Rare Visitor to Fleet Lane

DW and Mrs W were walking in Fleet Lane, Queensbury this afternoon when a loud deep call overhead caught the attention of Mrs W. It was a very large corvid indeed - a Raven! There was a Carrion Crow accompanying this bird, thereby indicating the size difference. The experience got better as the Raven perched on a roof for a short while with the Crow again remaining close by.

Nice one methinks.

Walshaw Dean and Gorple Area

DP who had a good day locally Thursday afternoon (2 Redshank, ditto Little Owl & LEO) took us up to the sharp end this am for a good slog which turned out to be worth the effort. Moorland birds were very active and we got a bonus migrant which was rather unexpected.

3 chipping Snipe, 4 Red Grouse, ditto Skylark, 8 Oystercatcher, similar Curlew, several Lapwing. 1 f Goosander, pr Greylag, pr Mistle Thrush, 3 Redwing, 5 Blackbird, Kestrel.
7 Golden Plover did a flypast.

A belting Red Kite hung around for 5/6 minutes giving very good views as it dodged 5 mobbing Crows. A very distant large corvid was adjudged to be a Raven and the migrant wasn't the hoped for Wheatear but a Swallow in flight a 100 metres or so below Lower Gorple embankment.

I've received some encouraging news from a trusted source of a probable LSW in Northowram. A Buzzard, few Redwing & a couple of Fieldfare also there today.

Soil Hill to Mixenden

Had a look at RF twas deserted. Soil Hell had a pr Oystercatcher on the E quarry pool, 1 Kestrel and 3 Skylark top field.

Ogden: 1 Lapwing, 2 Curlew, 1 Skylark ditto Grey Wagtail. A pr Tawny Owl called briefly and a pr Greylag flew into a field and then onto the drink. Goosander are now down to one pr.
4 LTT were seen;  one bird was employing Flycatcher tactics from a treetop.

Stod Fold was quiet again just 3 Mipits and a Curlew.
Mixenden Res: 1 Grey Wagtail, pr Goldeneye, 1 Cormorant ditto GBBG. 4 LBBG & 2 Herring Gulls, 2/3 Common also seen. Green Woodpecker heard.

Raggalds to Mixenden Res

Approx 1235 hrs, on arrival at Raggalds Flood there was a runner galloping towards me. He stopped a couple of times to view the water then came closer; it was the Queensbury 200 metres champ DW. "There are two birds out there" he said or similar. Up went the bins and a pr Redshank were revealed feeding busily.

Soil Hill had Skylarks, Mipits, 1 each Grey Heron & Oystercatcher.
Ogden Res was quiet; 1 each Moorhen & Grey Wagtail, 2 LBBG, 5 Goosander.

Stod  Fold was even quieter; a couple Curlew only.
Mixenden Res had 11 Canada, 8 Dullard, 2 Cormorant & a pair of sanity saving Goldeneye.

Queensbury South Environs

1030 start at Littlemoor Park in bright sunshine.
GSW drumming, 4 Fieldfare, c26 Redwing, 9 Blackbird, 1 Greenfinch, couple Goldfinch & Chaffinch, Tits.

Cross Lane area: 1 Reed Bunting, 5 Lapwing, 1 singing Skylark, 2 Meadow Pipit, 3 Pied Wagtail.

Corporal Lane: 4 Canada, couple more Pied Wagtail, Mipit, Blackbird, 1 Greenfinch, c60 Jackdaw.
From here I had the memorable experience of seeing 5 Buzzard circling in close proximity and a Kestrel - magic moments indeed.

No gulls seen today.

Queensbury to Bradshaw Long Route

Departing 0840 hrs via Soil Hell, Ogden Moor, Thornton Moor, Fly Flatts, Withens Ogden Res in a naughty Nw'ly blast. Mistakenly I thought it was Spring so off I yomped full of eagerness and anticipation; this was not the case half way round the journey.
Soil Hill had several singing Skylark with fewer Mipits present. A few Curlew were present on the moorland stretch up to TMR and c10 Go Back yer tw.. Red Grouse were seen.

