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On Sunday we had our first record for this year of Common Redstart , that's a new one for the 2013 Dove Stone Birdlist , which brings our species total up to 63 for this year. There were also some very good views of the Peregrines at the weekend. No signs of Redstart this morning but I did...

Here's the latest from Dove Stone. Good additions to our reserve 2013 birdlist with Mealy Redpoll (59) being seen earlier in the week up at Binn Green. In terms of id, Mealy Redpoll are larger and paler than Lesser Redpoll. Today we've had Whinchat (60) in the Chew Road/Chew Brook area. Whinchat...

Sightings of Willow Warbler and Swallow at Dove Stone today, bringing our Dove Stone Birdlist for 2013 up to 58 . Last year's Swallow's arrived a full week earlier, on April 12th. Up at Binn Green today I saw a female Brambling , quite late really. Last year we had a record of Brambling at the...

Time for a Dove Stone update. Just to recap on how the Dove Stone 2013 birdlist is going, Oystercatcher was our last addition to our list posted on the blog at the beginning of March, which have continued to stay around on the main Dove Stone res. Black Headed Gulls are in good numbers too and there...

The big draw at the moment are the number of Siskins at Binn Green on both the feeders and on the Larches, where they're feeding on the cones. And the sound of such a large number of Siskins is great to hear. So how many are there up at Bnn Green ? On the bird ringing session two weeks ago we ringed...

An update on the weekend at Dove Stone. Exciting news of 60+ Waxwings , roosting in one of the plantations past Chew Brook. It's been an influx year for Waxwings and there's been quite a few reports of them in the local area ( Uppermill, Greenfield, Springhead ) but these are the first sightings...

A quick update with recent sightings both this week and last. Dove Stone reservoir usually has a good amount of Black Headed Gulls , and this week there have easily been 100+ on the res at any one time. Always worth a scan for something more unusual in the mix of Black Headed Gulls though ! On...

A quick update with what was seen around Dove Stone at the weekend. At Binn Green there was good activity at the feeding station with Coal, Blue and Great Tit and Chaffinch as well as sightings of Siskin, Greenfinch, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Wren and Great Spotted Woodpecker . On Sunday a Sparrowhawk flew...

Bird of the day for sure is the female Crossbill seen at Binn Green today. Also up at Binn Green plenty of Siskin to be seen plus good numbers of regulars Chaffinch , Blue , Great and Coal T it . Also seen today at Binn Green two Great Spotted Woodpecker , Mistle Thrush and Treecreeper . Elsewhere around...

So we're into a new year of birding. Aside from the enjoyment of watching birds seen on a regular basis at Dove Stone, a few of the birding highlights of 2012 at Dove Stone have been a Red Kite at Dove Stone rocks, sightings of Osprey through the Chew Valley, Whooper Swans on Dove Stone res, the...

...Good sighting from Mandy today at Dove Stone with two Peregrines flying well above a 40+ group of Pink Footed Geese before one of the Peregrines flying into the group and isolating a single Pink Foot before deciding that it was a bit of a non-starter by the sounds of things - bit big for a Peregrine...

A quick update on what's been around so far this weekend. Up at Binn Green yesterday there were Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Jay, Treecreeper, Raven, Coal Tit, Blue TIt, Great Tit, Long Tailed TIt, Wren, Mistle Thrush and a juvenile Sparrowhawk which did a good fly through the feeding area, taking...

A quick update with some of this week's sightings. Starting with Binn Green, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue TIt , plenty of Chaffinches and a single Brambling. Also sightings of Jay, Mistle Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker . Over at the main car park this week we've...

A quick update with some recent sightings at Dove Stone. This morning in the field above Dove Stone reservoir 'plughole' ( it's actually a bell jar overflow but plughole's a much better name ! ) good views of a Kestrel hunting. In the trees bordering this field there were also two...

A quick update on recent sightings at Dove Stone. Yesterday we had Grey Wagtail and juvenile Common Sandpiper seen alongside Yeoman Hey reservoir. There were also 5 Curlew flying over Yeoman Hey which was good. Over at Chew Brook there were also more sightings of Grey Wagtail and House Martin as well...

A quick update with a few highlights from today. Reed Bunting , two Kestrels including a female juvenile, a first summer Stonechat, Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Willow Warbler as well as Mistle Thrush , Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Wren, Coal, Blue & Great Tit . Aside from the birds we have sightings of Mountain...

A very brief stop-off at Binn Green feeding area last night gave views of Great Spotted Woodpecker , Jay , Mistle Thrush, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, juvenile Coal Tits, Wren , an adult Black Pheasant and some young Pheasants . Obviously that's just one small part of Dove Stone and there's plenty...

Recent sightings from Dove Stone this week include three Crossbills up at Binn Green this morning as well as a Spotted Flycatcher seen up at Binn Green yesterday. Regular sightings around the Binn Green feeders of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Jays, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Treecreeper and...

The first Cuckoo of the year returning to Dove Stone, probably from sub-Saharan overwintering grounds, was heard on May 4th. This will be the male giving the 'cuckoo' call. Since then we've heard regular calling from around the plantations behind Bradbury's Farm; yesterday was our first...

We've just had one of our woodland art walks ( courtesy of the good folk at the local Woodend Artists collective ) where we follow a trail through Dove Stone's woods, collecting a small number of leaves from a number of trees such as Sycamore, Alder, Birch, Rowan & Oak ( as an aside, apparently...

Great to hear the first Cuckoo of the year from Dove Stone this morning. And amazing to think of this bird's journey from its overwintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. Cuckoos are a red listed bird in rapid decline. Take a look at this link for info on just how much this species has declined:...

If you're thinking coming to Dove Stone anytime soon here's what's been seen recently. Wheatears have now returned - have a look for them around hillsides up from Chew Brook onwards. In the same area look out for Stonechat and Reed Buntings . Along the way there's lots of Willow Warblers...

A quick post on what's about at Dove Stone. Thursday saw our first Swallows returning to Dove Stone seen flying in the field next to the main carpark and along the main reservoir bank on Friday. Willow warblers and Chiffchaff are also around the estate, arriving a couple of weeks ago. Up at Binn...

A quick update on what's about at Dove Stone. Up at the Binn Green feeding zone there's plenty of action with large groups of Siskins as well as regulars Goldfinch, Greenfinch and lots of Great, Blue, Coal and Long tailed tits. Also in the Binn Green area there have been recent sightings of Buzzard...

Watching wildlife is always an exciting experience, particularly when you seen something up close: for me this weekend at Dove Stone it was watching Treecreeper. It's a bird I've seen often but I was still blown away at how beautiful this small bird is. The colours of the feathers on its back...