Common Buzzard on Lower Green Lane

I photographed this beauty just before my day and the next four weeks were going to take a turn for the worse.  It's a Common Buzzard and nowadays they are getting very common.

Grey Partridge on Moss Lane, Astley

Grey Partridges are skittish things and very hard to photograph as they skulk around in the long grass and vegetation only occasionally raising their heads.  I've seen them in ones and twos a few times in the Astley Moss and Rindle Road area, but as soon as they see you they're off and so it's not surprising that I've never managed so much as a record shot until now.

I know it's not the best of photos, but it's the best I've got so far of this elusive bird.

Astley Moss and Rindle Road Area

Today was the first time for a while that I've spent any length of time down here, and it was what Winnie the Pooh would call 'a rather blustery day'. Here's what I saw:

Fields Near Astley Tip
Some Wood Pigeons
A few Collared Doves
4 Jays - all together
Later a single Jay flew across the field and another landed in a small Oak tree

Moss Lane
A few more Wood Pigeons
Around 40-50 Corvids
40-ish Goldfinches on wires
4 Juvenile Partridges (could have been juvenile Pheasants as I only got a brief glimpse)
1 Buzzard
30-ish Pink-footed Geese flying west - I heard the coming from way off.
Another group of six flying South, but may have been Canada Geese
10-12 Starlings on the wires

Rindle Woods and neighbouring fields
2 Pheasants
2 Great Tits
Quite a few Wood Pigeons
4 or 5 Swallows
1 Kestrel
4 Buzzards
5 Carrion Crows
3 Magpies
Mallard landing on a scrape

Rindle Road and neighbouring fields
2 Song Thrushes on wires
1 Chiffchaff
A few Swallows, but a lot less than earlier in the week.
Even more Wood Pigeons
Buzzard being mobbed by a Crow
2 Kestrels - probably same one twice
Great Spotted Woodpecker on telephone pole

Did I mention the Pigeons? - Seems like they had a good year.

P.S. Beware of the footpaths around Astley Moss SSSI at the moment as they're underwater in many places. I turned back from my normal anti-clockwise route through Rindle Wood and around the edge of the Moss because I sank into a deep puddle on the path and I was carrying my camera gear. And when I went the other direction along Rindle Hedge, I nearly lost a wellie when I sank in again up to my shin - the water came over the top of my boot and I had to put my gear down to get out without the peat sucking my boot off.

In Search of Cuckoos and Cranes

A good half day out at Rindle Road in search of Cuckoos and Cranes produced very little in the way of usable photographs, but it was great to meet some new birders.

Here's the best of what I got:

Goldfinch

Tree Sparrow

Whimbrel

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Birch Trunk

I didn't see a Cuckoo but I did hear a female with her distinctive 'bubbling' call. The Cranes were nowhere in sight today but it was very nice to meet Manchester Birding Forum members Paul Pennington, Kevin Forde, Craig Higson and Jason Atkinson.

Rindle Road and Astley Moss

I went out down Rindle Road for a couple of hours after work tonight hoping to see the Hobbies that have been reported catching dragonflies over the Moss in the last few days.  When I arrived there were at least five cars parked up (there are usually no more than two and often none) with other birders presumably looking for the same thing or the Cuckoos.

I parked at the top of the feeding station track and the farmer was driving his tractor up towards the gate.  As he got out to close the gate I asked him about the crops he was growing in the fields here. He's a nice bloke who I've met before and he's always stopped for a chat. He told me that barley was being grown in two fields, potatoes in the ploughed field and two fields were grass for silage. I checked that it was alright to leave my car here and he said that as long as he could get past with the tractor it was fine.

The first thing that struck me as I walked down the track towards Rindle Wood was the sound of Yellowhammers making their 'little bit of bread with no cheeeese' call. They weren't in the usual hawthornes and trees along the feeding track but somewhere out in the fields.  When I looked through my binoculars I saw a couple sitting on a fence wire bordering two of the fields.  This loud calling went on most of the time I was out tonight - I've never heard it so loud and clearly before.

As I entered Rindle Wood I briefly met a lady birder who had come here in search of Cuckoos, but who was leaving disappointed.  I told her she must come back because they'd be here for a while and show quite well when they do appear.  I also met a new character called Gordon from Martin Mere as most people seem to know him and had a really good chat with him about allsorts of stuff. And then on towards the SSSI.

