Mixenden and Walshaw Dean

Courtesy of DM & DW.

DW Spotted distant large white blobs on Mixenden Res at approximately 0950 hrs while driving so we stopped to view the 8 Whooper Swan there. 

Also several Canada & 4 Goosander present.

Walshaw Dean & Gorple: 2 Kestrel, pr Teal, 1 Stock Dove, 4 Crossbill, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, numerous Lapwing, few Curlew. 6 singing Skylark, c12 Fieldfare. 10 Red Grouse.

A highlight here was provided by 3 Peregrine flying from a plantation screeching and chasing one another in a matrimonial/territorial dispute.

Queensbury to Mixenden

Hard work at times both due to long periods of avian absenteeism and the fact I put one too many layers of clothing on for today's very warm temperature for February.

Skylark singing at Foxhill with another 6 on Soil Hill.
3 Rook at Raggalds Sportsfield  (yer can go months without seen this species).

Ogden was tearjerking just 1 m & 2 f Goosander worth a mention.
A pr each Dunnock & Reed Bunting at Lower Brockholes and 3 Mistle Thrush with 4 Redwing at Stod Fold.

Mixenden Res: 1 f Tufted, 4 f Goosander, 1 each Cormorant, Grey Wagtail & Moorhen.
4 Canada, many Dullards & Dulls.

Low Moor Dams

I never expected this venue to be as poor as this morning's visit given the Springlike conditions. It's as thought the warm weather drove birds away rather than drop them in.

Harold Park: 8 Tufted Duck, pr Mute Swan, many small gulls, few big gulls incl. 1 adult Herring, the rest being sub adult phase jobs. 3 Greenfinch, 1 Jay.
Park Dam: 4 Tufted Duck, 3 Little Grebe, the rest not worth mentioning 🐲 🔨
Ooeerr, I just remembered I had the bizarre experience of hearing a 4 second burst of calling PFG and not seeing them because of Leylandii blocking my view 🌳 🤓

A Skylark was singing at High Cross Lane.

Soil Hell & Ogden Res

Courtesy of DP.

Soil Hill: 7 Skylark.
We had a long stroll around Back Lane and the reservoir; both areas were jumping with human activity so we had to accept it was going to be a low bird tally.

Back Lane: 4 Red-legged Partridge, 1 distant calling Curlew, 1 singing Song Thrush, pr Stock Dove.
A pr Goosander were on the water.

Grey Wagtail over the back field on return home.

West Vale Circular Walk

Courtesy of DW along with DM, today's walk included Copley and Sowerby Bridge incorporating river and canal bank sessions along with much more lumpy terrain. We had a very good count of 7 Nuthatch all singing birds and it was almost a pleasure not to see a single gull species.

Also seen: 1 each Buzzard and Raven, the latter circling and kronking over Copley. Pr Jay, 1 Sparrowhawk giving good views. 2 Dipper, 1 Grey Heron, 8 Goosander, 2 GSW ditto Song Thrush, 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 LTT and other woodland denizens.

Raggalds To Mixenden

Raggalds: c50 Common Gull on the football pitch. The flood field water is disappearing fast.
Soil Hell was just that; windy cold and grey, no need for binoculars at all
At approx 1100 hrs the Sun came out at Ogden as did the half term hordes. Along with 1 LBBG there were 3 Teal, 2 adult drakes and a female.

The trek across to Mixenden produced 6 Curlew at Stod Fold and a calling Little Owl nearby.
There were 6 Cormorant on the reservoir one of which introduced a fish head first to it's digestive tract. The f Goldeneye & Goosander were still present however the latter was seen in determined flight later on and may have gone. Quite a few big but sub adult phase distant gulls among the smaller critters & 1 Moorhen.

Queensbury South

Not quite threadbare with one notable example of migration but on the whole less than exciting.

Littlemoor Park was quiet: Song Thrush, few Blue & Gt Tits, 1 Greenfinch, 4 Chaffinch.

Cross Lane Bog: 10 Snipe, 6 of which took of from a patch of short grass just some 20 metres from the roadside entrance. Also a singing Dunnock here.

Lanes Corporal and Green produced c50 Jackdaw, 19 Common Gull, 1 Blackbird, c80 Starling and a calling Green Woodpecker. House Sparrows were vociferous at Hillcrest.

Therapy Music For A Cheesed Off Birder

Soil Hill to Mixenden

A slightly more productive outing than my two afternoons trips on Tuesdays and Wednesday to Ogden. These were so insipid the core strength of the insipidness quelled any anger to the point I couldn't even post any moans and groans.

Soil Hill: 2 Skylark, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Robin.
Ogden: 1 LBBG among the hordes which included a BHG sporting an unreadable silver ring on the right leg. The remaining leg was unadorned.
.

You got some missing bling; must do better.

Woodland birds were very vocal and I saw a member of the genus Turdus that did press ups and squats in between song bursts; it was a Strong Thrush.

The stretch from Ogden to Mixenden was brain cell death with nothing to show. I did think a Little Owl was calling but it was too brief to claim with conviction.

Mixenden Res provided a personal site record of thirteen (13) Cormorant. A f  Goosander and f  Goldeneye were also seen. A Nuthatch was calling loudly from a tree near the metal gates used by the canoe/kayak club.

Soil Hill and Ogden

A definite touch of Spring today.
Soil Hell: 1 Snipe ditto Meadow Pipit & 2 singing Skylark.

Ogden Res: pr Greylag, 6 Canada, 1 Herring Gull. Stonkers of the day were 2 drake Wigeon even though they hogged the reservoir middle.

Also GSW, singing Song Thrush & a BHG with only one and a half legs.

This bird could still scratch the left side of it's head with the stump; I can't do that even with the full mashings 😁 

Apologies to Milton, Shelley and Shakespeare

Here is a poem I composed and gave to my girlfriend nigh on 24 years ago. She recently discovered it while cleaning and sorting a cupboard out and forwarded this photo to me.

It reads:

Northern skies scowl down on a land barely blessed by the springtime sun.
Bold March winds weave meadows into angry tapestries of green.

From this portrayal of the seasonal shift a sound thrills my heart; bubbling trills flow, like a musical stream over stones.

The Curlew is back!

Dappled creams and browns fight those brooding skies; the wind cannot halt this heralds passage.

Moments pass, the bird flies up the valley. But, the spirit awakened is now strong and look!
Isn't that life I see before me?


Nigel Kerwin 
14/4/95

Northowram and Shibden

The Little Owl is back in situ at the usual Northowram site.
Also this morning through shibden valley and the back roads of northowram got 2 buzzards kestrel 2 fieldfare 👍 half a dozen redwing nuthatch and a gsw. Not bad for a two hour stroll.

DM

Some Recent Expedition Birds

Watch Out For Scuzzers

Halifax Evening Courier: Stepping up patrols at Ogden Water after dangerous animal traps found at beauty spot. https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/stepping-up-patrols-at-ogden-water-after-dangerous-animal-traps-found-at-beauty-spot-1-9570373