Light rain and mist in a very fresh SW’ly blow that wasn’t great for walking but it did provide good birds to start with at Cold Edge Dams. On the top road down to Mixenden it became milder but the birds ground to a halt with Skylarks being the exception.
The Dams: my first Wheatear for the year, a male. Couple Pied & 1 Grey Wagtail. 5 Stonechat in a tight bunch on a wire fence. 1 chipping Snipe, 3 Lapwing & plenty of Curlew.
I got my first Red Grouse in approx 18 month perched conveniently on a trackside wall. A pr 🦪 Oystercatcher we’re close by in a manicured garden field. Also 1 Tufted Duck, 5 Canadas, couple Greenfinch & a few Meadow Pipit.
A long uneventful trek after this (1 Green 🪵 pecker on the deck) down to Mixenden Res which by now was millpond calm and devoid of water birds! 2 Chiffchaff in the woods.