Willow Warbler

There were lots of very pale Mistle Thrushes in the ploughed field on the edge of the Wood, and the Yellowhammers were obviously there too although I didn't spot any. As I approached the edge of the SSSI there were a couple of Willow Warblers singing from what seems to a favourite place in some dead brich tree branches.  As the light wasn't too bad, I took this opportunity to photograph them, even though they were quite high up.  Whilst I was doing this someone was looking at me through binoculars a little further down the path - it was Dave Thacker and he gave me a wave when he recognised me.

Willow Warbler

I went to meet Dave and he was with another lady birder who's name I'm sorry to say I've forgotton already. They were looking for Hobbies and Cuckoos but hadn't seen either, despite having been here a while. They mentioned lots of people who had seen them today including John Tymon who'd been here earlier and so understanderably they were both a bit fed up!  We talked about a few things (during which time I think I spotted a Linnet in a dead tree) before Dave and moved on to walk round the trail past the scrapes.

Is this a Linnet?

There really wasn't very much about tonight save for a pair of Tufted Ducks which I accidentally flushed off one of the scrapes.  There were quite a few dragonflies about however and that's why this is good Hobby country.  In fact on our way back towards Rindle Hedge we met another birder who knew quite a lot about dragonflies and he and Dave had a good chat about them, but it was all lost on me!  I'll have to get a book.

As we approached the hedge, we looked across the ploughed potato field and Dave spotted two Grey Partridges on the edge of the ditch that separates the fields.  They were very hard to see as they crouched down in the grass and I wouldn't have spotted them on my own.  Apparently like many birds, they nest in the ditch and come out onto the ploughed field to feed.

Whilst we watching the Partridges we heard a Cuckoo calling for the first time tonight.  Dave scanned the trees with his bins and had soon found one sat some distance away across the fields. It was at the top of  a dead tree on the edge of the SSSI where we had first been talking some 20 minutes ago.  The calls continued for a while and another Cuckoo appeared briefly before they both flew off over the tree tops.  Well, at least we could report that we'd seen them tonight.

Oystercatcher

Dave and I walked back to the feeding station through Rindle Hedge where there were no birds at all tonight as far as I could see.  We looked in the barley field for the Whimbrel and Oystercatchers which had been there recently and couldn't see them until they popped their heads up above the long vegetation.  There was at least one Whimbrel and two Oystercatchers here tonight and we witnessed a very brief scuffle when one Oystercatcher moved the Whimbrel on its way.  And then they all disappeared into the long vegetation again.

Buzzard on fence post

It was at this point that Dave spotted a large Buzzard sitting on a fence post looking for voles.  It was some way off and close to the railway line, but it wasn't disturbed when a train went past - it must be used to this by now.  From time to time the Buzzard would drop down off its perch on to the ground before returning again a few minutes later, maybe after a meal.  Another birder joined us at this point who was an old friend of Dave's who he hadn't seen for a while.  We chatted for a while before deciding it was time to head for home.

Chaffinch

I left Dave and his friend at the top of the feeding station track and decided to try to get a little closer to the Buzzard for some pictures.  I walked up towards the level crossing at the top of Rindle Road whilst perusing the hawthorne hedge and taller trees.  I saw a Chaffinch and a pair of Goldfinches on the telephone wires here.  I looked for the Curlew in the field next to Rindle Cottages, but instead found another pair of Oystercatchers which might have been the ones we saw previously.  I took some photos here before looking for the Buzzard on the other side of the road.  It was still perched on the same post but the light wasn't good and it was still some way off, so I didn't get any really good shots.

Goldfinches

Well, I hadn't seen the Hobbies but I'd I met a few nice people and had a good birding session with Dave in which we saw a fair number of species this evening.  Happy Days!

Goldfinch

Astley Moss and Rindle Road

Whimbrel in field

I went out fairly late this afternoon for a look round Rindle Wood and Astley Moss in the hope of seeing the cuckoos which have been reported there this week.  There were no birds at all along the often packed feeding station track as I left the car and approached the Wood.

Whimbrel on the move

The first thing I saw was a pair of Whimbrel in a field and so I spent some time trying to get a decent photograph through the trees along Rindle Hedge - unfortunately the results aren't that great - it was very windy and I couldn't keep the camera completely still without a tripod.

One Pheasant has been alerted by my presence

I also saw a pair of plump Pheasants in the same field who scurried away as soon as they heard me coming and I could hear Willow Warblers in the trees but I couldn't see any here.

And now bith of them have

By now I was at the bottom of Rindle Hedge and so I decided to walk the opposite way round the SSSI trail to my normal anti-clockwise route. The water in the scrapes here was very low and there were quite a few flies about.  There weren't many birds about at all, save for a couple of Carrion Crows above the trees in the distance.

