Redwing and Fieldfare being reported over weekend around here (along with a singing chiffchaff). Keep ‘em peeled!
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Redwing and Fieldfare being reported over weekend around here (along with a singing chiffchaff). Keep ‘em peeled!
Yes there is quite a few around up there. They are free roaming though not feral. Some are branded so presumably owned by someone. Quite docile, and inquisitive at times. Also partial to apple cores.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Not seen/heard any yet, but Redwing and Fieldfare reported at Kinder Bank over the past few days.I had a pair of Cormorant flying along the canal yesterday morning.
a pair of Goshawks and a kite which is pretty rare in this bit of the peak
Fantastic! I've heard of many accounts of Kites in the Peak District but not seen any yet. I'd love to see a Goshawk.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
I've heard about Goshawks over near Strines Res. some years ago, but never seen one. I've seen the odd Kite over on our side Mark, most recently Rushup Edge area.Quote:
Originally Posted by William Clough
Perhaps you saw this one?Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8782/...2ced9afb23.jpg
Fell Pony Foals on the Long Mynd by Andy Holden, on Flickr
Just got back from Washington DC and Pennsylvania.
Great blue heron (just like our grey heron but a bit bigger)
Lots of mockingbirds
Red tailed hawk - sitting in a tree with some people with long-lens cameras watching it near the start of my run. Then it was still there (and so were the people) when I came back again, so I could ask them what it was
Some sort of groundhog/woodchuck type thing
And possibly bald eagle. I'm not sure about this but it was a large eagle-shaped bird with notable fingered wing tips, with a longer body than a golden eagle and a white head. It was near the Potomac river, where the internet tells me they are sometimes seen.
Over the last few weeks there's been a barn owl, swooping over the rougher bits of pasture in the field in front of the house. It's been there in the early evenings, when it's still really light - floating like some white ghost - magnificent. A couple of times it's been mobbed by a local kestrel.
This morning, I left for work much later and there it was again at 8:30 am, in the morning's sunshine, flying over the grass tops and circling around. Great to see it in day light, but I wonder if that's not a good sign? Desperate for food perhaps.
We were driving up the M6 for a day's walking in the Lakes yesterday and there were literally thousands of geese, in large, multiple skeins, flying south. It was almost as if they were using the motorway for navigation! They must have been migratory birds, probably heading for Martin Mere or similar. Quite spectacular!
Pinkies Geoff (probably). The nice thing is it’s not uncommon for them to re-cross the country later in the winter again before nipping off home for the summer. Wonderful to watch the skein form, ‘collapse’ and re-form like a cyclist peloton as they travel
Yes, we assumed Pinkies. We couldn't hear them talking to each other from the car though! (Apparently that's a good way to identify them when they're flying overhead.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
They’re incredibly vocal birds. I always like to imagine them geeing each other up for ‘a pull’ on the front of the skein and then saying well done, have a bit of a lean now at the back after a good shift up top
We were in the Cairngorms for a long weekend. Braemar area on Saturday and Sunday for the Grampian Mountain Challenge (fantastic event) then a couple of days' walking around Glen Feshie on Monday and Tuesday. We saw plenty of Mountain Hares, including an amazingly pure white one on Saturday; heard Stags bellowing (always nice for a Mansfield fan!); saw a pair of Snow Bunting; a Black Grouse and a pair of Ptarmigan. Possibly saw a Crested Tit or two, but we couldn't be certain.
How did you get on up Feshie Geoff, it’s stsrting to look pretty special up that way with the change of land management practices.
Well, apart from not realising that the Carnachuin Bridge was swept away in 2009, giving us a long walk up and down the glen...
There are some beautiful Scots Pine along the glen there, and it is a lovely place. It was our first visit, so I don't know how it compares to previously. We did notice that were quite a lot of small pine trees quite high up on the fell side, presumably helped by the reduction in deer numbers.
It is a marked improvement for sure.
The Grouse blasting community might not agree.
The Black Wood of Rannoch and Abernethy Forest are also both worth a visit. Although I would note the Black Wood holds water and Abernethy dries quickly.
That's interesting. We've got a couple of trips to Killiecrankie planned (honeymoon next month and 60th birthday in February!), so Black Wood would be pretty handy from there. We had a walk around Loch Garten a couple of years ago - that was really nice.
Thanks!
Well, if you’re heading up that way you might want to take a look walk out to the Craigenour Estates Skyspace by James Turrell
Few pictures here https://artnathan.wordpress.com/2016.../loch-rannoch/
Congratulations Geoff!
Looks interesting, thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaunento
Thanks Mark!Quote:
Originally Posted by William Clough
Great spotted woodpecker, while running along the Bridgewater canal in Manchester. Some grey wagtails flitting about too. It makes a change from the occasional rat.
A fox this morning before first light in Brontë country
Red Squirrel on a feeding station just next to a 'Gruffalo' carving in Whinlatter - I pointed it out to others with me, they laughed at my 'mistake' - we stood watching it feed for five minutes after they'd each clocked the actual wildlife!
Red Squirrel on the way down from Stone Arthur, above Grasmere. Must have disturbed it as I was descending quite speedily, and it ran alongside me for about 30 metres before darting up a stone wall in a couple of steps and onto a tree. Great footwork from the little man.
Half a dozen Goosander on the River Sett in New Mills on Saturday. A male and 2 females in a group, then a solitary female and a male/female pair.
No more fish in the River Sett then!
Hopefully the local otters with chase off the sawbills
No more fish will mean no more Goosanders - result!Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Will hopefully avoid the keeper's snares/traps/lamps/guns...Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
Saw two Barn Owls at the same time tonight. Magic.
One for Derby T; a couple of weeks ago I was driving past Chelker Res and spotted dozens of Oystercatchers sat atop the dam wall - a sight I would more expect to see in the early spring.
Now then wharfee
Interesting sighting that. I’ve seen odd ones in winter (two flew overhead one year near Ilkley) but that’s odd that many so early
Walking on the beach north of Barmouth on New Years Eve we found a dead porpoise. Bit sad, but the birds were enjoying a good feed.
Just what I thought. Perhaps the benign weather has tricked them into believing that Spring is upon us. Or maybe it's just a sign of the changing climate. Or even that the Oystercatchers prefer to feed on invertebrates found in the green fields rather than probing muddy, salty estuaries. They know best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
As I’m sure you know wharfee there’s a big (250-300 bird) curlew flock that overwinters regularly around Denton east of Ilkley. Oyks staying over kind of makes sense. And it has been a relatively mild winter so far
Spotted a white mountain hare on the south side of Bleaklow during the Trigger race. Disturbed it out of the undergrowth and it galloped off.
Exact same thing happened during last year's race on Kinder, which was a great sight. I must admit that when it happened this weekend, i was somewhat pre-occupied with my navigational issues and didn't really care!
I wasn't aware of those Curlews DT but thanks for the info.Quote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
Early doors maybe October through say mid / late January is the time past the Tesco garage. They often roost together in the fields before the water treatment plan right hand side heading to Otley. The fields round Denton Hall are feeding grounds I’m led to believe
For me just as exciting if not more so than the far better known Harewood kites and the interesting thing is are they ‘local’ birds from south dales / Craven or from further afield. I always like to think they’re locals
A taste of the tropics whilst I was walling up near Yeadon International Airport. Had a Parakeet around for a couple of hours. Very noisy. Not sure what I think about this - I had heard they are spreading north, apparently a pest in some parts of the south.