush full of berries was awaiting the Autumn Thrushes or perhaps even a Waxwing as there are already hundreds arriving in Norfolk.