Then, as I approached the newly created raised pools, I heard a Cuckoo call in the distance.  After 10 minutes of looking through my binoculars I couldn't see it and so I carried on up the path where I did see a Reed Bunting and a Yellowhammer in the trees and several other LBJ's flying from the Moss into the trees that border the ploughed field.

A little further down the path the Cuckoos called again, this time for a longer period of time. When I looked though my bins I got a brief glimpse of two grey birds flying over the distant trees on the edge of the Moss - I'm sure these were two Cuckoos because their wings were very pointed - and then they were gone, not to be seen again tonight.

At the far end of the path I met up with Dave Thacker and we had a good chat whilst looking in the newly ploughed field behind Rindle Wood.  There were many different birds here, which I've listed below:

• A single Oystercatcher
• Lapwings
• Skylarks
• Blackbirds
• Mallard
• Mistle Thrushes
• Pied Wagtail
• Many Swallows flying low over the ploughed field catching flies

Before leaving we had a last look for the Cuckoos to no avail, but we did see a couple of Willow Warblers singing their hearts out and silhouetted against the sky as the sun was going down. As we walked back to Rindle Road, we heard a Curlew calling in the distance and then eventually saw it on the ground in the far field next to the new Rindle cottage.

• A single Curlew
• 2 Grey Partridges
• A Marsh Harrier

We had great views of the Marsh Harrier being mobbed by the Curlew and a Lapwing as it looked for nests on the ground.  It had a couple of inner primaries missing from its right wing and Dave now thinks this was a 2nd calendar year male, but I'll have to take his word for that! 

Here's how the story unfolded:

Curlew sees Marsh Harrier

Curlew goes for Marsh Harrier

Curlew hits Marsh Harrier and veers off

Lapwing joins in

Lapwing bides its time

Lapwing goes for it

Marsh Harrier flies off luckily without losing any more feathers

Thanks Dave, I'd have a missed a lot these birds if you hadn't been there tonight. Here are some enhanced pictures of the Marsh Harrier with a bit of artistic license:

Astley Moss

A pleasant early evening stroll round the edge of the Astley Moss SSSI with Dave Thacker prodoced:

• Ring Ouzel - only a fleeting glimpse but positively identified by white bar on chest
• Blackbirds - one with a white spot (mistaken by me for the Ring Ouzel at first)
• Whimbrel
• Wheatear
• Yellowhammer
• Fieldfare
• Mistle Thrush
• Lapwing
• Swallow
• Great Tit
• Wren (ticking away in Rindle Wood)
• Pied Wagtail
• Mallard (three drakes together in a field) as well as a single elsewhere
• Willow Warbler (one sighted as well many singing)
• Woodpigeon

Dave kindly pointed out the Long-tailed Tit's nest that he's been watching develop over the last week or so.  On the Manchester Biridng Forum he recently explained how he sat down and held out feathers which the birds came and took from his hand to build their nest - amazing!

Nice to also briefly meet Melanie Beckford (with the big hair as she puts it) as I was heading for home.

Rindle Road, Rindle Wood and Astley Moss SSSI

Tonight, between 4:30 and 6pm on a very pleasant walk with my other half round Rindle Road, Rindle Wood and the trail around the edge of the SSSI, produced:

• Male and Female Pheasant on Rindle Road near Nook Lane
• 2 Tree Sparrows in f67
• 2 Yellowhammers in f67
• 1 Chaffinch in hawthorne along road
• Buzzard over the trees near the railway line
• Several Lapwing displaying in f67/68
• Many Carrion Crows and Wood Pigeons in f69
• 2 Kestrels (1 over Astley Moss and the other over f67)
• 2 Mallards in pools
• 3 Blue Tits in Wood
• 1 Great Tit in Wood 
• 1 Wren in Wood
• 4 Wheatear in the ploughed field between the SSSI pools and Rindle Hedge (year tick)
• 1 Yellowhammer and a Pied Wagtail in same ploughed field
• 2 Mistle Thrushes and 2 Grey Partridges in f69
• Several Crows, Magpies and Blackbirds around
• Several other unidentified LBJ's (moved too fast for us)

On leaving the 'Moth Man' (whose name I'm afraid I don't know even though I've met him many times) said there had been a Corn Bunting on the wires near Rindle Cottages earlier in the week.

Moss Lane, Astley Moss

Moss Lane

Even though I've got loads of work to do, I couldn't resist going out again today as the sun was still shining, intermittently at least.  I went in search of the Wheatear that has been sighted down Moss Lane but ended up with a Little Owl instead!

Little Owl

I've seen a Little Owl only once before down here last year, and when I looked again over the following weeks, I couldn't find it again.  So it was very nice to see it again today -  I never did see the Wheatear though.

