Cold Edge Disaster Mitigation

A gale was in full swing from the W not the forecast moderate wind at Cold Edge. The birding was abysmal so I tried rescuing the session by heading down to Ogden Water.

Cold Edge birds: A few Swallows, 1 Pied Wagtail, handful of Goldfinch, c12 Meadow Pipits.

I heard a couple of weak wader type calls at distance so will let that one slide.

A Stonechat was alarm calling from a wall by the old Withens Pub.

The YLG previously seen by BS was in the middle of the water at Ogden hence these poor quality photos. Apart from the LBBGs & BHGs a sub adult phase Common Gull was present.

3 drake Tufted Duck still there. The trees coughed up a Blackcap a Nuthatch & 2 Chiffchaff.

Ogden Water To Mixenden Res

I didn’t intend to go birding just went for the exercise. However the birds decided otherwise and they were fairly busy.

Ogden: 2 drake Tufted Duck appearing to be heading into eclipse plumage. 4 Grey Heron. The BHGs Have returned and were really noisy. Several LBBG present were well behaved and quiet. 9 Canadas.

1 each Song Thrush, Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing.

The bottom of Hunter Hill was rotten with Swallows both young and old. A bonus sighting was 10 or so House Martin which were stopping at a shallow pond and picking up mud.

A WW, pr Linnet and a few Goldfinch also here.

2 Chiffchaff singing in the Mixenden trees but zilch on the water.

Photos to follow.

Olu Deniz Crap Continues

I got a 6 hour room extension due to a late flight departure so I had a very casual morning saunter. On the bottom track alongside hotel I was hit by two more unexpected and unwelcome bird sightings 😭.

A pr of Laughing Dove loafing and pecking eventually flew up onto a fence where they were joined out of the blue by a Turtle Dove 🤐.

A welcome change was a Tortoise 🐢 I came face to face with. 

The White Wagtail pr showed again and the Blue Rock Thrush sang from a nearby bush.

Photographs to follow if and when I can be bothered 😬.

Olu Deniz Final Nightmare

It happened again! Is there no justice in this hell hole? (👺 I do apologise Devil).

There I was doing another tour of the rubbish dumps and then after a few minutes walking along a mountain bottom path a squawk and kerfuffle or three halted my perambulation ☹️.

A Blue Rock Thrush was shoving food down the wide open gob of a well grown youngster 🍼.

When no birds are expected nor desired it really is distressing 😩. 

It appears that White Wagtail has bred near my hotel judging by a pr I saw in and out of a bush.

Jays and Swallows doing the rounds 😏.

Olu Deniz Disaster

Quite a satisfying morning of no birds exept a Jay or six and the Swallow crew. That is until I sat down in a lightly wooded area to take a break from being baked ☀️. 

When you have abandoned all thoughts of birding for the rest of your life I suppose an odd call from a Blackbird and a Great Tit won’t be a great upset 🤔.

Then it really got worrisome; a loud call from an unCalderdale type bird started from a nearby tree.

My worst fears materialised; the bird showed itself confirming it was a Blue-Rock Thrush ☹️.

The powers that be have reclassified this sp. from Turdidae 💩 to being a member of the Chat family - riveting eh?

No Thrills Olu Deniz

A Jay posed for me on Tuesday morning and the mix of Swallows were floating around all day and in the evening when I managed a dark medium size raptor at distance by the mountains. Not gonna even try to…

This morning Wednesday 24 I slipped up big time ☹️. A White Wagtail flew over my hotel garden patch and on returning from another non event (apart from the you know whats) A Common Buzzard called twice from above the buildings 😲. Oh if you insist then, I got a Blackbird in a garden 😏.

A nervous breakdown is due any time. While floating in the hotel pool the Buzzard choose to circle high above the streets 3/4 times. Six or seven bird species sightings here is just too much for any mere mortal.

Olu Deniz Day 3

Don’t think I’ll bother birding here again after this mornings misery. I went round the local nature reserve which now charges about £2.50. This is not for nature conservation it’s to support the scores of cafe’s bistros & beer bars that have sprung up since I came here in 2023.

The marsh at the side of the Lagoon (about 3 Ogden Waters in area) didn’t have a single bird there. Nothing on the water apart from hundreds of tourists in it.

Oh I tell a lie; a YLG did fly over it.

I count myself very lucky to see an Icterine Warbler land atop a tree and a Crag Martin actually fly across a very busy street!

No raptors despite the mountains I reckon the hundred of hang gliders have seen them off.