Birding Group Visit to Macclesfield Forest : 12th May 2015
I looked up last years trip to Macclesfield Forest and it wasn’t that brilliant. This was a bit similar though it wasn’t as windy as then. The weather was a mixture of dry spells and rainy spells. We started out at the car park where I thought I saw a retreating Pied Flycatcher (first of the year in UK) but that was one of the highlights of a rather frustrating day.
We walked up into the woods pausing for quite a while in the first open area watching and listening for birds. There was the occasional aural indication of the presence of birds but they were resolutely hidden. We did hear a Green Woodpecker yaffle and some of the group managed to find it but I didn’t manage to see it.
We decided to take another route than usual so, as we walked further up the hill, we came across a path leading to our right. We guessed that it might run parallel to our usual route but higher up on the hill. The path was well trodden so we didn’t think we were going to get lost. As we walked this track we heard Chiffchaff and spotted a couple of Willow Warblers (first of the year). A Kestrel and a Buzzard were overhead but that was about it.
The track rose quite high and then descended down to the river. We turned left to where we normally look for Little Owls – with the usual lack of success. We then turned back to the river and walked uphill to join the path that we normally use. We scanned the drystone walls for Redstarts but with no luck. We walked past the fields where we got a pair of Linnets (first of the year) and as we goy to the water there was a Common Sandpiper and a pair of Pied Wagtails on the left hand water with a Great Crested Grebe and Mallards on the water. On the right was a lone Cormorant.
A small group of Goldfinches was among the trees at the road where the two reservoirs meet but that was about it for the day. It was more memorable for an interesting variation on our usual route. It was a good walk though and the weather wasn’t too bad. After this we went of to the Leathers Smithy, by Ridgegate Reservoir, for lunch. It has a very fancy menu for a pub and good beer.
Bird Sightings : Macclesfield Forest
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Canada Goose | 2 |
| Mallard | 2 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 1 |
| Great Cormorant | 1 |
| Common Buzzard | 1 |
| Common Sandpiper | 1 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 2 |
| Green Woodpecker | 1 |
| Common Kestrel | 1 |
| Carrion Crow | 6 |
| Barn Swallow | 2 |
| Willow Warbler | 2 |
| Common Chiffchaff | 1 |
| European Robin | 1 |
| European Pied Flycatcher | 1 |
| Eurasian Blackbird | 2 |
| Pied Wagtail | 2 |
| Common Chaffinch | 1 |
| European Goldfinch | 6 |
| Common Linnet | 2 |