Thursday, February 04, 2016

Scammonden/Dean Head

Had a couple of hours this afternoon, mild, breezy and a little wet once the low cloud decended.
1 Kestrel
Quite a few GT, BT, CT
4 Bullfinch, both M&F
And a couple of Roe Deer, which was good to see
Was hoping to spot the Green Woodpecker again, but instead we were tret to our first ever sighting of a Firecrest, very pleased but no camera!
Edit- Apologies, it could have been a Goldcrest, but still a first for us. I'll return tomorrow with camera and try get a few record shots.

2 comments:

David Sutcliffe said...

Hi Phil - the two species are similar in habits and structure though there are distinct plumage differences between Goldcrest and Firecrest The likelihood is probably Goldcrest, as we would expect quite a few in the woodlands at this time of year (especially coniferous trees and hawthorn). Goldcrests also breed in these areas in Calderdale and probably do so at Scammonden.
Firecrest is very rare in Calderdale though a decent photo would probably clinch identification !
Our last Firecrest was found at Ogden by Dave Franz on 2nd November 2013 and was only the 5th record for Calderdale. They probably occur with more regularity but we can't find them !!!
Try get a photo if you can - though that might not be very easy as they don't stay still for long !!

Phil D said...

Morning Dave,thanks for the info.I was getting the two completely mixed up, I posted to the blog, then did a bit of Googling, realising my mistake.

Next time I'm unsure, which is fairly often :), I'll do a little research on the net before I post, thanks again

atb, Phil