iceland gull green withens

flew south west at 1705 ish

Blue Ball Road Soyland

4 twite 1 with orange ring on right leg

2 wheatear

pair of stone chats

2 curlew

c20 fieldfair

sponsor

hi guys
just to let you know i raised £52 for the rspb to buy land in london. thnks to all who sponsored me

also 20 feildfares over my house
50 mipits on passage by the bradshaw tavern

Mandarin 2/4/08

For those wanting a year tick for Calderdale. One male Mandarin on the canal this morning just up from Crowther Bridge opposite the " wood cabins" First Mandarin I have seen on the canal for couple of years now.

Crimsworth Dean

We walked from Hardcastle Crags car park to the head of the dean at Grainwater Bridge (I think they call it) via Lumb Falls. Very blustery conditions and rain early on.

Woodland - Blue, Great, Coal and L T Tits. Several Goldcrests and 1 Treecreeper.
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinches and 1 Roe Deer.

c4 Kestrels
2 Redwings
c30 Fieldfares (in immaculate plumage)
2 Dippers
2+ Wheatears
1 Grey Heron
c 20 Lesser-black-backed Gulls moving through in pairs >W
Lots of corvids
Mipits (c40) moving through and 2 Pied Wagtails
c5 pairs Curlew

Egg collecting

Todays fine for collecting/possessing 7000 rare birds eggs of 23 weeks in prison must be an April fool joke!
What are some judges/magistrates thinking of? It sends out the wrong message - 1 birds egg = approx 35 minutes locked up, when the law states that "The potential maximum fine for each wild bird's egg is £5,000 and/or six month's imprisonment." He should get 3500 years, or is it the more you collect the less the punishment? Am I missing something?

Ogden

Mid afternoon;
1 f Goldeneye
6 Canada geese
3 Greylag geese
1 Barnacle Goose
1 Great-spotted Woodpecker
2 Grey Wagtails

Fly Flats

4 Twite there this afternoon. 3 of them had a pink ring on left leg. One of these also had a green ring on the right leg. 1 unringed bird.

1 Oystercatcher
2 Redshank
60 Canada Geese
4 Greylag Geese
2 Wheatears at far end of res'r near top road
Several Curlew, Golden Plover and Lapwings
1 f Reed Bunting
Lots of Skylarks singing and Meadow Pipits
2 Kestrel
1 Raven

Twite returning

Following a local landowners report of two Twite up here in Midgley this weekend I was delighted to find 8 at the feeding station this evening. Also had a text from Brian to say he has birds back at Langfield.

Ringstone am

1 male Shelduck on N shore
1 Great Crested Grebe
4 Lapwing
1 male Wheatear
c60 Fieldfare in W field

1 female Goldeneye, 4 Goosander & 2 Curlew earlier at Deanhead

Towpath & CB 31/3/08

First walk at CB for around two weeks this morning. At least 5 individual Chif-Chaf in the scrub at either side of the canal towpath down to Crowther Bridge. Both Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker calling here. Nothing near or on the Herons nest on the way down or back.Took the "path of desolation" down to the lagoon on Brookfoot Loop to have a look over the lagoon and ski lake. Nothing much visible on the ski lake but one pair of Reed Buntings on the lagoon and two Chif-Chafs in the scrub at the side of the lagoon.I crossed over via the bund path between the two lagoons and walked back up the "road of destruction and valley of strimmings" towards Tag Loop. No birds at all here apart from two Robins and a Kingfisher on the river. This is the only place on the walk I did not record Chif-Chaff. I also note that one of only 3 colonies I have recorded of a moth called Leucoptera spartifoliella which occurs on Broom has been removed and presumably shredded. The other colony at Lowfields has also been destroyed during construction work, at least the last colony I know of should be safe as its in a listed graveyard !

