Brighouse Rd Bad Time For Baby Birds

Nature is red in tooth and claw with no room for emotion but I’m not exactly jumping through hoops at the two discoveries I made around my house this week 😏.

This fledgling Greenfinch was in the road today and on Wednesday I found a drowned fledgling Thrush sp (I think) in my back yard.

Horton Bank Country Park this am was wet cold and unexceptional 😕.

Pr Mute Swan, 1 each Herring & BH Gull along with 6 LBBs. Moorhen are back into low double figures including young uns. Usual other residents and 1 each Blacbird, Blackcap, Chiffchaff & Song Thrush.

Nothing To Do With Shooters Then?

Flu hits breeding rate of UK's largest bird of prey

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66051875 

Ogden Water To - Forget It

I fell victim to the misleading grey clouds and not so high temperature this morning. I overlooked the humidity factor and at one stage came to a grinding halt as I reached the promenade 😔.

4 BHG & 2 LBBG on the water. A couple Grey Heron on the W shoreline. 1 Jay, 1 Curlew over > W. 1 Swallow ditto Whitethroat.

5 WW, 3 each Blackcap & Chiffchaff, couple Linnet 3/4 Goldfinch.

Mixenden was appalling. A Lonely BBG dropped in and immediately flew off. Couple Blackcap & Chiffchaff.

Windy Cold Edge Dams

The W'ly gusts blew several Linnets around including fledglings. A good number of Meadow Pipits went through the same process. 5/6 Reed Bunting also very active.

3/4 Swift, 6/7 Swallow.

The pr Common Sandpiper were flying around as if possessed but lucky me got them when they perched on a wall 😀. The Oystercatcher was busy collecting food. 3 Lapwing were idling and in the much wider area 7/8 Curlew  were very noisy.

3 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey Heron, pr Greenfinch, few Goldfinch, 2/3 WW.

Cold Edge To Ogden Area

Hard work this am with a SW’ly not doing any big favours. Dispersal was evident, the best example being a juvenile Wheatear up beyond Haigh Cote Dam. A couple Linnet families present also Reed Buntings & Goldfinches.

1 each Common Sandpiper. Buzzard & Curlew. Barnacle Goose with Canada as is the norm. Pr Tufted Duck and WWs.

I did the top tree line of Ogden where Tree Pipits formerly bred. It was chronic 😔. Not a sign of any migrant whatsoever.

Just 1 Grey Heron by the water with 6 LBBG & a BHG on it.1 each chuckling Green Woodpecker a GSW & Grey Wagtail.

Soil Hill To Ogden Water

Soil Hill top only. I was amazed to see how the flora has mushroomed 😅. The track by the radio mast being almost covered with bushes and some saplings.

3 Whitethroat (1 earlier heard at Mountain). 2 Pied Wagtail one carrying insects & a Skylark. 1Kestrel a couple Swallow.

Ogden Water was quiet. 3 Grey Heron, 10 LBBG, 1 BHG. 4

Swallow were perched on overflow railings but a phone call meant I had to leave and forget photographs.

1 each Buzzard Blackcap & WW.

Busy Cold Edge Dams

What a difference a W’ly wind maketh. There was a 15 minute period of mayhem up the top of the track by Haigh Cote Dam. Two groups of birds were flying or flitting around the Hawthorn bush and often dropping into the small ditch there.

I identified a female Whinchat and concluded a family had been blown down from the higher ground. 5 Stonechat were more evenly spread as were a family of Reed Bunting.

1 each Little Grebe, Grey Heron & Oystercatcher. Pr Common Sandpiper ditto Tufted Duck. 3 Curlew. 1 LBBG ditto Pied Wagtail. 6 Goldfinch similar Swallow.

Ogden Grasshopper Warbler

Finally I got a decent migrant 😁.  Grasshopper Warbler reeling from long grass among bushes just below W shore of Ogden. LBBG are back, 12 of them on the favoured W stoney shoreline.

Pr Meadow Pipit together with another individual carrying food. Usual 2/3s of WW, Chiffchaff & Blackcap.

