Whiteholme Delivers The Goods

Well worth the effort this morning even if it was a crawling start. Got my first annual Wheatear a very noisy male. A bit late but that’s the way it is with our avian amigos.

Then it got really good with not one but 2 Little Ringed Plover 

A bit distant for good photos but adequate for species identification methinks 🙂.

Also in on the act: m Reed Bunting, 1 Raven, 3 Curlew, 1 m Pied Wagtail couple Skylark & a fair few Meadow Pipit.

I trust these amorous Toads found a hole big enough to get through to the water. I saw them creeping quite a distance on the bone dry track.

Cold Edge Dams Disappoints

A dry sunny day spoiled by a nagging wind that kept bird activity to a minimum.

Curlews were much less noisy than earlier visits. 1 each Lapwing and Oystercatcher.

Pr Stonechat, 1 m Reed Bunting ditto Blackbird, 4 Meadow Pipit.

Against all odds I got my first UK Swallow of the year a low flying individual.

5 Tufted Duck plus the many Canadas and few Greylags.

A Quiet Long Slog

The sunny dry morning encouraged me do the local long haul. Not much about really apart from the many humans and dogs at Ogden Water.

2 Curlew, few Skylark & Meadow Pipit. Pair distant Oystercatcher. Pr Pied Wagtail.

A Chiffchaff at Ogden and another at Mixenden Res. Couple Curlew at Hunter Hill.

Tufted Duck pair left Ogden 7 Canadas 2 LBBG & 4 Herring Gull present.

Ogden Water To Mixenden

Thought I’d better get out before the arrival of Dave 💨.

Pr Tufted Duck, 6 Canadas, 2 Common Gull & 4 LBBG.

3 Chiffchaff, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Jay & 6 Blackbird at Ogden.

2 Curlew Hunter Hill. 2 Chiffchaff at Mixenden.

Soil Hill Top

A short afternoon session brought more birds than expected.

6 Lapwing, 3 Curlew, 5/6 Meadow Pipit, 1 Blackbird & a Linnet. 

A Dullard was in one of the shallow scrapes.

Quite a few Butterflies knocking around too.

Cold Edge Dams To Mixenden

A cold day with grey skies and a nasty wind but it was rather rewarding.

A Pink-footed Goose was near Haigh Cote Dam busily feeding alongside a couple of Greylags 👍.

2 Oystercatcher 🦪, many Curlew. Pr Tufted Duck. Pr Stonechat, 4 Linnet, 3/4 Meadow Pipit, 1 Kestrel.

A large flock of Starling were busy flying around settling for a couple of minutes then off up into the sky again. I estimated roughly about 800 birds seen.

A Leucistic Greylag had a backup leucistic cow in a field.

A Chiffchaff let a few notes out at Mixenden then packed it in.

Ogden Water To Mixenden Res

Back to my usual haunts on another wintry day. No gulls at all on Ogden but a dozen Herring on Mixenden.

Singing Chiffchaffs: 1 at Ogden lower car park, another at the golf course sheds. 2 in the woods at Mixenden.

A Nuthatch singing at Ogden, 3 Blackbird. 2 Robin.

A Curlew at Stod Fold.