Less From Tenerife

Absolutely awful birding in this Hell hole but a Hoopoe feeding near my feet helped reduce the misery.

A Kestrel whizzed across my field of vision and left me thinking could it have been Lesser or the standard issue size Canaries subspecies?

The Berthelots Pipit is still hanging around and a Whimbrel decided to have a short stroll around a shoreline garden.

Also Blackbird YLGs & Canaries ChiffChaffs in song.

Los CristianosTenerife

Not as exciting as my usual home route but it had its moments.

Whimbrel x 2 & Turnstone x 2. 1 Green Sandpiper. A Berthelots Pipit, Blackbird. 1 LBBG, 3 YLG.

Quite a few Canary Island Chiffchaff singing. Spanish Sparrow & a plague of Collared Doves.

Hum Drum Usual Route

Ogden Water - no passerines seen or heard but I've known for a few years now I don't get there early enough to catch the breakfast crowd. A Raven called twice.

1 Goosander, 2 Teal. 3 Meadow Pipit bottom Hunter Hill en route to Mixenden Res.

The Whooper Swan juvenile still at Mixenden. 

3 Chaffinch & a GSW drumming casually.

5 large gull sp. in the middle and a bunch of BHG in the usual corner.

Mixenden Visitors Scared Off

I got to Mixenden Res and was both surprised and delighted to see a pr Shelduck at the southern end of the water. I put the news out to two worthy birders then had to retract it within 5 minutes 😢. A local scum sucker brought his motocross bike through the hole in the W bank wall and promptly revved up and started whizzing around doing a circuit 😡. I never saw the Shelduck again.

The Whooper Swan was at the top end and 3 continental Blackbirds 🐦‍⬛ in the hedge.

A pair Jay were at Stod Fold. 

Prior to this I’d visited Ogden where I saw the RLP feeding among the shoreline weeds. A Tufted Duck was out in the middle but I didn’t see anything else worth a mention.

A Bad Day On The Usual Route

Oh boy did I pay today for the recent decent sightings when I did Soil Hill to Mixenden.

Just a Kestrel on Soil Hell top and 5 Goldfinch on the feeders in Persecution Road bottom.

Ogden Water was awful the only fowl I saw was a f Goosander barking at me as it fled away from the E shore.

The juv Whooper Swan was still present at Mixenden Red along with c25 small gulls, mainly BHG.

Ogden Water To Mixenden Res

Grey cloudy skies with minimal rain and mild temperatures today.

Managed to view 11 Teal, 2 Wigeon and a Tufted Duck clearly. A Cormorant took flight towards Mixenden.

Carrs Beck was throbbing with over a hundred mixed flock of Fieldfare & Redwing. 1 Jay seen in flight here.

Mixenden Res: 1 each Whooper Swan & Cormorant.

4 Common Gull & c18 BHG.

Soil Hill Route In The Rain

Let's not forget the strong wind either. As expected no sign of the two visitors seen recently. However compensation came in the form of c60 Redwing in flight heading down to Oats Royd.

I’d best get this off my chest: Mixenden was throbbing with large gulls and some small ones. As I combed through them I picked up a distant large black Cormorant type shape that didn’t fit the bill. Forgive this pun but the bill was more diver like and GND sprang to mind 😜. When I tried a closer view a few minutes later it seemed the critter had taken flight 😢.

The Whooper Swan was still in the company of the pr Canadas.

Ogden had produced just 3 Teal a Wigeon and a Tufted Duck in the open away from the shoreline. Raven on the E shoreline!