A quick update with recent sightings from a walk around the main trail at Dove Stone over the weekend. This Sunday was the December BTO wetland birds survey ( Webs ) so time for recording what's on the valley reservoirs at Dove Stone. On the main res. Black Headed Gulls on the sailing club pontoon numbered 36 - fairly low really. I noticed that one of these birds had a brown head already. All else was quiet on the water, but there's always the possibility of Common Gulls or Lesser or Great Black Backed Gulls - or even something more unusual such as a Glaucous or Iceland Gull - there've been records of Iceland Gull at nearby Castleshaw res so why not here ? Along the embankment wall Pied Wagtail. Moving on round the trail, no sign of the large group of Bramblings that we've seen recently at Chew and Ashway Gap. There were a few small groups of Goldfinch and Greenfinch around Chew and a Jay. In the Life-for-a-Life memorial woodlands there was a Kestrel and possibly the same bird was also hunting over the hillside adjacent to Yeoman Hey res. Also in this patch sightings of Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Dipper on the reservoir spillway and two Raven flying both over the hillsides and over the res. Pretty quiet on the reservoir iteself - a small group of Mallards with another group of around 170 on Greenfield res - that's a lot of Mallard ! More Goldfinches and tits further round the trail through the woods on the other side of Dove Stone res, as well as Wren, Robin, Blackbirds and a Bullfinch too.
Elsewhere around Dove Stone more sightings of Mountain Hare up on the tops - thanks to Ken for these images.
More soon with an update on activity up at Binn Green...