A pr of Canada with 4 recently fledged.

Mixenden had 4 LBBG but not for long. Perhaps the 16 🐕 had some bearing? 1 loud Blackcap less so WW & Chiffchaff & a pr Swift.

Hard Castle Craggs Abandoned

Intended to do a circular from Arty Farty Bridge but two issues caused cancellation - the utter lack of bird variety and the distance. So on reaching Cow Hill Lane top I retreated.

Never has it been so poor; not a hint of Spotted

Flycatcher nor Redstart. To think I’ve also had Wood Warbler & Pied Flycatcher here a few years back.

3 Oystercatcher flew around calling briefly. 1 Swallow only 🤕. 1 each Jay GSW & Green Woodpecker.

1 Song Thrush, 2 Blackbird. 3 WW ditto Chiffchaff & 4 Blackcap couple Goldcrest.

Not a single waterside species e.g Wagtail seen or heard throughout 😵‍💫.

Quiet Cold Edge Dams

Most waders other than the pr Common Sandpiper have dispersed; not a single Curlew to be heard 😕. The Sandpiper  pr were busy searching for food.

2/3 Stonechat led me a merry dance up the track I suspect they have a second nest going. 3 Reed Bunting, 4 Linnet, 1 Little Grebe ditto drake Tufted Duck.

The Barnacle Goose was stand alone, well separated from the Canadas. Pr Stock Dove, 1 WW, several Swallows 3/4 Goldfinch.

Soil Hill To Mixenden Res

 

A slog in the hot sunshine (no complaints!) that was patchy for bird sightings. Soil Hill was the most productive with Ogden being the venue where one was most likely to throw optics into the oggin.

A pr Sand Martin were flying around the bottom pond for some time. 

1 Lapwing, 3 Skylark, 2 RLP, 5 WW, 3 Whitethroat ditto Swallow. It was most encouraging to get a pr Greenfinch the male singing loudly. I found a freshly dead Mole it’s head had been chewed off.

Nothing worth a mention until Mixenden surprisingly. c50 large gulls on the Res. 2/3 Herring, the majority were LBB I can’t determine any other species cos of heat haze.

3 Swift were whizzing around noisily.

Busy Cold Edge Dams

When I kicked off this am I thought it would be a quiet walk. Wrong 😑 it turned out to be most satisfactory 🙏.

1 Little Grebe, 8 Tufted Duck, a pr of noisy agitated Common Sandpiper.

What really made the session was the unusual sight of a WW persistently harassing a Stonechat of which 6 were present. It chased it a good 70 yards had a rest on a gate then had another crack at it.

3 Reed Bunting, 1 Skylark ditto Oystercatcher, 3 Lapwing, 5 Curlew, several Swallow including a juvenile. 1 Stock Dove & a couple Linnet.

The Blue Tit nest was visited by an adult carrying goodies but one fledged bird lay dead in the road below.

Horton Bank Country Park

'Orribly quiet. The main lake is dirty brown now which might explain why the majority of Moorhen have departed, only one bird seen. The shallow small pool to the south is clearer and several fish believed to be Roach were seen.

3 Coot, pr Mute Swan, Canadas. 1 LBBG left quickly. On the bright side I am pretty sure Greenfinch have bred in the vicinity 😃.

A Sparrowhawk flew swiftly past me but I could see it had small prey in its talons.

3 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackap, 2 WW, Collared Dove, Woodpiggies yawn.

My Views On Raptor Persecution

Springwatch has aired this subject recently on TV. It will always be a problem because Money Talks.

The Grouse Moor Landowners pressure the gamekeepers into killing the Hen Harriers Buzzards or Goshawks. 

The RSPB team and possibly others, bless ‘em, manage the odd prosecution of the gamekeepers. 

The Grouse Moor fat cats don’t get touched because they go to the very top RSPB management and similar bodies, with offers of donations subscriptions etc. Should this approach fail they then approach the Government with the same offers. Catch my drift?

A solution would be to ban Grouse Shooting? See the piece above on Money Talks. Oh let’s not forget People do like to kill creatures for the Fun Of It!

