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It's been a while since I last blogged, with news of Common Redstart at Dove Stone, being the last update to the Dove Stone reserve 2013 Bird List . Saturday saw my first sighting of Swfits at Dove Stone for this year with one flying over Dove Stone reservoir, and on Sunday there were several flying...

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...

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...

Pretty wild at Dove Stone today with a strong, freezing wind blowing the snow across, particularly when walking along the main reservoir wall and between Dove Stone reservoir and Yeoman Hey. Accessbility-wise, not too bad getting into the main car park earlier today but we have had another snow fall...

The brooks are really full since yesterday's snow melt and the Dove Stone is visible on the horizon once more ! A quick update of sightings this weekend. Starting with Binn Green , lots of activity on the feeders with Lesser Redpoll, Coal, Blue and Great Tit and Siskin . Also around Binn Green sightings...

A quick update from Dove Stone with recent sightings. Starting up at Binn Green the feeding station has had good numbers of Siskins . As well as our regular Coal, Blue and Great Tit and Goldfinches there has been Lesser Redpoll . Also around at Binn Green look out for Great Spotted Woodpeckers as well...

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...

Time for an update with some news of recent sightings around and about Dove Stone. Up at Binn Green plenty going on with regular sightings of Bullfinch, Siskin, Greenfinch, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Coal Tit as well as Crossbills earlier in the week. Recent reports of both a Hobby...

A quick update for this week. Starting from the main carpark still plenty of House Martins and Swallows around - particularly flying along the reservoir bank. Regulars such as Greenfinch , Goldfinch and Pied Wagtail can be seen around the feeders at the main carpark. Willow Warblers still to be heard...

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:...

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...

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...

A quick update on what's around and about at the moment. Up at Binn Green there have been good views of large flocks of Siskin still as well as Lesser Redpoll - it's been absolutely buzzing up there. Frequent views of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper as well as of our regular finches...

So, Dove Stone and the RSPB aren't all about birds, right ? Right. The European Cave Spider ( Meta menardi ). A first for Dove Stone's records. And this spider has only been recorded around 400 times since 1800. The thinking is that it's probably under recorded in general due to its preferred...