Raggald To Mixenden Route

This fawn Roe Deer may have died when jumping a wall then hitting a fence at Ogden Plantation. A few Crows and Magpies were showing interest in it.

Long stretches of silence but overall some interesting birds bagged for the bins 😃.

Raggalds Flood: just 11 small gulls.

Soil Hill: c50 Canada & a Kestrel at the N slope bottom.

A good sighting of a f Sparrowhawk that flew low overhead on the top Ogden plantation track.

Ogden Water: a Kingfisher flew across the drink otherwise just the usual gulls.

Twas really pleasing to get good views of a Barn Owl duo glowing in the bright sunshine 😛.

A pr Teal and a squadron of gulls were on Mixenden Reservoir. A Goldcrest was among a small passerine party in the trees 🌲.

Raggalds Ogden Water Mixenden

Just a single Lapwing this morning on Raggalds Flood along with c28 Common Gull and a few BHG.

Soil Hill top had nothing. c60 Canadas were in the bottom fields.

Ogden Plantation coughed up a Buzzard 1 RLP 7 Pheasant & 2 Moorhen. A GSW was very noisy in the woods at Ogden Water which was very busy with numerous Gulls incl. several Common.

A Raven called a few times from Hunter Hill.

A single Cormorant was on Mixenden Res which also held many Gull including a few Herring.

Horton Bank Country Park

A 45 minute saunter around the lake in well flooded pathways at least gave me the opportunity for some OK and some below par photographs.

I didn't or couldn't be bothered to sort out 5 of the 1/2CY gulls there but can safely say there were 7 Herring & 2 LBBG adults present. 5/6 Common gulls & a squadron of BHG.

1 drake Goosander ditto Grey Heron. Only 1 Mute Swan present - leg ring 1Y37. 2 Canada plus several Moorhen, less so Coots.

No Passerines seen nor heard, sadly.

Raggalds Soil Hill Ogden Mixenden

Absolutely no point in reading any further 😓🤮.

Local Walk Queensbury N

Glad to get out even though twas a very quiet session overall.

Raggalds Flood had a large Lapwing flock. I estimate at least 120 birds. Also 14/15 small gull sp.

Roper Lane: just one Blackbird.

Just a Meadow Pipit & 9 Common Gull in the fields at Fleet Lane with another 8/9 Commoners at Foxhill Park.

Queensbury really rock’s don’t it 🤮.

Catch Up Monday @ Wednesday

Monday 13 November. Storm Debi didn’t help I’m sure but can’t be really blamed for an appallingly quiet session.

Raggalds Flood produced c60 Lapwing c100 Starling & several small gull species.

Nothing on Soil Hill other than a brief view of two lark sized jobs that remain anonymous.

Ogden Plantation coughed up 2 Chaffinch & a Blackbird.

That was it, nothing else worth a mention.

A couple hundred small gulls in the fields around Bradshaw.

Wed 15th. Read no further! There was no catchup at Ogden; the bins stayed in the rucksack. Very wet exercise value only.

GC Grebe? I will check

 Bird of Century: Pūteketeke wins NZ poll after campaign by John Oliver

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67376814

Usual Raggalds Route Improvements

Nothing at Raggalds Flood; didn’t even use Binoculars - no need as JL was there doing the hard work arf arf 😊.

Soil Hill was passage only and the top end of Ogden plantation the same.

Exiting the plantation I managed 4 Grey Partridge & 2 RLP.

At Ogden I bumped into CK then later AT. We each bemoaned the lack of migrant species.

Things got a bit better I got a f Goosander & a drake Tufted Duck. Also 3 Herring Gull plus the BHG contingency.

Peering at Mixenden Res from the golf course I could just make out 5 large White Blobs so I revved up the footwork somewhat.

Sure enough 5 Whooper Swan were taking it easy at the end near the school/adventure centre 😜.

Subsequently I looked at my mobile bone and discovered BS had msgd me earlier in the day about the quintet - appreciated Brian.

Cromwell Bottom

Probably for the lasr time. The Ski lake may as well be walled up about 7 feet high such was the limited visibility.

3 Tufted Duck 1 drake Goosander ditto Herring Gull. 

Good to bump into DM who reports a Grey Heron. We both saw a Kingfisher (albeit at different times) put on a prolonged show of perching then flying and repeating the process over a couple of hundred yards on the canal.

1 Kestrel ditto Jay & Collared Dove. Arboreal types were down to a couple Blue & Great Tits only.

Nothing in the trailer park fields down the frog n toad on the way down bar a few Caaawvids.

Catch Up Wednesday and Thursday

I took advantage of a dry spell Wednesday afternoon at 1400 hrs and had an hour down south at Corporal and Green Lane.

Exercise value only in the main - again.

1 Sparrowhawk ditto Herring Gull. Several BHG & 3/4 Common Gulls. 25 Dullard by the pond at junction of the two lanes. 

Thursday 9/11 Raggalds Flood: 41 Lapwing & several small Gulls.

Ogden area and I do mean the global area was gash. Giants Tooth and Back Lane were all covered, the latter twice. End products were a Kestrel GSW Nuthatch Wren 🐦‍⬛ bird.

Time to call it a draw methinks. In fact let’s get real time to accept birding in this area is finished.

Raggalds To Mixenden Res

Raggalds Flood c35 Lapwing & a few small gulls.

Soil Hill: 3 Greenfinch in a Ned Hill Rd Tree.

The top track at Ogden Plantation proved interesting. A Chiffchaff was flitting about in the hawthorns as were a few Chaffinch. Then a single Brambling showed itself brieflly.

Ogden Water continues to be rubbish. The Dipper was in its favoured spot and a Jay was seen. A Cormorant flew around but didn’t land.

Mixenden Res: 1 Cormorant & plenty of gulls including a Herring & 6/7 LBBG.

A Grey Wagtail at Haley Hill HX.

Disastrous Sunday Saunter

Queensbury South. Awful in Littlemoor Park and beyond; hard to believe the paucity of birds 😥. Nuthatch 7 Fieldfare some Common Gulls.

I  ventured into Horton Bank CP but left immediately. A person discharged a double barrel shotgun twice within 5/6 minutes from the woodland trees. A lady said it could have been fireworks but my instincts told me differently.

I just had time too see the usual suspects on the water. Numerous small gulls and a Herring.

Raggalds Flood Route Again

A big clear out at the Flood but a solitary Wigeon still there at around 1000 hrs. A troop of Common Gull also.

Soil Hill was exercise value only. Down at the Shay were c40 Canada.

Ogden Plantation coughed up 3 RLP & a couple Pheasant. A GSW & a Jay were at Ogden Water (the dry bits) while several small gulls were on it. 

Mixenden Res: 2 Cormorant, a stack of mainly small gulls. 4 Blackbird.

Raggalds Flood To Mixenden

Very Good start, boring middle bit, mediocre ending.

Raggalds Flood full to the brim and extending to adjacent fields. A pr Wigeon 😜. 1 Pied Wagtail 28 Canadas 1 LBBG Several small gulls - Common & BHG. Dullards.

No point in mentioning Soil Hill or Ogden other than to say even the circuit path is flooded at both sides of Ogden. Nothing at Stod Fold.

Mixenden Res provided a dozen LTT - the first I’ve had in a couple months. 10 Fieldfare few small gulls, 1 LBBG.