Soil Hill

I'd kinda written off there being much happening on the hill when half way round there had failed to be many birds at all. That quickly changed when 2 calling Tree Pipits went over going south. One landed but then got up again almost immediately, and I was unable to get any kind of record shot.

Other recent sightings up there:

11.08: Wheatear: 1 adult and 1 juv, Mistle Thrush 9

10.08: Lapwing: 26, Pheasant 8, Skylark 10, Wheatear 1 juv

07.08: Kestrel: 3, Wheatear 1 Juv, Common Buzzard: 1 NW

06.08: Mistle Thrush 11, Greenfinch 5

Little Egret etc

Little Egret (juvenile) at Cromwell Bottom - photo from Mike Henshaw taken on Saturday 8th August. This bird or another juvenile was seen towards Sowerby Bridge earlier today (Steve B)

Also from Mike - a Hobby over Brighouse >S at 16:10 this afternoon at the same time as a very large raptor heading in the same direction could have been an Osprey but just too distant and brief for a firm identification - bad luck Mike.! Another that got away!

2 Tree Pipits flyovers also reported this afternoon over Soil hill from Daniel B around 16:45

I tried Pepper Hill this afternoon above Claremount but just found a Kestrel and not much else bird-wise - well other than a Hummingbird Hawkmoth which is always a special moth and that was after an Elephant Hawkmoth in the moth trap this morning. See the Moth Blog (Link to the right of this posting) for some record shots.

Fly Flatts

This morning - not a wader anywhere though still plenty shoreline
12+ Kestrels
1 fem/juv Merlin hunting over the embankment had a go at a B H Gull but then moved quickly on >SW
3 Raven >SW
4 Wheatear
1 Red-legged Partridge
1 Barnacle Goose with 4 Canadas (think the other 300+ Canadas have gone somewhere to moult)
20+ Red Grouse
2 B H Gulls and 2 L B B Gulls >SW
No Twite of course and no Swifts today, just 2 Swallows through >N

Fly Flatts - Demise of the Twite

For a long number of years several of us have supported a feeding station for the Twite at Fly Flatts near the 'Round House'. Over the years we have put down Niger seed to supplement their natural food around their breeding habitat along with the RSPB and others who have been running the Twite Recovery Project in conjunction with local farmers and landowners.

Despite these co-ordinated efforts, during the last 2 years we have not had any Twite up there and it looks as if they have certainly gone from this area as a breeding bird and passage migrants don't seem to be dropping in either. Reasons seem unclear.

There has been a slow decline over the last 20 years or so, though up until 2010 we have records over the summer months and migrants March and into October with up to 30+ birds. Since then....
In 2011 max of 19
In 2012 up to 4
5 on 5th July 2013 were the last
Since then - not one record as far as I know though Brian Sumner and myself have continued the feeding programme.

We have decided with reluctance to curtail further attempts at supplementary feeding for the summer stayers and at tempting migrants down in March and October. We will still continue to monitor the site and surrounding area. It will be a real bonus if they return !

Thank you for everyone who has helped with this project. Please let me or Brian know if anyone has any further records for up there or to our Recorder Nick Dawtrey.
Thankfully we still have at least one area of Calderdale where Twite are recorded on a regular basis.

The last feed !!!

The last recorded Twite at Fly Flatts 12th July 2013

Kestrel

Got great close up views of a juvenile Kestrel catching beetles at Walshaw Dean yesterday. Even trying to take insects off a vertical wall.

Leos and Shorties

Top young Leos, M Mail, middle Adult Leo and bottom juvenile Shortie, NCD. Leos First of all thanks to all bird club members who helped with the Leo survey this year. The preliminary results are the best on record, at least as far as I can remember. We found 13 territorial pairs, 11 of these successfully raised a minimum of at least 34 young, probably many more. One pair is thought to have failed due to natural causes and another the outcome is unknown. One other site held at least one adult in the early spring but breeding was not thought to have taken place. Two new sites were found this year and both were successful. Not all areas were covered due to man power and a large wood on our western border was not checked so other pairs may have bred un-noticed. Two males were singing at one site from 15.00PM in the afternoon in early April indicating that it was likely to be an outstanding year, which it has proved to be. Shorties It soon became obvious early in the year with all the voles running around that shorties should have a good breeding season, they didn’t disappoint. We found 11 nesting pairs, two of which raised second broods. Its difficult to asses the number of young raised, at least 20 but its probably double this number. 1 pair fledged 6 young another pair fledged 4 and then had a second brood of two. There were some casualties as well with an adult male and a fledged juvenile knocked down and killed at one site leaving the female to raise a second brood of two herself, how this ended is unknown. Its likely that other pairs bred un-noticed, as not all moorland areas were checked. Once again thanks to all who helped out and thanks for all the voles ! Ps at the time of writing a pair of Shortie’s are still feeding young and young leo’s are still hunger calling at one site, so there may yet be time to find more.

Jumble Hole

18 swift flew over > E today.

