Soil Hell To Ogden Water

Why has somebody extended the height of the hill from Hades by another 600 feet 😵‍💫. My first forage down and up the N slope this year and I certainly knew about it.

Good to see some Perambulator has removed the bucket and heavy stones from the illegally blocked Perseverance Rd entrance 😀. Bad to see another suchlike left the wooden gate at the Quarry Top wide open 👎.

Had a brief chat with JL on the barren stony top before my descent into misery.

Pr Grey Partridge, 3 Curlew similar Skylark. Got about 5 notes 🎶 out of a Whitethroat at the hill bottom. 

4/5 WW in song throughout.

Ogden coughed up another short singer; a Blackcap.

Also a  Chiffchaff & a drumming GSW. 5 LBBG were on the H2O.

Cold Edge Dams To Mixenden

Via Ogden Water making it a long somewhat unrewarding trek 🙄. Cold Edge: 5 Tufted Duck, 1 Swallow, 6 Willow Warbler.

The Curlews had quietened down. 2 Lapwing 1 Oyster 🦪 catcher. 3 Reed Bunting & a few Meadow Pipit.

A single Skylark heard en route to Ogden which was ghastly apart from another 6 WW & a Chiffchaff singing.

A single drake Tufted Duck on the water.

MixenDeadEnd had nothing on the water at all. 

1 each singing Chiffchaff Green Woodpecker & Song Thrush.

Can’t wait for my freshly ordered Knitting Needles and Wool Pack to arrive 😏.

Cold Edge Dams To Mixenden

A dry bright but cold windy session. Nevertheless I clocked some good birds from start to finish 😊.

The Dams: Pr Oystercatcher, 1 Lapwing. Pr LBBG. A pr noisy Redshank flew the length of Haigh Cote. In the opposite field I espied a female Wheatear.

Curlews were back in good numbers calling regularly. Pr Pied Wagtail and the m Reed Bunting noted.

Cold Edge Rd coughed up 1 each Raven, Kestrel & Stock Dove.

A miracle occurred halfway down Hunter Hill 😜. I saw my first Little Owl since Pterodactyl roamed Queensbury High Street.

A GBBG was on Mixenden Res as was a Common Gull 👍. Two Chiffchaff singing again.

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.