2 large white and brown duck were on TMR close to a couple of Canada. Shelduck sprang to mind but the diagnosis wouldn't stand up to much interrogation as they were distant and the howling wind prevented steadying of ones binoculars. Then it was windy hell all the way up to Fly Flatts as I turned headlong into the bone numbing blast for 40 minutes.
At one stage I saw 3 walkers up by the Nab and thought what kind of raving imbecile would subject themselves to this meterological mayhem they should be locked up in a divs home 😀.

Fly Flatts was unworkable such was the intensity of the gale. I could see plenty of Canada but apart from a couple of kamikaze Mipits nothing else stirred. By the time I got to Withens it dawned on me that my physical dexterity was still present outweighing my mental athleticism by quite a margin.
3 Lapwing and a couple of Curlew were here abouts.
Ogden Res held a diminished number of gulls: 1 LBBG, 3 Common & 19 BHG. 6 Goosander were seen, conveniently split into 3 pairs.

I had the briefest of views of a Barn Owl which is always welcome but nothing can match the knowledge that drug dealing in the general area is going great guns. The roadside ditches along the Fly Flatts stretch were festooned with expired cannabis plants n roots n pretty brown berries.

Send Some To Me Please

The Guardian: Bulgarians rush to save a phalanx of distressed, frozen storks. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwqce50TY

Ogden Circular Walk

Courtesy of DM along with DW in austere conditions especially up at Cold Edge where NW'ly blasts shook a few of my teeth loose.

Ogden Res sweep 1 from the promenade. 6 Goosander at the far end and several small gulls generally. However it was evident that a number of gulls have now moved on for breeding purposes elsewere.

A Greenfinch, 2 singing Song Thrush, 3 Blackbird, 2 Chaffinch & a Dunnock were seen en route to Mixenden Res with a couple of Curlew calls heard. 3 Cormorant were here with 4 adult LBBG plus several smaller gulls and a Grey Wagtail.

Cold Edge turned up a Pheasant, c26 Meadow Pipit, 2 Lapwing, 18 Golden Plover, many Canada and a small party of Starling.

From there via the Withens it was desolate so we did sweep 2 of Ogden at the northern end to get closer views of the Goosander, now reduced to 5 individuals. A Long-tailed Tit was spotted before a Treecreeper was seen next to the path by myself. Within a minute of this DM shouted in a manner that had DW galloping back to his vantage point and I'm pleased to say a further 3 'creepers were counted by the daring duo.

Ogden Res to Mixenden

After spending the weekend climbing the walls I decided it was time to exit the house and climb snow drifts. Lucky me I only encountered 3 moderate ones but I reckon it added to the exercise value of the session. Sadly the avian value was minimal with just a few birds encountered.

Ogden was comatose; pr Goosander, 1 Herring Gull, usual scuzzers & 1 Bullfinch.
2 Mistle Thrush were at Stod Fold with a Curlew or three calling nearby.

Mixenden Res had 1 each Cormorant & f Goldeneye. Also a couple of undetermined large gulls owing distance among the smaller sp. & Canadas.

Sheffield and Barnsley

Courtesy of DW. Along with DM we went to Graves Park hoping for LSW. Nonsuch materialised but some minor compensation took place in the form of a Ring-necked Parakeet first heard calling a number of times before being seen in flight.
Also present: 3 Nuthatch, 2 GSW, 1 Little Grebe. Several Tufted Duck.

Old Moor RSPB: Kestrel, Grey Heron, Goldeneye, Redshank, Yellowhammer. c8 Reed Bunting, similar Tree Sparrow, c10 Greenfinch, c12 Pochard similar Gadwall, numerous Tufted Duck, several Shoveler, Teal, Wigeon. Other woodland species and many birding visitors.

Soil Hill to Mixenden

SH -1005 hrs in a cold NE'ly. 1 Kestrel, 2 Lapwing, few Skylark & Meadow Pipits, 2 Chaffinch.

Ogden- rather interesting inasmuch as woodland birds are concerned. Song Thrush singing, 2 Coal Tit. A pr Nuthatch  inspected a nest box at least three times; pity I was slow with the camera.

A LTT was on a feeder but legged it soonish when a superb male Sparrowhawk came out of nowhere leaving empty hand talonted. 😏. Surely it could have dislodged one of the two Tree Rats also on the feeders? 3 Curlew and a Raven were flying around Back Lane. The usual scuzzers were on the water.

