Runners - hundreds of them

A few hundred people thought it would be a good idea to spend the early afternoon running up that hill to Stoodley Pike. Made me tired just watching them.

Gauxholme to Gorpley circuit

Before we set off for a walk this morning the mist cleared for 5 mins then it rolled in again, looking quite eerie for a while...

Up to Weather Hill above Ramsden Clough and the mist closed in so much we couldn't see anything further 20 yards away. An hour later above Gorpley reservoir the weather cleared again and the blue sky was reflected in the reservoir. It felt almost like Spring (but not quite!).

Pochard at Lee Dam

A male (?) Pochard was at Lee Dam this morning, looking a bit scruffy as though it was still in eclipse plumage. Current thinking is this bird may be a female with weird plumage - as at 21 Feb.

First time I've seen a Pochard at this site.

A female Goosander was there as well but nothing else.

Out and about

Saw a couple of Buzzards while I was away walking yesterday. Pity we don't get them around here, but in time you never know as their range is gradually expanding.

At home but something a little different

There were about 150 Starlings in the field this morning along with 31 Fieldfare and 2 Redwing.

More interestingly there were 9 Redpolls among the flock of finches on and around the feeders and I was sure one of them was a Common Redpoll (also called a Mealy Redpoll). We get Lesser Redpoll in the garden every day and they are small, brown finches with a red patch on the top of their head, and males have a pink breast too. This one however was overall much paler and greyer. It is below the Goldfinch on the feeder in the photo here:

In the top left of the photo is a Lesser Redpoll for comparison, although it is out of focus the difference in colour is quite pronounced.

Plumage on Redpolls varies greatly and it can be difficult to distinguish between Lesser and Mealy Redpolls. It was easier when all Redpolls were lumped together but it was decided a few years ago to separate them into Common and Lesser. Never mind, it gives people like me something else to do!

Here's a photo of a Lesser Redpoll that isn't out of focus:

Warland Reservoir

Took a walk up to Warland res this afternoon to complete 1 of my last 3 Bird Atlas square visits. Not a bad day for a walk but there were very few birds about - I've never been so glad to see a Meadow Pipit!

As I got to the end of Warland res, where it almost joins Lighthazzles res, there were dozens of bags there -

This must be the repository for the loads of heather shoots that are planned to be dropped on the moors from helicopters in the hope that they will take root and protect the eroding peat, so it continues to hold cardon rather than release it.

Here's hoping it works then.

Rochdale Canal

A brilliant dry and still day today so where do I go? Down into the valley where it wouldn't have been windy yesterday if I'd had the sense to walk down the hill instead of up it !!!

Never mind, I've never been accused of being over-endowed with smarts.

A Jay was chattering away at the back of Woodhouse Mill so I tried to get a pic. Still not good enough - these birds never hang around long enough to get a decent shot of them.

On the canal 3 Goosander were swimming across the far bank, Two drakes and a female - here's a drake looking splendid in full breeding plumage ready for Spring.

Gaddings Dam

It were somewhat blustery up at Gaddings this morning! 2 male Goldeneye had been on the water when I arrived but they took off as they saw me approaching. They had been on the relatively calm bit of water by the wall just underneath where I took the photo from.

I got wet with the spray blowing over the dam(n) wall, then I got wetter still when the rain started coming down. I decided that I'd had enough exercise so I descended into the peaceful valley where the wind was only blowing at about 30 MPH.

Stoodley Pike

I walked up to Stoodley Pike in the howling wind and the rain yesterday. The wind was so strong it was hardly any effort to walk up the hill as the wind was behind me. Coming back down was a different proposition though so I walked on the Pennine Way and down to London Road so I didn't have to walk directly into the wind. Surprisingly there were no birds to be seen up there!