Cromwell Bottom

A poor morning; plenty of 🌲 trees 🌳 & trees. Hardly any birds at all.

4 Goosander, 2 Cormorant, 1 Mute Swan and a mix of gulls.

Ended on a good note; bumped into DM and had a natter 😊

Soil Hill To Mixenden

Very hard work with very little reward, especially the hill from Hell 👹. The Tawny Owl 🦉 peered at me from it’s favoured haunt; I moved on quietly and quickly. Only other stuff up there a Blackbird, couple passing gulls ditto Crows.

The Ogden Buzzard put in a brief appearance but nothing else did.

Two adult LBB stood out a mile. They were jet Black not a very dark grey. I consulted Gull Research and they certainly looked more Fuscus than Graeslii. A couple adult Herring also present and their smaller cousins.

A drake Goosander stood out from the gulls on Mixenden Res.

Quiet Swillington Ings

A lesson learned, I hope I remember never to come here again. I would love to blame the Royal Society For The Prevention Of Birding but the facts are it was simply a no show. Vast amounts of nothing doing 😭.

3 Curlew ditto Shoveler. Pr Goldeneye, 6/7 Goosander. 9/10 Pochard & similar Gadwall. Around 80 Wigeon & the Tufteds. A Kestrel, a Reed Bunting & 2 Cettis Warbler.

Ogden Water Whoopers

A welcome txt from DJS got me out of my torpor and making steps towards Ogden late morning.

I arrived at noon 🕛 to see 4 Whooper Swan 🦢 settled near the west shore before moving around the reservoir sedately. 2 Adults & 2 Cygnets.

3 Greylag Geese splashed down with 5 seen flying around on my departure. A pr LTT were my first of this year. A Moorhen was also present.

Soil Hill To Ogden Water

A real slog down and back up Soil Hill for very little to show😳. Tawny Owl a couple Pheasant & a handful of distant gulls.

Ogden was less arduous of course but still poor for birds. The Buzzard put in an appearance but otherwise woodland birds were keeping out of it. Plenty of gulls including Herring but I couldn’t find a LBB.

Low Moor Dams

19 Lapwing in the field by High Cross Lane on the way down ~ gone are the days of 70 plus birds.

Harold Park Lake was shrouded in mist which lent itself to the spectacular event of some 1200 gulls on the ice. I could only confirm 1 LBB among the horde which had a fair few Herring mixed in.

3 Goosander & 32 Tufted Duck also present as were 3 Mute Swan.

Park Dam too had a load of gulls but I am convinced this was a splinter group of the a/m as they all left before I myself did a runner.

A good species for this location was Greylag Goose, 10 of them alongside the c50 Canadas. These too disappeared before I left.

I was happy to get my first Little Grebe of the year. A GC Grebe was also swimming around. Another 12 Tufted Duck, a Grey Heron that I startled (apologies) & 2 Mute Swan. Of course Coot & Moorhen were at both sites.

Cromwell Bottom

A Cold frosty day in brilliant sunshine. The feeding area was crowded with birds and Clickerati.

🌰 Hatch. Assorted Tits, 🐂 Finch. Robins, Dunnocks, Chaffinchs. Couple Jay & Blackbirds seen throughout.

c20 Cormorant, c14 Tufted Duck. Loads of Gulls both large and small sp. 2 Grey Heron, 1 each Grey & Pied Wagtail ditto Goosander.

I was fortunate to conclude with a 🎣 Kingfisher.

A Power Cut Demotes Birding

A Major Power Cut struck Brighouse Road today and lasted for several hours. Fortunately some of us are not all electric and have gas as a standby. My sympathy goes out to those who struggled e.g. the housebound and disabled, homeworkers who couldn't work and families with young children. Such an event really puts everything into perspective, well, for some of us at least.

I managed to visit Littlemoor Park then the surrounding fields and finally Horton Bank CP. Not a great deal going on really. Two Mistle Thrush and a few Blackbird in the park along with a Nuthatch. The fields coughed up a Pied Wagtail.

Horton Bank didn't have any visitors at all so I took the opportunity to shoot some residents. Hope I don't get incarcerated for that.

I'll be glad when the white filth goes but I do accept it's better than the incessant rain of recent weeks.

Ogden To Mixenden Again

A challenging trek but thankfully not too much of the white filth on the deck.

Ogden Water: usual gulls, shame about the absence of winter wildfowl. (Mixenden Res was the same).

Plenty of noise from a loudmouth gobshite who was probably looking for lost brain cells.