Ogden Water and Queensbury

The date says June the weather this am insisted sorry mate it’s March so appreciate the cold E’ly breeze.

Nothing exciting at Ogden but arboreal species were noisy and active.

2 Mistle Thrush one being a juvenile. 1 drumming GSW. Usual migrants singing in small numbers.

A GC Grebe on the water and a prowling Grey Heron feeding on small fry. 3 LBBG didn’t stay long. An Oystercatcher over NW.

A Curlew called at  Carrs Beck where a Reed Bunting & a couple of Meadow Pipit were seen. 

Elsewhere a Barn Owl.

This Lamb is potentially Buzzard and Raven fodder. It allowed an approach up to 4 yards away and when it stood it clearly had back leg problems. Within moments of my departure it plonked down again.

Finally I managed Swift for the year; two flew high over Brighouse Road on my arrival home. This compliments the 3 House Martin I got from the back yard on Monday evening 😊.

Cold Edge Dams

It's getting somewhat Doldrumish now but I still managed to scrape some interest out of the session 🙂.

The Barnacle Goose showed at distance in with the Canadas.

4/5 Curlew provided the most noise; three Lapwing were practically silent 🤫.

A juvenile Stonechat provided photo opportunities.  A Reed Bunting was heard. Pr Linnet 3/4 Goldfinch similar WW, 3 Swallows.

1 Oystercatcher feeding. 1 LBBG overhead. 8 Tufted Duck 1 dullardling 🐥 alone so that’s a meal for any predator sorted.

The Blue Tit is still using the nest hole described in my last visit outside of no. 9. Also a pr Collared Dove & several Meadow Pipit.

My next venture is Opium production 😂

Doe Park To Soil Hill

Not a lot to Crow about this time although a few Caaawvids were about 🤓.

A Curlew & 2/3 Sand Martin flew over Denholme Clough.

The Garden Warbler is still singing merrily. 3/4 Blackcap 2 Whitethroat & 6/7 WW.

Only a Herring Gull & 2 LBBG on Doe Park Res.

Others: 2 Grey Wagtail ditto Swallows. 1 GSW ditto

Song Thrush.

Soil Hill: 3 Lapwing, 2 of them really cheesed off with my presence.

Couple Goldfinch 3 Skylark 4 WW 1 Whitethroat few Meadow Pipit. Brief flight view of a Partridge sp.

Ogden Water To Hell

Thought I’d have a post lunch session and arrived in wall to wall sunshine but not very warm. Not much pollution from people at all which is good 😊.

A Mute Swan adult flew in and stayed the course of my session about 50 minutes. This was a mover having full physical ability. I got some good views but can’t say if it was sporting leg rings.

5 LBBG 2 Grey Heron and a few Common migrants in the woods.

2 Grey Wagtail were at the Brook near Brookhouse. I think juveniles.

A pr of Meadow Pipit were at Carrs Beck one carrying food.

Mixenden Res was horrific 🥸. Scores of mainly teenagers there including scumsuckers playing Rap music on the E bank it was still loud on the W where I trod. Get real you lot and listen to Eddie Cochran - he’s Something Else 😅

Walls torn down access ways blocked and some rectal swab started a fire.

Cold Edge Dams Goody

The morning was more like March 1st - Grey Skies low temperatures and a malicious E’ly breeze. However it delivered the goods in the shape of a wader I haven’t had locally for some years. A Whimbrel called loudly from the fields opposite Leadbeater and Haigh Cote Dams 🤪 👏.

A pr LBBG were busy scouring the fields to the north and a pr Curlew were flying around calling loudly (good comparison calls for the a/m). About 5 others in the wider area.

9 Lapwing 1 Common Sandpiper ditto Grey Heron. 5 Tufted Duck 9 Greylag several Canada with young. 7/8 Goldfinch 2 Swallow ditto Reed Bunting.

Should Messrs Shearsmith and Pemberton stumble across this literary shambles pse note I saw a Blue Tit enter a hole in a rusting old metal fire alarm with food and there it stayed.

The alarm was situated on the wall Outside No 9.