Doe Park Visitor

My records showed I hadn't been to Doe Park for quite a spell so off I trudged. It started off quieter than expected but within 7/8 minutes of arrival at the bottom end of the reservoir improved rather more than somewhat. 

Presumably, the same recently reported Osprey loomed up over the distant main bridge and hung around for 10/11 minutes. It managed to catch a fish; I hope it enjoyed it far more than I do these abominable photos.

Other birds: 1 Raven ditto Grey Heron. 2 Grey Wagtail, 3/4 WW, few Goldfinch, couple Meadow Pipit. 1 Sparrowhawk.

DP turned up and took us to Hewenden Res to see if it had gone fishing there; it hadn't. A Mute Swan, c13 Lapwing, c500 small gull sp. & a few Swallows were present.

Cold Edge to Illingworth

 Quiet in the main, the trek salvaged by 2 Whinchat flitting about a recently mowed field.

Also 1 WW, 2 Dunnock, few Swallow & Meadow  Pipits. 3 large gulls overhead.

Nothing until Lane Head where c22 Goldfinch and a dozen Swallow were seen.

I tried and boy was it trying 🥸.

Cold Edge to Carrs Beck

A very pleasant morning; warm, sunny and calm. Cold Edge Dams: 3 LBBG similar BHG. 1 Stonechat, 3 Wheatear and the bird I’ve been waiting for; 2 Whinchat. Also c20 Swallow, 2 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, Kestrel & few Meadow Pipit.

The slog from Withens was quiet, just a couple WW. Carrs Beck was equally deadly but my instincts told me to check the stile fencing. Voila! The avian spirit Stonk Orama planted a Redstart to feast my 👀 on. ‘Twas too distant for the camera of which I didn’t possess the strength to lift.

At Cold Edge there were 3 Fritillary butterflies, I have enough rudimentary knowledge to be certain of this. What I don't have is the expertise to say which species; I can possibly eliminate a couple but that's it.

Local Trudge

SH: almost a blank, ruined by a pheasant.

5 RLP in Back Lane. 

Ogden Res: 2 Cormorant, c13 LBB & c20 BH Gulls. I thought I was having a bad day but I got a guy onto a GC Grebe which gave him a year tick 🥺. A Dipper was in the far end of the embankment over flow. 1 GSW which wasn’t,  also 😅.

A Green Woodpecker at Stod Fold. 6/7 Meadow Pipit & 8/9 Swallow at Carrs Back.

There was that much nothingness at Poxenden it left no room for anything more 🤓.

Like Calderdale On A Bad Day

Weather Warm and Sunny with a breeze from ENE. Previous species seen today but only newbies a Buzzard and Pied Wagtail. Overall inertia lead to a real shit show 💩 hopefully a final nail in the coffin of this totally waste of life hobby and I can indulge in a career of Spot The Honest Politician 😰😁

Coastal Caper to Conway

 Tuesday 24 Aug. Coastal walk down to Conway. Tide well out on way down.

3 Little Egret, 2 Wheatear, several Oystercatcher.

There was a good Sanderling presence with a few Dunlin thrown in. Ringed Plover behaved reasonably well, c11 birds seen. 1 Rock Pipit.

On arrival at Conway I was greeted by a host of Redshank and a Turnstone. A resting GBBG kept an eye on me and I have to sort a wader out that showed only it’s rear end.

Tide high on the return stagger through the dunes. c16 Sandwich Tern, 5/6 BH & a couple Common Gull plus the usual horde of Herring.

I have a few decent to good photos of some birds but yet again I have been duped by the person who sneaks my camera out of the bag when my attention is elsewhere, takes some crap shots then puts the blame on me 😞🥸.

Llandudno

Sunday 22 Aug, arrival day. Shorefront before dinner. 1 LBBG among hundreds of Herring. 7 Oystercatcher, 1 Goldfinch & numerous Jackdaw that have grown accustomed to people. Also 6 Cormorant.

Monday 23 Aug. A circular slog around the spectacular Great Orme.

c150 Oystercatcher, several Shag, few Fulmar.

Overjoyed to get 4 Chough. 6 Raven & 1 Peregrine.

Sizeable Linnet flock, several Goldfinch. 1 each Wheatear & Rock Pipit. Stonechat family.

After lunch things got very Queensbury like despite plenty of shoreline on the estuary. I had a last gasp effort and managed 5 Great Big Bad Gulls, 2 Sandwich Tern, 3/4 Ringed Plover a flock of c16 Dunlin. An initial problem with  suspected Sanderling turned out to be an autumn plumage Dunlin, the Swine 🥸.

Also 5 House Martin & a Whitethroat.

Crapstone to Shiteholme

In a mild southerly breeze. The title says it all; 4 species including Dullard.

