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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...

Latest sightings from Dove Stone. On Saturday there was a Common Tern flying over Yeoman Hey ( one of the ide features for Common Tern is a black tip on the bill; though not particularly distinct in this photo ) from the direction of Greenfield Brook towards Dove Stone reservoir. Great to see, it will...

A quick update with what's been around at Dove Stone today. First reports of Chiffchaff calling heard from Ashway Gap today and within minutes, the first sighting of both a male and a female Wheatear in the fields adjacent to Ashway Gap. Also new for the Dove Stone 2013 reserve list is Red Legged...

Time for an update with the latest sightings at Dove Stone. Starting up at Binn Green , on and around the feeders there's plenty to see with regular sightings of Treecreepers , Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Siskin , plenty of Blackbirds and Chaffinches, Greenfinch and Coal, Blue and Great Tit...

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...

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...

Well, we’re gearing up for the Date With Nature - Peregrine Watch season, with excitement mounting over whether our Peregrines will breed successfully this year! Signs are promising so far with the pair seen on Sunday January 27 th displaying some courtship behaviour over Dove Stone reservoir....

A quick update with what's around today. Dippers seen at both Chew Brook and on the main Dove Stone reservoir. From Binn Green good views of two Peregrines , a Raven heard cronking and then seen flying over Alderman's Brow and two Kestrel . Around the feeding station Treecreeper, Nuthatch and...

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...

A quick update with news of a Long Eared Owl seen this afternoon by one of our wardens - good stuff. Also seen today amongst the regular sightings have been Redpoll up at Binn Green, a Peregrine on the ledge at Dove Stone rocks and a female Great Spotted Woodpecker observed caching peanuts. Also an addition...

...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...

Good day at Dove Stone, here's what's been seen today. From Ashway Gap good sightings of both male and female Peregrines today. Also from Ashway Gap Goldcrest, Dipper, three Stonechats ( two adults and first year male ), Raven and Meadow Pipit . Around Yeoman Hay and Greenfield Res sightings...

Quick sighting update for today with a bat seen this afternoon whilst it was still quite light off Banks Lane. It's about this time of year when bats will be increasingly going into torpor with some going into hibernation this month and certainly doing so in December. We're not sure what species...

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 of what's around and about. Starting with Chew Brook and up to Chew Res we've recent sightings of Grey Wagtail and a juvenile Dipper . Lots of Meadow Pipits around as well as a few Wrens . Up on the moor tops we've had sightings of three Ravens and Red Grouse , including a...

Our BioBlitz has finally arrived and today is all about finding, identifying and recording as much wildlife as we can at Dove Stone. And if we can record much more than the 400 species we recorded last year that will be really good. We want to show just how much biodiversity there is at Dove Stone. ...

A quick update on a couple of sightings today. Crossbills have been seen up at Binn Green with the males looking particularly spectacular. Over at Chew Brook we've had sightings of Tree Pipit . At Dove Stone, of course, our main Pipit is the Meadow Pipit . Also a Reed Bunting has been seen from the...

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...

A quick update with news that Common Sandpipers were heard at Dove Stone on Sunday - quite often they'll give a three-note call as they fly. They've also been seen earlier this week, with the most recent sightings being on Friday around Yeoman Hey and Greenfield reservoirs. Common Sandpipers...

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...