Queensbury South

A really cold morning. You won't believe me but when people spoke the words were frozen in cartoon bubbles before dropping to earth 😉.

Littlemoor Park: 1 Bullfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 5 Redwing, 6 Blackbird, few Goldfinch, couple Chaffinch & Robin. Usual Tits and we must not forget the psychotic GSW.

Less activity out in the open fields. 5 Mistle Thrush, 3 Goldfinch ditto BHG. 1 Pied Wagtail and a Rook among quite a few Crows,  c200 Starling.

Still I remain unadulterated by Falco Tinnunculus.

Horton Bank Swan Lake

Taken on a mobile bone by Sheila on Friday 29 Jan.

Soil Hill To Mixenden

Another rock bottom session.

Soil Hill: Blackbird, Dunnock & a Robin all on the sheltered If extremely muddy Ned Hill track.

Ogden: 2 Herring Gull, Jay, Raven over > W. 2 Robin & oh who cares.

Mixenden Res: Eeeewwww.

 

Even the Elsewhere location has become mundane. Barn Owls, plural.

I've always rated myself as a second rate birder but I've taken it down a notch today; end of January and I still can't claim a Kestrel.

Queensbury South

Woodland types provided this mornings interest while the fields provided depression.

Littlemoor Park: singles or small numbers of Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue & Gt Tit, Dunnock & Robin. 1 Song Thrush seen well as it sang loudly while a Mistle Thrush was singing in the distance. A total of 12 Blackbird in bushes or on the deck.

The GSW is still hammering away on the snare drum with the odd crack at the timpani.

Just 1 each Meadow Pipit & Pied Wagtail  plus 4 BHG in the surrounding grasslands.

Around Queensbury North

Again the exercise value far outweighed the birding. Soil Hill was barren so that's a blank I can claim if I ignore a Crow I heard.

15 Fieldfare & c200 Starling were down Taylor Lane.

12 Common Gull & c80 Starling were in Old Guy Road where a distant Mistle Thrush was heard singing.

Ogden to Mixenden

A very cold bright moaning. The walking was enjoyable in the majority of birdless patches while the birding was reasonable in the one patch they were in.

Ogden Res: Numerous small gulls. 6 Goldfinch, 1 Jay, 9/10 LTT, 1 Stock Dove. A few Gt & Blue Tit, couple Chaffinch.

Mixenden Res: least said the better.

DW: Sunday Walk News

Soil Hill - nothing doing.

Taylor Lane: c12 Fieldfare, 1 Mistle Thrush ditto Little Owl & a couple Stonechat.

Ogden Res: Kingfisher & 1 Red Grouse.

Ogden to Mixenden

Cold and mainly dry with a couple of sleet showers

The walk was worth it at the expense of the birds.

Ogden was full of small gulls. The Goosander were still present. I think the woodland birds were trialling extinction; a pr of noisy Jay being the exception.

Mixenden Res: 1 f Goosander & several gulls.

Elsewhere: Barn Owl, plural.

Ogden Downpour

It's been a long while since I got this soaked and I hope it's even longer before I take another shower with clothes on.

There were enough birds around to make it bearable, just.

A pr Goosander, 2 Jay, 1 GSW. 1 singing Mistle Thrush. I got my first Kingfisher of the year on the W bank.

1 Greenfinch & 8/9 Siskin as per BS of 19th Jan. A mobile Tit Flock included 6 LTT.

Gulls were greatly reduced to c25 small species. 

I couldn't face Mixenden for more deluge delight.

1 Owl lifted the spirits but not half as much as I'll lift a bottle tonight🍸👅😄.

Ogden to Mixenden Res.

A really poor start.

Ogden Res isn't worth mentioning apart from a female Reed Bunting preening. 

Mixenden Res: 1 each Tufted Duck, Goosander & Goldeneye, all drakes. The latter didn't hang around for the photo shoot.

Tyto Alba, Singular, in the usual place.

There was a heavy Police presence in Clough Lane. I told them I was a wanted man 😁, they replied " I doubt it mate" 😢

A Walk Around t'Top End

As anticipated the birdin were reet sparse. I didn’t need the binoculars at all as no Passerines were around apart from a few House Sparrows.

