Raggalds To Mixenden

5 Canada on Raggalds Flood. 6 singing Skylark, 3 singing Chaffinch and 2 Roe Deer at Soil Hill.

4 Fieldfare over > W at Ogden which also had the usual Coal Tits etc. The Kingfisher showed well again, a GSW called.

1 LBBG & a few small gulls on the drink plus a pr Goosander ditto Canada.

Stod Fold had a pr Mistle Thrush and a very dicey boggy patch.

The bottom of Hunter Hill produced a daytime Tawny Owl.

3/4 minutes after taking these record shots a flash hailstorm drove a Curlew from nearby Hunter Hill giving me very good views.

Mixenden Res held a pr each of Goldeneye & Goosander plus 2 Cormorant and a solitary Moorhen. The Gull community consisted of numerous small birds and a few big 'uns incl one adult Herring and others of varied ages.

On departure a couple more Curlew bubbling calls were enjoyed.

Horton Bank CP

I gave the country park the once over from 1000-1100 hrs. A canoe would have been a good idea but I made do with the heavy waterproof boots around the submerged and squelchy footpath.

4 Moorhen were often having furious territorial squabbles. Coot numbers hovered around the 10 mark and 1 Little Grebe was heard and then seen briefly. A bunch of Canada & 1 pr Mute Swan were also present.

Visitors consisted of 3 Goosander (2f, 1m) & 12 Herring Gull. 2 of the latter were adults the remainder ranging from 2-3CY birds. Several BHG were the support act.

Woodland birds were sparse: a couple of LTT in among Blue/Gt Tits, 1 Chaffinch, 4/5 Woodpigeon. Magpies seemed to rule the roost here with several seen flying around 

Ogden To Mixenden

1050-1225 hrs in better conditions than the one I tried last Saturday which wasn't worth a mention. Today at least the walk was mostly pleasant even though the birds weren't exactly in lumps.
Ogden Res: Blackbirds & Robins predominant; 6/7 of each counted. A Great Tit was inspecting a nest box, couple of Coal Tit seen. This tree succumbed to the gales but it wasn't an obstruction for long as the woodcutters were on to it just after I took the photo.

c17 small gulls on the water, 7 of the being Common. 2 adult LBBG & 2 pr of Goosander present. One of the drakes was giving a sporadic breeding display but I skillfully missed the photo shoot.

The walk from the promenade to Mixenden Res produced 3 Meadow Pipit, 1 Mistle Thrush & c18 Redwing. There were several small gulls present and c12 large birds, one of which was an adult LBBG. The remainder were all at distance and I didn't have the time nor inclination to wade through the various sub-adult phase plumages. Also 2 Cormorant and a pr Goldeneye performing.

A Day At The Seaside

Teesside precisely courtesy of DW who picked a winner with some great birds on show.

Motorway Buzzard & Red Kite at Wetherby on the trip up.

Lockwood Beck: 4 Siskin, 2 Treecreeper ditto LTT, few Coal Tit, Mistle Thrush, Blackbirds, usual woodland sp.

Redcar: 17 Purple Sandpiper, 4 Turnstone, c45 Sanderling. In with the Purple Sandpipers was a single unexpected wader that looked rather like a Little Stint. However after some doubt set in we subsequently realised it is a Winter Dunlin.

Photo: DW

Photo: DW

The Boating Lake roost had a large number of Knot with a lesser number of Redshank thrown in.

Cowpen Bewley: Several mixed Sparrow species; Tree outnumbering House. Marsh Tit & mixed Tit Flock incl a few Coal & LTT.

1 Yellowhammer & a couple of Reed Bunting.

Greatham Creek: c25 Curlew, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Egret, 9 Shelduck, several Teal, numerous Wigeon. Also c26 Big Fat Sausage Seals.

Things tailed off at Hartlepool Jewish Cemetery; 1 Skylark, 5/6 Shag, Herring Gulls.

Saltholme: 16 Stock Dove, 5 Greenfinch (a belated annual for me), 5 Gadwall, 4 Pochard, similar Tufted Duck, Shoveler, large Greylag flock overhead & a pr Stonechat. 1 Kestrel doing the rounds on the aptly named Kestrel Trail.

Several Lapwing, more Curlew & Oystercatcher seen throughout each location and another 3 Red Kite seen over the motorway on the journey home.

Catch Up

Ogden Res Friday 14 in the morning. Another rubbish windy day just like all the subsequent days have been with the news that there is more to come. Certainly nothing special worth mentioning, just the Kingfisher and 5 Goosander - 2 m & 3f.