The whitethroat are still around, but much quieter, generally restricting any noise to alarm calls. The green woodpecker is still tending its single young bird.

Little Egret

Thanks to a call from Mike Sharp, DJS and me took a lucky guess as to where the egret might be, and found it strait away on the river close to Ganny Lock at Elland Gravel Pits. Unfortunatly after 5 minutes it flew down stream towards Brighouse out of sight.

Barn Owl site witheld

Went with Roy to check out a potential Barn Owl site and found the above sat on a wall. Digi scoped shots however shows the bird with a blue ring on its leg, as far as I know not a BTO ring so probably of captive origin. However the bird showed no sign of wear on its tail and flight feathers a feature captive birds sometimes show. Because of the possibility of breeding the site is withheld. If no one has objections I will post results of the Leo and Shortie survey soon, no sites will be given, all comments welcome.

Parakeet-Sowerby Bridge

Very colourful morning in the garden at Bolton Brow.Bullfinch,Goldfinch,Greenfinch,Jay and this Ring Necked Parakeet.Heard parrot like squarwking for a few days now and got a glimse of this bird on the feeders this morning.Hopefully it will return so i can get a better photo.

Yesterday

Juvenile Bullfinch in the garden yesterday with the adult male in the feeder

 Bullfinch

 

 

Male Stonechat with at least one juvenile nearby at Cold Edge earlier this week

Male Stonechat

 

Other news from yesterday evening an adult Black-tailed Godwit at Ringstone on the shoreline early evening but it soon moved on (JB). 1 Curlew and c20 Sand Martins also there along with Swallows and a few Swifts.

Fly Flatts and Cold Edge

Rained and fogged off this morning at Fly Flatts so tried Cold Edge where things improved bird wise but not the weather - other than the fog lifted lower down
Cold Edge
4+ Reed Buntings
1 m Stonechat with a juvenile
1 S E O distant
1 Curlew
1 Snipe
Little Grebe pair +1 juv
45 Lapwing
1 Tufted Duck
Plenty Swifts and Swallows over the dams

Fly Flatts later on - fog lifted but still heavy rain
2 Wheatear
30+ Swifts >N
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Barnacle Goose + the usuals !
Not a sign of any terns moving

Fly Flatts

I tried up there earlier on thinking maybe something would turn up after/during the rain and mist - not much doing though.
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Lapwing
1 Barnacle Goose with 4 Greylags and the usual Canadas
1 f Tufted Duck
c50 Swifts
5 Swallows >NW
No Wheatears
Still no Twite - I have a bit of seed left so will carry on another week or two to use it up then give it up as a bad job same as BS is thinking.! No Twite recorded there for 2 years now.

Soil Hill

Did not expect much on the hill given the weather but was pleasantly surprised when a Common Tern drifted over going north. Thats my 70th species on the hill, quickly followed by number 71 when an Oystercatcher flew past me going south.

Species List: Linnet (9), Feral Pigeon (2), Common Tern (1), Lesser Black-Backed Gull (~20 Blogging), Blackbird (1), Swift (7), Meadow Pipit (~20-30), Skylark (9), Black-Headed Gull (1), Lapwing (~40), Mistle Thrush (2), Stock Dove (1), Carrion Crow (5), Wheatear (1 Juv), Woodpigeon (3), Swallow (2), Oystercatcher (1), Common Gull (1), Starling (~60), Pheasant (3), Kestrel (1), Dunnock (1),

Claremount Buzzard

             Buzzard soaring around Claremount on Saturday.
             2 Kestrel hovering same area later on and 2 Bullfinch,
             Green, Gold and Chaffinch in garden.

Birdfair?

Any Calderdale birders going to the Birdfair this year? Be good to catch up with old friends.

Ogden and Bradshaw areas

I had a check around in the rain for feeding gull flocks which were taking advantage of the worms coming to the surface in the various wet fields
No med Gulls !
200+ B H Gulls
50+ L B B Gulls
60+ Common Gulls
All gulls mostly full adults with just a very small number of juveniles or sub adults. Early returners from the breeding grounds I guess.

High Royd

Sewage works upstream from Sowerby Bridge early afternoon in the heavy rain
10+ Carrion Crows on the filter beds
c50 House Martins
c60 Swallows
A few Pied Wagtails and 1 Grey Wagtail
The rest of the site is impossible to check !

Fly Flatts

Nothing new at all this morning. the whole area was pretty dead apart from 2 Common Sandpipers, 48 Lapwings and c10 Kestrels.
Not a Swift in sight either !

Blackbirds feeding young at Withens Head and met Dave B up there having taken some very good photo's.

Fly Flatts

Yesterday morning before the drizzle and mist crept in.
Thank's to Nick from last night the Green Sandpiper was still there until at least 10:00 at the NW end but kept hiding away !
At least 8 Common Sandpipers
100+ Swifts
2 Swallows
1 Sand Martin
Barnacle Goose with 4 Greylags and 200+ Canadas
6 Kestrels
1 distant SEO
3 B H Gulls and 15 L B B Gulls >W