8  Lapwing, Jackdaws & Crows. 1 LBBG & several small gulls.

Last but certainly not least 1 LEO.

Queensbury South and North

Trudged through the Snow and Ice today where the views outweighed the birds.

The GSW was hammering away yet again in the Park with a singing Mistle Thrush nearby.

Very small numbers of Blackbird, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Starling, Tits & a couple of Robin.

DW fared a bit better in the northernmost part of the Parish.

Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Meadow Pipits & 4/5 Stonechat a bird I have yet to encounter this year.

Ogden to Mixenden

Very poor birding. The walking was good.

Ogden: Sparrowhawk, Jay, GSW, Meadow Pipit, Bullfinch & Gulls.

Mixenden: Numerous gulls including Herring.

17 Dogs 

Other: Barn Owl.

Wherelse But The South?

Having got bored with smashing my skull against the ceiling I took advantage of the thaw and went sliding and walking through and around the park.

Goldfinch were the prevailing bird; I came across 3 patches of them including one in the trees across the road from the house.

There wasn't much else doing apart from a notable observation on the track skirting the lower golf course.

Flood water has created a large almost knee deep pond. I was stood preparing to circumvent when a Snipe flew over the nearby wall and dropped therein. It took a couple of steps, had a sip of water then flew off. The views were close up; Bins unnecessary.

The GSW is still hammering away. Others include 4/5 Chaffinch, 4 Blackbird a few Starling & 1 each Meadow Pipit & Pied Wagtail

Queensbury South

Icy Cold morning; it was the same when I stepped outside the house but the skies were bright and sunny 😁 A Mistle Thrush was singing from the trees out back.

A slow start in Littlemoor Park: 

1 Greenfinch ditto Nuthatch, few Goldfinch, several Chaffinch & Blackbird. The GSW still drumming a la Keith Moon (WHO? you well may ask).

The adjacent fields proved interesting. A male Sparrowhawk has my thanks for causing 18 Fieldfare & c36 Starling to flush. A solitary Lapwing was seen hereabouts along with a Pied Wagtail & a Pheasant. Another Mistle Thrush heard calling.

Cross Lane produced a solitary Snipe (not the Solitary Snipe 😞). I rediscovered the Fieldfare along with 7 more Lapwing a couple of  Meadow Pipit ditto Rook and a few BHG.

Ogden and Mixenden Res

No big gulls on Ogden Res this am and not too many small 'uns either.

A Sparrowhawk in casual flight at treetop height was being tracked by a Crow.

Got my first Siskin of the year along with Reed Bunting & Grey Wagtail.

Also 2 GSW, 1 Nuthatch, 3 Blackbird.

Mixenden Res proved of some interest despite it being generally quiet.

A huge 2CY Gull in flight had all the hallmarks of Larus Marinus aka Great Big Bad Gull. If only there had been LBB/Herring present on the water for size comparison when it settled.

1 Cormorant & 2 f Goldeneye also 1 Jay.

1 Barn Owl seen today in that 'elsewhere' location.

Today's Aborted Trip

A large patch of thick sheet ice persuaded me to retrace my tracks and return home with bones still intact today. Thus the bird tally was rather low but 2 interesting critters entered the annual list.

5 Chaffinch, 2 Blackbird, 3 Meadow Pipit, House Sparrows, many Common Gull and this rather attractive statuette.

A Common Snipe was seen in flight.

Garden Birds

These two great shots were taken by DS recently.

Queensbury South New Years Day

Littlemoor Park and adjacent fields. Species recorded (Birds): 26

Black-headed Gull (5)

Blackbird (5)

Blue Tit

Canada Goose (2)

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch (4)

Collared Dove (2)

Common Gull (1)

Goldcrest (1)

Goldfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker (1) Drumming loudly

Great Tit (3)

Greenfinch (2)

House Sparrow

Lesser Black-backed Gull (1)

Long-tailed Tit (4)

Magpie

Meadow Pipit (3)

Mistle Thrush (2)

Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) (1)

Ring-necked Parakeet (1) Bird calling loudly, my first record of this species at this location

Robin (3)

Sparrowhawk (1)

Starling

Woodpigeon

Wren (3)

I tried being clever with a .PDF download from BIRDTRACK, reckon I'll stick to old familiar posts from now on.