Queensbury Bramblings

Hi Nigel,

3 different Bramblings here in the past week or so after being absent since January. Chiffchaff singing somewhere south of us yesterday afternoon. 

Denise

Good Job Denise, given the weather forecast for this next few days they may stop to breed 😉

PS

A Siskin and 2 Brambling dropped in at approx 1320 hrs today

Soil Hill to Mixenden

SH 0915 hrs. Several Mipit, a minimum of 16 Skylark, 8 Lapwing, pr Oystercatcher. House Sparrows are doing well. Peacock Flutterbye.

Ogden Res: very quiet with only a handful of small gulls on the water. 3 Chiffchaff, drumming GSW, singing Nuthatch, Curlew over. The Raven put in an appearance before returning to Hunter Hill. Stopped for a natter with Mr & Mrs DJS.

7 Curlew at Stod Fold. A single Linnet was heard at Hunter Hill my first for the year and a very late bird. A Reed Bunting also present.

Redshank still at Mixenden Res which also had 1 Cormorant. It was dead calm here and not a single Gull was present. The trees sported a Nuthatch, 2 LTT & a few Siskin.

Swillington Ings

Courtesy of DW. Annuals for the year: 1 Wheatear 1 Cettis Warbler. 2 mebbe 3 booming Bittern, c30 Sand Martin. A record for both of us was 11 Black-necked Grebe showing fairly well given the distance.

Above photos NK; this one DW

We got 6/7 PFG but even with the help of a trooper from the 42nd Great Preston Telescope Regiment we couldn't nail the Tundra Bean Goose.
The hordes of Wildfowl included 7 Goldeneye among the Greylag, Canada, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Pochard, Shoveler & Teal.
A single Shelduck was seen contrasting with a nightmare plague of BHG.

Others: c10 Chiffchaff, 7/8 Reed Bunting, 1 Redshank, numerous Lapwing, several Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Song Thrush.
DW got good views of a Weasel giving a lift in it's jaws to a Mouse.

Cromwell Bottom

Courtesy of DP on a warm bright Spring morning. The fun started as soon as we got out of the car with a pr Buzzard performing overhead giving very good views. Minutes later we were privileged to see a gathering of 6 Grey Heron in trees.

The sound of singing Chiffchaff pierced the air throughout the walk. We probably got 6 birds but I'll settle for 5 happily.

A Kingfisher put on a great show both in flight and perched. At one stage the bird was on a branch a good 25 foot above  the river.

Others: Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Bullfinch, Redpoll (heard only) & usual woodland types. We had a glimpse of a Water Vole sized rodent as it ran across the riverside path directly in front of us.

On the way home we did a tour of Swalesmoor which turned out to be rather quiet but we did get close up views of a pr Grey Partridge.

SW'LY Vacuums Up Well Good

Slipped up at Raggalds Flood; there was a Lapwing on it!
Soil Hill had similar birds to last visit minus Kestrel; the Grey Partridge pr showing even better. There was an unid waterfowl sp. on the far bottom pond.

The gusting SW'ly really did the number on Ogden Res. All the Geesander have gone and the Gulls too bar two; singles of BHG & Common were seen.

Land improvement is underway in the field at the back of Brook House. An excavator is ripping out rocks and earth in the juncus field. Auf Wiedersehen Snipe, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Bunting und gesundheit.

Couple Curlew up Hunter Hill with a m Reed Bunting singing at the bottom.
Mixenden Res too has been almost cleared of birds just 2 Common Gull, Moorhen, 2 Canada on the drink.
However I did relocate the Redshank and I got my first Chiffchaff of the year singing briefly.

Grouse Roots News 🤓

Halifax Evening Courier: Yorkshire Water 'to review future' of Calderdale grouse shooting moors. https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/environment/yorkshire-water-to-review-future-of-calderdale-grouse-shooting-moors-1-9661419

Soil Hill to Mixenden

1125 hrs I would have included Raggalds latrine in the title but again there was sod all there.
I fared better on the Devil's Dung Heap even nailing a first annual sp.
1 each Grey Heron & Kestrel, 2 Curlew, 5 Lapwing, c16 Skylark,  several Mipit. The Ned Hill conifers sported Blackbird, Coal Tit & Goldcrest. Just a bit further on in the rough were a pr Grey Partridge.

Ogden Res: 2 LBBG among the smaller Gulls. Goosy Goosy Sander now up to 9 birds; methinks frogs maybe the magnet.
Woodland sp. noisy - singing Mistle & Song Thrush. A Siskin was heard but no migrants yet. Curlew now established beyond Back Lane albeit in small numbers.

The stretch from the Mixenden styal produced 2 Curlew, chipping Snipe, f Reed Bunting, Raven & Mistle Thrush.
The reservoir was particularly quiet apart from 2 Rottweiler crossbreeds that insisted on slobbering and slurping all over my hands and knees. Still they did flush a Redshank so I'll live with the snot.
Just a Grey Wagtail was the only other bird worth a mention.

Raggalds to Mixenden

After another non event at Raggalds Flood (this place would make a third rate pessary launderette) things picked up a lot for the rest of the walk no doubt in part to the absence of the mind bending series of gales recently endured.