Little Owl

Boy has it changed down Moss Lane since I last came a few weeks ago. All the high banks on the north side of the Lane have gone and the fields where the pipeline work has been done have been made good and ploughed. It all looks a lot more open again now.

Moss Lane

Moss Lane and Rindle Road

When I got up at 7:30am this morning it was quite light and the weather looked good, so I decided to go out birding.  I considered going to see the rare Pied-billed Grebe at Hollingworth Lake in Rochdale which has been all over the Manchester Birding Forum and even NorthWest Tonight on the BBC.  However that would take a bit longer and as both the Manchester United and England Rugby Union games were on TV this afternoon, I decided to leave that until tomorrow. So I settled on visiting my local patch at Moss Lane and Rindle Road near Astley Moss to see what was about.

Just before I left I checked my garden to find the usual tits, blackbirds and starlings about.  The Jay I've recently spotted also did another flypast and a skein of well over 100 Pink-footed Geese also flew overhead in a long wavy line heading eastwards. I'm getting to see these more often nowadays.

When I got to Astley Moss I first went down Moss Lane and was pleased to see there were a lot of birds about.  The recent high winds had cleared a lot leaves from the trees and the fields had been either ploughed or cut recently making the birds much easier to see than in recent months.  

I parked at my usual spot on the bend near the end of Moss Lane and walked back along the tree-lined lane.  I was about to start taking some pictures when I found to my dismay that I had no memory card in the camera - I'd left it in the computer whilst downloading my last lot of photos, damn!  As it was a good day for photos, I briefly thought about nipping back home to get the card but eventually decided to stay here with just my binoculars.

Whilst on Moss Lane I saw the following birds:

• Common Pheasant (male and female)
• Robin
• Wren
• Dunnock
• Chaffinch
• Blue Tit
• Carrion Crow
• Woodpigeon

Later on I drove round to Rindle Road where I encountered a mass of birds on the floor at the feeding station, the most notable of which were the Fieldfare which gave me a good closeup view being only a few metres away this time. At the feeding station there was also a Robin, various Tits, Starlings and I was almost certain there were some Tree Sparrows.

Just as I was about to leave and go home for breakfast when another birder turned up a the feeding station.  It was Geoff Hargreaves, a name that I'd seen many times on the Manchester Birding Forum especially recording sightings at the Wigan Flashes.  He'd popped in here to see if there was a Merlin about on his way back from seeing the Pie-billed Grebe at Hollingworth Lake and I told him that I was thinking about going tomorrow. Geoff kindly let me look through his scope and helped me to positively identify the Tree Sparrow whilst also pointing out a Yellowhammer which I'd missed.

We went on to have a quick walk through Rindle Wood to look out for Treecreepers following flocks of Long-tailed Tits (apparently a useful thing to look out for) and then along Rindle Hedge where we got a beautiful sighting of a Kestrel hovering low over the fields looking for a meal.  On the way back to the car Geoff pointed out the familiar call of the Jackdaw as several flew over us, but unfortunately there were no Merlins or Treecreepers to be seen.

Thanks Geoff, nice meeting you.

Rindle Road and Moss Lane

Here's a short summary of what I saw today on beautifully sunny September Sunday:

Kestrel perched on telephone wires near Rindle Road

Kestrel hovering over scrubland near  Rindle Road

• Kestrel
• Jay
• 3 Buzzards soaring
• Great Tit
• Family party of 8 Long Tailed Tits
• Loads of wood pigeons
• Cormorant over

Cormorant over Moss Lane

Male Pheasant in field off Rindle Road

• Loads of male and female pheasants (probably destined for the pot!)
• 2 blackish ducks over
• Loads of gulls over
• My first Stoat

Stoat in Astley Moss SSSI

Rindle Road

A quick trip to Rindle Road tonight produced some good views of a Goldfinch, Lapwing, and Pied Wagtail. Pictures to follow ....

Rindle Road and Astley Moss

Whilst in the Rindle Road area tonight I took these pictures of a raptor over Astley Moss SSSI.  They are only record shots and I'd be grateful if anyone could help it me to positively identify the bird - is it a Hobby or perhaps a Peregrine Falcon?  What are the key differences to look for?

You can double click the pictures to get a better look. Please enter any observations or comments in the section at the bottom of this post - thanks.

Update 29/5/10
Many thanks to all the birders on the Manchester Birding Forum who replied to my post there and confirmed that the bird is in fact a Hobby.  I've reposted the replies made there in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

Later it caught a bird - a Meadow Pipit perhaps?

Now I just need to go back and take some decent photos!