Windy Cold Edge

A fairly strong W'ly blow put paid to any good birding this morning.

c90 Goldfinch all over the shop. 11 Swallows, 13/14 Meadow Pipit.

1 each Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting & Stonechat.

3 BHG ditto Common Gull plus the Canada gang.

Good to chat with PS up there.

Cold Edge Dams

A satisfactory session that remained dry and at times muggy.

1 Grey Heron and 10 Lapwing on Leadbeater Dam but nothing much on Haigh Cote worth a mention.

I was able to view a Spotted Flycatcher up near the ruined house but although it remained still a couple of times branches and twigs put me off attempting photography.

2 Stonechat ditto Swallows and Robins. 1 Blackbird, ditto Kestrel, 6 Linnet and a dozen Meadow Pipit. Gulls down to around 7 BHG and a bunch of Canadas.

Ogden Water Abandoned

C

    R

        A

            P 

                😫

Soil Hell To Ogden Water

I had a mental siezure this morning and decided to go to the Hill from Hades after an absence of a couple of months or so. It will be my last ever trip until my next breakdown; it was awful.

 

8 Rook at  Raggalds then a House Martin and a Swallow up Perseverance Rd put me in a positive frame of mind which soon disappeared 😩.

7 Grey Partridge, 1 Skylark and 2 Meadow Pipit were the only birds seen on the top.

In Ogden Plantation I managed to get another annual species: 2 Goldcrest 😊.

At Ogden Water there was plenty of screaming although barking was absent. The only notable bird was a Greylag Goose by itself on the W bank. This must have been a truly wild bird as on seeing me it gave an almighty squeal and a honk before flying off to do half a circuit of the reservoir before disappearing.

Cold Edge Dams

A dry calm session that started slowly but ended very satisfactory 😁.

1 f Tufted Duck ditto Pied Wagtail. c22 Goldfinch, 8 Meadow Pipit, 6 Swallows, 3 WW.

On return from the dilapidated building about 50 yards down the path 2 passerines flew into the Hawthorns.

A glimpse of tail and then a good view of back and tail sent me into a paroxysm of delight 😅. My first Common Redstart of the year. 1 adult female and a juvenile. They didn’t come out of the bush but I ain’t bovvered 😊.

Also a big bunch of Canadas and c12 BHGs. A distant faint one off call suggested Buzzard but I won’t record.

Routine Ogden Route

Nothing to raise the heart rate again today. I got very brief views of a couple of hirundines high up but can’t split twixt House or Sand Martin 🤔.

7 Cormorant 3 Grey Heron & the GCG. Both a Buzzard and a Raven called just once. 

The usual Gulls present. A Reed Bunting was the only bird the golf course could offer.

Rained Off At Ogden Water

Water levels should start to rise in the next couple of days

methinks. I copped for a deluge and abandoned the Mixenden half of the trek.

The birding was poor. The Lapwings have moved on and no sign of any other waders.

Cormorants now up to 6. 1 Grey Heron ditto GCG. 4 Pied Wagtails & 1 Grey Wagtail by the promenade plus a Swallow over it. 

Let’s not forget the Gullage and a single calling Nuthatch.