Usual Local Trek Catch Up

Ogden Water on Wednesday was so poor apart from the Pied Flycatcher that it put me into an ultra negative mood and as the Mixenden stretch was equally mind numbing I didn’t see any point in recording whatever it was I saw 😓.

Today Friday, I braved Soil Hill top. The W’ly breeze made its presence felt and all I saw were singles of Swallow, Skylark and Crow! About 10 LBBG and a couple Herring Gull were following the machinery excavating the N slope bottom. Pied Wagtails appear to have bred in Coal Lane.

Ogden coughed up a soaring Buzzard and a distant Curlew. 3 Blackcap were singing loudly but the Piecatcher has Flied 😂. Numbers of LBBG slowly built up during the session. A single Swallow seen.

Mixenden produced 28 Canadas. The ever present Whitethroat and a Pied Wagtail carrying insects. A spirit lifter was a pr House Martin showing strong signs of nesting 👍.

Cold Edge Dams

Only on arrival at Wainstalls did I hear about yesterday’s tragic drowning at Leadbeater Dam via a text message.

On the return leg I was informally interviewed by a couple of BBC reporters who wanted my input on the area in general and how to access the waters edge.

The birding was just about satisfactory given the heat. A Redshank should get itself employed by a reputable Alarm Signals Manufacturer. 5 Curlew heard.

1 male Stonechat wasn’t too happy about my presence.

1 Whitethroat 1 Pied Wagtail ditto Meadow Pipit. A singing Reed Bunting. A Kestrel doing the rounds.

6 WW 1 Chiffchaff couple Greenfinch plenty of Starling and at last pushup I managed 3 Swallows.

Soil Hell To Mixenden Via Ogden

Time I accepted I’m too old for this long haul now. I ran out of energy will and muscle power on completion.

However it had its moments particularly at the first and second venues 😄.

After clocking 5 Lapwing 3 Curlew and a couple Skylark on Soil Hill I heard a stop you in your tracks call. I focussed on the appropriate area and was rewarded with another call a few yards away before seeing a small wader take flight. 

Twas a Little Ringed Plover! 😛. I’m fairly sure the last pair I saw here was back in 2010.

Also a couple of Whitethroat and WW present in the greenery.

At Ogden Water the Pied Flycatcher was in full song once again and this time I got a glimpse of it from the W track 👍. 3 Curlew heard in the distance. 2 drake Tufted Duck on the drink and the Grey Heron laid out full length on the shoreline.

A Grey Wagtail had a beak full of insects at Mixenden. Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff ditto WW and the Whitethroat 🎵.

Abandoned Session At Ogden Water

The winter weather persisted and then I encountered another issue that caused me to abandon the walk.

The gate at the start of the promenade which takes you along the E path is locked.

This is due to hard core material being laid down on the surface and is expected to take at least a week.

To take a circular walk around use the gate at the W side and after turning right around the N end you have to use the woodland path to get back to the Car Parking area.

The birds were almost non existent.

Horton Bank Country Park

Not good. Hirundines and Gulls absent. Just the regular locals.

1 Grey Heron. Canadas with young. Coots and Moorhens down to a couple each.

On the bright side the Mute Swan nest that I feared for on my last visit is still there in the precarious location still intact and occupied.

1 Whitethroat, 2 each Chiffchaff & WW. Loudly singing Song Thrush. 

Ogden Water To Mixenden

Another grim unSpringlike day but despite the wind I managed to keep my Toupee in place. Kicked off at Ogden with a pair of Bullfinch my first sighting in almost two months.

A few Singing Warblers were in Diminuendo. A Song Thrush did make its presence felt. 3/4 Swallows knocking around. I got the butt end of a Tit sp. disappearing into a nest box. Small party of Goldfinch heard.

A single Herring Gull flew around and an Oystercatcher flew over my head calling before landing on the N end of the E shoreline. One Grey Heron working the W shoreline.

A Skylark on the golf course and a Curlew further up Hunter Hill. Green Woodpecker near Mixenden Res which sported a few Swallows, couple of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat.

Windy Cold Edge Dams

Winter still with us eh? The very fresh N’ly blow made the first half of the trek up to the old ruined house dull however things picked up on the return leg.

1 Wheatear, 3 very noisy Stonechat, 5 Linnet.

5 Curlew, 1 Redshank. An Oystercatcher heard briefly.

Pr Tufted Duck.

A pr of Lapwing in a field busy with Canadas and Greylags.

1 singing Song Thrush, 6 Blackbird, 4 WW, 8/9 Swallows.

A few scattered Meadow Pipits.