Crossed over to Tag Loop and immediately picked up Chif-Chaff again. Walked round the river path to Tag Cut and had good views of a male Greater Pecker drumming on Oak. Picked up more calling Chif-Chaf of the way towards the river, I also had Blue & Great Tits and a pair of Bullfinch here. Left tag via the kissing gate and spotted a Water Rail on the opposite bank of the river. Just a couple of pairs of Mallard above and below the weir. No Dippers yet which is very strange as they are usually around here now most years. Various tits and a few Chaffinch and Greenfinch in Tag hedge.

Three Roe deer out feeding in the usual place on the way back, the two regular does and the one antlered buck. I also spotted a Fox curled up sunning itself, also in its usual spot. A pair (I assume) of Treecreepers were investigating the loose bark of the tree they have nested in the past, so hopefully they will again. A nice, almost spring like walk in the sunshine and once you get past the horrible building site areas there is plenty to see in an hours gentle ramble round. There must have been a large influx of Chif-Chaf since I last visted the site as I counted at least 12 individuals this morning either seen or singing.

Castle Carr Road

This afternoon (no Wheatears today)
1 Sparrowhawk over
1 Peregrine over Mount Tabor headed towards Mixenden
18 Golden Plover
c40 lapwing
4 Curlew
1 Grey Heron
8 Skylark
c40 Meadow Pipits
1 Green Woodpecker heard in Luddenden Dean
30+ Woodpigeon and 2 Stock Doves

Golden Pheasant nr. Wakefield

I was down Cromwell Bottom briefly early on and no Chiff-chaffs at the Brookfoot end, but in the afternoon there was one at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The best view ever, though, of a male Golden Pheasant, free among the trees. I've seen one before, in Norfolk many years ago, and I know they're often escapees, but these views were amazing with its gold and scarlet in the sunlight. It even demonstrated how it's call is different from the common pheasant- a high pitched short single scream.

Soil Hill

30/03/2008 1500-1600hrs Wind dropped to W>3 bright sunshine.
2 Grey Heron
4 Lapwing
8 Skylark
6 Mipits
1 Kestrel
18 Fieldfare
3m 6f WHEATEAR.
1 Dishfish and Dad
+ usual sp.
BS

soil hill

not blowing a gale but man its windy
hundreds of mipits on passage
6 lapwings in the air
one was being chased by a kestrel
skylarks flying about a mile (no exageration) into the sky
and no brian i didnt get yuor wheatears

EGP

Managed a quick walk round this afternoon in glorious sunshine but a srong wind was keeping most things down,nice to hear at least 5 Chiffchaff singing away and a few parties of long -tailed tit.Bullfinch,goosander,Little grebe,Sparrowhawk and the odd reed Bunt.

Norland 29/3/08

Blowing a gale on Norland again on Saturday (which why we tried the crags on Sunday!) but lots of birds around now displaying. At least four Reed Bunting males, lots of Pippits doing parachute displays setting up territory, We also counted at least 8 Skylarks up and singing at anyone time. We also had our second Wheatear of the year on the way back to the car.

Hardcastle Crags 30/3/08

A nice walk through the Crags this morning as far as Gibson Mill and back to the car park. It was actually spring like in the crags this morning with plenty of Lesser Celandine and Dogs Mercury in flower in the warm sunshine. We had at least 3 Nuthatches, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Pecker, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, flock of Goldcrest and Long Tailed tits in the conifers, several Blackbirds and one Song Thrush, lots of Chaffinch. No Dippers this morning as the river was in spate. We also had our first Toad of the year, unfortunately squashed flat on the track :-((

Anyone know yet why the trees have been felled aroubd Gibson Mill ?

Fly Flatts

Stormy Waters

Fly Flatts 30/03/2008 0800-0945hrs Near gale force W>7, cloudy

2 Wheatear
1pr Stonechat
4 Greylag
Good move of Mipits - 100+ >N 50+ Bloggers
+ usual sp.
BS

Jumble Hole, Hebden Bridge

1 woodcock roding tonight

Also noticed on the Bradford blog tonight they had a rough-legged buzzzard NNE over Oxenhope late morning, that could well have passed through our area.