Now let me thi…Oh yes birds. Not too many as usual. A Nuthatch around the feeder which also had a couple of Coal Tit ditto Robin there. 1 GSW ditto Bullfinch & 9 Blackbird throughout the circuit. 

Just 2 Meadow Pipit seen near Stod Fold.

Let’s forget Mixenden, it’s better for my sanity.

Quiet Ogden and Mixenden

Let’s start with the oft used line: today was mainly of exercise value.

Ogden Water was quite, what a surprise 🥸. One each Tawny Owl & Kingfisher. A Bullfinch, Robin & couple Blackbird. A fair few small gulls on the oggin along with 3 Herring.

A few Goldfinch at Stod Fold. Usual crowd of Jackdaw near Mixenden Res which had numerous gulls present. Quite a few Herring but only 1 LBB & the small species. A pr Blackbird and that was it.

Heavy Plastic Use For Tree Planting In Calderdale

Letter to The DEA.
Dear Sir or Madam

Calderdale Council in Halifax West Yorkshire planted thousands of saplings on the moorland around Ogden Water and Mixenden Reservoir about 3 years ago.

I have noticed several of the plastic protection  tubes scattered around the area and potentially there will be all the remainder left to pollute the land in years to come.

Are there any steps to resolve this huge problem in place to your knowledge and is it yours or Halifax Council’s responsibility?

Name and address supplied.

Ogden Water and Mixenden

Not a rocking start in the wind and rain but it ended satisfactorily. Ogden was dire until the final 10 minutes or so when I got a pair Bullfinch. As I promenaded,  the Kingfisher flew up from the embankment and sailed close by my noggin. It then flew low over most of the water > NW. Also 4 Blackbird.

Nothing out of the ordinary on the way to Mixenden where once again it was a non event until again the final chapter when a Treecreeper crept up a tree. The grand finale came when a pair of Ring-necked Parakeet flew over the frog n toad calling twice 😀.

Horton Bank Country Park

No time to spare today so I slotted in 35 mins here and it turns out thats all I needed. Usual residential crowd of Coot, Dullard, single Mute Swan & Moorhen of which I counted 16.

3 Goosander - 1 m & 2 f. Several BH & 4/5 Common Gull.

2 Herring Gull, a 2CY & a very interesting looking 4CY which allowed a relatively close approach. No time for photos I’m afraid.

Raggalds Mixenden Again

Started off OK then the will to live plummeted on par with a certain royals popularity 😾.

Raggalds Flood was deserted but there were about a dozen small gulls on the sports field. 

The bottom of Perspiration Rd was busy with c70 Fieldfare scattered widely. Also here: 1 Kestrel ditto singing Mistle Thrush.

More Fieldfare around the Soil Hill track and a few gulls incl. LBBGs.

A Buzzard was being chastised by Crows at Ogden then it really crapped up 💩. Nothing else worth a mention and Mixenden was blank again except for a Moorhen and the gulls.

A crumb of comfort on arrival home; a crowd of Goldfinch in the trees across t’road.

Raggalds To Mixenden

What a terrific morning; yeah right 💩. 3 BHG only on Raggalds Flood. No matter, Soil Hill was rocking: 1 each Meadow Pipit & Pheasant also Dunnock & Wren. A Kestrel & a few Gulls. 😾

The plantation Buzzard showed well. Ogden Water was putrid - a Goldcrest. 2/3 Blackbird.

At Carrs Beck were a Kestrel and a Buzzard which I took to be the same birds seen previously.

Stod Fold held a dozen Fieldfare & 11/12 Canada. 

Mixenden Res nearly done me head in - a pr Greylag Geese had the audacity to show up 🥸.

Yup it’s time I took up metal detecting ⛏️

Just Awful

Best part of a really disappointing session was c25 Lapwing and a similar no. of gulls on the Raggalds sports field.

Ogden Water: 4 Teal.

Mixenden Res: a few gullls.

😾

Queensbury South 2023

The first bird of the New Year for me was a singing Dunnock in the back yard, this was followed by a Wren.

Littlemoor Park was surprisingly livelier than expected; a pr noisy 🌰 Hatch both seen and a singing Mistle Thrush heard. Apart from the usual Tits & Chaffinch a pr Bullfinch stood out.

The adjacent fields proved more of a challenge, indeed the path down to Shelf Moor was almost barren save for 7 Meadow Pipit & a Herring Gull. 

🆙 Briggus Road we’re plenty of BH & Common Gulls. 

c60 Jackdaw seen, a pr Rook also Crows n Maggot Pies 🥧.