Soil Hell: 6 Skylark, 10 Meadow Pipit, 1 Snipe, 2 Curlew, 3 Common & 1 Herring Gull. A f Kestrel was chased briefly by the Herring and 1 Common, evading them with ease.

Ogden Res: 3 Curlew, 1 Fieldfare, 5 Goosander, 1 each Grey Wagtail, Moorhen & LBBG, 2 Song ditto Mistle Thrush, 4 Blackbird, 1 each Bullfinch & Goldcrest.
9 Fieldfare & 2 Redwing plus a Jay were at the golf course.

The stretch from the golf course coughed up a distant calling Raven, 3 Curlew, 1 Mistle Thrush. There were 1 Cormorant ditto Moorhen and a pr Goldeneye on Mixenden Res with a Song Thrush & 4 LTT choosing the drier option.

I was stopped on the way home by a pair of Green Woodpecker holding charity tins marked "Save Our Woodlands" Of course I bought a Yaffle Ticket. 😂 Muuuuhahahaha

Raggalds to Mixenden

Another toupee gone for a Burton in the howling gales and a few loosened teeth to boot.
RF 1025 hrs pr Dullard, Crow, 5 Starling.

Soil Hell excelled itself; not a single bird but it's good for exercise and mental agility. I mean if it weren't for that evil mount I would  think myself as psychologically well balanced and bye gum that is not acceptable.

Ogden Res: pr Herring Gull ditto Goosander. What a boring stretch of H2O this is.

Stod Fold produced great views of a Little Owl both perched and in flight. Also a few Goldfinch here.

Mixenden Res was fairly lively; 1 Cormorant, 4 Canada, 8 Herring Gull, 1 LBBG, pr Goldeneye, 5 Goosander & 4 Tufted Duck comprising 2 pr m & f.

I likes a Larf I does

https://youtu.be/jiUFPjulTW8

Cold Edge to Mixenden

Cold Edge was jumping with birds mainly in and around the one favoured field at approx 1100 hrs. 3 Barnacle & 2 Greylag along with c140 Canada Goose, several Lapwing, Jackdaw & small gulls sp.

Other welcome waders were a pr Redshank, 1 Curlew & a pr Oystercatcher. Also 3 Tufted Duck and a plague of Starling were here.

A Fieldfare was heard then seen atop a tree down the road apiece at Wainstalls.

Mixenden Res: 1 Cormorant, pr Goosander, pr Goldeneye, Herring Gull, 4 Canada. A very distant black n white drake can be whatever it wants; I just couldn't get enough on it, although I thought Tufted.

Low Moor Dams

Another quiet session; this place is really nose diving when compared to previous Winter/Spring time visits.

Had a pr Goosander over > E at Shelf Moor on the way down.
3 Herring Gull ,similar count LBBG on Harold Park Lake. 5 Tufted Duck, Coots & Moorhens.

Park Dam had 1 GCG & 2 Little Grebe, 8 Tufted Duck, pr Mute Swan, 23 Canada, C's & M's. Best of the bunch I suppose were a very active pair of Grey Wagtail.

For some strange reason the 5 Blackbird I encountered at both locations were in a state of torpor; all resting on grass and reluctant to fly.

Last and certainly least 8 piles of Dogshit on the pavement going down Brighouse Rd; makes one feel really proud.

Don't Get Many Of These In Queensbury

https://youtu.be/RXTouG6eS3c

Soil Hell to Mixenden

SH in a howling gale and very cold to boot. There were three living beings up there all having one thing in common namely impaired mental  function. The other two were a Meadow Pipit & a  Skylark.

Ogden Res; 1 Herring Gull, pr Goosander, couple distant Curlew, Bullfinch & usual dross.

4 Curlew were at Stod Fold.
Mixenden Res held 2 f Goldeneye, pr Goosander,  1 Herring Gull & 2 other sub adult job big uns among the smaller sp. 6 LTT in the trees.

Queensbury South Short Version

4 Blackbird, Starling flock with a few Goldfinch & Redwing thrown in. 1 GSW, few BHG.
2 singing Skylark, 13 Lapwing, one of which was displaying. 4 Snipe.
Good to see the White Crow is still providing a ghost like spectre to Littlemoor Park.

Soil Hill to Mixenden

Approx 1030 hrs a quiet start with an interesting finish.
SH: 2 each Pied Wagtail & Skylark. 1 each Grey Heron, Kestrel & Mipit.

Ogden Res: 2 singing Song Thrush, 1 Lonely Black-backed Gull, pr Goosander, 1 drumming GSW & the other muthas. 2 Curlew distant.

Hunter Hill bottom throbbed some; 3 Curlew, 14 Fieldfare, c140 Redwing. I heard a bizarre call about 7 times like a honking Goose but with the timbre of a Bittern boom. I'll let this one go; psychiatrist fees mount on a daily basis.

About 15 minutes after there was one definite kronking Raven heard while I was walking around Mixenden Res which held:
1 Cormorant ditto GSW, 2 Moorhen & 6 Goosander.