Crapstone 2 Wheatear. Shiteholme 4 Wheatear, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Crows 😰

Bradshaw to Queensbury

Started off at Taylor Lane thanks to a lift from DW. Nothing doing but a Blackbird a Rabbit and a few Goldfinch. Dave left for home so I decided to familiarise myself with some Bradshaw bridleways. Couple Swallow, 1 Kestrel only so I legged it back to the place where the Devil fears to tread 🥶. 

Old Guy Rd: couple Skylark ditto small gulls & Swallows. A juvenile Sparrowhawk  flapped lazily through gardens atop Fleet Lane. 

Oh well you lose some and you lose some 😐.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday 17th.

Biggest mistake ever going up that bleedin hill from hades. 5 Medder Pipits, 1 LBB & a few BH Gulls. I had to abort due crappy wind and possible senile dementia; I forget to pack some grub. Red-legged Partridge have bred near the radio mast. In addition to the male I saw previously, a female and small chick were present today.

Wednesday 18th.

NW’ly wind and mist still at it keeping most stuff down at Cold Edge - usual birds present plus a Common Gull.

Bumped into DJS, we passed ten minutes or so exchanging tales of woe.

Skirted a quarter of Ogden Res: couple Herring & c13 LBBG. 1 GC Grebe. 2 GSW, 1 in woods. t’other golf course.

I encountered a big but sociable lolloping dog which flushed a bird causing it to fly down Carrs  Beck. Twas a Barn Owl 👍😁.

How do I sum up Mixenden? Crap will suffice 😵‍💫.

Cold Edge to Mixenden

As hoped for the NW'ly wind delivered some decent birds this morning. Cold Edge Dams: Buzzard, Barnacle Goose, Little Grebe. 1 Reed Bunting, c20 BHG & Meadow Pipits.

Golf course & Carrs Beck area: 3 Stonechat with a Dunnock thrown in. Pr Linnet, several Meadow Pipit, few Swallow. 2 calling WW.

A fabuloso male Redstart was on the now almost traditional spot; the fence uphill from the Mixenden stile. It’s hyperactivity prevented me from nailing it with the camera.

Other: several Linnet Hunter Hill bottom where both Green Woodpecker & Tawny Owl were heard. Sparrowhawk Squeakers still at Mixenden where the water was devoid of birds (unless you class Dullards as such).

No Security Guard on duty today, hope that’s the way forward.

Swillington Ings

A real struggle to see much in the first hour but then I got rewarded with 2 great birds that are annuals to boot.

A pr Spoonbill & a juv/female Marsh Harrier. (I have reason to believe these are the Ogden birds 😂🤓).

Also 3 Buzzard, pr Kestrel, few Swift, several House Martin, 1 Sand Martin.

Common Tern still in good numbers. Areas of mud now showing but 2 Snipe & several Lapwing only waders seen.  

Mustn’t forget 3 Little Egret & a Grey Heron plus those I have forgotten 🥸.

Don’t Read This Boring Drivel

Weather forecasters when you state the SW'ly is 8mph for Queensbury admit it really means 18 mph! Thus the scene was set for a really poor day from Soil Hell to Mixenden Crapervoir.

I went through the fields at Fleet Lane to start with: 1 Kestrel, 5 LBBG, couple Linnet ditto Swallow.

Nothing on SH. I did get assaulted by a Weimaraner I thought I was on good terms with 🧐 before reaching Ogden.

37 Canada, 3 Cormorant, 1 GC Grebe and the gulls.

I almost convinced myself I was taking potshots of a YLG right down to the primary tips and mirrors along with the brute head capable of the most painful Gipton Kiss 🤪.

The swine bird then took flight revealing pink legs 🥵.

1 more Herring, c12 LBB & c26 BH gulls.

3/4 Linnet, couple House Martin & few Swallow along the drag to Mixenden which had a GSW, few Canada & 3 BHG only.

Cold Edge to Mixenden

A long slog that at least provided me with an annual that I failed to get last year. In among the many Canadas in their usual haunt was a single Barnacle Goose.

Also 1 WW ditto Reed Bunting & Meadow Pipit. A Buzzard drifted over as did a few Swallow.

Things slowed down over the golf course although Meadow Pipits increased in number. 1 each Raven & Stonechat & 3 WW.

More Swallow plus a House Martin or two at Hunter Hill bottom along with a Linnet pair.

Mixenden was gash.

1 Barn Owl seen.

Sparrowhawks and Woodpeckers

Amazing what a 30 degree shift north in wind direction can do; Soil Hill produced some good birding this am. It was also a somewhat bizarre session in that a pattern concerning two species emerged.