11/12 Curlew were mainly at Stod Fold with a couple venturing to and fro Hunter Hill also a Green Woodpecker here.

Mixenden Res had the f Goldeneye, 2 Cormorant ditto Moorhen and many gulls on it. A few of the latter were of a size but I couldn't be bothered sorting out owing to the plumage phases. Also many Canada and dullards.

Queensbury Garden Action

Hi Nigel,

Female Siskin again this morning which looked like a bird on a mission-ate very well, drank, left. Perhaps a different bird to the February one which looked more heavily-marked on the back. No sign of either of these birds or the male during the snowy weather. It brings the tally of bird species feeding in the garden up to 30 for March

It turns out that there were 3 Song Thrushes in the garden-there were disputes!
Some of the Stock Doves seem to have perfected the circus routine.

I've been after a flight shot of the white crow for ages. This is as near as it gets so far. Interesting to see the state of its feathers.

The species-feeding-in-the-garden tally is up to 30 for March, including Sparrowhawk which would make -1 on the Blackbird count, Treecreeper once, a pair of Bullfinch daily.  However no ringed birds or Brambling and the conspicuous absence of Nuthatch.

For an out-of-garden-experience, I heard a Green Woodpecker in the park  area on Friday.

Happy hunting,
Denise

Thanks Denise, don't be surprised if you see my ugly mug frightening 'em all off within the next few days. NK

Soil Hill

Approx 1015 hrs in a mild E'ly breeze.
4 species getting it together namely Lapwing - 2 pair, Grey Heron - 1 pr ditto Moorhen & Grey Partridge. The latter also constitutes my first of the year.
1 Curlew was on the N slope while 4 Meadow Pipit & c12 Skylark were around the top field. Blackbird, 3 Pied Wagtail & a couple Chaffinch also present.

Grey Plover Soil Hill

At approx 1200 hrs on the west side of the top field a Grey Plover in full breeding plumage took flight calling loudly a number of times. Yippee! Also 2 Skylark.

Ogden Res was subdued as normal. Redwing, Song Thrush singing, Nuthatch ditto. 4 Curlew floating overhead, 1 Stock Dove.

A Raven put in a few appearances on Hunter Hill belching loudly. 10 Curlew & 2 Stock Dove were in an adjacent field to Mixenden  Res which held 1 each f Goldeneye & Cormorant and uggins of Gulls & Canadas.

Stainland Walk

Courtesy of DW along with DM as adjudicator.

Pr Buzzard, Kestrel, Grey Wagtail, several Goldfinch & Greenfinch, pr Jay, Green Woodpecker, 3 GSW, 7 Mistle Thrush, similar Redwing & Blackbird, several Lapwing, Grey Heron.

Local Walk

Soil Hell 2 Skylark, 1 Kestrel.

Ogden Res 5 Herring Gull & 4 LBBG, Nuthatch, Bullfinch. Several Chaffinch.

Stod Fold 5.Curlew, 1 each Green Woodpecker, Kestrel, Skylark & Reed Bunting. Few Goldfinch.

Elsewhere 1 LEO.

Queensbury Stock Doves

Hi Nigel,

I checked back to see when  Stock Doves started to come into the garden and got back as far as 2010 when a couple came in. Since then the numbers have built up and we've had 20+ a few times this winter. One individual with a damaged leg has been coming in since 2015.

I also discovered that the white-headed Blackbird, which has been around again this winter, has been coming since 2014. Of the 34 Blackbirds the other day, only 3 were females.

Denise

Thanks Denise, I'm particularly impressed by the symmetry of the 5 doves shot.

Denephew NK

Storm Driven Thrushes

Lots of Thrushes in the garden today: 34 Blackbirds at one point, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing and 3 Fieldfares.

                                     

I was envious of DWs Fieldfare the other day; we rarely get them here. Still envious of the perfect light because our birds came in in blizzard conditions, as you can see!

We also had a maximum count of 28 Stock Doves yesterday. 
Denise

Thanks for the news and impressive photos Denise. Knows what you mean about DW, talk about a jammy bast fellow.
Your Stock Dove count is through the roof; I reckon I've had one and it wasn't in our locality.
NK