DW braved the winds at Keighley yesterday and got the Waxwings recently reported.

Ogden and Mixenden

Courtesy of DP on a better day than the weather persons did forecast.

Ogden was busy but we still managed a fair session: 1 Kingfisher ditto Treecreeper, GSW & Song Thrush for starters. 

We had good extended views of a Sparrowhawk circling followed by a personal annual tick, a Grey Partridge. 

Chaffinch and Tits also seen plus a couple of Blackbird.

Mixenden Res: 2 pair Goosander & 2 pair Goldeneye, 1 Cormorant plus a few small gulls. The woodland was very quiet apart from a singing Chaffinch but hey if you like mud get in there!

Low Moor Dams

1100-1210 hrs in cold windy conditions with frequent hailstone squalls. It was so bad that one blast from the west blew earwax out of my left lughole only for it to be blown back through the other one on the return leg. Would I lie to you?

Harold Park: 3 Mute Swan, 9 Canada, 11 Tufted Duck, 4 Moorhen, several Coot. Numerous small gulls and 14 LBBG incl 2 adults. Also 5 Blackbird, 1 each Collared Dove, Dunnock & Robin.

Park Dam: 1 Cormorant in the middle showing extensive white on head and neck. c39 Canada, 15 Tufted Duck, 3 Little Grebe, 3/4 Moorhen, c12 Coot. Just a few small gulls seen here; no large birds.

4 Blackbird, 5 Redwing, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Fieldfare, 1 each Robin & Wren. Caaawvids and House Sparrows common at both venues.

Soil Hell To Mixenden

Thought I'd best get out before storm Ciara gives us a reet paggerin tomorrow.

SH 0945 hrs 3 singing Skylark, 1 LBBG upstairs, 1 each Dunnock & Robin.

Ogden Res: 1 each adult LBBG over & a 2CY Herring Gull plus the small jobs. 3 Moorhen ditto Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Grey Wagtail. The trees had quite a few birds singing incl. a number of Chaffinch, 4 Goldfinch, 1 Nuthatch & Tits.

The Kingfisher showed a couple of times, once in flight then perched in the usual W shore bushes. I managed to get a photo but also loan my binoculars to a couple of interested young ladies for a few minutes at their parents request.

Things died down big time from the promenade right across to Mixenden Res which held 2 f Goldeneye, the usual small gulls & 1 adult LBBG plus a couple more undetermined big jobs. The failure to id was down to distance and immature plumages.
4 Cormorant were present one of which had a 85% white head, prompting possible Sinensis. However I couldn't clinch the gular area criteria so I'm not reporting it as such on Birdtrack. Also a Grey Wagtail present.

Gull Harasses Innocents In Whitby

Queensbury South

0935-1100 hrs in alternating calm, mist, sunshine, mist then wind. Not a bad session all told; parkland birds were singing their heads off and the adjacent open fields provided a couple of goodies despite being quiet in the main.

Littlemoor Park: c20 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 4 Blackbird similar Goldfinch, plenty Blue & Gt Tits, couple Robin, 1 Dunnock.

Open fields: c15 Woodpigeon, 1 Herring Gull > W. A Skylark sang a couple of times and I got my first Snipe of the year. Also 1 Wren, 2 House Sparrow & a few Caawvids.

Redcar Tarn II

Courtesy of DP who wanted a crack at the Caspian and Iceland Gulls; who was I to refuse a second helping? Quickly disposing of the downside; the Iceland failed to show by the time we left at approx 1210 hrs. However both the 1cy & 2 cy Caspian Gulls did show up. They tended to switch from the fields to the lake and back again frequently with no rhyme nor reason.

Also present were numerous Lapwing, the Tufteds and of course several Herring & LBBG including this sorry individual who looked like it had been through the wars.

The pr Oystercatcher were still at Leeshaw Res along with 2 Cormorant and a drake Goosander plus a big pile of Jackdaw.

Ogden Res To Mixenden

1055-1245 hrs. Strong ghastly gusting W'ly wind which didn't blow anything in but blew plenty out at Ogden Res. There were just a few small gulls present & 1 adult LBBG.

Woodland types down to the Tit Flock & 2 Robin. Kingfisher working the usual West Bank bushes.

Hunter Hill bottom held 1 Goldfinch & 4 Roe Deer (mmmm tasty).

Mixenden Res did better with 3 Cormorant, pr Goosander plus 1 Goldeneye m & 2 f present. 2 distant large gulls among the small gulls & a couple of Goldcrest.