SH: 1 Pheasant. A pr of noisy Raven flying around low overhead. 1 Green Woodpecker on a telegraph pole. 1 Kestrel, Swift & Skylark. Several Swallow, 1 Blackbird ditto WW.

Ogden Res: adult and juvenile Sparrowhawks still noisy.

1 GC Grebe, c20 LBBG & c35 BHG. A reprise of SH; a Green Woodpecker perched on a telegraph pole! I’m so glad I managed photos of these birds, mediocre as they are.

The golf course was poor; couple Meadow Pipit, few Swallow. At Hunter Hill bottom another Green Woodpecker flew into a stand of trees. For the sake of my sanity I presume this was the previously seen Ogden bird moving on.

The woods at Mixenden Res produced 2 more screeching Sparrowhawk. The adult bird was seen in flight. This is simply a case of being a different breeding pair to the Ogden birds, I heard the calls on a previous visit some days back but couldn’t confirm the species.

Security Guard still present around the reservoir. Canoe club on the water and yet again not a single watery bird  present.

Blackstone Edge Whiteholme Walk

 A trek touching upon all 4 reservoirs in a fresh SW’ly that continues to take it‘a toll.

Blackstone proved the best in an overall poor showing. 4 Wheatear, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Skylark, 2 Pied Wagtail & 12 BHG.

2 Wheatear at Whiteholme along with many Canada’s. Nothing at Lighthazzles & 1 Wheatear at Warland.

Usual Route Satisfactory

We won’t mention Friday’s debacle at Blackstone which was abandoned 🌂🌧. 

Soil Hill: exceptionally quiet, just a RLP seen. Ogden Res provided the main interest. Tracking loud piercing squeaking calls I saw an adult Sparrowhawk flying around and brief views of a juvenile in treetops. This went on for about 20 minutes.

4 Cormorant, 1 GC Grebe, c16 LBBG & c30 BHG.

1 each GSW & Grey Wagtail.

Just a Kestrel along with a few Swallows at Hunter Hill bottom.

The Mixenden Res Security guard is doing an exemplary job. Not only are there no people populating the place, there are no birds either - again.

Cold Edge Disappoints

Exercise value only in the main as a SW’ly wind decimated the chance of birds. 1 Mistle Thrush, couple Meadow Pipit and 3 Pied Wagtail only.

Things improved halfway down the golf course. I almost trod on a sheltering Skylark and there were plenty of Swallow plus a House Martin feeding, often just skimming above the grass. A Kestrel flew over and I encountered a Stonechat that kindly posed for photos while alarm calling continuously.

I didn’t hang around too long and no others were seen. Also a pr of Linnet.

I had the good fortune to see 3 Barn Owl sat together in a row.

Swillington Ings

Nothing to write home about again. I may have had a 2 second glimpse of Gt White Regret 😭in distant flight but have to let it fly 😏. I certainly did get 1 Little Egret and a lady kindly told me 2 flew right over my noggin.

1 Kingfisher was the first in quite a while. c250 Lapwing. Plenty of  Badwalls & Tufted. 3 Little and many more GC Grebe.

7/8 Common Tern, few Common Gull & Herring, many LBBG.

2/3 Sedge & a couple WW. 1 Sand Martin couple Swallow and a few House Martin.

Exiting the reserve a Buzzard past overhead from Woodlesford.

Apperently the people in charge of this branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Birds are worried about the lack of Stonechats since Spring. This does appear to be mirrored in the area I squander my life on.

Blackstone Edge & Whiteholme

 I was due a blank at this site and today was the day 👍.

One Common Sandpiper ditto Wheatear at Blackstone along with 2 Pied Wagtail & A bunch of BHG.

This reservoir below Blackstone heading W looks juicy but I reckon could be a helluva traipse.

Whiteholme was poor; 1 Curlew and a juvenile Wheatear plus 3 Pied Wagtail only.

Completing the circuit back to the White House Inn coughed up 1 each of Raven & Kestrel. Also 4 Goldfinch and a 3/4 Meadow Pipit.

I did however break a famine of at least 3 years standing; a female/juvenile Merlin was seen perched on a rock on the way up 😜.

I rescued this Moth from my water butt this am. A friend said it may be a Muslin Moth.

We was rubbish after half time our Maurice

Hit the ball first time, there it was back o’ the net 😂. Then in the second half; woe is me for I am undone 😥, nowt, nichts, nada, zilch.

    

A Greenfinch had the good grace to pose for a picture. 3 Blackbird, couple Swallow,1 Stock Dove and a small flock of Goldfinch.

c25 LBBG, 1 Herring & c80 BHG. 2 GC Grebe that couldn’t be any further apart. 1 female Tufted Duck, 1 House Martin & a female Blackcap giving close views but I was off the mark with the camera.

1 Barn Owl.