Bored? You Will Be After Reading This

This morning my sanity deserted me completely leaving not a trace until a semblance of common sense returned at 1105 hrs. I did an about turn and legged it back down the road.

I was at Cold Edge Dams and couldn’t see anything on them thanks to the heavy fog. I managed to see a Meadow Pipit on a track and hear a few Canada Geese. Numerous Jackdaw in the fields around Wainstalls but that was it.

On Monday 19th I’d gone to Fogden Water experienced similar and aborted that trip too. The few birds I did see have been erased from memory 😵‍💫.

Low Moor Dams

A cold bright morning. Still a lot of ice on Harold Park Lake but oddly enough none on Park Dam.

HPL was rotten with Tufted Duck 40 at least methinks. A good count of Mute Swan 13 birds. 1 each Cormorant and Goosander. Coots and Moorhens of course. Plenty of gulls including 5/6 Herrings.

Park Dam can be accessed by leaving the main HP gates and walking directly across Moor Top Rd. You then cross Abb Scott Lane and continue straight on along the track at the back of the houses. When you come to Lingdale Road walk along it until it bears right at the bend. You can see the dam entrance on the left hand side. 

Alternatively from the main HX Road drive down Abb Scott take the right turn into Fenwick Drive then left down Lingdale Rd.

Park Dam: 7 Goosander, 1 GC Grebe, 7 Tufted Duck, 2 Cormorant. 2 Grey Heron perched high in trees. One was squawking loudly at a pr Crow perched nearby. Numerous gulls mainly small species. A few Coot & Moorhen.

c72 Canadas in the field.

A Buzzard circling over Claremount HX.

Cold Edge Dams

Very Cold if the truth be known. I only had an hour up there and couldn't even face the walk up to the top of Haigh Cote Dam.

Both dams were about 2 thirds frozen. Leadbeater didn't have a bird on it and HC only had a couple of small gull species.

I did get rewarded by my best count of  Red Grouse at the location, 6 birds. They were located in the heather below the trees at Leadbeater which tells me they too weren't into being frozen. My previous best was 3 birds but I cant remember the year.

Quite a lot of Jackdaws, a few Crows, couple of Magpies plus a single Blackbird were the only other species seen.

Soil Hill To Ogden Water

Had a backlog of walking to do so I went up Soil Hill. Quite a few Common and BH Gulls were at the bottom of Perseverance Rd.

Not a great morning for birds on the top with one notable exception. A pair of  Buzzards were displaying on the Ned Hill track side 😀.

The bottom of the hill is being extensively excavated, 3 machines in full swing. Corvids and a Pheasant were the only other avians seen.

A Tufted Duck drake was on Ogden as were several of the expected gulls.

Update On No Birding

Just to explain to you readers of this blog, both of you, why there has been no news this past week. Yes you guessed right it’s down to the icy roads and pavements and me being a closet wimp.

2 years ago both myself and a former paratrooper were walking down the snow covered Boggart Farm track to Ogden Water. We couldn’t see the underlying ice and both of us hit the deck at speed. Para was up in a few seconds but it took me about 2 minutes. No broken bones but definitely a muscular injury to the top of my right leg.

I want to be able to see a few more months of watching the plethora of birds that abound in the area I roam 😂 so it’s safety first x 3 for me.

BTW the header photo is a twitchable bird especially for Calderdale - Berthelots Pipit seen in Tenerife.

Ogden Water To Mixenden

Too cold for my liking but very bright and sunny. 11 Tufted Duck were on Ogden which I’m sure is a personal record for me 😊. Gull numbers weren’t too impressive.

I managed 5/6 LTT 1 Gt Tit a couple Blackbird ditto Robin in the trees.

Mixenden Res was well stocked with gulls most of them stood on the ice which was plentiful.

A Treecreeper & a couple of Coal Tit were in the trees.

Mixenden Res To Ogden Water

Very Cold and Sunny. Mixenden had plenty of BHG & 7/8 Herring Gull plus 1 LBBG.

A Grey Wagtail was flying around the track bottom of Hunter Hill.

Nothing much on the route to Ogden which coughed up 5 Tufted Duck and a Kingfisher plus the expected mix of gulls albeit less in number than the Miximob.

A Grey Squirrel took its time getting out of my way.

About 5 yards away from the Kingfisher at the Skirden Clough bridge was a most unwelcome sight. A Mink was clambering over the lower tree branches a few feet above the water.